Kindled (Page 9)

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 shook forcefully, tremors wracked painfully through her. Helplessness filled his eyes; he pulled her forward another step, reaching for her with his other hand. She almost went to him, almost buried herself against him. Almost lost herself to him completely. And then the hard facts of reality descended over her with the force of a tsunami, leaving her breathless and lost.

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

She released his hand and took 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 could 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 taking 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 clenched 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 reflected 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 herself to walk toward Chris’s car. Chris’s shoulders sagged, his head bowed slightly. She could feel Devon’s gaze boring into her back as she reached the passenger side door. Chris lifted his head as he glanced toward Devon. Cassie stiffened, her eyes narrowing as she took in the silent communication that passed between them. Turning back to 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.

She glared at Chris. “Traitor,” she hissed, flinging the door open.

Chris’s eyes widened, he looked slightly chagrined before he ducked back inside the car. Cassie fought the urge not to look at Devon again, but against her will her eyes were drawn back to him. Her heart turned over as she found him still watching her intently. Hurt and longing radiated from him. Unable to move, Cassie stared back at him, her heart flipping as want filled her. For a moment she wished that things could be different, unfortunately they couldn’t.

Turning away, she slid into the passenger seat and closed the door behind her. Chris hesitated briefly before sliding the car into gear. “Are you ok?” he asked softly before pulling away from the curb.

“Fine,” she mumbled, keeping her head down as they left Devon behind.

CHAPTER 4

Cassie crossed her legs, folding her arms firmly over her chest as she leaned against the large oak behind her. She kept all of her senses honed on the night around her, searching for something, anything, in the dark. Well, anything other than Devon, who she knew was lurking in the woods at the edge of the cemetery. She resented his presence, but there was nothing that she could do to stop him from being there.

He would not leave, and she was certain that Julian and Isla would not make an appearance with him there. Frustration and anger boiled through her. She just wanted all of this to be over, but she wasn’t even going to have the chance to start it. Not as long as Devon, Chris, Melissa, and Dani hovered around her like nervous mother hens.

And with the way that one of them was constantly with her, she wouldn’t have an opportunity to escape any time soon. She wanted to smash her fist into something, instead she settled for clenching her hands so tightly that her fingernails dug painfully into her palms. “How long do you want to stay out here for?” Chris asked softly.

Cassie turned slowly toward him, trying hard to keep a tight rein on her temper. She didn’t want them to see how aggravated she was by their presence, and Devon’s. They had to think that she was ok with this; they had to believe that they could start leaving her alone. Because if they didn’t start to leave her alone, she was going to go freaking crazy. Because if they didn’t, then she would never get her chance to go after Isla and Julian, she would never get her chance to exact her revenge.

“Not much longer,” she answered absently.

Chris continued to study her for a moment longer before turning away. Cassie watched the woods impassively, taking note of the few creatures that stirred within its shadowy depths. If the animals were about then Julian and Isla were not. Unclenching her hands, she reached down to stroke her fingers over the stake she had in the waistband of her jeans. It did little to reassure her as she knew she would not be using it tonight.

Dani shivered, huddling deeper into her thick winter coat as the wind howled over the open expanse of the cemetery. Cassie sighed heavily, stepping away from the tree as pity finally sank in past the hard shell surrounding her. “Let’s go,” she mumbled.

Dani breathed a sigh of relief as she scurried swiftly to her feet. Chris and Melissa looked just as relieved as they hurried to join her. Cassie turned on her heel, not truly acknowledging their presence’s as she made her way swiftly over the snow covered landscape. The snow crunched beneath her boots, but it was hard enough now that she didn’t sink into it.