“What did you do to her?” Steven asked.
Daniel felt his temper flare and tried to control it, “I’m going to say this once more and then never again. I didn’t do anything to Cassie; I care about her. The next person that asks me that is going to get punched in the face,” he said, then turned and stomped out of the room.
Steven caught up with him, “Okay, sorry. Just had to see where you were coming from,” he said, slapping his brother on the back. “I see how it is now; welcome to the world of women.”
Daniel glared at him. “I’m not sure I want to be here if this is what’s it going to be like,” he said, but he was grinning at Steven.
When they walked into the kitchen more than an hour later, Charlie was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea clutched in her hands. She looked angrier than Daniel had ever seen her before; there was a fire in her eyes, and she was sitting rigidly in her chair.
Steven rushed over to her, “What’s wrong?”
“Is it Cassie?” Daniel asked.
Charlie sighed when Steven began to rub her shoulders, “Cassie is upstairs asleep. It’s Deacon I want to kill right now; I understand now why he kept her hidden from me.”
Daniel heard her words, but all he could think about was Cassie. “Will she let me see her now?”
Charlie smiled at him, “Yes, I think she’s ready. But you’d better be prepared for a bit of a shock; well, maybe more than one shock.”
Daniel was torn between asking her what she meant and seeing Cassie. Finally he turned and headed for the stairs with the sound of Charlie’s laughter following him. Just before he turned to go up the stairs, he heard her say, “Daniel’s going to be the favorite for a while now, but at least your mom will leave us all alone.”
Her words were still echoing through his mind when he got to Cassie’s door, but he pushed them aside and slowly opened the door. She was sleeping with her hair spread on the pillow, her face relaxed and just as beautiful as he remembered. Like a jolt of lightning, love flowed through him, stealing his breath and making him slightly dizzy.
Desire raced through him, but it was filled with tenderness and an intense need to protect the woman he loved. Feeling full of all the emotion flowing through him, he walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge.
When she felt him there, her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled at him. “Hi.”
“Hi, yourself,” he said, smiling at her. “I had to come see for myself that you’re okay. Are you sick?”
Cassie shook her head, “Not really.”
“Did I do something to upset you? Charlie wouldn’t tell me anything,” his heart breaking to think that he’d caused her pain.
Cassie shook her head again. “No Daniel, you didn’t hurt me, but something happened last night, something I don’t completely understand.”
He reached for Cassie, but she pulled back as if she was afraid of him. He jumped to his feet and began to pace back and forth by the bed. “What happened, Cassie? I’m tired of being in the dark here; I need to know what’s wrong,” he finally said, turning to look at her.
When he saw her bottom lip trembling, he was instantly sorry that he’d gotten mad, but he was frustrated. “I’m sorry, I know the last few days can’t have been easy for you,” he said, sitting down next to her on the bed.
She opened her mouth to say something, but covered it with her hand instead, then jumped from the bed and ran for the bathroom. He sat on the bed staring after her, then understood when he heard her retching.
Chapter 15
***Cassie***
Cassie cringed when she heard the bathroom door open but couldn’t pull her head out of the toilet. She’d already thrown up everything in her stomach, and the tea Charlie had forced her to drink hadn’t worked; now Daniel was watching her retch uncontrollably.
When the retching finally stopped, he pulled her to her feet and tried to put his arms around her, but she stepped away. Turning on the sink, she rinsed her mouth and tried to escape back into the bedroom, but he grabbed her arm and stopped her.
“I thought you said you weren’t sick,” he accused, a scowl on his face when he saw how she was dressed.
Cassie looked down at the thick robe she was wearing, the only thing in her closet that still fit, then looked back up at him. “I’m not, really,” she repeated and tried to pull her arm away.
“Then why were you throwing up?” he said, trying to pull her into his arms again.
Cassie pulled away and walked into the bedroom, the urge to go to him hard to resist in the small space. “I just have an upset stomach,” she lied, trying to get as far away from him as possible.
Cassie had tried and tried to figure out how to tell him what she needed to, had begged Charlie to tell him. But now that she was face to face with him, she wasn’t sure she could, wasn’t sure he wouldn’t reject her.
“Cassie, are you going to tell me what’s going on or do I have to go to Charlie?” Daniel asked, an edge to his voice she didn’t like.
She turned and looked at him, saw the anguish in his eyes and knew that she had to tell him herself. For several moments, she searched for the right words, but when none came, she decided to show him. Reaching for the ties on her robe, she closed her eyes, untied them, and let the robe fall open.
She heard Daniel’s sharp intake of breath, then silence, so she opened her eyes to find him staring at her body. Closing the robe, she walked over to the window, unable to face Daniel any longer. He followed her to the window, grabbed her by the shoulders, and turned her around to face him.
“When did that happen? How did that happen?” he asked, and she was sure that he was disgusted by the change in her.
Choking back a sob, she said, “While I was sleeping.”
Daniel searched her face. “Is this why you were hiding from me?”
Cassie nodded, her chest rising and falling as she fought not to cry. Daniel grabbed her and crushed her against his chest, “Oh, sweetheart you shouldn’t have; it’s not what you look like on the outside that matters to me,” he said, looking down into her eyes. “It’s what’s inside here,” he said, putting his hand over her heart, then he kissed her on the forehead, “and what’s in here.
Cassie sobbed into his chest. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t want me any more now that I look like this,” she finally said, when her tears had calmed.
Daniel picked her up and carried her over to the bed but didn’t set her down on it. Instead he put her back on her feet, then sat down on the edge of the bed. He reached for the ties on her robe, but she stopped him, a blush spreading across her cheeks.
“Let me see you, Cassie; you know you’re beautiful to me no matter what you look like,” he said, pulling her hands away.
Cassie let her hands fall to her sides, her body tingling with desire, her heart pounding in her chest. Daniel untied her robe, then pulled it off her shoulders, leaving her standing in front of him naked. As the cold rushed over her skin, her nipples hardened, and she heard Daniel groan.
A thrill rushed through her, and suddenly she knew that everything was going to be okay, that she was just as desirable to Daniel as she had been before. As if he’d read her mind, his eyes met hers, and he said, “You’re even more beautiful than you were before.”
Cassie’s knees began to buckle, but Daniel reached out and grabbed her hips to steady her. “I want to make love to you, Cassie, now and tomorrow and the day after that and nothing is going to change that,” he said, then sucked one of her hard nipples into his mouth.
His hands slid up and down her back as his mouth teased first one nipple then the other until Cassie was a puddle of pleasure, only staying on her feet because Daniel was supporting her. When his hands dipped lower to caress her buttocks, the tingle deep inside her blossomed and grew, until she was desperate for his touch.
Daniel slid one hand between her legs but didn’t touch her until she parted them for him. Then he teased her, almost touching her moist heat
then trailing his finger back down her leg until, almost breathless, she said, “Daniel please.”
When his finger finally found her swollen nib, the moisture making it slick, he stroked her until, with strangled cry, she dug her nails into his shoulder as pleasure took her. Smiling he, pulled her down onto the bed and onto her back, then quickly stood and stripped off his clothes.
She lay back against the pillows watching him undress, thinking that she’d never get over the thrill it gave her. When his erection sprang free, she sat up and reached for him, wrapped both hands around him, and kissed the tip. He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly as she stroked him, still not brave enough to go further.
After only a few more strokes, he grabbed her hands and held them still. “This will be over much too soon if you keep doing that, and I haven’t begun to explore your beautiful new body,” he said.
Cassie felt a thrill of pleasure wash over her and scooted over on the bed, but Daniel didn’t join her. Instead, he walked around to the end of the bed and stood there looking at her. Finally, he said, “Lay back against the pillows.”
When her head rested against the pillow, Daniel said, “Now raise your arms above your head.”
She did as he said, her face flaming, her insides churning with desire. Daniel studied her for a moment, his eyes roaming from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet, then came back up and met her. “You look good enough to eat,” he said, then gently slid her legs apart.
Cassie’s heart was hammering in her chest, her body trembling as pleasure and anticipation washed over her. When Daniel’s tongue swept across her sensitive nib the first time, pleasure so intense it was almost painful filled her world, each gentle lap of his tongue bringing her closer to the point of pure pleasure.
Her hands wrapped in his hair, she held on as the world tilted and twisted, then exploded in colors so bright, she was forced to close her eyes. As her body began to still, Daniel slid up between her legs, pushing her knees up as he went. When he was poised to enter her, he paused until she opened her eyes.
“I love to bring you pleasure, Cassie, I love to watch you soar and know that I’m the one taking you there. But what I love most is this moment,” he said, then slid inside her.
Cassie gasped when they became one, her body closing around his, pulling him inside her. Daniel groaned and remained still, his swollen member pulsing and throbbing inside her, then slowly began to move, long slow strokes that did nothing but flame the fires burning inside her.
Frustrated and needing more, Cassie thrust her hips up each time his came down, making Daniel growl and thrust into her harder. But after only a few more seconds, he pulled out of her and rolled onto his back, then pulled her on top of him.
She straddled him, not sure what to do, but then he grabbed her by the hips and drove himself into her. A squeal of surprise came out of her mouth, quickly followed by a moan of pleasure as Daniel filled her deeper than he ever had before. She sat up and began to ride him, each dip of her body and thrust of his hips reaching some new place deep inside her.
As the pleasure began to spiral to what she knew would be a wonderful ending, she looked down at Daniel, whose eye were closed in pleasure. But he sensed her looking at him, and opened them, then reached between them and found her nub with his finger.
With only a few strokes of his finger, she tumbled over the edge, but never took her eyes off his. His name on her lips, she let the waves of pleasure wash over her until, with a cry of his own, Daniel thrust into her over and over, each stoke harder than the next.
Cassie felt a new wave of pleasure over the old, and cried out his name, as together they tumbled over the edge into oblivion. When Cassie finally managed to take a full breath, she moved to get off Daniel, but he held her there. “Don’t move yet; it still feels too good.”
***Daniel***
Daniel lay with Cassie on top of him, thinking that he’d found heaven. He hadn’t been lying to her when he said that he’d want her no matter what she looked like, but her new body was soft and warm in all the right places.
He was still buried inside her, but he was beginning to get hot with her lying on top of him, so he gently slid her off him and pulled her into his arms. She snuggled down, put her head on his chest and sighed.
As they lay there, he noticed that Cassie’s skin was hot against his. Leaning up on one elbow, he looked down at her and asked, “Are you feeling okay? I forgot that you were sick. You feel hot. Maybe we shouldn’t have done that.”
Cassie smiled up at him, a blush spreading across her cheeks and then looked down shyly. “There was one more thing that happened last night; it’s kind of hard to believe, but Charlie says it true; she says it might explain some of what happened to me.”
Daniel looked at her confused. “Wait I think you lost me,” he said, “start at the beginning. There are two things to explain it?”
When she was silent for too long, he reached down and tipped up her chin, “Tell me, Cassie.”
She took a deep breath and said, “Charlie says that my father put a spell on me, that he’s been draining my energy since I was a child. She thinks that we broke the spell, that our caring about each other was enough to block it.”
Daniel thought about that. “That’s why she’s so mad,” he said.
Cassie nodded. “When we figured it out, I thought she was going to go hunt him down right then.”
Daniel was silent for a second, anger flowing through him, making it hard to breathe for a second. But then Cassie put her hand on his arm, and the anger turned to power and faded away. “There might be another reason, Daniel,” she said.
He looked down at her, but she didn’t say anything, only looked at him like she was afraid to tell him the rest. “It’s okay, Cassie; it can’t be any worse than what your father was doing to you.”
Instead of speaking, she took his hand and put it on her belly and waited. Daniel was confused at first, but then he felt the heat coming from deep inside her, almost as if something was alive inside her. It hit him then: Charlie’s strange words and her comment to Steven.
“But we only… I mean… a baby… that’s...” Daniel trailed off, speechless.
Chapter 16
***Cassie***
Cassie had been so sure that Daniel would be happy, but he didn’t seem happy at all, and her heart sank. But then he let out a whoop and grabbed her in a hug that nearly crushed her. Laughing, she pushed against his chest and said, “You’re crushing me.”
Daniel let up a little but didn’t let her go. “Sorry, but I’m still in a bit of shock,” he said, “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t mind?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Mind? I think this is the best news I’ve ever heard,” he said, kissing her on the forehead.
“But what about our plans? Traveling and seeing the world?” she asked.
“We can still do that, it’ll just be a little harder with a little one; besides, we can stay in Colorado as long as we want,” Daniel said, already making plans for them.
Cassie liked the sound of that but then she thought about her father. “What about my father? I don’t think he’s going to like our plans,” she said, her stomach falling when she thought about him.
“I think it’s time for all of us to leave,” Daniel said. “We’ll go to Colorado where I know I can keep you safe and then we’ll deal with Deacon.”
Cassie knew that she should be angry at her father, should be glad to leave him behind, but she felt a little sad. “It’s hard to believe that the man I thought loved me was only using me,” she said, fighting the tears that threatened.
Daniel hugged her closer. “I’m sorry, Cassie, I wish it wasn’t true too, but I promise I’ll never let him hurt you again.
Cassie felt Daniel’s power surge through her and let it soothe her, knowing deep in her heart that if she was with him, she never be hurt again. Unable to keep her eyes open any longer, s
he let them drift closed and fell asleep, knowing that Daniel would be there when she woke up.
***Daniel***
Once Cassie was sound asleep, Daniel carefully slipped out of bed and got dressed. On his way out of the room, he stopped at the end of the bed and watched Cassie sleep for a few minutes, his heart filled with the love he felt for her and the baby she carried.
But now wasn’t the time to be sentimental; he had to get them out of the castle and safely away from Deacon. It still wasn’t exactly clear to him what Deacon had done to Cassie, but one thing he knew for sure: he wasn’t going to do it again.
When he got down to the kitchen, he found Charlie and Steven waiting for him. Charlie cast him a questioning glance. “She’s sleeping again,” he said. “We have to get her out of here.”
Charlie nodded her head, “Steven and I were just talking about that; get some coffee and join us.”
After he was seated at the table, Charlie said, “I don’t know exactly what Cassie told you.”
Daniel couldn’t help but smile. “She told me about the baby,” he said.
Charlie nodded. “And the spell? Did she tell you about the spell?”
“She did, but I’m not sure I fully understand,” Daniel said, his happiness snuffed out by the thought of Deacon using Cassie the way he did.
“Well, it’s very simple; if you add black magic to any spell, it can be turned around, used for the wrong purposes, and that’s what Deacon did. He took a healing spell, a spell designed to give energy to someone who’s sick, and he flipped it; he made Cassie sick, sucking out her energy.”
Daniel finally understood. “He’s been doing it for years, that’s why she suddenly…” he trailed off not sure how to explain.
“Yes, I think that’s some of it, but her fever is your fault,” Charlie said with a stern glance. “You should have been more careful; she’s very fragile.”
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