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  But it made no sense, if this was his dream she shouldn’t be crying, she should be throwing herself at him with reckless abandon. If this was his dream, he shouldn’t be feeling like he was actually experiencing her emotions. Something niggled at the back of his mind, but he shoved aside any doubts and questions, he didn’t want to face them right now.

  “Cassie what is wrong? Did I hurt you? Please,” he whispered. “Please tell me that I did not hurt you.”

  She shook her head wildly. He gently pulled back the strands of hair that fell across her damp cheeks. Cupping her chin, he lifted her face to his. Tears slid silently down her cheeks, her eyes were bright and damp with unshed ones. Though he had been frightened that he had hurt her, there was happiness and joy radiating from her.

  “Cassie?”

  “I’m fine,” she breathed, reaching up to cup his hand in hers as she leaned into his touch. “I’m just so happy here. This, this is just the most wonderful thing that I have ever experienced. You are the most wonderful thing that I have ever experienced. I can say that here because it isn’t real.” Her eyes darted away from his for a moment. “But out there…”

  She shook her head, closing her eyes as she nestled closer. “Out there what?” he asked softly, knowing that she was talking about the world that existed outside of this dream one.

  Her eyes darkened, her face hardened slightly with anger. “Out there everything is hard. Out there, this cannot be.”

  Confusion filled him as he studied her. She kept her gaze focused on the lake, more tears filled her eyes. But he sensed these were tears of sorrow and loss, not of joy. He did not understand what she was talking about, but it was more than apparent that she was greatly upset about something.

  “Cassie look at me.” Her attention returned to him, her forehead furrowed. “Why is it hard? Why can’t this be?”

  Though she smiled wanly, the depth of her sorrow was nearly palpable. “I wish that I could tell you.” She shook her head. “You wouldn’t believe me anyway.”

  “I would believe anything you told me.”

  Her eyes warmed and melted. “You are wonderful,” she whispered. “So wonderful. I’ve never felt like this with anyone before, never even knew it could be possible to feel like this. Even though it’s a dream, I feel like you would be like this in the real world, that you would make me feel this good.”

  “I would,” he promised, surprised by the strange turn of events this dream was taking. It was his dream after all, she should be in his arms still, she should be happy still. She should not be lost and wounded and talking in riddles that he couldn’t unravel. She should tell him what was bothering her, not keep it hidden from him.

  What kind of crazy damn dream was this anyway?

  Though she kept her face pressed into the palm of his hand she turned her attention back to the lake. “I used to love coming here,” she whispered.

  Devon started in surprise as he turned toward the pristine lake. The field surrounding it was covered with blue, yellow, and white wild flowers that flowed toward the edge of a thick forest. The blades of grass, and wild flowers, swayed beneath the soft breeze that trickled over them. There was a dock stretching toward the middle of the lake. A single tree was off to the side, a rope swing was tied to a branch that dipped over the water. He could almost hear children laughing as they swung out over the water and released the rope.

  Though it could have been one of a hundred lakes in the world, it was not one that he had ever seen before. “You know this place?” he inquired softly.

  She turned back to him, the sorrow momentarily slipping from her as she grinned brightly. “Oh, very well. It’s Lake Waldorph. Chris and I used to spend three weeks every summer at the camp just beyond those woods. Those were wonderful summers.”

  Devon focused on the lake again; horror filled him as he turned from its smooth surface back to her. This was not only his dream, he realized with a start, but also hers. Though he was the one that had brought her into the dream, it was her mind that had created the setting. It was why she was not telling him the things he wanted to hear from her. It was why her sorrow and reluctance were real. It was why things were not going the way he wanted them to, because they were also going her way.

  His body began to go numb with the shock and disbelief filling it. He knew how their minds had connected, knew he had been the one to do it. But he’d had no intention of ever letting such a thing happen. But while asleep, his subconscious must have reached out to hers. It had taken hold of her mind, and drawn it in. He had never had any intention of ever seizing hold of her mind, but apparently his subconscious had not felt the same way.

  Devon bit back a curse, not wanting to frighten or upset her anymore. There was no reason for her to know what had happened, how this had occurred, or the reason that it felt so real was because there were two minds creating it. It was better for her to continue to consider this just a strange, oddly real dream. She could never know what he was, what he was capable of, what he could do to her. He didn’t know her well, but she would run screaming if she knew the truth, and he would not blame her in the least.

  The only problem was that no matter what she said, or what she wanted, he was afraid that this dream might mean she wouldn’t have an option. And he feared that neither did he. They barely knew each other, but his ability had taken them both over, and brought them both here. He had never had such a thing happen before, had never lost control of his ability in such a way. Even when he had been a novice, floundering and uncertain of his powers, he had never lost control of them.

  He had a bad feeling that he finally knew what all of this meant. He just didn’t want to recognize the truth of it. He still didn’t even have a place to stay in town yet and hadn’t intended to stay in town for much longer. Now he was fearful that he may not have a choice about staying or going.

  Wrapping his fingers through hers, he shut his thoughts off, not wanting to deal with them right now. He knew that it would only result in a tangled mess of confusion that he was not in the mood to sort through. For now, all he wanted was to hold her, talk to her, and make both of their dreams come true.

  “Would you like to sit by the lake?”

  Her face lit with pleasure, her eyes sparked merrily. He knew in that moment that he would do everything he could to make her smile like that as often as possible. “I would love to.”

  He led her slowly down to the water, stopping at the edge of the lake. The water lapped gently against his feet. “Just as warm as I remember,” Cassie whispered.

  “Why did you stop coming to camp here?”

  She shrugged, her hand tightened briefly as a tremor of tension raced through her. “There wasn’t any time for camp once Luther and Melissa came.”

  He stared at her in surprise; his eyebrows drew tightly together as he thought over her strange words. “Who is Luther?”

  “Melissa’s father, adoptive father,” she amended.

  Devon shook his head in confusion. “I don’t understand. What does he have to do with the fact that you could no longer go to camp?”

  She turned toward him, holding her hair back as the breeze briefly picked up. For a moment grief enveloped her and that lost look filled her eyes again. But then her gaze cleared, and she smiled brightly at him. She squeezed his hand before standing on tiptoe to kiss him briefly. Devon started in surprise; he enjoyed the playful demeanor that suddenly enveloped her. He was certain that it was not an attitude she had very often.

  “This is a dreary topic for such a wonderful dream, and one that I do not want to think about right now. I think about it too often during the day.”

  Devon was once again confused as to what she was talking about. What did Melissa’s adopted dad have to do with anything major in her life, other than taking care of her friend, and maybe driving them to the movies or dances once in awhile? Those things were certainly not something that would occupy her thoughts often during the day, at least not as often as she had just
suggested.

  Before he could question her further, she tilted her head to the side, looking impish and striking. “I would much rather go swimming.”

  With that she released his hand and plunged into the water. Her beautiful laughter trailed off as she dove beneath the surface. Devon stood in shocked wonder for a moment before shrugging negligently. It had been a very long time since he had gone swimming, and he could think of no one he would rather do it with.

  Cassie burst back to the surface, inhaling deeply. Her skin glimmered in the light of the sun, her dress was tight against her and drops of water clung to her as she smiled beckoningly at him. Excitement spurted through him. She was tantalizing, irresistible, and completely delicious looking. He could not refuse her as he began to wade into the warm water.

  He was only feet from her when her head tilted to the side, her eyebrows drew sharply together and irritation flitted over her delicate features. “What is that noise?” she mumbled.

  “What noise?”

  He could hear nothing except for the gentle lapping of the waves against their skin. “Alarm,” she whispered.

  And then she was gone. Horror and terror filled Devon as he looked frantically around for her. It took him a few moments to realize that she had simply awakened. She had not disappeared for good. He still couldn’t help the disappointment that crashed over him in suffocating waves. He had wanted more time with her, wanted to enjoy her more, hold her more. He had not wanted this to end so soon.

  Retreating from the lake he returned to the shore, ignoring the feel of the grass now. It did not matter as much without her here to enjoy it with him. Sighing, he slid to the ground, draping his arms over his knees he stared at the serene lake that Cassie had placed here. He wanted to know more about her. He wanted to know about her days at camp, her childhood, and life experiences both happy and sad. He wanted to know everything that there was to know about her, and he was tired of being avoided all the time.

  He did not care about the confusion and doubt that resided inside of him; did not care about her strange talk, or the fact that he had lost control of his ability. There was only one thing that he cared about now. It no longer matter that Cassie fought him every step of the way, he was going to get closer to her in real life. He was going to make their dream come true.

  CHAPTER 8

  Cassie breezed into the kitchen, humming cheerfully under her breath as she grabbed an apple from a bowl on the center island. Her grandmother looked up at her in surprise, freezing in the act of beating some scrambled eggs. Her eyes widened, her delicate strawberry colored eyebrows drew sharply together as her azure eyes tracked Cassie’s every movement. Reaching over her grandma turned down the country song drifting softly from the radio.

  “You seem much happier today.”

  Cassie nodded, stopping to drop a kiss on her grandmother’s soft cheek. Though she was in her late fifties, she barely looked a day over thirty. Only soft laugh lines marred the corners of her eyes and mouth. Her shoulder length, strawberry blond hair, was pulled into a lose ponytail that bounced against her neck.

  “A little.”

  “Did you finally get some sleep?”

  Cassie nodded, a small smile flitted over her mouth as she recalled the night of sleep she’d had. Though she knew that it had only been a dream, and could only ever be a dream, it had still been wonderful. It had still left her feeling warm, and alive, and strangely loved this morning. Her gaze darted to the window as Chris emerged from his house.

  “Yes,” Cassie answered absently.

  Though she had woken up strangely revived and optimistic, the sight of Chris’s slumped shoulders reminded her that this was not some strangely realistic dream. This was her life. And in her life, there was no room for hope and optimism. There was no room to have feelings for someone, because in the end they would only both get hurt. Though she reminded herself of these things, she could not stop the excitement and eagerness that filled her at the thought of seeing Devon today. She was playing with fire, and bound to get burned, but at this moment she could not put the matches down.

  “Luther is working you all too hard,” her grandmother muttered before returning to her eggs.

  “We’re fine, grandma.”

  She glanced sharply back up at Cassie. “You haven’t been fine for the past week.”

  Cassie shrugged as she shoved the apple into her bag. She didn’t want to meet her grandmother’s eyes; she knew how sharp the woman was. She would not see past Cassie’s pretense of being fine. “I was just a little stressed over school.”

  “Hmm,” she grunted. “You’re too young for such responsibilities.”

  Cassie sighed softly as she heaved her backpack onto her shoulder. Chris was already parked on the street, waiting for her. He usually came inside in the morning, either to say hi to her grandma, or to steal some food. The fact that he was not coming in led Cassie to believe that he’d had a rough night, and he did not want her grandma to pick up on that fact. Though sitting outside did nothing to keep it hidden.

  “You were younger than me when you learned what you were,” Cassie reminded her gently. “And you had the same responsibilities.”

  Her grandmother turned toward her. “I always knew what I was Cassie. It was not a shock to me, and at the time we did not fear for our lives as fiercely as we have to now. At the time, we never could have imagined that such a thing as The Slaughter would occur. You should not have had to know either.”

  “Grandma…”

  She waved her hand impatiently. “I know. I know. Luther had to find you; it was part of your destiny after all. I just wish that I could have kept you sheltered from it.”

  Cassie hurried to her side and hugged her gently. “I know grandma, but there are things in life that we cannot predict, or avoid.”

  Cassie thought over her words, starting slightly as she realized that they could apply to her situation with Devon. She could not have predicted his arrival, and she was beginning to feel that it would be easier to stop a locomotive than to continue fighting her strong attraction to him. Fear and excitement tore through her; she trembled with anticipation at the same time her mouth went dry with dread. If she did this, there would be no turning back, but she wasn’t sure that she wanted to turn back anymore.

  “When did you get so smart dear?”

  Cassie blinked as she was brought back to the present. “A wise person raised me.”

  Her grandmother’s face lit with her smile, her eyes twinkled with love. “And don’t you forget it. Now hurry up, get going, Chris had a rough night.”

  “Yes,” Cassie agreed.

  Cassie kissed her cheek again, squeezed her hand, and hurried out of the house. The day was bright and warm, the chill of fall hadn’t settled in completely, but the leaves were beginning to change. Cassie glanced up at the clear sky, eagerly inhaling great gulps of fresh air as she tried to steady her tingling nerves and pounding heart. She had a feeling that after today there would be no turning back. That today would either be the day that everything changed, or everything remained the same for good. She no longer knew which one she wanted more.

  ***

  Cassie sat stiffly at her desk; her shoulders ached from her ramrod position. But it was impossible to relax, not with him only mere feet away. In fact, as long as he was near, she was pretty sure that she was never going to relax again. Not after that dream. Unwillingly, she pressed her fingers to her mouth. She could still recall the heat of his lips against hers, the hard stroke of his tongue, and the press of his solid arms wrapped tightly around her. He had made her feel so safe and protected, and whole. It had been the strangest most realistic dream ever, and she desperately wanted to know what the real life experience would be like.

  She had to force herself not to look at him, not to cast surreptitious glances his way. Not to stare at him. Not to relive every moment of pleasure he had given to her last night. It was impossible.

  She clenched her hands tight. Her na
ils dug into her palm, her knuckles ached from the force of it. Her pen was clasped so tight that she feared it would snap. Her body crackled with electricity. Her pulse pounded in her ears, her heart slammed rapidly against her ribs.

  She hadn’t heard a word Mr. Maddox had said since class started. Unwillingly, her gaze drifted slowly over to Devon. He was sitting casually in his desk, his long legs stretched before him as he stared straight ahead. Those hands that had touched her so reverently last night were splayed before him, the long fingers lying upon the desk. Though his posture was relaxed, she sensed a current of tension and power just beneath his smooth surface. The power that ran through him seemed completely out of place for a normal teenage boy in history class.

  She was completely confused by him. Baffled by everything that he represented, though she didn’t know what that was.

  Seeming to sense her focus, he turned slowly toward her. She knew that she should look away, that she should be embarrassed to have been caught staring, but she couldn’t break the magnetic pull he radiated. Her fingers twitched, they longed to touch him. It took everything she had not to reach across the short distance between them, and seize him.

  He didn’t look away from her as he leaned slightly forward, shifting with an easy grace. His emerald eyes burned with intensity, and a hunger that left her breathless. The slow ripple of his muscles made her mouth go dry as her body erupted with tingles of electricity. She felt like a volcano bubbling beneath the surface, ready to explode in a torrent of molten lava that would certainly destroy her. But she was certain that for a few brief moments she would enjoy being buried beneath the heat.

  Her world, her entire being, was focused upon him. She needed him. The strange thought, and the absolute certainty that accompanied it, left her shaken and frightened. But this time, she could not bolt, and she could not run. She could not turn away from him in order to do so.