Read Onyx for Free Online Page A

ran a finger over it. “Does it hurt?” I shook my head. It just itched like crazy. She dropped my hand. “All you did was get your blood taken?”
    “Yeah,” I said, staring at my arm.
    “That’s really weird, Katy. It’s like you had some kind of reaction to something. Let me get some aloe. That might help.”
    “Sure.” I frowned at my arm. What could’ve done this?
    Dee returned with a jar of the cool gunk. It helped with the itching, and after I tugged my sleeve back down, she seemed to forget about it. I hung out with her for the next couple of hours, watching her destroy one pot after another. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt when Dee leaned too close to a bowl she was heating and accidentally set her shirt on fire. She’d raised one brow at my larger chest as if to say she’d like to have seen me avoid the same mistake, sending me into another fit of giggles.
    When she ran out of chocolate and plastic spatulas, Dee finally admitted defeat. It was after ten, and I said good-bye as I headed home to get some rest. It had been a long first day back at school, but I was glad I’d headed over and ended it hanging with Dee.
    Daemon was crossing the road just as I shut the front door behind me.
    In less than a second, he was on the top step. “Kitten.”
    “Hey.” I avoided his extraordinary eyes and face, because, well, I was having a real hard time not recalling what his mouth had felt like on mine earlier. “Where, um, so what have you been doing?”
    “Patrolling.” He stepped onto the porch, and even though I was busy staring at the crack in the wood floor, I could feel his gaze on my face and the heat from his body. He stood close, too close. “Everything is all quiet on the western front.”
    I cracked a smile. “Nice reference.”
    When he spoke, his breath teased the loose hair around my temple. “It’s my favorite book, actually.”
    My head jerked toward his, narrowly missing a collision. I hid my surprise. “I didn’t know you knew how to read the classics.”
    A lazy smirk appeared, and I’d swear he managed to get closer. Our legs touched. His shoulder brushed my arm. “Well, I usually prefer books with pictures and small sentences, but sometimes I step out of the box.”
    Unable to help it, I laughed. “Let me guess, your favorite kind of picture book is the one you can color in?”
    “I never stay in the lines.” Daemon winked. Only he could pull that off.
    “Of course not.” I looked away, swallowing. Sometimes it was too easy to fall into the easy banter with him, too damn easy to imagine doing this with him every night. Teasing. Laughing. Getting in way over my head. “I’ve got…to go.”
    He swung around. “I’ll walk you home.”
    “Um, I live right there .” Not like he didn’t know that. Duh.
    That lazy smirk spread. “Hey, I’m being a gentleman.” He offered his arm. “May I?”
    Laughing under my breath, I shook my head. But I gave him my arm. The next thing I knew, he scooped me up into his arms. My heart leaped into my throat. “Daemon—”
    “Did I tell you I carried you all the way back to the house the night you were sick? Thought that was a dream, eh? Nope. Real.” He went down one step as I stared wide-eyed at him. “Twice in one week. We’re making this a habit.”
    And then he shot off the porch, the roar of the wind drowning out my surprised squeal. The next second, he was standing in front of my door, grinning down at me. “I was faster the last time.”
    “Really,” I said slowly, dumbfounded. My cheeks felt numb. “You…going to put me down?”
    “Mmm.” Our eyes met. There was a tender look in his that warmed and frightened me. “Been thinking about our bet? Wanna give in now?”
    And he totally ruined that tender moment. “Put me down, Daemon.”
    He placed me on my feet, but his arms were still around me, and I had no idea what to say. “I’ve been thinking.”
    “Oh, God…” I murmured.
    His lips twitched. “This bet