Taken Over (Book 2 The Ravening Series) (34 page)

   “I never should have given up on you.
I should have come after you.
”

   He frowned at me, his mouth pursed tightly. It seemed he wanted to say something, but instead he shook his head and dropped a soft
kiss on my nose. “There was nothing you could have done. If you had come after
me we wouldn’t be here
right
now. You would have been captured or killed also.
None of this is your fault Bethany and it all worked out for the best
.
This, right here,
”
he placed my hand firmly against his chest, his other hand stroked lightly over my cheek. “This is all that we need; just us and our loved ones.”

   I managed a small smile for him but I couldn’t shake my lingering guilt.
I breathed a soft sigh of love and desire as his lips traveled down to my own, seizing hold of my mouth with a growing hunger that caused my bones to quiver.
He was right; this was all that
we
needed from now on.

   “Bethany!” I jumped in startled
surprise at
the sharp bark that broke into our bliss. “Where the
hell
have you…”

   Aiden’s voice broke of
f as Cade straightened above me;
his dark eyes
were
hooded as he surveyed Aiden.
Shock widened Aiden’s eyes, his mouth dropped
as he stopped abruptly
. “Cade?”
he squeaked in surprise.

   “Hey Aiden.”

   Aiden’s mouth dropped even further, probably due more to Cade’s nonchalant
response
than the fact that he was actually standing there. Aiden’s eyes flew to me, shock and disbelief radiated from him.
He came slowly forward, his eyebrows drawing tightly together as he surveyed Cade from head to toe
with disbelief
.

   “You’re alive.”

   “I am,” Cade agreed.

   “What? How?” Aiden
sputtered
. Then he broke into a grin and grabbed hold of Cade’s arm
and pulled him close in a quick embrace
. “This is amazing! It’s g
reat
to see you!”

  
“You too.”

   “
We thought you were dead, how are you still alive?”

   “Not now Aiden,” I interjected.
Leave it to my brother to pounce on
Cade
with questions. He was like a dog with a bone sometimes, I just hoped that this was one bone he was willing to let go of.
At least for a little while.

   Aiden’s gaze slid to me. “
Did you know?
”

  
I started in surprise.
“No
.
Of course not.
”

   Aiden frowned at me. “Then what were you doing?
Why did you leave
if you didn’t know he was out here
?
”

   I shook my head, taking strength in Cade’s solid presence as he wrapped his fingers through mine.
“I just needed to
get away for a bit.
Needed some time to myself.
”

   “In the woods?
By
yourself
!
?
” I shifted uncomfortably. “How long have you been doing that for?”

   “Aiden…”

   “Damn it Bethany!” he snapped. Then his gaze slid to Cade. “I hope that is all over now.”

  
“
I like the woods, they’re peaceful. I found solace in them.”
   “And now you won’t need to.”

   I glared at Aiden, he may be right, but that didn’t mean I still didn’t want to beat the hell out of him
right now
.
Cade knew that I loved him, that I had been lost without him, but I didn’t want him to think I was moping around for the past month. Even if I had been. I wanted him to think that I was strong, that I had been surviving, and not trying to kill myself.
I didn’t want him to think that I’d quit, when I hadn’t.

   “I like being
alone
in the woods,” I grated out.

   “Not anymore.” I shot Cade a dark look. “I’ll
be
com
ing
with you now.”

  
I wanted to argue with him for taking Aiden’s side, wanted to protest that I was fine on my own, but I simply didn’t have it in me. All I could do was smile up at him. In all honesty I didn’t really care if I went into the woods on my own again
,
or not. It didn’t matter as long as Cade was by my side
.

***

  
Cade stood silently in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest, his eyes hooded as he surveyed the room. Though his posture was casual, tension hum
med
through his body. Bishop prattled eagerly on, explaining how he hoped that my blood would hold
the answer
. Cade’s
displeasure was nearly palpable as his eyes followed Bishop’s every move.

  
He had been back for almost three days now, but much to everyone’s displeasure, he refused to talk about what he had gone through, what he had seen. He had also tried to keep me from Bishop. For the most part
Cade still
seemed like the person I had lost, but there were other times when he was distant
,
almost
harsh
. Th
ere was a current of
hostility
thrumming through him that only eased when we were alone together, which was far rarer than I
wanted or
liked.

  
The first night had been spent making our way through the dark, staying to the woods as we moved toward Boston.
We had stopped to stay
in an old house
sheltered
in
a cove deep in
the woods. Unfortunately, there weren’t many rooms and though we slept at each other’s sides at night, we were never alone.
 

   Those onyx eyes slid toward me, his strong jaw clenched tight.
There was a smoldering heat in his gaze that warmed the very marrow of my bones.
“I do need a fresh sample though, if you don’t mind Bethy.
You’re off the antibiotics now.
”
   “Ah sure,” I answered absently.
Cade took a step toward me
;
he looked as if he wa
s
going
to protest
but remained silent. It was moments like these, when he looked about ready to punch something that had everyone weary of him, and me more than a little concerned.

   I
was
roll
ing
my sleeve up
for Bishop
when a shout rang out. Leaping from the chair I had been sitting upon, I pulled
the gun swiftly from my waistband. Something flashed through Cade’s eyes; he reached out as if to stop me, but seemed to reconsider
it
as his hand fell back to his side.
He moved with me as I hurried
through the house
. Bret
and Aiden
w
ere
out there somewhere
;
t
he
y
had gone out with a group of people to help scavenge for food.

   Terror
for them
hammered through me, I was sprinting by the time I slammed into the screen door. The weight of my body caused it to fling open but Cade grabbed hold of it before
it
slam
med
closed. I flew across the porch, coming up short, my
gun raised as I took in the crowd
gathered in a circle. Darnell and Lloyd stood at the front of the circle, their guns leveled at the young man that stood in the center
with
his hands raised above his head.

   “I come in peace,” he quipped,
using his raised fingers to flash the Vulcan salute. He was
grinning
brightly
despite the fact
that he was
teetering on the edge of
being shot.
I kept my gun aimed at the man’s chest; I was at a good angle on the porch to fire if I had too. Even if he was human.
None of us kidded ourselves into believing that the aliens were our only enemies anymore. There were humans we would have to fear too.
Humans that would want to take from us what little we had.

   The smile slipped slowly from his face as he seemed to finally realize that he was in real danger. His hands raised minutely, his dark eyebrows lifted slightly as he surveyed the crowd.
Cade stepped forward suddenly, blocking me as the young man’s dark
eyes
swung in our direction.
There was something about Cade, something dark and deadly. We may have had guns but for one stunning moment
,
I became certain that he was
the
deadl
iest one
amongst us.

   The young man’s eyes rested upon Cade for a moment
,
narrowing slightly before sliding toward me. There was a moment, one brief intense moment
,
when I could
almost feel the crackle of tension that filled the air. I would have thought that perhaps I was imagining it, but several heads turned in our direction. In
Cade’s
direction. One of them was Bret, who studied Cade with a weary expression that left me feeling oddly hollow.
The two of them had not ended things on a good note and the lingering hostility between them was starting to grate on my nerves
but for one instant Bret stared at Cade as if he didn’t even know him and it scared the hell out of me.

   “What do you want?” Darnell demanded sharply.

   The man’s dark eyes slid slowly toward Darnell. H
e
was sup
porting a buzz cut;
his hair was black
stubble
against his skull.
His
dark olive skin gleamed
in the fading light of the day.
He was striking, and seemed affable enough, but there was obviously something about him that Cade did
not
like.
“I just want some shelter, maybe some food. There is safety in numbers, isn’t there?”