Chapter Six

Leah was sitting on the ground not far from the fire, her back resting against a large tree stump. The black sky had turned to a lighter shade of gray and stars began to fade as dawn approached. They'd seen no sign of the wood devil throughout the night. She could hear Sam and Dean talking quietly and the low rumble of their voices began to relax her. She'd had very little sleep over the past several days, with virtually none at all the night before. Trying to stay alert, she turned her attention to the tree line, looking for movement. As she stared at them, the trees began to sway and drift in and out of focus.

With a brisk shake of her head, Leah struggled to find something within her skewed line of vision that would help keep her awake. Something of interest, anything at all, but she was losing the battle to keep her eyes open. Her head tipped to the side and she jerked it upright. It fell again, and came up against something solid. She immediately tried to rise up, but a slight pressure forced her back down.

"I've got you, little bit. Close your eyes and rest." Dean said softly as he eased Leah's head back against his chest.

He had her wrapped in his arms. His left hand was on her back, kneading it comfortingly, the right was still pressed lightly to the side of her head keeping her close. Despite her drowsy state, Leah's body began the ultimate betrayal. Heat started at her core and burned through her, reaching all the way to the tips of each limb. She was surrounded by him - his strength, his scent - and damn if her traitorous hand didn't dart beneath his jacket of its own accord to rub over his chest! His heart beat a rapid staccato beneath her palm and her own heart matched the frantic rhythm.

Leah willed her hand to stop but it refused. It seemed her body was working against her, its desire to excite the man beside her in full command. How could her brain lose control so easily? And it was only the beginning. Other body parts began to join the mutiny. Her leg climbed up to slip between Dean's, her knee resting gingerly against his groin. It began to slide over him and she could feel him growing harder as it did.

Despite the pain he'd caused by ending their relationship, she'd never stopped loving Dean. She'd never stopped wanting him, thinking about, needing him. The smart thing to do would be keep a safe distance from him, but he felt too damned good and touching him seemed so natural. What would it hurt to lie in his arms this once, she wondered?

Dean knew Leah wasn't fully awake and it would be wrong for him to take advantage of the situation. He tried telling himself there were plenty of things he could do to stop her, only problem was he didn't want to. She was touching him in all the right places and in all the right ways, pushing him into overdrive in the way that only she could. He'd dreamt of this happening night after night for one very long year and now that it was real he was helpless to do anything but give in to it.

His body, aroused and hungry, turned toward hers and he drew her closer. His leg wrapped over hers and his fingers slid into her hair, where they curled around the long brown locks. A gentle tug tipped Leah's head back and his mouth descended upon hers. Dean used restraint, keeping the kiss soft and slow, nothing more than a light caress, and she responded to the tender onslaught with a low moan that started deep within her throat. She shivered slightly and then her lips parted for him, allowing Dean's tongue to dip inside.

Leah's tongue met each thrust of his as she melted into him. Her hand moved up his chest, seeking skin. She found what she desired as her fingertips brushed along his neck. His flesh was smooth and warm and all she could think of was having his muscular body naked against hers. Having him buried deep inside of her again, moving in time with her, driving her to a level of passion that left her screaming out his name.

Dean shifted slightly, trying to find a way beneath her layers of clothing. He silently cursed the cold weather that had her bundled so inconveniently. As he sought a way in, he felt a large hand clamp onto his shoulder and his body was jerked roughly to the side.

"Dean!" Sam's voice hissed into his ear. "I heard something. I think it's here!"

"What the hell? What's here, Sam?" It was something Dean knew he should have the answer to, but his mind was so wrapped around Leah he couldn't make the connection quick enough.

"Wood Devil!" Without hesitation, Sam dragged Dean up onto his feet and shoved a flare gun into his hand.

"Where Sam?" Dean asked. He looked toward the nearby trees, but there wasn't enough light filtering into the heavily wooded area yet.

"Over there!" Sam signaled to a spot off on their right then reached down to help Leah up.

Snagging a flashlight, Dean aimed it in the general direction and flicked it on. A golden glow instantly lit up the space, bringing several trees and a brief blur of motion into view.

"There!" Sam yelled.

Dean swung the light around, trying to track its path but he wasn't able to find it. There was a piercing scream as the creature darted through the woods, then it was silent. The three of them stood perfectly still as they waited for any movement or sound, but after several minutes none came.

Growing restless, Leah decided it was time to start the search again. Even if she couldn't find Blake, she had to go after and destroy the damned thing that took him. Looking around for another flashlight, she found one near her backpack so she grabbed it along with an extra flare gun.

"I'm going after it." she told them.

Dean turned around, anger etched on his face. "No you're not. I don't know why the freaking thing didn't attack, but we wait it out here. If it doesn't come back, we move when the sun's up."

She tucked one of the guns into the waistband of her pants. "If that's your plan, great, but it's not mine. Sun will be up soon enough. Maybe I'll meet up with you out there."

Dean shook his head, wondering why she was being completely irrational. It wasn't like her and he doubted this was the way she usually hunted. Despite her earlier response to his kisses, maybe there was something serious going on between her and this Blake. Hell, he didn't want to deal with that possibility at the moment. "Not my plan, Leah, OURS. We stay together and we do this the right way."

"I've been searching these woods for the past five days so I don't need you to tell me how to do this. The night's over and that thing is close so I'm going out."

She started forward, but Dean blocked her path. "Over my dead body." he growled.

"That works for me. Silver bullet or flare?" She stood toe-to-toe with him, furious that he was wasting her time. The man was too damn bossy for his own good.

"Well at least you didn't say you were gonna try to kill me with your intelligence cause at the moment you don't have any!" he snapped back.

"Jack ass!" She shoved hard against his chest, but he didn't budge. Leah squeezed her hands into fists so tightly her fingernails dug into the skin of her palms. More than anything she wanted to lay one of those fists into the man's face!

Sam stepped in between them. He couldn't believe they were fighting again. "Come on, guys! We have to work together. Think of Blake."

As frustrated as she was, Leah had to agree. "You're right, Sam. I just hate standing around here knowing how close it is. We could get it."

"Or it could get us." Dean said. "We wait a little longer, then we'll start looking."

"Fine!" Leah separated herself from the men and did a quick check of her weapons. Then she yanked off her heavier jacket, planning to replace it with a lighter one she wore during the day. It was less restricting which made it easier to move around through the woods. Only she couldn't find it.

Sam noticed her searching the site. "What are you looking for?"

"My other coat. It's dark brown."

He helped her search and found it buried beneath a few of his things. "Here you go." As he handed it to her, he asked, "What's that?" and pointed to a small dark amulet hanging from a thin strip of leather around her neck.

"Something Amy found back in August when she went to Mexico. She said she was drawn to it and thought it would be perfect for me. It's made from some sort of black clay."

Sam was intrigued. "Interesting looking. May I?" he asked, reaching for it.

At her nod of approval, Sam took hold of it and tried to inspect it a little closer, but the light was still too poor to make out what was etched on it. "Dean. Come here for a second."

Dean walked over to them. "What are you doing?"

Sam pointed to the flashlight. "Shine that light on this will you?" He laid the small charm in the palm of his hand and as soon as the light hit it, the two men looked at each other.

"Is that what I think it is?" Dean asked.

"Looks like it to me."

"Okay," Leah added. "Wanna let me in on it?" She tried to figure out what the men had seen, but she was looking at the necklace from a different angle.

"You didn't see this, Leah?" Sam questioned, surprised that she had no clue as to what she was wearing.

"See what?"

"What's carved into it." Dean said.

"No. I mean, I looked at it when she gave it to me and saw there was some sort of design on it. Why? What is it?"

"Leah," Dean answered. "It's got a wood devil carved into it."

TBC