Fear the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #9)(39)

Her guilt was forgotten beneath the warm tide of pleasure. “Deliciously sated.”

He pulled back, his expression almost . . . sheepish. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

She frowned in confusion. Hurt her? “Of course not.”

“I wasn’t always gentle.”

“Oh.” A faint blush touched her cheeks. Not at the memory of his aggressive lovemaking. They were pureblooded Weres. Rough and ready was part of their natures. But at the recollection of her wild response. “We both know my screams weren’t from pain.”

A growl rumbled in his chest, his eyes darkening with a ready heat. “Don’t give me encouragement unless you plan on spending the next several hours in this bed.”

With a wicked smile, she lifted her hand to brush the pale hair off his forehead. “Is that a promise?” Cassie felt his body tense at her husky words, the scent of his musk laced through the air.

“You, Cassandra, are a very dangerous female.”

Her smile widened as she inwardly gloated. She liked knowing how easily she could rouse his desire. “Dangerous is good,” she admitted. “It’s much better than loony.”

His brows snapped together, as if he were angered by her confession. “Don’t ever say that.”

“I don’t say it, other people do.”

“Not if they want to avoid a nasty death,” he rasped.

She blinked at his vehemence. He truly was upset. Then, with a wistful smile, she allowed her fingers to smooth down the angular line of his cheekbone. “My protector.”

“For all eternity.”

They both froze as his words seemed to hang in the air. Like a live grenade that might explode if anyone moved.

Did he say eternity?

Only mates stayed together for an eternity. Or at least that’s what she’d always believed.

So was he implying they were more than temporary lovers?

“Caine?”

With one fluid movement, Caine was tossing aside the quilt and sliding off the bed. As if he was hoping to distract her.

And it worked.

No big shocker, of course. What female could think clearly when she was offered such a tempting view?

Caine was naked male perfection.

Lean, flawlessly chiseled muscles. A wide chest and wider shoulders. Smooth, bronzed skin. And a fully erect arousal that would make any man proud.

And any woman sigh in anticipation.

Ignoring her appreciative glance, Caine leaned down to tuck her hair behind her ear in a tender gesture. “Are you hungry?”

Cassie pressed her hand to her stomach as it growled on cue. “Starving,” she admitted.

“Understandable.” He smiled with sinful amusement, his fingers trailing down her jaw. “You expended a lot of energy.”

“I did, didn’t I?”

He chuckled, turning to cross the floor and pull a pair of faded jeans and white T-shirt from the dresser. “Have a shower while I make us some breakfast,” he said, quickly dressing. “There are clean clothes that should fit you in the closet.”

Sitting up, Cassie regarded him with a narrowed gaze. “Female clothes?”

The sapphire eyes twinkled and Cassie abruptly realized that the edge in her voice must be jealousy.

How odd.

“Most of them have never been worn.”

“Hmm.”

He shoved his feet in a pair of sneakers and then moved to place a lingering kiss on her forehead. “Later, I’ll go to the Jeep and get your suitcase,” he promised.

The disturbing sensation eased at his soothing touch. “Fine.”

“Come down to the kitchen when you’re ready.”

She watched him stroll out of the loft, a smile of satisfaction curving her lips. Who would ever have believed it? After thirty years of being crapped on by fate, she’d at last hit the jackpot.

And what a jackpot he was.

A pity she couldn’t halt time. She couldn’t imagine anything better than spending the rest of eternity alone with Caine in this isolated cabin.

Taking a few minutes to wallow in her rare sense of happiness, Cassie at last forced her lethargic body out of bed and into the shower. She truly was hungry. And besides, she didn’t want to spend one unnecessary minute away from Caine.

Once clean, she dried off in front of the window that overlooked the pond. The sun was shimmering on the water and the wildflowers danced in the breeze. A perfect invitation for a picnic, she decided.

With a smile of anticipation, Cassie pulled on a pair of khaki shorts and a scoop-neck white shirt. She shoved her feet into her own sneakers and combed her hair into a ponytail. Once presentable, she headed for the stairs.

A step away from the door, however, she staggered to a halt, her balance precarious as a vision slammed through her with shocking force.

She hissed in shock.

Usually, the visions flowed through her to appear as a floating hieroglyphic that she could decipher later. Sometimes she understood them. Sometimes she didn’t. But only rarely did she actually see her predictions in full-fledged living color as they seared through her mind.

Pressing her palms to her aching temples, she watched in confusion as the vision of herself came into focus. She was standing alone in the middle of a white fog that was so thick she couldn’t see through it. She sensed there was something lurking in the fog. Something so powerful that its mere presence was flaying the skin from her body.