Haven 2: Faith Trust and Stardust Read online

  Haven 2

  Faith, Trust, and Stardust

  Kendall Orion thought he’d found his pale knight in the gorgeous vampire Enforcer, Cassius Reynard. Like his friends, Kendall has a secret, though. He’s kept part of himself locked away for over a hundred years, and if it means keeping Cassius in his life, he’ll find a way to banish it forever.

  Cassius is starting to get whiplash from Kendall’s ever changing moods, and he knows the little man is hiding something from him.

  When their miscommunication pushes Kendall to the unthinkable, Cassius is done with the mystery and surprises. Discovering the truth, however, only creates an entirely new list of worries and concerns.

  While Kendall and Cassius work through their relationship issues, Haven is threatened when an unknown force penetrates their walls. Capturing one enemy leads them down a path that no one wants to travel and finds Cassius several states away—just when Kendall needs him the most.

  Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves

  Length: 38,506 words

  FAITH, TRUST, AND STARDUST

  Haven 2

  Gabrielle Evans

  EVERLASTING CLASSIC

  MANLOVE

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Everlasting Classic ManLove FAITH, TRUST, AND STARDUST

  Copyright © 2011 by Gabrielle Evans

  E-book ISBN: 1-61926-002-6

  First E-book Publication: October 2011

  Cover design by Jinger Heaston

  All art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  Dear Readers,

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  FAITH, TRUST, AND

  STARDUST

  Haven 2

  GABRIELLE EVANS

  Copyright © 2011

  Chapter One

  “Cassius!” Kendall’s heart pounded so hard he could barely hear his own voice as he sprinted behind Jory to the battle near the gate.

  They’d rounded up everyone they could find who was willing to fight.

  He was a little surprised at how many people had risen to the challenge.

  There were shape-shifters of all species, vampires, demons, and Jory had even convinced the werewolves living at the coven to support their plight.

  Jory’s bloodcurdling scream jerked him out of his thoughts, and he looked up just in time to see Jory’s mate, Stavion, go down and three enemy werewolves begin biting and clawing at him. His heart broke for his best friend, it really did, but he was desperate to find his own mate.

  Incorporating the four D s—dipping, ducking, diving, and dodging—Kendall made his way through flying bodies, snapping teeth, and razor-sharp claws. He screamed his mate’s name over the cacophony of noise. Still, he couldn’t find him.

  A massive furry arm came out of nowhere, wrapping around his waist and snatching him off his feet. Kendall didn’t have time for this shit. Steeling himself against the pain he knew would come, he threw his head back, connecting a solid head-butt to the asshole’s face.

  Fuck, that hurt!

  The werewolf must have thought so as well, because he dropped Kendall to the ground as he grabbed at his face and howled in pain.

  Kendall wasn’t really paying attention, though. He’d finally found the man he’d been searching for.

  Cassius was magnificent. Kendall had never seen anyone move so swiftly or with such fluidity. Spinning, arching, and contorting his body, one movement flowed into another in a deadly dance as Cassius battled against two of the invading werewolves. His raven hair whipped around his face, blowing out behind him when the wind picked up. The moonlight glimmered over the blade of his dagger as he sliced through the air.

  It was beautiful and terrifying all at once.

  One of the werewolves Raven was fighting broke away and launched himself at Cassius’s back. Before Kendall could even call out a warning, Cassius dropped to one knee, spinning in a tight circle and kicking his other foot out to knock his attacker to the ground. It all happened so quickly that Kendall was still trying to force words through the constriction in his throat by the time it was all over.

  Some of their enemies were sprawled unconscious on the ground.

  Some were on their knees with their heads bent. None of them were fighting back any longer, though. Rising gracefully to his feet, Cassius sheathed his dagger and dusted his hands on his pants. The act was so casual he could have been doing nothing more than trimming the hedges.

  Kendall didn’t stop to think about it. He took off at a run, leaping over falling bodies as he sprinted toward his mate. Cassius must have heard him coming because he turned just as Kendall jumped and caught him in his arms.

  “You could have been hurt!” Cassius’s hands roamed over Kendall’s face and down his arm, obviously checking for signs of injury. “What are you doing here?”

  Kendall smiled as he looked into Cassius’s deep blue eyes.

  “Saving your ass.” Then he leaned in and pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss. With Cassius covered in blood, and a crowd of people gathered around them, it wasn’t the most romantic first kiss.

  Apparently, Cassius was of the same mind, because he grabbed the back of Kendall’s neck and jerked him closer when he tried to move away. “I think we can do better than that.” Then his mouth was on Kendall’s, rough and demanding, needy and passionate. His tongue didn’t coax but forced Kendall’s lips apart before thrusting inside his mouth and exploring every inch of it.

  Kendall clutched at his mate’s shoulders, holding on for dear life when the kiss went deeper still and his head began to spin from lack of oxygen. It was so damn good, he didn’t even think about pulling away. Who really needed to breathe anyway?

  Despite their current location, his dick swelled inside his jeans, hardening to the point of pain as he rocked against Cassius’s midsection, desperately seeking that sweet friction he needed.

  “Easy,” Cassius panted as he pulled away from Kendall’s mouth and trailed kisses along his jawline. “Now is not the time or the place.”

  Kendall whimpered in protest. Here and now seemed like an excellent idea to him. They’d been dancing around each other for almost six months—each afraid to do anything to make the other uncomfortable. Now that they’d finally taken the next step—or dove into the deep end without floaties—Kendall wanted more, and he wanted it right fucking now.

  Cassius nose skimmed up the side of Kendall’s throat, pulling a full-body shiver from him. “God, you smell so good.” Reason returned, and it was like being submerged in a pool of shark-infested ice water. Every reason he couldn’t be with Cassius came crashing down on him, smothering him until he couldn’t breathe.

  When Cassius’s hand moved over his lower back and started an upward trek along his spine, Kendall started to squirm as panic settled in. “No, no, you’re right. We can’t do this here.” He looked around frantically, searching for a distraction. “Stavion! Stavion needs your help.”
It wasn’t a lie. The man’s eyes were open, but he looked in bad shape.

  Cassius sighed as he set Kendall on his feet. “We’ll talk later.” Later was good. Later would give him time to think. Later could wait forever.

  * * * *

  “Just tell him that you’re a—”

  “Shut up!” Kendall flapped his arms, darting his eyes about the room like someone was going to jump out from behind a painting and scream “Gotcha!”

  Jory just rolled his eyes and snorted. “You’re being ridiculous. I mean, you’re going to have to tell him at some point.” Kendall crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. No, he wouldn’t. Even if that meant he couldn’t claim Cassius as his mate, he couldn’t tell anyone. Only Jory, Galen, and Aslan knew his secret, and he fully intended to keep it that way. “He won’t want me if he finds out what I am.”

  “Why are you ashamed of what you are?”

  “You’re a freakin’ demon, Jory!” Of course the guy wouldn’t understand. So few people did.

  “Uh, yes? And you’re a—”

  “Would you put a sock in it?” Kendall hurried over to the door, cracked it open, and peeked out into the hallway. Luckily, the corridor was empty. He couldn’t risk someone overhearing them. He was happy for the first time in his life. No one was going to mess that up for him—not even his best friend.

  So what if he hadn’t told his mate what classification of paranormal he was? It also wasn’t a big deal that he’d barely spoken to the man in days because he was scared to death that Cassius would figure it out. As long as Cassius didn’t know, Kendall could go right on pretending that everything was great and the Enforcer wanted him.

  Just as he was about to close the door, the vampire in question turned the corner, coming straight for his room. “Oh, crap.” Kendall pushed the door shut, spun around, and started shoving Jory toward the door connecting his room to Jory’s old room. It was vacant now that Jory had moved into his mate’s suite, so it was perfect. “Go, go, go!”

  “Kendall, what the hell? Stop pushing me.”

  “Cassius is coming. You know I love you, but get the hell out!”

  “I’m going. Lighten up, man. You know you’re going to have to tell him event—oomph!”

  Kendall gave Jory a hard push through the doorway, slammed it shut, and turned the lock just as a rhythmic knock sounded at his door.

  He’d known it was coming, but that didn’t stop him from yelping or jumping a mile in the air.

  Hurrying across the room, he paused with his hand on the knob, took a deep breath, and plastered a smile on his face. “Hello, Cassius.”

  Cassius frowned, which couldn’t be a good sign. “Who were you talking to just now?”

  “Uh, Jory.” When in doubt, tell the truth.

  “So, where is he?” Cassius stepped into the room, lifted his face, and began sniffing at the air.

  “I, well that is, um…” Stop sniffing! Kendall backed away from the vampire, skirted around the armchair, and kept going until his back touched the wall.

  “It always smells so sweet in here.”

  “Yeah, it’s the…candles!” Kendall practically shouted the last word. “I love candles.” Okay, so he had two in his room, and they were your basic vanilla, but it was as good of an excuse as any.

  “No, that’s not it. I can smell the candles. This is different.” Cassius kept sniffing as he walked closer to Kendall. “It’s like cinnamon apple pie and fresh cream. It’s delicious. It’s your scent.” Kendall swallowed hard. Okay, it was more of a strangled gulp with a little choking, but he really couldn’t be blamed for it. What the hell did Cassius think he was doing saying stuff like that to him? It was enough to set any red-blooded male on fire. Well, one with a particular affinity for genitalia that was outty instead of inny.

  Kendall shuddered at the thought. Now he was just grossing himself out. He’d never understand straight men. Just like he’d never understand the fascination with female parts. The ones down low were too soft and messy. And boobs were just kind of like big chest tumors. How anyone could find a four-pound tumor attractive—even if you slapped a nipple on it—he’d never know.

  While he’d been lost inside his own head, Cassius had been slowly making his way across the room. He was only a few steps from Kendall now, and Kendall had backed himself into a corner—literally.

  “Oh!” he said more loudly than necessary. “Will you look at the time? It must be nearly sunrise. You should probably skedaddle on back to your room now.”

  Cassius cocked his head to the side and grinned. “I make you nervous.”

  Oh, if the guy only knew the half of it. “You don’t have to look so pleased about that.”

  “Why do I make you so jumpy, Kendall?” Uh-oh. Cassius’s voice was low and husky, dripping with a feral quality that left Kendall panting and shivering. His dick perked up at the sound, tapping at his zipper and begging to come out and play.

  Following his instincts, he acted on the first thing that came to mind.

  He stretched his arms over his head and gave an exaggerated yawn. “Well, I guess I better get in bed now. It was nice seeing you. Maybe we can do this again sometime.”

  “How long are you going to avoid me?” Cassius wasn’t smiling anymore. He had his arms crossed over his chest, and the corners of his lips turned down in a scowl.

  “Scowl. That’s kind of a funny word, don’t you think?” Kendall beamed brightly as he tried to edge around the Enforcer. “It sounds like the kind of face you should make when you’re in pain.” He managed to slip past Cassius, and then hurried to the other side of the room.

  Cassius looked so bewildered it was kind of funny. “Kendall, as usual, I have no idea what you’re talking about. You’ve been avoiding me ever since that kiss.”

  “Well, excuse me for having a low tolerance for bullshit.” Cassius shook his head and sighed. “I want to have just one conversation with you that doesn’t require GPS to navigate. I’m not asking for the world—just one normal conversation. We used to talk. Remember that?”

  “I remember,” Kendall answered quietly. He could feel himself wanting to babble again, but he quelled the urge. Cassius had been so good to him after he’d been rescued from beneath that cabin. For months they’d spent hours on end talking about anything and nothing.

  Sometimes, they’d just sat in the same room and not said a word.

  “So, what changed? Did I move too fast? I thought you wanted that kiss as much as I did. Just tell me what to do, Kendall.” Anger, Kendall could have stood strong against. The quiet pleading in Cassius’s voice was more than he could take, though. “I don’t want—”

  “And what about what I want? Or does that not matter?”

  “There are things you don’t know about me.”

  “Then tell me!” Cassius spun away from him and threw his hands in the air. “Let me decide if it’s too much or not.”

  “I can’t do that.” Kendall slid down the wall and pulled his knees to his chest. “It’s better if you don’t know.”

  Cassius stared at him for a long time before nodding curtly and walking to the door. “I’ll see you around, Kendall.” As he watched his mate walk out of his room, Kendall tried to remind himself that the pain he felt at that moment was nothing to what he’d feel if Cassius discovered the truth.

  He tried, but he wasn’t very successful.

  * * * *

  Pacing some random corridor, Cassius waved his hands around wildly as he grumbled under his breath. What had changed? He’d wracked his brain, going over every conversation he’d had with Kendall. Nothing stood out. There was no pivotal piece of information that would cause Kendall to go from sweet and shy to a completely neurotic nutcase overnight.

  It had happened just that fast, too. For the first couple of weeks after Kendall came to live at the estate, Cassius had treated the little guy with a great deal of caution, doing his best to make Kendall feel safe while coaxing him into conversation. The next few months had been great. Once Kendall acknowledged Cassius’s status as his mate, they’d set about getting to know one another.