The Breed Casstiel's Vow (10 page)

A scowl spread across his
face. He wanted to touch her, to push her up against the wall and kiss her
until her head was swimming and her knees were buckling; but he needed to
control himself.

She was a human, and a very
delicate one at that, if he pushed her to be with him he would only succeed in
pushing her away.

Once outside they came to
an intersection of roads, each of which lead to one of the other buildings.

“Directly in front of us is
our research facility, it’s what the humans believe all four of these buildings
are. Next to that is our medical building, where we mostly treat the children
who were born human within the Breed, and lastly our education building, where
we offer classes for adults, teach the children of the Breed,” he rattled off
pointing at each building in the square.

“Offer classes?” she looked
up eagerly. Apparently his girl liked to learn.

“Foreign language, cooking,
human culture today, that’s probably the biggest one, our young rarely leave
the protection of the embassy until they’re adults, so they use the classes to
imitate pop culture,” he explained.

 “Why?” she asked,
shocked.

 “Our weakness to
sunlight mostly, by the time vampires can go out at night things like amusement
parks, Disney world, malls, they’re all closing down. Then of course there’s
always the threat of the hunters,” he shrugged.

“So those kids have never
really been out in the world?” she fretted, and again he was surprised at her
concern.

“It’s the main reason why
most mothers choose to have their children first then make their transition
into the Breed; being born human gives them a chance at a ‘normal’ life.
Anyway, this is our research facility,” he announced as they walked through
smooth glass doors.

“What do you guys do in
here?” her eyes widened as she followed behind him.

The interior of the
building looked like a mix between a hospital and a laboratory, with people in
white coats and scrubs rushing all over carrying folders and clip boards. It
was cold and clinical, with almost everything made out of glass and metal

“Mostly making blood, but
we do meddle around in other areas, like energy efficiency and helping humans
cure their diseases,” he replied as they slowly strolled through the facility.

“You make your own blood?
How?” she cocked her head to the side.

“Taking blood from
volunteers and cloning it, we’ve created quite a surplus. We’ve outlawed
drinking blood from any human, unless you’re a mated pair, so every vampire is
required to get their blood from an embassy,” he replied.

“You take it from
volunteers?” she looked highly suspicious.

“Since we’re a medical
research facility whenever our blood supply starts to get low, we send out ads
saying we’re looking for volunteers for a research study in something like
epilepsy or sleep apnea,
then
when people come in we
tell them we need blood samples to do a drug screen. After we take the sample
we just call them back saying they weren’t accepted into the study,” he
explained as they stopped to admire a massive water fountain in the center of
the main lobby, “Don’t worry, no one gets hurt, we only take a small amount.”

“That’s pretty smooth,” she
replied, admiring the genius behind the ruse.

“Thank you. My parents
designed the program to begin lessening our dependence on humans, and of course
the risk drinking from them causes. Fifty years ago we were able to
successfully begin cloning the blood, and completely eliminating our need to
use humans,” he glowed with pride.

He needed to impress her,
wanted her to think highly of him and his family, and didn’t care how juvenile
that made him.

“So how often do you have
to drink… blood?” her mouth soured on the last word.

“Thirty days is the longest
I’ve ever heard of anyone going without it. Most of us drink on a weekly basis
just to be safe, blood hunger is miserable,” he shrugged, sitting on the rim of
the fountain.

“So once a week you guys
have to come down here and what? Hook up to an IV, or do you make like a blood
cocktail?” she laughed, finally beginning to relax.

~

Tessa should have felt
awkward sitting with someone as devilishly handsome as Casstiel, but for the
most part she felt at ease, something about him made her relax.

She snuck glances at him
from the side, admiring his strong jaw line, and the thick musculature of his
neck. Though he was completely covered from collar bone to wrist in a deep red
dress shirt, Tessa was positive that underneath he was rippling with hard
muscle.

“A blood cocktail?” he
laughed, a deep throaty rumble that made her stare at him even harder.

“Yeah, you know, drinking
blood from a crystal goblet, while you’re in a silky black robe, lounging on a
couch made of golden thread or something,” she couldn’t keep her eyes off of
him as his big body rumbled with laughter; his broad shoulders quaked as his
flawless skin grew slightly pink with mirth.

She ripped her eyes away
from him and forced herself to think of something
besides
how beautiful
his mouth looked stretched into a genuine smile.

“You have an amazing
imagination,” his laughter finally subsided, “but try more like chugging it
down as my breakfast in my sweat pants while I read the news paper.”

“Wow, so health nuts drink
wheat grass shots, and vampires drink blood shots,” she smirked, “wait a
minute, did you just say you own sweat pants?”

“What’s wrong with sweat
pants?” he replied, suddenly defensive.

 “I would never guess
you’d wear something like that, you look so professional, it just doesn’t seem
like your style,” she snorted with laughter.

“The more time you spend
with me the more you’ll get to know me,” he replied seriously, causing her to
choke, “how I present myself in the work place is much different than
who
I am in my personal life, but you’ll get to know them
both.”

She wasn’t sure what he
meant, but she damn sure wasn’t about to ask him to clarify. Suddenly warning
bells were going off in her head, and she felt her anxiety level spiking.

“Ready to
move on with the tour?
There’s not much else to see here besides the
main lobby, unless you’re interested in looking at data charts,” he hopped off
the rim of the fountain and briskly headed for the exit.

Hastily she followed
behind, unable to stop herself from watching the strong prowling gait of his
walk. For a moment she wondered just how muscled his thighs were beneath his
black dress pants.

An unexpected heat raced
through her veins, and her pulse jumped at the thought.

She mentally scolded
herself, and looked up in time to see a wickedly seductive grin sliding across
his face, as if he knew exactly what she had been imagining.

She blushed so badly her
cheeks burned, and as they began walking towards the medical building she
frantically wracked her brain for something to change the subject with.

“So most of the Breed
are
born human?” she blurted out the first thing that popped
into her mind.

“Right.
To join the Breed you have to ingest the blood of a Breed member, or be
conceived by a mother who is already Breed,” Casstiel thankfully let the
subject change slide, “if your mother is Breed when you are conceived, you have
no choice in the matter, you will be born to whichever side of the Breed she
belonged. If your mother is human when she conceives you, you will be born
human.”

“So sometimes you’re born
without a choice?” Tessa asked. She had meant to make this conversation light
hearted and fun, to bring the mood of the tour back to playful and enjoyable,
but somehow had done the opposite. Her heart felt heavy at the thought of
someone having to be raised without ever leaving their home for fear of being
discovered as a breed member, or being scorched by the sun.

“Sometimes it can’t be
helped. Even in the Breed there is such a thing as an unplanned pregnancy,” he
replied, his voice sounding hollow and far away.

She stopped walking and
stared at his back for a moment, a sinking suspicion filling her, “what about
you?”

 “What about me?” he
slowly turned to stare at her.

 “Did you get to have
a normal childhood?” she asked, looking at him with a concern that made his
heart stop.

She was worried for him.
No one ever worried for him… not Casstiel the fearless leader of
the defense squadron, the younger brother to Sebastian, one of the deadliest
vampires alive.

 “No….my mother was
already a vampire when she had me. She waited for years to conceive while she
was a human, but eventually gave up,” he didn’t want to give her a reason to
pity him, but he would always be up front and honest with her.

“So you never got to play
outside in the sun?” her lips folded into a tiny frown.

“No, I used books and my
imagination for my adventures, but I was grateful for all that I had, I enjoyed
it
very
much,” he emphasized.

“I’m so sorry,” she
whispered, and surprising even
herself
, threw her arms
around his middle.

His body instinctually
reacted to hers, his arms caging themselves around her, enclosing her in his
strength.

He wondered how she would
feel if he slowly tilted her head back and placed his lips softly onto hers. He
could already feel her little heart hammering against his chest as he crushed
her to him. He knew if he pushed her she would run, but he wanted more of her.

“You feel so good in my
arms,” he whispered into her hair.

She broke the contact in a
fraction of a second, and before he could grab her back, she was charging
inside the medical building.

Idiot
.
Idiot
.
Idiot
.

Tessa felt like her heart was literally going to explode
out of her chest as she rushed inside the medical building.

She was never bold with people, always keeping her
distance, never initiating physical contact with anyone. Why had she thrown
herself at him like that?

She spotted a woman’s bathroom sign ahead and made a
dash for it, needing a moment to calm down and get it together.

You feel so good in my arms…
his words swam through her mind.

Even though she was twenty five, she had next to zero
experience with men. Her gift had always made her want to stay away from them.
It was so hard to try and be close to someone without reading their thoughts,
and every time she did it sent her throwing in the towel.

Why did she have to run away? She groaned aloud. Why
couldn’t she just be normal?

He’s gonna think I’m schizophrenic, one second I’m
launching myself at him out of nowhere, the next I’m running from him like he’s
got the plague…
she let out a
frustrated sigh,
idiot
idiot
idiot
.

She was so consumed with berating herself she didn’t
realize she was about to smash head first into another woman, until she felt
Casstiel’s hand on the small of her back steering her away.

“Cass I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you and your beautiful
companion,” the woman smiled, an open vanilla folder in her hands.

She was absolutely stunning with shining auburn hair and
pale grey eyes. Tessa couldn’t help but stare at her; she had already made an
ass out of herself once today, one more time wouldn’t hurt.

“Remy this is Tessa, Tessa this is our healer Remy,” he
smoothly introduced, though by the heat radiating from his palm, introductions
seemed to be the last thing on his mind.

“Hello,” she smiled reaching out to shake the woman’s
hand, but stopped dead before their skin had quite connected.

“Wait a minute… you’re a human?” her eyes bugged out of
her head.

After looking up close there was no mistaking
it.
Tiny laugh lines traced her eyes, and her pale pink lips
were chapped from the oncoming cold; neither of these things would have
happened if she were Breed.

“I guess my secrets out,” she laughed, not offended in
the least, “my name however is Remembrance.”

“But we all call her Remy,” Cass cut in with a teasing
voice.

The woman rolled her eyes, “Yes, ‘Remy’, is what they
insist on calling me.”

 “So what’s a healer?” she asked, deciding she was
more curious about Remy than anything else in the medical wing.

She felt much more relaxed with Remy around, as if being
the only two humans had formed an unspoken bond between them.

“The women in my family have the ability to heal with
their touch. For some reason joining the Breed takes away our gift, so I
probably won’t join unless someone bonds to me,” she smiled warmly, “I’ve had
admirers but no one I’ve felt that spark with.”

 “Yeah… a spark,” she slowly repeated, her eyes
unconsciously roaming to Casstiel.

 Her heart stopped beating when she realized he was
already staring down intensely at her.

“So…so you’re a doctor then?” she stuttered, while trying,
and failing, to slide out of his grip on her.

 “I didn’t go to medical school like the other
doctors, so I like to call what I do ‘healing’, to make it a little fairer,”
she winked.

 “Why don’t you take us through the rest of the
medical building?” Tessa asked nervously, feeling Casstiel’s fingers flex and
grip her harder.

He knew instantly she was trying to get out of being
alone with him, but she didn’t care. The first thing she would do when she got
back was talk to Nora and figure out what was happening, and why on touching
her so often.

“Sure, I guess I’ve got some time to spare,” Remy
shrugged glancing down at her wrist watch.

Her heart soared; she was spared for the moment.

~

Casstiel slowly stalked behind her like the predator he
was.

She didn’t understand the bond, but he knew she could
feel the heat between them. In his dreams she always ran from him, but sooner
or later he caught up to her, just like he would catch her tonight.

Remy guided them through five floors of medical equipment
and rooms, that thanks to his career, he was more than familiar with.

Tessa’s smile was tight and unconvincing as she nodded
politely and feigned interest in everything; he wondered what she was thinking
of, and how long she would keep trying to avoid him.

When they stopped next, he purposely stopped so close
behind her the front of his dress pants gently brushed against her backside.

Goosebumps raced up her arms at the small contact. He
was finding himself more and more attracted to how skittish she was, thoroughly
enjoying the hunt.

Remy turned down a corner and into the pharmacy part of
the building. They passed row after row of medication, all of which slid past
his view without notice, every ounce of his concentration on her.

Tessa began to lag behind when she became too interested
in one of the hallways paintings, she was only a few steps behind Remy, but it
was all he needed.

With his lightning fast speed he cut her off, then
turned and locked the hallway door behind them.

The look of shock on her face was priceless.

“Nervous Tessa?” he asked, slowly prowling towards her.
He could hear her heart beating as if it were playing through a speaker.

“Why would I be nervous?” she tried to sound calm, while
taking a step back from him.

“Are you afraid to be alone with me?” he asked, his
voice barely above a whisper as he used his arms to cage her against the wall.

“The whole trapping someone into a room thing would
probably make anyone nervous,” she looked away, her cheeks pink.

 “Why do you think I ‘trapped’ you in here with
me?” he asked, his hair falling into his eyes as he lowered his face closer to
hers.

Now her heart beat sounded like fireworks going off
inside the room, swelling his ego with pride at every thunderous beat.

“Why does anyone do anything?” she quickly replied, then
chewed her bottom lip.

With his lips brushing against her ear he whispered, “I
want you Tessa.
Right now.”

Her body began to visibly tremble as her blush deepened
across her face. He could tell that no other man had pursued her this way, and
it made him want to push her harder.

He let out a slow chuckle, loving how easily flustered
she was.

“So what are you going to do?” he
asked,
his voice deep and gravely.

 Placing a finger under her chin he forced her to
look up at him. He knew his eyes were electric with desire for her, and he
wanted her to see it.

Tessa fought for control of her emotions.  Half of
her wanted to run again, and half of her wanted to jump into his arms.

She couldn’t decide which option made her look worse.

“Are you going to give yourself to me?” he asked,
feeling her body trembling beneath his.

Thanks to the mental link created by the bond, he could
feel her nerves flitting through his veins. He had never felt anything quite as
delicious.

He was kissing her before she could even think to
answer.

~

A wave of heat washed over Tessa’s body the moment his
lips touched hers. Her skin rippled into goose bumps, and before she could stop
herself she let out a moan.

All feelings of nerves and insecurities were gone the
moment his lips fell on hers; an animalistic part of herself dusted off the
cobwebs and roared to life, wanting to feel his hot skin against hers.

 “Touch me,” he commanded, leaning forward to
deepen the kiss.

One hand felt rough stubble brush over her palm as it
rested on his cheek, while the other met a solid wall of muscle from his chest.

His hands were all over her, pulling her hair free and
running his fingers up her sides. Neither of them were taking this first kiss
slow and soft, each hungry and desperate for the others touch.

Though she didn’t have a lot of experience with men, she
wasn’t a virgin, but no man had ever made her body react in this way, had made
her quiver this way.

She felt his tongue slide softly over her lips, and
without stopping to think, she opened herself for him.

His tongue speared into her mouth, claiming it, and for
the second time she let out a low moan.

He grabbed the bottom of her shirt and began to pull it
up her body, his knuckles leaving a trail of goose bumps behind as they drug
across her sensitive flesh.

The cool air hitting her bare skin shocked her, and for
a moment she tried to break away, but he pressed his lips more firmly over
hers, and within seconds she was lost again.

She was letting go of all her usual worries and
inhibitions, not giving a damn that they were in the middle of an open hallway,
not concerned in the slightest that she had only known him for a matter of
hours. The second his lips had found hers something snapped into place and she
realized she had needed this.

Badly.

Gasping, she felt his fingers hotly slide up the bare
skin of her stomach, her body trembling under his touch. She wanted
more,
there was no time to be shy, not when something that
felt as good as this existed.

Casstiel pulled back from the kiss, leaving her lips
tingling and her senses dulled. They were going too fast, he had to slow this
down, needed to savor it.

 “Look at me,” his lips brushed against the side of
her neck.

Tessa’s head was swimming with the fever of the kiss and
her body was melting under his touch, but she opened her eyes and met his
boldly.

A wickedly sexy grin was waiting for her.

She looked down at her torso and was shocked to see that
he had lifted the black T shirt she was wearing up and over her white cotton
bra; her small breasts heaving with the effort to breathe.

He ran his fingers from under her belly button, straight
up the middle of her stomach and in between her breasts. He did it agonizingly
slowly, drawing out every second.

Her breath caught in her throat as his hand finally slid
underneath the white cotton fabric. 

Within seconds her bra had been sprung free, and her
breasts were melting under his touch. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from the
intensity of his gaze, couldn’t pull her mind out of the moment.

Breathing was not an option as he used both hands to
massage her, his palms slowly kneading while the rough calluses of his finger
tips made her heart rate spike.

Her eyes rolled up as he caressed her, she had never
felt anything this good, had never imagined what intimacy could truly be like.

Heat rose up inside her causing her legs to tremble and
her body to sweat. She should tell him to stop, but she wouldn’t. For this
first time in her life she felt intoxicated, drunk off of passion and lust, and
she wanted him to keep going.

Her hands speared through his hair and gripped his skull
as he began kissing along her collar bone
,
then lower
down the center of her chest. She felt brazen, the intensity of all the new
sensations making her bold and wonton.

She hissed as his tongue lapped one of her hard budded
nipples,
then
sucked it into his mouth. His tongue was
so hot and wet over her breasts she couldn’t take it, Her nails dug into the
flesh of his back as he repeated the torture making her writhe beneath him.

She had had sex once in college to see what the fuss was
all about, but she had never let someone touch her, taste her, like this. His
mouth seemed to know exactly when and how she wanted to be
kissed,
all the while his hands roamed her body teasing her flesh, gripping her thighs,
making her body burn for him.

She couldn’t stop herself from rocking her hips against
him; she knew what she was asking for and she didn’t care. Her thighs were so
moist she needed him touching her there, wanted more than anything for him to
rip the button off of her jeans and slide his strong hands inside.

Casstiel knew exactly what she wanted, and without
hesitation his hands went to her waist band, never taking his mouth off of her
breast.

“Hey guys!”  Remy called from behind the door, “hey
somehow we got separated, are you in there? The doors locked I can’t get in.”