Tempted

turn in the hallway. There was a nice picture window with an alcove in front of it, complete with a cushy bench that looked perfect for reading. On the windowsill there was a beautiful porcelain statue of Mary with several votives burning on either side of her. Heath and I slowed down, pausing by the window.
    “That’s really pretty,” I said softly.
    “Yeah, I’ve never paid Mary much attention. But all these statues of her lit up by candles are cool looking. Do you think the nun’s right? Could Mary be Nyx and Nyx be Mary?”
    “I have no idea.”
    “Doesn’t Nyx talk to you?”
    “Yeah, sometimes, but the subject of Jesus’ mom hasn’t come up,” I said.
    “Well, I think you should ask her next time.”
    “Maybe I will,” I said.
    We just stood there, holding hands and watching the way the warm yellow flames danced off the gleaming statue. I was thinking about how nice it would be if my Goddess would visit me during a time that wasn’t filled with life-and-death stress when Heath blurted, “So I hear that Stark swore himself into your service as a Warrior.”
    I studied him carefully, looking for signs that he was pissed or jealous, but all I saw in his blue eyes was curiosity.
    “Yeah, he did.”
    “Word is that’s a majorly special bond.”
    “Yeah, it is,” I said.
    “He’s the guy who can’t miss with an arrow, right?”
    “Right.”
    “So having him on your side is kinda like being protected by the Terminator?”
    That made me smile. “Well, he’s not as big as Arnold, but I guess it’s a pretty good comparison.”
    “Does he love you, too?”
    His question caught me off guard, and I didn’t know what to say. As he’d been doing since we were in grade school, Heath seemed to know the exact right thing to say. “Just tell me the truth, that’s all.”
    “Yeah, I think he loves me.”
    “And you him?”
    “Maybe,” I said reluctantly. “But it doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
    “But what does that mean for you and me today?”
    It was weird that his words echoed Aphrodite’s question about where the A-ya memory left Kalona and me. I felt overwhelmed because I didn’t have an answer for either of them; I rubbed at the headache that was starting to pound through my right temple. “I guess it leaves us Imprinted and annoyed.”
    Heath didn’t say anything. He just watched me with that sweet, sad, familiar look that said more about how badly I was hurting him than a dozen screaming matches between us would have.
    He was breaking my heart.
    “Heath, I’m so sorry. I just . . . I just . . .” My voice broke and Itried again. “I just don’t know what to do about a lot of things right now.”
    “I do.” Heath sat down on the bench and held out his arms to me. “Zo, come here.”
    I shook my head. “Heath, I can’t—”
    “I’m not asking anything from you,” he interrupted firmly. “I’m giving you something. Come here.”
    When I just looked at him in confusion he sighed, reached up, took my hands, and gently drew my stiff but unresisting body to his lap and into his arms. He held me, resting his cheek on top of my head, like he’d been doing since he’d gotten bigger than me somewhere around the eighth grade. My face was pressed against the crook of his neck and I inhaled his scent. It was the fragrance of my childhood—of long summer nights sitting in the backyard by the mosquito zapper while we listened to music and talked—of after-game parties where I stayed snug within his arm as lots of girls (and guys for that matter) gushed about the great passes he’d thrown—of long good-night kisses and the passion that came with discovering love.
    And I realized suddenly that while I’d been breathing in familiarity and security, I’d also been relaxing. With a sigh, I curled into him.
    “Better?” Heath murmured.
    “Better,” I said. “Heath, I really don’t know—”
    “Don’t!” His arms tightened around me and then gentled again. “Right now don’t worry about me or Erik or that new guy. Right now just remember
us.
Remember what it’s been like between us for years. I’m here for you, Zo. Through all the crap that I can’t really understand, I’m here. And we belong to each other. My blood says so.”
    “Why?” I asked, still cradled in his arms. “Why are you still here, still willing to be with me even when you know about Erik and Stark?”
    “Because I love you,” he said simply. “I’ve loved you for as long as I