Demonically Tempted (Frostbite 2)

He arched an eyebrow so arrogantly. “Others would disagree with you.”

Not like I really cared, but I indulged him. “What others?”

He huffed an exasperated breath. “Do you really believe you are the only one with these special gifts?” Until you came along, I did. “I came here not because of Max and this ridiculous notion that you need help discovering your gifts. I came here because I was asked by someone who holds an interest in you.”

I blinked. Not at all what I had expected. But I realized this was the distrustful feeling Kipp had and what I now understood. “What kind of interest?”

“It’s not my place to tell you, but I came here to discover just how talented you are.” The hard set of his jaw intensified, which made my stomach drop. “And you are extremely talented. But what you’re doing right now is wrong. You have a responsibility.” He sc

uffed his shoe against the floor, raised his tone. “Dammit, Tess, I will get you to see reason.”

I shook my head, irritated with him and all of it. “I have no idea what you want me to see.”

“That the worlds—this world and the Netherworld—are not the same thing. You cannot intertwine them. You need to keep your distance and accept that your abilities are a serious responsibility. That you…” he pointed to my necklace. “Are taking over a fight that begun long ago.”

“You might think that way, but I never asked for any of this. I’m not on some mission to become something bigger with my abilities.” This talk unnerved me, and I sought an exit. “I work with the cold case squad and help ghosts. That’s it. Besides you do the same for the F.B.I., so I really don’t know what you’re going on about.”

“That’s only part of what I do and it’s about time you see there’s a higher plan at work.” He pointed at me and I wanted to break his finger. “These gifts have been given to you and you need to step up to the plate. And the first thing is cutting your ties to the ghost. Trust me when I tell you that others would frown upon what you’re doing.”

I scowled. “I don’t give a shit what others think.”

“You should.” He glanced over my shoulder, gaze attentive, and he drew in a sharp breath. “You might not see how important it is for you to believe me and that something greater is in store for you, but I have a responsibility to this ghost to see him cross over.”

He turned to me and looked so deadly, I took a step back. “You may not believe it, but I do have ghost’s best interests in mind. I won’t allow you to act selfishly any longer.”

Before I could respond, he pulled me to him and then, his lips were on mine. I gasped under the weight of his kiss, stuck in the sensation, unable to move from the shock of his embrace.

“What. The. Fuck?”

Ice coated my veins at Kipp’s low tone. I yanked myself away from Dane and spun around.

Kipp stood behind me, simmering with anger. His expression held so much rage, but beneath it, a world of hurt showed in the depths of his eyes. It snapped me out of my astonishment. I shoved Dane away with a hard push, but kept my focus on Kipp. “It’s not what you think.”

His gaze landed on Dane and if looks could kill, he’d be a ghost. “What I think is I came here because I wanted to be here for you when you arrived, and I find you kissing this mother fucker.”

My stomach clenched as if he’d punched me in the gut. “I didn’t…I don’t—”

He raised his hand and I froze. “Don’t fucking bother, Tess.” Sadness filled his gaze. All the anger faded away showing only a broken heart. “You didn’t pull away from him. What else do I need to see?” Pain seeped into his features. “I knew this was coming.”

I tried to keep up, but the world spun around me. I couldn’t get a hold on anything. I lurched forward, heaviness weighing me down, but I fought against it to get to him. “No, Kipp, wait…”

My words hit air as he vanished from sight. I blinked, scanned the busy airport, but he was gone. I gasped on a sob, my muscles unable to hold my weight, and I crumbled to my knees.

I had nothing to be guilty for, but my heart wouldn’t hear it. Sure, I’d seen Kipp’s anger before. Not like this. This didn’t feel as if we were about to have a fight.

It sounded like goodbye.

I replayed the scene in my mind knowing how it must have looked. The shock of Dane’s kiss held me frozen, which in turn did make it appear like I wanted Dane. Had Kipp really been worried that I wanted Dane? Apparently so. And from the way it looked, he was right.

But he was so entirely wrong.

“It’s for the best,” Dane said softly. “Now the connection of love is broken and I hope that’ll force him to cross over. I didn’t want to hurt you. But I’ve been doing this longer than you and I do know this is better for you and for the ghost.”

Sickness rolled through my stomach as I tried to get a grasp on what had just happened. Within one second, the world as I knew it had ended. Had Kipp crossed over like Dane had said?

He better not have.

The reality of that was so horrifying I couldn’t even accept it as a possibility. I lifted my head. “Did you know he’d come into the airport and that’s why you kissed me?”