Kindred (Book 1 The Kindred Series) (42 page)

   She had been so lost in his touch that the question took her by surprise. “Huh? Oh ah, fine, it was fine.” 

   “That’s good. Your grandmother would like a ginger ale.”

   Cassie took the glasses from him
.
T
urning
she
met his fierce, heated gaze.
Ripples of pleasure shot through her
.
I
t took all she had not to throw her arms around him, bury herself in his
embrace
and forget all the worries of the world. But she couldn’t do it
. Not with her grandmother in the next room, not with Chris across the street wounded and
broken
, and not with some monster
hunting their town
.

   “Ok.” She moved reluctantly
away from him, opening the fridge
she
remove
d
the ginger ale and root
beer. “How long have you been here for?”

   “Not long
.
I
wanted to check on you after today, maybe
take you for
a walk
.”

   Cassie shuddered at the thought of being outside again, exposed to that evil, vulnerable to it. “That would have been nice,
little late now,
” she mumbled in response.

  
“Hm.”
He was studying her intently when she turned back around. Before she knew what he was doing, he reached forward and plucked a blade of grass from the arm of the coat she had
forgotten to
take off. His eyebrows lifted questioningly as he held it up.

   “
Gym
,” she lied poorly.

   He smiled softly, but she had the feeling that he didn’t believe her for a second. “Didn’t realize it was that cold out today,” he said softly.

   “I chill easily.”

   His smile widened as he took the glasses from her. “
I’ll have to keep you warm then.” Cassie’s mouth went dry, her toes curled at the promise in his husky words. “
Come watch me whoop your grandmother in cribbage.”

   Cassie
swallowed heavily,
manag
ing
a small nod. Settling down at the dining room table, her nose involuntarily wrinkled at the sight of the board. Try as she might, s
he had never caught onto cribbage
. It was a fact that her grandma found very disappointing, as she loved
the game
and always wanted Cassie to play with her.
“Thank you Devon, very kind of you.”

   Her grandma shot her a pointed look
;
there was
a suggestive
tilt to her eyebrows
as she took
he
r
glass from him.
Cassie fought against the fierce
blush creep
ing
up her cheeks
.
F
ocus
ing
on her plate,
she
pick
ed
absently
at the pieces of chicken and mashed potatoes. She watched silently as they continued the game, trading quips and laughing softly as their pieces progressed around the board. Cassie didn’t have the foggiest idea who was winning, but from the smile on her grandma’s face she
assumed
it
was
her.

   With a
cry
of joy
, her grandma moved her peg again
and
lean
ed
victoriously
back
i
n
her chair. “I believe that
is game.”

   Devon grinned at her, his black hair f
e
ll boyishly across h
is
forehead. Cassie’s heart warmed and melted, her fingers itch
ed
to brush it back
for him
. “And a
very good one,
I wouldn’t mind a rematch some time.”
   “That would be nice
.
M
y cribbage team only plays every two weeks
,
and I wouldn’t mind a
few
practice
games
in between
.”

   Devon turned his charming grin on
Cassie
. “Don’t you play?”

   Cassie
shook her head as she pushed her plate away. “Cassie has never liked cribbage,” her grandma explained.

  
“Truly?
It is a very interesting game
,
when played right.”

   Cassie frowned over his words, they sounded so grown
up, so outdated. Who said
truly
anymore? Her doubts reared back to painful life, crushing any of the small bliss she had found in the last hour. Her fingers clenched around her glass as she tried to
rid herself
of the
nagging, awful
suspicions lurking in her mind.

   “I never really grasped it,” she admitted slowly, searching his gaze, looking for answers that she knew weren’t there.

   “Then I’ll have to teach you one day.” Though he grinned at her, his eyes were darker, more intense. “You’ll enjoy it once you learn.”

   “I’ve tried, but it’s not my game.”

   “But if you want a rousing hand of rummy, poker, or spades, Cassie is your girl,” her grandma chimed in merrily, apparently unaware of the sudden tension in the room.

  
“Interesting,” Devon replied, his gaze never leaving Cassie’s. “Spades and Faro are two of my favorite
game
s.”

   Her grandma perked up. “You know how to play Faro?”

   Devon
turned slowly away. Cassie found herself able to breathe again as she inhaled sharply. She hadn
’
t
even
realized that she had stopped breathing until her lungs greedily gulped down air. “Yes, my grandfather taught me.”

   “How fascinating, I love Faro! Though
,
I know
almost
no
one
that can
play it.”

   “I have the same problem, it’s a lost game.”

   Cassie couldn’t stop herself from wondering how lost it was. She had never played the game, never even
heard
of it before. Who was this man sitting in her dining room with her and her
grandmother? Her gaze darted to her grandma, fear turn
ed
through her as she realized that she may have
also
put her
grandma’s
life in danger by allowing this stranger into their lives.

   The thought was ridiculous, she knew that. He had never done anything but prove himself to her
. Yet
here she was
,
suddenly very
suspicious
,
and slightly frightened of him. It was absolutely ludicrous, he had never hurt her before, and he
’
d had plenty of opportunities to do so.
In fact, h
e had protect
ed
her today, kep
t
her safe
from Mark’s ang
er
, put himself in between her and Mark’s crazed advance
.
He had r
isked his
own
safety in order to keep her protected.

  
She was being unfair, she knew that, but she couldn
’
t stop her doubts and worries. No matter how hard she tried, they would not shut off.

   “But a very interesting, entertaining one!
” her grandma said brightly.
“
We must play sometime, I’m sure Cassie would love it
.
S
he enjoys all of the gambling games, and she’s very good at them.
”

   “I would like that. A card shark huh?”
H
is
intense, penetrating
gaze sw
ung
back to Cassie. “Wonders never cease.”

 
“Just lucky,” she mumbled.

  
“Exceptionally lucky.
If she ever hits Vegas, she’ll break the place.”

   “Let’s test that luck.” Devon grabbed hold of the deck of cards, his long fingers shuffl
ed
so swiftly through them that Cassie
could hardly see the cards flashing
by
. He was amazingly talented with them. “What do you want to play? Three
hand spades? Seven card?
Dealer’
s
choice?”

   “Dealer’s choice,” her grandma piped up. “I’ll get the pennies.”

   Her grandma leapt gracefully to her feet, heading into the kitchen where she kept the jar of pennies they used when they played cards. There had been many nights when Chris would join
them
,
and almost as many
,
when Luther and Melissa would come over. Those nights had be
come
f
ew
and f
ar
between over the
past year,
a fact that
Cassie hadn’t realized until now.

 
A stab of guilt
hit
her as she realized just how distant she had grown from her grandma over the past year. She
turned toward
Devon
, thankful
for giving her this opportunity
to spend time with her grandmother
, especially now
,
with the danger
and death
that lurked around them
.
There may not be many of these
nights
left
to share with each other.

   She met his gaze,
her doubts slipping away as she found herself
charmed by the small smile he gave her. “Are you feeling lucky tonight?” he inquired softly.

   Her toes curled, her face flamed. She hadn’t been feeling lucky at all, not until now
,
that is. “Maybe,” she responded with a teasing grin.

   His eyes twinkl
ed
merrily in the light. “I hope so.”

   Her mouth went dry, her fingers clench
ed
at the innuendo beneath his smooth tone. “Here we are.”
   Her grandma arrived again, happily slapping the jar of pennies down in front of Cassie. “Count them out dear, a dollar each.” Cassie
dove at the pennies,
grateful for the distraction
they offered
from the man sitting beside her. “Maybe Chris would like to play with us.”

   Cassie shook her head, pausing at twenty three to look at her grandm
a
.
“He’s staying home tonight, he’s tired.”

   A knowing, sad gleam came into her grandmother’s eyes as she leaned back in her chair. “I see.”

   Cassie couldn’t stop herself from glancing back at Devon. He was smiling knowingly at her, a promising gleam in his eyes as he leaned forward. “Get those pennies counted.”

   She swallowed heavily, her heart hammering with the knowledge that he would return to her room tonight. She thought her head would explode from the blood pounding rapidly through it. Anticipation filled her, causing her fingers to shake as she returned to counting the copper
mound before her
. She had to recount them three times as she kept losing her concentration, but finally she was able to get one dollar together.

   Devon took mercy on her, taking the jar away to count out the remaining two dollars.
When he was done, he leaned elegantly back in his chair, dealing the cards swiftly out to them. “Five card stud, penny ante.”

   Cassie took hold of her cards, but her thoughts were not on the suits before her. She didn’t think she would ever be able to concentrate on anything when he was near. He squashed any reasonable thoughts that filled her
mind;
instead it was
fill
ed
completely with him, and his presence.

   After a little while Cassie
found herself relaxing, laughing and joking with them both
.
T
he horrifying events from the night
were
not forgotten, but
they did
not burn
as
brightly inside her.
The comforting company
of the people beside her helped to ease the wounds and pain
that the night had inflicted.
She hadn’t realized how badly she needed to have a relaxing, easy night, until now.