“Well, there’s always that.” Walt laughed. “The idea though is to keep them from getting that close.”
As Cassa started to laugh at the comment, a shadow moving at her side had both her and the old gentleman twisting around. Cabal lounged against the brick face of the café, his dark gold brow arched, a knowing smile on his lips.
“Breeds aren’t that easy to control or to contain,” he informed them both, as he straightened and regarded them with mocking amusement. “But you can keep dreaming if you like.” He turned to Walt with a slow grin. “Good to see you, old man. How’s the fishing?”
“The fishing is damned good,” Walt assured him with an easy grin. “You should go out with me one day.”
“When time allows, Walt,” Cabal promised. “I’m a little busy right now.”
Cassa felt her heart spike, her flesh grow sensitive. Her breasts became swollen, her nipples pressing hard and tight against the bra she wore beneath her shirt as he turned his gaze back to her.
“So, you going to take Walt’s advice on how to handle Breeds?” he asked, his smile wicked.
“Fairy tales aren’t my thing,” Cassa informed him. “Unlike Walt, I know you and Jonas much too well to fall into that trap.”
But that didn’t keep her from flushing with heated hunger as his fingers wrapped around her upper arm. She swore she could feel his hand through the material of her jacket and the T-shirt she wore beneath. The heat of his fingers, the raspy feel of them, calloused and sensual—she swore she could almost feel his touch straight to the aching center of her clit.
She was wet, sensitive. The brush of her silk panties against her folds had her restraining a shiver of pleasure. And he knew it. Damn him.
“Oh, I know them well enough.” Walt smiled. “I just prefer to see the good in them rather than the bad. If there’s any bad to see.” He winked back suggestively. “Hell of a position for an old man to take, huh?”
It was a hell of a position for anyone to take in any situation. The rose-colored glasses were always put on at the most painful of times, and recovering from them wasn’t always possible.
“It’s a hell of a position for anyone to take,” Cassa muttered as sh
e tugged at the hold Cabal had on her arm, before glaring at him. “Let me go.”
“Say please.” His smile was predatory and sent a tingle of arousal rushing through her body.
He knew what he was doing to her, and he was doing it deliberately. She could see it in his face, in the glitter of his green and amber gaze.
“Please.” She pushed the word through clenched teeth.
She didn’t like the feeling of warmth that overcame her, or the hunger she could feel rushing through her system. She didn’t like the emotions or the sensations that swept through her each time he was near. She especially didn’t like them amped up as they were now.
“I’ll be more than happy to after we talk,” he assured her, before turning to the old man with a brief “Later, Walt.”
His grip firmed on her arm as he began moving down the sidewalk, ignoring her silent protest as she tugged at his grip once again.
He was too forceful, too dominant. She wanted to kick him, but she had a feeling it would do very little good. Damned Breeds, stubborn bastards.
“Stop fighting me, Cassa,” he growled as she tried to jerk her arm out of his grip once more. “It’s time we talk.”
“Time we talk or time that I listen to you order me out of town again?” Her voice was sugary sweet. “Sorry, Cabal, but I’m rather busy today. Perhaps tomorrow.”
Turning the corner, he yanked her into the diner’s parking lot and strode along the parked cars. His fingers were still locked around her arm, pulling her behind him. Fighting his hold only made her angrier, simply because he acted as though he didn’t even notice the attempts.
“Here we go.” He stopped at the black SUV parked at the back of the lot and pressed the remote. The doors unlocked, and he gripped the handle and opened the driver’s side door. “Will you get in and stay put?”
“Not on your life.” She smiled back cheerily. “Want to tie me in the seat?” She looked around, and wasn’t it just her luck, there wasn’t a damned soul anywhere near. “Looks to me like the coast is clear if that’s your intention.”
“I’m going to get tired of these accusations, Cassa,” he said softly. “There is no way I’d hurt you, and you know it.”
His gaze flickered over her, heated and intense. There was sex in his eyes. Lust tightened his features and gave him a savage, honed appearance.
“I need you, Cassa. Now,” he growled.
Cassa lost the sarcasm. She felt her expression go blank with the hunger that rumbled in his voice and reflected in his gaze now.