Anathema (Causal Enchantment #1)(55)
He had been communicating telepathically with his pet. About what, though? “More vampires?” I guessed, a shiver running down my back.
“Not anymore,” Caden answered, turning to smile reassuringly at me. “We’re good.”
“Told you he was worth the battle.” Bishop smirked arrogantly at Fiona, then threw a wink in my direction. He leaned back again, closing his eyes.
More vampires. Lurking in the mountains—the mountains I had hoped would be impenetrable—on their way here to torture me when they found me. I swallowed a lump. “Are they ever going to stop?” I whispered. “One of them may get past—”
“They won’t.” Caden’s voice was soothing. “Don’t worry.” Underwater, an invisible hand landed on my knee and squeezed gently before sliding away again. A thrill rippled from the point of contact to the rest of my body. I swallowed. If he was trying to distract me, he was doing a fantastic job.
“You wanna go stretch? I need to stretch,” Amelie announced, grabbing my hand and effortlessly pulling me to the connecting pool, no doubt to further distract me from the talk of vampires in the jungle.
“Sure,” I mumbled, glancing back at Caden. He was watching me. Always watching.
When I learned that “stretching” meant doing a swan dive off a twenty foot–high boulder into a shallow part of the pool where jagged rocks peppered the bottom, I politely declined. I instead dove under, swimming toward the center of the lake.
Something brushed lightly against my leg. I turned to see Caden beside me, giving me an open–mouth grin, reminding me that I was the only one who had to resurface for air. We both surfaced.
“Follow me. I want to show you something,” he said. I nodded eagerly, willing to follow him into the pits of hell. “Big breath, okay?”
I nodded again. We dove under and Caden grabbed my hand and began towing me, swimming effortlessly. Down, down we descended, flying through the water at high speed. As the lake floor dropped beneath us, swallowing us whole, I began to think the pits of hell was exactly where we were headed. Soon I couldn’t even see my arms in the darkness enveloping me. Caden must have sensed my agitation because he drew me closer, one of his arms wrapping around my waist to pull my back against his chest. Now I had two things to freak out over—the paralyzing darkness and Caden’s proximity.
I sensed a directional change. And then we finally surfaced. Spent air burst from my mouth and I inhaled loudly. Luckily I had been so focused on his hand against my ribcage that I forgot about panicking over my need for air.
“Too bad the pendant can’t breathe for you,” he said into my ear, still holding me tightly.
“Yeah, that’d be helpful.” My voice broke. “Where are we?” I looked up at moonlight shining down through a circle of night sky—a gaping hole, I realized—to illuminate the placid lake and a powerful waterfall maybe thirty feet high, far down on the other side of this particular spot.
“We’re on the other side of the mountain, near the ocean.”
Caden’s arms slid from my body. I turned to see him already out of the water, standing on a rock ledge that extended the full length of the cave wall. The black and gray swim trunks that Sofie had chosen for him sat low on his hips, revealing the defined, muscular shape of his abdomen and pelvic bones. A fine line of hair crept all the way down his stomach, disappearing under the waistband of his trunks …
“Evangeline?” The sound of my name snapped me from my blatant gawking. I turned away quickly, heat crawling up my neck. You’re such a pervert, Evangeline. It took a moment to regain my composure. When I finally felt brave enough to look back, Caden was grinning at me, not the least bit uncomfortable. He offered his hand. “Here.”
I took it, and he effortlessly yanked me out into icy air. My body tensed with the cold. I briefly considered jumping back into the water but Caden’s grip on my hand tightened. “Come on.” Caden began walking briskly along the ledge, tugging me along.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“I want to show you something.”
We walked to the other side of the cave and stopped by the ferocious waterfall, the sound of its rushing water reminding me of Viggo and Mortimer’s jet engine. Caden turned and said something.
“Pardon?” I yelled.
He leaned in close, his mouth next to my ear. “You need to hold on tight.” I nodded, squeezing his hand. Chuckling with amusement, he yanked me toward him until our chests were touching. My heart started pounding. I heard myself suck in air as he again moved his mouth next to my ear. “Close your eyes and put your face against my chest.” The vibrations from his words tickled my skin, making my heart pound harder. “You feeling okay?” His voice was innocent enough.
“Yup,” I said, annoyed with the telltale thumping in my chest. How can he not know? Could this vampire be that oblivious? Maybe he could be, thanks to my necklace.
“Are you sure?”
More vibrations causing more tickling causing more pounding. My breathing became raspy. Unable to speak, I instead nodded and buried my face in his chest, expecting to pass out.
His body shook. Was he laughing? He leaned in to speak to me again. “Wrap your arms around me.”
I locked my arms around his back, feeling his smooth skin and rigid muscles. His strong arms lifted my body, squeezing tightly. The ground suddenly disappeared from beneath us. And at that moment I realized Caden’s intention. We were jumping through that giant, ferocious waterfall.