“I’m not saying that he doesn’t have a soft side, he must, look at you,” Daniel said, kissing her on the forehead. “But, Cassie, he’s done some terrible things, things that have caused people’s deaths, and I’m worried about you.”
“Do you think he’d hurt me?” Cassie asked, her question making her understand that she was a little bit afraid of her father.
“I honestly don’t know, but I keep thinking about that conversation you overheard. He said he was letting you get strong? What did that mean?”
Cassie didn’t have an answer; it had been bothering her too. “I think you’d better tell me what you know about my father,” she said, her heart pounding in her chest.
For the next hour, they sat on Daniel’s bed in the dark, and he told her stories about witches and shifters, about love and hate. He told her about a man who was so hungry for power that he’d destroy anything in his path to get what he wanted, a man who was willing to turn to evil if that was what it took.
When he was finished, Cassie sat silently for a long time, turning everything over in her mind. “It sounds like a novel,” she finally said, her voice shaky, “but I believe you. My father’s been acting strange ever since he came home last summer, and it seems like he’s aging in front of my eyes.”
Daniel nodded. “Charlie thinks that when we sent the water demon back to the underworld that night in the pasture, it took a part of your father into the underworld with it. He’s still bonded to it, and until he breaks that bond, he’s going to continue to fade away,” Daniel explained.
“That’s why he wanted the amulet,” Cassie said, finally understanding some of what was going on.
“We think so, but now that Charlie and Steven have its power in their control, he has to be looking for another way to break the demon’s hold.”
Cassie’s stomach gave a lurch. “Like what?”
“We’re not sure, that’s what we’re trying to find out now. But it will take a strong spell to break the demon’s hold, and that means he needs a lot of energy from somewhere,” Daniel explained, the look on his face telling her where he was planning on getting it.
“He’s going to use me for the energy, isn’t he?” Cassie asked, her voice barely a whisper, fear making it hard for her to breathe.
“I’m not going to let that happen,” Daniel said, his voice hard.
A wave of energy passed through Cassie, and she sucked in a deep breath, then her entire body became warm. Shocked, she looked up at him, “What was that?” she asked.
***Daniel***
Daniel had felt the wave of power build inside him; fed by his instinct to protect Cassie and his anger at Deacon, it had surged, then faded. He’d had the experience before, but never as intense as this time, and he knew that it was because of Cassie and his feelings for her. Somewhere deep inside him, that power had been stored away, ready to use when he needed it later; it was part of the magic of being a shifter.
But he’d never shared the experience with anyone, hadn’t known it was possible. Cassie was still looking at him, waiting for an answer, her chest rising and falling in response to what she’d felt.
“It’s hard to explain, but what you felt was raw power, power generated from my anger at Deacon,” he said, then added, “And from my feelings for you.”
Cassie’s eyes got big, and she started to pull away. “Why are you angry at me?” she asked, tears forming in her eyes.
Daniel pulled her back into his arms. “Oh, Cassie, I’m not angry with you; I’m falling for you. When I think of Deacon hurting you, I get protective, and that fuels my power,” he said, knowing that she couldn’t begin to understand what it meant.
She relaxed back into his arms, silent again. He wondered what she was thinking but let her have her time; when she finally spoke, it was to ask a question he hadn’t expected. “If you’re a shifter and I’m not, is that a problem?”
Daniel couldn’t help but laugh, then he asked, “After all that you’ve learned tonight, that’s the question you ask?”
Cassie smiled up at him. “Well, it’s important; I have to know,” she said, a blush spreading across her cheeks.
Daniel’s body was instantly on fire; all the desire he’d been pushing aside had suddenly come to life, and it was all he could do to push it down to a manageable level. “Cassie, it’s you I care about, not what you are. Human, shifter, or witch: it doesn’t matter to me.”
Then he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her until she turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. He slid them down in the bed until his body covered hers, loving the feel of her under him, and explored her mouth with his tongue.
His hands roamed over her body, stroking her back and arms, the feeling of her silky skin under his rough hands fueling his desire. Cassie moaned into his mouth, sending waves of pleasure washing over him, and a driving need to bring her pleasure pulsing through him.
When he slid his hand down to her hip, he realized just how small and fragile she was, how easy it would be for him to hurt her. But he sensed that she was ready for more, ready to explore the passion they shared. Still, he held back and just kissed her.
Cassie moved restlessly in his arms, clearly wanting something more, but he pulled back. He couldn’t take this any farther without making her understand what it meant to him, the bond it would create. He’d never felt anything like this before, but instinctively he knew what those feelings meant.
When he broke the kiss and leaned up on one elbow, she looked up at him, her eyes full of passion. He stroked her face with his thumb, searching for the right words. He didn’t want to scare her; she was so young and innocent, hadn’t experienced passion. But she had to know what this would mean for them, had to know that this was more than just passion.
“I imagined this differently,” he said, kissing her on the nose, then the forehead.
“You imagined this?” she asked, a bit astonished.
“I’ve thought about it non-stop since you rode off that first day,” he admitted, a sheepish grin on his face.
A blush spread across Cassie's cheeks, and he couldn’t help but kiss each little enflamed patch of skin. She giggled, then said, “I’ve thought about it too.”
The blush on her cheeks deepened, and Daniel was sure that not taking her right then and there was the hardest thing he’d ever done. “Cassie, there’s something I have to explain to you,” he said, gritting his teeth when her brown eyes met his and the desire was still there.
Chapter 13
***Cassie***
Cassie’s heart sank; she knew what Daniel was going to tell her, and didn’t want to hear him say the words, so she said them first. “I know you can’t stay here, that you only came to protect Charlie and your brother, but I don’t care.”
He smiled down at her. “It’s a lot more complicated than that, I’m afraid. That’s what I need to explain to you, and I’m not sure your ready for what I’m going to tell you.”
Cassie had been thinking about Daniel leaving for days, knew that the day would come that he’d have to go, but she hadn’t been prepared for anything else. Her heart was hammering in her chest, her mind searching for answers; then it hit her.
“You’re married, or you have a girlfriend,” she said, scooting away from him, feeling stupid for not asking.
Daniel pulled her back into his arms and held her against his chest until she stopped squirming to get free. “Cassie,” he finally said when she stopped fighting, “you’re the only woman I want, the only woman who belongs to me: that’s what I’m trying to explain.”
Cassie relaxed when she heard his words, then looked up at him. “What does that mean?”
Daniel shifted them around until he could look into her eyes. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone, Cassie; you’ve found a way into my heart and my mind. At first, it was just my need to protect you that drew me to you, but now that I’ve gotten to know you, it’s more than that,” he said, taking a breath to gather his
thoughts.
Cassie’s heart was pounding in her chest, her mind spinning with new thoughts and feelings, but most of all, she knew that she wanted Daniel. Knew that before the night was over, she would be in his arms, that what she’d only dreamed of would become reality.
“Cassie, when you felt that wave of power tonight, it meant something, and I’m afraid that you’re not ready,” he said, stroking her face with his thumb.
Cassie suddenly realized that once again, someone was treating her like a child. “Daniel, stop treating me like a kid,” she said and pulled away from him. “I’m a grown woman, and I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions and facing the consequences that come with those decisions.”
Daniel smiled at her, which made her even madder. “If I want to have sex with you, then I’m going to; as long as you’re not married, and you don’t have a girlfriend, I don’t care about anything else. I’ve thought about this enough to know what I want.”
Her words hung in the air for a few seconds, then she realized what she’d just said, and her face got hot. Daniel hadn’t moved, hadn’t said a word, and she wondered what he was thinking, wondered if she’d just made a fool of herself.
Then he reached out and took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes, his blue eyes pulsing with a strange light. “As long as you don’t care that once I make love to you, you’ll belong to me forever.”
All at once, Cassie understood what he was trying to tell her, felt what he was feeling, and knew deep inside her that if she gave herself to Daniel now, it would be forever. That no matter where he was, she’d want him, that she’d never get over him if he left her. But she also understood that he too would feel that way, that for the rest of their lives, they’d be bonded in an unbreakable way.
She sucked in a deep breath, feeling a wave of dizziness and heat spread through her. It felt like she was alive for the first time in her life, that all sickness and pain that had plagued her for so long had finally been stripped away. A new kind of strength filled her, one she’d never felt before.
“I can’t think of anything I’d like more than that,” she said, meaning every word. “But Daniel, what you don’t understand is that I’m already yours.”
Daniel lowered his mouth to hers and whispered, “I hope you understand just how true that is.”
When his mouth came down on hers this time, there was none of the gentleness of his other kisses; this time his mouth was demanding. His tongue invaded her mouth, tasting and exploring, sucking the breath right out of her lungs. His hands moved into her hair, gripping her head, holding her there as he kissed her breathless.
Cassie couldn’t move, didn’t want to; Daniel had captured her in a storm of passion as desire thundered through her, a tight knot of pleasure forming deep inside her. He pushed her down onto the bed, then stood and unashamedly removed his clothes, and she couldn’t help but stare at him, a blush rising on her cheeks.
When he joined her back in the bed, he reached for her robe and slipped it off, then pulled her tee-shirt over her head. Cassie closed her eyes, embarrassed, but then she heard a soft inhalation of breath escape his lips. “You’re even more beautiful than I expected.”
Cassie opened her eyes and met Daniel’s blue ones, then he lowered his head and captured one of her nipples between his teeth, then sucked the entire nipple into his mouth. Instantly, Cassie was lost in a swirl of pleasure unlike anything she’d ever felt, the pleasure of her dreams lost in the reality of Daniel’s mouth on her breast.
He slid her panties off, and her heart began to pound with anticipation as she instinctively opened her legs for him. When his finger slipped between her folds to stroke her swollen nub, Cassie lifted her hips as her body began to throb, every nerve alive with pleasure.
With each smooth stroke of his finger, the pleasure built until Cassie was beyond understanding what was happening to her body. Then he plunged his finger deep inside her, fulfilling a need she didn’t know she had and sending her over the edge.
As wave after wave of pleasure washed over her, she could do nothing but hold onto Daniel, her nails digging into his back until her body began to still. But as the throbbing eased, she felt a new need building inside her, and when Daniel slipped between her parted legs and his erection rubbed up against her, she understood her need.
Gasping at the feeling, she looked into his eyes, silently pleading with him. “This might hurt a little bit, sweetheart, but I promise it won’t last.”
Then he slowly slipped inside her, filling her inch by inch, giving her body time to adjust to his. Cassie understood what sweet agony meant as Daniel stretched her body; each inch was filled with pain and pleasure, but she didn’t want him to stop, felt a driving need for more.
When Cassie lifted her hips to him, Daniel thrust his and buried himself all the way inside her. There was a bright flash of pain, and she gasped, but Daniel covered her mouth with his and kissed her until the pain faded.
Then she became aware of the wonderful feeling of him buried inside her and moved her hips just a little bit. Pleasure flashed through her, and she gasped again, but this time thrust her hips up in an invitation Daniel couldn’t resist.
***Daniel***
Daniel was holding onto his control by a thin thread, afraid that if he let go, he’d hurt Cassie. With each thrust of his hips, she cried out her pleasure, her body slick and wet around his, her muscles squeezing him as filled her again and again.
When Cassie wrapped her legs around him, pulling him deeper inside her, he sank into her, an overwhelming sense of completeness filling him. He looked down into her eyes, which were filled with passion, but also something else, and he knew that she felt it too.
Unable to resist the pull any longer, he thrust himself deep inside her, making her cry out with pleasure once more, then emptied himself inside her. Cassie cried out his name as her body shuddered under his, their connection so complete that the world faded away until only they remained. When Daniel came back to his senses a few seconds later, he was lying on top of Cassie, who was panting like he was.
Rolling to the side, he pulled her with him and settled her in his arms, their bodies slick with sweat sticking together. He felt Cassie shiver and pulled her closer, “Are you cold?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t know it could feel like that,” she said, blushing.
Daniel kissed her on the forehead. “It doesn’t always,” he said, then when he saw the look on her face, he added, “It’s never felt like that before.”
Cassie studied his face, and then to his amazement, said, “Good.”
She snuggled down deeper in his arms, and soon he could hear her snoring softly, but it was only a few hours until sunrise, and he didn’t plan to sleep. He wanted to lie there with Cassie in his arms and enjoy this moment, remember it for the rest of his life since he knew that after tonight, his life would never be the same again.
Tonight, Cassie had given him a gift: more than just a gift, a reason to live life. As the night waned, he made plans for them, plans that would take them around the world to all the places they’d both been dreaming of. But as the sun began to rise, he realized that first he had to get her away from Deacon, and he couldn’t do that until Charlie left.
He’d never felt so torn before in his life; part of him wanted to take Cassie away from there before Deacon could do whatever he had planned. But the other part knew that Charlie and Steven needed him, that this was their chance to finally put all the troubles of the past behind them. Although he didn’t want to live his life in the Colorado valley where he’d grown up, he wanted to know that it was there when he wanted to come home.
He’d have to take Cassie to Colorado someday, show her his home and the beauty it held, but then they’d travel the world together. It would be just the two of them, sailing around the world, enjoying life and all the surprises it held. Once Deacon and Demetri were no longer a threat, they’d both have the freedom to do as they pleased.
He found her tee-shirt and helped her slip it over her head, then began hunting for her robe and panties. The robe had slipped under the bed, but the panties seemed to have disappeared, much to Cassie embarrassment if the two red spots on her cheeks were any indication.
When he saw her red face, he was down on his knees next to the bed. She looked so cute and innocent; he couldn’t help but smile at her. “I think you’re going to have to go back to your room without them,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her.
Cassie turned a deeper shade of red and said, “I can’t do that. What if I run into someone?”
Daniel got to his feet and pulled a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her. “How’s that?” he asked.
Cassie smiled up at him and warmth spread through him. Her hair was messy from the pillow, and she was huddled in the blanket, her face still red, and he knew without the slightest doubt that she was his and would always be.
Lifting her into his arms, he said, “Let’s get you back to the castle before someone notices that you’re missing,”
Cassie pushed against his chest. “Daniel, I’m perfectly capable of walking.”
He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and said, “I know that, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you.”
Cassie rested her head against his chest and relaxed in his arms. “You shouldn’t treat me like a baby,” she said, running her hand over his muscular chest.
“I’m not treating you like a baby; I’m treating you like the most precious thing in the world,” Daniel said, his face serious. Then he smiled down at her, “And if you don’t stop doing that, we’re not going to make it out of the barn.”
***Cassie***
On the way back to the castle, Cassie discovered that she had a kind of power over Daniel, the kind of power she thought she’d never have over a man. When she stroked his chest and he shivered, then issued that warning, it only made her want to explore her power more. So, she leaned over and flicked one of his nipples with her tongue, pleased when he groaned.
Fairplay Shifters Boxset Page 68
