Kindred (The Kindred #1)

She had to force herself not to look at him, not to cast surreptitious glances his way. Not to stare at him. Not to relive every moment of pleasure he had given to her last night. It was impossible.

She clenched her hands tight. Her nails dug into her palm, her knuckles ached from the force of it. Her pen was clasped so tight that she feared it would snap. Her body crackled with electricity. Her pulse pounded in her ears, her heart slammed rapidly against her ribs.

She hadn’t heard a word Mr. Maddox had said since class started. Unwillingly, her gaze drifted slowly over to Devon. He was sitting casually in his desk, his long legs stretched before him as he stared straight ahead. Those hands that had touched her so reverently last night were splayed before him, the long fingers lying upon the desk. Though his posture was relaxed, she sensed a current of tension and power just beneath his smooth surface. The power that ran through him seemed completely out of place for a normal teenage boy in history class.

She was completely confused by him. Baffled by everything that he represented, though she didn’t know what that was.

Seeming to sense her focus, he turned slowly toward her. She knew that she should look away, that she should be embarrassed to have been caught staring, but she couldn’t break the magnetic pull he radiated. Her fingers twitched, they longed to touch him. It took everything she had not to reach across the short distance between them, and seize him.

He didn’t look away from her as he leaned slightly forward, shifting with an easy grace. His emerald eyes burned with intensity, and a hunger that left her breathless. The slow ripple of his muscles made her mouth go dry as her body erupted with tingles of electricity. She felt like a volcano bubbling beneath the surface, ready to explode in a torrent of molten lava that would certainly destroy her. But she was certain that for a few brief moments she would enjoy being buried beneath the heat.

Her world, her entire being, was focused upon him. She needed him. The strange thought, and the absolute certainty that accompanied it, left her shaken and frightened. But this time, she could not bolt, and she could not run. She could not turn away from him in order to do so.

Somehow, she didn’t know how, but her pen was no longer in her hand, her hand was no longer clenched, and it was no longer upon her desk. Her hand was now in the middle of the aisle, reaching toward him.

She blinked, snapping out of the brief trance that had enshrouded her. Her face flamed red, heat burned down the back of her neck as the realization of what she had been doing crashed over her. He did not grin at her, did not look at all disgusted by her strange behavior as he leaned even closer.

She wanted nothing more than to reach toward him again, to feel him, but she could not bring herself to make such a forward gesture once more. She could not believe she had done it in the first place. It was not within her to make the first move, especially not with someone that she didn’t even know, and who now probably thought that she was crazy. The few boys she had dated had always approached her first.

The loud ringing of the bell caused her to jump in surprise; she knocked her forgotten pen to the ground. Cassie groaned, disgusted with herself, and the entire situation. She needed to get her act together before she completely lost it. She couldn’t continue to let some stranger disturb her life in such a way. She couldn’t afford to be so badly distracted, so completely out of whack with her reality. People would get hurt if she was.

She shoved her book into her bag and bent over to retrieve her lost pen. But it was no longer where it had fallen upon the ground. Instead, it was held in a long fingered, strong hand that she recognized instantly. Her gaze traveled slowly from the hand, to the man now kneeling before her. His bright eyes clashed with hers. There was a fierce need radiating from him that caused her toes to curl, at the same time that fear tore through her. There would be no going back after this. If she took that pen from him, if she touched him, she knew that nothing would ever be the same again.

She could not move; she was frozen in place like a deer trapped in the headlights. A small smile curved the corner of his hard mouth; a twinkle of amusement lit his eyes. Anger spurted through her in the face of the challenge he seemed to radiate, he was daring her to take the pen back. Taking a deep breath, Cassie steeled herself. She was probably overreacting anyway, nothing was going to happen.

Though she knew she was lying to herself, she also knew that she could not simply leave this room, and him, with her pen.

Reaching slowly across, her heart hammered in eager anticipation as her fingers curled around the top of the pen, mere centimeters from where his fingers stopped. Though they were not touching, electricity shot through her, stunning her, leaving her breathless and shaken. Vivid images of the dream sizzled through her. He did not release the pen to her. He did not move as the smile slipped from his face and his eyes burned with the consuming need she had seen in him before.

And then he moved.

His fingers slid slightly up the pen, breaching the small gap between them. Cassie inhaled sharply, something inside of her locked into place, it froze her muscles and kept her immobile. The world disappeared as everything in it became him, became them. They were joining, their molecules blending and twining together in a sensuous dance that was soothing and beautiful. Everything suddenly made sense, everything became right. All of the loss, and ache, and loneliness did not hurt as much as his touch became the balm that soothed it all.

The dream last night had been wonderful and beautiful, but the reality was far better than anything she could have ever imagined. In that moment, she knew she had found her home in him. This was where she belonged, where she would always belong. Her life would never be the same, but she was no longer frightened by the realization. She was exhilarated by it. Everything would be ok now that he was a part of her.

His eyes darkened, his fingers tightened around hers as he clung to her; a tremor shook his powerful frame. A tremor that melted her heart and made her ache to reach out and caress his cheek. She longed to soothe the fear and confusion radiating from him. It did not make her feel better that he seemed just as mystified as she was by all this. No, it only made her wish to get closer to him, to ease the pain in him, to soothe the torment she sensed deep inside him.

She did not know where his torment and anguish came from, but she suspected it ran even deeper and further than her own. And somehow she knew that she could help him with his pain, just as he helped with hers. She could feel the strength running through him, the tight control he exerted over himself. She completely understood his feelings as they were the same ones rattling her too.

He released her suddenly, the loss of contact leaving her shaken and hollow inside. Leaving her broken and lost once more, but the feelings of hurt and confusion were not as consuming or as unbearable as before. He had healed something inside her, somehow his touch had put back some of the pieces of her broken soul.

For a moment he hesitated, his eyes burned into hers as something dark shifted behind his intense gaze. A small smile flitted across his hard mouth. He rose swiftly, with a grace that was breathtaking and stunning. Staring down at her, he was unable to suppress the small tremor racing through him, a tremor that warmed her heart. It was apparent that she affected and rattled him just as much as he shook her, and he hadn’t even had the same wonderful dream that she had experienced last night. He reached his hand slowly out to her, a hopeful expression on his face that tugged at her heart.

She stared at his hand, her heart hammering fiercely as she took note of the perfection of his strong fingers. Heaving her bag onto her shoulder, she took a deep breath as she decided to throw her life over to fate. There was no stopping fate after all, and she was surprised to realize that she no longer wanted to. Sliding her hand into his, she clasped tightly hold of it, surprised to note the slightly cooler feel of his skin. She didn’t have long to contemplate that thought though as the strange sense of comfort and peace descended over her once more, wrapping her within the warm cocoon of strength and power that he exuded.

He would keep her safe, keep her protected from the hurt and pain of the world; she knew that with every cell of her being. Although, given that she was not entirely human, she was probably stronger and far more capable of protecting him. Though, with him, she did not feel as if she were less than human, she did not feel abnormal and freaky. With him, she felt human and feminine and alive in ways that she had not felt in a very long time.

“Where to?” he asked softly, his deep voice sent a shiver of delight down her spine and caused goose bumps to break out on her hypersensitive skin.

The last thing she wanted was to go to another class, but she could not walk out of school with him, like she longed to do. However, she was pretty sure that she couldn’t sit through another minute without touching him, and feeling him. Especially not now, not when she knew how wonderful, and right, the feel of him truly was.

Noise drifted to her, breaking through her turbulent, uncertain thoughts. She was surprised to find that the next class was already filtering in. Students glanced questioningly at the two of them as they took their seats. No one from their class remained. Cassie sighed heavily, knowing what she had to do, but wishing that she didn’t. “I have Anatomy and Physiology now.”

“Lead the way.”

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to start moving, before she couldn’t. “What class do you have now?”

He frowned slightly as he dug into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his rumpled schedule. Though he had been in school for nearly a week, he apparently had not learned it yet. But then again, it did change every day. “Study hall.”

The frown on his face surprised her; he almost looked confused as he stared at the paper, his dark eyebrows drawn tightly together. For a moment it appeared as if he didn’t know what study hall was, but that was impossible, every student knew what study hall was. Didn’t they? “That’s probably in the library, but some are held in classrooms,” she said softly.

“Library.”

“Do you want me to take you there?” she asked, certain that his confused expression was because he didn’t know where to go.

He glanced up at her; a small smile curved his full mouth. Cassie felt her heart melt, her toes curled at the sight of that heart stopping grin. He appeared so much younger, more approachable, and nowhere near as hard when he smiled like that. She had thought that he was gorgeous before, but now, smiling, he was magnificent. It took all she had not to reach out and stroke his face, not to bury herself against him, hold him tight and shut out the rest of the world. Something she knew that he would be able to help her do.

“Trying to get rid of me already?” he inquired lightly.

Cassie couldn’t stop herself from grinning back at him. “No,” she answered honestly. “I just don’t want you to get lost.”

He shoved the schedule back in his pocket, his hand tightened around hers. “I’ve found you, how could I be lost?”

Cassie blinked in surprise, staring breathlessly up at him as her heart lurched with wonderful joy. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her, and though it sounded like a pickup line, his tone rang with sincerity and truth. If anyone else had said that to her, she probably would have laughed at them and blown them off as corny. But this was different. This was not corny, it seemed genuine. It felt right, and she realized that if she had been the one to say it to him, she would have meant it.

It would have been true.

Their hands fit perfectly together; his was stronger and larger as it wrapped gently around hers. His touch was everything she had dreamed it would be, and more. His presence alone had helped to fill the holes inside her, but his physical touch was like aloe on sunburn. His touch made it so she could move a little more freely, and breathe easier than she had in years.

She had never believed in love at first sight, never believed in soul mates. But maybe, somehow, her body and her spirit had known that he was out there, and it had been waiting and searching for him all along. And she had been completely miserable without him. But she didn’t feel misery now; she felt a joy so pure that she kept expecting to float off the ground with the lightheartedness consuming her.

He was staring down at her, his emerald eyes stormy and intense. He was waiting for her to say something, waiting for her reaction. Cassie could not find words; she could only manage a simple, reassuring smile.

The tension eased from him. His eyes crinkled with the bright smile that lit his wonderful face. Cassie couldn’t stop herself from grinning back at him. “I’ll be fine; the library was one of the first things Melissa showed me the other day.” He said easily, as if what he had just said to her had not left her as shaken as a baby’s rattle.

Swallowing heavily, Cassie tried to calm the turmoil racing through her. If it had been just a pick up line, she did not want him to know that he had just caught her hook, line, and sinker. “Of course it was.”