***
The ringing of the doorbell was diminished by the unrelenting rain hitting the windows. Cassie frowned at Chris and Melissa as she uncurled herself from her bed. Chris didn't look up from the rerun of The Deadliest Catch he was engrossed by. "Awesome," he muttered.
Cassie shook her head at him as Melissa rolled her eyes. "Be right back."
Cassie was curious as to who could be at the door as she hurried from her room. Though she was popular at school, it had been a few years since she'd invited anyone over. Plus the school day was still in progress, even if the three of them had opted not to return. Flinging the door open, she froze; her mouth went dry as her heart fluttered in her chest. Devon stood on her doorstep, his wet hair tussled and windblown. He looked heartbreakingly beautiful as drops of rain trailed over the contours of his face. His emerald eyes met hers and a cute smile curved his full mouth.
"Devon." She was surprised her voice actually worked.
His smile spread enough to reveal his perfect teeth. "Melissa said you went home sick, I thought I'd see how you were feeling."
She swallowed heavily as she tried to regain control of herself, but failed miserably. "I feel a lot better now." It wasn't entirely a lie; she did feel better than she had this morning. "Thank you."
He rested his hand on the doorjamb as he leaned forward. His delicious smell made her weak. "You look well."
Her face blazed with heat as he perused her with a look that caused her toes to curl. "Who is it?" Melissa called as she pounded down the steps. She froze at the bottom of the stairs. "Devon, how are you?" She inquired as she walked over to stand beside Cassie.
"Fine. I just came to make sure Cassie was feeling better."
"Oh, how nice of you. Why don't you come in out of the rain?"
Cassie cast a quick, panicked look at Melissa that she chose to ignore. "Cassie?"
She turned back to Devon, knowing her distress was written all over her face, but she was unable to keep her expression neutral. He was staring at her expectantly. She knew she looked like an idiot, and a cold hearted jerk for not inviting him in, but she couldn't form a coherent sentence in her shaken brain.
"Yes, of course, come in," she managed in a choked voice as she somehow made her feet move out of his way.
Her heart hammered as he moved with an easy grace into the house, his shoulder brushed hers as he moved past. Her body thrummed like the strings on a plucked guitar. His powerful frame seemed to take up the entire foyer, and her entire world. Fascination seized her as he ran a hand through his damp hair and shook the rain from it. Melissa nudged her, and nodded toward the kitchen in an attempt to make Cassie at least act somewhat normal.
"Would you like something to eat or drink?" Cassie asked quickly, a little too quickly as she realized she sounded like a complete moron. His close proximity was rattling her to the core.
"No, thank you."
Her gaze flitted to Melissa. She didn't know what to say or do. "Hey, grab me a drink!" Chris shouted down the steps.
"Please!" Melissa yelled back.
"Please!"
"I'll get it." Melissa headed for the kitchen, leaving the two of them alone.
Cassie shifted uncomfortably and nervously fidgeted with the edge of her shirt. "You won't get in trouble for leaving school will you?"
He shrugged absently. "It's worth it to make sure you're ok."
Cassie hated the heat flooding her face. "We were uh… just watching TV and hanging out," she managed to stammer out. "Do you want to join us?"
His dimples flashed as his head cocked to the side. "Sure."
His gaze roamed over the house as she led him up the stairs. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears, her throat was dry as excitement and anticipation tore through her in equal waves.
Chris didn't look up as she pushed the door open, his attention was still riveted to the TV. "Who was it?" he muttered as he shoved a handful of chips into his mouth.
Cassie shook her head at him in disbelief. He was like a zombie when TV and food were involved. "It's Devon."
He turned slowly toward them with a potato chip frozen halfway to his mouth. "Hey," he greeted dully.
Devon nodded to him as his gaze ran over Cassie's room. She glanced at her mahogany dresser with its assortment of jewelry boxes, knickknacks, and hair care products. The only thing decorating her cream colored walls was a picture of her parents. It hung above an overstuffed armchair next to the window Chris often climbed through. On the other side of the window were two large bookcases stuffed full of books neatly organized alphabetically. The nightstand, beside her queen sized sleigh bed, held only an alarm clock.
For the first time she noticed how sparse it was, how much it didn't look like a normal teen's room with all the clutter, posters, and chaos that were usually present. Then again, she was anything but a normal teen. She looked back at him, not at all surprised to find his steady gaze focused on her once more. She couldn't stop the blush burning into the roots of her hair.
"Here you go." Melissa breezed into the room and tossed a can of soda to Chris, who was still staring at Devon in disbelief.
Melissa plopped onto the bed and drew her legs up beneath her. "Do you want to sit?" Cassie asked Devon.
Melissa scooted over on the bed, making room for him as he sat on the edge of it. Cassie's heart fluttered, a strange sensation took over. She'd never had a boy in her room before, unless she counted Chris, which she didn't. Devon was most certainly not a boy, or at least he wasn't like any boy she'd ever known.
"You like this show?" Chris asked Devon.
Devon turned away from her, his forehead furrowed as he watched the ship battling the ferocious weather and sea. "Never seen it."
"Oh man, this show is the best!" Chris said eagerly and thrust the bag of chips at Devon, which he politely waved away. Apparently watching TV was Chris's favorite way to bond.
"Looks interesting," Devon replied. "Are you going to sit?"
She glanced at Melissa, but she was watching the TV with an annoyingly bright smile on her face. Moving stiffly, she perched gingerly on the corner of the bed beside him. She was unable to fully relax with him only a few tantalizing inches from her.
Her hands clenched on her legs, her fingers dug into her jeans. She could feel the strength of his aura. Unknowingly she leaned closer to him, a current shot through her as they briefly touched. His fingers intertwined with hers as he pulled her hand into his lap. Her mouth parted as she found his emerald eyes on her. She knew she should slow her involvement with him, but she couldn't bring herself to put any distance between them again. She was mesmerized by him, enchanted like a cobra under the snake charmer's spell.
Resting her head on his shoulder, she fully resigned herself to the realization she wasn't going to be able to stay away from him. She couldn't stand to part with him for more than a few hours, never mind the rest of her short life. She would just have to make sure she kept him safe. She didn't kid herself into thinking it would be easy.