The Promise (The Coven Series) (17 page)

“What
are you doing here?” I asked him quietly.
 
Damn, but why did he have to look so good?
 
My own personal M&M come to torture
me.
 

“Looking
for you,” he answered and came to sit down across from me.
 
The position was identical to the one we’d
been in last time we’d met here.
 
“You’re
a hard woman to find, Cassie Jayne Bishop.
 
I’ve been waiting here every day this week, hoping you’d show up.
 
I knew you’d come today.”

“You
think you know me so well?”

“I
do.” He smiled that slow, lazy smile that sent waves of heat pounding through
me and caused a slow burn to make its way up my neck only to bloom into my
cheeks.
 
Why could he do this to me?

“You
don’t know me at all,” I told him and tried to get up.
 
His hand shot out and grabbed mine.
 
His touch burned like a brand on my
skin.
 
“Let go,” I bit out.

“No.
 
You’re not getting away this time,
Cassie.”
 
His own voice was low and
angry.
 
“We need to talk.
 
I want to explain…”

“I
don’t want to hear it,” I snapped.
 
“Besides,
there’s nothing you can say.”

“You’re
right.
 
There’s nothing I can say to
excuse what I did, but I am sorry.”

“Sorry!”
I yelled, furious.
 
All the hurt and
anger boiled over.
 
“Sorry that you lied
to me or sorry you got caught doing it?”

“I
didn’t mean to hurt you.
 
I agreed to do
it before I knew you, before I kissed you, before I fell in love with you!”

“What?”
 
He didn’t just say what I thought he said,
did he?
 
My heart clenched up and then
started beating way too fast.
 
I wanted
so badly to believe him, but how could I?

“You
have to let me explain, Cassie, please.”

“You’re
lying, Ethan.
 
You don’t love me.”

“Cassie…”

“NO!”
I jerked my hand free and scrambled back.
 
“I’m not going to listen to your bullshit.
 
I can’t believe I fell for it to begin
with.”
 
I stood up.
 
“Leave me alone.”
 

He
jumped up and took a step toward me.

I
held up my hand to ward him off.
 
“Stay
away from me.
 
I can’t think when you
touch me.”

“Good.”
 

He
moved closer.
 

I
ran.

I
didn’t make it five feet before he tackled me, turning so his back hit the
ground first and then he rolled us over, pinning me beneath him.
 
Crap.
 
I felt every inch of that body pressed into mine.
 
My breathing hitched up a notch and I wanted
to get closer, feel his lips on mine.
 
I
missed him so much.
 
I needed…NO!

“Hold
still, you little hellcat,” he growled as I twisted and bucked, trying to push
him off.

“Get
off me!” I shouted and tried to knee him.
 

“Oh
no you don’t, sweetheart,” he whispered and pinned my legs with his own.
 
“You’re going to listen to me.”

“The
hell I will.
 
If you don’t get off me
right now, I’m going to scream bloody murder.”

“Go
ahead,” he said grimly.
 
“There’s no one
around to hear you.”

He
was right.
 
I hadn’t seen anyone else
when I came into the cemetery.
 
I realized
if he wanted to hurt me, he could.
 
Ethan
was much bigger than me and he had me pinned, but I didn’t really believe he’d
physically hurt me.
 
He’d been too angry
with Dad for hurting me.
 
Then again, I
still needed to get away from him and I was really pissed, so I did the only
thing I could.
 
I hauled off and hit him
in the face as hard as I could, thumb outside my fist just like Dad had shown
me.
 
My hand vibrated in pain and
shock.
 
It was so worth it, though.

“Dammit!”
He grabbed both my hands and pinned them above my head.
 
“What did you do that for?”

“You
deserved it!
 
Now.
Get. Off. Me.”

“Cassie,
please, please, please just
listen
.”

I
opened my mouth to make a smartass remark and then I saw his eyes.
 
They were dark, almost black with
anguish.
 
He was hurting.
 
I saw the depth of my pain reflected out of
his eyes.
 

“Fine,
I’ll listen,” I whispered.
 

He
rested his forehead against mine and blew out a strangled breath.
 
“Thank you.”

“It’s
not like I can go anywhere,” I grouched.
 

“No,”
he grinned.
 
“I’ve got you at my
mercy.”
 

Then
he kissed me.
 

My
world exploded with the touch of those lips.
 
I forgot I was mad, forgot I was pinned to the ground, forgot everything
but the way he made me feel.
 
He pulled
away and buried his face in the crook of my shoulder.
 
“I missed you.”

I
wanted to cry.
 
He’d broken my
heart.
 
Just hearing the sound of his
voice hurt and when he kissed me, made me remember what he could make me feel.
I wanted to curl up and die from the pain.
 
He’d hurt me more than even I realized.

“Why?”
I asked him.
 
“Why did you do it?”

“I
don’t know,” he said and raised his head to look at me.
 
“It was stupid.
 
Billy and Jeff told me about how you didn’t
believe in witchcraft and that no one could get you to go to a meeting.
 
I was new and figured if I could get you to
go, I’d make a place for myself here.
 
I
just wanted to fit in, Cassie.”

“At my expense.”

“Yes,”
he nodded.
 
“I didn’t know you then.
 
You were just this cute girl who blushed
every time I looked at her.
 
The more
time I spent with you, the more I felt bad about tricking you.
 
You are so much more than I ever imagined you
would be.
 
You’re beautiful, smart, and
funny.
 
You make me feel alive inside for
the first time in I don’t know how long.
 
You made me love you, Cassie Jayne Bishop.
 
I tried to deny it, but your eyes haunt me
day and night.”

Please
don’t be lying to me.

“I
wanted to tell you I loved you when we were in the park, but I was afraid I’d
scare you off.
 
Then Jeff made sure you
overheard us.
 
I never wanted to beat
someone so much in my life and not because I was mad I’d been found out.
 
I saw the look on your face, Cassie.
 
I can’t even describe to you what you looked
like.
 
It cut straight through me.
 
I hurt you so much and I’m sorry, sweetheart,
so
sorry.”
  

“How
do I know you’re not lying to me, Ethan?”

“God,
Cassie, I swear I’m not lying.
 
I’m not
making excuses, I’m admitting that I was an idiot and a fool, and I’m begging
you to forgive me.
 
I can’t stand this.
 
You wouldn’t answer my calls and Kay made sure
no one would let me get near enough to try and corner you at school.
 
I feel like someone ripped my heart out.
 
It hurts, Cassie.
 
Please, sweetheart, please just forgive me.”

Was
it that easy?
 
Just forgive him?
 
Could I trust him?
 
His eyes said I could.
 
They promised so much.
 
I ached for him.
 
My heart didn’t feel whole without him.
 
I loved him.
 
I saw the pain, my pain, on his face and in his eyes.
 
I missed him too.
 

“If
you ever do something like this again, Ethan Matthew Warren, I swear by all the
Fates, I will never forgive you.”

He
stopped breathing.
 
His eyes bled with
hope.
 
“You’ll forgive me?”

“Yes,”
I whispered.
 
“I forgive you.”

“Thank
God,” he breathed and kissed me.
 
It was
another of those beautiful, gentle kisses that stole my sanity.
 
“Thank you.”

“At
least Billy will be happy,” I laughed shakily.
 
“Kay will forgive him now.”

“He
threatened to murder me if I didn’t fix this,” Ethan agreed.
 
“He loves her.”

“I
know.
 
Can I have my hands back please?”

“What?”
he frowned and then chuckled.
  
“Are you
going to hit me again?”

“Maybe.”
 
I didn’t
though.
 
I wrapped my arms around him and
hugged him to me.
 
I breathed in his
fresh, woodsy smell and fought down the instincts screaming in my head to run
from him.
 
I shouldn’t trust him, but I did.
 
Stupid, but I loved him.
 
“I missed you too.”

“Promise
me that no matter how mad you get in the future, you won’t cut me off
again.”
 
He trailed butterfly kisses
along my throat and shoulder.
 

“You’re
assuming I’m going to get mad again?” I gasped as his tongue flicked against
the pulse point in my throat.

“Sure.
 
I like making you mad or saying outrageous
things just to see you blush.”

“That’s….that’s…”

His
lips nibbled their way back up my throat to my ear.
 
His teeth nipped my earlobe and my eyes crossed.
 
Heat flared everywhere.
 

“That’s
what, Cassie Jayne?” he whispered and I shivered.
 

“I
don’t remember,” I arched against him.
 

He
smiled.
 
His lips found mine and I got
lost in the myriad of emotions that rocked through me.
 
When he pulled away, I saw the regret in his
eyes.
 
I tried to pull him back.
 
“Shh, love,” he whispered.
 
“Soon, but not here, not
now.”

Then
I remembered where we were.
 
The cemetery.
 
Emily’s
grave.
 
My face burned.
 
What must my sister think of me?
 
Making out with M&M not more than ten
feet from her grave?
 
She’s probably
rolling over laughing, I thought with a smile, and egging me on.
 

The
pain wasn’t so bad anymore, I realized with a start.
 
Ethan had done that for me.
 
I don’t know how, but he’d helped me get past
the pain.
 
Kay knew my pain.
 
She’d lost her mother, but with Ethan, it was
different.
 
He just made it better
somehow, made the pain easier to bear.
 
He made me whole.

He
sat up and pulled me into his lap.
 
“I’m
sorry for interrupting.
 
I know this day
is important to you and you need time alone with her, but it was my only shot
at catching you by yourself.”

“I
wish she were here,” I whispered and wrapped myself around him.
 
“There’s so much I don’t understand.”

“She’s
always with you,” he said and stroked my hair.
 
“Never doubt that.”

“I’m
afraid, Ethan.”

“Of what?”

“Everything.
 
You, me, the Coven.”

“Why
are you afraid of me?” he asked in a guarded tone.

“Because you’re lying to me about something.”

He
went completely still.
 
So did
I
.

“Cassie,
trust me,” he said at last.
 
“No matter
what happens, please just trust me.”

“So
you are lying?” I pulled away to look up at him.

“No,
I’m not lying, at least not about what’s important,” he said finally.
 
“There are things I can’t tell you,
Cassie.
 
It would be easier if I could,
but I can’t.”

“Things about the Coven?”

He
nodded.
 
“I can’t tell you, Cassie, but I
promise it’ll be okay.
 
I’ll make it be
okay.”

I
wanted to believe him.
 
He sounded so
sincere.
 
“I trust you.”

He
cupped my face.
 
“Thank you.”
 

“I
need to get home,” I sighed.
 
“It’s late
and we have school tomorrow.”

“I’ll
walk you,” he offered and pulled me up.