She was greatly afraid that if she didn’t mend it soon, it would swallow her whole.
Cassie shoved aside her morose thoughts, sick of them. Sick of herself even. Wallowing in her misery, and loneliness, was not going to ease it.
“Are you going to tell us what you saw?” Chris demanded, leaning forward on his knee.
Melissa shook her head as she sat back in her seat, shoving the remains of her salad aside. “Nope, it doesn’t involve you so there’s no need for you to know about it.”
Chris groaned in disappointment, but his frustration did not affect his appetite as he took a big bite of his bacon cheeseburger. Grease dropped onto his paper plate but he paid it little mind as his attention focused on Marcy again. “She is cute.”
Cassie glanced over at Marcy, tilting her head as she studied the petite brunette. Despite her over exuberance, she was a pretty girl. “Does it matter?”
Chris grinned down at her as he shook back his mop of blond hair. “Not at all.”
Cassie couldn’t help but laugh at him, loving the bright sparkle in his sapphire eyes, and the cocky grin that flashed across his handsome face. She leaned against his leg, relishing in the easy comfort, strength, and reassurance he gave her. He had been her best friend, her rock, since she was born. Though many people thought they were a couple, or soon would be, there had never been anything other than sibling-like feelings between them.
Chris patted her back for a brief moment before turning his attention back to his cheeseburger, and Marcy. The hair on the back of Cassie’s neck suddenly stood up, a tingle swept down her spine that was neither pleasant nor unpleasant. With sudden certainty she knew that someone was staring at her, watching her. Straightening away from Chris, she frowned as her gaze rapidly scanned the forest, but she could see nothing, and no one, within its dark depths.
Turning slowly, Cassie was surprised to realize that her throat had gone dry, and her heart was trip hammering with excitement. She didn’t know what was causing the strange reaction inside her body, but she couldn’t stop it either. She was certain that there was something out there, and that it was waiting for her.
She froze, her gaze latched onto a man standing at the edge of the building closest to the road. He was highlighted by the splash of light pouring out of B’s and S’s, his features indiscernible in the shadows that played over him. He was completely still, his hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket. Even though the shadows kept him half hidden, she could see the startling, brilliant, emerald green of his eyes. Those eyes were oddly alight in the dark surrounding him, a dark that caressed his hard, unmoving body.
To Cassie’s utter amazement, the world around her suddenly ground to an abrupt halt. Everything around her fell away, the crowd disappeared; Chris and Melissa no longer existed as he became the central point of her world. All she could see, all she could feel, was him. He was inside of her, flowing through her veins, burning into her extremities, filling her. His presence eased the painful hole she had been living with. Though it made no sense to her, and she certainly couldn’t explain it, he somehow helped to heal everything that had been hurting, and broken, and wrong within her.
Unknowingly, tears sprang to her eyes. She would be ok; everything would be ok as long as he was here. The thought blazed into her mind, seared through her heart, and though it seemed crazy she knew that it was completely right. She didn’t understand how he made everything right, but he did. She needed him, the realization slammed into her with the force of a sledge hammer. It was a terrifying thought, confusing and unsettling. However, she knew that the thought was completely true. She knew it with the same certainty that she knew she needed air to survive.
“It’s about time,” Melissa said softly.
With those three words the world snapped back into frightening, lurching focus. The force of it left Cassie stunned and breathless. Her hand trembled as she wiped away the single tear that had unknowingly slid down her cheek. She was completely shaken by the bizarre encounter, unnerved, and yet completely exhilarated. Though she tried, she could not break eye contact with the stranger. If she looked away it would only reopen the giant hole within her. He didn’t seem to want to look away either, as his eyes never left hers. His piercing gaze kept her pinned to the spot.
Though she had no special gifts, no abilities like Chris and Melissa, she knew instantly that her life would never be the same again. She knew that the presence of this strange man marked a significant change in her life.
Complete and utter panic tore through her.
CHAPTER 2
“Bout time for what?” Chris asked, sucking fiercely at his chocolate shake as he lifted a dark blond eyebrow quizzically at Melissa.
“Oh, uh, it’s about time to go,” Melissa answered absently. She neatly wiped her hands before tossing her napkin aside.
Cassie spun wildly in her seat, desperately needing to flee, needing to run. She had to get as far away from here, and him, as possible. “Yes it is,” she eagerly agreed.
Leaping to her feet, she ignored the surprised looks that both Melissa and Chris shot her. She hastily grabbed her tray and tossed the plates haphazardly onto it. “Hey!” Chris cried as she grabbed his few remaining fries and threw them onto the heap.
“It’s late, we have to go,” she said urgently, her voice trembling slightly. To her utter surprise, and horror, so were her hands.
What was the matter with her? She didn’t know this man; she didn’t know that he meant anything to her. She simply knew that he affected her on a physical level, so why was she acting like a loony? Why was she so certain that he was going to drastically change her life?
She had no way of knowing for sure, but something inside of her, something instinctual and primal was screaming at her that he would. And that was something that she did not want to happen. It was something she could not allow to happen.
Her life had already been turned upside down once; she couldn’t go through it again, she didn’t think she was strong enough to survive it. Just four short years ago she had been a perfectly happy thirteen year old girl. Now she was a Hunter, spending far too much time in cemeteries, and killing vampires. Vampires for crying out loud! They were something she had thought of as a myth, something made up for movies and books in order to entertain people, or scare them. They certainly weren’t anything she had ever considered real. Neither had she ever entertained the notion that she would be expected to kill them, all the while knowing that she would inevitably lose the fight one day.
No, she absolutely did not want her life to change drastically again. She had just gotten it straightened out, just gotten it to the point where she could accept her heritage, even if she didn’t like it. And she knew that this man could completely change her life. She had wanted a change, something different, but not this, not this big, and not him. And she knew that his presence would be a big change.
“Cassie…”
“I’m tired,” she interrupted Melissa sharply. “I want to go home.”
Melissa’s questioning onyx eyes gleamed in the light, but she bit lightly into her lower lip as she refrained from saying anything more. Cassie’s heart beat fiercely as she hurried to the trashcan. “My fries,” Chris mourned morosely.
“I’ll buy you two batches next time!” she snapped, immediately feeling guilty for her angry retort. Chris’s eyes widened slightly but he didn’t say anything more. Apparently he had decided that sacrificing his fries was far better than arguing with her further. It was a good decision as she felt half crazed at the moment.
Though Cassie tried to ignore it, she could feel the stranger’s eyes burning into her with every step she took. Her hands were shaking; her heart pounded loudly in her ears, and her throat was so dry that she could hardly swallow.
She could not deal with this, not right now. The strange sensations pounding through her were causing her composure to unravel. Something was going to happen, and he was going to be the cause of it. She didn’t kn
ow if that something was going to be good or bad though, could not sort through it, not with the emotions careening wildly through her. She could not handle losing everything that she had ever known, ever thought, felt, and believed all over again. Yet, deep in the very marrow of her bones she knew that this strange man could do all of those things, and more, if she allowed him to.
She was not about to let him though.
“What put you in a pissy mood all of a sudden?” Chris mumbled.
Cassie shot him a dark look as she started to push him in the opposite direction of the man. She didn’t trust herself to look back and see if he was still standing there. She was afraid that she would stand, frozen like a deer in the headlights, if she looked at him again. She was afraid she would be lost to the startling force of the stranger’s magnetic gaze once more. “I just want to go home.”
“Well, you’re going in the wrong direction!” Chris protested, trying to twist away from her shoving hands.
Cassie looked helplessly at Melissa, needing some assistance from somewhere, but Melissa was not looking at her. In fact, her attention was riveted upon the spot where Cassie had last seen the man. Melissa glanced sharply back at Cassie, her eyes narrowed slightly as she took in Cassie’s frantic expression.
Chris pulled away from her, shaking his head in disgust. “Women,” he muttered. “I’ll never understand them.”
Cassie stared after him as he stalked a few feet away, heading toward the man still half hidden in the shadows of the building. Chris turned back to them, tapping his foot impatiently as he folded his arms over his broad chest. “Are you coming or not?” he demanded irritably, obviously still aggravated with her for being snippy, and throwing away his fries.
Cassie glanced pleadingly at Melissa but her attention was still focused upon the strange man. Cassie wanted to reach out to her, to hide behind her, to seek protection from her, but she found herself unable to move. She could still feel his gaze upon her, pinning her to the spot, burning into her soul. Melissa turned slowly back to her; a half smile curved her full mouth.
“Come on Cassie, it’s getting late,” she said, her voice irritatingly bright.
Cassie stared helplessly at her. She wished she could understand what was going on, why this man made her feel so strange and excited and frenzied. She desperately wished that she could go back in time, wished that she had never come to B’s and S’s tonight. She wished for many, many things, but none of them were going to come true within the next minute. And even if they did come true, she had the unsettling feeling that he still would have found her. That he still would have walked into her life.
That realization did nothing to ease the tight knot of anxiety crushing her chest.
No matter how much she didn’t want to, she had to face this. Whatever this was. She had never run from anything before, no matter how much she wanted to, and she was not about to start now. No, she was not a coward, but she was shaking like a leaf.
Taking a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders, and faked a bravery she did not feel as she fell into step beside Melissa. Melissa’s gaze was steady upon her, but she didn’t ask any questions. Chris moved beside them, a dark look in his eyes as he continued to shoot Cassie disgruntled looks. For someone that was so good at reading people, he was frustratingly oblivious to her emotions right now. Clenching her hands tight, her nails dug into her palms as they moved swiftly toward the corner of the building.
Though she tried hard to fight it, her gaze was drawn back to the stranger as surely as a magnet was drawn to metal. He stood silently amongst the shadows, but the light from B’s and S’s was enough to highlight his perfect, hard features. The world seemed to slow again, fading away, blending into nothingness as his presence filled her universe.
Like a black hole, she could not resist falling into him, becoming lost to him as she was sucked in. He was the moon, and she wanted to gravitate toward him as she became trapped within his fierce, compelling pull. And like the moon with the earth, she needed him to survive. And she wanted him! Slowly the hollowness inside her began to mend itself again, she became whole once more. It was right, she was right in a way that she hadn’t been in so long. He healed all of the hurt and loss and confusion that had been enshrouding her, choking her.
Suddenly she couldn’t recall why she would even want to fight against the strong draw he had over her. Couldn’t recall why she shouldn’t just throw herself at him right now. No matter how pathetic and crazy it would be. For some strange reason she was certain that he would not deny her, that in fact he would eagerly accept her in his arms.
He was magnificent, his face hard and beautiful all at once. His strong jaw and firm mouth were clenched together, a muscle twitched in his cheek as his emerald eyes blazed into hers. His wavy black hair was wind tossed and disheveled as it fell around his chiseled face. The boyishness of his tussled hair added an almost vulnerable air to him that she was sure he did not possess.
Shifting slightly, his lithe muscles flexed and flowed fluidly beneath his jacket and the tight black t-shirt he wore. He reminded her of a dark panther, lurking within the shadows, hunting its prey. For that brief moment she truly enjoyed the fact that she seemed to be his prey. It became difficult to breathe through the anticipatory constriction in her chest; her skin tingled with the fierce urge to touch him.
“Hey,” Chris greeted, nodding to the stranger. Chris slowed slightly, his head tilted to the side as he studied the man curiously, apparently trying to get a read on him.
The man nodded back, but his gaze didn’t leave hers. Cassie could not stop herself from slowing her pace, her body tensed as she moved past. She had to force herself not to stop, not to reach out and touch him, not to run her fingers through that thick, tempting hair. Her body was alive with electricity; her nerves sparked and fired, thrumming with her fierce desire to feel him.
For a moment she thought that he was going to touch her as he moved subtly again, his body coming within centimeters of hers. Every molecule inside her screamed for his touch, she needed his touch. Though the two of them did not make contact, she could still feel the warmth of his skin against hers. Instinctively, she knew that to touch him would be the most exquisite thing she would ever experience.
She had never imagined that she would feel like this about someone. She had never thought it was possible to be this lost, and found, all at once. And she had been found. He had found her, and he was not going to let her go. The thought was frightening, as was the certainty that immediately followed it.
“Cassie! Cassie!”
The call of her name was like a bucket of ice thrown onto her. It slammed her harshly back to reality. The strange spell shattered around her, snapping her head around as her gaze focused upon Marcy. For the first time, Cassie was actually thankful for Marcy’s obsessive, overeager ways. She needed a reprieve from the stranger in order to gather her wits again, and calm the racing of her fiercely pounding heart.
Marcy thrust a piece of paper at her as she came to an abrupt halt in front of Cassie. Her leaf green eyes were bright and enthusiastic as she grinned up at Cassie, her pretty face aglow in the light coming from the restaurant. “My cell number, call me later so that we can go over some ideas.”
Cassie stared at the paper, unable to fully form a coherent response. She managed a brief nod as she shoved it into her pocket. “Hey Marcy,” Chris greeted, nodding to her as he grinned brightly.
Marcy turned five shades of red, a bashful smile spread across her lips as she ducked her head. Chris’s grin grew even wider; he folded his arms over his chest and rocked back slightly on his heels. Melissa rolled her eyes, shoving at him as she pushed him forward a step. “You can flirt some other time,” she muttered, soft enough so that Marcy couldn’t hear.
“Tomorrow,” Marcy said quickly before hurrying away.
Cassie glanced briefly back at the man, not surprised to find his gaze still focused intently upon her. She thought that she should be unnerved,
or even a little frightened by his intense scrutiny of her, she wasn’t. In fact, she was still thoroughly excited and entranced by it. She found herself unable, and unwilling to move for a moment, but Chris tugged her sharply forward, his displeasure with her still apparent. The man quirked a dark eyebrow at her, but other than that he remained completely still.
She allowed herself to be pulled away, not because she wanted to leave, or flee from this stranger anymore. No, she allowed herself to be pulled forward simply because she didn’t know what else to do. And no matter how much she wanted to, she could not stand there gaping at the stranger like a complete idiot. Which is exactly what she looked like.
Cassie shook her head, tearing her gaze away from the man. The odd sense of loss encompassed her once more, but it was not as suffocating this time. She chanced a quick glance back at him, not surprised to find that he had turned to watch them leave. There was a hungry gleam in his emerald eyes that sent a shiver of fear and desire down her spine. He looked like he wanted to devour her, and she found that she didn’t mind that thought at all. In fact, she thought she might like being devoured by him.
That fact just confused and flustered her even more. She shouldn’t want this, but she did.
***
Cassie slid the window open and leaned on the sill as she met Chris’s twinkling gaze. “Why don’t you just use the door?”
He shrugged as he heaved himself through the window. As big and muscular as he was, he was surprisingly agile and graceful. It was why he was the star of the football team. Well that, and his enhanced speed and strength gave him an advantage. “The window’s more fun.”
Cassie shook her head as she closed the window again, leaving it slightly cracked to allow the cool September air to flow through. Chris moved swiftly around the room, he plopped down on her bed and crossed his long legs before him. Resting his elbow on his knee, he snatched the remote up and turned on the TV. Though he flipped idly through the channels, his easy demeanor was belied by the fierce tension she sensed running through him.
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