Cassie peered around Devon’s back, too flabbergasted to fully comprehend everything that had just happened. Mark’s face was beet red, either from lack of oxygen, or anger. His shoulders were set tightly, but he did not look at either of them as he stormed into the crowd. Cassie’s eyes widened as she took in the students still present to witness what had just happened. Though the cafeteria had emptied a lot, there were at least twenty of them still gathered about. It would only be a matter of time before this incident was all over the school. Oh well, she thought with a sigh, she hadn’t wanted to campaign for homecoming queen anyway.
Devon turned toward her, his eyes fierce and dark, his hard jaw clenched tight. “Are you ok?” Cassie blinked at him in surprise, unable to get her malfunctioning brain to work correctly as she tried to focus her full attention on him. “Cassie, are you ok?”
He seized gently hold of her, pulling her a step closer to him. The touch she had always found so soothing, now only served to confuse and disorient her more. What she had just seen, it couldn’t have been possible, could it? She studied him carefully, her mind spinning. Could a human be that strong?
But what else could he be, but human?
She scanned him rapidly, feeling slightly sick. “Who are you?” The words popped out in a choked whisper before she could stop them.
The hands on her arms tightened briefly as his body hardened subtly. A look of resignation filled his eyes and Cassie had the gut sinking feeling that she had somehow managed to push him away from her. “Did he hurt you?” he asked, the words coming through clenched teeth but carrying no hint of anger.
Cassie shook her head, trying to clear it of the stunned fog that clung to her. “No,” she managed to whisper. “No, I’m fine,” she said with a little more conviction.
His gaze ran over her, but it did not warm. “Let’s get you to class.”
Panic tore through Cassie. This was not the Devon she knew. This was not the man that gazed at her warmly, and touched her reverently. This man was hard and cold and distant, and she was the one that had caused this change in him. He had been trying to protect her, and she had pushed him away with her confusion and doubts. She may not know as much as she would like about him, but he was new to town, and part of the fun in a relationship was supposed to be getting to know the other person. Wasn’t it?
Her gaze darted to where he had pinned Mark against the wall, lifting him as if he weighed no more than a feather. The strength it had taken was amazing, startling. It was a strength she had never seen in a human being before. She turned slowly back toward him, tilting her head to study him as her doubts slowly started to build into full fledged panic.
Who was he? What was he?
He gently took hold of her arm, but she could feel the cold distance that lingered in him. Slowly, she looked toward Melissa and Chris. Melissa’s head was tilted curiously to the side, her dark eyes intense. Chris stood stiffly, his arms folded over his chest. He gave Devon a brief nod of approval, one that Cassie instantly recognized as a “guy” thing. Chris found nothing wrong with what had just happened, he was just impressed that Devon had stood up for her, and that he had beaten Mark in their brief encounter.
Cassie rolled her eyes at Chris as she heaved a sigh. She would never understand men, and their vast amounts of testosterone. “Come on Cassie,” Devon urged, though his tone was gentle she could still hear the tension in it.
She followed him slowly out of the cafeteria, so lost in her own thoughts, and doubts, that at first she didn’t notice the whispers and glances cast their way. Slowly, they penetrated her haze. Every student they passed shot them looks while whispering behind their hands. Cassie frowned fiercely; her pride shoved aside her hurt and confusion as she straightened her shoulders and determined to ignore all of their gossip.
CHAPTER 17
Cassie played idly with a blade of grass, pulling it lazily from the ground before letting it drop back down. She was tired, achy, and more than a little chilled. The sudden drop in temperature that had started earlier in the week, had made the night far cooler than she was prepared for with her light windbreaker. She huddled deeper into her coat, knowing that it was not only the night that chilled her, but also the events of the day.
She had seen Devon only briefly at the end of the day. He had still been cold, detached, and not completely himself. He had not mentioned coming over to his place again and neither had she. She had needed to get away from him for a little bit, to clear her mind, but it was not working out as well as she had hoped.
She tried not to think about the distance that had lingered around him, or the doubts that continuously plagued her now. She tried to keep herself focused on the here and now. But her mind would not cooperate as it kept jumping back to the tenderness and wonder of last night. Then she would recall her extreme lack of knowledge about him, and the strange strength that he had possessed today and her stomach would turn and her mouth would go dry.
She shuddered, huddling deeper as she flipped her collar up. “It’s not that cold out,” Chris muttered, his gaze rapidly scanning the cemetery.
Cassie shrugged absently before she returned to picking at the grass. She wanted to get home as soon as possible; she hoped that Devon would come to her room again tonight, but she was doubtful that it would happen. Her heart lurched in her chest, her pulse pounded in her ears as excitement and desire tore through her. No matter what had happened today, no matter her doubts and confusion, she desperately wanted to see him again. She did not care about anything other than seeing him, and easing the distance she felt between them now.
It was unreasonable, unnatural the way she felt. Her concerns should slow her down, should make her warier of him, but they didn’t. She cared more about seeing him than she did about the possibility that there might be something wrong with him. That there may even be something truly deadly, and off, about him.
Cassie shivered again, huddling deeper into her light coat, hating the chill in her bones. Melissa threw aside the English essay she had been working on. For a moment Cassie thought that something had arrived. That a fight was finally about to ensue, and Cassie was spoiling for a fight. Then, Melissa pinned her with her intense, steady gaze.
“Ok, what’s up?”
Cassie blinked in surprise. “Nothing,” she answered automatically.
Melissa gave her the ‘I’m not an idiot look,’ and lifted her dark eyebrows almost to her hairline. “Come on Cassie, we all know you better than that. Something’s on your mind and it has you pretty upset. Now spill.”