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That gotoutside?" My voice rose to a shriek I stu him trip over my toes Was he crazy?

"I have to It&039;s the only way I can get around whatever spellsBut it&039;s okay, I&039;ht Next ti bag"

This did notin your yard?" Where anything could attack him in his sleep The nearby town of Palestine was notorious for both its dangerously aggressive wild hogs and its black-cat population in theit; any of those animals could easily stray into our area What if a crazed wild hog or a black cat found their way into the woods behind Tristan&039;s house so outside and decided to attack him?

And even if that didn&039;t happen, this was East Texas The insects would eat hi sick or hypotheruaranteed in the spring This went beyond nuts Did he have a death wish or soave my ponytail a quick yank "I&039;, I let hi hts drop down to light the New Year&039;s nu an inch at a tis he wasup to a really long list Why was he even dating ot an idea," he said "Why don&039;t you think of your New Year&039;s resolution while I change things around here?"

I round The sound of the crowd abruptly shut off, but I barely noticed Beneath our feet, the cement and asphalt turned to moss

"Okay, you can look now"

I looked up We were in the clearing of our usual woods, but where our picnic blanket nor a tree house The sa chill in my heart melted a bit "Oh, Tristan You remembered every detail of it"

"After you, my lady" He swept into a lo before the ladder, which was actually just boards nailed to the tree trunk

I clih the already open trapdoor then stood "Is it bigger now?" My head should be hitting the ceiling, but it was nowhere near it I felt like a little kid again

He took e it We&039;re a heck of a lot taller now"

I returned his s The vieas gorgeous fro out in every direction like an endless ocean of swaying, sighing pine trees

"It&039;s beautiful," I whispered

"But wait, there&039;sI juasp

"Fireworks," he said with a boyish grin

I laughed even as tears stung ood a boyfriend forme enjoy the pretend display in the sky for a few ured out your New Year&039;s resolution yet?" His voice was soft and even deeper than usual

"M to be the same as last year Try to be a better person" And then some

"Impossible You&039;re already perfect"

If he only knew "And you? What&039;s your resolution?"

"Hmm How about to be the perfect boyfriend for you?" He whispered the words against the sensitive skin belowa shiver ripple over me

"That&039;s sweet" But all the kisses in the world couldn&039;t distract ht we seeether, we could never truly be perfect for each other Not as long as the rules and the rest of the world said ere supposed to be off-liht I was a danger to hih question The true ansas both yes and no The more I ith him, the more I fell in love with hi to keep him a secret from my family and friends

Still, he wanted an answer, and of course he expected it to be a happy one "Why wouldn&039;t I be happy? I get to date the sweetest-"

"Hottest?" he suggested

I nodded "Hottest, funniest-"

"Smartest?" Eyebrows raised, he lifted his nose in the air, apparently trying to look like souy in our school," I finished with a laugh Growling, he bent his head down and nipped ood kisser?" The tip of his nose brushed a path overed whisper before he gave ht kiss We had to keep our kisses short and to a et distracted and lose the connection between our minds Too many of our shared dreaured this out

He pressed his forehead against mine and stared intoup the entire view beforebubbled up inside ht "Really?" I whispered, unable to stop a grin fro

"Yeah Really"

"I love you, too, Tristan" And in that lish language to say

He tugged the rubber band out ofmy wild curls free so he could bury his hands in the to keep it light, lettingover mine until the dream ended

I woke up but keptme from head to toe

If only we could stay asleep and in our dreaether for the rest of our lives, radually, maybe inevitably, the sensation of his kiss faded fro with hiht Until ere apart, when it all suddenly felt so wrong

I loved hile cell inside my body that did not adore hile inable

But he was in the Clann And worse, he was expected to become their future leader

And I was a half-breed outcast

And all the love in the world couldn&039;t change those two facts

Hot tears burned their way downthem away No one could see me in the predawn darkness of s, to ether openly? Could I talk to et hie their minds? Could Tristan talk to his parents and the other elders in the Clann,about hi my knees beneath the blanket Nanna had crocheted for ? The Clann and the va each other for centuries Their hate and fear of each other had begun long before even Nanna was born They hadn&039;t changed their e their minds just because Tristan and I had fallen in love, too?

I reht&039;s dreaether just to give us a perfect New Year&039;s Eve celebration The way he&039;d stared right into e if he knew the truth

What would he think if he kneas half va what he&039;d been told all his life about vaht to fear the for a chance to drink his blood and drain hiht start to see me that way, too

Maybe if I loved him a little less, I could take that chance and tell him the truth But I couldn&039;t I loved him too much to risk it I never wanted him to question even for a second why I ith him or how I felt about him

I just prayed that the adult descendants in the Clann kept their promise and never told him, either