Shadows (9 page)

Bethany was totally okay with that.

“I have study hall,” he said, tilting his head just a little to the side, lining up their mouths. “And I charmed my way out of class. I wanted to see you.”

“You charmed your way?” Her eyes drifted shut. “How’d you do that?”

“I’ll never tell my secrets. You know better than that.” Dawson pulled back, capturing her free hand. Feeling like what she wanted—
needed
—had just been taken from her, she glared at him. His grin spread. “I wanted to have lunch with you.”

More than flattered, she let him pull her down the hall…away from the cafeteria, it appeared. “Hey, where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” He pulled her to his side, draping a heavy arm over her shoulders. The length of his body was fit against hers like it was made to be.

“Are we leaving campus?”

“Yep.”

“Are we going to get in trouble?”

He stopped, turning her in his arms. They were
almost
chest to chest, his arm still around her shoulders. “Questions, questions, Bethany. Trust me. You won’t get in trouble with me.”

She arched a brow. “Because of your charmer skills, huh?”

“Exactly.” He grinned.

Dawson continued on and she went with him, imagining what her mom would do if they got caught and the school called her. Mandatory pregnancy tests were in her future. She glanced at Dawson and decided it was worth it.

As they went out the back doors, she expected an alarm to sound and the rent-a-cop to come running at breakneck speed. When that didn’t happen and their feet hit pavement, she started to relax.

Dawson let go of her hand, picking up the pace as he dug his keys out of his pocket. “Where I want to take you is two blocks down. We can drive if you want.” He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes starting at the top of her head and drifting all the way to her toes.

Geez, when he looked at her like that, did he expect her to be able to communicate? She was mush now, useless mush.

His smile tipped higher, as if he knew what he was doing to her. “It’s kind of too cold for you.”

“What about you?”

He faced the front, flipping those keys around. “I’m fine. This is your world, though.”

She smiled at his back. “It is kind of co—” Her words ended in a startled shriek as her foot hit a thick patch of ice that hadn’t thawed. Before she knew it, her arms were flailing as she sought to keep her balance.

Not going to happen.

In those teeny, tiny seconds, she’d resigned herself to cracking her skull wide open in front of Dawson. An ambulance would need to be called. Mom would find out. Dad would get summoned from work. She’d be grounded, with a concussion. Or worse.

Warm arms surrounded her, catching her a half second before she went
splat
. And there she remained, suspended in air, her hair brushing the slick asphalt. Dawson’s face was inches from hers, eyes closed in concentration, face tight and grim.

Bethany couldn’t even speak around her shock. Dawson had been several feet ahead. For him to get to her so quickly was mind-boggling.

Breathless, she stared up at him and swallowed hard. “Okay. You have the reflexes of a cat on steroids.”

“Yeah,” he said, sounding almost as out of breath as she was. “You okay?”

Wetting her lips, she nodded and then realized he couldn’t see that. “Yes, I’m fine.”

Slowly straightening, he had her back on her feet before he released her. His eyes opened, and Bethany couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The irises were still a beautiful green, but the pupils…the pupils were
white
.

Without realizing it, she took a step forward. “Dawson…”

He blinked and his eyes were normal. “Yeah?”

Shaking her head, she didn’t know if her mind was messing with her or what. Pupils couldn’t be white. And he was fast—like Olympic gold medalist fast. And quiet, too. Quiet as a ghost on a weight loss program. And his friend could melt ping-pong balls…

She’d just been scratching the surface of Dawson. Knew his likes and dislikes and his love of hiking and being outside, discovered that stupid jokes made them both laugh and that he wasn’t big on TV. But the real stuff? His past? Nope.

Glancing at her bed, she stared down at Phillip. He’d wanted to watch her paint after school and had fallen asleep on her bed. Now he was all curled up like a little lima bean, his thumb in his mouth and his cherub face peaceful.

A flash of white light shot across her laptop as the screensaver kicked on. It was a moving image of falling stars.

Sitting down beside her brother, she stared at the screen. The white was intense, consuming. Like Dawson’s pupils had been. But she’d been seeing things, right? Stress-induced reaction caused by nearly sucking face with the icy pavement. There was no logical explanation for what she’d seen afterward. Not that it really mattered. He could be a llama in disguise and she’d still be…fascinated by him.

She was falling for Dawson in spite of the fact that she knew there were things he was hiding from her. Falling hard. But he wasn’t the only one holding back. If Bethany was being honest with herself—which she was—she had to admit that she had been holding back, too.

Rolling onto her side, she grabbed her phone. A master plan formed in her mind as she sent Dawson a quick text, inviting him over to her house on Saturday.

His response was immediate.

What time?

Now she just needed to break the news to her parents.

The old farmhouse came into view, rising up against the gray skies of early April, and he saw three cars parked out front. One was a Porsche, which he knew belonged to her uncle.

Dawson had been surprised when she’d asked him last night if he wanted to come over. From what he’d gathered, her parents would flip if she brought a boy home. But here he was.

He parked the car and climbed out, smoothing his hands over his jeans. Probably should’ve worn something nicer. Not that he met a lot of human parents, since his interactions with human girls didn’t get this far.

Stopping in front of the door, he let out a long breath. Sneaking out so that Dee didn’t question where he was going had been the hard part. Parents would be a piece of cake.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Mom and Dad will be so proud that she brought home an alien.

Before he could knock on the door, it opened, revealing a tall, slender woman who looked waaay too young to be Bethany’s mom. Eyes that matched Bethany’s met his. The woman blinked and looked like she wanted to take a step back.

“You must be Dawson,” she said, placing a hand against her chest.

Dawson smiled. “Yes, ma’am. I’m here to see Bethany.”

Footsteps pounded down the stairs, cutting off Mrs. Williams’s response. Bethany appeared behind her mom, eyes wide. She wiggled around her, grabbing Dawson’s hand. She pulled him inside.

“Mom, meet Dawson. Dawson, meet Mom.”

Her mom arched a brow. “That’s not how you typically introduce people, Bethany.”

“Works for me,” she quipped, tugging him toward the stairs.

A man stepped out from what appeared to be a living room, a remote control in his hand and a confused expression on his face. “Uh…”

“And that’s Dad. Little butt—er, Phillip is taking a nap.” Over her father’s shoulder was a frail, thin wisp of a man. Dawson almost didn’t recognize him from the few times he’d seen the doctor around town. “And that’s my uncle.”
Dawson gave them a wave. “It’s nice to meet—”

“We’re going upstairs.” She started for the steps, shooting him a look that had him grinning.

“Keep the door open,” her mom called from the bottom.

“Mom,” Bethany whined, cheeks flushed. “It’s not like that.”

Dammit. He wanted it to be
like
that
and then some. Her mother repeated the order again, and Bethany pulled him down the hallway.

“I’m so sorry. My mom thinks whenever a boy is in my bedroom that must mean we’re making out or something.” She dropped his hand, opening her door. “It’s so embarrassing.”

Dawson stepped around her, scanning her bedroom. Music played on low from her laptop. There wasn’t much going on, just the basics, with the exception of the easel sitting in front of the window. “Do you have boys in your bedroom a lot?”

She laughed as she skirted around him. “Oh, yeah, all the time. It’s like a train station in here.”

His brows shot up. He couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.

Seeing his expression, she laughed again. He loved that sound—loved that she laughed so much. “I’m joking,” she said, sitting down on the bed. She patted the spot next to her. “Actually, you’re the first boy to be in my bedroom.”

A rush of possessiveness hit him hard. Ignoring it, he sat beside her and leaned back, watching her from behind hooded eyes. “Well, you
are
new still. Unless you work fast, I’d hope I’m the first guy.”

She twisted around, sitting cross-legged. “I bet you’ve been in
many
, many girls’ bedrooms.”

He shrugged one shoulder.

Her eyes narrowed. “Come on, with someone who looks like you, there’s probably a line of girls hoping to take you home.”

“So?” He reached out, tugging on the hem of her jeans. “I’m here with you, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, you are.” She frowned. “Sometimes I wonder why.”

Dawson stared at her a moment, then laughed. She couldn’t be serious. There was no way she didn’t know how pretty she was or how her laugh drew people to her.

Her frown deepened. “Are you laughing at me?”

“Yes,” he replied. He shot forward, moving faster than he should have, and caught her hand. “You can’t tell me you’re surprised that I’m here. I’ve been your shadow since the first day you arrived.”

Beth’s eyes dropped to where his hand wrapped around hers. After a moment, she settled down. “I know I’m not ugly, but you’re…you’re…”

A grin pulled at his lips. “I’m what?”

Crimson stained her cheeks, and his grin spread into a smile. She pulled her hand free, but he didn’t think she was mad. “You know what you are,” she said, reaching over and picking up a large album. “Anyway, I found this old photo album. You want to look at it?”

He leaned back on his elbows. “We can do whatever you want.”

Her lashes lifted, and he felt as if he’d been punched in the stomach when their eyes met. No. Not that. Like when he shed his human skin and took his real form. That rush of pure electricity and power when his being became light.