Page 43 of Heaven Leigh’s Little Halloween

But that kiss they’d shared… that had been pure passion. It had set every nerve on fire. She’d felt it too. He knew she had. “You’re right. I’ll talk to her tonight and see what she thinks.”

Derek nodded. A smile flashed across his face, but he made it disappear when he poked his head back into the cafeteria to call Heaven out. She’d been standing right where they left her, studiously avoiding the stares aimed in her direction.

The Littles were looking at her like she was a hero. The people who had gotten a taste of raw sprout were frowning, and the rest of the room wore looks of confusion. Some of those were guests, and Heaven also hadn’t considered how her prank might affect them either.

“Heaven, out here please.” He stepped back and motioned for her to go past.

“You’re not going to cancel Halloween for the Littles who ate the fake sprouts are you? Because they really didn’t know. And I don’t think anyone would turn down cake if it was served to them.” She seemed anxious to make sure she hadn’t ruined the holiday for anyone.

Derek shook his head. “No, you’re right. Asking a Little to reject cake would be like asking a tiger to ignore a steak. You’re the only one being held responsible for your actions. Which means Halloween is canceled for you alone, and –”

“Actually, Derek… I have a better idea,” Angel said quickly. He pulled Derek aside and lowered his voice, reminding him that Heaven avoided Halloween usually, so that wouldn’t really be a punishment. The opposite however…

Derek thought about it. His eyes settled on her as he considered. “Well, it’s an unusual punishment. You’re sure it’s not a trigger for her? I’m not a fan of punishments that cause emotional trauma around here.”

“She said it’s not. We’ve talked about it, and she admitted it’s basically just a habit from childhood. I know being forbidden wouldn’t be a punishment for her, but having to participate might be… or it might help her get over her general dislike of Halloween. Either way I’d call that a win.”

“Well, I’ll leave that up to you then.” He pitched his voice louder so Heaven could hear. “Heaven, Angel will be dealing with your punishment for tonight’s events. Unless you have any objections to that I should know about?”

She shook her head quickly. “No, Sir. No objections.” Neither of them missed the way her eyes lit up.

“Good. I’ll leave you to it then. And Heaven… no more pranks, young lady.” There was iron in the words but the resigned sigh at the end made it clear he wasn’t holding out hope on that.

Chapter 16

When Derek left them there, Heaven immediately turned to the chocolatier. “Angel, I…”

“Don’t.”

Heaven’s stomach sank when he cut her off. His expression and tone were both cold. She’d never seen that from him before, not even when he’d punished her. She couldn’t help worrying that she’d ruined things between them.

He stared at her, shaking his head. “Come on, we’re going to my place to deal with this.” He jerked his chin to get her moving and she reluctantly obeyed.

He didn’t say anything else, and she was afraid to try, so the trip to his apartment was completely silent, except when he exchanged greetings with people they passed. By the time they were outside, she was blinking back tears and it was hard to see.

She stumbled on the path once and he caught her arm to steady her. She thought that was a positive sign, but as soon as she had caught her balance, he let go again.

Her nerves were shot when she followed him into his apartment and stood just inside the door while he turned on the lights. She had no idea what to expect and wasn’t even sure if she was allowed to speak, so she just waited there awkwardly.

“I’m too angry to punish you right now, so you’re going to do some thinking time, Heaven.” He pointed to an empty corner. “Nose to the wall. Hands on your head.”

She rolled her bottom lip under and fixed pleading eyes on him, but he just waited for her to obey. After a minute she trudged across the room. Corner time was awful, and she hated it just like every other Little.

Her arms started to ache after a few minutes had gone by, and she shifted, sighing loudly. How much time passed was a mystery, but it had been a while already when Angel pulled a chair over to sit behind her. She could feel the weight of his stare on her back, and she began to fidget.

“Do you know how hurt I was when I realized you’d lied to me about why you wanted the kitchen time, Heaven?”

The need to correct him forced the words out before she had time to consider them. “I didn’t lie, Angel! I said it was for a surprise and it was.”

“I’m adding ten to your punishment. I suggest you remember that it’s ‘Sir’ when you’re in trouble, unless you want to make this a lot worse.”

She winced. “Sorry, Sir. I just… I was really careful not to lie. Everything I said was true, but I guess I did lead you to believe I had a different kind of surprise in mind.”

There was a sound she couldn’t decipher, but the harshness of it probably meant it wasn’t good. “Maybe by the letter of the law you didn’t lie. But I’m pretty sure if you have to twist your words into pretzels to make me believe something that’s not true, then it still counts as concealing the truth. I trusted you and you broke my trust, Heaven. What am I supposed to do about that?”

“I-I’m sorry.” And she was sorry now. She hadn’t even considered how Angel might feel about her tricking him, or that he might be hurt over it.

“Are you?”

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