The lion yawned, exposing his razor-sharp teeth, then rested his head on his giant paws. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought the mighty beast gave Michael a nod of approval.
“Should we…?” I asked in a shaking voice.
“It’s fine,” Michael assured me. “He likes to be called King of the Murder Kitties, but his name is actually Stanley. Take my hand and do exactly what I say and do.”
“Okay.”
He took my hand and held it about five feet away from the lion to let the beast catch my scent. It sniffed experimentally and, after a minute, lowered its head and closed its eyes. We moved closer a few steps and waited to see if Stanley would react, but he just inclined his head toward us.
“Wow,” I whispered again, even though my heart was beating wildly. “This is incredible.”
We stroked the lion’s mane, and he purred.
Michael grinned, then reached out to scratch behind the lion’s ears. “Stanley is a good one, but we should let him get back to his rest. He’s cranky in the mornings if he doesn’t get his beauty sleep.”
We walked back through the enclosure until we returned to the walkway. Michael sealed the cage behind us, then said goodnight to the magnificent animal, who responded with another yawn. My breathing finally calmed as we left the exhibit and walked back toward the main road.
Michael paused, grinning widely, and wrapped me in a tight hug. “Thank you for doing this with me.”
“This was amazing. I can’t believe you get to do this all the time.”
He chuckled. “It’s not always this much fun. Sick animals are grouchy and curse a lot. The meerkats have the worst language. I don’t know where they got it from.”
The exit we took didn’t lead us directly to his car. Instead, we ended up on the grounds of Balboa Park. It was quiet except for chirping birds and the occasional squirrel. I was practically dizzy from excitement.
“That was so cool!” I said with a breathless laugh.
Michael gave me a bashful look and stopped walking. “I’m glad you liked it. My work, my abilities with animals, they’re a part of who I am. Now you know all of me.”
My heart stuttered at the intensity in his gaze. I took a step back and slipped out of my sandals, having the sudden urge to feel the grass between my toes. “I can’t believe you get to spend all your time here. It’s heaven.”
Michael’s smile was gentle as he took me in his arms and held me close enough to feel his heart thundering in his chest. He pulled back just enough to meet my eyes, and, slowly, his mouth moved closer. When we were a breath away, he turned his head and laughed.
I backed up, confused. “What is it?”
He wiped the tears in his eye with one hand. “We have the most inconvenient audience of all time.”
I looked around. We were alone.
Michael pointed toward the bushes and the trees. “Birds. Rabbits. Squirrels. There’s a snake hiding not too far from here. They all have an opinion, and they’re all very loud right now.”
“Oh,” I said. “Does this happen to you often?”
“Having a moment ruined by animals?” he asked dryly. “No, not really. They must smell the other animals from the zoo on us and think we’re their friends. Let’s get out of here. I’m starved. You ready to get something to eat?”
“That sounds great.”
The drive to the restaurant was filled with tension, and I wondered what would have happened if the animals hadn’t made Michael laugh. Our dinner was filled with lively conversation as we ate our fill at a Chinese buffet. I was having so much fun, and I didn’t even realize how long we’d been out until a missed call from Halle caused me to check my phone.
Twelve forty-five.
I cringed, knowing the possibility of Luna summoning me was growing closer with every minute. The thought of my fae duties and returning to the Realm of Dreams made me anxious. Everything was so perfect, and I didn’t want to think about the Shadow Demon. Turning back to Michael, I said, “Thank you for taking me out tonight. I needed it, but we should probably be getting back.”
He nodded, though I sensed a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Right. I forgot you’re about to turn into a pumpkin.”
Michael paid the bill, and we drove back to my apartment in contented silence. When he parked the car, Michael took my hand and brought it to his lips.
“Sleep well, Butterfly Girl. I’ll see you again real soon.”
I smiled in a daze and nodded. “Goodnight.”
Somehow my feet managed to pull me from the car, and I went into my apartment. My hand still tingled from the sensation of Michael’s lips. The night was magical, and I didn’t want to sleep so I could relive it in my head. I changed into a camisole and a pair of cotton shorts and, before I could pull the covers up, my laptop buzzed with Halle’s avatar.
“Hi,” I said as soon as I answered. “I’m so sorry.”
“Hey, Hon,” my twin said, looking concerned. “Where were you? I tried calling twice.”
I took a deep breath and decided it was time to be honest with Halle. “I was out with Michael.”
Halle’s expression froze. “With whom?”
“Michael Godwin. We’ve been seeing each other for a couple of months now.”
“Oh my God, you are going out with him again, aren’t you? I can’t believe you’re dating him after what he did to you—”
“We were in high school,” I shot back, wishing I’d prepared for this conversation. “And he moved away to college. It wasn’t like he—”
“He broke your heart!”
I winced because he had. Though I was only sixteen at the time, I thought my world was going to end. The thought of not seeing Michael every day was hard enough but knowing that he was gone nearly broke me. Halle was there to hold my hand through the worst of it, sometimes crawling into bed with me as I sobbed into my pillow. She could feel what I felt, the heartbreak hit her nearly as hard.
“This is different, Halle. We live in the same area, and we’re both at jobs we’re not leaving anytime soon. Anyway, I don’t want to talk about that. I wanted to tell you about something else going on in the Dream Realm.”
She scoffed. “No, you don’t get to change the subject and gloss over this enormous bomb you just dropped on me. I can’t believe you’re dating Michael again. He’ll leave again, and you’ll be a messy puddle, and I’m too far away to take care of you!”
I bristled. “Our date was fantastic—thanks for asking. Being around Michael and talking to him every day makes me happy. I wish you could just support me in this.”
Halle hissed, her face growing redder by the second. “There’s no way I’ll ever say I’m happy about you dating someone who already broke your heart. Cass, I just want the best for you, and Michael is not it. He already proved that. Why won’t you believe me?”
Tears clouded my eyes. “Because I’m happy, Halle! Michael is one of the best things in my life. We have fun together, and he understands me better than just about anyone except you.”
“There are other fae guys out there,” she pointed out. “You don’t have to date him.”
Anger swelled in me, and I wanted to throw something. She wasn’t listening to a word I said. I wanted to tell her about something completely different that was upsetting me, and all Halle could focus on was my love life. No, I didn’t have to date him, but I wanted to hear his voice early in the morning and late at night. What I felt for him was significant and growing every day.
From the corner of my room, my flute began its lullaby.
“I don’t want to argue with you, but I’m done having this conversation. Goodnight, Halle.”
I disconnected the call and sat back on my bed, tears flowing down my cheeks. I went from being happier than I could ever remember to being completely miserable. And now I had to find my dreamer and hope the Shadow Demon didn’t come for me again.
To the Moon and Back
Chapter Eight
I tuck
ed a strand of wavy, blonde hair behind my ear as I approached Michael’s townhouse. We’d spent the last week texting back and forth, and, when I wasn’t physically with him, I was thinking about him. He was always in the back of my mind, and that became a source of comfort whenever I started feeling anxious. He was my happy place.
Halle’s angry dismissal of my feelings upset me more than I expected it to, and I needed to talk to Michael. I exhaled as I stepped onto the landing and knocked on the wooden door. It opened a few moments later and Michael greeted me with a smile.
“Hey! You got here early.”
He leaned in to kiss me on the cheek, and a collection of animals skittered in the background.
“Sorry about that. It’s hard to gauge with traffic.”
“Not a problem, I was looking forward to seeing you anyway. Come inside.”
Accepting his invitation, I stepped past him into the living room and asked, “Do you mind if I get some water?”
“Of course not,” he responded. “Let me get it for you.”
I followed him to the kitchen and set my purse down on the counter. He retrieved a cup from the shelf above the refrigerator. Peaches followed us onto the tile and stared up at me expectantly. I eyed him but didn’t comment until Michael handed me the drink. “What’s going on with the cat?”
Michael rolled his eyes. “Nothing, he’s just curious and stubborn,” he added with emphasis. “Get over it, Peaches.”
I raised an eyebrow in confusion and Michael sighed. “He’s pouting because you didn’t say ‘hi’ to him when you came in. I told you kind of a jerk. Peaches thinks the world revolves around him.”
“Oh…hi, Peaches,” I stuttered awkwardly. “Do you want to be petted?”
I reached out my hand to scratch his chin, and the cat hissed at me before slinking back into the living room.
“Whoa, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to offend his majesty. Next time I’ll be more careful.”
Michael laughed as we watched him leave and turned to me, saying, “I’m glad you’re here. There’s a lot I want to say.”
I smiled tensely. “Me too.”
He must have picked up on the anxiety in my tone because his smile faded. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just made the mistake of telling Halle we were talking again.”
“And?”
I sighed and told him, “She’s furious. We got into a huge fight and now I’m really upset.”
His brow furrowed. “Why does she even care? Halle doesn’t have anything to do with us.”
“She's just protective,” I assured him. “She remembers how upset I was last time.”
“You mean when we broke up?”
I nodded.
“Well, we’re not kids anymore, Cassandra. And you can’t keep letting your sister’s feelings dictate what happens in your love life.”
We stared at one another tensely for a moment before I spoke.
“I love her, Michael. Halle is the most important person in my life, and, whether it’s fair or not, I don’t want to do anything to hurt her. Her opinion matters.”
Michael nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe that’s why the idea of you and I together is scary for you. For a long time, Halle was your person; her opinion was the only one that mattered. If we got serious, then it would change things.”
My vision blurred as I glanced at him with tears stinging my eyes. “How can you know that?”
“Because I know you, and I know that you love with your whole heart. Halle knows that, too. Don’t let her fear become yours.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded as we walked over to the couches. Michael shooed the dog away, and it ambled to one of the back rooms, grumbling as it went. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for this to become a fight,” I told him sheepishly.
“I wouldn’t exactly call this a fight, but it is something we need to talk about.”
I groaned. “Can’t we just skip the whole talking part and go back to being friends?”
He glanced down at his hands, and said, “You and I have never just been friends. We’ve always been more than that.”
“Why are you pushing this?”
“Because I think being together is something we both want, and you haven’t given me an adequate reason not to try. I’m not going to sit here and try to convince you to go out with me, or wear you down until you give up—that’s not what I want. I want you to want this as much as I do, or be honest with me and we’ll go our separate ways.”
I swallowed hard. “I’m not trying to make excuses.”
He stared at me for a moment before responding. “Okay, good. Then why don’t you explain to me what your reservations are?”
“You dumped me,” I reminded him.
“I was eighteen and an idiot. I was going away to college and didn’t think we were cut out for a long-distance relationship.”
“I understand that, but it still hurt.”
“Why can’t you get past this? That was a long time ago.”
“Because I was in love with you!”
I froze the minute the words left my mouth, horrified I’d revealed too much.
Michael and I stared at one another, and a lopsided grin began to spread across his face. “You were in love with me?”
I nodded, my posture stiff as I tried to reassemble what was left of my pride. “Ridiculously and completely in love with you, and then you left.”
Michael’s smile widened, and he took my hand in his. “Well, I’m in love with you now, which leads me to believe the affection between us is mutual. The only question is, do you still love me?”
“Of course, I do, but I don’t want to just fall back into complacency because it’s easy and familiar.”
“We’re not in high school anymore. I hate that I hurt you, but you can’t assume I’m going to leave again. I’m in San Diego permanently, and even if I weren’t, I’d want to make things work because it would break me to walk away again.”
I blinked rapidly, unsure if I understood what he just said. I tried to get back on even ground. “I’m not the same person I was back then, and neither are you. We have to reintroduce ourselves to one another and make sure this is what we want.”
There was a long pause before he said anything. “You know what? I’m okay with that. You can take as much time as you need because I’m not going anywhere.”
He placed his hand against my cheek, and the warmth of his touch released a flood of emotion. I wanted to believe him; it was everything I hoped for. My body cried out for him, urged me to seize the moment and let him kiss me.
I knew how sweet it would be.
If we crossed that line, I knew there was no going back—not for me, at least. I was already half in love with him. Unconsciously, I wet my lips with my tongue, and his eyes flashed with what could only be lust.
Oh, please let this be happening.
Inch by inch, we leaned into one another, our eyes locked and breathing ragged. Michael pulled me toward him. His free hand grazed my side and slid down my waist. He caressed my hip and thigh with a possessive touch, and my breathing stuttered. A lock of hair fell into my eyes, and, with gentle fingers, he brushed it back, stroking the length of my neck. My heart beat wildly as he closed the distance between us. When our lips came together, something inside me settled. All the fear and worry building up to this moment had been for nothing. This kiss, like Michael, was perfect, sweet and gentle.
My eyes fluttered closed as he wrapped his arms around me. The scent of his skin driving me wild in the heat of passion. After a few minutes of this tender embrace, the tempo changed. Michael’s hands tightened on my waist, and his kiss became hungrier. I slid my hand up the nape of his neck and knotted my fingers in his hair, barely able to breathe from the lust he threw off. I melted into him and lost myself completely, relishing every second.
He laid me back against the couch and rested my head against the cushion, peppering kisses down my neck. His mouth followed the colla
r of my dress, and he nipped the top of my bare shoulders, his teeth grazing my skin. I gasped with pleasure, and he returned to me, brushing his lips against mine. Nothing mattered more at this moment than having him touch me, not what we were discussing earlier, my anxiety, or my self-doubt. I couldn’t think of anything but his lips against mine.
Eventually, we broke apart, panting as we tried to catch our breaths. We smiled at one another as Michael rested his forehead on mine, his arm still snug around my waist, one hand caressing my cheek. We were perfectly content to stay like that. He ran his fingers through my hair and kissed me softly one last time, saying, “Did I mention that I’ve missed you?”
I let out a small laugh. “You may have mentioned it once or twice.”
Michael opened his mouth to speak when suddenly his eyes flickered to my arm. “What is that?”
In the heat of the moment, my cardigan had fallen off my shoulder, exposing the red fingerprints of the Shadow Demon. I realized my mistake and quickly covered it up again, but heat spread across my chest and neck in a splotchy blush. “It’s an accident from the other night.”
He stopped me with a gentle but firm motion and tugged the sleeve down again to examine mark further. Concern replaced his surprise as he got a closer look and Michael glanced up warily. “You call that an accident?”
I swallowed hard and repositioned myself on the couch so we were a safe distance apart. “One of the creatures in the Realm of Dreams didn’t want me to leave.”
“You’re not kidding. I don’t like that, Cassandra. I don’t like it at all.”
I shrugged with a nonchalance I didn’t feel and hoped he bought my act. “I’m not too much a fan of it myself, but I don’t have a choice.”
“Of course, you have a choice! Helping dreamers find their peace is one thing, but putting your life in danger is another.”
“We don’t know that my life is on the line,” I countered quickly.
“Cass, come on…”
“Okay, I admit it looks bad,” I said, tugging my cardigan back into place, “but there’s nothing I can do about it. The Fae Realm needs Dust of Dreamers to maintain the veil between our worlds. If I stop collecting it, the illusion will shatter and open a whole series of problems.”
Chasing Starlight: Cassandra's Story (The Daughters of Night Chronicles) Page 9