Fear the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity) Read Free Page B

you when I know,” she said.
    “Brilliantly vague.”
    She shrugged. “It is what it is.”
    “That doesn’t mean I have to like it,” he muttered with a grimace.
    “No.”
    She came to an abrupt halt, turning to meet his rueful expression. Despite the chronic distractions that clouded her mind, she knew that she didn’t always appreciate this man as she should.
    Who else would have saved her from a fate worse than death, and then stayed at her side as she had led him from one random place to another, compelled by the visions that consumed her to the point of oblivion?
    No one, that was who , a voice whispered in the back of her mind. No one but Caine.
    With a frown of concern, Caine reached to cup her cheek in his hand, his warm touch her only anchor to this world. “Cassie?” he prompted.
    “I’m sorry,” she said abruptly, her gaze skimming over his lean, finely chiseled features. He truly was a beautiful male with his pale hair shimmering like gold beneath the bright lights and his eyes as brilliant as sapphires. It was no wonder she could smell the desire coming from the numerous women staring at him with hungry eyes. “I haven’t been fair to you.”
    His thumb pressed against her lips as he gave a shake of his head. “Don’t.”
    She grasped his wrist, tugging his hand from her face. She had to speak now. Who knew how long her brief clarity would last?
    “I become . . . lost in my visions and I have never truly stopped to consider what you’ve sacrificed to keep me safe.” Her fingers absently caressed the skin of his inner wrist, feeling the leap of his pulse at her soft touch. “Without you . . .”
    His eyes darkened with a heat that Cassie felt to the tips of her toes.
    “This isn’t necessary,” he growled.
    Distantly she could hear the clanging noise of the machines and the deafening buzz of a hundred conversations, but in this moment she was aware of nothing beyond the man standing in front of her and the steady sapphire gaze that a woman could drown in.
    “No, let me say this,” she pleaded.
    His lips tightened, but he was smarter than the average Were. He knew better than to try and halt a determined female. “Okay.”
    “For as long as I can remember I’ve been a prisoner.” She shivered, battling back the grim memory of the past thirty years. “I was not only held hostage by the demon lord, but also my knowledge that I could never survive on my own.”
    He didn’t bother to protest. They both knew that she wouldn’t last a day without him. “That’s something you’re never going to have to worry about,” he gruffly promised.
    She stepped closer, the sizzling power of his wolf calling to her most primitive instincts. Although she couldn’t shift, her beast still crawled beneath her skin, relishing the delectable male who had earned her trust. Something she would never have believed possible just a few weeks ago.
    “If it wasn’t for you I would still be in that cave.”
    “Don’t make me into a hero, Cassie.” He scowled. “We both know I started out as the villain of the piece.”
    Her lips twitched. She might not be worldly, but she knew that Caine was far more comfortable with his bad-boy image. And from what he’d confessed, he deserved the reputation.
    But as far as she was concerned, he’d always be her champion.
    “If you were a villain, then you wouldn’t be here with me,” she pointed out softly.
    He snorted, running a searing gaze down her slender curves shown to advantage by the dress. “Have you looked in the mirror?” he demanded. “There isn’t a red-blooded male who wouldn’t kill to share a hotel room with you.”
    She ignored his ridiculous words, tilting her head to study him with a curious gaze. “Why do you stay?”
    “I just told you.”
    Her fingers tightened on his wrist, annoyed by his flippant tone. “I’m unfamiliar with the world, but I’m not stupid, Caine.”
    He arched a golden brow. “I never thought you