Anathema (Causal Enchantment, #1) (36 page)

“
I can’t believe I just did that,” I
mumbled, the rush of adrenaline fading to allow bitter nausea. I
almost fell onto a bench.

“
No, that shade of green isn’t
flattering,” Fiona mumbled, coming over to rub my back. I turned to
see Caden staring at me, an unreadable expression on his
face.

Bishop strolled back in then, dusting his hands
off as if they were covered in dirt. “Try not to attract anymore
lunatics, okay?” he directed at Caden before winking at
me.

Caden’s eyes didn’t even flicker from my face
as he gave Bishop the finger.

“
So that
is
a universal
gesture,” I noted, earning a laugh from Bishop. Not even a twitch
from Caden.

“
All this excitement! I need to go
hunt,” Amelie exclaimed. “Something feisty … Oh, I don’t know, a
wild cat, maybe?” She grinned. “You guys in?” her question was
directed at Bishop and Fiona, her eyebrow raised
suggestively.

“
See you two later,” Bishop called
as they vanished out the cave entrance.

“
One obstacle down,” I said lightly.
“See? Not so hard.”
Except for the bound, sedated, psychotic
vampire hidden somewhere in the tunnels,
I reminded myself,
glancing warily down the tunnel Bishop had dragged Rachel
into.

Caden took a seat beside me on the bench. “You
could have been killed, Evangeline,” he admonished me.

“
Well, it’s not like I had much
choice,” I retorted.

He exhaled noisily. “Yes, you did. You could
have just shown it to her and let us handle it.”

“
I like my solution
better.”

“
Your solution almost got you
killed!”

“
Okay, I’m sorry!” I cried, a tear
escaping. “But it didn’t and now we don’t have to worry about her.
Now we can focus on getting you home with me.”

Caden squeezed his eyes shut. “The sooner we
leave here with you, the sooner I become a danger to you; the
sooner I likely can’t be in the same room as you,” he said
miserably. “You and I are still impossible.”

“
No. We are not,” I growled
impatiently. “Maybe a tad
complex
for the moment, but not
impossible.”

Finally a flicker of something like amusement
crossed Caden’s face. “When did you become so stubborn?” He sighed.
“It seems like that right here, right now, but in your world …
impossible,” he countered, sadness in his voice.

I gazed upon that intoxicatingly beautiful face
that I was so wildly in love with and my jaw set with
determination. I wouldn’t give up on us and I certainly wouldn’t
let him. An irrepressible urge suddenly gripped me. Sliding closer,
I reached over to gently cup his cheek and pull his face toward me.
His eyes remained closed. “Well, then I guess we better not waste
anymore of this valuable time,” I murmured brazenly, reaching up
with my other hand to touch his chest, the ripple of his muscles
under my fingertips making me tremble.

I didn’t think it would work, my novice attempt
at seducing him. I assumed he’d push my hand aside, listing—yet
again—all the reasons why we were impossible. Maybe he’d even laugh
at my ridiculousness. But when he opened his eyes, when I saw the
intensity burning within them, I knew I was far off in my
assumption. I heard the low, feral groan in his throat and he
closed the distance between us, responding
whole–heartedly.

I had no idea what time it was and I didn’t
care. I only cared that I would have to leave Caden at some point
and I dreaded that reality.

We had spent all night on that blow–up
mattress. Things had gone out of control shockingly fast and I
hadn’t minded one bit, abandoning all my anxiety and
self–consciousness the second his lips touched mine. But, with
clothing torn off and bodies tangled, Caden must have realized
where we were headed because he stealthily bound me up within the
sleeping bag.

“
To keep us out of too much trouble”
Caden had whispered.

“
No. I want trouble,” I’d pleaded
shyly.

“
I don’t,” he responded resolutely,
his jaw set. “No, no, you don’t understand,” he quickly added when
he saw my wounded expression. “No, that’s not it. I’m …
afraid.”

“
What? Like virgin–afraid? Same
here!” My eyes widened, relief flooding me at the revelation that I
wasn’t the only one.

He chuckled. “No …”

Drat.
My face flushed.

“
But later, if …
when
you
bring us to your planet, you’re going to see what I turn into.”
Something like shame flitted across his face. “I don’t want you to
have regrets,” he added in a whisper.

“
There’s no way I’ll regret any
of—”

He stifled my argument with an intensely
passionate kiss and I forgot what I wanted to say. I may have
forgotten how to speak altogether.

The sleeping bag remained a frustrating but
effective barrier between us for the rest of the night. I tried to
wriggle out countless times but he kept me pinned tightly
underneath it until I was too exhausted to fight him.

At some point in the wee hours of the morning,
when I could see the faint arrival of early dawn outside, I dozed
off. It wasn’t something I had planned, but with my face nestled
euphorically against Caden’s chest, enveloped within his strong
arms, his hand therapeutically drawing circles over my back, sleep
was inevitable.

“
Aren’t you hungry? Or thirsty? Or
whatever it is you call it,” I asked, peering at Caden.

“
I’m okay until you leave.” He
nuzzled his cool nose against my neck, causing another stirring
deep within me.

I slid over to rest my head on his chest, my
hand creeping to glide down the ripples of his stomach
muscles.

“
They’ll be back soon.” Caden’s hand
clamped over mine, holding it in place.

I groaned in frustration but stayed my hand.
“They’ve been gone awhile,” I suddenly realized. “How many animals
can they possibly kill in one night?”

“
It’s the hunt as much as the kill,”
Caden answered, chuckling. “As a human, Amelie condemned
flyswatters as cruel. Once, when she was seventeen, she was driving
along the road when a chipmunk darted in front of her. She swerved
to avoid it, slamming into a giant oak.”

I gasped, but he shook his head dismissively.
“Oh, she was fine, surprisingly. Only a couple bumps and bruises …
She was driving one of the big pickups that we used to transport
horses. The truck and the tree were goners, though.”

“
Was the chipmunk okay?” I heard
myself ask with grave concern.

Caden laughed, the deep vibrations tickling my
eardrum. “Yes, I believe he made it. Amelie swore the rodent waved
at her from a tree.”

I giggled. “I don’t doubt she did.”

“
She explained it all to my parents
later. I thought my dad was going to wring her neck.” He chuckled
again.

I raised my head and propped myself up on my
elbows so I could see Caden’s face. “Do you still miss them after
all these years?”

The seconds ticked by before he had an answer.
“Being what we are, it’s easy to lose yourself in the moment, in
your immediate desires, as overpowering as they become. But there’s
always downtime, when that hunger is satiated and you have time to
think. Maybe minutes, maybe hours. Or years. And in that time, your
memories—which are never–fading and vivid enough that you could
relive them just by closing your eyes—can overpower you. If you let
them.” He rolled over to press his lips against my folded hands. “I
wish I could get that last image of my father out of my head. But
every time I think of him, that one shows up. Like a parasite
attached to my brain.” He began playing with my
fingertips.

“
Well, hopefully we can fill your
head with lots of new memories—ones without wars and jungles and
mountains.”

He turned to look at me with a grim expression.
“There are so many things that can go wrong with this—with us. I
want you to understand them all before this goes any
further.”

“
Like what?” I asked warily, though
inside, my heart was doing a full acrobatics show because he said
“with us.” It sounded positive, as if he was finally coming around,
as if he might stop using the word “impossible.”

“
Like,
if
we figure out how
to get back to your world with you and
if
none of us
attack you—those are already two massive obstacles—I’ll be focused
with fighting the urge to feed off humans, regardless of whether
it’s what I want. We all will be.”

“
That’s okay,” I
murmured.

He snorted, shaking his head. “No, you don’t
understand what that means.
We won’t be the same,
Evangeline
. This isn’t a minor inconvenience, a slight
discomfort. It could take years—decades, even—before you see Amelie
waving her pom–poms around. Fighting that lust, that urge—it’s
all–consuming. It takes all of our energy and focus. You could be
ninety years old before we resemble who we are today. You could be
dead
.”

That image of the wrinkled old lady in the
string bikini burned in my head again. I shook my head, frantically
trying to drive it out.

Caden propped himself up on one elbow. “And
none of that will be an issue if one of us kills you the second we
smell your blood.” His face contorted with horror. “I will throw
myself into a flaming pit if that happens.”

“
Well, maybe …” I grasped for some
hope as the picture Caden painted turned grimmer by the second “…
maybe Sofie can do something to extend the power of this
necklace?”

Caden’s eyes dropped to the pendant dangling
from my neck. “Maybe … Otherwise, you and I can’t be anywhere near
each other. It was hard enough not killing every human that crossed
my path for the first fifty years after I was converted. But
you—the feelings I have for you make the urge that much more
impossible to resist. Hugging you could turn deadly.”

Those giant bat butterflies began thumping
around in my stomach again. I took a deep breath. “You’re focusing
on worst–case scenarios. I’d prefer taking a page out of Amelie’s
book of optimism. It’s much more pleasant.”

“
Amelie also killed her boyfriend,
whom she was madly in love with,” he reminded me in a flat
voice.

“
Good point,” I muttered, sighing
noisily and rolling onto my back.

Caden took that as his cue to sit up. He
reached for his pants, lying in a tangled heap next to everything
else I had ripped off him. “I’m more concerned about you not
lasting long enough for us to find this portal.” He stood up to
dress himself.

“
That makes two of us.” I averted my
eyes, heat creeping up my neck. Would this be my last trip here?
Was hope for solving this curse’s riddle fading as I lay here,
enjoying Caden’s company, oblivious to how close the end was? How
could Sofie ask me to just sit around and wait for the portal to
grace us with its presence?

I couldn’t.

Scrabbling for my clothes, I dressed in record
time—crossing my fingers that Caden wasn’t watching me.

“
Where do you think you’re going?”
he called, an amused look on his face as I headed toward the cave
entrance.

“
Oh, right!” I ran back and grabbed
one of the mountain bag straps. I yanked as hard as I could, with
little result. “Help me!” I cried.

“
Okay, okay,” Caden said calmly,
grabbing both bags and slinging them over his shoulder. They were
so big that, as strong as he was, they were awkward to carry. “Can
you tell me where we’re going, at least?”

“
To find this damn portal!” I
announced, running out the cave entrance.

A torrential downpour greeted me, soaking my
clothes in seconds.

“
You can’t go out in this,
Evangeline,” Caden said softly, placing his hand on my shoulder and
pulling me back to cover.

“
But I have to! We have to find this
thing, and now!” Tears mingled with the rain on my cheeks as I
sobbed freely. “I don’t want to go back there without
you.”