13

Chapter 12

My heart soared when he leaned forward and captured my lips in a passionate kiss. His touch ignited the desire that I was trying desperately to keep contained deep down inside. When his hands roamed freely over my back and neck, I moaned lightly and placed my own hands on either side of his face, pushing him deeper into the kiss. He groaned loudly in protest, pulling away slightly, panting heavily. His blue eyes flickered with passion and hunger. They gleamed wickedly and darkened as they locked onto mine once more.

"Can't you wait?" he breathed hoarsely. I shook my head slightly in defiance. "Come here. Please," he begged quietly, moving his face closer toward mine. I leaned forward once more and pressed our lips together.

When he pulled away for a short while and gazed deeply into my eyes, I noticed the darkening circles beneath them. He yawned widely and rubbed his face tiredly, causing me to giggle uncontrollably at the sight. He grinned sheepishly and ran a hand through his hair again while he shook his head.

"It's been a long day," he complained half-heartedly. I giggled once more, unable to contain my laughter.

"Sorry. It's not that funny. But don't worry, you are very cute when you sleep," I said teasingly, poking fun at him. He frowned slightly and furrowed his brows. "Besides, don't you usually sleep at night?" I added, pointing out the fact that he hadn't slept in two days. "I didn't expect to see you sleeping here so early in the morning." I blushed slightly at that and cleared my throat awkwardly.

He blinked rapidly and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, actually, it's the middle of the afternoon and I'm pretty sure that I fell asleep in my chair about three hours ago. I didn't have a nightmare and I woke up refreshed when the sunlight was already coming through the window," he explained and laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head again.

I bit my lip uncertainly. "You know, I really think that I should leave soon…if you fall asleep in front of my laptop, you won't get anything accomplished," I said softly as I looked back at the screen, frowning slightly.

"Alright fine. We can go now. You haven't finished the episode you were reading anyway," he said, getting up and stretching his limbs. I sighed and stood up as well.

"Fine…but only if I see your new eye color change to a light brown after we get back home," I replied slyly as I followed him into his bedroom.

"Deal," he replied, smiling at me, giving me a wink.

We walked outside, locked up the cottage behind us, then made our way over to his car. I climbed into the passenger seat, which Crowley had miraculously gotten himself to start in one minute flat and then closed the door, turning to face him while waiting impatiently for him to drive back home.

He started the engine and began driving towards my house, making his way slowly so as not to wake anybody up. He glanced over at me as he was driving and smiled slightly.

'He looks exhausted,' I observed, observing the large bags that he had underneath his eyes. 'He must have stayed awake for hours waiting for me to come back…that doesn't sound good,' I thought worriedly to myself.

I leaned forward slightly and rested my elbows on his lap before placing my hands on top of his as he drove.

"You okay? Did you stay awake for long? Why did you stay awake?" I asked concernedly.

He let out a sigh, his eyebrows furrowing as he turned toward me and grabbed my hands. He looked up at me with sad eyes as he gazed into them with such longing that my knees weakened.

"I didn't really have any choice. Your dad called me. Apparently your mother and aunt were found dead the previous day…" he paused for a moment, as if hesitating about what he was going to say. "And I needed you to be safe so I stayed behind because I knew that your father would be too afraid to do anything without you...and because I was so desperate to protect you," he continued softly.

I swallowed hard, feeling a lump forming in my throat as my eyes widened.

"How…how did it happen?" I stammered, my voice shaking slightly, as my mind went blank, unable to think of anything else except those words.

"Your father was driving through town when someone pulled up in a taxi outside his office. There was no time to call anyone or even try to contact the police. He hit them with his car and knocked her senseless. The driver was badly injured by a blunt force blow to the head…her skull fractured. They say that it looks like she died instantly…