Ashes (Book 2 The Kindred Series) (10 page)

“A lot,” Chris muttered. “We’re
leaving.”

Her gaze darted to Cassie, who was
still too numb and shocked to even begin to explain. Melissa didn’t
question them further as she fell into step beside them, her
narrowed gaze darting back to the cruel crowd still gathered within
the cafeteria walls. Cassie made it all the way to Chris’s car, and
was even settled into the backseat, before she started to
cry.

CHAPTER
6

Cassie paced her room restlessly, her
gaze darting continuously to the darkened night. Devon should be
here shortly, if he came at all. The thought froze her briefly in
midstride, before she continued on. He had to come. She couldn’t
allow herself to think that he wouldn’t. If she did, she would
start crying again, and it had only been a couple of hours since
she had completely regained control of herself.

It had taken another hour to convince
Chris and Melissa that she was fine, and to go home. They had been
reluctant to leave, but she didn’t want them here when Devon
arrived. She needed to speak with him alone. Turning on her heel,
she paced restlessly back to the other side of the room. She felt
as wound up as a yo-yo.

She glanced at the clock on her
nightstand, dismayed to realize that it was almost ten o’clock.
Where was he? What would she do if he didn’t come tonight? Terror
tore through her at the thought. Her chest constricted, making it
difficult for her to breathe.

It had happened so swiftly, her love
for him had been rapid and all consuming. She wanted to be
frightened by it; she should be frightened by it, but she wasn’t.
To be this dependent on someone else was something that she had
never wanted. Loving someone this much left her vulnerable to all
of the hurt and cruelty that she knew resided everywhere in the
world. But it was too late, she was helplessly in love with him,
lost to him, and she could not lose him. She would do anything to
keep that from happening.

All of her pent up, nervous energy,
deflated from her as fear consumed her. She slid limply to the
floor, dragging her legs up against her chest and hugging them
tight as she dropped her chin on top of them.

***

Devon released the last fox he’d
caught. He watched it stagger away, trying to regain its balance
from the loss of blood it had sustained. Though he tried to keep
the animals alive when he fed from them, the first two foxes, three
rabbits, and one coyote he had captured had not survived. He had
been too unstable, and full of bloodlust, when he had seized hold
of them. He barely even remembered draining them dry, but he
clearly recalled their limp bodies left brokenly on the forest
floor.

And he was ashamed.

Though it was far better that it was
animals, and not Cassie he was draining dry because he had been
that close today. A shudder ran through him as he recalled exactly
how close he had been to ravishing her in every way, and not caring
who watched. He could not allow that to happen again. He could not
be that unstable around her again. It would not end
well.

But when she had run her tongue across
his teeth, showing no fear of him as her excitement blazed forth,
he had nearly unraveled completely. He shuddered, the memory
rousing his bloodlust and desire once more. She was far too
innocent to know what she was doing to him, but she was going to be
his undoing.

Their relationship had come to a
crossroads much faster than he had expected. Rising slowly, he
wiped the dirt from his jeans, watching as the fox disappeared. He
had glutted himself tonight, stuffing himself to the point of near
bursting in the hopes that it would keep him from desiring her
blood as fiercely. He didn’t think it would work.

His head fell back as he stared up at
the thick canopies of oaks and maples. Dropping his head back down,
he used all of his senses to search the dark night. He could feel
nothing out there except for a deer, and a pack of coyotes. Julian
was being quiet, staying low.

It was very uncharacteristic. Once
Julian made his presence known, he liked to keep it known. The fact
that he was staying quiet was more than a little unsettling. He was
planning something, and Devon didn’t like it. He had to find him,
and soon. As long as Julian was out there, Cassie was in
danger.

Turning away, he blended swiftly into
the woods, bracing himself for what was about to come. He raced to
Cassie’s house, moving swiftly through the thick forest, easily
dodging any obstacles in his way. Reaching her house, he stopped at
the edge of the forest to study the graceful Cape house before him.
The weathered grey shingles, and light blue shutters, were bright
in the light of the full moon.

Cassie’s room was dark, but the TV was
flashing in the window pane. He knew that she was still awake; he
could feel her up there, lost, worried; confused. He hated himself
even more for putting her through this, for leaving her to stew
while he gorged himself on blood.

Climbing swiftly up the tree, he paused
at the edge of her window, taking her in. She sat upon the bed; her
long legs were drawn up to her chest, her golden hair cascaded
around her shoulders in thick waves. The delicate beauty of her
features was highlighted within the flickering light of the TV. His
chest constricted as he studied her, he was amazed and charmed by
the effect she had over him. An effect that only increased as time
went by.

She turned toward him, her startling
eyes widened, her rosebud mouth parted. Relief filled her as she
leapt gracefully to her feet. “Devon.”

Her soft whisper washed over him, as
did her vast relief and aching hurt. She came slowly toward him as
if afraid she would scare him away. Hoping to ease some of her
fears, he slid gracefully through the window. Tears bloomed in her
eyes, but she bat them rapidly back as she watched him, her
uncertainty palpable.

“Are you ok?” He could only manage a
brisk nod, finding it difficult to think in her presence. “I’m
sorry.” She shook her head, looking lost. “I didn’t know what else
to do; I thought you were going to kill him.”

Devon clearly recalled that scene in
the cafeteria, the rage that had suffused him, the need to destroy
the person hurting her. He also recalled her kiss, her taste, her
sweetness. She was the only one that could have gotten through to
him at that time. He didn’t like the way she had put herself in
danger though, stepping between a vampire and its prey was even
worse than stepping between a charging bull and its target. But she
was right; he would have killed Mark if she hadn’t
intervened.

She had been lucky that he had not
turned his rage on her. But then again, in a way he had. The
uncontrollable rage had turned into uncontrollable passion instead.
Devon shuddered to think about what he could have done to her, how
he could have hurt her and not even realized it until he had been
well sated on her.

“I was.” She blinked in surprise at his
flat words. “You stopped me from hurting him, but you can’t put
yourself in danger like that again.”

“Danger?” she asked in
surprise.

He nodded briskly. “Yes. Never step
between a vampire and their prey. You could get hurt.”

She frowned fiercely at him, her
elegant eyebrows drawing sharply together. “No matter what you
might think, I know that you would never hurt me Devon.”

She had more faith in him than he did,
but then again, she did not know the thoughts that ran through his
mind. The things that he wanted to do to her. With her. If she knew
any of it, she would not have so much faith in him; in fact she
would probably run screaming in fear. Her faith was misplaced, she
did not know that, but he did.

She took a step closer, but he held up
his hand, warding her off even though it killed him. All he wanted
was her gentle, soothing touch. “Cassie, we need to
talk.”

Her frown deepened, terror flashed
through her eyes.

CHAPTER 7

Cassie’s heart beat rapidly in her
tight chest. It took everything she had to keep breathing. Devon
studied her, his eyes yearning, yet distant. She shifted slightly,
bracing herself for the worst, knowing that something bad was
coming. He didn’t even want her to touch him. She could smell, and
feel, the vast amounts of blood that he had consumed, the power
that coursed through him now. He had drunk so much that she
actually picked up on the metallic scent of it for the first
time.

And he had done it so that he could
prepare himself to come and see her. That did not sit well with
her, nor did it bode well. Anxiety clenched fiercely at her, her
knees began to tremble slightly. She knew that she was not going to
like what he had to say. She needed to sit before she fell
down.

Sliding limply down, she perched
uneasily on the edge of her bed, her hands clenched tightly in her
lap. “What is it?” she asked quietly, her voice strangled and
tight.

His emerald eyes were bright in the
darkened room. He was half hidden in the shadows that seemed to
caress and enshroud his hard, toned body. Though the night was a
little chilly, he wore only a t-shirt that clung to his muscles,
emphasizing his washboard abs and firm chest. Despite her fear,
Cassie was still mesmerized and thrilled by him.

Swallowing heavily she forced her mind
away from her wandering thoughts. His eyes sparked, a bright gleam
came into them as he seemed to pick up on the direction of her
thoughts. Then he shook his head, clearly trying to bring himself
back to their conversation.

An owl hooted outside, its soft cry
loud in the still night. The crickets had retreated, the loss of
their soft chirrups leaving the night oddly empty. He shifted
slightly, the shadows moving over him, caressing him. For the first
time she realized how much he truly belonged to the night, and the
darkness. For the first time she saw just how different they
were.

Tears burned the backs of her eyes
again, but she refused to shed them. Not yet anyway. She still did
not know where this was going.

He moved slowly forward, his eyes
intent upon her as he stopped just feet away. Though the distance
between them was small, it suddenly felt like a vast chasm to her.
There would be no breeching it with a simple word or touch. And she
knew that it was her fault it existed at all.

“I want you Cassie.” Her mouth went
dry, her heart hammered so loudly she was certain that he could
hear it. Excitement sprang forth, spreading rapidly through her
whole body, burning through her veins. “But I can’t control myself
around you.”

She swallowed again, afraid she would
choke on the lump that was lodged in her throat. “Yes you can,” she
whispered.

He sighed softly, leaning slightly back
on his heels as his gaze darted briefly toward the ceiling. Shaking
his head, his black hair fell forward across his sculpted face.
“Yes, somewhat,” he admitted slowly. “But not enough, and everyday
gets harder for me. Looking at you, smelling you, having tasted
your blood, all of it is a fierce temptation that is getting harder
and harder to resist. Every day, every second, I want
more.”

She was barely able to breathe, let
alone find any words for him. She wanted to be with him, terribly,
but she was not ready for that step yet. She knew that was crazy,
she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, but she wasn’t
ready for what he wanted. Not yet anyway. And there was still so
much she didn’t know about him, like just exactly how many women
there had been over the past seven hundred years.

On second thought, she wasn’t so sure
she wanted to know that at all. It was far too intimidating and
scary for her to think about. Not to mention there was already a
lot on her plate without adding another heaping to it.

“I’m not ready for that yet,” she
whispered, feeling awkward and so very young and stupid as she
issued the words. She was an idiot, so inexperienced compared to
him. Heat crept through her cheeks as he stared at her; she hated
the almost pitying look in his eyes. Clasping her hands tightly,
her gaze darted to the window, unable to meet his stare any
longer.

“I know that Cassie,” he said gently.
“And I will never push you into doing anything that you are not
ready for, but it’s more than just sex. I want all of you.” Despite
her intentions not to, her eyes darted back to him, her forehead
furrowed in confusion. “I want your blood also. I want to taste you
and feel you and have you fill me.”

Despite the fear his words aroused,
excitement also slammed hard through her. What he was describing
sent her into a tailspin of confusion and need. She shook her head,
trying to regain control of her spiraling feelings. She knew she
should be afraid of what he was saying, she should be completely
against it considering what she was; to have a vampire feeding from
her should be the last thing in the world that she
wanted.

But wanted it she did.
Desperately.

“I also want to change you.”

Horror slammed through her, knocking
away all of her desire. Nausea twisted in her stomach, the blood
froze in her veins, leaving her hollow and cold. Mouth dropping,
she tried to find words, but none would come out. Change her? No,
never, she could never be what he was. She could never be a
vampire, hunting animals, living on blood.