His combination of strength and softness was devastatingly addictive.
“Me neither,” I gasped breathlessly as he slid his lips up my neck.
Clapping and cheering erupted from the group of girls who were sitting on the lawn.
“That’s what I’m looking for right there! That look in a man’s eyes,” she yelled and all of her friends started laughing. “Don’t let him go.”
“I never would,” I hollered back, unable to hide my grin.
His eyes held a brightness that I had never seen before, and it created a desire between us that I couldn’t wait to explore.
“I better take you inside before anyone else tries to claim you,” I teased.
“I’m already taken,” he whispered, sliding his arm around my shoulder as we walked up the steps to the dorm. I glanced over at the group of girls and the one who spoke gave me a wink and my smile only grew.
He let go of me and opened the door to the lobby.
“I have an entire punch card of meals to use up before fall quarter starts. Are you hungry?” I joked.
“Only for you,” he growled.
“I had no idea you were this smooth back in Alaska,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you’re a player.”
“You just bring it out of me,” he said, throwing his hands in the air innocently. “It probably only works on you.”
“Who said it’s working?” I grinned, pressing the elevator button.
“Just a hunch,” he said, sliding his arms around my waist, nestling his chin into the crook of my neck.
The elevator opened up, and we both stepped in and as I pressed floor three a guy stepped in the elevator. Darn! I liked where this elevator ride had been going.
“Liam,” the guy said. “Good to see ya, man.”
My eyes darted to Liam who looked severely uncomfortable as he glanced at the hitchhiker and then over at me.
“Don’t act like you don’t remember me,” he joked, smiling.
“Nah, Nathan. I remember you,” Liam said, his expression completely void of anything we had been experiencing only minutes earlier. “How’ve you been?”
“Better than you it sounds like,” Nathan replied, glancing over at me.
“This is my girlfriend,” Liam said, and the introduction suddenly nullified everything else that was going on in the elevator between these two. Liam called me his girlfriend. Attempting to play it a little cool, I just nodded at Nathan and wrapped my arm around Liam’s again and waited for the elevator to let us out on our floor, which it did within seconds.
“Nice to see ya, man,” Nathan said. “Hope to see ya around.”
“Yeah See ya,” Liam said, almost pulling me off the elevator.
“Girlfriend, huh?” I asked, as we walked to my room.
“I kind of assumed,” he said, suddenly sheepish.
“I love it,” I said, unlocking the door to my room. “Who was that guy? There seemed to be a creepy vibe?”
“Just a dude who was down the hall at the dorm from last year,” he said, dismissing the weirdness, but I knew there was more.
I pushed the door open to reveal our tiny dorm room. My bed was directly in front of us, with a small chest of drawers and shelves that I had hung with double-sided tape that I secretly hoped wouldn’t come tumbling down on me in the middle of the night. The label promised it wouldn’t, but it just didn’t compute.
“This is exactly how I imagined you,” Liam said, smiling as he closed the door behind us. “It’s perfectly fitting.”
“What does that mean?” I said, folding my arms suddenly taking stock in everything I had placed around the tiny space. It looked pretty nondescript to me.
“Your desk is completely organized and rather than makeup in every spare corner, you have books. Your bedspread is completely bright and cheery, and you’ve got a teddy bear sticking out of a backpack that I think you probably tried to hide,” he said, grinning widely.
“Whatever. I’m proud of Henry,” I said, snatching him out of the bag I tried to hide him in and tossed him on the bed.
As I turned from my expert bear toss, Liam cupped my chin gently and brought his mouth over to mine. Our open mouths became one as he slid his lips across mine. My desire for him grew more and more frantic with every deepened kiss as the gentle rhythm of his mouth pressing on mine took me to another world.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, as his lips traveled along my jaw toward my neck.
I bent my head back, directing his lips down my throat as I felt the lushness of his lips against my skin. My breathing became more ragged as he continued placing kisses along my collarbone, before scooping me in his arms.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“For what?” he asked hoarsely.
“Still wanting to see me,” I replied.
His hands dropped to his side, and he took a step back from me.
“Why wouldn’t I?” he asked, bewildered.
“Because of everything back—”
“Don’t ever say that. I love you, Emma. I have since the island.”
My world began spinning and my knees began to weaken before Liam swept me to the bed with him, hugging me tightly.
“I love you too,” I whispered.
He continued to hold me, and I could feel his heartbeat racing with the same desire I was experiencing.
“I feel closer to you than I have to anyone, but I feel like there’s still so much I need to know about you,” I said quietly, turning to face him as I propped my head on my elbow. “You mentioned you may never go back to where you grew up when we were back on the island and you never said anymore.”
He was quiet and looked away.
“I don’t want anything to ruin what we might have,” he said quietly.
“Babe, with everything we’ve already been through, I don’t think a little past baggage will be what messes with us,” I offered. “You know more about me than anyone and I’d like to be able to say the same. Steph mentioned that you didn’t always have it easy, but she wouldn’t elaborate. She told me it was something you needed to tell me, not her. So I’ve waited and still don’t know anything.”
“I’ll tell you everything. I promise,” he murmured, his lips grazing my ear. “Just not now.”
He slowly turned me on my back, leaning over me. “But I promise, I’ll tell you about my family and everything else…” his voice broke off as he pressed his forehead against mine. “It’s just not every day that you can beg a roommate to disappear,” he teased.
My lips began quivering with desire as he hovered his mouth over mine and everything was quickly forgotten as his lips found mine, introducing me to a world that I’d never experienced before and never wanted to end.
Epilogue
Caleb, Dave, Brady, Paul, Vince and Fulton were all found alive. The Coast Guard located them within twenty-four hours of picking us up. During the police investigation, we learned that some of the bodies had been recovered and some were still missing. Mark was the last fatality on the island and the only one that was an accident. Chelsea was still heavily sedated and couldn’t remember what exactly had happened, but Kroy being overly pompous, left a journal where he detailed every action. Tom, the guy who attacked Chelsea, was an old college friend of Kroy’s and was paid a hefty sum to participate. And Kroy, well they found parts of him right where we told the Coast Guard we’d left him, but the bears got to him first.
The best news was that my mother accidentally confessed and was charged as an accomplice for the murder of eight people. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy about it. People tend to think they’re far more clever when they’re drunk and being that was her favorite state, she sealed her fate.
THEEND
Excerpt from
Lonely Souls (Witch Avenue Series #1)
Chapter 1
“Mom!” I hollered more for my benefit than hers.
I wasn’t in earshot yet, but I lo
ved the way my voice carried into the wind off the sea. The constant sloshing of the waves guided me to the rocky beach where my mom was collecting her thoughts and anything else that might catch her fancy. It was a pleasant night with only the moon’s warm glow lighting my way on the very uneven path that weaved through the overgrown blackberries and tall beach grass. Doing my best to dodge the prick of the thorns, I carefully managed to stay on the trail. I didn’t need to be all scarred up for my upcoming celebrations.
This little stretch of beach was hard to get to and rarely frequented by anyone, which was why we loved it. The beach wasn’t what most people pictured when they thought of a beach. The beaches along Washington’s coast, more often than not, had tiny rocks and pebbles in place of sand and many boulders and downed logs that made for awfully fine seating, not places to spread out on a beach towel and soak up the rays.
The makeshift trail finally ended, allowing me to spot my mom’s pile of things. I hoped she was ready to leave. It was getting a little chilly, and I hadn’t prepared to be here long. We had a crockpot full of chili waiting for us both, but she wanted me to meet her here at our special spot, so she could tell me something. I had no idea what it was that she wanted to tell me, but since so much was going on in my life right now it could be about anything. I just graduated from high school. My eighteenth birthday was almost here. Our huge summer solstice celebration, Litha was fast approaching, along with the big event, my acceptance into the Witch Avenue Coven on the same day.
“Mom?” I yelled, as I trudged my way over to her bag, looking around the empty beach.
Only the crashing of waves answered.
I didn’t see her anywhere.
“Mom?” I tried again, batting down the worry that wanted to make its way into my consciousness.
Realizing my voice was no match for the roar of the waves, I started walking toward one of the larger boulders, in case she was sitting where I just couldn’t see her. The pebbles were loose, creating an extra treacherous journey since I was only in flip-flops. Poor planning on my part, but I didn’t think that I’d have to hunt her down. She could be sidetracked so easily.
Finally making it to the mammoth piece of black rock, I became annoyed when I saw she wasn’t there. I wasn’t in any way prepared to be marching up and down the beach looking for her. I grabbed my cellphone out of my pocket and dialed her number as I went back toward her pile of things to sit. Maybe I should stay put, and she’d return soon enough. As the phone rang on my end, I got closer to my mom’s pile and heard her bag ringing. Darn! She didn’t take it with her—odd. That was always a rule of hers when hiking or at the beach. We carried our phones with us at all times.
I squatted down to see what she brought with her, hoping an item might lead me in the right direction to find her. If she were gathering plants, then I’d know better where to go. I opened up her bag and panic set in immediately. The shirt she was wearing when she left our house was stuffed in her bag, wrapped around the shoes she was wearing. This made no sense. Her wallet and jewelry were in this bag. She wouldn’t just leave all this stuff for a stranger to steal. Something was wrong. Jumping up, the insides of the bag dispersed onto the beach, but I didn’t care.
“Mom!” I screamed, kicking off my flip-flops so that I could run up the hill closest to me.
Reaching the top of the hill, I scanned the grassy area quickly seeing nothing. Spinning around, I looked back toward the rocky beach. From this vantage point, I was able to see everything and nothing. My heart started pounding as I began dialing 9-1-1.
“911, what is your emergency?” The operator answered.
“My mom. She’s missing,” I cried into the phone, dread spreading everywhere.
“Calm down, ma’am. Where are you located?”
Calm down? I’m not hyper, just scared!
“I’m at the beach just off of Snoqualmie Avenue, down the trail,” I replied
“Is your mother in the water? How long has she been missing?”
“I don’t know!” I screamed into the phone. “Please just send help.”
Okay, now I’m panicking! I can’t calm down. My mom isn’t where she’s supposed to be.
“Ma’am, help is on the way. What is your name?”
“Triss,” I replied, as I ran back down the hill to search the beach or the water, or anywhere but where I was.
Could my mom be in the water? I didn’t even think of that. She wouldn’t be in the water, would she?
“And what is your mother’s name?” the operator asked blandly.
“Veronica Spires,” my voice panted with the exertion.
“Where are they? When will they get here? She needs help!”
I reached the edge of the water. The waves were lapping against my bare feet. Looking out toward the sea, I saw nothing but water and rocks illuminated by the moon’s light. There was no way she would be out there. She never went into the water without someone with her. Oh, my God, where could she be?
The police sirens, off in the distance, were becoming louder by the second. Help was on the way but not nearly soon enough.
“Veronica! Mom! Veronica!” I kept hollering. “Where are you?”
“Ma’am, help has arrived. They’re making their way down the trail. I’m going to stay on the phone until they reach you.”
My body crumpled. Falling on my knees, the tears began pouring down my face. This couldn’t be happening. I turned off my phone. The police were almost to the beach, and I didn’t need the operator to hear my cries. The police chatter of CB radios began rolling through the air mixed with the barks of the K-9 units.
This was a nightmare. There was no way this could be happening. My eyes darted back to the hilltop that I had just left. A man was standing on the hill, watching me, with the darkness working in his favor.
“Hey,” I yelled, looking at him, trying to see any sort of distinguishing features. He froze in place.
I jumped back to my feet, with my jeans soaked from where I had been sitting. I started running up to the hill, and the stranger took off.
“Miss!” a policeman yelled.
“Someone was watching me!” I cried, not stopping my run. “They might have my mom!”
I reached the top of the hill in a flash, and there was no one to be seen.
A policeman came up right behind me.
“Are you, Triss?” His voice was gentle, probably used to dealing with lunatics, not sure which way they were headed in any given situation. “I’m Officer White.”
“Yes, my mom. She’s not here.” The tears started again. “I was supposed to meet her and all that’s here are her things. I can’t find her. Clothes, wallet, jewelry are all that’s here.” I took a deep breath. “Then there was a guy, I think staring at me.”
“Where at?” he asked immediately.
“Right here,” I replied. “He was standing right here. I think it was a guy. That’s why I came this way. It’s so dark it’s hard to tell. I was sitting on the beach right before you got here and noticed the person.”
“Where are your mother’s things, Triss?” he asked, scanning the area and coming up with the same thing as me, nothing. There was no one here.
I pointed over to the beach, completely defeated.
He nodded and looked briefly at the ground for any sign of tracks besides mine; he then turned to the officers at the base of the hill and signaled for them to wait.
We walked back down the hill, and Officer White explained to the others the situation. I had no idea how he got so much from my few sentences. He pointed at the two officers who were in control of the German shepherds, and he motioned for me to come with them to where my mom’s belongings had been dumped by my carelessness.
“Triss, we are going to allow our K-9 members, Sunny and Brandy, to smell some of your mother’s items, okay?” Officer White asked, looking intensely into my eyes. He had to be well over six feet tall and commanded the attention of anyone who looked in his direction.
All I could do was nod. It felt like if I even opened my mouth to breathe, I would break down again.
One of the female officers, who had her hair pulled back in a severe ponytail, came over to me and touched my shoulder softly. She quieted her chattering CB on her belt.
“Is there someone we can call for you?” she asked.
“My aunt,” I muttered, staring off over the darkened sound again, my eyes filling with tears.
One of the other female officers gave commands to Sunny and Brandy and off they went in the direction of the hill. The very same hill I had just come from with Officer White. They were racing off into the distance with the humans following right behind. My mom had been in that area. The dogs caught her scent.
It seemed like hours, but Aunt Vieta finally arrived. Her eyes wide with horror from the scene she witnessed in the parking lot. I couldn’t even begin to count how many police and search and rescue arrived. There were divers already out in the ocean, and everywhere I turned, there was activity.
I had shutdown. I was merely operating on autopilot. Aunt Vieta started running toward me and scooped me into her arms.
“We’ll find her, Triss. We’ll find her,” she kept mumbling into my ear, but it did little to comfort me.
“I know we will,” I nodded in agreement.
She released me and stood back looking at me.
“Here, I thought you might be freezing.” She shoved a coat into my arms that she had tied around her waist.
“Officer White’s over there,” I said, pointing toward his direction. He was busy getting updates from the teams that had spread in various directions. “He’d be the best person to fill you in. I don’t think I could.”
I appreciated my aunt’s presence, but I would rather just sit on the beach listening to everyone’s updates, hoping I would find something out that would bring my mom back immediately. Instead, I was bombarded with statistics about the longer the victim was missing how exponentially the odds of finding them decreased. I doubt that was for me to hear, but I did. And those words would forever haunt me.
The Camp Page 15