Cassie (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #3) (14 page)

There was no answer.

Cassie glanced at Brody, afraid he might have passed out again. Fortunately, he hadn’t, but he stood there gawking at her.

“Hey, you okay?” she asked.

“I...that’s over four hundred pounds!”

“Really?” she quipped, as she continued to churn out reps. “Doesn’t seem that heavy.”

“Doesn’t seem...put that down!”

Cassie racked the weights, tickled at Brody’s exasperation. “I picked up a logging truck once. That was a bit more difficult than this.” She sat up, and patted the bar.

Brody’s eyes bulged. “A what?!” He shook his head. “This is crazy. It’s just not humanly possible.”

“Yeah, been there. I’m actually starting to consider the witch thing as a real possibility.”

The sound of the front door opening interrupted Brody’s response. He grabbed the gun he’d set on the fridge, as he ran toward the living room. Cassie jumped off the bench and followed.

“Ya know, locking doors is a big part of safety,” Caleb said, as he came in.

Brody and Cassie came to a sliding halt by the sofa, nearly running into each other.

Caleb closed the front door, and slowly turned the latch back and forth. “This is how it works, see: locked, unlocked.”

“Smartass,” Cassie mumbled. She was relieved that he was back, but also a bit apprehensive. She’d let the cat out of the bag with Brody, and after they’d agreed not to.

“We were a little distracted,” Brody said sheepishly.

Caleb frowned at his friend. “I thought I said no funny business.”

Brody laughed, “Hey, I can’t help that I’m a chick magnet.”

Caleb pursed his lips. “Hmm.”

“I told him,” Cassie blurted. “About everything.”

An awkward silence fell. A lot of those seemed to happen whenever Cassie’s power was involved. People just didn’t know how to handle it.

Caleb sighed, “Well, that’s that I suppose.” He looked over at Brody. “Sorry, man. I just—”

Brody held up a hand. “Don’t. There’s no need. You guys can stay as long as you need to. I’ll bug out for a week or so after you leave.”

“Thanks, man,” Caleb said. He walked over, and patted Brody on the shoulder. “Again, I can’t tell you how much you’ve helped us out.”

“Not a problem.”

“Where will you go?” Cassie asked.

“I’ll be over at the job site,” Brody replied. “The boss lady is pretty cool, and actually told me I could stay in one of the cottages while I was working.”

“Is it far from here?”

“A few miles,” Brody looked at her questioningly.

“I just want to make sure you’ve got some distance from here, in case that thing shows up,” she said.

He nodded in understanding.

“So she did tell you
everything
,” Caleb said.

“Once he found out about my power, I didn’t see the point in not telling him about what was chasing us.” She went and sat on the couch.

“Since we’re on the subject,” Brody said. “Did that creature really brush off a hit from your car? If so, we may need to consider bigger guns.” He held up the pistol Caleb had given him.

“Yeah, but it was with her car actually.” Caleb took a seat next to Cassie. “And I don’t think the size of the gun is going to matter. That thing eats pain like candy.”

“What the hell is it?” Brody asked.

“We aren’t really sure,” Caleb answered.

“It has a name,” Cassie said in sudden realization. “I just remembered.”

“It has a name?” Caleb repeated. “That’s messed up.”

“What is it?” Brody asked.

“The cultist guy called it, Carreau. And he also said it was a demon.”

“You got a computer, Brody?” Caleb asked.

“Yeah, in the study.”

“Do you really think anything we find on the internet is going to be of any use?” Cassie asked. She sure as hell hoped so, but the odds were against it.

“I don’t know, but I’m not a fan of going into a fight blind, so I say we give it a shot,” Caleb said. “Besides, it’s not like we have any better options at this point.”

He was right about that, and they had to start somewhere. She shrugged. “Go for it.”

The three of them went into Brody’s study. It had the same beautiful woodwork and earth tones that were in the living room, though this was smaller, and that much more cozy. Brody fired up his desktop and started searching. “How do you spell it?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “I only heard him say it.”

“We’ll try a few terms then.” Brody went to tapping on the keyboard. “The word ‘demon’ should get us close enough.”

Cassie could feel Caleb’s gaze. She glanced at him, and caught his deep blue eyes lingering on her hips.
Naughty boy
. Just to be a tease, she hooked her thumb on the waistline of her shorts, and pulled them down a bit.

Caleb’s brow rose, as did his gaze. He grinned when their eyes met.

“Found anything yet?” Cassie asked Brody, as she smiled back at Caleb.

“Not really,” Brody said, still typing and clicking.

“How about something to drink?” Caleb asked. “Can I get you anything, man?”

“Yeah, a beer would be good.”

He looked Cassie up and down as he stepped to the door. “Anything for you?”

“Maybe,” she answered with hooded eyes. “I’ll come with.”

Brody seemed none the wiser of their flirting, and remained at his desk, as the pair made their way into the kitchen.

Cassie pressed against Caleb’s back, wrapping her arms around him, when he opened the refrigerator door. She nestled into his broad shoulder blades, and breathed him in. “I missed you.”

“You sure?” he asked. “You and Brody got pretty tight while I was away.”

“Awww. Is Caleb jealous?” she teased.

He turned around, and bear hugged her. “Maybe,” he drawled. “I’m sensitive, you know.”

Cassie barked a laugh. “Whatever. I happen to know a Taser that would beg to differ. I also—”

Caleb kissed her. His lips were soft and hungry, devouring her with tingling passion. He continued to drive her mad with his touch, as his hands roamed down her back, settling on her butt. Just as things were beginning to get interesting, he eased away.

“You’re good at interrupting me,” Cassie purred. She clawed his butt, pulling him closer. “You should do it more often.”

Caleb flashed that grin that made her want to tear his clothes off. “Oh, I intend to, but we’ve got monsters to kill.”

“Hey, you started this, Mr. Googly Eyes.” She pouted, and ripped his back pocket off.

“Ho, shit!” He laughed, as he tried to snatch the piece of denim from of her hand.

Even though he was over a foot taller than her, she kept him at bay with minimal effort. “Like to have this back, huh?” she taunted, waving the pocket behind her.

“So sure of yourself, are you?” He reached over her head with one arm, as he had done several times already. But this time, when Cassie moved to block him, he ducked low, and yanked her shorts down.

Cassie screamed like a little girl, as she tried to cover herself. “My landing strip’s showing, you sneaky jerk!”

Caleb snagged the pocket out of her hand, laughing. “Sucka!”

“I take it neither of you are church goers?” Brody said, as he came into the kitchen. He was studying some printouts, but froze in shock, as he caught sight of Cassie.

Heat rushed to Cassie’s cheeks. She desperately tried to pull her shorts up and get behind Caleb at the same time. The soft material tangled around her legs as she did, causing her to crash to the floor in a half-naked heap. “Shit!”

Caleb started wheezing he was laughing so hard. Brody snickered and then busted out, joining his friend.

“Shut up!” she chastised, after getting her shorts over her hips. She wanted to be upset, but ended up laughing with them, once she got to her feet. It was a good feeling after experiencing so much trauma over the past week. “You guys are asses.”

“I hope we look as good as yours!” Brody snarked.

Cassie blushed again. “You two really know how to make a girl feel uncomfortable.”

Caleb and Brody actually bumped fists.

“Boys.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m in the most dangerous situation of my life, and I’m being helped by a couple of
boys
!” She snatched the papers out of Brody’s hand. “What did you find?”

Brody composed himself, and then pointed to some of the images he’d printed. “Any of those look familiar?”

Cassie scanned through the pictures, but none of them looked like the thing she’d seen. “Nope.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Brody sighed. “I’m sure the references to the name originated from something authentic. But if none of those images are what you saw, then the likelihood that the information I found being helpful is slim. It’s just people making stuff up.”

Cassie looked at the pages of text. A few lines referred to Carreau as the demon of heartlessness, and the breaker of men’s resolve.
Well, that’s true,
she thought. The rest were vague descriptions of how to banish the demon with holy water, crosses, and the equivalent of harsh language. Brody was right, this was useless. Despair began to sink in.

“This is just the start Cas,” Caleb said. He rubbed her shoulder. “We’ll keep looking. We’ll find something that will help us.”

She nodded, but couldn’t bring herself to believe him.

“Well, I’m going to turn in guys,” Brody said. “I’ll be up early to make breakfast.” With that, he strolled off to his room.

Cassie stared off at nothing, still unable to shake off her blues.

“Hey,” Caleb said, pulling her close. “Brighten up. We’ll find a way out of this. We have to.”

She snuggled close to him. “Why’s that?”

“Because I’ve finally found what I’ve been looking for all my life.”

“Must be nice,” Cassie replied. When he didn’t respond she looked up at him. His eyes were bright, and filled with life. She frowned. “What’d you find?”

“You. Foolish woman.”

Tears blurred Cassie’s vision, as the sudden rush of emotion overpowered her. He’d been what she was looking for too. She’d known it for a while now, but was afraid he didn’t feel the same. She squeezed him tight, careful not to break anything. “About time.”

He chuckled, “I’m slow sometimes.” He kissed the top of her head. “Sorry.”

“You’re lucky. I’m going to let you make it up to me.” Cassie reached down, and ripped off his other back pocket. She danced away from him, evading his attempts to grab her, and ran to the room she’d woken up in. Caleb scrambled after her, catching her just before she got to the bed.

“You’re a quick little minx,” he breathed in her ear. Still holding her from behind, he kicked the door shut.

“Only when I need to be.” She tried to turn around, but he held her in place.

Caleb swept the hair away from her neck, and began kissing down to her shoulder. The tingle coming from his lips did its work on her. While his hands roamed under her shirt, and across her belly. He made his way to her breasts, squeezing and rubbing with smooth rhythm.

She moaned as her nipples hardened. She reached back, and ran her hands along the front of Caleb’s pants. He was so aroused, she thought he might tear free of his jeans.

His lips moved slowly up to her jawline, while one hand eased down the front of her boxer shorts. She spread her legs in anticipation and want. His fingers probed teasingly, until finally easing into her. She gasped, fighting the urge to cry out.

He stroked deftly, bringing her to orgasm faster than she thought possible.

She bit her lip, continuing to prevent herself from calling out. She tore the first few buttons off of Caleb’s jeans in her struggle to be silent. Caleb pulled her shorts down, and bent her over the bed. She arched her back, as the sound of his pants and shirt hit the floor. She rotated her hips, eager to feel him inside.

Caleb didn’t disappoint when his hardness parted her.

She cried out in ecstasy, not able to control herself this time. She grabbed two handfuls of bedding, as he plunged deeply into her. His pace was slow and long, gradually picking up in intensity with each stroke. Rough fingers dug into her hips, as his thrusts drove into her, and he cut loose with a ragged moan.

“I’m coming!” she yelled. The building wave of her climax crashed over her in a flood. Her body shuddered, as Caleb continued hammering relentlessly through her orgasm. Her knees buckled, as she came for the second time.

Caleb finally slowed, but maintained a steady rhythm.

“You are
such
a bad boy,” Cassie breathed into the sheets.

“I’m just getting started,” he panted, while massaging her ass and lower back.

“Oh, I think it’s my turn to ride.” She reluctantly eased off of him, as she stood. She took hold of his shoulders, and threw him on the bed.