Free MIDNIGHT DIVINE (The Helio Trilogy Book 1) by Valerie Roeseler Page B

place. It’s beyond… too much. I'm at a loss for words. I
come back inside, close the balcony behind me, and shut off the lights. Feeling
exhaustion clouding my mind, I cross over to the bed and slip between the
softest sheets I've ever slept in.
    I lie in the dark for what
seems to be hours, tossing and turning to get comfortable, but I can’t shut my
mind off. I'm in a foreign place I don’t belong, and my nerves are getting the
best of me. Flashes of my nightmares keep me from complete relaxation as I
never know when ‘ the darkness ’ will enter my
dreams. I sit up and turn on a table lamp beside the bed. I pull the covers
back and tiptoe to the door of my new room. Turning the knob without a sound, I
peek into the hall. It's dark and barren. I close the door behind me. A whisper
of air breathes between the wooden door and the frame, sealing in graceful
gentleness. I tiptoe across the hall to Jack’s door and sneak inside trying not
to wake him.
    His room is dark, but I can
see it has the same layout as the one he placed me in. I start to tiptoe toward
his bed and freeze as he begins to stir. I hold my breath as he props himself
on his elbows. He doesn’t have a shirt on, and his impeccable torso peeks out
from the sheets. “Ivy?”
    “Hey,” I whisper.
    His tone is gruff from
sleep. “You ok?”
    “I couldn’t sleep.” Jack
doesn’t respond and waits for me to continue. “Can I stay in here with you?” I
think I may be able to sleep better if he's close to me. I need something
familiar, and Jack has a calming effect on me.
    “Sure. Climb in,” He pulls
the covers back for me to slide in beside him. Awkward at first, he places his
arm behind me, waiting for me to lay down. “Come on. I don’t bite.” He grins at
me, and I smile back, lying into the crevasse between his arm and his bare
chest before I wrap an arm around his waist, settling in. The butterflies in my
stomach swarm in a frenzy. His body's warm and makes me feel safe, but I can’t
close my eyes, scared of the things that go bump in the night within my dreams.
Jack brushes his fingertips up and down my arm—their faint warmth soothes the
tense muscles in my body and turn them to liquid—until I fall asleep in the
comfort of his closeness.
    I awake the next morning,
reaching out to Jack’s side of the bed to notice it's coldness. I sit up to
look for a clock and find one above Jack's fireplace reading ten-fifteen. I
guess I got a few hours of sleep. I don’t know where Jack’ s run off to, but I need a shower. I go back to my room
and amble over to the far side to enter the extravagant bathroom.
    Tiptoeing across the cold
tile floor to the shower, I pull the lever from the wall and turn it to adjust
the heat of the water. It's unlike any shower I’ ve used before. The
spouts streaming from the ceiling are a torrential downpour. I strip my clothes
off, letting them drop to the floor and step into the water, reveling in the
feel of the steam from the emulated rain water. I wet my hair and attempt to
wake up. When I'm finished, I wrap myself in a fluffy towel and brush my teeth.
    I leave the bathroom and
observe the open French doors to the balcony. I trail outside to find a plate
of blueberry waffles, syrup, strawberries, a glass of orange juice, and a cup
of coffee . Did Jack make this for me? Wow. Is it weird I feel like Pretty Woman right now? I get
dressed and return to the balcony to enjoy my breakfast. When I finish eating,
I grab a sheet of paper from my backpack and write a note to Jack to leave
outside his bedroom door.
    Jack,
    Thank you for breakfast. I
had to go to practice, but I’ll text you when I’m on my way back to get the
code for the gate. I look forward to the tour you promised me. -Ivy
    It takes some navigating to
find the front door, but I never run into Jack. I drive with caution to the
front gates. The land around the estate seems to go on forever, and the open
fields have two beautiful horses grazing in the