Born at Midnight (13 page)

Chapter Eighteen

Kylie pushed her hair behind her ear.
Deny it. Deny that anything is up.

“What … werewolf?” she asked, but darn if her voice didn’t lack conviction.

Derek’s eyes stared right at her. His gaze reminded her of Della’s when she knew Kylie had lied.

“Don’t deny it,” he said. “Your emotions were all over the place every time you glanced at him. Kind of like when you look at me, only … more. You either really like him, or … he scares you.”

“I thought you could read emotions?”

He sat up and crossed his arms over his chest. “Passion and fear read almost the same.”

“Well, trust me, it’s definitely the latter,” she answered, but after last night’s dream she knew the truth could have been summed up better with one word.
Both.
But she hadn’t admitted that to herself yet. She sure as heck didn’t plan on admitting it to Derek.

“So where do you know him from?” he asked.

“Who says—”

Derek held up his hand to stop her. “It’s not normal to be that scared of people we don’t know.”

She glanced down at her clutched hands. “He lived beside me when I was young. Let’s just say I knew something was off with him then. I just didn’t know what it was … the whole werewolf thing.”

“Did he—”

“No more.” It was her turn to offer him the determined stare. “I’ve given you all I’m going to. It’s your turn.”

He looked at the stream and she sensed he disliked talking about himself as much as she did. “What do you want to know?” he asked.

“Only everything,” she said with a certain amount of teasing in her voice, hoping to put him at ease.

“My father was Fae. My mother’s human.”

“Was?” she asked. “You said your father
was
Fae. Did he pass away?”

He picked another twig from the bush and twirled it around with his fingers. “Don’t know. Don’t care. He left when I was eight. A real deadbeat dad, if you know what I mean.”

“I’m sorry.” Kylie sensed he cared a lot more than he wanted her to believe.

“Did you know he was Fae?” She brushed an ant from her arm.

“Yeah, I don’t remember ever not knowing. But after he left, we didn’t really talk about it or him a lot. Mom was crushed that he walked out.”

His mom hadn’t been the only one crushed. Kylie saw sadness in his eyes that he tried to hide. Her own chest felt heavy—heavy for him, and perhaps a little for herself. Her own father issues hadn’t disappeared. They waited in line with everything else she had to fret over and sort out. Then she remembered that this was Derek’s time. He’d listened to her and she owed him the same.

“Sorry,” she said.

“Why? I’m not. If he didn’t want me, I sure as hell didn’t want him.”

He couldn’t lie any better than she could, Kylie thought. “Did you know you were gifted all your life?”

He stared at the piece of stem with a few leaves still attached to it that he had in his hand. “No. I mean, I knew I could read people better than most, but I wasn’t even sure it was … because of being Fae. It wasn’t until about a year ago that tapping into people’s emotions got stronger. And then … I finally realized I was different.”

“How are you different?” She felt her eyes moving to his chest, remembering how good it had felt to rest against him. The craziest thought hit. What would it feel like to kiss him?

He tilted his head to the right and studied her. “How much do I look like your old boyfriend?”

Were her emotions so readable, she wondered, feeling her face flush. “Not that much, but … enough that…”

“That you’re attracted to me?”

Feeling her face heat to a nice shade of red, she looked back at the stream. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Why not?” His breath was on her cheek again. Warm. Soft. Tempting. When had he gotten this close? Uncomfortable with how near his mouth was to hers, and how tempted she was to let it get even closer, she jumped down from the rock.

“Stop!” he said.

“What?” She turned around to look at him. “I think we—”

“Don’t move,” he said in low, very serious voice.

“Why? I—”

Something rustled in the bushes beside her. Kylie looked down and saw a huge snake slinking out from the thick underbrush. A huge grayish black snake with a pointed nose, the kind of nose her father made her aware of so she would know the difference between a nonpoisonous and a poisonous snake when she went on their camping trips.

Panic built as she recognized the species. A water moccasin, which just so happened to be the most aggressive snake found in Texas.

And one of the most poisonous, too.

The snake moved in tight S-like patterns—patterns that brought it closer to Kylie. Fear swelled inside her. A scream crawled up her throat. Logic said that she couldn’t move away from the snake fast enough to avoid getting bitten. Logic said she needed to stay very still, but … the hell with logic—she wanted that thing away from her.

Derek’s hand tightened on her shoulder. “It’s okay.” His voice was so low, so soft. “It’s just passing by. Stay very still. Let it go. I’m here. Nothing is going to happen.”

His hand grew warmer, unnaturally warm, and just like that, her fear vanished. Her heart stopped racing and the clutching in her stomach eased. She watched the snake’s fat, chubby body slither across the tip of her Reeboks as if it were a butterfly passing by. Something in her brain told her that the calm she now felt, the absence of fear, wasn’t normal; that somehow Derek had done this to her. She wasn’t even afraid of that right now. It was as if Derek’s touch had removed her ability to experience fear, leaving only curiosity in its place.

Curiosity about the snake.

About how it moved like that.

Curiosity about Derek. How had he changed her emotions? What would it feel like to lose herself in his kisses? Would he make her feel the way Trey had? Maybe even better?

“You’re doing good. It’s almost gone,” he whispered.

And then it was gone. Its round body slipped into the stream, causing only the slightest of ripples as it sank down and moved with the water’s current.

Derek kept his hand on her shoulder as she watched the creature disappear among the rocks. Then, slowly, he lifted his palm away. The storm of emotion hit her so hard that she screamed. When screaming alone wasn’t enough, she swung around, and started climbing the rock. Her heart pumped in her chest, as if it might burst, and her stomach felt as if it knotted all the way around her backbone.

Derek caught her as she ascended, but she didn’t stop moving, thinking only about getting away from the slithering snake.

“It’s all right,” he said, laughing, and fell back on the huge rock, carrying her with him. She landed half on top of him. His arms came around her, but not too tightly. His hands gently rested on her back.

Blinking, she felt her panic evaporate, and she met his green eyes. This close, the flecks of gold seemed brighter. Her gaze lowered to his mouth, to his lips that appeared so soft, so inviting.

The warmth of his body melted against hers. His natural scent worked its way into her senses. She caught her breath.

“You okay now?” he asked, his voice deeper.

“Yeah.” When he stole her panic, had he taken her willpower, too, because she really wanted Derek to kiss her. Or she could just kiss him. It sounded like a damn good idea to her. She inched a bit nearer until his lips were so close to hers she could feel their heat.

“Let her go!” a dark male voice boomed from behind them.

Chapter Nineteen

“Let her go, now!”

The deeply serious voice rang a few familiar bells, but quicker than she could wrap her brain around it, Derek shot up with a force that sent Kylie rolling right to the edge of the rock.

Right before Kylie fell, Derek caught her. As soon as she felt secure, she raised her head. Lucas leered at them from the edge of the stream. The flickering of sun and shadows surrounded him, adding to his intimidating presence. His light blue eyes pierced into them with the harshest of stares.

“She’s fine,” Derek said, his tone matching his stern expression.

Feeling suddenly foolish, she felt the need to explain. “I saw a snake.”

Lucas inhaled. He looked around on the ground. “A water moccasin.”

“I know,” she said. “That’s why I screamed.”

“It’s gone,” Derek said, and his words implied that Lucas should be gone as well.

“I heard her scream,” Lucas said, as if he, too, felt the need to explain his behavior.

The two guys stared at each other, neither saying a word. Kylie got the distinct feeling they didn’t get along. She wondered if fairies and werewolves also had bad blood between them. Heck, for all she knew, World War II could …

“She’s not screaming anymore,” Derek said.

“I’m fine.” She jumped down from the rock—after giving the ground a quick check for snakes first.

When she looked up, Lucas had turned his disapproving gaze on her. “If you’re that scared of snakes, maybe you should stay out of the woods.”

“I’m not that scared, it just—”

“I took care of her,” Derek said. His tone was dark, almost angry.

“Yeah, I saw how you were doing that.”

Derek sat up higher on the rock as if he was ready to leap down. “Look, if you have a problem—”

Lucas apparently didn’t care to hear what Derek had to say because he swung around and in less than a second, he was gone.

Kylie blushed, realizing how the situation must have appeared to Lucas. Then seeing the unhappy expression on Derek’s face, she said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have screamed, it was just—”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” Derek offered her his hand to pull her back up. “He was being a jerk and overreacting. He didn’t have to come here. I wouldn’t have let anything happen to you.”

She stared at Derek’s hand and remembered how her fear had subsided with his intense touch.

“What happened just now?” she asked.

“He just overreacted—”

“No. Not with Lucas. With your touch…”

“What do you mean? My touch?”

Other questions started buzzing around like bees gone wild. “How did you know the snake was here?”

The look, the one that said he didn’t like talking about himself, returned but she wasn’t about to let him off this hook. Not this time.

“Wait. Did you make that snake come here?” she asked.

He frowned. “Do you think I’d put you in danger just for kicks?”

Did she believe that? “No. I don’t. But you knew it was here. You knew it was here before it showed itself.”

“I only knew a second before. If I had known earlier, I’d have stopped you from getting down.”

The sun sprayed a new bright stream of light through the trees and it hit her eyes, making it hard to see. “How? How did you know?”

He jumped from the rock, landing solid on his feet beside her. “It’s part of my gift,” he said, but he didn’t sound happy about it.

“You can predict the future?” she asked.

“I wish.”

“Then what?”

“I can read the emotions of animals and creatures.” He tucked the tips of his fingers into his pockets.

“Wow.” She attempted to wrap her mind around it. “That’s…”

“Weird, I know,” he growled. “Like I’m Tarzan or something. Holiday says I can shut it off, and that’s why I’m here. To learn how. But Holiday’s not thrilled about my quest. She thinks I’m going to be letting down some Fae god if I turn my back on my gift. But the Fae god can just go to hell. I didn’t ask for this. The only Fae in my life left me and Mom. Why the hell would I want to be like him?”

Kylie heard the pain in his voice and related in a big way. “You wouldn’t. I’m sorry.”

She meant it, too. Not just because she understood all about parental resentment right now, but because like him, if she turned out to be supernatural, she’d be shipping the gift back to sender. While Derek’s plight contained a lot of emotional baggage, Kylie’s contained a heck of a lot of questions. And the unknown brought on its own emotional issues. While she knew the truth could prove to be painful, she needed answers.

And standing in the middle of the woods, with the mixture of sun and shadows, feeling submersed in the supernatural world, she became determined to find those answers.

She met Derek’s gaze again. “Communicating with animals can’t be nearly as bad as … some other things.”

He kicked a rock into the stream. It splashed and seemed to blend in with the other woodsy noises. “Like seeing ghosts?” he asked, understanding more than she wanted him to.

“Among other things,” she said honestly. “I can’t imagine waking up and realizing I have to drink … blood.” Just the mention of the word reminded her of what Derek had done to get her name for this hour chat.

And she couldn’t let him do it. She didn’t know how to stop it, but she had to try.

She looked at her watch. “We should probably be heading back.”

Reaching over, he took her hand in his and turned her wrist over so he could see the time. The feel of his hand sent a sweet electrical current up her arm and it reminded her how close she had come to letting Derek kiss her. Or had she almost kissed him?

“We have a half hour,” he said, holding her hand.

She pulled away, recalling how his touch had controlled her emotions when she’d seen the snake. He’d probably saved her life, but that wasn’t the point. She didn’t like the thought of anyone trying to control her. Or manipulate her, either. “Yeah,” she said, “but we still need to see about how we’re going to get you out of giving blood.”

His expression darkened. “The deal’s already made, there’s no going back. And besides, it’s not an issue.”

“What if he turns you into a vampire?”

His eyes widened. “Oh, hell, you think I’m going to let him bite me? No way. It’s too risky and way too gay.”

She blushed, feeling ignorant. “Then how do you plan to do it?”

“The same way you give blood at a blood drive. With a sterile needle and an IV bag.”

She stood there staring at him, questions coming quicker than she could line them up to ask. “You’re going to a doctor’s office to get it done? How will—”

“No.” He laughed. “Most vampires carry their own supplies. They’re better than most nurses at finding veins. It’s one of the first things a vampire is taught. How to get blood without killing the donor.”

Had Della brought her own blood-draining equipment?
“How do you know how vampires…?”

“Feed? I’ve done it a couple of times.” His smile made her feel even more ignorant.

“You’ve given blood to a vampire before?”

He nodded. “Like I’ve been saying, it’s not a big deal.”

“Who? And how did you even know vampires existed?”

“Her name’s Ellie. We go to school together. And you’re forgetting that all supernaturals recognize each other.”

Yes, she had forgotten the whole eyebrow wiggling thing. And for a darn good reason, too. She didn’t “read” supernaturals, which gave her a little more hope that she wasn’t one of them. Then she wondered if she had any supernaturals in her school back home. Besides Lucas for that short time.

“How many are there?” she asked, even though she was afraid to hear the answer. “How many supernaturals are there compared to humans?”

“I think the consensus puts us a little less than one percent, but growing. Why?”

“Just wondering if I went to school with any.”

“You could have,” he said. “But not likely. Most supernaturals go to private schools or are home-schooled. For obvious reasons.”

“What reasons?” she asked.

“Species issues mostly. Most believe that they need to learn a different history. And most of them can afford it since they use their gifts to become financially well off.”

They?
Kylie noticed that Derek didn’t completely view himself as one of them, either. “So you went to a private school?”

He shook his head. “Dad bailed, remember?”

“Yeah.” She sifted through her other questions. “What about the girl you know? Ellie, right? She went to your school?”

“She’s a recently turned vampire,” he said. “She hasn’t gone to live with her kind yet.”

Kylie thought about Della. “Do they all have to go live with their kind?”

“Not from what Ellie said. But I know it isn’t easy for her to blend in with the normals.”

Kylie heard the sense of caring in his voice and her curiosities took a U-turn away from Della’s problems, away from the whole supernatural business to a more personal business.

“Are you and Ellie close?” Embarrassed at how she almost sounded jealous, Kylie shook her head, but she couldn’t stop from continuing. “Duh, you gave her your blood. Of course you’re close.”

He arched his brows and another one of those almost smiles tickled his lips and made his eyes brighter. “Is this your way of asking if we’re still together?” The green twinkle in his eye said he liked her interest.

“No.” At least she didn’t think it was, but oh heck, she wasn’t completely sure.

“We broke up about six months ago.”

“Why?” she asked, and then just as quickly wished she could take it back.

“She met a werewolf.” Resentment laced his voice.

“Not Lucas?” Kylie asked.

“No, not him.”

Kylie remembered. “I didn’t think vampires and werewolves got along.”

“Neither did the Hatfields and the McCoys.”

A soft wind blew and a strand of her hair whipped across her face and caught between her lips.

He brushed it back. The tips of his fingers whispered over her cheek, causing all sorts of tingles to run down her neck. She caught his hand, felt the tingles intensify, and then released it just as fast.

“What happened earlier?” she asked before she lost her nerve. “When you touched me.”

He stuck both his hands into his jeans pockets, as if he were trying to fight his temptation to touch her again.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said, but she could tell he was lying.

She shook her head. “Don’t lie to me, Derek. When you touched me, you changed how I felt and we both know it.”

He looked shocked that she’d figured that out. “I just stopped you from being afraid so you wouldn’t do something stupid and get bit.”

“So when you touch someone, you can control their emotions?”

“Yeah,” he said as if wasn’t a big deal.

But it was a big deal, to her anyway. How much of the whole attraction she felt for him was even real? How much of it was because he made her feel it?

Something cold and hard wrapped itself around her heart. “Did you do it before?”

“Do what before?” He looked truly confused now, or was he just faking it?

“Mess with my emotions.”

He studied her. “Why are you getting angry?”

“Did you do this, Derek? Did you make me feel the way I feel about you?”

He looked insulted. “No,” he said with conviction, but she wasn’t convinced.

She poked him in his chest. “So help me, Derek, if—”

He caught her hand and she flinched.

“What? Now you’re afraid of me?” He shook his head. “First you justified what you feel for me because I look like your old boyfriend. And now you think I’m messing with your emotions. Why is it so hard to think that you could just like me?”

“Because you have the power to do it, don’t you? You have the power to make me like you.” She took a deep breath and continued. “Have you ever used this to convince a girl to do things she normally wouldn’t?”

His eyes tightened. “Wow,” he said in an accusing tone. “You are just looking for a reason to dislike me, aren’t you? That boyfriend of yours really did a number on you.”

Maybe.
But that was beside the point. She was almost certain that her feelings now had more to do with Derek than Trey. The simple truth was that liking Derek was going to complicate the next few months. She had enough crap on her plate, and she didn’t need this, too.

“You didn’t answer my question,” she said, standing a little straighter. “Have you ever used this power on a girl to get what you wanted from her?”

His frown grew almost angry, but she could swear she spotted a bit of guilt in his eyes, too. He looked away.

“If you don’t answer me, I’ll assume the worst,” she said.

“Fine.” He faced her. “I’ve used it to get a girl’s attention, but I’ve never used it to get her to sleep with me. That would be rape. And I don’t care how much you want to dislike me, Kylie, I won’t pretend I’m something bad just to make you feel better.” He waved back to the path through which they’d come. “I think we should probably get back.”