Kindled (Book 3 The Kindred Series) (6 page)

   Cassie frowned as he came toward her, easily moving around the chairs in the dining room. “All done training?” he inquired.

   Cas
sie glanced behind her;
Chris was still rubbing his ribs
,
Melissa and Dani
were eying her wearily. It was obvious they
wan
ted
nothing more to do with
training
with her
.
“Apparently,” she muttered.
“Who was on the phone?”

   Luther glan
ced behind her, his eyes darted
over the three of them before landing on Chris. “You ok?”

  
Cassie’s eyes narrowed at the avoidance of her question. She studied her Guardian, taking note of the agitation that still clung to him. She was about to push him further when
Chris
responded. “Yes, I’m fine.”

 
“When can we go back in the field?” Cassie demanded
impatiently
,
deciding to drop the phone conversation in favor of the one she really wanted the answer to.

   Luther’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I don’t think you’re ready for that Cass.”
   “I’m in the best condition of my life,” she retorted sharply.

   “I don’t think you’re
mentally
ready for it,” he amended.

   Cassie gave him a sharp look before spinning on her heel and storming toward the center of the garage. “I am perfectly capable of fighting!” she snapped.

   “I don’t think you are.”
   Cassie glared at him; grabbing her black
hoodie
she
slipped
it on and tugged
the zipper up.
P
u
ll
ing the hood up, she folded her arms over her chest
as she began to
tap her foot impatiently.
“I’ll be fine out there. I want to go out tomorrow night
.”

   “Cassie…”

   “
I’m going out tomorrow night!” she s
narled
fiercely. “You can follow me or not, it’s up to you, but I’m not sitting on my ass anymore!
I’m going
out and I am
going
to find them. Now, I’m going
home.
”
  
She
didn’t
want to
listen anymore
, didn’t want to hear them argue with her anymore
. Taking the side door she exited the garage
swiftly
,
eager to be
free
and alone for a moment. Though, she didn’t doubt that someone would catch up with her soon. She momentarily contemplated leaving
the sidewalk and main road
,
but though she was eager to get at Julian and Isla, she could not bring herself to do that to Chris, Melissa, and Luther. They would be terrified for her, worried sick
, and they would follow her
.
Quite possibly to their deaths, and she could not handle having any more deaths staining her hands. No, if
Isla and Julian
came for her, it would have to be here, in the open
before anyone could catch up to her.

  
It was a good night t
o
walk home
, the chilly air helped to cool her heated skin and temper
.
Tilting
her head back she stared up at the clear night
sky
. She
wa
nted to be
soothed
and
awed by the bright twinkling stars
,
and beautiful moon
.
But
she was
n
ot
,
and
she
probably never
would be
again
. There was no joy in the beauty of the world anymore. Anger filled her as she turned away from the
sky
; she resented the fact that something she had once loved now meant nothing to her. Like so many other things.

  
Moving swiftly down the sidewalk, she kept herself attuned to the world around her, taking in her surroundings, searching the night for an
y sign of Julian and Isla.
She huddled deeper int
o her sweatshirt
, folding her hands inside
t
he sleeves. A car rolled up beside her, its headlights flashing over the few inches of snow on the ground. Cassie paid it little mind
as it
moved slowly past
, heading down the street. She turned the corner, kick
ing miserably at the sidewalk, spoiling for a fight.

   Another car rolled up, its brakes squeal
ed
to a halt beside her. Cassie spun; her eyes
wide
ned
in surprise as Devon thrust his door
open
and
jump
ed
out of the car. “What the hell
do you think you’
re
doing?” he
snarled
,
storming
around the car toward her.

    Cassie took a startled
step
back, her
forehead
furrow
ed
in confusion
at the anger
blazing
from him. Her heart melted momentarily
as it briefly
thump
ed
with excitement. Tingles erupted over her
body;
her skin crawl
ed with its desperate need
to be touched by him.
It had been so long, her
body had been denied his touch for far too long. Now it was frantic to feel the relief and pleasure that only he could bring to her.
Her mouth went dry as she took an instinctive step toward him.

   He
strode
toward her forcefully, and with the fluid grace
only
his kind
could possess
. Power radiated from him, his emerald eyes were
afire
,
and
his hair
was
tussled and disordered.
H
e
r
anger
at him, and the world, suddenly
sapp
ed
out of her
.
L
ove
for him
surg
ed
forth
as
tears burn
ed
the backs of her eyes. She blinked the
tears
rapidly back as he stopp
ed before her, his mouth parted
slightly
as his eyes rapidly scanned her face
.
L
ove
, hope, and need
bloom
ed
in the bright depths
of his emerald eyes
. He reached slowly toward her, his elegant hand a life raft in the tumultuous seas that constituted her life now.
  

   Of its own volition, her hand rose to meet his
.
T
ime seem
ed
to slow as they stretched across the short expanse that
separated their bodies. It would be bet
ter, everything would be better
once she touched him again.
She knew that without a doubt, knew that he was everything she needed, and more.

   And then their fingers met
.
R
elief poured through her, tears clogged her throat. Everything was right now, everything was normal and good. He would keep her
safe;
he would protect her from the hurt
s
and
wrongs of the world. Wonder filled her as she searched his gaz
e;
the vast amount of love in his eyes
sh
ook
her to the core. His fingers tightened around hers as he tugged her closer to him.

  
Desire
, love, and hunger poured from him. The hope in his eyes, the fierce force of his
longing filled her completely. She knew how he felt
,
because she felt
it too
. She
needed
him
in order
to be whole, needed him to complete her.
A desperate choking sound escaped her. It sounded so
forlorn
and frantic, even to her ears.

   “Cassie,” he whispered.

   She shuddered;
her shoulders sh
oo
k forcefully, tremors wrack
ed
painfully through her. Helplessness filled his eyes; he pulled her forward a
nother
step, reaching for her with his other hand. She almost went to him, almost
buried herself against him
.
Almost
los
t
herself
to him completely. And then the hard facts of reality descended over her with
the
force of a t
sunami
, leaving her breathless and lost.

   His gaze became desperate,
worried
.
“Cassie, no.”

  
She released his hand
and
t
ook
a swift step back. Her gaze focused on the house across the street. She couldn
’
t look at him, not anymore.
If she did then she would forget everything. If she did, then she would lose complete control of herself and become a blubbering mess on the sidewalk. If she did, she would not be able to extract her revenge on Isla and Julian, because she could not know hatred and anger in Devon’s arms. She cou
ld only know love and belonging
.

  
Sighing heavily he shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat. “Where are you going?” he asked softly.

  
“Home.”
   “You can’t walk home alone.”

   She shot him a dark look, trying hard to regain the anger that had been keeping her going for the past week. “I’m perfectly capable of takin
g care of myself,” she informed him coldly
.

   “You shouldn’t be out alone
. Let me take you home.”

   She shook her head, trying hard to keep her tears bottled up inside.
“No.”
   “Cassie, I am not going to let you walk home alone. Either let me take you home, or I’m going to follow you the whole way.”

   She glanced at the car sitting by the curb
, purring softly. “I thought you would be with Marcy, or maybe Kara.”

  
He winced, his hands clench
ed
in the pockets of his coat.
“Cassie…”

   “You have to leave me alone Devon
. I can’t be near you anymore.”

   “Cassie
please
…”

   She lifted her gaze back to his
. Drawing on her strength
,
she managed to
retreat
back
behind the wall of
rage
that had been keeping her going. Chris’s Mustang screeched to a halt behind Devon’s car, its headlights reflect
ed
off of Devon’s taillights. He opened the door and climbed out but
he
didn
’
t approach them
as he rested his hand on the roof
. Standing in the wash of light,
Chris’
s
sandy
hair was highlighted with streaks of red
; his eyes were bright with expectation.

   She turned slowly back to Devon, hating the hurt and wounded look in his eyes, but knowing that she could not ease it. “Leave me alone.”
   Her voice was harsh
, cold
.
It was
alien even to her. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to move away from him, forced her
s
elf to
walk
toward Chris’s car.
Chris’s
shoulders sagged, his head bow
ed
slightly
.
She could feel Devon’s gaze boring into her back as she reached the passenger side door. Chris
lifted his head as he
glanc
ed
toward
Devon.
Cassie
stiffened,
her eyes narrowing as she took
in the
silent communication that passed between them.
Turning
back t
o
Devon, she frowned fiercely as she realized that
although she was no longer with Devon, the two of them still talked with each other. And she was fairly certain that their main topic was probably
her
.