Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout Page A

makes me feel good. I know it makes you feel good. And I don’t mean the way I’m sure you think I mean.” He paused, and I could feel his chest rise and fall against my back. “Our bodies relax around each other.”
    I scrunched up my face, not buying his reason at all. “Can we talk about something else?”
    “Sure.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Let’s talk about the fact you haven’t been sleeping.”
    “What?” I managed to squirm enough to get one of my arms loose and flip onto my back. “I… I sleep fine.”
    “You sleep for a few hours. Then you wake up. Nightmares, huh?”
    I stared at him. “Why do you always have to be so creepy?”
    His lips twitched. A flicker of amusement, then his expression returned to a customary smug mask. “Whenever you’re upset you suck me right in. Wakes me up every single night, and now I’m not getting any sleep unless I stay with you.”
    I scooted over, but his arm caught me. “Well, sorry. I don’t know how to stop it. If I did, I wouldn’t interrupt your precious beauty sleep.”
    Seth chuckled low in his throat. “I guess it’s because the connection between us is getting stronger since we’re spending more time together. With you being an emotional wreck these days, I spend half my time wanting a Valium.”
    The urge to kick him off the bed hit me hard. “I’m not an emotional wreck.”
    He didn’t bother responding to that. “Doesn’t it strike you as odd that the only times you sleep all the way through the night are when I stay with you?”
    It did strike me as odd—and annoying. “So?”
    Seth leaned over. “Your body relaxes around me and you can rest. All thanks to your favorite thing—the connection we share. If you get too upset, you just need me. It will work both ways once you Awaken.”
    I jerked as far away from him as I could, which wasn’t very far at all. “Oh, for the love of the gods, you have got to be kidding me.”
    “Alex, I’m as serious as a daimon attack.”
    And I knew he was being serious. I just didn’t want to admit it. The idea of him sensing my emotions made me what to hurl. If I wanted to cry, he’d know. The same went for needing to punch someone or if I was in the middle of a hot make-out session, he’d know and—
    My eyes widened in realization and a strange feeling unfurled in the pit of my stomach. “Wait. Wait one second, Seth. If you can feel my emotions or whatever when I’m spazzing out, then I should be able to feel yours.”
    “Right, but not—”
    I moved so fast I broke free of his embrace and shot to my feet. He stayed on the bed, half-reclined. “Oh. My. Gods. I have felt you.”
    Seth’s brows rose slowly. “No way, I know how to shield myself so that I’m not broadcasting my every wish and desire like you.”
    “Oh. No. You are so wrong.” My cheeks burned just thinking about it. The nights I’d felt all hot and tingling—and right before I’d walked in on him and Elena—it wasn’t just my overactive hormones. “Oh, this sucks.”
    Interest sparked in his eyes and he sat up, resting his hands on his knees. “What are you talking about?”
    “I’ve felt you a couple of times—at night. Like when you’re doing… your thing.”
    He gave a short laugh, and then it seemed to hit him. His mouth dropped open. “Doing my thing ?”
    “Yeah,” I said, growing frustrated. Did I have to spell it out for him? “Just forget I said anything.”
    “No. Not likely. What did you feel?”
    This really did suck. It was also mortifying and beyond freaky. “You know, fooling around. I’ve felt… you then.”
    Seth stared at me so long I thought he lost the ability to speak. Then, when I was just starting to get worried, he threw his head back and laughed. Really loudly—and he didn’t stop.
    I gaped at him. “It’s not funny!”
    “Oh, it’s probably the funniest damn thing I’ve heard in a long time.” He stopped long enough to draw in a deep breath. “This is