Kindled (Book 3 The Kindred Series) (12 page)

   “Cassie…”

   “I’m good,” she interrupted
shyly
. She had just proven that she was a child; she didn’t
want
to be treated like one too.
Her mind flashed to Isla, beautiful, seductive,
knowledgeable
Isla. She wouldn’t have blushed at the sig
ht of Devon’s chest, in fact Isla
had seen far more of him, and Cassie was certain
that Isla
had not been at all bashful
about it
.
That realization
made
Cassie
feel like even more of an idiot. Though she knew Devon had never loved Isla, at one time she had been exactly the type of woman
he
liked. A type that was
nothing
like
her.

   She heard him
moving
around, and then he was in front of her again, gently taking the tray from her hands. She glanced shyly up at him; her face flaming even hotter as she saw that he had
put his shirt back on.
He knew that it
had unsettled
her.
She truly was an idiot, she thought with an inward groan
.
An immature
,
foolish
,
idiot
.

   He placed the tray back on the bureau and swiftly returned to her. Taking hold of her hands he knelt before her again. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
   She glanced at him from under lowered li
ds, trying desperately not to bl
ush even more, but
failing
miserably. “You didn’t make me uncomfortable.
Really.”

   It wasn’t a lie, he hadn’t made her uncomfortable.
He had made her many things,
but
uncomfortable
was not one of them
. He leaned in closer,
looking wonderfully boyish and hopeful as he
peer
ed
up at her. She couldn’t help but smile at him, enchanted by his emerald eyes. She had missed him so much, ached for him every day, and yet she
had turned him away. What had she been thinking?

   Though she
knew that she had been hurt, deeply wounded, stricken with grief, it was still not an excuse.
“You look exhausted,” he said softly.

   Cassie shrugged absently, fiddling idly with the pleat in the workout pants she wore to bed.
“
Maybe a little
,” she whispered.

   “When was the last time you slept?”

   Shrugging again, she glanced past him to the doorway. She had slept in bits and spurts but nothing solid, and it was always plagued
and restless
.
“I’ve slept here and there,” she admitted softly.

   His eyes flickered with that brief flash of worry again. Cassie frowned, surprised by the distress that
came from him. “
Y
ou need to sleep.”

   Cassie shook her head. “The nightmares,” she whispered, frightened by the horrifying images that haunted her sleep.
Nightmares about
what
her grandmother’s last moments
must have been like
, how frightened she must have been
, and how painful they must have been
.

   “I’ll keep the nightmares at bay.”

   Cassie’s eyes filled with tears, she reached out to gently stroke hi
m
, loving the feel of his hard cheek beneath
her palm. She managed a tremulous smile, not wanting to hurt his feelings, but
doubtful
that he could
actually
keep them away. She nodded though, knowing that all he wanted was to take care of her and make sure that she was
well.

   “Yes.”

   He took hold of her hands, helping her to her feet. Cassie was surprised by the relief that filled her as she climbed onto her bed, curling beneath the comforters he draped over her. The pillow felt like heaven, the sheets
were deliciously
soft against her skin. Devon closed the door and turned off the light, moments later he was crawling into bed beside her
. Cassie cuddled against him as he pulled her tight to him.

  
He felt wonderful against her, his strong arms wrapped tight around her. She had forgotten just how right it felt to have him curled up against her, making her feel safe and loved.
Her eyes began to drift close, the
tranquility
that settled over her lulled her swiftly to sleep.

CHAPTER 6

  
Cassie woke slowly, blinking against the rays that filtered through the blinds o
f
her windows. She frowned as she studied those rays, momentarily puzzled by them.
It had been so long since she had not watched the sun rise.
She didn’t recall falling asleep, but she must have, and apparently she had slept through the entire night.
Without nightmares.

   Devon’s arm was wrapped tightly around her, his hard body pressed against her back.
She
did not feel
completely rested
,
but she definitely felt better
. She was also at peace for the first time in so very long.
Tears of relief
and grief
choked her, falling slowly down her cheeks
to wet her pillow
.
Devon’s arm tightened around her, drawing her closer as he nuzzled her hair gently.

   “Don’t cry love.”

   His words only made her cry harder.
He kissed her cheek gently, wiping away her tears with the pad of his thumb. Cassie rolled
over to face
him;
burying her face in his shoulder
as
she wrapped her arms around him. He held her
gent
ly as she cried.

   Slowly her tears subsided.
Though she was beginning to fear that
they
would never
completely
subside, at least not for a little while.
Not until she truly grieved for her grandmother, something she had not allowed herself to do for the past two weeks. Though, she doubted she would be given much time to grieve, at least not if Isla and Julian had anything to do with it.
Pulling slowly back from him, she looked up into
Devon’
s much loved face. His jaw was tight, a muscle twitch
ed
in his
cheek. His eyes were hard, flat;
distant.

   It was a look she knew well.

   “You need to feed,” she said softly.

   He managed a brief nod, looking as if he were in pain. Being this close to her was torture for him, especially when he had gone a long while without feeding. And he had been so busy taking care of her last night that he had not taken care of himself. As she studied him, a thought occurred to her
.
A
consuming
need
began to
build rapidly inside of her.

   “What about me?”

   He blinked in surprise, recoiling slightly
. “Cassie…”

   “You can feed from me Devon.”

   “No!” he said sharply, recoiling even further from her, but she could see the rapidly building
hunger
and desire flaming through his eyes. He wanted this; she knew that, he wanted it as badly as she did. He was just being stubborn.

   “It’s ok Devon, you won’t hurt me.”
   Moving swiftly away, he swung his legs over the side of the bed. His hands gripped the
mattress
so fiercely that the muscles in his arms stood
out
sharply. His back was ramrod straight, but a small tremor shook him. Cassie reached out to touch his back, but
he
pulled
away
,
looking as if he was about to
bolt away from her
.

   “You won’t hurt me,” she said again.

   He swung toward her, his eyes flashing briefly from their beautiful emerald to a fierce blood red that robbed her of her breath. “You don’t know that!” he snarled.

   Though he caused her heartbeat to speed up
, the fear that trickled through her w
as brief and small. He would
not
hurt her, she was certain of that. He would never hurt her. “I do,” she said softly. “You could never hurt me Devon.”

  
He shuddered again
. “Cassie your blood, well it’s a temptation I’m not sure I can refuse.”

   “You
can
,” she said forcefully. “I know that you can. I want this Devon; I want to take care of you like you take care of me. I want to ease your need.
I want to know what
you
feel like.”

   He shuddered again, his hands clench
ed
upon the bed so hard she thought he was going to rip her mattress apart. She could
almost hear his teeth grinding as he fought a fierce battle with himself. Cassie sat up slowly, pushing her blankets aside. She reache
d out for him, her hand stroked
over his
rigid
back. Though he stiffened even more, he did not bolt away from her as she had feared. He was fighting hard with himself, but it was a losing battle, she was almost positive of that.

    A surge of victory began to build inside her, but she fought it swiftly back. There was no place for victory here. There was only room for the two of them. “Cassie,” he moaned, his head bowing slightly.

   “It’s ok,” she whispered. “I’m here and I’m willing. It’s ok.”

   He turned slowly toward her, rapidly searching her face, looking for any
hint of fear. Any hint that she didn
’
t truly want this. “If I hurt you…”

   “You won’t.”

   A muscle twitched in his cheek, Cassie soothed it with her hand, pressing her forehead against his. “You’re wounded
and hurt
now.”
   “And you’ve
helped to
heal me.”

  
“Weakened.”

   She managed a small smile. “Not so much anymore
,
and I am still st
ronger than any human
.”

   “If I lose control…”

   “You won’t.”

   He stared silently at her,
his
awe and hunger beat against her sh
a
k
ing
deep into her soul. Moving slowly, she wrapped her hand around the back of his neck, kissing him gently. He remained
hard
against her, unyielding. She felt a brief moment of guilt, this was torturing him, but if she could ease his need, his hunger, than she
was going
to do
so
. She wanted to be the one to help him. She wanted to be the one that he turned too. And she desperately wanted to know what it would feel like.

   She was surprised that the thought did not repulse her more. Before she had met him it would have disgusted her completely, but now it thrilled and emboldened her.
With him, it would be wonderful.
S
he was certain of that
,
even though she had no reason to believe that it would be. Everything she had seen of vampires feeding was gross, brutal, and deadly.

   It would not be so now.

   She kissed him again, pressing her lips lightly to his. Though he still did not move against her, she felt a weakening in his body, a yielding that curled her toes in anticipation and excitement. Then, suddenly, his arm snaked firmly around her, locking her in place
. He was kissing her back,
his mouth hard and demanding against
hers.

   Cassie’s heart hammered wildly in her chest, her fingers
tangled
in his hair as he pressed tighter against her. She gasped in surprise when he swiftly lifted her and laid her on the bed. For a moment he pulled back, h
is eyes questioning and worried
even though they blazed with his fiery
longing. She managed a small nod and
a
smile.

   When he came back to her, his kiss was no longer wild with urgency, but so sweet and gentle that it nearly broke her heart. He kissed her for a long time
. Cassie savored in the delicious sensations he aroused in her body, losing herself to him completely. Slowly, it began to change
as
his hunger beat against her. She didn
’
t know how long it had been since he had fed, but she suspected that he had not been doing it as often as he should.