Dark Nebula (The Chronicles of Kerrigan) (23 page)

Carter
clear
ed
his throat
, interrupting her thoughts
. Rae blinked and turned her focus to the
concerned-faced
headmaster
.
Something
’
s off, or maybe wrong.

As the last of the students left the Oratory,
Carter stared
her down sternly
, his brows mashed together.
“Rae, I know you and
Devon
have become
quite
close.
I’m very concerned
.”

Ah crap!
Does he know about us?
Her
breath caught as she bit her lip.
Has
he seen
us
kiss, or
are we
acting too obvious?
She tried to remember. They’d been very cautious
since school started
.
She knew they would
not have to hide so much once she graduated and they were free, outside the walls of Guilder,
but for now, they still had to be
secretive
.
We worked so hard to keep it from getting out. What did we miss?

“S
-S
ir?”
Her
voice cracked.

“Th
at
photo you used for the presentation,
Devon
lent
it
to you, did he not?
No one is allowed to photograph
that
room.
It’s
a
very dated photo
,
but still
—
I’m going to have to let the Privy Council know.”

Rae’s heart
stuttered
in confused relief. She was
glad
their secret was
safe, but
now
she was
terrified
that
Devon
cou
ld be in trouble for something
he hadn’t even done. “Sir,
Devon
didn’t give it to me
.
Our group found
it
.”

“
What
?”

“I
—
Kraig
—
we found them as a group
,
at the
Scriptorium
,
last night
.
We went through a bunch of old books in the librar
ie
s and
—
and found it
stuff
ed
inside one of them. We didn’t know what it was
,
but figured it looked mysterious enough to
serve as a
good
representation
.”
Riddled with shame by how easily the lies fell from her lips, she was nevertheless determined not to hang Kraigan out to dry for the picture. After all, they were a group
.
If one of them screwed up, they all screwed up.
She
would
ask Kraigan about the picture later, in private.
“
Is it really real?
”

He didn’t answer her question.
“
You found it i
n the library?”
Carter
sounded unsure.

“Yes.
Devon
has
no idea.
He wouldn’t even help me when I asked him for information.
You know Mister
Rules
, he follows everything
…
by the book
and all that
.
” S
he
rolled her eyes,
glad
Devon
’s reputation prec
eded him.
Walking this fine line of truth and lie was tiring
. However, keeping their relationship safe was worth the effort
.

“Hmmm
—
It didn’t strike me as Devon
-
ish, but I had to ask.
He’s doing well at the academy
,
and I’m very pleased for him.
I’m glad this wasn’t a mistake o
n his
part, or yours
.” Not bothering to hide his relief,
Carter
flashed
her a
smile as he buttoned his suit coat.
“I’m not sure how you got i
t
,
though I don’t believe your story. I’m inclined not to make you tell me for now
. However,
if you
have some kind of
spying
tatù
and used it
, you’d better be careful. The Privy Council doesn’t take snooping lightly.” He scratched the slight stubble on his chin.

“Yes, sir.” Rae
thought quickly. “You’re the one who asked us to do the research.”
She chewed the skin beside her
thumbnail
.
“Why’d you give us the assignment in the first place?”

Carter leaned toward her “I need to weed out those I can’t trust. Who
we
can’t trust. The Privy Council suggested we try
—
a way to see who might know more than they should. I
guess it shouldn’t seem odd
that the most accurate
information
came from your group. I just assumed
Devon
—
”

“We got lucky.” Rae tried again. “We
had no idea the photo was legit
. It
just
looked
old and seemed perfect to use.”

“
Alright. Thanks for explaining. I
’ll see you tomorrow evening at the dance.”
He walked to the main doors
,
and held one open for her.
Rae slipped under his arm and dashed out into the sunshine.
Freedom!
It
felt like she
was in the grip of a caffeine rush
.
She was practically vibrating with tension.
She tried working off the nervous energy by running to the Refectory.

She headed straight for the sandwich
c
ue and grabbed her lunch.
Looking into the throng of noisy students in the cafeteria, she spied
Molly
sitting
with Maria,
Desiree,
and Julian at the far side of the dining hall.
Molly waved
her over when she caught Rae’s eye
.

“What
’
d
Carter
want?” Molly asked.

“Nothing.
He asked about the photo of the Privy Council meeting room.” Rae noticed Julian’s hands freeze midway to his mouth.
He didn’t make a comment, but Rae knew what he was thinking.

Rae used Maria’s telepathy tatù to fill him in.
They aren’t from
Devon
.
One of my partners found them.
I’m not sure where, but I plan on finding out.
The idiot almost got me into huge trouble!

Julian’s facial expression relaxed and he continued
eating—
giving only a slight nod to confirm
that
he had
heard and understood her explanation
.

Molly, however, harbored no interest in the situation what so ever.
“That’s it?
He wasted serious dance-discussion-time during our lunch break, for that?

Rae tried not to roll her eyes.
She loved Molly dearly
,
but sometimes
her
focus on the importance of social events
got a bit out of hand.
Without
answering
,
she
turned
to Maria
.

“We’ve barely had a chance to talk since school started.
How are you?”
Rae squinted at
her friend, disturbed by her unusual pallor
.
Maria had hardly even touched her lunch.

“I’m fine.” Maria picked at her salad, not meeting Rae’s eyes.

Everything alright?
Rae tried the inside approach, knowing Maria felt more comfortable this way.
You’re not dizzy or thinking you might pass out again?

I
don’t
think so
.
I just felt
off
when class ended.
I’d better not be coming down with anything.
I don’t want to miss the dance tomorrow night.

Do you think it’s the flu
?
Instinct made Rae want to move slightly away
. S
he didn’t want to be sick for the dance
,
either.
However, she also didn’t want to hurt Maria’s feelings.

No. I j
ust felt really weird.
I
t’s gone now.
I
probably just need to make sure I’m drinking enough
.

Rae nodded.
Have you gone back to the doctor since school started?

No. I’ve been completely fine so I never bothered to make an appointment
.
I will after the dance now.

“
Rae
,” Desiree interrupted, “what’re you doing tonight?
Molly wants to go to a movie.
You know, chill before tomorrow’s dance.
You want to come?”

“I have a study session with
Devon
.”

Julian coughed,
pretending to choke on a bite.

She shot him a warning glance.
Could you be a little more obvious?
“
He’s mentoring me on the whole tatù background thing,” she said to Desiree.

“Can I come
—
to the movie
?”
Julian
wiped his mouth with a napkin.
Rae didn’t miss the smile
he was trying to hide
.

“Sure! Can I
ride
with you?” Desiree said.

Rae giggled. “Make him take you out for a pizza after. He really needs the train—I mean extra calories.
He loves late night snacking.
”
Take that, Julian.
Her words wiped the smile off his face.

Despite
her
close encounter with Carter
and
a
pressing need to hunt Kraigan down and grill him about the photo
,
Rae
was pleased with the
turn of events
.
She
would
be able to hang out with
Devon
alone
tonight
,
and even Julian wouldn’t be knocking on the door to go for
“
pizza
”
.
S
uddenly
,
s
he couldn’t wait for afternoon classes to be over.

Chapter 1
3

The Fire Inside

R
ae lounged on
the couch, eyes on
Devon
,
while he
work
ed
at
the
laptop
on his desk. They
had
spent the early part of the evening talking about her father and his legacy
—
h
ow every tatù individual knew of him and th
at
so many
still
feared him
—
h
ow
the Privy Council had been scrambling for the last ten years or more to hunt
down any of his co-conspirators,
and the importance of locating and securing his mind-control machine
.
Rae couldn’t believe
people
actually wanted to carry on his work to create chaos and disorder in their world.
Would it ever stop feeling like her father’s actions were her responsibility?

R
ight now, she wanted to
forget about the weight on her shoulders and just
feel like a
typical
teenager.

Yesterday’s conversation
with Desiree played back in her mind.
W
hat might happen if
I
tried Desiree’s
tatù
on
Devon
?
Nervous,
she
played with the
inner strings
of her tatùs
.
I don’t even know if it will work.

Madly typing away,
Devon
’s fingers froze
.
Embarrassed,
Rae
knew
she had
just hit him with the tatù
.

Staring at
his idle fingers, she squinted and tried to clear her thoughts
.
I need to erase what I just did.
She inhaled deeply.
What had Desiree said? You can’t force the feelings.
She
let her eyes travel up
Devon
’s body to his face.
He has the same desires as me. He’s wrestling with the same urges to be close.
She swallowed
.
I wonder if Desiree’s ever tried this on herself and someone? She sai
d other
people
’
s emotions are off the charts but what about her own on someone she likes
?
Amazed
,
she
could
picture what
Devon
felt
and how strong his longings were.
H
e had
thought about
the two of them
together a
lot
.

It made her skin tingle.
A
trembling she
had
never felt before started
deep in her belly
.
She swallowed,
letting her gaze drift upwards
. Once their gazes met, they couldn’t look away from each other.
S
he
couldn’t stop her
train of thought, wondering
what it would feel like to have
his hands on her
and
his mouth on h
ers for more than just stolen kisses
.

Devon
pressed his lips together
.
Rae
was
fully
aware of his thoughts.
How her lips would feel brushing against his, her warm breath on his neck.
S
he
saw
the passion
build
in his eyes.

He
stood and
walked over to
where
Rae
sat.
Slowly, h
e
knelt down between her knees
, his eyes never leaving her face
.
His palms
rested
on the top
s
her thighs
, sliding
slowly
up
wards
.

Rae
felt
the
warmth
of his hands through
the material of
her skirt.
The
new burning sensation
deep in her abdomen spread to her legs and grew even stronger
.
It was so
intense, she forgot how to talk
.

They stared intently at each other, neither moving.

This has got to be love.
“
How
could anyone think us
being
together could be wrong
?”
Rae
sensed
Devon
’s thoughts as she spoke softly.
Any shred of duty or responsibility flew out the window
for him.

He slid his hands up to her waist.
She watched his face and knew the heat from her body through her thin blouse drove him deeper into the pit of desire.
Desiree’s tatù was amazing at showing what they were afraid to admit to each
other
.
Both of them were
defenseless
.

She leaned forward as
Devon
drew towards her.
S
he
closed her eyes
as
Devon
’s warm breath
tickle
d
her
throat and
face
, sending her senses reeling
.
It felt like he was already caressing her with kisses and their lips hadn’t even touched.
She
licked
her lips in anticipation, knowing this kiss would be different
from
any they
had
shared
previously.

Their mouths touched and the warm sensation
s
from before
erupted into an inferno
inside Rae
.
H
er fingers went straight into
Devon
’s
hair with a need to pull him closer.
She had
never felt this fire before and instinct told her only
Devon
would be able to smo
lder the flames.

Devon
pushed himself off the floor
to the couch
and
gently pushed Rae down, leaning into her but applying no weight.
Neither could
seem to get close enough.
He
unbuttoned
part of
Rae’s blouse, the thin material pro
ving to be a thicker barrier tha
n they
wanted
.
She
wondered
what it would
feel
like to have
her skin against his.

Her
hands drifted from his hair to feel t
he hard muscles on his
chest
.
She caressed the
taunt
abdominal muscles
on his stomach
, enjoying the sensation
s
as he quivered
.
His reaction to her touch made her feel powerful.

Devon
groaned as her fingers grazed along his rib cage
. Involuntarily, her fingers curled,
her nails
scraping
against
his shirt
.
He
pulled his lips away from Rae’s, tracing his hot tongue against
her neck and collarbone.

In the blink of an eye,
something change
d
in
Devon
’s passion.
His head hovered close to her neck but he didn’t touch her. Hot breath turned to cool air when
Devon
moved
slightly
away from
Rae.

“What little resistance I’ve left is going to disappear if you keep doing that.”

“
Wha
—
?
”
Rae
cried
softly, her fingers grabbing
the
belt loops
of his jeans
to
pull him back tight against her.
But it was too late. Cool air had allowed reality to crash the party.

Devon
grabbed a hold of her hands with one of his and held them tight.
Bringing them to his mouth
,
he kissed them lightly with his soft lips.
“
Sweetie
, this is going to lead somewhere further than I think
either
of us
is
prepared to go.”
He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, caressing her
jawline
.
“I don’t know what’s going on tonight, but it feels different.”

Frustrated, Rae sighed and pulled herself up to rest on her elbows
.
“What’s wrong with messing around a little?”

“Nothing. However, something weird’s going on
inside of me tonight
–like the volume’s
just
gone full blast
on my feelings for you
.”

Do I tell him about
Desiree’s tatù?
“I don’t think anything’s wrong.
We really like each other.”
A twinge of guilt swept her.

He smiled.
“Is that
your head or your body talking
?”
His kind eyes melted her frustration.

“My heart.”

Devon
sighed and picked Rae up to cradle her in his lap.
K
iss
ing
her gently on the forehead,
his mouth traveled to
her nose and
lingered
on her lips.
H
is voice
was
gentle but mature.
“
Let’s not rush things. I
—
I think if something’s this good, it’s worth taking it slowly.”

Her face grew hot, and this time not from their closeness. She
pulled her hands out of his and began picking away at the pink nail
polish. Her words
rushed
out
, “I’ve got a bit of a confession to make. I kinda tried Desiree’s
tatù
.”
She cringed, waiting for him to push her off his lap.

He gave a low
,
husky laugh
, his chest bouncing against her.
“
That’s some
tatù!
You’d bet
ter not
try
it
on anyone else.”
He touched the tip of her no
se with a
light
tap of his finger
.

A moment later, he
set her down
on the vacant spot beside him,
then stood and began pacing.
“
That tatù
’
s dangerous…
What if
we
had
slip
ped
up?” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Y-Y
ou’re not even seven
teen yet
!
I
mean
—
what if things got really out of hand?” He mumbled quietly but Rae easily caught his words, “
I know
I’m not ready to become a father
.”