Her head tilted, and I noticed a slight hitch in her breath as her gaze fell briefly to my lips before darting away again. “You’re going to be disappointed.”
“Not so far.”
Her eyes came back to me, and her fingers fiddled with her necklace again. Her heartbeat increased, but more than that, so did her enticing scent. I wasn’t the only one becoming aroused, I realized. If I pulled her into my arms, she wouldn’t resist me.
It would be so easy to draw her close—
She’s a possibility, I reminded myself sternly.She could be the key to everything, and you could ruin it because she’s the first human you’ve ever desired to bed.
To be honest, she was the first woman who had ever wound me up this much and had me walking the fine line between everything I had always sought to be, and something Icraved. It would be best for me to put some distance between us, to turn her over to Bale and Corson, and let them figure out if she was the progeny, but I knew I wouldn’t.
Raising her hand to her mouth, she stifled a yawn. “If you don’t mind, I didn’t get any sleep last night.”
I subtly shifted my erection to keep it hidden from her as I rose to my feet and extended my hand to her. She studied my hand for a minute before taking hold of it. An electric jolt slid through my body when her flesh touched mine. For the briefest of seconds, I thought I’d seen a spark flare to life between us, but it was gone too fast to have been real.
I followed her graceful movements as she rose to her feet before me. If I stepped closer, I could feel her body flush against mine. I could have those breasts pressed to my chest, my hand in her hair, and my mouth on hers in mere seconds. I’d never wanted to kiss a woman as badly as I did her.
Kissing was not something I partook in often. Demons rarely kissed, unless they were each other’s Chosen. For the rest of us, there was no need when we were simply coming together to ease a need. Humans tended to want to kiss more, and a few of the human women I’d been with had insisted on kissing, but it was not something I thought about. Now, all I could think about was running my tongue over her lips, feeling her breath mingling with mine as I tasted her in long, slow thrusts of my tongue. Thrusts that would mirror what I wanted to do to her body.
I could possibly be throwing away everything I’d worked for by doing so. If we ever found the progeny, I would drag them kicking and screaming into what needed to be done. However, I knew some humans equated sex with emotions, and if she turned out to be the progeny, I could not take the chance that an entanglement with her would lead her to believe there could be more. A scorned woman was not one I wanted to deal with.
I released her hand and stepped away from her. She watched me as I took hold of her elbow and led her toward the flap. I lifted it for her and followed her into the night descending over the camp. I didn’t look back at Corson and Bale, but I sensed them hovering in the shadows, watching us as we walked down the hill.
Keeping her close to my side, I steered her through the patrols on the streets until we arrived at the main house. Mac answered the door after my firm knock. His eyes widened on the two of us, but he hastily stepped aside when I released her arm.
“Good night, River,” I said when she stepped into the candlelit interior of the house.
She smiled at me over her shoulder before vanishing into the shadows.
“You think it’s her,” Mac said the second she was out of earshot.
“I don’t know if it is or not. She’s definitely different than any other human I’ve encountered. I’m going to work with her during training.”
Behind his glasses, his eyes sharpened. “If you’re not sure it’s her, then why would you do that?”
Very good question. “I might be able to find out faster if I do.”
I said the words, turned on my heel, and walked away, but as I was making my way up the hill toward my tent, I knew there was more to it than that. River Dawson affected me in a way no other had, and I wasn’t going to let anyone else get close enough to touch her.
CHAPTER 15
River
By the end of two weeks, the only thing I hated more than being here was Kobal. I’d never had my ass so thoroughly kicked before in my life. The fact he had a good foot or so on me and probably about a hundred and fifty pounds didn’t deter him in the least. It was because he was a demon; I was certain of it. He took amusement in continuously knocking me on my butt. My bruises had bruises and sitting had become an uncomfortable ordeal I went out of my way to avoid.
When I’d arrived, I’d sworn I wouldn’t fall into line with the others, but as much as I resented it, I’d rather go along with the training then become some demon’s meal because I’d refused to learn how to defend myself against them. I was also determined to learn how to take Kobal down, justonce. It would make my entire freaking year if I did.
Now, trudging my way through the line of young volunteers in the high school cafeteria to get my food, I was so focused on my own unhappiness that I didn’t notice those around me had stopped speaking and were exchanging looks. I lifted my head and glanced around tiredly, but I didn’t see anything that would cause such a reaction. Then, I noticed that most of their curious stares were directed at me as they whispered behind their hands.
I removed an apple from a basket at the end of the line and placed it on my tray next to my chicken. I walked over to the table I normally shared with a group of teens. They stopped speaking when I neared. I placed my tray on the table, grabbed a chicken wing, and leaned against the wall to eat it. There was no way my tailbone could handle sitting on the wooden bench today.
I studied the crowd of hundreds of volunteers gathered within the cafeteria. I’d been relegated to staying with the new volunteers I’d arrived with and designated official ass-kicking plaything of a demon.
New volunteers arrived each day, sometimes we worked together, but they were on different levels of training than my group was. It wasn’t until we were done being divided, whipped into shape, and beaten and battered for the morning or afternoon that we were allowed to mingle together at all with the others. However, there were groups of volunteers still out patrolling and drilling now. I didn’t think I’d ever get a chance to see everyone here.
The cramps growing in my calves and thighs had me eyeing the bench with longing, but thinking about sitting on my bruised butt made me want to cry. One of the girls stood up and came back a minute later with a rubber ring. She placed it at on the empty seat before my tray.
“It will help,” she said when she turned toward me.
