7 Chapter Seven: Home

Jade walked into her house, dropping her bag by the door and walking to the kitchen to get food. Her mind was going a mile a minute, each thought crowding around to be followed.

'Only Dad knows how to deal with an Incubus.'

'But I told Derik I could handle it. I am a third-generation Demon Hunter.'

'Dad's journals!'

She was making herself some tea, to help herself calm down, and with the thought, she set the mug down harder than she meant, causing a loud bang to travel through the house. Checking the mug for cracks, she continued to think.

'If I could find Dad's journals, I could learn how to defeat an Incubus.'

Finding no cracks, she continued to make tea, formulating a plan as she went.

'I don't have a clue where to start...but if I told Dad I wanted to do some reading, now that we are in the city made by Demons...'

She nodded, approving her own plan.

"Now, to deal with Derik." She mumbled to herself.

He had been prominent in her mind. He knew something important, but he wasn't telling her.

'Why?'

He wasn't protecting her, was he? She could easily protect herself. Hell, She'd gone with her dad on plenty of Demon hunts.

'Besides, why would Derik, a Demon, care about me?'

As insane as it sounded, Jade couldn't stop the rush of warmth that ran through her body. She took a sip of her now made tea, trying to send the warm feeling away.

'How the hell does he have such an effect on me??'

She sighed again, dropping her head to the table.

'High School problems..'

Groaning slightly, she got up and headed to her room, getting ready to find somewhere to hide her Incubus research. She'd be able to get her father's journals easy enough, but he'd get really suspicious if he saw the targetted research on a certain Demon. She opened her door and took a step in when her brain registered her surroundings, and she screamed.

In an instant, she found herself pinned against her wall, a hand clamped firmly over her mouth to silence her.

"What the hell! Would you relax? Damn." The guy pinning her to the wall said.

A flood of relief washed through her as his voice flooded her ears.

'Derik!'

"Done screaming?" He asked, glaring at her.

Jade nodded her head and Derik slowly took his hand from her mouth. She instantly attacked him with questions.

"What the hell are you doing?? In my room, no less?" She asked.

"Didn't you read the note? I told you to meet me after school. So you tell me why we're here." He replied.

'Crap.'

Jade bit her lip, trying to hide her embarrassment. She had forgotten about the note. It was still in her pocket. Unread. Sighing she looked into Derik's face, ashamed for being such an idiot.

"I never read it. I thought it was someone from your fan club yelling at me for going off on you earlier." She admitted, realizing just then that she was still pinned to her wall.

She noticed the size difference of them both, his large, muscular frame dwarfing her small, slender one. Her shoulders shook, the movement caused by Derik. She worried something was wrong, but soon realized it was laughter. Derik was laughing.

"What?" she asked slowly, not wanting to sound like an idiot.

" You honestly think, with the entire school afraid of me, they'd have the nerve to mess with you, when you show no fear?" He asked, surprising her by brushing her cheek gently with his finger.

The small motion caused her heart to beat faster, and she was certain he could feel it. He leaned close to her face, his mouth by her ear.

"Are you afraid?" He asked, his breath tickling her ear, but unlike in the alley, it wasn't laced with urgency and caution, it held something different. Something intimate.

"No." She whispered back, sounding breathless.

His chuckle was low and it stirred something deep within her. Heat rose throughout her body, ending at her face, but she kept her expression serious, if not shy bordering on flirty. Yes, she knew where they were. Yes, she knew what could happen. And yes, she Wanted it to happen.

"You should be," Derik said, applying pressure to her wrists, which he was holding against the wall.

"Why?" She asked, still sounding breathless.

"I'll show you why." He said, his voice washing over her.

He moved, so instead of his lips near her ear, they were mere centimeters away from hers. Rational thought told her she should stop this. It wasn't right. They were in her bedroom, her father wasn't home. And she agreed. She Should stop this, but she didn't Want to. Making no move to stop him, Derik closed the distance, kissing Jade. His lips were soft, his kiss, tender. He was being gentle, she had every opportunity to stop him. She should've, but she wouldn't. After a moment, after Jade thought her heart couldn't handle his gentleness, the kiss between them increased in power. His kiss turned rougher, his hands letting go of her wrists and trailing down her body, resting on her waist. Their warmth spread through her body, causing her to want him more.

They stayed that way, Derik's hands firmly on Jade's waist, holding her in place. At some point, Jade's arms had wrapped around Derik's neck and her body pressed against his. She was acutely aware of his warm hands, and as they kissed, one hand began to trail up her body, under her shirt. Jade's heart rate increased more, the heat turning hotter, the kiss intensifying. Jade could've sworn she heard a muffled moan come from Derik, and she wanted to do the same.

That's when she heard the front door open, and a voice called out.

"Are you home, Sweetheart?" Her father called.

'Shit'

Derik hadn't seemed to notice, his hand now cupping jer breast. Jade stopped kissing Derik, trying to push him away.

"Derik. Stop." She said, panting lightly.

Their kiss had taken her breath away. And she heard her father coming up the stairs.

"Jade?" Her father called again.

"Crap. Derik!" She said again.

Her urgency seemed to snap him out of whatever frenzy he was working into.

"You have to leave." She said, heart beating hard with fear. "Like, now."

"Alright. What about the Incubus?" He asked.

"We'll talk tomorrow. I'll get my father's journals and do some hunter's research." Jade said, her father was knocking on her door.

"You're serious about this?" Derik asked, at the same time her father said, "Jade? Are you up here?"

"Yes!" Jade said, answering them both.

Her door opened and her father stepped in. Jade whirled around, desperately trying to find an excuse for why there was a guy in her room.

"There you are, Sweetheart. How was school?" He asked, smiling at her.

He walked over and pulled her into a hug.

"Oh. Um. It was fine." Jade said, turning her head and seeing Derik had vanished. The only indication he was here, was the open window, and her skin that was tingling from the aftermath of his kiss.