Page 11 of The 13th Daughter (The Witches of New Salem #1)

Chapter Eight

I ended up choosing my cream colored dress with long, fitted sleeves.

A pair of black, strappy Stuart Weitzman heels completed my ensemble.

Thank the Fates Macy's had opened at the Northlake Mall in Charlotte.

My shoe obsession could now be supported with relative ease.

Mostly. Now, if I could only get my parents to see my passion for shoes as the vital necessity it was, life would be good.

I had my eye on the cutest pair of Chloe boots, but so far, no such luck on that front.

bowl of popcorn balanced precariously on his knee. He held a can of Coke in one hand and the remote in the other.

"Dad, I'm going out for a while. Do you need anything?"

Please don't ask where I'm going, please don't ask where I'm going, please...

"No, but I do need to talk to you." He looked up from the TV and motioned for me to sit on the couch.

"Sure, Dad." He's not drunk, I reminded myself. Still, I sat as far from him as possible. I didn't blame him for what had happened, but I was a little wary of him. Regret flared in his eyes and I felt guilty, but I couldn't bring myself to move any closer.

"CJ, I need to apologize for what I did to you," he said in a rough, scratchy voice. "There's no excuse for it and I promise you, honey, it will never happen again. I didn't mean to do it, Cassie Jayne."

"I know, Daddy."

"You're all I have left, the most important thing in my life. I haven't touched a drink since and I promise you, I won't ever again. I love you too much to ever hurt you again. All I ever wanted was to keep you safe."

To keep you safe. Words any parent might say, but in my dad's voice, there was whole world of implications. What did he know?

"Will you tell me the truth if I ask a question?"

"If I can."

"Why is it so important to you that I stay away from the Coven?"

His golden eyes looked at me, shrewd and assessing. "The Coven is not always what it seems."

"That's not an answer." Anger laced my words. My stomach started to hurt. He knew something, maybe everything, but wasn't going to tell me. "Why did you flip out? What scared you so much it made you lose control?"

"I was drunk, and thinking about Emily. I don't even remember what I said."

His bottom lip quivered. Crap. At least I knew where I got it from.

"You're lying."

"It's all I can tell you, CJ. Please, honey, just stay away from them. I don't want to lose you too."

"Lose me how?" I jumped up, frustrated. "You're not making sense!"

He turned back to the TV. "I'm sorry. I can't tell you anything else. Won't you just trust me?"

Trust me. There it was again. Ethan had said to trust him, too. Both of them were lying and it was really pissing me off.

"Fine. Whatever. I'm leaving."

He nodded, focused on the sports announcer droning on in a monotone.

I made it to the front door.

"Where are you going, CJ?"

"Just out for a while. I have a date."

It wasn't lying, not really. I did have a date with Ethan.

"Don't stay out too late."

"That's it?" I asked incredulously. "Don't stay out too late?"

"I know the initiation is tonight, but you told me you wouldn't go near the Coven and I trust you. No more insane accusations. Have a good time."

Now I felt about as low as a piece of gum stuck to a brand new pair of Prada heels.

"Bye, Dad." Sorry, I mouthed silently to his back and slipped out the front door.

I sighed in frustration as I jogged the short distance to Kay's. He had to go and say he trusted me, didn't he? It's not like I'd lied, not really. I mean, I was going on a date. To the initiation. Crap, I'd lied to my dad. I hated lying.

The Martins were already gone to the Hall to get things ready for tonight, so I let myself in the back door.

I did the one legged hop into the bathroom as I pulled my jeans and t-shirt off.

Fifteen minutes later, I was dressed and ready.

Thank the Fates I'd applied my makeup at home before I left.

I'd have been so late otherwise. The only jewelry I wore was Emily's locket.

My tennis shoes stayed on until I sat down on the park bench.

Then they went into the backpack I hid in the bushes next to the bench.

The strappy heels took some careful maneuvering, but I managed to wrestle them on.

My watch told me it was 6:52. I was early, but Ethan was earlier.

I saw him leaning against one of the trees watching me, a smile on his face.

I stopped breathing the minute my eyes found him. Dressed in black trousers, a red shirt, and a simple black jacket, he looked like some dark angel come to tempt me. His hair fell around his face haphazardly and his smile turned wicked when he pushed away from the tree and walked towards me.

He took a seat and leaned into me. "Breathe, Cassie Jayne," he whispered.

I closed my eyes and forced air into my lungs. He knew exactly what he did to me. So unfair. I didn't think I had nearly the same effect on him.

"You look very nice," I managed to get out. He looked more than nice. In truth, he could have been on the cover of GQ Magazine and he was mine. My own personal M&M, I thought with a grin.

"Why are you grinning, Cassie?"

"No reason," I said and blushed. No way in hell would I ever tell him his nickname.

"You're blushing." His eyes glinted with a wicked light. "Were you having indecent thoughts about me?"

"What...NO!" My face burned scarlet. I could feel the heat of it creep up my neck and into my scalp.

"Hmm...that's a shame, Cassie Jayne Bishop," he whispered into my ear.

"It is?" I swallowed at the feel of his warm breath against my ear.

"Yes." His teeth grazed my earlobe and I shivered in response. "Do you want to know why?"

"Why?" I struggled to pay attention.

"Because I've been having indecent thoughts about you for days." He trailed butterfly kisses along my jaw and then down the curve of my neck.

"You have?" I gasped. My breathing hitched into overdrive and my heart galloped out of control.

I felt a little dizzy. How could he do this to me, I wondered?

I'd been kissed many times before, but no one had ever had this kind of effect upon me before.

Ethan could make me forget everything except him.

"Days," he confirmed and pulled me to my feet. "Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"

"No." His gray eyes grew darker and darker as he stared into my own. I could drown in those eyes.

His smile turned tender and his eyes flamed with an emotion I couldn't define. "No? Well, let me say, Miss Bishop, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever met in all my days." His hand cupped my cheek. "My Cassie."

His Cassie? My heart melted into a puddle at my feet.

His lips came down on mine in the softest, most gentle kiss I'd ever experienced. The truth struck me then and I stiffened up. I was falling in love with this boy. And that scared me.

"What's wrong?" He pulled away to look at me.

"Nothing." I took a shaky breath and buried my face in his shirt. "You make me feel things no one else ever has."

"I should hope no one has ever made you feel like this," he whispered into my hair and tightened his arms around me. "You're mine, Cassie."

"Yours?" I pulled away and looked up into his eyes. They glowed with warmth.

"Mine," he nodded. "If you want to be."

My brain screamed too soon, too soon, but my heart blocked out the words.

Nothing made sense when it came to Ethan.

Just the sound of his voice could stir a multitude of emotions within me.

I'd only known him about a week, but I'd spent most of every minute of that time either with him or talking to him on the phone.

He made me feel things that I'd never experienced and the thought of us being apart caused a physical pain within me.

He was also very good at dodging questions, and I knew he was keeping something from me. I had to wonder what he was hiding and sometimes, thinking about that scared me more than anything else did. But none of that mattered to me as I stared into eyes that gazed down at me with so much warmth.

Did I want to be his? I might be afraid. He was probably lying to me. But I wanted him.

"I do."

His smile lit up his face. "Good to hear, Miss Bishop. Now, we'd best get going. We're already late as it is."

He turned us into the park and started walking.

"Shouldn't we be going to the hall?" I asked, confused.

He laughed and pulled me into his side. "Not tonight, sweetheart."

I frowned and let him lead me deeper into the woods behind the park.

Where the hell were we going?