Kindred (Book 1 The Kindred Series) (33 page)

   “Devon,” she breathed, her husky voice causing a small shiver to run down his spine.

  
Her eyes raked over him, the
desire
radiating
from
her
caus
ed
his own
to intensify tenfold
.
He had felt her want for him before, but it was stronger tonight, deeper and more urgent.
He didn’t know where it had come from, what had caused it, but he wasn’t sure he could resist it.
His hand tightened around the branch, he had to
stop
himself
from
tear
ing
it from the tree as he fought the fierce urge to seize hold of her and ease the burning hunger raging through him.

 
This had been a mistake; he
never sho
uld have come here
, not
as tumultuous and unsettled as he
was. He could hurt her; he
would
hurt her if he lost control. Th
ough he knew that he should go
, he did not move.
He couldn
’
t leave her.

  
She took a
small
step back, turning slightly to allow him access to her room. He hesitated, knowing that if he went through that window there would be no turning back.
If he entered that room, he knew he would never be able to separate from her again. And he did not care. He did not care about anything but holding her, feeling her, being with her.

  
Hunger and need burned through him, but he could control it.
He
would
control it.
He could deny himself
anything
to be near her, to be with her, to keep her safe.

   He moved swiftly through the window,
rising slowly to
his
full height
before her. She gazed up at him with wide eyes that gleamed in the
glow
of the television. The light played over her perfect features, robbing him of all reason as he simp
ly gazed at her, unable to move.
He sensed a strange vulnerability about her tonight, a wealth of sadness and fear that he had never seen before. He did not know what
had happened with
Luther
,
but it was obvious that it had troubled her greatly.

   “What are you doing here?” she asked, slightly breathless.

   He didn’t know what he was doing
here;
he just knew that this
was
where he was supposed to be.
Where he was
always
supposed to be.
“I had to see you,” he said honestly.

  
Her eyes widened even more
,
tears fill
ed
their bright depths. Those tears broke his paralysis. Reaching out, he wrapped his hand
gently
around the back of her head
.
T
he feel of her instantly sooth
ed
the raging beast
,
instantly
calm
ed
the fierce urges clamoring
loudly
inside him. He pulled her against him, relief filling him as her body melded against his, fitting perfectly, completing him.

  
Though no air came out, h
e breathed a sigh of relief, his fingers strok
ed
through her silken hair as he caressed the back of her head.
He had to remember to be careful around her, remember to pretend to breathe, and to keep her away from his nonexistent heartbeat.
He had to remember to
be gentle, to keep his strength restrained so as not to hurt her.
But he found it difficult to concentrate on such things whenever he was around her.

  
“Cassie,” he murmured, dropp
ing his head into her
hair
,
nuzzling her
soft
ly
.

   A fiery ache
for her
spread through his whole body. His grip on her
tightened
,
his body harden
ed
as he held her. Her arms wrapped around him, clinging to him a
s her fingers dug into his back
. He did not know how long he held her, simply taking pleasure in the feel of her. The rightness of her body against his robbed him of all sense and reason. Time had no meaning in heaven, and he knew that this was as close to heaven as he was ever going to get.
This
was the only bit of heaven he would ever know in his world of death and
destruction
.

   The flow of light from the moon drew his attention to the fact that it was getting late. He did not want to le
ave
her, but he could not keep her up all night. She needed her rest, needed her sleep. She was far more fragile than he
.
She was
a breakable,
mortal
human. The thought seized hold of him, sending a fierce bolt of bloodlust
surging
through him.

   His fangs
sprang free. Shaking, unnerved, he struggled to keep hold of himself
.
He f
o
ught fiercely to keep the demon inside
,
though it was
bursting to get free
of its
cage
. It was bursting to sink its teeth into her,
bursting to
drain the sweet, pure blood that pounded deliciously through her veins. It clamored to
deplete
her, and change her, and make her his forever.
It c
lamored to make her immortal, and strong, and safe from the world of
imminent
death she resided in.

   A tremor wracked through him, his grip tighten
ed
upon her.
“Devon,” she said softly.

   He realized that his
hold
upon her had become painful. She did not
strain
against him
though
, did not complain
.
He fought to regain control, fought not to think about the
appealing
blood he could hear pumping through her veins.
He knew s
he would be
wonderful
, a powerful rush unlike
any he’d
ever
known
.
Then he would turn her, mak
e
her his forever,
and
keep her safe
from the ultimate finality of her fragile life.

   The temptation was so fierce, so overwhelming
that he dropped his head to the side of her neck
.
He caught the scent of her blood, fierce and strong. The enchanting smell assailed him, ca
u
sing
uproar inside of
him
.
The b
loodlust
shook
him
,
the beast screamed to be soothed by her, appeased by her. His lips pulled
back. His teeth
were painful with their need
to
be sated
, throbbing
with their desire to pierce her
.
T
hey were heavy and sharp and aching to bite down, aching to sink deep into her tender flesh and feast upon her.

  
“Devon?”

   A tremor tore through him again, shaking him. He c
ould not be denied, he would
not
be denied. And then she caressed him
.
H
er delicate fingers strok
ed
over his back
, soothing
the beast
inside of him
. He shuddered, burying his head in the side of h
er
neck as he struggled fiercely to regain control of himself. Reason began to return as her gentle touch lulled
him
,
slowly returning the monster to
its
cage.

   What had he been thinking? He had been about to condemn her to his world.
A world of darkness and
brutality
.
He had been about to take the light from her. Had been about to rob her of her purity and goodness, of her innocence, and he had been about to do it
against her will. He had to get away from her, stay away from her. She rocked his self restraint, his control, and in his world those were two things that he desperately needed to keep
under
wraps
, or he
would
kill someone.

   Shuddering
, he caressed her hair once more. He would watch over her until the threat was gone, but he could not be near her anymore,
could not hold her again. The thought tore through
him with a burning rage that seared the inside of him,
and left
ashes in its wake. Agony blazed hotly in him, he felt the loss acutely, even though he still
held her against him.

   She tilted her head up, her bright eyes gleaming in the light. Her beautiful face broke his heart, shaking him completely, leaving him
rattled an
d lost to her forever. I
n that moment
he knew
he could leave
her
,
that he could go to the opposite side of the world,
but she would be with him for
eternity
. She would remain burned into his heart, his thoughts, and every fiber of his being. He would never be without her, never be free of her
;
never
escape her
.

   And he didn
’
t want to be.
Even if he could not be beside her, he wanted to carry her with him everywhere he went, no matter how far.

   “I should go.”
His voice was tight, but he had regained most of his control.

   S
he simply stared at him, the longing in her eyes almost more than he could
stand
.
“Don’t.”
   He blinked in surprise, not
sure what to say
,
or do. Her long lashes lowered over her eyes, heat flar
ed
through her creamy cheeks. A soft groan issued from him. Her eyes came back to his, hesitant and shy.
Her
sweet
simplicity
was heart wrenching. She was far to
o
good for him, and everything that he was. He was a monster and
a killer
,
and
she was an angel.

   When he did not speak, her face flushed even redder, fire climb
ed
high i
nto her cheekbones.
“I uh… I didn
’
t mean…”

   Her voice trailed
off, she ducked her face, hiding it from him. Brushing back her silken hair, he cupped her face gently, feeling the heat of her
skin
against his palms. Her eyes flitted up to
his. “I know,” he said gently, hoping to ease some of her embarrassment. “I know
what you meant
.”

   He traced his thumb gently over her lip, relishing in the soft fullness of it
. He could stay with her
, l
ie
beside her,
and
keep her safe as he held her through the night. He could control himself
for that
.
H
e could give himself this, and
then he w
ould leave tomorrow. Even as he thought it, he knew he lied.

   He was
not leaving her. It would
never
happen.
His feelings for her were
t
o
strong, to powerful, and he was acutely aware of the fact that he knew what that meant. That he knew what she was to him
now, what she would always be,
and how this would
all
end
. He just
did not want to think about it.
N
ot now
, because the ending was something that he didn
’
t want for her
.
The ending was something that she would not want for herself, and he hated the fact that he may end up forcing
his life
upon her.