Kindred (Book 1 The Kindred Series) (28 page)

   It was amazing how attached she had become to him in the past week. She itched when he was not
around;
her skin was uncomfortable when he was not there to soothe the burning that his absence created. She
still
didn’t understand
the
strange power
he h
a
d
over her, the fierce connection that blazed between them,
but
she had accepted the fact that
she had no control over it
.

  
He had inserted himself permanently into her life, creating chaos where there had been none.
But it was a chaos that she relished in
,
and needed as
much
as she needed air to survive.
She would be completely lost without his strong presence
,
and the hope that he
had
brought
to
her
life
.

  
Her phone went off, the faint beep barely audible above the din surrounding her. Digging it out of her pocket, she
flip
p
ed it open relieved to see the text from Devon saying that he was on his way. Flipping it closed, she shoved it back in her pocket, unable to stop the small smile that flitted across her mouth.

  
“Devon on his way?”
Chris asked quietly.

  
“Yeah.”

   He nodded
as
his blue eyes scann
ed
the crowd. Though he still wasn
’
t completely relaxed around Devon, they seemed to have forged a strange friendship
.
T
hey watched TV together every night when Devon came over to see her
.
They
comment
ed
on this and that
, laughing
or
groaning depending on what was on
.
They were both obsessed with The Deadliest Catch and
Cassie found it highly amusing
to watch and listen to them.
She
had grown accustomed to
Devon’
s visits after school, looked forward to the time they spent together in her room before she had to go back to the grind of her
night
life. She
was still not used to having Devon
in her room, in her life even, but
s
he
had grown to like having
him there
.

   A loud shout drew her attention to Jack Wells
.
T
he quarterback was standing on one of the picnic tables, throwing French fries at
anyone unfortunate enough to be close to him. Cassie rolled her eye
s
as
Melissa heaved a large sigh. “What an idiot,” Chris muttered.

   “Boys will be boys,” Cassie said softly.

   “
S
hoot me if I ever act like that.”
   “Oh, it’s a guarantee
,
and don’t forget I know how to use a crossbow.”

   He grinned at her. “Ye
ah
you do.”

   Cassie scanned the crowd
again;
impatient
to see
Devon
.
Since she had made the decision not to fight her feelings, things had leveled out inside her
, become more peaceful
. She could
concentrate on her training
again
;
she
was
more settled
,
and more alive
,
than she had been in years.
She was still a tumult of feeling and sensation when it came to him,
and
she was beginning to
believe
that that feeling would never change.

  
There was a ripple in the crowd, a slight shifting amongst the students. She knew instantly that he had
arrived
as
his presence
always
cause
d
a stir.
The boys were still slightly w
ary of him, and the girl
’
s
eagerly
followed hi
s
every move. The
girl’s
had
also
started to
g
i
ve her
angry
, hate filled looks that she had not gotten used to receiving
,
and
was perplexed by
. She had done nothing to
them;
in fact she had
considered most of them her friends.
Until now.
She
knew
it was jealousy
over her relationship with Devon
that fueled their anger,
knew that they wanted him,
but
that fact didn’t make
the resentment from them
any
easier
.

   He walked
gracefully
through the crowd, not acknowledging the strange or lustful stares
that followed him
.
Jack stopped tossing f
rench
-
fries as Devon moved past,
not even he was crazy enough to thro
w
a fry at Devon.
T
hough
,
Cassie thought it might be entertaining to see. Devon didn’t even
acknowledg
e
the winning quarterbacks presence
as he
moved
swiftly past
. Until Devon had arrived, Jack had been the most sought after boy in school.
Now
Jack’
s all American good looks
couldn
’
t hold a candle to Devon’s dark
splendor
.

  
Cassie bristled slightly
as Marcy stepped in front of Devon
,
halting his progress.
It was not jealousy that broke through her, for he did not look at other girls that way
.
In fact
,
Cassie
knew
that she was often the
only
person he saw. He conveyed
that
to her with every one of his searing looks and gentle touches, for even now as he spoke with Marcy, his gaze was focused upon her.
The smile on his lips was for her
only
.
No
, i
t was
not jealousy that tore through her
,
but aggravation
that
Marcy
had stopped him from coming
straight
to her
. She needed
him
to
eas
e
the
aching
tension
c
li
ng
ing
to her.

   He spoke with
Marcy
for a few m
oments
, but his
gaze
remained
firm upon
her
, his eyes wa
rm and caring. Some of the
anxiety
eased from her, a small smile curv
ed
her mouth as she
watched
him. The bond between them was fierce
,
and they
still
hadn
’
t
even
kissed
yet
.
In fact
,
t
hey
had done nothing more than hold hands and sit with each other. She ac
hed for his kiss
she just didn’
t know what would ha
ppen when
he
finally
did
kiss her
.
H
is
touch was enough to drive her crazy, she
could
n’t
imagine wh
at his kiss would do
to her
,
but
she was dying to find out.

   Yet, she did not rush it, did not try and make the first move
. She knew it would happen
eventually
,
and that it would be as thrilling as everything else with him
was
.
F
or now
,
i
t was
simply
enough to be with him
every day.

   He nodded to Marcy, giving
her a brief smile
before
step
ping
casually around her.
Excitement tingled through Cassie
as he
came to
her;
her body ins
tinctively leaned
closer to his
as
h
is hand slid easily i
nto hers
. The burn and itch
in
her skin eased
, allowing her to experience the bliss that he brought her.
H
e
was the
only
balm that
co
uld
ea
se her discomfort.
 

   He stood close beside her, his chest pressed lightly against her shoulder. The hand not holding hers wrapped possessively around her waist,
and
rest
ed
lightly
upon her hip. A small shiver worked its way down her spine, her eyes closed briefly as she
relished in the pleasure that his touch brought
her
. His scent engulfed her, filling her nostrils with
the
smell of
fresh air tinted with the crisp hint of spices. It was a scent she had grown used to, and
she welcomed it with every fiber of her being.

   His hand lightly stroked her hip, his fingers set up a firestorm within her that only he could start, and put out.
“You look beautiful tonight.”

   His soft words and
gentle
breath blew against her hair
, ruffling it slightly
. She shivered again, leaning closer to him as he gently nuzzled her neck
. His lips brushed over her skin, briefly
caressing the nape of her neck. For a moment Cassie feared that her knees
would
buckle as her legs began to tremble
fiercely
.

   He
chuckled lightly, his hand tighten
ed
on her waist.
P
ull
ing
her closer against him,
he
gently support
ed
her suddenly weak legs.
Cassi
e’s hand tightened around his
. “
Oh
!”
A
loud shout echoed through the air, reverberating
beneath the metal overhang of B’s and S’s.

   Cassie looked up as
Jack did a back
flip off the table, landing perfec
tly on his feet. “What an idiot,
” Chris said, tossing his empty shake into the
trash
can.

   “He t
hrows
you the bal
l,” Melissa reminded him
.

   “Yeah,
but that
doesn’t mean he has a brain
cell. The guy relishes in being the stereotypical jerk jock, one of these days I’
m
going
to punch him.”
   Cassie grinned as she shook her head. “You’d be kicked off the team.”

  
“Would be worth it.”

   Chants began as Mike
Daniels jumped on
to
the table, preparing
to do his own jump off
. Cassie sighed heavily. “This isn’t going to end w
ell.”
  
Melissa was
already
grinning
brightly
, a
knowing
twinkle in her dark eyes.
Mike jumped off the table, spinning through the air. His feet hit the ground, the left one skidd
ed
out from under him
as he s
lipped
on
one of Jack’s discarded fries
. He landed hard on his butt, a loud
whoomph
issuing from him as
his
breath rushed out
.