New Revelations: Second Sight Book Two (31 page)

Declan pulled back and glared at her. He said dryly, “I think this is the first time
a girl
has ever called me the wrong name in bed.”

She pushed him back and scrambled into a sitting position. Leaning against the headboard of the bed, she sighed. “This isn’t right.
Nothing can happen here.”

“Think it’s a little too late to say that,” he replied.

Turning her head, she gazed out of the hotel window. “I’m sad, Declan. A girl has died. But I can’t use you to push away that sadness.”

He rested his hand over the top of hers. “It’s not using me if I’m a willing participant.”

She bit her lip and forced her gaze back to his face. She whispered, “It’s not only that and you know it.”

“What it’s about then? Your
boyfriend
? I he
ard you on the phone all night—p
ractically begging him to call you. Did he ever get back to you?”

She shook her head in response. “No, but that doesn’t matter. I may not know where things st
and with Jared
, but I still care about him. I can’t just hook up with you and pretend he doesn’t exist.”

“He’
s not right for you. We could be really great together. I’m sure of it. Seeing so many of your memories makes me feel like I know you better than anyone else,” he
professed
.

“I can’t do this right now…maybe you should go.” Her voice shook as she brought her knees to her chest. She hung her head down and felt a new emotion added to the plethora experienced tonight. Shame.

Kate
crawled under the blanke
ts and shut her eyes. She forced
an eye open after a few minutes passed and she hadn’t heard Declan leave
the room
. He sat on the edge of the bed staring down at her with a baffled expression.

“
What are you doing? I’m serious, Declan, I’m sorry if I lead you on…”

“Settle down and just move over,” he commanded.

“Huh?”

“Don’t worry I’m not going to try anything.” His voice was laced with sarcasm. “But there’s no way in hell I’m going to leave you alone. We’re still partners and I can’t have you falling apart.”

Kate
l
et out a long breath. “Ok
ay
.” There was no sense in arguing. A night alone in the hotel room with only CJ’s bloody visions
for company
sounded less than appealing.

Scooting over, Declan’s heavy form laid down next to her. She pulled the blanket closer and turned her back away from him. She wanted to say something to him, but found herself at a loss for words. Her regrets choked off the words and she
rested
next to him in silence. Soon, exhaustion dragged her under and she couldn’t fight off sleep any longer.

N
ot a single drop of alcohol had passed her lips,
yet she
woke up feeling
hung-over
. Although the sun had barely risen, it scorched her eyes as she lifted her head and looked out of the window. Her body ached and her head pounded. Even her ears were ringing.

As she gained consciousness, she realized it wasn’t her ears ringing. It was the phone
on the nightstand. She glanced over at it before her eyes landed on the form next to her. Declan was in a deep slumber lying on his belly and his hands over his head. She rose from the bed and dragged her feet over to the cell phone. “Hello,” she croaked.

“Jesus…Kate…I’m so sorry
. I can’t believe I missed your calls. It has been a hell of a twenty-fou
r hours. Are you ok
? What happened?”

Jared fired questions at her that Kate didn’t have the strength to answer. She clutched the phone and allowed the silence to stretch out
.

“Kate, are you there?” Jared’s concerned voice had an intoxicating effect on her. It made her feel
dizzy and regretful as the night’s events played
out in
her head
. She needed to put distance between herself and
Declan
’s sleeping form. Slipping into the bathroom, she gently closed the door.

“I’m here,” she murmured.

“I got your messages. I’m really sorry about Melanie. Of course, I was stuck at work and just got home. I didn’t have my phone with me all night. Talk about the worse freaking timing ever,” he said and swore colorfully.

Kate
willed herself to believe him. She didn’t want to
consider the notion
that he was lying and was actually with Nikki last night. He sounded sincere and
Kate
couldn’t imagine he was that talented of an actor.
“Jared, it’s six in the morning.”

“I know, Kate. We have so much to talk about.
Let’s not get into it right now,” he suggested.
“
Just tell me how you’re doing
.”

“It was horrible. The most gruesome and terrifying vision I ever had. I was in CJ’s head and I saw him torture and murder Melanie.” She felt tears threaten to surface again. “I can’t
stop seeing it over and over again.
I
needed
you last night. But you never called…”

Jared spoke softly. “Kate, I’m here now. Just come home.”

As much as she wished away the kiss with Declan, it
still was there. Choking off any anger she could possibly have over Jared’s disappearing act. Who was she to give him a hard time when she’d been making out with his nemesis only a few hours earlier?
It felt hypocritical and she couldn’t rush to judgment until she heard his explanation.

“I’m leaving soon,” she promised. She asked uncertainly,
“
Will you come over when I get back?”

“Of course and Kate…I’m sorry,” he stated.

Kate
wasn’t sure what
exactly he was apologizing for—
Melanie’s deat
h, their fight or him being MIA—
but figured she would find out soon enough. After saying goodbye, she disconnected the call and sat down on the edge of the toilet seat.
Her brain couldn’t
analyze
everything at that moment, but one thought gnawed at her. She had the strongest desire to be home
in
Franklin
and as far
away
as possible from this town.

Exiting the bathroom, she almost felt bad to wake up Declan and take the peaceful expression off of his face. As she shook his shoulder, he let out a moan. After a much more forceful push, he finally turned over and opened his eyes. “Don’t you look ravishing in the morning.”

She flushed and tried to smooth down her hair. A restless night was certain to mean bed head and bags under her eyes.
Without preamble, Kate stated,
“Jared called.”

His penetrating stare reminded her of the look her mom got when she was trying to solve a particularly c
hallenging crossword puzzle. “So, where was
Law and Order
last night?”

“Working,” she answered shortly.

His eyebrows shot up. “All night?”

She didn’t bothering addressing the disbelief in his voice. “Apparently.”

She sat down on the bed. Casting him a sideways
g
lance, she sighed. “We should probably talk about what happened.”

“Oh no, it’s way too early in the morning for this.” He sat up and stretched lazily. “First, we need copious amounts of coffee. And not the crap they give you at one and a half star motels in hick towns.”

“Dec…” she started uncertainly.

“Kate, whatever speech you have planned out in your head, I don’t need to hear it.
” He gave her an even look. “I’m a realist. I’ve seen visions of you with Jared.
It’s pretty damn obvious how you feel about him.”
He knew this, but had still tried to start something with her. It made Kate wonder if his feelings ran deeper for her than simple lust. Why else take the risk?

“Last night was confusing and I’m sorry if I u
sed you to forget about Melanie,
”
Kate apologized.

“Seriously, we don’t need to have a long drawn out discussion about the reasons I’m completely wrong for you,” he said with annoyance. “I’ll be fine, I promise. I’m not going home and crying over you as I listen to
Kelly Clarkson
.”

Kate
stiffened and stayed silent as he got out of the bed. After pu
tting on his shirt and shoes, Declan
walked over to her. “I’m going to get my things from my room. I’ll meet you in the lobby in twenty minutes.”

Kate
watched him go and decided for once to d
o the mature thing and not pursue him
. If Declan
would
rather not hash things out,
maybe
it was better to leave things unsaid. As much as they butt heads, she did still crave his friendship. The thought of hurting him tore at her. However, a bad judgment call last night didn’t mean she was ready to give up on Jared.

After picking up coffee and bagels for the road
at a local
Chambersburg
deli
, Declan and Kate lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. He kept his eyes fixed on the road while she pretended to be texting someone on her phone. In actuality, she was just pressing a bunch of letters
on the keypad
and then erasing them.

Briefly she spoke to her mom and summarized the night’s events. Her mother was horrified, but relieved Kate was on her way home. She promised to have chocolate cake and DVDs of Reese Witherspoon movies on hand to cheer her up. After telling her she loved her, Kate hung up.

About an hour into the drive back to
Franklin
, Declan let out exhaled noisily. “I don’t want to see you hurt, Kate. So just for the record, I would never tell anyone about last night.”

She gave him a sad smile. “Thanks for that. But it’s not necessary. I’m going to tell Jared what happened.”

“Why?”

“Because it wouldn’t be fair to
lie to hi
m,” she said with conviction.
“
If we stay together, there will always be a taint to our relationship. At least, if I try to explain things to him, maybe we can move on,” she said softly.

“Listen, if things don’t work out…I don’t mind being your rebound fling,” he cracked. “But I have to say one thing to you before I let you off the hook.”

“And what’s that?”

“I told you so,” he replied.
Before she could answer, he continued on. “I told
you
I could see the future and you were going to be kissing me before long.”

She groaned. “Thanks for not rubbing it in.”

“Cheer up,” he said and looked over at her pained expression. “I don’t think it’s possible for things to get any worse.”

“You got that right.”

After arriving back home and spending some time with her mom, Kate
asked if she could have
time alone with Jared at the house. Her mother agreed readily which made her suspect that she knew it was something serious and not just an excuse to get frisky with her boyfriend
without any parents hanging around
.

After calling Jared to let him know to come over, she attempted to come up with the words that could express her
remorse
over everything that happened in the last two days. All the phrases she came up with sounded trite and didn’t
communicate
how much she hated herself for kissing Declan. Jared’s absence was
odd
, but it still didn’t grant her license to lock lips with another guy. Looking over the wall of family portraits
and remembering how she felt when Jared was kissing her
there
, she willed herself back in time to
yesterday afternoon.

When the doorbell rang, Kate
felt like it was a death march to answer it. She tried to smile at Jared as she opened the door, but she knew it came out looking
contorted
. She lifte
d her eyes
and she had sudden doubts over her plans to confess to him. He looked tired and worried, but still deliciously handsome. His hair was falling over his forehead indicating his desperate need for a haircut.
He hadn’t shaved since she seen him last
either. Kate
badly
wanted to know how the roughness of his
skin would feel as he kissed away all of the hurting she felt inside of her
.

Jared must have read her mind because before she could utter a word, he was kissing her
passionately
. Although she should have stopped him, Kate allowed herself to get swept up in the moment. He lifted he
r by the hips
and held her as his mouth explored hers.
Kate could feel his heart racing through his shirt and she rested the palm of her hand against the hard muscles of his chest.
They were both breathing hard as she pulled away.