Saving Cassie (Fairfield Corners) (13 page)

I wake up to the sun in my
eyes with Logan’s arm draped over me and Princess licking my hand.  I wriggle
to try and get out from under Logan’s arm without him waking up.  “Darlin’, if
you don’t quit wriggling like that, I’m going to have to take you on this couch
again!”

I roll over instead, and
look into Logan’s eyes; maybe I’m subconsciously looking to see if they’re
glowing green.  Nope, no green, just his normal piercing blue.  I see his
desire for me and all the caring and love.  How did I get so lucky?  I roll on
top of him and start to kiss him passionately, rubbing up against him, running
my hands up and down his chest, paying particular attention to his nipples,
loving the way they become hard little pebbles with the slightest touch.  I sit
up and take off my shirt, throwing it on the floor, loving how his eyes start
to burn with desire for me, I feel so powerful!  His hands come up and start to
knead my breasts ever so gently, rolling the nipples between his fingers, they
become hard and I swear I can feel the blood coursing through them, coursing
through my whole body, just for him.  I moan when his hand goes down and cups
me, gently rubbing me through my underwear.  I can feel myself growing wet,
ready for him in seconds, rubbing myself against his hand. “Now, Logan.  I need
you inside me now.”  I can feel him against my sex, straining against his sleep
pants, searching for the place it is meant for, probing to find it.  The sleep
pants go the way of the shirt and my boxers are next, and we are gloriously
naked, rubbing each other everywhere, bringing each other to the peak and
backing off.  His mouth leaves mine and finds my breast, nipping at the nipple,
sending sparks shooting through me causing me to buck involuntarily.  He is the
only one who has ever been able to do this to me like this, this quickly, this
intensely!  He laughs at my reaction, until my hand finds him, his throbbing
rod that is just for me. “You keep doing that, Darlin’, and this will be over
way to quick, give me a break woman!”

I laugh, relishing the
power I have over him, the ability I have to bring him to this hard fullness,
this hardness that is just for me!  His hand is rubbing me, causing me to moan,
to ask for it, to plead for it, and suddenly I am over the peak, sliding down
into ecstasy.  He continues to rub, his finger finding my nub, and I am
suddenly climbing the peak again, even faster, even harder!  “Please, now,” I
plead, “oh God, please!”

He grants my request and
plunges into me.  I ride him like a wild stallion, relishing the feelings he
generates in me, this love I have for him.  I’ve never felt this before, this
all- consuming love and need.  We go faster and faster, bringing each other to
the peak, and finally finding release, almost simultaneously.  So in tune with
each other in this, this wonderful feeling!

We are trying to catch our
breath, still joined, not wanting to move, to break this contact.  We are both
relishing this closeness before we have to break apart to begin the day.

“I don’t want to move.  Can
I stay here forever?” I ask.

“I wish we could, Darlin’,
but we need to face the day.  Maybe when everything calms down we can get away
alone together.”

“I wish we could go now,
somewhere no one could find us.”

There is pounding on the
door, “Hey Reggie, you up?” James yells.

“Hang on James, I’ll be
there in just a minute!” I reply.  I look at Logan and laugh, we still haven’t
managed to make it to a bed.

I pull on my shirt and
boxers, and head over to the door.  When I open the door, James looks at me.  “Again?
 What are you two, rabbits?  Never mind, I don’t think I want to know, makes me
want to punch Logan in the face.”

“We can’t have that.  At
least you learned your lesson and knocked this time,” I laugh, ”Good thing you
weren’t here ten minutes earlier, you would have gotten an earful!”

James blushes, “Stop it,
Reg, feels like my best friend is banging my sister!  I’d rather pretend it
isn’t happening.”

“Oh, alright, you are just
no fun.” I joke.  “Come sit down while I make some coffee.  What brings you
over so early in the morning?”

“Early?  It’s almost 8:30!
 I just wanted to check in on you.  Have you found anything on the cult
online?”

“Actually, I found a
former cult member who is willing to talk to us.  She will be coming this way
on her way to Michigan and has agreed to stop for the night and let us pick her
brain.  Her name is Janet and she lives in Indianapolis.”

“That’s great!  Maybe now
we can make some progress.”

“She should be here about
4 pm, I hope you both can be here.  I made her a reservation at the bed and
breakfast so she doesn’t have to drive to Fort Wayne, that way we don’t have to
watch the time.”

“Sounds like a plan.  I
will try to make it.  Now, is that coffee done yet?”

Logan comes down the
stairs, dressed and ready to go to work.  He looks so handsome in his uniform,
I hate for him to go.  He fills his to-go mug with coffee.  “You ready to hit
the road, James?”

“Let’s get this day
started.  I want to get all my paperwork done so we can both be here when this
cult member arrives.  I hope she can fill in some blanks for us.  See you later
Reg.  Be careful, remember our deal is still in effect, you have to check in
every hour.”

“I haven’t forgotten.  Now
get out of here so I can get ready to go to the bookstore.”  Logan walks over
to me gives me a goodbye kiss that seems to last for hours.  I blush and run up
the stairs and into the bathroom.  Logan laughs, and this even gets a chuckle
out of James.  They finally leave and I get in the shower.

Later that day, I am at
the bookstore shelving the shipment we received yesterday on the new shelves
that Dan built.  I step back and take a look.  Wow, they look pretty good, Dan
did an excellent job.  The bell over the door rings, letting me know someone
has come in.

I turn around and see a
stranger, that doesn’t happen to often in our little town.  “Hi there, how can
I help you today?” I ask.

She looks like someone’s
mother, dressed in jeans and an oxford cloth shirt.  “I’m looking for Cassie
Holt.  I understand this is her bookstore.”  She smiles as she looks around, as
if she approves.

“You found her.  You must
be Janet,” I stick out my hand and we shake, “I’m pleased to meet you.  I
really appreciate you stopping here to talk with us about Reverend Jake and his
cult.”  I grab my cell phone off of the counter.  “I need to call James and
Logan and let them know you’ve arrived.”  I motion over towards the seating
area, “Please have a seat.  Would you like a soda?  I’ve got some in the back.”

“Sure, a cola would be
nice.”  She notices Princess sitting and waiting to be introduced, “Is that a
Mastiff?”

“Yes, this is Princess.  Come
here Princess and meet Janet.”

Princess comes over and
puts her head in Janet’s lap.  Janet strokes her ears.  Princess seems to trust
her so I head to the office to get that soda.  I dial my phone and listen to it
ring.  James picks up, “Fairfield Corners Sheriff’s Office.  How can I help
you?”

“Hey James, Janet is here.
 Can you and Logan get away right now?  If not, I can handle this on my own.”

“We’re just finishing up.  We’ll
be there in 10 minutes.”

“Great, see you in a few.”

I go back out to the front
of the store to give Janet the soda and find Princess sleeping on Janet’s feet.
 “I’m sorry about that, she seems to have taken a real liking to you.  Come on
Princess, get in your bed.”

“Oh, let her be.  She’s
sweet and very well behaved.  Is she yours?”

“No, but I am looking to
get a mastiff puppy soon.  She belongs to Logan.  James and Logan should be
here in a few minutes, the Sheriff’s office is only a few blocks away.”  I walk
over to the door and turn the sign to ‘closed’.  “I really thank you for
agreeing to talk to us…”

The door opens and James
and Logan walk in.  Logan turns and locks the door as James walks over and
introduces himself and Logan.  They both look very intense and watchful.

“Beautiful dog Deputy, did
you train her yourself?  She is very well behaved.”

This seems to put him at
ease.  “Thank you, and yes, I did.  I have some experience training police
dogs.”

“So, my big question is
why am I here?  What can I tell you about Reverend Jake and his cult?”

“Let me start at the
beginning,” I say, “back about 27 years ago…”

“Wait a minute, I thought
you looked familiar!  You look just like your Mom.  You’re Carly and Brad’s
daughter.  You were just a baby when they left the cult.”

I go over to my purse and
pull out my Gram’s journal.  “I didn’t know anything about them being in a cult
until I found this journal last week.  There have been some strange things
happening here that we believe may be related to Reverend Jake.”

“How can that be?  Didn’t
he die in prison?”

“Yes, he did.  I can’t
believe I’m saying this out loud; we think he is haunting me and wants to kill
me.”

Later that night we are
discussing the information that Janet gave us on Reverend Jake. According to
her, Reverend Jake’s “cult” was pretty tame for years.  He started a village in
the mountains of Tennessee based on the communes of the sixties.  Everyone worked
together and shared the fruits of their labors.  They grew vegetables and
grains, raised sheep, and hunted for meat. They traded for anything they could
not provide for themselves, using homespun yarn and handcrafted items as
currency.  They went along like this for at least ten years before things went
awry.  About two months after my parents joined this community, Reverend Jake
became obsessed with the occult, trying to contact the dead through séances and
using a Ouija board.  My parents did not agree with this and did not
participate in the séances.  At that time, Janet still believed in Reverend
Jake and helped him with the séances and Ouija board.  She remembers one
particular séance vividly, the other séances had not produced any contact with
the dead.  This time was different; the Ouija board started spelling out a
message that Reverend Jake said was a premonition.  Basically, the message was
that a baby girl conceived within the last month needed to die before Halloween
in her 27
^th
year or else the world would end.  He became obsessed
with finding this baby and killing her.  I was about eight months old when my
parents decided it was time to leave.  They were worried about what Reverend
Jake would do.  After they left, Reverend Jake continued his séances, becoming
more and more obsessed with finding this baby girl.  About two months after my
parents left, the Ouija board told him that it was my parents who were the
parents of this baby that would end the world.  Reverend Jake stepped up his
séances, calling on demons to help him find my parents.  One of the demons came
through and would not leave, possessing Reverend Jake.  Reverend Jake’s eyes
would glow when the demon was in control.  Janet left not too long after that,
finally realizing this village was not a healthy community any longer.  There
wasn’t much else that Janet could tell us, other than Reverend Jake wasn’t a
real reverend, he dropped out of seminary and started his cult. The only other
piece of information she provided was that Reverend Jake had a son, Luke, who
was about two years old when all this happened.

I just sat there in shock.
 This explained why he was obsessed with killing me.  But why did the demon
latch on to him?  I will have to look into the reverend’s past before he
started the cult, maybe something there could give us a clue.

We thanked Janet for
taking time out of her trip to talk to us.  I paid for her to stay at the bed
and breakfast in town to thank her.  If she thinks of anything else that might
help, she will let us know.

How are we supposed to
fight a demon?  The demon must be the reason that the reverend was able to come
back after death to find me.

We get back to the house,
now I’m afraid to be there which really pisses me off.  This house has always
been my sanctuary, where I go when life gets too real.  How can I ever feel
safe here again? Logan fills the teakettle and puts it on the stove.  How does
he always know what I want before I do?

He looks at me with
concern.  “You OK, Darlin’?”

“No, I’m not OK.  I don’t
know if I ever will be again.  I have a demon trying to kill me.”

“James and I will do
whatever it takes to protect you.  I’ve been searching for you for years, I
won’t let anything bad happen to you.”  He walks over and wraps his arms around
me, enveloping me in warmth, making me feel like maybe things will work out and
that maybe we can actually get rid of this demon.

I feel a gentle kiss on my
cheek, just like when I was a child.  I think Gram is trying to let me know
that things will be OK.

How can anything be OK?  There
are no training manuals on fighting demons, how do we kill a demon?

“You must get closer to
Cassie; get her alone so I can kill her.” Dan hears in his dreams, his head
starting to pound again.  “Killing her is our only task, nothing else matters.”

This man is fighting me, I
am spending too much energy keeping him under my control.  I must find a way to
get closer to Cassie.  I must get closer to kill her before she kills me.  I
must kill Cassie, I must kill Cassie, I must kill Cassie…

It’s Saturday afternoon,
almost time to get ready for our date.  I can’t believe I’m dating a deputy,
much less one who is living in my house trying to protect me from a demon and a
psychotic ex.  How did my life spiral so far out of control in such a short
time?

It’s been a slow Saturday
at the bookstore.  The cooler weather seems to have driven away our customers
today.  “Hey Mel, let’s go ahead and close early today.  I don’t think anyone will
even notice.  We’ve only had four customers all day.”

“Sure thing.  Why don’t
you go ahead and get going.  I know you must want to take some time to get
ready for your date.  Logan sure is a big hunk of country boy.  That southern
accent just makes me melt, especially when he calls you Darlin’.”

“Gotta admit you’re right
on that one.  Thanks Mel.”

“I’ve got one condition,
you have to tell me everything on Monday.  Dan is not a romantic guy, I count
myself lucky when he remembers to open the door for me.”

“You know I don’t kiss and
tell!  I’ll tell you what I can.”

I gather up my computer
and my phone and walk towards the door.

“Have fun, Cassie!”

I head down the street
towards home, wondering if I will find more messages from the demon. It’s been
quiet the last couple of days and I’m hoping he has given up but I’m not
counting on it.  I open the front door, peeking around it.  Whew, everything
looks just the way I left it.

I head upstairs and get
ready for a shower.  Tonight’s my turn to drive the deputy crazy, he does it to
me just by wearing his uniform.  Just wait until he sees me tonight!  I smell
roses, and I smile.  Gram is here, she must approve of Logan.  I hope she does,
I have fallen in love with him, so fast it’s making my head spin.

Two hours later, I am
ready.  My hair is perfect, my makeup is perfect, and I am as nervous as I was for
my first date when I was 16.

Logan’s Jeep pulls up,
sending Princess into delightful circles.  She is so happy to see him when he
gets home at night she just wriggles.

He comes up to the porch
and knocks on the door.  Knocks on the door?  He’s been living here for weeks
and he’s knocking on the door?

I walk over and open the
door, getting ready to ask him why.  Wow, he sure cleans up nice.  I’ve gotten
so used to the uniform, it’s nice to see him in jeans.  The shirt brings out
the blue of his eyes, showing off the gold flecks.

He looks me up and down,
giving me a wolf whistle. “Wow, Darlin’.  Who knew jeans could look so good?”  He
swoops in and gives me the sweetest kiss, hesitant like it’s the first time.  “If
I do anything more than that, those jeans are coming off and we’ll miss your
precious hockey game.”

I laugh, glad all my
preparations had the desired effect.  Logan finally pays attention to Princess,
sending her into ecstasy with his scratches, being careful to not let her shed
all over him.

We head out to the Jeep
where he opens the door for me, always the gentleman.  He gets in and pulls out
of the driveway, heading for the highway.  “So, where are we eating dinner
tonight?”

“I know this great Italian
place near the arena, they have the best pizza in town.”

“Sounds good to me.”  He
grins, making my heart melt just a little bit more.  “So, how was your day?  Any
demon sightings I should know about?”

“Let’s try to forget about
that for tonight.  If I keep thinking about it, I’ll go crazy.  Let’s just
pretend we are a normal couple, any couple who is not trying to fight a demon.  Tomorrow
is soon enough to worry about that.”

“It’s a deal.  So, how was
business at the store today?  Did you have many customers?”

“No, the cooler weather
seemed to keep everyone home.  I left at about three and told Mel to close
early and head home.”

“The weather is supposed
to turn even colder next week.  I’m sure you’ll get more customers then.”

“I’m not worried about it.
 The bookstore has a very loyal clientele.”

“So, where is this
restaurant?”

“It’s on Coliseum
Boulevard, just past the arena.  You should see it any minute now.”

We enter the restaurant
and grab a table.  It’s busy, with waiters and waitresses bustling about,
delivering food and drinks.  The smell of tomato sauce and garlic wafts from
the kitchen, making my mouth water.

“Wow, it always smells so
good in here.  I hope you like your pizza loaded, I have been thinking about it
since we made this date.  If you are one of those people who only likes
pepperoni, the date is off!”

“You don’t need to worry,
I like my pizza with everything on it.”

We discuss our childhoods,
how we handled high school, and just life in general.  We avoid the topic of
the demon or anything that has been happening.  I finally admit to him why I
flirt – I was so painfully shy when I first moved in with my Gram that Gram had
me see a therapist. The therapist suggested I pretend I’m someone else so I
wouldn’t feel so self-conscious.  I decided I wanted to be the life of the
party so I started to flirt.  It eventually became second nature, I don’t think
I could stop if I wanted to it’s so much a part of who I am now.  I glance at the
time on my phone, it’s getting closer to game time.  “We should be heading over
to the arena.  The game starts in about 45 minutes.”

He pays the bill, and we
head toward the door.  I step to the left as the door opens, and in walks Mel
and Dan.  “Hi Mel, Dan.  Date night?”

“Yep.” Dan says, looking
at me, his eyes glowing slightly but no one notices.  “Where are you two
headed?”

“I’m going to introduce
Logan to Komet hockey.  Hope they win!”

“Enjoy the game,” Mel
says, “but not too much!”

We head out the door and
go to the arena. It’s about half an hour before the puck drops, so the parking
lot is bustling with people walking towards the entrance.

Logan frowns.  “I hope
nothing happens tonight, too many chances for someone else to get hurt.”

I grab his hand and lace my
fingers in with his, “It will be fine, there hasn’t been an incident in a
couple of days.  Maybe he gave up.”

“Let’s hope so.  Enough
about that, our deal was we wouldn’t talk about it tonight.”

On that note we head into
the arena.  I got really good seats, up in the second tier on the corner.  We
get the home team on this end twice, but it doesn’t really matter as we have a
good view of the entire arena.  We settle into our seats, people watching.  Logan
has my hand in his, rubbing his thumb on the back of my hand sending little
tingles up through my arm.  I can’t believe his touch can affect me this way.  I
watch him scanning the crowd, ever watchful.

“Hey, you can relax.  I’m
sure he won’t try anything with so many witnesses.”

“You’re probably right, I
just can’t help it.  One of the hazards of being in law enforcement.”

The game begins, I explain
the rules and watch as Logan becomes entranced with the game. Soon, he is
yelling at the ref like everyone else.  The Komets score the first goal, Logan
laughs after everyone yells, “He shoots, he scores!”

I love to see him laugh
with complete delight in the game in front of us.  No worry in his eyes, just
enjoyment of the moment.  I reach up and pull his mouth down to mine and give
him a kiss, a promise of things to come.  The love in his eyes makes my knees
want to buckle.

We sit and enjoy the game.
 We get tagged by the “kiss cam,” and Logan deepens the kiss to the delight of
the crowd.  I turn bright red and he just laughs, thoroughly enjoying himself.  During
the third period a stray puck heads right for us, Logan covers me and I hear
him grunt when the puck hits him in the back.  “Oh my God, Logan, are you OK?”

He hands me the puck.  “Sure
Darlin’, didn’t even dent my armor.  It wasn’t moving as fast as it looked.”

“Are you sure? I think you
should go to the first-aid station.”

“Nope, didn’t even hurt.  Don’t
worry about it.”

I watch the rest of the
game, worry about the puck hitting him in the back of my mind.  The Komets win,
with a score of three to two.  A great start to the season!  Hopefully, we’ll
be able to come to some more games.

We head to the Jeep,
dodging excited Komet fans.  When we get to the Jeep, Logan turns and looks me
in the eye, “Thanks Darlin’, I hope you had as much fun as I did.”  He moves to
kiss me, dipping me when he hears the whistles and the shouts, “Way to go bro!”

We both laugh, I am trying
not to show my embarrassment at being so public with my affection. Logan bows
to the applause.  “Come on Romeo, let’s go home.  Did I tell you I have
something on under my clothes that I bought just for you?”

He grins, “Just for me?  Let’s
go!”

I think we made it back to
Fairfield Corners in about 10 minutes, Logan must have broken every speed limit
on the way.  We finally pull into the driveway and Logan throws it in park,
barely taking time to pull out the keys.  He comes around the Jeep, opening my
door and pulling me out gently.  He sets me on my feet, turning me towards him
and he kisses me, deepening the kiss until I forget that we are in the middle
of the driveway with the Jeep door hanging open.  My knees buckle and Logan
picks me up and closes the door before he carries me to the porch.  He puts me
down only long enough to unlock the door.  He picks me back up, and rushes into
the house, closing the door with his foot.  He puts me down just inside the
door and starts undressing me.  “No way Logan, we are making it to the bed this
time!  I turn and run up the stairs, unbuttoning my shirt as I run, pulling it
out of my jeans.  I get to the top of the stairs, turning as I pull off my
shirt, showing Logan half of the gift I bought just for him.  All frothy and
lacey, it shows off my curves and Logan’s eyes go dark, the gold flecks
glinting in the moonlight. I shimmy out of my jeans and hear Logan groan,
“You’re killing me, Darlin’,” when he sees the bikini underwear that matches my
bra, pulling me to him.  I can feel how aroused he is.  I relish the thought
that I can do this to him, without even trying.  My own arousal is heightened
when I feel his hardness through his jeans.  I reach down to stroke him, loving
the groan that escapes, telling me how much I affect him.  I start to unbutton
his jeans but he steps back, pulling out his shirt and pulling it off, sending
buttons flying. His hands shake as he tries to unbutton his jeans.

“Let me,” I moan, “you’re
taking too long!”  I get his jeans undone and he pulls them down along with his
underwear, freeing himself and throwing his jeans somewhere.  I don’t even care
where they landed, just that they are out of the way.  His eyes take in my
body, clothed only in scraps of lace.  His eyes grow darker with desire, and he
just stands there and drinks in the sight of me.  He picks me up and takes me
over to the bed, kissing me the whole way, putting me down on the bed without
breaking the kiss, deepening it as he straddles me, fitting himself into the
junction of my legs.  I bend my legs, opening myself for him, my hips moving
involuntarily with my need for him.  Suddenly, my underwear is gone and he is
inside me, moving to an age-old rhythm, bringing me to the peak and over the
other side.  But he isn’t done, he cups my breasts, still in my bra, bringing
his mouth down and sucking on the nipples through the fabric, making them even
harder, circling one and then the other with his tongue.  I begin to moan, so
lost in the sensations, lost in the desire, the desire he has awakened in me,
the desire I thought I would never feel again.  He is still within me, moving
against me, bringing me to the peak again, slowly this time.  I start moving and
rubbing myself against him, loving the groan this pulls out of him.  I suck on
his nipples making him gasp and pump harder, as if he is trying to make us one
organism, joined together as only a man and a woman can be.

My heart is pounding and
my breathing is ragged, but I cannot get enough.  I am moving without thought,
moving to try to ease this ache of wanting, of needing.  His hands are magic,
running over my body, finally tangling in my hair, holding my head as he pumps
his hips, satisfying that ache and building it at the same time until we
finally both climax, pumping away, two sexual creatures with no other worries.

The next morning I wake up
with Logan’s arm and leg draped over me, I watch him as he sleeps. No worry
lines and a slight smile on his face.  I bring my hand up and touch his face,
this face that has become so important to me in such a short time.  I snuggle
in closer and his arm pulls me even closer. “Morning, Darlin’,” he says with a
grin, “At least we made it to the bed this time.”

I turn my head and see his
grin, looking like the cat that ate the canary, very satisfied with himself.
“You’re looking very satisfied this morning, Dudley, want to go for round two?”

“Round two?  I thought we
had round two, three, and four last night.  Woman, you are insatiable!” he says
with a laugh, moving to pin me under him.  I see him wince as he moves, he
tries to hide it but I can see it.

“Logan, what is it?  Oh my
God, it’s from that puck hitting you last night!  Let me see your back!”

“It’s nothing, it just got
stiff while I slept is all. Nothing to worry about, Darlin’.”  He starts to
kiss me, trying to distract me from the fact that he is hurt, injured
protecting me from a stray puck at a hockey game.

“You’re not getting away
that easy, Mr. Deputy, let me see your back.  Now!”

“Now, Darlin’, it’s
nothing to be worried about, just a bruise.”

“Don’t you Darlin’ me.  Let
me see your back!”

“I suppose I’m not getting
any until I let you look, so OK.”  And he rolls over, giving me a good view of
his back.

“My God, Logan,” I say as
I gently run my fingers over the bruise on his back, the bruise shaped exactly
like a hockey puck, “you need an x-ray.  You might have a cracked rib.”