Oblivion (Page 58)

She arched a brow. “What do I have to do?”

I glanced out over the lake and smiled. “Meet me on the rock.”

“What? I’m not wearing a bathing suit.”

Kicking off my shoes, I turned my smile on her. She blinked once and then twice before quickly looking away. “So? You could almost strip down—”

“Not going to happen.” She crossed her arms.

That was a damn shame.

“Figured,” I replied. “Haven’t you ever gone swimming in your clothes before?”

Her lips pursed. “Why do we have to go swimming for me to ask questions?”

My gaze zeroed in on that mouth for way too long before I lowered my gaze. “It’s not for you, but for me. It seems like a normal thing to do.” I shifted my weight. “The day we went swimming?”

“Yes.” She took a step toward me.

Lifting my gaze, I met her stare. I took a deep breath. “Did you have fun?”

Kat tilted her head to the side. “When you weren’t being a jerk and if I ignore the fact that you were bribed into it, then yes.”

Smiling, I looked away. One of these days, maybe, I’d tell her that I hadn’t been bribed. “I had more fun that day than I can remember. I know it sounds stupid, but—”

“It’s not stupid.” Her response was immediate and genuine. Then she shocked the hell right out of me. “Okay. Let’s do this. Just don’t go underwater for five minutes.”

Relaxing, I laughed. “Deal.”

While I pulled off my shirt, she slipped off her sandals. I could tell she was watching me from under her lowered gaze. I waited for her to change her mind, but she grinned at me, and I…shit. There was a weird tugging in my chest as I watched her walk up to the water’s edge and dip her toes in.

“Oh my God, the water is cold!” she shrieked.

I could do something about that.

“Watch this.” Winking at her, I turned back to the lake. I let go of my human form. White light spread out from my chest and over my form. I shot off the ground, moving incredibly fast. To her, I probably looked like nothing more than a fiery ball. I hit the center of the lake. In my true form, heat radiated off me, warming the lake as I whipped around, under the water.

As I neared the rocks, I shifted back into the form Kat was more comfortable with as I hauled myself up on the rocks.

“Alien powers?” she asked.

Water sluiced off my skin as I leaned over the edge of the rock, motioning her forward. “Come in, it’s a little warmer now.”

She didn’t look like she believed me when she placed her foot in. Her body jerked as she glanced up at me, her eyes wide. “Any other cool talents?” she asked as she waded over to the rocks.

“I can make it so that you can’t even see me.”

When she reached the side of the rocks, she placed her hand in mine. I pulled her up easily, and once she gained her footing, I let go and scooted back, giving her room.

She shivered as she sat on the sunbaked rock. “How can you do things without me seeing?”

Leaning back on my elbows, I stretched out my legs. “We’re made of light. We can manipulate the different spectra around us, using them. It’s like we’re fracturing the light, if that makes any sense.”

“Not really.”

“You’ve seen me turn into my natural state, right?” When she nodded, I went on. “And I sort of vibrate until I break apart into tiny particles of light. Well, I can selectively eliminate the light, which allows us to be transparent.”

She tucked her knees against her chest. “That’s kind of amazing, Daemon.”

I smiled as I folded my arms behind my head and lay back. “I know you have questions. Ask them.”

Kat slowly shook her head. “Do you guys believe in God?”

“He seems like a cool guy.”

She blinked. “Did you guys have a god?”

“I remember there was something like a church, but that’s all. The Elders don’t talk about any religion,” I explained.

“What do you mean by ‘elders’?”

“The same thing you’d mean. An old person.”

She scrunched her nose.

That made me grin. “Next question?”

“Why are you such an ass?”

I laughed under my breath. “Everyone has to excel at something, right?”

“Well, you’re doing a great job.”

Closing my eyes, I welcomed the sun soaking into me. “You do dislike me, don’t you?”

Kat didn’t respond right off. “I don’t dislike you, Daemon. You’re hard to…like. It’s hard to figure you out.”

“So are you,” I admitted and then decided to rock this whole honesty thing. “You’ve accepted the impossible. You’re kind to my sister and to me—even though I admit I’ve been a jerk to you. You could’ve run right out of the house yesterday and told the world about us, but you didn’t. And you don’t put up with any of my crap.” I laughed. “I like that about you.”

“You like me?”

“Next question?” I said smoothly.

Kat leaned in closer. “Are you guys allowed to date people—humans?”

I shrugged one shoulder as I glanced over at her. “‘Allowed’ is a strange word. Does it happen? Yes. Is it advised? No. So we can, but what would be the point? Not like we can have a lasting relationship when we have to hide what we are.”

She appeared to consider that. “So, you guys are like us in other, uh, departments?”