LIGHTBRINGER

Jared forced himself to meet Cassie’s eyes so he wouldn’t run his gaze over her curves. She’d changed into jeans and a blue V-necked sweater that made her green eyes sparkle like the clear Caribbean off Grand Cayman Island’s Seven Mile Beach. He shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching for her. “Are you okay?”

She nodded and unfolded her legs to stand up. “Except for a few scrapes and bruises. Thanks to you.”

“I was just in the right place at the right time.”

“Uh huh.” Cassie stretched her arms over her head, the action raising the edge of her sweater and revealing a couple inches of creamy skin.
Jared couldn’t look away.

Cassie lowered her arms and stepped around the coffee table. He ought to step back. Maintain the usual comfort zone distance. But he couldn’t do it. His feet felt rooted to the floor. Worse, he wanted to draw her closer, slip his fingers along the smooth skin above her waistband that he knew would feel petal soft.
Jared tensed as she put her hand on his arm, holding his mental barrier firm.

“I don’t know why you’d want to complicate your life with my problems, but I’m grateful. If it wasn’t for you, I’d probably be dead right now. Thanks.”

Cassie stood on tiptoe and kissed the corner of his mouth.

Jared couldn’t help himself. He turned to meet her fully. Her lips were soft and sweet as he teased them with his tongue. The tingle of contact effervesced through his blood like fine champagne. Cassie must have felt it too, because she made a little mewl of delight as she opened her mouth, taking him inside. Electric fire ran through him, zinging down to his toes and fingertips. Without thought, his arms rose and pulled her closer. Bad idea. Bad idea. A voice in his head rang like a warning claxon, but he wasn’t listening.

She softened against him, playfully meeting his tongue with her own, twining her fingers into his hair. Jared’s body jumped to attention, and his shaft thickened. He gathered her in, sinking into the warm surface of her mind. Her soul was beautiful, and it danced with a startled passion that delighted him. He fed her his own hunger in return as he slipped his hands under her sweater. She shivered, but didn’t pull away. Her soft skin delighted his touch, inflaming his desire. His hands roamed over her back and around her side so he could sweep a thumb over the smooth lacy cup of her bra. Her nipple rose under his caress and she nipped at his lip, then sucked it into the moist heat of her mouth.

He wanted her, body and soul. He started to draw her into himself, when suddenly she went rigid in his arms, gasping for breath.

Damn me! His control must have slipped. What was I thinking? How much of his true self had she seen? Then a wave struck, and Cassie’s vision enveloped him.

A man in black slipped through the night. Shadows wrapped themselves around him, maleficent intent flowing from him like a fountain of hate. Linda’s kitchen. Himself. Gideon. A blur of violence. Pain. Blood.

Jared blinked Linda’s living room back into focus as Cassie went limp and drew in a deep shuddering breath. He held her tight, grieving that her heart had been touched by that darkness.

A darkness he recognized.

Cassie stared at him, her eyes wide and frightened. Her mouth worked, but the only word she strangled out was, “Aelziroth.”