There was something out there that wanted her with a ferocious hunger. Something that wanted to take her away from him, and he could not have that. That knowledge spurred him into action; he couldn’t be separated from her for a moment longer. Not pausing to think about it, he reached out and rapped lightly on the window.
His breath caught when she appeared before him, a beautiful angel silhouetted against the dark night. Her golden hair tumbled around her shoulders in thick waves that framed her exquisite face. The long blue t-shirt she wore fell to mid thigh, baring her creamy skin. His baser instincts leapt to life, his mouth watered as his hands clenched the tree branch. This was quite possibly the biggest mistake he had ever made, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Not when he got to look at her like this.
Her stunning eyes widened when she caught sight of him, her rosebud mouth parted slightly as she stared in astonished silence. Then, she was moving swiftly, unlocking the window, sliding it up as she leaned toward him. Her sweet scent of strawberries and spices assailed him, the beat of her heart pounded in his ears, instantly arousing the hunger that was ever present whenever she was near.
“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 caused 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 tearing 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 should have come here, not as tumultuous and unsettled as he was. He could hurt her; he would hurt her if he lost control. Though 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 simply 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 filled their bright depths. Those tears broke his paralysis. Reaching out, he wrapped his hand gently around the back of her head. The feel of her instantly soothed the raging beast, instantly calmed 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, he breathed a sigh of relief, his fingers stroked 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, dropping his head into her hair, nuzzling her softly.
A fiery ache for her spread through his whole body. His grip on her tightened, his body hardened as he held her. Her arms wrapped around him, clinging to him as 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 leave 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 fought 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 clamored to make her immortal, and strong, and safe from the world of imminent death she resided in.
A tremor wracked through him, his grip tightened 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 she would be wonderful, a powerful rush unlike any he’d ever known. Then he would turn her, make 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, causing uproar inside of him. The bloodlust 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. They 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 could not be denied, he would not be denied. And then she caressed him. Her delicate fingers stroked over his back, soothing the beast inside of him. He shuddered, burying his head in the side of her 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.