The Torn, Book One of the Holding Kate Series (8 page)

“Because I know every line and lash on your face, every curl of hair on your head, every curve and pulse of your neck. I know nothing more intimately than I know you.”

“Corey.” I breathed his name and realized I knew him in specific detail too. It had been real. I didn’t quite understand how that was possible, but it was the truth.

A thrill of
delight shuddered through me to have his lips so close and I leaned into him. He jerked away and I fell into the vacant space a few inches before catching myself. I snapped my eyes open.

“Kate, do you feel that?” Corey stretched out on the ledge and hung his head over.

“What are you doing?” I grabbed onto his shirt, my bruised pride pushed away by my fear of him toppling over the edge. “Don’t fall.”

“Hey! Come on!” He jumped up and scurried down the side opposite of the one we had ascended. I stood and brushed my pants off as I followed him to the landing below.

“A cave!” He swept his arm up.

I turned around and saw the ledge we had dangled our feet over was actually the top of the opening to a hole in the side of the hill.

“Shelter? Check!” I grinned marking the air with my finger.

“Let’s explore, shall we?” He held out his elbow to escort me into the opening.

I snorted. “You don’t quiet have the whole ‘barbaric caveman’ thing down, do you?”

“Oh, yeah?” He grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder.

“Corey Chastain! Put me down!”

He adjusted my weight with a bounce and stalked into the wide opening of the cave. “Me caveman! You Jane!”

I laughed and squealed and playfully beat at his back. The noise echoed around a large chamber. He flipped me over like a rag doll and set me down on my feet. Then he beat his chest like King Kong, bent his knees, and waddled around making monkey grunts. I doubled over and laughed so hard that tears sprinkled from my eyes.

He turned a figure eight, then leapt at me tackling me to the sandy cave floor. “Jane like big strong caveman?” He grunted at me and rolled over onto his back pulling me onto his chest.

“Yeah, Jane like.” I smiled down at him, my hair hung like a curtain around his face.

“Good, oogh...oogh!” He lifted his chin with each grunt and ran his hands along my back in a very familiar pattern.

Oh my!
Memories of forever assaulted me. How many thousands of years had we been in this very position? Then, there were no restraints. No Trip. No jump to worry about. Just Corey and Kate and a thousand years of loving kisses.

My heart throttled in my throat as I gazed into his loving eyes. Corey.

He tensed and cocked his head. He placed a finger over his lips and shifted my weight so he could sit up. He turned his head to listen.

“Wha…” he locked a finger over my lips, furrowed his brow and shook his head.

He slowly stood and lifted me to stand beside him, then with his attention on the dark cave beyond, he pressed me against the cave wall with his arm in front of me protectively.

Then I heard it.

Ssssssstt….ssssssttt….sssstttt. I strained my eyes to see into the darkness of the cave. Corey quietly took off his backpack, rested it in my arms, then dug into a side pocket and pulled out a long dagger.

My eyes popped and my mouth fell open. He pressed against me and pointed to a crevice in the cave wall. He motioned for me to back into it and stay put. I nodded, besides all I had was a large iron key. What was I going to do with that? Unlock it to death?

Sssssstt…a scratching noise accompanied the hissing. Corey squatted down behind a large boulder. The scratching became clicking and scraping. I wanted to crane my head out of the hiding place to see what was making the noises, but I wasn’t brave enough to keep breathing, much less face down a monster. So I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing quietly.

The noises became louder until the creature was right in the same room with us. I was in a near panic, my heart ramped against my breast. The only thing that scared me more was the fact that Corey was out there with the strange monster. I opened my eyes to search for Corey. He was watching the beast with a curious expression on his face. The tension seemed to leave him and he quietly stood up, held out a hand for me to stay and then moved into the center of the cave.

Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!
I prayed.
What is he doing!
My fear for Corey’s safety won out over my fear for myself and I leaned to peek around the edge of the cave wall. I dropped the backpack with a thud, all feeling left my arms and legs.

Corey turned at the sound and smiled. He was stroking the head of what I could only describe as a dark green, spotted baby pterodactyl.

I moved forward cautiously. “What is it?”

“I think we would call it a dragon.”

“Dragon? As in
Puff-the-Magic
?”

“Heheh, yeah, something like that.” His face was alight. I had seen an expression of adoration like that once from my brother when he found a stray pup.

“I think…” He cocked his head curiously. “I think he is talking to me.”

“Corey, he hasn’t made a sound.”

“No, I mean with thoughts. It’s like I can feel what he feels. He is hungry and new…very new…maybe just hatched.” He turned and looked into the dark cave. “There are more eggs, inside. He is showing them to me.” He tapped a finger on his temple.

“Can I pet him?” I inched toward them.

“Yeah, come on. He really likes this.” He scratched gently against the eye ridge.

I took another cautious step toward them and stretched out my hand. The baby dragon turned his head to look at me.

“I agree!” Corey laughed.

I frowned at him.

“He feels very soothed by your physical appearance.”

“What?” I wrinkled my nose.

“He thinks you’re pretty.”

I rolled my eyes and huffed out a breath. “You are making that up,” I chided and kneeled down to close the distance between my fingers and the dragonet.

When I touched him a strong current blasted up my arm and I convulsed. My vision fractured into a thousand angles with prismatic color blinding me. My teeth clamped down hard, and I tasted blood in my mouth. Screeching sounds assaulted my ears, and I heard Corey yelling my name. Then the world went black.

“I can’t believe he let her touch that thing!”

“I think we should kill it!”

“If he touches her again I think I will kill him!”

“Water?”

“Thanks.”

“I am so sick of the Trip, Corey, Kate triangle. I think I might puke!”

“What do they see in her, she is just a skinny little girl?”

“She is beautiful. She is Mine.”

“Katie girl, please be okay.”

“The big one smells bad.”

“My soul, please come back to me.”

“The soup is almost ready.”

“37, 38, 39”

“You are almost here!”

The voices were splitting my skull and they were talking nonsense! I recognized all but one voice…a child’s voice. A moan escaped my lips and a weight pressed down on my chest. At my sound the voices mingled into a loud jumble.

“Oh god, she is alive…hello there, beauty…thank God…oh great, the princess is waking…couldn’t she sleep for ten more minutes, the soup smells so good…sssshhheee is mine sssst…back off kitty cat!”

I pressed a hand to my temple, and my eyes fluttered.

“Kate?” Trip’s voice.

“Is she awake?” Tara’s voice.

“Sweet love, my perfect Kate.” Corey’s voice was really loud. I opened my eyes to find him hovering near and saw an ocean of concern in his sea blue eyes.

“Corey?”

“Oh, thank God. Yes, my love. Yes, I am here.”

I frowned. His lips weren’t moving, but I could hear everything he said.

“Hey, Jane.” Oh. Well. There, his lips were working just fine. Silly me. I smiled.

“Hey.”

“I am so sorry I told you to touch the dragonet. If you had died, I would have died with you!”

“No, Corey. I wanted to pet the little dragon, it wasn’t your fault.”

“What?” His eyes were startled, but his mouth was definitely not moving.

“I wish he would just leave us alone!” Trip shouted. I turned my head to see his brow furrowed.

“Why are you shouting? I don’t want Corey to leave.” I tried to sit up but felt very shaky and heavy. I struggled with my noodle arms, but couldn’t find any strength. “Help me sit up!”

They sat with stunned expressions and stared at me.

“I don’t care what that dragon does, I am going to help her.”

SSSSSSsssssstttttt!

“Don’t touch her, Corey!” All four voices shouted in stereo.

ZZZZat! “Ouch!” Corey jerked his hand back.

I gaped at him in horror. “Corey! Are you okay?” His hands were smoking. I reached for him, but he pulled away suddenly. Rejection blistered through me.

“Mine!” The child’s voice screamed. I turned my face to the sound and the pressure on my chest. A little dragon face peered up at me from between my breasts. My initial reaction was to push it off. After all, this splitting headache was his fault.

“Hello, Beauty,” The little dragon spoke into my mind and a sense of wonder and affection seeped into my heart.

“Hello,” I purred.

Corey laughed.

“Can you hear him?”

He nodded. “I think because I touched him before he…imprinted on you.”

I looked at Trip. “You can’t hear him?”

“Great, just one more connection she has with Corey. I can’t get a break! ” He shook his head but didn’t move his mouth.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. I said nothing. You are hearing our thoughts. Somehow.” He cut scathing eyes to the dragon.

I looked at the little dragon and then at Corey. I gulped for air, panic rising to steal my breath. “Why can’t you touch me?”

“Technically, I can touch you, it just hurts like hell.” He smiled sadly.

I looked at Trip. He pressed his lips together. “I tried to hold you when we first got here and was thrown against the wall.” He thought to me.

No physical contact? How would I survive? I needed physical reassurance constantly. I sucked air through my lips and hot tears spilled onto my cheeks.

“I have to hold her.” Corey reached a tentative hand toward me, his thoughts screaming in my head.

“NO!” I crab walked away from him.

Sssssssttttt! The little dragon hissed and fought for balance on my tummy. I curled into a ball on the floor and the dragon snuggled up next to me and hissed at my team mates. I sobbed into his soft leather hide.

“I can’t bear this…oh good grief…can’t we just eat…poor princess can’t manipulate the boys anymore…my love…Mine…if we kill the dragon, maybe she will be okay…ssssttt…God help her, give her peace…I will kill it tonight when everyone is sleeping.”

“Nooo!!!” I screamed and pressed my fists against my ears. “Shut up, just please shut up!”

They backed out of the cave and left me to my possessive dragonet. The last thing I saw was Corey’s tender expression as he turned. “I have always loved you, Kate. We will get through this.”

I moaned in despair and tried to shut everything out.