“I think my sister finds you very special.” The next words came out without my really even thinking about it, but once I said them, I figured they were true. “I’m starting to wonder if she’s onto something.”

A humorless smile appeared on her lips. “But then there’s all kinds of special now, isn’t there, Daemon?”

I jolted at the sound of my name. Was this the first time she had said it? I liked the sound of my name on her tongue. Looking away, I exhaled slowly as I led her across the main highway and into the dense tree line on the other side of the road.

“Are you taking me out to the woods as a trick?” she asked.

I glanced over my shoulder at her, lowering my lashes. “And what would I do out here to you, Kitten?”

She didn’t reply immediately. “The possibilities are endless.”

I winked. “Aren’t they?”

She didn’t answer as she tripped through the thick brush, avoiding the mass of vines tangled along the floor of the woods. “Can we pretend we did this?”

Pretend to go on a walk with me? I blinked, speechless for probably the first time in like…ever. I was actually being nice right now. She didn’t like Dickhead Daemon and she didn’t like Nice Daemon? What the hell ever. My God, this girl had me coming and going so much, I didn’t know what I was thinking. Did I want to be nice to her now? Or was I just being nice to get closer to her and drive Dee away? Jesus, all this thinking about my feelings and hers was probably going to give me a period. “Trust me, I don’t want to be doing this, either.” I jumped over a fallen tree. Spinning around, I offered her my hand. “But bitching about it isn’t going to make it any easier.”

“You’re such a joy to talk to.” Her gaze dropped to my hand and she sucked in her lower lip between her teeth, drawing my attention. The burst of heat low in my gut had nothing to do with aggravation.

She wasn’t going to take my hand. She shouldn’t.

But she did.

Kat placed her hand in mine, offering a tiny bit of trust, and there was a shock of static from the contact. It happened sometimes, when humans touched us, as if they had dragged their feet along carpet. I ignored it and how incredibly small that hand was in mine. I helped her over the log.

“Thank you,” she murmured when I let go.

I ignored how my chest tightened at being her hero, no matter how small. “Are you excited about school?”

“It’s not exciting being the newbie. You know, the whole sticking out like a sore thumb. Not fun.”

“I can see that.”

“You can?” Surprise colored her tone.

She had no idea. “Yeah, I can. We only have a little bit more to go.”

“A little bit? How long have we been walking?”

“About twenty minutes, maybe a little longer. I told you it was fairly hidden.” A wry grin twisted my lips as she followed me around an uprooted tree. I stepped aside, revealing the clearing we were entering, still a little shocked that I’d actually brought her here. “Welcome to our little piece of paradise.”

Kat was silent as she walked past me, her gaze darting all over the place, taking everything in as I felt tension creep into my muscles.

A thin creek cut across the clearing, expanding into a small, natural lake. The water rippled in the soft breeze. Flat, large rocks erupted from the middle. Wildflowers, purple and blue ones, surrounded the lake.

Did she see what I saw? I knew Dee did. Ash, if I’d ever brought her here, would’ve just been bored. Dawson got it. Matthew might’ve.

“Wow,” she whispered. “This place is beautiful.”

“It is.” Standing next to her, I raised my hand, blocking the glare of the sun bouncing off the surface of the lake. Peaceful. This place had always been a source of peace. I could come here and escape everything, even if it was just for a few hours. I lowered my hand.

Her soft touch on my arm drew my attention. I looked down to where her hand rested, and then my gaze flicked to hers.

“Thank you for bringing me,” she said, and then quickly removed her hand as she looked away.

I didn’t know what to say. And that damn tight feeling expanded in my chest a little more.

Kat wandered to the water’s edge. “How deep is it?”

“About ten feet in most parts, twenty feet on the other side of the rocks.” I ghosted up behind her. “Dee loves it here. Before you came, she spent most of her days here.”

Her brows pinched together as she stared at the lake, and then she took a deep breath. “You know, I’m not going to get your sister in trouble.”

“We’ll see.”

“I’m not a bad influence,” she stated. “I haven’t ever gotten into trouble before.”

I walked around her. I could tell she was trying to, well, get past our initial run-ins with each other, but I doubted Bethany ever thought she’d be Dawson’s downfall. You could be a weapon without ever realizing you were one. “She doesn’t need a friend like you.”

“There isn’t anything wrong with me,” she snapped. “You know what? Forget this.”

When she started to turn, I stopped her the best way I could. “Why do you garden?”

Her hands clenched as she faced me. “What?”

“Why do you garden?” I stared at the lake, wondering what in the hell I was really accomplishing by getting to know her, but that question didn’t stop me. “Dee said you do it so you don’t think. What do you want to avoid thinking about?”

She exhaled roughly. “It’s none of your business.”

Well then. “Then let’s go swimming.”

When I glanced at her, she looked like she wanted to strangle me a little. I dipped my chin before she saw the grin, because I doubted that would help. Stepping to the side, I kicked off my sneakers and then reached down, unbuttoning my jeans. I didn’t need to look at her to know she was watching. I could feel her gaze on me as I shed my jeans and then my shirt.

And I knew she was really staring when the only article of clothing that remained were the swim trunks.

I didn’t look back at her as I stepped to the very edge and then dived in. The rush of cool water immediately scattered all my thoughts, washing them away as I swam underwater. I loved the water. Swimming was a lot like flying, and I could move fast enough that it was damn near close to flying.

When I broke the surface, Kat was still standing there, her face the color of a tomato. I started to tease her, but then decided I really didn’t want to have to chase her ass down when she left. “Are you coming in?”

She dragged the toe of her sneaker in the loose soil at the lake’s edge as she nibbled on her lower lip. Uncertainty bled out from her as her gaze met mine and then fleeted away. Cute. That was kind of cute.

“You sure are shy, aren’t you, Kitten?”

Her foot stilled. “Why do you call me that?”

“Because it makes your hair stand up, like a kitten.” Pushing onto my back, I swam a few feet away. “So? Are you coming in?” When she didn’t move, I figured I was going to have to motivate her. “I’m giving you one minute to get in here.”

Kat squinted. “Or what?”

Twisting around, I moved closer to the bank of the lake, no longer on my back. “Or I come and get you.”

Her mouth pinched. “I’d like to see you try that.”

“Forty seconds.”

Did she really think I wouldn’t do it?

“Thirty seconds.” I smiled, hoping she didn’t do it.

Because I totally would toss her ass into the lake and I would thoroughly enjoy myself.

She snapped into action, muttering under her breath as she reached down with a quick, jerky motion and grabbed the hem of her shirt. She yanked it off and then quickly pulled off her shorts. Then she straightened, her hands on her hips. “Happy?”

Holy shit.

She was not wearing a one-piece, and I got my wish. It was a two-piece red bikini, and yeah, holy shit. All I could do was stare. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this.

Under the plain shorts and shapeless shirts I’d seen her in, Kat was hiding a…a magnificent body full of the kind of curves that made me want to do stupid things. Fun things, but damn, things that would be really stupid considering everything.