Kindred (Book 1 The Kindred Series) (34 page)

  
Now
,
he simply needed to hold her and protect her and keep her safe.
Even if he may
end up
be
ing
the most dangerous thing to her.

  
He would just have to learn to control himself around her, and he would have to make sure that he was well sated
whenever
s
he was
n
e
a
r. But he could not leave her; he did not think he could survive if he was
un
able to touch her, to know that she was safe, and that she was with him. To lose her would destroy him. On some
primitive
level
,
he knew that he could not survive without her.

  
“Beautiful,” he whispered.
Her lashes swept the delicate curve of her cheek as she ducked her face once more. He gen
tly nudged her
chin
up again. When her eyes met his, he bent slowly, wanting to give her time to deny him. Wanting to give her time to come to her senses and flee while she still
could
.

   She didn
’
t move, didn
’
t even breathe as he bent slowly over her
.
H
is lips brush
ed
over hers in a butterfly caress that nearly shattered hi
m
as the glorious feel of her suffused him. The
touch
of her
lips
he
a
led every broken bit of him. It soothed the loneliness of his life, made him forget the
hunger and ruin of his existence. Though
she
did not make right the
many
deaths that stained his soul,
she
greatly
ease
d
the pain
that resided permanently inside him.

   He deepened the kiss, needing more of her
.
L
ight and warmth suffused him
.
W
hiteness embraced hi
s
essence
, pushing out the black as his hands tightened in her hair. He was trying to go slow, trying not to scare her, b
ut he wanted more. He wanted
all
of her.

   The fiery hunger tore through him once more. Pulling away, he struggled to regain control as he met her wide, stunned eyes. Slowly, she lifted her fingers to her mouth, gently touching them to her lips
in awe
. “Are you ok?” he asked worriedly, frightened that he had gone to fast and scared her.

   She smiled tremulously. “Yes.”

  
He clutched her tightly to him again, needing her warmth and strength as he struggled to maintain restraint.
“It’
s late, you should lie down,
”
he ground out.
She
gave a
small nod, but did not look at him again.
“Come on.”

   He led her slowly over to the bed. The blankets were pulled back from where she had
laid
before he arrived. He stared at the bed, wanting nothing more than to crawl in beside her and hold her tight. She sat down, her head bent, her golden hair tumbling forward in luxurious waves.

   S
lid
ing
her legs onto the bed, the t-shirt
she
wore pull
ed
back slightly to reveal a mouth watering view of her creamy thigh. Devon tightened everywhere
, stiffening as more than just bloodlust tore through him. Then she looked at him again, her face
bright red
, her innocence almost intolerable.

   Lifting
her hand to him, she moved over
. “Lie with me for a little bit.”

  
For a moment he could almost feel h
is heart
trip hammering
,
almost feel it
turning over in his chest with
a
fierce slam that shook
the place where it had once be
at
.
She was testing the very
limits of his control, nearly destroying the small thread he still had upon his self
restraint. Then her gaze darted to the window, and he saw the fear that crossed her face, flash
ed
swiftly through her eyes as she gazed at the dark night.

   He turned slowly, searching for any hint of danger with his
far superior
eyes, and with every ounce of his vast power. Though he knew that
the monster
w
as still out there, he could not sense it now.
It
w
as
either far away, or
it
w
as
strong enough to mask
itself
at a distance.
H
is stomach turn
ed
slightly.
Though he
was more powerful
than
most
vampire
s
in existence, Cassie was not. The thought of something that strong
out there
pursuing her
,
made the decision for him
.
I
f he stayed with her tonight,
he would know that
she w
as
safe
, protected
.

   Turning from the window, he kicked his sneakers off. She slipped further over as he climbed onto the bed beside her. Her eyes were wide as he laid back, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her gently
down. She curled up like a sweet kitten against his side, nuzzling him gently as her hand rested lightly upon his chest.
He grasped hold of her hand, keeping it away from the empty hollowness of where his heart should be
at
.

   Devon remained stiff, unable to relax
due to t
he fire burning through him. He stared unseeingly at the pictures flickering across the
TV
, holding her tight as she eased against his side
. Soon, her breathing evened out, her hand relaxed against his. He felt the moment when she fell asleep.

   Her trust in him
was absolute as she gave herself over to him in her most vulnerable, helpless stage. H
e nuzzled her hair;
his fingers gently strok
ed
the nape of her delicate neck.
H
e did not deserve
her
trust, for she did not know what he truly was
. If she did, she would
probably run screaming into the night. The thought terrified him.

   It was something that
he would have to make sure
never
happened. He could not lose her, nor could he shatter her innocence by being the one to tell her that the world was truly cold,
heartless, and filled with monsters. Though he knew that one day he would have to leave her
in order
to keep her protected, h
e could not bring himself to
let her go
now
. Not yet anyway, he would leave soon, return to his post outside at a safe distance from the
vast
temptation that she was.
And one day
, no matter how much it
might destroy him,
he would leave for good.

   Maybe he could just tell her…

   He instantly squashed the thought. How could he shatter her innocence? How could he destroy the sweetness in her with the knowledge of the true horrors that walked their wo
rld? He couldn’t. He could
never
do that to her. And even if he did, what guarantee did he have that she would stay with him? He was a monster. Why would anyone want to stay with a monster?

   His grip on her tightened, self loathing wash
ed
through him. He was not strong enough to leave her, and he was to
o
much of a coward to risk losing her. He had done many awful things in his life, but this was by far the worst.
He couldn’t let her go, but even he realized that by keeping this from her, he was keeping the biggest part of himself
hidden
. The
caring and trust
she gave him was not complete.

  
It could
n’t
be complete
without the truth he could never reveal. She would hate him
if he did
. And that would destroy him.

CHAPTER 1
5

   Cass
ie woke slowly the next morning;
her mind
was
still groggy from the deep, dreamless sleep that had claimed her. Memories
of the night
assailed her; she stiffened slightly as she realized that
Devon w
as still beside her, his arm draped over her waist, his body melded against her back. Pleasure
swept through
her; heat warmed her body
,
causing her toes to curl against his jeans.

   His kiss
had been everything she
had
kn
o
w
n
it would be. It had filled her entire being, warming and melting places she had long thought frozen and
dead
. He had healed all of the jag
ged and torn pieces of her soul;
fill
ed
the holes with his
soothing
presence
. He made her stronger than she had ever thought she could be, stronger than she had ever imagined being
.

   He completed her.

  
He was everything that she needed
,
and she would willingly die to keep him safe from the evil within their town.
His hand tightened upon her waist as she nestled closer to him, needing the strength of his body. “Don’t move.”

   The words were groaned in her ear through his teeth. She instantly stopped moving, holding her breath as
he stiffened around her. She did not know what was wrong with him, but it had almost sounded as if he were in pain. He moved so suddenly, and swiftly, that
she didn’t even have time to blink before he had rolled away from her, and
was on
his feet.

   Cassie gasped in
surprise as she sat up
, but he had his back turned to her
.
H
is gaze
was focused upon the window
,
and the rising sun. His hands were clenched tightly at his sides, the muscles of
his forearms bulg
ed
with the tension that coursed through him.
He seemed to
be
waging a silent battle, over what she had no idea, but she
was
disturbed by the tension radiating from him.

  
“Are you ok?” she asked softly.

  He turned his head toward her;
his emerald eyes
were
dark in the
early
morning
light. His hair was tussled from sleep, giving him
a boyish appeal that melted her heart.
Silhouetted against the morning sun he was the most
splendid
man she had ever seen.
“Fine.”

   Some of the
stress
seemed to be easing out of
him;
his voice was not as tight
. Music
suddenly blasted into
the room, Cassie jumped in surprise
,
her heart leap
t
wildly.
It took her a few seconds to pinpoint the source of the racket.
T
urning swiftly over
, she
hit the off button on her alarm clock.
Dismay filled her as she realized that t
he world was intruding
upon them, crashing down on the
blissful
peace she had found in his arms through
out
the night.

   “I need to go.” She turned back to him. He had turned fully around
again, his stance
wasn’t
as rigid, his hands unclenched at his sides. He had
taken a step closer to her. “I’ll see you at school.”