To Cassie’s utter amazement, the world around her suddenly ground to an abrupt halt. Everything around her fell away, the crowd disappeared; Chris and Melissa no longer existed as he became the central point of her world. All she could see, all she could feel, was him. He was inside of her, flowing through her veins, burning into her extremities, filling her. His presence eased the painful hole she had been living with. Though it made no sense to her, and she certainly couldn’t explain it, he somehow helped to heal everything that had been hurting, and broken, and wrong within her.

Unknowingly, tears sprang to her eyes. She would be ok; everything would be ok as long as he was here. The thought blazed into her mind, seared through her heart, and though it seemed crazy she knew that it was completely right. She didn’t understand how he made everything right, but he did. She needed him, the realization slammed into her with the force of a sledge hammer. It was a terrifying thought, confusing and unsettling. However, she knew that the thought was completely true. She knew it with the same certainty that she knew she needed air to survive.

“It’s about time,” Melissa said softly.

With those three words the world snapped back into frightening, lurching focus. The force of it left Cassie stunned and breathless. Her hand trembled as she wiped away the single tear that had unknowingly slid down her cheek. She was completely shaken by the bizarre encounter, unnerved, and yet completely exhilarated. Though she tried, she could not break eye contact with the stranger. If she looked away it would only reopen the giant hole within her. He didn’t seem to want to look away either, as his eyes never left hers. His piercing gaze kept her pinned to the spot.

Though she had no special gifts, no abilities like Chris and Melissa, she knew instantly that her life would never be the same again. She knew that the presence of this strange man marked a significant change in her life.

Complete and utter panic tore through her.

CHAPTER 2

“Bout time for what?” Chris asked, sucking fiercely at his chocolate shake as he lifted a dark blond eyebrow quizzically at Melissa.

“Oh, uh, it’s about time to go,” Melissa answered absently. She neatly wiped her hands before tossing her napkin aside.

Cassie spun wildly in her seat, desperately needing to flee, needing to run. She had to get as far away from here, and him, as possible. “Yes it is,” she eagerly agreed.

Leaping to her feet, she ignored the surprised looks that both Melissa and Chris shot her. She hastily grabbed her tray and tossed the plates haphazardly onto it. “Hey!” Chris cried as she grabbed his few remaining fries and threw them onto the heap.

“It’s late, we have to go,” she said urgently, her voice trembling slightly. To her utter surprise, and horror, so were her hands.

What was the matter with her? She didn’t know this man; she didn’t know that he meant anything to her. She simply knew that he affected her on a physical level, so why was she acting like a loony? Why was she so certain that he was going to drastically change her life?

She had no way of knowing for sure, but something inside of her, something instinctual and primal was screaming at her that he would. And that was something that she did not want to happen. It was something she could not allow to happen.

Her life had already been turned upside down once; she couldn’t go through it again, she didn’t think she was strong enough to survive it. Just four short years ago she had been a perfectly happy thirteen year old girl. Now she was a Hunter, spending far too much time in cemeteries, and killing vampires. Vampires for crying out loud! They were something she had thought of as a myth, something made up for movies and books in order to entertain people, or scare them. They certainly weren’t anything she had ever considered real. Neither had she ever entertained the notion that she would be expected to kill them, all the while knowing that she would inevitably lose the fight one day.

No, she absolutely did not want her life to change drastically again. She had just gotten it straightened out, just gotten it to the point where she could accept her heritage, even if she didn’t like it. And she knew that this man could completely change her life. She had wanted a change, something different, but not this, not this big, and not him. And she knew that his presence would be a big change.

“Cassie…”

“I’m tired,” she interrupted Melissa sharply. “I want to go home.”

Melissa’s questioning onyx eyes gleamed in the light, but she bit lightly into her lower lip as she refrained from saying anything more. Cassie’s heart beat fiercely as she hurried to the trashcan. “My fries,” Chris mourned morosely.

“I’ll buy you two batches next time!” she snapped, immediately feeling guilty for her angry retort. Chris’s eyes widened slightly but he didn’t say anything more. Apparently he had decided that sacrificing his fries was far better than arguing with her further. It was a good decision as she felt half crazed at the moment.

Though Cassie tried to ignore it, she could feel the stranger’s eyes burning into her with every step she took. Her hands were shaking; her heart pounded loudly in her ears, and her throat was so dry that she could hardly swallow.

She could not deal with this, not right now. The strange sensations pounding through her were causing her composure to unravel. Something was going to happen, and he was going to be the cause of it. She didn’t know if that something was going to be good or bad though, could not sort through it, not with the emotions careening wildly through her. She could not handle losing everything that she had ever known, ever thought, felt, and believed all over again. Yet, deep in the very marrow of her bones she knew that this strange man could do all of those things, and more, if she allowed him to.

She was not about to let him though.

“What put you in a pissy mood all of a sudden?” Chris mumbled.

Cassie shot him a dark look as she started to push him in the opposite direction of the man. She didn’t trust herself to look back and see if he was still standing there. She was afraid that she would stand, frozen like a deer in the headlights, if she looked at him again. She was afraid she would be lost to the startling force of the stranger’s magnetic gaze once more. “I just want to go home.”

“Well, you’re going in the wrong direction!” Chris protested, trying to twist away from her shoving hands.

Cassie looked helplessly at Melissa, needing some assistance from somewhere, but Melissa was not looking at her. In fact, her attention was riveted upon the spot where Cassie had last seen the man. Melissa glanced sharply back at Cassie, her eyes narrowed slightly as she took in Cassie’s frantic expression.

Chris pulled away from her, shaking his head in disgust. “Women,” he muttered. “I’ll never understand them.”

Cassie stared after him as he stalked a few feet away, heading toward the man still half hidden in the shadows of the building. Chris turned back to them, tapping his foot impatiently as he folded his arms over his broad chest. “Are you coming or not?” he demanded irritably, obviously still aggravated with her for being snippy, and throwing away his fries.

Cassie glanced pleadingly at Melissa but her attention was still focused upon the strange man. Cassie wanted to reach out to her, to hide behind her, to seek protection from her, but she found herself unable to move. She could still feel his gaze upon her, pinning her to the spot, burning into her soul. Melissa turned slowly back to her; a half smile curved her full mouth.

“Come on Cassie, it’s getting late,” she said, her voice irritatingly bright.

Cassie stared helplessly at her. She wished she could understand what was going on, why this man made her feel so strange and excited and frenzied. She desperately wished that she could go back in time, wished that she had never come to B’s and S’s tonight. She wished for many, many things, but none of them were going to come true within the next minute. And even if they did come true, she had the unsettling feeling that he still would have found her. That he still would have walked into her life.

That realization did nothing to ease the tight knot of anxiety crushing her chest.

No matter how much she didn’t want to, she had to face this. Whatever this was. She had never run from anything before, no matter how much she wanted to, and she was not about to start now. No, she was not a coward, but she was shaking like a leaf.

Taking a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders, and faked a bravery she did not feel as she fell into step beside Melissa. Melissa’s gaze was steady upon her, but she didn’t ask any questions. Chris moved beside them, a dark look in his eyes as he continued to shoot Cassie disgruntled looks. For someone that was so good at reading people, he was frustratingly oblivious to her emotions right now. Clenching her hands tight, her nails dug into her palms as they moved swiftly toward the corner of the building.

Though she tried hard to fight it, her gaze was drawn back to the stranger as surely as a magnet was drawn to metal. He stood silently amongst the shadows, but the light from B’s and S’s was enough to highlight his perfect, hard features. The world seemed to slow again, fading away, blending into nothingness as his presence filled her universe.

Like a black hole, she could not resist falling into him, becoming lost to him as she was sucked in. He was the moon, and she wanted to gravitate toward him as she became trapped within his fierce, compelling pull. And like the moon with the earth, she needed him to survive. And she wanted him! Slowly the hollowness inside her began to mend itself again, she became whole once more. It was right, she was right in a way that she hadn’t been in so long. He healed all of the hurt and loss and confusion that had been enshrouding her, choking her.

Suddenly she couldn’t recall why she would even want to fight against the strong draw he had over her. Couldn’t recall why she shouldn’t just throw herself at him right now. No matter how pathetic and crazy it would be. For some strange reason she was certain that he would not deny her, that in fact he would eagerly accept her in his arms.

He was magnificent, his face hard and beautiful all at once. His strong jaw and firm mouth were clenched together, a muscle twitched in his cheek as his emerald eyes blazed into hers. His wavy black hair was wind tossed and disheveled as it fell around his chiseled face. The boyishness of his tussled hair added an almost vulnerable air to him that she was sure he did not possess.

Shifting slightly, his lithe muscles flexed and flowed fluidly beneath his jacket and the tight black t-shirt he wore. He reminded her of a dark panther, lurking within the shadows, hunting its prey. For that brief moment she truly enjoyed the fact that she seemed to be his prey. It became difficult to breathe through the anticipatory constriction in her chest; her skin tingled with the fierce urge to touch him.

“Hey,” Chris greeted, nodding to the stranger. Chris slowed slightly, his head tilted to the side as he studied the man curiously, apparently trying to get a read on him.

The man nodded back, but his gaze didn’t leave hers. Cassie could not stop herself from slowing her pace, her body tensed as she moved past. She had to force herself not to stop, not to reach out and touch him, not to run her fingers through that thick, tempting hair. Her body was alive with electricity; her nerves sparked and fired, thrumming with her fierce desire to feel him.

For a moment she thought that he was going to touch her as he moved subtly again, his body coming within centimeters of hers. Every molecule inside her screamed for his touch, she needed his touch. Though the two of them did not make contact, she could still feel the warmth of his skin against hers. Instinctively, she knew that to touch him would be the most exquisite thing she would ever experience.

She had never imagined that she would feel like this about someone. She had never thought it was possible to be this lost, and found, all at once. And she had been found. He had found her, and he was not going to let her go. The thought was frightening, as was the certainty that immediately followed it.

“Cassie! Cassie!”

The call of her name was like a bucket of ice thrown onto her. It slammed her harshly back to reality. The strange spell shattered around her, snapping her head around as her gaze focused upon Marcy. For the first time, Cassie was actually thankful for Marcy’s obsessive, overeager ways. She needed a reprieve from the stranger in order to gather her wits again, and calm the racing of her fiercely pounding heart.

Marcy thrust a piece of paper at her as she came to an abrupt halt in front of Cassie. Her leaf green eyes were bright and enthusiastic as she grinned up at Cassie, her pretty face aglow in the light coming from the restaurant. “My cell number, call me later so that we can go over some ideas.”

Cassie stared at the paper, unable to fully form a coherent response. She managed a brief nod as she shoved it into her pocket. “Hey Marcy,” Chris greeted, nodding to her as he grinned brightly.