Masquerade (Heven and Hell #1)(59)
Author: Cambria Hebert

It was morning? I looked toward the window and saw that the sky was lightening. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept so peacefully. I started to pull myself up but Sam pressed me back against the pillows. “Go back to sleep.”

“Miss you.”

“I’ll be in the barn, up in the loft. Come see me later.” I grabbed his hand, and he kissed me. I heard a sound in the hallway – Grandma was up. “I have to go,” he whispered, tucking the blanket around me.

I nodded. “I’ll meet you in the barn.”

“I love you.”

Before I could tell him the same he disappeared out the window.

Chapter Seventeen

Heven

“You’re up early,” Grandma said, not bothering to hide her surprise. She was measuring coffee into the pot and then turned it on to brew.

“I fell asleep early last night.”

“Sleep well?”

“Yes.”

“How about I make a big breakfast to celebrate?”

My stomach grumbled loudly, and I nodded. “I’m starved.”

“Wonderful!”

“I think I’ll go see Jasper and give the horses some hay.”

“They’ll like that.” She was already pulling out pans from the cupboard.

“Would you like some help?”

She waved me off. “Shoo!”

I shoved my feet into my sneakers and palmed the doorknob. Nervously, I turned back. “Uh, Grandma, would it be okay if I called Sam and invited him for breakfast?”

“Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.”

“I – uh asked him for some space. You know after Mom…”

“I understand.” She nodded, not turning away from her cooking. “Sure, honey, call him. The more the merrier!”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. Her love and acceptance meant more to me than she could ever know. “Thanks, Gran. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now go on and feed the horses.”

My pace quickened the closer I got to the barn. Anticipation curled around me as I swung open the barn door and shut it behind me. I ran to the ladder that led up to the loft, calling his name as I went. He appeared at the top with a smile on his face. I climbed up the ladder as fast as I could. Once at the top I launched myself at him, eager to feel his arms close around me.

“I didn’t expect you until later,” he laughed.

I snuggled in closer, enjoying his scent. “I couldn’t wait.”

He chuckled again.

“You’re invited to breakfast!”

“I am?”

“Uh-huh. Grandma was so happy I got up early and wasn’t depressed that she is cooking a huge breakfast. She said I could call and invite you.”

“Sure beats the power bars I’ve been eating.”

I remembered that he was spending his nights here, and I pulled away, feeling guilty. A pile of clothes lay off to the side, and a single blanket was tossed across a loose bed of hay, near it was a small flashlight and a book. His book bag and sneakers were tossed in another corner. “Have you been spending all your time here?”

He shrugged.

“But why?”

“I told you why.”

“So she’s still around?” The thought gave me the willies.

He shook his head. “Not since right after prom. She took off, and I haven’t seen her since.”

“She left?”

“Yeah, I think she’s still out searching.”

“Then why are you practically living in the barn?”

“She’ll come back.”

“Because she wants to kill me.”

“She won’t.” His voice was harder than I’d ever heard it before. “I’ll kill her first.”

The absolute resolve in his voice scared me. Was he really capable of killing her? Of killing anyone? I backed up toward the ladder. “I need to feed the horses.”

“I’ll watch from up here.” He smiled a tilted smile, and just like that, he transformed back into the boy I loved.

“You have something against horses?”

“More like they have something against me.” Again he smiled – a quick flash of white teeth.

I paused climbing down the ladder and looked up at him. He stood over me all bronze and gold. His skin always looked kissed by the sun, and his hair always glistened with beautiful gold highlights. It was so incredibly easy to forget what he was, but even as I remembered, I noticed his full peach lips and round hazel eyes. That’s when it hit me. I didn’t care what he was or wasn’t, because to me, he was everything, and nothing was going to change that.

“Heven?”

I shook my head, trying to clear it. “It’s nothing.” I smiled and finished going down the ladder. “Grandma mentioned that the horses seemed restless to her lately. I guess I know why.”

“I stay up here away from them. I don’t want to make them uneasy.”

“I know.” I headed into the tack room to get a bag of grain. When I came back out I looked up, and he was peering over the edge watching me. “So tell me…”

“Tell you what?”

“What exactly is a hellhound?”

He was quiet awhile, and I wondered if he would tell me at all. Before going back into the tack house to put away the grain, I glanced up. He was still in the same spot, but he looked a little pained, like he might be ashamed to tell me about himself. It made my heart hurt to see him that way. I didn’t ever want him to feel ashamed to be who or what he was with me. I walked to the bottom of the ladder and dropped the bag of feed as his gaze flickered to me. “Never mind,” I told him, gently. “I’ve already decided that it doesn’t change things between us – me knowing. I still want to be with you.”

He was shocked by my words, judging by the way that his body jerked and his eyes widened. His lips parted, and a small sound came out but otherwise he said nothing. I smiled to show him that I understood and then walked back into the tack room. When I turned from the cubby after putting the bag away, I was met with intense hazel eyes. “You could be with me, not knowing anything about what I am?”

“I already am with you.”

“It’s about time.” He smiled quickly. “You made me work hard enough for you.”

His smile fell away and he grabbed me and began kissing me aggressively, almost like he was angry that I dared to make him feel that way. I answered his kiss with my own. I was frustrated. Frustrated that my love didn’t come through enough for him to be able to tell me about himself. But this wasn’t the way to show him. I grabbed his wrists and tugged, pulling his hands away from my face and placing them at my hips. Then I reached up and gently ran my fingers through his hair and gentled my lips upon his own. Just as I’d hoped, the kiss transformed into something softer, and it became more about giving rather than taking. Every beat of my heart screamed out my love. I wanted to tell him, so I pulled back and took a deep breath, but he spoke first.