Free Everlasting Bond by Christine M. Besze Page B

his hands from her waist and she turned away, her face inadvertently meeting Andrew's. She was so embarrassed she wanted to crawl under a rock, but Andrew only smiled. He gave her a quick wink, took Jake by the hand and walked on ahead of them. That's when things started to slowly make more sense to her.
    The sudden chill of Cole's hand in hers drew her attention back to him. He pulled her towards her house, as they walked side by side. Katrina could feel his eyes on her the entire time. Katrina slanted her eyes in his direction and felt a strange connection to him.
    “I’m sorry if my cousin scared you,” Cole apologized.
    “Yeah. Is that normal?”
    “It can be. Depends on the situation,” Cole shrugged. She was going to ask what that meant, but part of her wasn't sure she really wanted to know. “Can we give you and your brother a ride to school tomorrow?” He changed the subject.
    She thought about it for a second and debated. The fact that he was a vampire was hard to ignore, but he hadn't attacked her and he had plenty of opportunity. And he did save her from Brody's assault. In the end, she nodded. “I’d like that.”
    They took a few more steps towards the forest green front door and Katrina could hear Andrew and Jake conversing on the front porch. She didn’t mean to eavesdrop on them, but found herself doing so anyway. She glanced in their direction and found Andrew’s fingers intertwined with Jake’s. Without realizing it, she stopped and watched them. They were so close to each other. It looked very intimate. They were laughing at a joke that was lost between the two of them. It was obvious to Katrina they were very comfortable with each other.
    Then Katrina blushed. She found herself a witness to something she wasn’t expecting. Andrew leaned in and planted a soft, but passionate kiss on Jake’s lips. Feeling awkward staring, Katrina turned back towards Cole.
    To her surprise, his focus was solely on her. He wasn't paying any attention to what Andrew or Jake were doing on her mother's porch. He interlaced his fingers of his left hand with those of her right and the current that flowed between them changed. It faded into a slight vibration rath er than an overpowering storm.
    Cole stuffed his right hand into his pocket and gave her a hesitant look. “Can I a sk you to do something for me?”
    “Sure.”
    When he took his hand out there was something big in it. “Take this and keep it with you, always.” Resting between his pale hands was a small sized gem. It glowed like an amber sunset against the frosty background. Dangling from its end was a delicate silver chain. Katrina became lost into the curious item. She had never seen anything so beautiful.
    “It’s an amulet for protection.”
    “For protection against what?”
    “Just promise me you’ll wear it always. Please?” There was a sense of urg ency in his voice, as he spoke.
    “I promise,” she answered, though not entirely sure why.
    Looking down at the necklace, Katrina’s body tensed. She couldn’t understand it, but there was something familiar about that stone. It was hard to explain, but she knew she'd seen it before. Nodding her head in acceptance, she held out her hand. The gem’s smooth surface was cool to the touch as it rested in her palm. It was the perfect size for her hand, like it had been made for her. She was staring at it when a slight breeze burst through the night air and caused her to shiver. Katrina tugged her shirt against herself to block out the draft and realized she was still wearing Cole’s shirt.
    “Oh, I’m sorry. Do you want this back?” She motioned to his shirt.
    “No. You keep it. Khaki looks better on you,” he smiled, as his eyes quickly glanced over her.
    “Thanks.” Out of things to say, she nervously bit down on her bottom lip.
    “Until tomorrow then?” It was a question, but Katrina could feel a double meaning hidden behind it. At the moment she was too tired to decipher it and