Inferno (Book 4 The Kindred Series) Read Free Page B

soft lips lingering
on his as she tried to ease the tension within him. She had always
known him so well, always known when the beast inside was on the
verge of taking control, always known how to soothe him and comfort
him, and she did so now. “I love you,” she whispered, her mouth
brushing lightly against his. “So very much.”
    He kissed her again, cradling her neck
softly as he struggled to control the monster inside of him. “I
love you.”
    His body pulsed with excitement as she
opened her eyes to his. They were the spectacular violet blue color
that he remembered and loved so dearly. “Your eyes aren’t red
anymore,” he whispered, surprised and baffled by the sudden
change.
    She grinned up at him as he wiped a few
streaks of blood from her delicate cheeks. Even dirty and
bedraggled she was the most exquisite thing he had ever seen.
“Neither are yours.”
    Devon blinked in surprise. It had been
almost two weeks since his eyes had been normal. Two long weeks
since he’d had enough control over himself to keep the demon inside
him securely locked away. It had been weeks since he had not seen
the bright red eyes of a monster staring back at him whenever he
caught a glimpse of his reflection. Her presence alone made him
more of a man, and less of a monster. She made the man in him
stronger, and more stable, than the demon that constantly lurked
beneath his surface always wanting to break free.
    He wondered if his presence helped to
do the same thing for her. But why would her eyes be red when she
was still in complete control of herself? Why would her eyes be red
if her body wasn’t trying to turn into something else? What had
been done to her? Where had she been? He wondered fearfully as he
continued to stroke her face, savoring in the delicious feel of
her. It had been far too long since he had been able to touch her,
hold her; smell her. He just hoped that she had not been gone from
him for too long, that she had not been changed beyond repair; that
she was the same Cassie he had lost.
    Though, he knew that he could not
expect her to be the same. He didn’t know what had been done to
her, but from the looks of her now, she had been through hell and
back. He inhaled deeply, anger spiking through him as he caught the
scent of her blood. It was not the same sweet scent that he
remembered. There was something different about it. Something tangy
and wrong. And beneath it all, he could smell Julian.
    He tried to control his emotions, tried
to keep them hidden from her, but jealousy and rage were beginning
to fill him once more. What the hell had they done to her in there?
What had they given her to cause her blood to smell so off, and her
eyes to change without her losing control of herself? Why did he
smell Julian on her? Was it because they had been together, or had
something more been done?
    He glanced at Julian, his eyes
narrowing slightly as he studied him. Julian remained impassive;
his face a mask of indifference, but Devon could sense the
underlying tension and pain running through him. Julian was trying
to be stoic, but it was obvious that whatever had happened with
them, Julian had also been changed by it.
    Cassie’s fingers stroked lightly over
his cheeks, drawing his attention back to her. She smiled at him so
beautifully that he forgot all about the strange scent clinging to
her, and his worry over Julian. All he could think about now was
her, and how wonderful it was to have her again, to hold her again.
All he could do was hope that he could ease whatever torment she
had been through, and that she could forgive him for losing her in
the first place.
    “We should probably get off the
street,” she said softly.
    He couldn’t help but grin at her as he
pulled her close, kissing her nose gently. “Yes.”
    He wrapped his arms around her before
stooping to pick her swiftly up. She didn’t make a sound as she
entwined her arms around his neck, snuggling closer. Her breath was
warm against his