Phoenix Rising (Book 5 The Kindred Series) by Erica Stevens Page B

he placed the armchair in the corner against the door.
    He was in front of her before she even had a chance to register him moving. His fingers slid over her cheeks as his emerald eyes latched onto hers. Any tiredness, and fear, was forgotten as his mouth brushed over hers and she opened her lips to the heady invasion of his tongue. His hands settled against her waist, lifting her up he moved her back in the bed and came down on top of her.
    It was so easy to lose herself in him, to forget everything else when he was touching her and loving her, so easy not to think about the fact that she could destroy them all. Though they had exchanged blood earlier she knew the bond between them as mates wasn't complete. Not until now when she was clinging to him in order to stay grounded in a world suffused in sensation, caresses, and kisses.
    She could feel them joining together, not only their bodies but also their souls. She used him as an anchor to keep her grounded through the sensations suffusing her as she bit into his vein, and he into hers. A scream almost tore from her as something seemed to cinch them together. They were bound together, bonded in a way they hadn't been before.
    It was a bond she felt all the way to the center of her being and she knew there was nothing that could ever tear them apart, ever sever their tie. It was deeper than marriage, deeper than any human connection she'd ever experienced as she felt their souls melding together and becoming one. She knew now what it was to be a vampire that was mated. He was a part of her for eternity and she welcomed it more than she had ever welcomed anything in her life.
    Devon's fingers entwined with hers as he collapsed beside her on the bed. His emerald eyes gleamed in the dark room, his tussled hair clung to the sweat dampening his forehead. She brushed her fingers over his lips as he kissed them. "I won't let anything happen to you," he vowed.
    "I know," she whispered. "You're more stable now that I'm a vampire; you're frightened but more stable."
    "You're mine Cassie."
    "I am. I always have been though."
    "It's different, you understand that now."
    She did. She'd loved him as a human, she would have died for him as a human, but the bond was deeper now, the possession and driving urge to make sure he was safe was stronger than it ever had been before. Yes, she understood now what had been going on within Devon when he'd been so unstable around her before. She slid her fingers away from his mouth and kissed him again.
    "I don't want to hurt anyone," she murmured against his lips.
    "You won't."
    "If I do..."
    "We will cross that bridge then. For now, let's just get through every day, one day at a time."
    He kissed her again and she found her concerns melting away as her fingers curled into the solid flesh of his chest and his hands slid over her skin.
    ***
    The loud crash bolted Devon upright in bed. Cassie cried out as she shot up beside him and then continued to try and breathe as disorientation caused her to forget. He grabbed hold of her arms, moving her back as another loud crash rattled the building. "Easy Cassie, easy," he urged. "You aren't human anymore remember."
    Her harsh wheezes eased somewhat as shouts erupted from the room next door. "Devon."
    "Stay here!" he commanded as he flung back the blankets and leapt out of the bed. He grabbed his jeans off the floor and scrambled to pull them on as he ran toward the adjoining door. He thrust it open, but though the room wasn't in disarray, it was completely bare.
    Devon bolted to the open door across the way in time to see Chris, Luther and Melissa running outside. Dani was on the floor beside her brother, but Patrick was nowhere to be seen. Devon couldn't see the damage that had been done to Joey, but the tantalizing scent of blood hung heavily in the air. Julian, Annabelle, and Liam were standing back from the doorway and the deadly rays that filtered in.
    "You have to go after them!" Annabelle cried. "It was