Ravenous (The Ravening #1)(7)
Author: Erica Stevens

“I never trusted them,” I whispered.

“I know.”

My attention turned back to Cade. He had moved deeper into the room, his midnight hair blended seamlessly in with the shadows hugging him. The black tank top he wore emphasized the corded muscles of his arms as it blended in with the dark. The summer sun had deepened his already olive complexion to a bronzed hue that I was envious of and would never be able to achieve. My summer color tended to be red if I spent too much time in the sun.

He was examining a few of the boxes, but he didn’t try to open them, and he didn’t appear to be truly interested in their contents. I had the feeling that though he wasn’t looking at me, his concentration was still solely focused upon me. “How did you know that?”

He lifted a large box with surprising ease and placed it on top of another. “It’s been written all over your face for the past year.”

Though I had caught him watching me, I hadn’t realized he’d been scrutinizing me so closely, but apparently he must have been watching a little more keenly than I had realized. “Oh.”

“You don’t hide things very well.”

“I see.” Though I didn’t see, and I was more than a little confused by this conversation. I decided to change the topic. “How did you know about this room?”

“I’ve been working for Peter for two years now.”

“Peter?”

“The man outside.” I frowned, my hands clenched more firmly on my arms. I hadn’t known that. In fact there wasn’t a whole lot I did know about him anymore, other than rumors. The girls at school called him the black devil due to his cold demeanor, midnight hair and coal colored eyes. I had never given much thought to the nickname, I’d thought it was silly and that they were absurd for saying it. Standing in his presence now I completely understood it, and couldn’t shake it from my mind. “He keeps the most valuable things secured in here.”

I just nodded. I didn’t know what else to say. I wasn’t sure if I was reading too much into this conversation, or if I was completely missing something. Either way, I was beginning to feel like an idiot.

I hadn’t been expecting any of this when I’d woken up this morning. But then, it could be worse, I could be one of those people in the street. I was lucky to still be moving, I was lucky to have someone else with me now. Especially Cade, as he seemed remarkably calm and competent considering the way our lives had been abruptly turned upside down.

I had to pull myself together; it was the only way I was going to survive. “Sit.”

My attention was drawn back to Cade. He had settled himself onto one of the boxes; his arm was draped over his bent leg as he watched me. I had no intention of moving away from the door though. I was not going any deeper into this room. The very idea of it was enough to make my heartbeat excel and my skin crawl. I shook my head.

He climbed to his feet and carried one of the boxes over to me. “Sit Bethany, relax. I have a feeling we won’t be getting many more opportunities to do that anytime soon. We had better take advantage of it now.”

I stared up at him, momentarily lost as he gazed at me. I had always tried not to let how attractive he was effect me but it was impossible. We were completely different people and he was way out of my league. He’d always been a strange enigma that was fascinating, but nearly impossible to solve. He could have any girl he desired, probably most women too. And I was… well I was just me. Not awful, but nothing overly remarkable either.

But now Cade was only inches from me and his presence was overwhelming in the small room. I felt like a fool, but I couldn’t stop myself from admiring the sheer magnificence of him as he leaned close enough for me to see the stubble lining his jaw. He smelled like an enticing combination of spices and crisp fresh air. I shifted self consciously. I didn’t want to move away from him, but I didn’t want him paying too close of attention to me either. He could see that I was a mess, but he didn’t have to smell me on top of it.

I didn’t think I could relax, but I slid limply onto the box because I didn’t know what else to do. He watched me for a minute before moving back to his own box. We didn’t speak as the bulb cast shadows around the room. It shook from the vibrations of that thing making its way down the street, draining its victims.

Draining people.

CHAPTER 4

We slipped through the shadows of the buildings, Cade moving with easy grace that was astonishing. I wasn’t silent or graceful, but at least I wasn’t a blundering idiot. Not this time anyway. I followed him as we made our way through the streets. I didn’t feel the rumbling approach of those monstrous things, but I kept alert for any sign of their return, or any sign of something else coming for us.

The streets weren’t as cluttered with people now. I didn’t know what they did with the bodies when they were done with them, but thankfully they didn’t leave them behind. Guilt filled me for feeling relieved about the disappearance of the frozen people, but I couldn’t handle seeing their broken remains cluttering the street. Not on top of everything else.

Cade slipped around a corner; my heart picked up a beat as he disappeared from view. He was waiting for me when I turned the corner, his hand stretched behind him to hold me back.

I stopped, my breath trapped within me as I strained to hear anything out of the ordinary. It was unnaturally still in the fading light of day. I wondered if the aliens had retreated to their ships for the night, or if they would be returning soon to start collecting the people still within their homes, and stores.

Cade moved forward again. We made our way out of the center of town, slipping into backyards, staying to the woods as we swept through the shadows with more speed. Excitement and trepidation hammered through me as we neared my house. I didn’t know what to expect, I tried not to get my hopes up too much, but it was impossible.

I almost broke into a run when my house finally came into view, but Cade held me back, his arm encircling my waist as he kept a firm grip on me. “Getting yourself killed won’t do you, or your family, any good.”

I nodded, biting on my bottom lip as I ignored the strange sensations his touch aroused in me. Or at least tried to ignore them but it was impossible. My body tingled with unfamiliar currents of electricity when his fingers brushed over the bare skin exposed by the slight uplifting of my t-shirt. His breath was warm as it increased against my ear.

I forced myself to focus on something other than him, now most certainly was not the time to be thinking about this stuff. My house looked ominous in the growing night. It appeared empty, cold, and dark. My home was never dark. Abigail was forever turning on lights, but she always forgot to turn them off. It wasn’t unusual to come home and find every light in the house spilling from the windows, and lighting the night like a homing beacon.