Blood & Winter

Chapter 7 : Emotional Wreck

I couldn't speak when I finally saw him sitting on the bench. His head held between his hands, shoulders slumped forwards, with his elbows resting on his knees. The twins sat next to him engrossed in a conversation, and Alex stood flirting with a group of girls slightly off to the side. He paid no attention to them, or them to him, though they glanced at him once or twice.
Before we even made it over to them, he lifted his head as though he felt we were approaching. When our eyes locked onto each others, he was up on his feet and gliding towards us in long graceful steps.

He glared at Lucy murderously and she just laughed and shook her head.
"Oh lord, I'm going to get an ear full later aren't I?" She teased him affectionately. She touched my shoulder gently, winked, and sprinted off in the direction of the twins.

August must have realized how he reacted and laughed at himself, shaking his head in apparent amusement.
"Cassandra, what have you done to me? If I don't get away from you I may lose myself completely. But if I do go, I fear that I will be lost, and alone." He turned me to him, and right there in the middle of the fairground, in front of his friends whom I barely knew, and who barely knew me, he kissed me.

My surroundings faded away, the sounds and people seemed to disappear. It felt as though the world was spinning. His wintery smell enveloped me, and his lips on mine were so hot they almost burned.
The kiss was different from the soft, gentle kisses exchanged in the cottage. This time he was kissing me with heat, and with hunger. I felt my knees give out and he pulled me to him, supporting my body against his so I wouldn't slide to the ground.

When the kiss ended, well when I finally ended it to breathe, we stood there gasping for air, unable to rip our gaze away from one another. He looked at Lucy and the others, and through the corner of my eye, I saw them wave us away. We took each other's hand and ran.

We ran all the way back to the parking lot. All the way back to car. We swung the doors open in urgency. He started the car before they were even shut. Neither of us said a word as he sped back to the house.

I had no idea what we were doing. I was insane. Batty. Deranged. Totally and completely of unsound mind, and I felt better than I had in months.
The drive to the house seemed to take forever. I twisted and fidgeted in my seat, tapping my fingers on the dashboard anxiously.

August pulled up to the house, and I found myself glued to the seat. Thirty seconds ago I thought I would be out of the car in an instant, but I found I couldn't move. I was shaking from head to toe.

August opened my door, and held out his hand to help me out. I felt hot, and out of order. I looked behind us, secretly hoping the others would show up and I would be able to have an excuse to chicken out of whatever was about to happen between us.

I had no idea what it was, but I felt deep in my gut it was going to be something big, life changing. I let him lead me around the back of Lucy's house. We didn't go inside, instead he led me into the garden and back towards the direction of the woods. We came to the gate and he stopped. He pulled me close to me and kissed me again. This time softly. Running his cool hands over my bare arms.

"Do you want to go back to the main house?" His voice was low, and husky in my ear. His breath tickled my neck causing the hairs to rise all over my body. "I have to be alone with you Cassandra. I won't force you to do anything. Just let me be alone with you. Please." His voice sounded desperate.
And I realized that I would do anything he asked me to do at that moment. I shook my head no, and pointed to the lock. He shoved the key in and opened it. He swung the gate back and we instantly took off in the direction of the stone cottage.