Captivate Me (Book One: The Captivated Series) (20 page)

“So it’s possible for a human to have
traces of angel, but not enough to make them a
half-breed?”

“Right. Half-breed is just a term we
use, or hybrid. It’s really our way of saying the angelic blood
inside us is strong enough to make us immortal. It doesn’t
necessarily mean we’re half angel. For instance, Piper is
one-fourth – her grandfather was an angel, but the gene wasn’t
watered down enough to make her mortal. That’s why we get a sample
before we open someone’s eyes to our world – we have to make sure.
Sometimes we have the fortune of getting a vial, and sometimes Kai
has to use other unconventional methods.”

I shuddered. I didn’t want to know.
Speaking of ‘unconventional methods,’ guilt crept in. Because of
me, Nurse Plunkett had been shoved in a closet somewhere. So Kai
could get a vial of my blood. “But if I’m a half-breed, or hybrid,
Sam should be too, right? We have the same parents. He should be
half like me.”

I could tell by the way his shoulders
lifted with a sigh that he didn’t want to elaborate, and my hope
deflated a little. “Unfortunately, that’s not always the
case.”

“Oh.”

“For instance, Iris’s older sister is
in her mid-sixties. She’s sick with cancer, and that’s how she and
Kai met; Kai was one of the nurses overseeing her care. He noticed
Iris’ aura and knew she was more than likely a hybrid.”

“Oh… so he tested her blood and found
out she was.”

“Right. So in other words, one sibling
can get the gene while the other won’t – like how one sibling can
have blue eyes and the other have brown. It’s never a for sure
thing.”

Damn.
Please be a hybrid
,
Sam,
I prayed, although
I knew that
I
was
being self-centered. He might not want to be immortal; he might
consider it a blessing that he’s not. I wanted him to be for my own
reasons – I couldn’t picture my life without him. “So her sister’s
sick? Will she…”

“She’s terminal. The doctors say she
only has a few weeks left now. Iris keeps in contact with her
nurses. Every now and then she’ll go to the closest town and call
to check in.”

Something seemed odd about that to me.
If her sister were so close to death, why wouldn’t she be there
with her? I suppose everyone deals with death and loss their own
way. But if it were Sam, I’d be there until his last breath. I
would want my face to be one of the last ones he saw.

I tried not to let this change my view
of her. Who was I to judge? “So you guys just go from school to
school, then?” I asked. “Looking for hybrids?”

“Yeah. Apparently Kai had many hybrid
friends, since he could tell them apart from mortals, and one of
the older hybrids – I think he said he was around three-hundred
years old – had told stories of witches ruthlessly seeking their
blood. And Iris was so mortified by it, she decided to seek out
more of our kind to educate them and offer for them to live in a
colony for protection.”

“And obviously Kai decided to
follow.”

“Right. And they started searching at
random high schools. And if you think about it, most schools are on
big plots of land surrounded by trees. Makes it easy for us to set
up camp and stay hidden even if we don’t use the
enchantments.”

“Do you ever find any younger hybrids?
Like elementary age?”

“We try not to bother. A parent
wouldn’t part with their child so they could come live with
us.”

True.
“Do the witches ever hunt for them, though?” As the imagery
of a witch harming a child tore through my mind, I
flinched.

“According to Kai’s friend, the
witches only hunt the older hybrids. He thinks they need the heart
of a mature one. Kids are safe until they hit puberty.”

Thank God.
And thank God we were headed to Ireland next. Sam
hit puberty about two years ago.

Gabriel and Legolas came
to a stop, and I looked straight ahead at the school. Only a few
yards of trees separated us from view.
Dang.
Our time was over already, and
all I’d done was pepper him with question after
question.

After tying his horse to a tree, he
extended a hand up to help me off. His expression was unreadable
again – a guard he’d put up? What gloomy place had I sent his mind
to? I cursed myself for bringing up so many uncomfortable
things.

We now stood face to face, but his
eyes lacked their usual sparkle. I wrapped my arms around my waist;
without the heat of a fire, the air felt intrusive and
frigid.

“Cold?” he asked and rubbed my
shoulders to warm me.

“I’m okay,” I fibbed.

“I should have offered you a jacket
before we left,” he said, chiding himself. A frown settled into the
lines of his face. Even sad, he looked like a god.

“I’m fine,” I insisted and swept back
a lock of his hair that had fallen into his eyes. Touching him
elevated my temperature, and I didn’t have to fight the shivers as
much.

He ran a hand through his hair
self-consciously. “I need to get Piper to cut it again,” he
mumbled.

“Don’t do that!”

There it was – the sparkle in his eyes
had returned. “You like it this way? She’s always trying something
different with our hair. I just let her do whatever.”

I smiled, but forced a mock serious
tone. “Tell her if she values her life, she’ll leave it
alone.”

A laugh rolled out of him. “I’ll let
you two battle that out.”

“I’ll win.” My lips pursed,
determined.

“I have no doubts,” he
said wrapping his arms around me. As he held me there, protecting
me from the cold and savoring these last few moments, I breathed in
his scent; it had a sweet, clean smell. Like honeysuckle and soap.
So
him
– this
deity of perfection that brought me flowers every night.

“Good,” I said into his shoulder.
“Because when I want something, I go for it.”

“Really now?” he said and pulled his
shoulders back to meet my eyes – his sparkling blue to my green. I
titled my chin up – our faces a breath away. This time, Kai wasn’t
here to interrupt.

“
Really.”

His eyes trailed down to my lips, and
my body hummed, desire clenching low in my belly. I wanted to push
him against a tree and let our passion take over, go where it
wanted, but I also didn’t want him to think I was easy. Our first
kiss should be sweet. A good first kiss.

He made the first move, his soft, warm
lips fusing to mine, and the yearning that had been coursing
through me since I’d met him cried to break free.

Screw restraint.

I took a fistful of his shirt and
backed against the tree behind me. He followed, his body now
pressed to mine, a low groan escaping him. The kiss deepened, and
he hoisted me up, my legs wrapping around his waist. We were all
hands, lips and moans. It was as though we’d broken a dam; the
water that was rushing out couldn’t be controlled. Our hunger for
each other was an uncontainable force. No thoughts. No reason. Just
a flooding of electricity and racing hearts.

My hands tangled in his
hair, my head tilting back. He trailed kisses down my neck to my
collar bone. I moved my hips against him, wanting him.
Needing
him.

With a gentle touch, he moved my head
to look at him again. We were both panting, reeling. “Whoa,” was
all he said, awestruck.

Yeah,
whoa
. I wanted more, so I leaned back in.
He pecked me sweetly and pulled his head away.

I groaned, unsatisfied.

“Kat, my love,” he said, almost
chuckling, but with a strained expression, fighting against his
unquenched thirst for more of me. He swept his thumb beside my eye
and swallowed as if to suppress his hormonal urges. “Let’s take it
easy.”

I couldn’t help the pout that formed.
I didn’t want to take it easy.

“We have an eternity for this,” he
soothed and kissed my forehead. “We can take our time.”

I sighed, coming back down from the
best high I’d ever experienced. “Fine,” I said, almost
petulant.

He chuckled again, went back in for
one last, long kiss, and then set me on the ground. “Oh, my sweet
girl,” he said, pulling me into another embrace. Our heated moment
left me flush and borderline sweltering in this long-sleeve
sweater, but I didn’t care; I could have stood here like this with
him forever. “I hate that you have to go back already. It feels
like ages since I’ve seen you.”

“It’s only been a day,” I teased, but
I understood where he was coming from completely. My heart would
ache until I saw him again tomorrow night.

He rested his cheek against my hair.
“I’ve already lived decades without you, and now that I’ve found
you, every day apart feels like forever.”

I sank into his body, my heart
expanding. How was I so lucky to find him? “I know what you mean,”
I whispered.

Squeezing me tighter, he kissed the
top of my head, and we begrudgingly pulled apart. I had to get
going – traces of pink were seeping over the horizon.
Sunrise.

“And when I see you
tomorrow…” he said, brushing my hair behind my ear and tracing his
fingertips down the side of my neck to my shoulder, drinking in
every curve and bend, as if he were memorizing my silhouette so he
could carve a bust in my image. A shiver raced through me, and I
briefly closed my eyes to savor the touch of his fingertips against
my skin. Tomorrow really did seem like forever away. “…I want to
learn more about
you
.”

I flushed. “I kind of monopolized our
conversation with questions, didn’t I?”

He swept the back of his
fingers over my cheek. “I love that you’re so eager to know about
me and my family. But I want to know more about you – what you
like,
your
family. All I know about you so far is that you’re an artist,
a half-breed like me…” He fondly glanced at my lips. “And the cute
way your lips press together when you blush.”

I pressed them tighter, my cheeks now
the color of beets.

“
Here,” he said with one
last swipe over my cheek and reached for a nearby flowery bush. He
picked a dainty bud, waved his fingers over it so it would bloom
and handed it to me. “I can’t let you leave without one,” he said
with a lopsided smile. “I guess it’s kind of our thing
now.”

“Thanks,” I said, holding it to my
chest and fighting the urge to jump him again like a feral,
love-starved tigress. He really needed to stop being so damn sweet
and irresistible if he wanted me to ‘take it easy.’

“And here,” he said and
reached inside his pocket. He handed me a folded piece of
paper.
Another note?
“Open it when you get to the wood line.”

“Okay…” I said, eyeing him skeptically
as I grinned like an idiot. What was he up to?

His eyes darted to the school behind
me; some secret thought stole the light from them again.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

He shook his head, his hands shoving
inside his pockets. “Nothing,” he said unconvincingly.

My hand snapped to my hip. “I’m not
buying that. What’s wrong?”

He hesitated, and his eyes
dropped.

“Gabe… what is it?”

“That boy,” he finally forced through
stiff lips.

That boy?

“The blond one I saw you with the
other day playing kickball. I’d seen you with him before in the
courtyard.”

Oh, God.
Levi
. My stomach
lurched. I’d never thought about him seeing us.
Shit.
What could I say? ‘Don’t
worry, he’s only my boyfriend. But I’m breaking up with him, I
promise.’

Gabriel cut his eyes up at me, and he
must have read the agony on my face. He cupped my cheek, stepping
closer. “Never mind,” he said. “If you don’t want to talk about it,
that’s fine. I didn’t mean to ruin the moment.”

I shook my head. “No, I
pressed you to tell me what was wrong.” I nestled my cheek into his
hand. “Just know that
you’re
the one I want.”

“I know.”

The corner of my mouth
drew into a smirk. “I know you know. After that kiss, if you
didn’t
know, you’re an
idiot.”

His eyes danced with adoration.
“You’re even beautiful when you call me an idiot.”

I leaned in for an indulgent peck, and
turned for the school. “You know you don’t have to keep flattering
me,” I called over my shoulder. “I’m coming back tomorrow
regardless.”

“Okay fine, then,” he conceded. “No
more compliments.”

I paused, gaping in mock
hurt.

“See you tomorrow,
beautiful.”

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

___________________

Desperate