Hunting Tess by Kathryn Summers (best novels to read in english .TXT) 📗

A rumble comes from his chest and I have the feeling he finds my fatigue amusing. “Orange.”

“Orange?”

“Yes,” he replies, leaning his head against my own which nearly has me stuttering against the rhythm. “There’s a split-second during sunrise, just when the sun peaks over the mountains, that the sky is on fire. I’ve never seen such a shade replicated by mankind.”

“That sounds nice. I, however, am a firm believer of sleep.”

The pressure around my waist tightens and our slow dance morphs into two people standing still. “Speaking of sleep,” he murmurs in my ear, “You’re about to fall over.”

“That’s one opinion.”

“In this case fact and opinion are the same. Come on, let’s go.”

My face feels like it is on fire when I step out of arms, feeling stupid. How I was so easily persuaded to dance with him is beyond me. I’ve danced with dozens of guys, many better than Parker. So why does this time feel so different? Oh yeah, because I like him.

It doesn’t take much tugging to pull me along before we’re standing in front of my door. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, letting the back of his fingers trail down my neck as he opens his mouth to say something.

Heat creeps along my neck where his fingers leave a blazing fire, quickly turning cold when his hand suddenly drops as hesitation flashes across his face. Stung by the rejection, I say a quick good night before going in and firmly closing the door behind me. I wait to hear footsteps walk away and after a couple of seconds I can breathe easier.

The man is infuriating. One minute he’s open and kind and the next he shuts down like frozen soft serve.

No longer sleepy and needing to forget the feeling of being in his arms, I flop onto my bed, kicking my legs in the air while browsing my computer for any information surrounding recent mysterious deaths in the area. If I can pin down where vampires have been, I may be able to detect a pattern as to where they will go. My phone rings breaking me from the search.

“I have some good news. Well, Ben does.”

Loud shuffling sounds over the phone and I pull it away from my ear while Eliza hands Ben her cell.

“We told Danny what’s going on and she has some things for you to pick up.”

“What kind of things?” I ask skeptically. Danny isn’t an arms dealer of any sort. A few years older than us, her mad tech skills, plus her special ability of forging documents, provided me a new identity. I can’t imagine what else I would need.

“You’ll just have to wait. But she’s working in Seattle as an executive assistant for some big company. She offered to fly it down to you, but I told her you would like a change of scenery.”

Ben made the right call. With the stress of graduation over a trip to the emerald city will be the closest thing I get to a vacation with three shifters breathing down my neck.

“I’ll send you her information to schedule a pick-up time. So, how are the wolves?”

After chatting on the phone well after Ben left for bed, I finally convince Eliza I’m tired and need my beauty sleep. With promises to call soon I hang up, already mentally planning my trip to Seattle.

***

Getting out of the Jeep, Parker grabs our duffle bags from the back as I adjust my shirt after the long ride. My knees ache from sitting cross-legged nearly the entire second day of our trip and I have a crick in my neck from avoiding the blinding sun.

When I brought up going to Seattle Leo volunteered to come with me but remembered he had an extension on an unfinished assignment for his Bio lab, so Parker offered to go in his stead. After spending the night in Boise, we figured it would be better to stay outside the noise of the city. Parker said he knew a cute little bed and breakfast to spend the night and like an idiot I believed him.

“Parker!” A woman cries from the front porch of a gorgeous ranch style home. Her red apron is dusted with flour, but her curly dark brown hair is a near replica of the asinine wolf going up to give her a hug. If I had known he was talking about staying at his parents I would have insisted on finding somewhere to sleep in the city.

He sets down our bags to give her a hug, leaving me to awkwardly trail up behind him.

“What have I done to deserve two visits from my sons in such a short time?” Rubbing his back in a way only mothers know how, she turns to me and before I can say a word she pulls me into a hug just as embracing.

Before leaving Ben’s house Marilyn gave me a similar hug and I struggled not to break down in tears. This time is much the same.

“You must be Tess. I’m Patricia. Come in, come in! You must be tired from a long day of travel.”

My heart leaps in my throat and I look at Parker. I’m supposed to be dead. That’s problematic if my secret isn’t such a secret.

“Relax,” he mouths behind his mother’s back.

The house is like nothing you would find in a sub development because nothing about this home is cookie cutter. Everything looks custom made and I absently wonder what Parker’s parents do for a living.

“Take the bags up to one of the guestrooms, yes your room is still available, and then come help me with dinner. Your father will be home soon. Tess, Parker will show you to your room and feel free to lie down for a bit before dinner.”

“Why does she get to relax?”

“Because she is a guest,” Parker’s mom says, swatting him playfully with a kitchen towel. “Now get moving. Those potatoes won’t peel themselves.”

Chuckling, Parker