Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“Good. Because I’m going to set my equipment to record everything that happens all night. We’ll see if the spirits of Caroline and Beau make themselves known…and exactly how they do it.”
“Yes,” whispered a voice in her ear. “Yes, please—stay. Stay and let us use you.”
Sam felt another shiver of lust run down her spine. Was that the spirit of Caroline Abernathy murmuring in her ear?
If so, it seemed like they might be in for a wild night…
7
R’ORN
R’orn couldn’t believe he’d agreed to do this. After the crazy fucking incident where he’d somehow lost control of himself and bitten Samantha on the neck, he would have expected her to kick him out and demand a different Protector. Instead, she had challenged him to stay with her—to sleep in the same bed, even—to see if the spirits would use them!
Which was complete bullshit, of course—no spirit was going to use him because there was no such thing as spirits and ghosts, R’orn told himself firmly.
If that’s true, then who are the people you’ve been seeing in that damn spirit mirror? a little voice whispered in his head. And why did you suddenly feel so possessive of Samantha—why did you mark her neck?
He tried to push the question away. Maybe it was his Beast that had caused him to act like that. But though it had stirred when he bit her, the creature that lived inside him hadn’t wakened. So that seemed unlikely. Still, he needed to be careful because if he went too far with Samantha, then his Beast surely would wake and become extremely demanding and possessive. He—
“All right—I’m ready for bed. Now I just have to set up my equipment.”
R’orn looked up and had to bite back a curse.
Samantha was wearing a long, silky white gown with a lace top that was stretched tight over her full breasts. He swore he could even see the pink points of her nipples poking through the lace! She also had on a white silk and lace robe that matched the gown, but it was open, clearly showing her full, curvy body.
R’orn tried not to stare but he couldn’t quite help it. The gown clung to her wide, curvy hips and thick thighs in a way that made his mouth water. Goddess, why did she have to be such a tempting little Elite?
“Like what you see?” Samantha asked dryly and he realized he was looking at her the way a canine might look at a juicy bone.
“Er…are you going to be warm enough in that?” He cleared his throat. “You heard what the Innkeeper said—it gets cold here at night.”
“Well, between the fire and you in bed beside me, I think I’ll be all right.” Samantha winked at him. “The bathroom is free now—you can go get changed into your night clothes,” she added carelessly.
“Oh, I…” R’orn thought about claiming that he had no night clothes and that he intended to sleep in his regular clothing all night. But she had clearly seen him bring his carry-all cube with him, so she would know this was a lie. Or she might just tell him to go get his clothes out of his shuttle, and then he would have to leave her alone and unprotected.
Reluctantly, he decided he had no choice but to change. Rising from the bed, he grabbed the small, square carry-all cube and took it into the fresher. He took off his uniform trousers and boots and the black, sleeveless vest he usually wore instead of a uniform shirt. He was a free agent who happened to work as a Protector, so he didn’t have to be in uniform all the time, as other Kindred warriors were.
He usually slept in just a pair of long black sleep trousers, but he was reluctant to go out with a bare chest and back. That was because the tribal markings of his Wolven Clan would show, and Samantha might have questions about them—questions he would rather not answer. But after searching for a few moments, he realized he hadn’t brought a sleep shirt. So there was nothing for it but to go back to the “haunted” bedroom with nothing but his long black trousers on.
Samantha was busy setting up various pieces of equipment around the bed—including her phone, which was mounted on a motion-activated swivel stand which would twist and turn to catch any movement. But when she looked up at R’orn, she sucked in a breath and her hands dropped to her sides.
“Oh, uh…” she began and then seemed to forget what she was going to say.
“I’m ready for bed if you are,” R’orn growled, frowning fiercely at her—daring her to say anything about the dark, swirling tattoos that covered his chest and back.
She studied them for a long moment but only said,
“I didn’t know you had ink.”