“Let go Mark.” She tugged on her arm, but he wouldn’t release her.
Cassie’s hand fisted, she didn’t care what happened she was going to knock him on his ass. Another hand shot forward, seizing hold of Marks’ arm in a bone crushing grip before Cassie could let her fist fly. Cassie’s eyes shot to Devon as he stepped forward, fury radiating from every inch of his body. “Let her go before I break your arm,” he snarled.
Mark’s mouth dropped, his eyes widened in pain as Devon clenched down harder. Mark’s fingers released her, not by choice, but because he could no longer hold her. Mark tried to pull his arm free, but Devon held tight. His jaw was clenched, a muscle twitched in his cheek as he glared violently at Mark.
“I told you before to stay the hell away from her.”
The words were spoken softly, but they caused the hair on Cassie’s arms and neck to rise. She had thought Mark was out of control, but she could sense the unraveling restraint that Devon fought so hard to keep in check. Cassie glanced at Mark’s arm; it would only take a little more pressure for it to snap.
“Devon,” Cassie breathed, worry flaring through her.
Chris appeared beside him, blocking the curious stares of the students that passed by. “What’s going on guys?” he asked brightly for the benefit of those surrounding them, but his eyes were dark and turbulent as he studied Devon wearily. He glanced at Cassie before focusing his attention on Mark.
Cassie reached out, stroking Devon’s arm, trying to reach him through the thick cloud of fury that suffused him. His eyes flickered to her, burning hotly. She was momentarily frightened of him, frightened by what he might do. She had never seen him like this, wild, frenzied, so very close to killing. Cassie’s breath caught in her chest, but she did not move away from him. She would not abandon him now, this was her Devon. No matter what, good or bad, she loved him with every ounce of her being. She just had to reach him, to stop him from doing something awful in front of so many witnesses. She had to stop him from doing something that he would regret.
“Devon please, just let him go. It’s ok.”
His eyes flickered briefly, light coming momentarily back into them before the darkness descended over him once more. He turned slowly back to Mark, who looked truly petrified as he gaped down at the hand clenching his arm. Cassie glanced pleadingly at Chris, but he remained silent, stony as he glared at Mark. She felt hopeless, lost.
There was no one to help her now, no one to stop Devon if he snapped completely. Devon took a step closer to Mark, pulling his arm against his chest. Terror tore through Cassie. He was going to kill Mark.
Abandoning all caution, she threw herself forward, instinctively knowing that Devon would not hurt her. Shoving her way in between them, she stood on tiptoe to grasp hold of Devon’s cheeks and swiftly bring his mouth down to hers. Shock slammed into him, stiffening him against her. She stood awkwardly, her lips pressed against his compressed, hard mouth as she waited breathlessly to see what he would do. His body remained unmoving for a moment more, and then everything changed.
Cassie had only wanted to divert his attention from Mark, to keep Devon from hurting him. She had not expected that all of the frenzy he had been feeling toward Mark would be diverted to her. His hardness melted away, he released Mark as his arms clamped tightly around her. He lifted her off the ground, pressing her flush against him.
Fear trickled briefly through her; she had never felt him this wild, this savage. He clenched the back of her head, his fingers threaded through the bottom of the loose twist in her hair. His mouth was firm against hers, desperate, fierce. Though she was certain that he would never hurt her, she also realized that he was highly unstable right now, barely in control of himself. His mouth opened against hers, his tongue plummeted in.
A small moan escaped Cassie. She forgot all her doubts and concerns as she melted against him. Heat suffused her, pooling through her entire being, warming her everywhere. Her heart hammered in her chest, she fit perfectly against him. Her hands clenched tight at his neck, she wanted to bury herself in the security and bliss that he provided her. The entire world, and the awful events of the day, disappeared as she became completely focused on him.
He was her everything, he was the one thing that could make her whole, complete. He worked the knot out of her hair, letting it free to flow down her back. His tongue stroked over her mouth, tasting her, savoring her. He was hard against her, the muscles in his arms rigid, yet she could feel a small tremor working through him as his kiss deepened, becoming almost bruising in its intensity. She did not utter a complaint, did not make a sound. She knew that he needed this, that he needed her.
She just hadn’t realized how much.
A shiver of fear raced through her as his teeth hardened and lengthened. She could feel them against her bottom lip, fierce, needy. Deadly. Though she was scared, and more than a little over her head, she could not stop the thrill of excitement that raced through her.
Curiosity, and an overwhelming urge that she could not deny, took hold of her. Gently, lightly, she flicked her tongue over the tips of his engorged teeth. Devon shuddered; his hands clenched tighter upon her, his kiss became harsher. She was lost to him, lost to everything that he was, and the wonderful sensations that he made her feel. Never in her life had she experienced anything as breathtaking as this, and she wanted more.
She wanted all of him.
Devon broke away suddenly, releasing her as he took a swift step back. Cassie took a stumbling step back, shocked by his abrupt release of her. It took her a moment before she could get her wobbly legs firmly beneath her again. She stared breathlessly up at him, shaken, and unfulfilled. His emerald eyes were dark, tortured, wounded. Horror tore through her at the sight of his anguish, his unraveling control, his desperate need. For the first time it hit her just how hard it was for him to be around her, how hard it was for him to control himself, and keep her safe.
Tears sprang to her eyes, hating the torment that radiated from him. Torment that she had caused him. Her hand flew to her swollen lips; a choked sound of dismay escaped her as the tears burned her eyes. The last thing in the world she wanted was to hurt him, to upset him in anyway, and yet that was exactly what she was doing to him. She was torturing him.
“Devon,” she whispered, her voice choked with horror and sorrow.
His darkened gaze turned to Chris, small tremors ran through his fisted hands. “Mark?”
Chris cleared his throat, obviously surprised and uncomfortable with what he had just witnessed. “Ran off the first chance he got.”