Fear the Darkness

Caine included, although it wasn’t for the usual reasons, Cassie wryly conceded.



The overprotective Were didn’t care that the view at night offered a dazzling display of lights from the nearby casinos, or that during the day there was a breathtaking panorama of the surrounding desert and line of craggy hills.



His only interest was having the best possible view to make sure that nothing could sneak up on them. And of course, being high enough off the ground to keep anything without wings from sneaking through the window.



Cassie appreciated his concern. She truly did. It was just...



Pacing from one end of the sitting room to the other, Cassie struggled to pinpoint the source of her dissatisfaction. Not an easy task. Cassie rarely remembered that beyond her visions she was a normal female who should possess normal female emotions. And she most certainly never took them out to examine them.



Not until Caine.



So now she was stuck trying to process the bizarre contradictions that were plaguing her.



The breathtaking tingles of excitement that raced through her whenever Caine happened to touch her, followed by the achy sense of disappointment when he pulled away. The restless inability to concentrate when he was in the same room and the ridiculous fear the moment he left the hotel suite without her.



A growingly common occurrence, she acknowledged, halting to stare out the glass wall, barely noticing the streets baking beneath the fierce summer sun or the wilting tourists jamming their way into the buses that briefly halted before moving on to the next casino.



Over the past four days Caine had spent an inordinate amount of time searching for enemies that he seemed convinced were lurking just outside the door. She sensed it was more than the driving need to protect her that was sending him out the door, but she didn’t have interpersonal experience to know what she was doing wrong.



Or more importantly, how to halt him.



She turned, her gaze instinctively searching out the clock set above the entertainment center. It had been three hours since Caine left.



Far longer than he was usually gone.



Her strange sense of abandonment ratcheted up another notch. Had he gone for good this time?



It would be perfectly understandable. Playing babysitter to a female who spent most of her life besieged by glimpses of the future wasn’t a role any man would willingly take on. If Caine had grown tired and decided to cut his losses, she wouldn’t blame him for a minute.



The brave, noble thought had barely crossed her mind when she ruined it all by breathing a tiny sob of relief as she caught the familiar scent of Caine’s approach.



He hadn’t abandoned her . . .



Wrapping her arms around her waist, she forced herself not to leap forward and knock the poor man down as he stepped into the hotel suite and closed the door. Unfortunately, she couldn’t prevent her shaky sigh of relief or the compulsive words that tumbled from her lips before she could halt them. “You’re back.”



He appeared weary, with a hint of golden stubble on his jaw and his exquisite sapphire eyes shadowed. His white-blond hair was rumpled, as if he’d been running his fingers through it, and his muscles tightly coiled beneath the tight white T-shirt and faded jeans.



Still, he was on instant alert as he caught sight of her pale face. Moving with liquid speed, he was across the room, grasping her shoulders in a tight grip.



“What is it?” His gaze ran down her slender body, assuring himself that she was unharmed. “Did something happen?”



“No, you were just gone a long time. I thought . . .” She bit her lip, unwilling to burden him with her ridiculous fears.



Of course, he easily read her mind. It was one of his tricks that she didn’t particularly appreciate.



“I’m sorry.” Stepping back, he scrubbed his face with his hands. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”



“Where did you go?”



He shrugged. “I made a sweep of the hotel.”



She frowned. It didn’t take three hours to make a sweep of the hotel. Not unless he was searching room by room.



“Do you sense trouble?” she asked.



“Always.”



She caught the dry edge in his voice. It wasn’t a sense of trouble that was bothering him. Or at least, not entirely.



“You don’t have to make excuses, you know.”



“Excuses?”



“For leaving the room.” She tried to keep her voice steady. “You clearly dislike being here with me.”



“Dislike?” A raw disbelief darkened his eyes. “Is that what you think?”



“I can sense your tension.”



“It sure as hell isn’t dislike.” She could hear his teeth grinding together. “I wish to God it was.”



She frowned, realizing that once again she’d gotten it wrong. “Then what’s bothering you?”



“I need a shower.”



With an abrupt motion, he was spinning on his heel and heading into the bedroom he’d claimed as his own. Minutes later she heard the sound of the shower running.



For a confused moment she was hurt by his sharp retreat. What had she done now to make him so eager to flee from her company?



Then she caught the unmistakable scent of his arousal.



Oh.



Was that why he’d taken off in such a hurry? Because he wanted to make love to her?



The thought was thrilling. Intoxicating.



She shivered as a bolt of desire sliced through her body. Along with a determination to do something about her clawing need. She might not understand why Caine was taking a shower rather than wrapping her in his arms as she longed for him to do, but she knew that she was done waiting for him to make the first move.



Before she could lose her nerve, Cassie headed across the room and into Caine’s bedroom. She didn’t have experience. But she did have primitive instincts.



What else did she need?



Pausing long enough to strip off her clothes, Cassie entered the bathroom, crossing the mosaic-tiled floor to step into the shower stall that was the size of most apartments.



The air, filled with moist steam laced with the scent of soap and warm male skin, wafted over her like a delicate caress. Cassie trembled, her nipples beading in anticipation as Caine turned to regard her with a wary gaze.



“Cassie.” He reached to shut off the water. “What the hell?”



She smiled, slowly advancing even as he backed against the wall, his golden body shimmering with water droplets and his hair slicked from his beautiful face.



“I’ve come to ease your tension.”



He squeezed his eyes shut, as if in pain. “A back rub isn’t what I need, pet. Maybe later.”



Halting directly in front of him, Cassie skimmed her hands over his broad chest, savoring the sensation of his muscles clenching beneath her soft touch. “Then tell me what you do need.”



His eyes snapped open, his hands reaching to grasp her wrists, although he made no effort to pull them away.



Thank the gods.



“I need you out of here before I do something we’re both going to regret,” he rasped.



“You would regret making love to me?”



His eyes blazed with a compulsive need, even as his face twisted with an expression of supreme torment. “Are you deliberately trying to drive me crazy?”



She leaned forward, trailing her lips over the silken smoothness of his chest. He tasted of heat and feral animal. Delicious.



“I only wanted to help.”



“Help?” he breathed, his heart thundering beneath her lingering kiss and the scent of wolf suddenly filling the air.



Cassie felt her own wolf responding. Just because she couldn’t shift she wasn’t any less of a Were. Her animal was prowling just below her skin, restlessly seeking the touch of this man. “To relieve your tension.”



Unexpectedly, Caine stiffened, his muttered curses warning he wasn’t pleased by her explanation. “So you’re willing to give away your virginity for a pity fuck?” he growled.



She pulled back, confused by his sudden anger. “I don’t know what that means.”



He grimaced, instantly regretting his harsh words. “It means that I’m not so desperate for sex that I’m willing to take your innocence.”



Ah. Relief surged through her. He was simply protecting her.



Again.



She reached up to brush her lips along the line of his stubborn jaw. “And what if I am?”



She felt him tremble, his muscles coiled so tight it was a wonder he didn’t cramp.



“What if you are what?” he managed to husk.



“Desperate,” she readily admitted, nipping the lobe of his ear. “Would you give me a pity fu—”



Caine swooped his head down to end her words with a kiss that sent a sizzling jolt of pleasure straight through her body. She gasped, clutching at his shoulders as her toes curled in the warm water pooling at their feet.



“Don’t say it,” he commanded against her lips.



She allowed her tongue to trace the chiseled lines of his mouth, pleased when he groaned in helpless need.



“You did,” she reminded him softly.



“I say a lot of stupid things when I’m—”



“Tense?” she offered when he bit off his explanation, a line of color marking his cheekbones.