Laws of the Blood 1: The Hunt Read Online Free
Author: Susan Sizemore
her and found Siri waiting for him in the car.
She didn’t smile back. The petite woman turned a fierce glare on him as he slid into the passenger side. “Just what the hell was going on between you and Alice Fraser a minute ago?” she demanded.
Selim hunched down a little in the leather-upholstered seat. “Woman, I would hate to be as psychic as you are.”
“Hmmph. Well?”
Selim winced. “Later. Drive,” he instructed. “I’m a hen-pecked Hunter,” he complained under his breath as his companion put the Mercedes in gear.
“And you love it,” she added as she swung the car up the long, curved drive of Don Tomas’s estate.
Selim put his hand over hers as she efficiently shifted gears. She was small, delicately made, and mortal. He didn’t dispute her statement for a moment.
Chapter 2
S IRI TURNED INTO the parking lot at the entrance to Stone Canyon Park. They got out without a word and went to sit on the retaining wall that faced a the view of the city. The park closed at dusk, and a cop or private security car would pull up soon and they’d be told to move on. In the meantime, Siri snuggled up in the crook of his arm and they gazed on the lights spread out for miles and miles below them. The touch of her warmth in the cool of the evening was sweet. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.
Siri sighed. “Isn’t it beautiful? Don’t you just love this town at night?”
“I’ve never seen it any other way.”
“You know what I mean.”
He remembered the way this view had looked before the sprawl of light was quite so wide, before the freeways formed bright flowing rivers, before the city noise reached all the way up here. That was what he disliked the most about change, he decided, the noise.
“I grew up in a quiet spot in a noisy city, but I never heard it,” he told her. “Maybe the only quiet spot in the whole . . . in a garden surrounded by squalor.” He felt her curiosity but said no more.
She tilted her head, concentrating. “You grew up in a cage?”
Psychic. Far too psychic for her own good. Far too psychic for his good. “Never mind.”
“I don’t understand.”
It was always tempting to explain and far too dangerous to give in to the temptation. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, it was that he didn’t trust anyone else. What Siri knew could be forced from her.
“Right,” she said. “What I don’t know can’t hurt either of us. You’re a pain, Selim.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “I haven’t caused you any pain in ages.”
She squeezed back. “You wanna?”
Her enthusiasm rattled him. He wanted. He wanted very much. But . . . “No. Let’s just talk. I don’t have much time.”
“You have to go to Claremont. But you don’t want me to drive you. Why?”
“I need the exercise.” A stinging insect landed on his cheek, then flew away without trying to bite—professional courtesy and all that.
“Right.”
Her disapproval amused him, her jealousy didn’t. She knew he wasn’t interested in Miriam. Siri, in fact, knew everything that went on. That was why they needed to talk before he got back to work. He’d been at home for nearly a month before tonight’s meeting, meditating, thinking, dreaming, leaving the outside world and grocery delivery in Siri’s capable hands while he prepared for the Hunt.
She put a hand on his knee, then ran it up his thigh. “Skinny but cherse,” she judged.
“Stringy,” he answered.
Her lips found his throat, her kiss a soft, teasing plea. The night went red and warm around him. He smiled and licked his lips. Then he forced his mind back to business while he let himself enjoy her touch. They hadn’t talked much on the ride over. He’d beenconcentrating too hard on the upcoming meeting to pay much attention to her, even though her resentment had filled the car, acrid as smog. They were comfortable together for the moment, and he reveled in just being with her. He wanted to tell her
She didn’t smile back. The petite woman turned a fierce glare on him as he slid into the passenger side. “Just what the hell was going on between you and Alice Fraser a minute ago?” she demanded.
Selim hunched down a little in the leather-upholstered seat. “Woman, I would hate to be as psychic as you are.”
“Hmmph. Well?”
Selim winced. “Later. Drive,” he instructed. “I’m a hen-pecked Hunter,” he complained under his breath as his companion put the Mercedes in gear.
“And you love it,” she added as she swung the car up the long, curved drive of Don Tomas’s estate.
Selim put his hand over hers as she efficiently shifted gears. She was small, delicately made, and mortal. He didn’t dispute her statement for a moment.
Chapter 2
S IRI TURNED INTO the parking lot at the entrance to Stone Canyon Park. They got out without a word and went to sit on the retaining wall that faced a the view of the city. The park closed at dusk, and a cop or private security car would pull up soon and they’d be told to move on. In the meantime, Siri snuggled up in the crook of his arm and they gazed on the lights spread out for miles and miles below them. The touch of her warmth in the cool of the evening was sweet. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.
Siri sighed. “Isn’t it beautiful? Don’t you just love this town at night?”
“I’ve never seen it any other way.”
“You know what I mean.”
He remembered the way this view had looked before the sprawl of light was quite so wide, before the freeways formed bright flowing rivers, before the city noise reached all the way up here. That was what he disliked the most about change, he decided, the noise.
“I grew up in a quiet spot in a noisy city, but I never heard it,” he told her. “Maybe the only quiet spot in the whole . . . in a garden surrounded by squalor.” He felt her curiosity but said no more.
She tilted her head, concentrating. “You grew up in a cage?”
Psychic. Far too psychic for her own good. Far too psychic for his good. “Never mind.”
“I don’t understand.”
It was always tempting to explain and far too dangerous to give in to the temptation. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, it was that he didn’t trust anyone else. What Siri knew could be forced from her.
“Right,” she said. “What I don’t know can’t hurt either of us. You’re a pain, Selim.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “I haven’t caused you any pain in ages.”
She squeezed back. “You wanna?”
Her enthusiasm rattled him. He wanted. He wanted very much. But . . . “No. Let’s just talk. I don’t have much time.”
“You have to go to Claremont. But you don’t want me to drive you. Why?”
“I need the exercise.” A stinging insect landed on his cheek, then flew away without trying to bite—professional courtesy and all that.
“Right.”
Her disapproval amused him, her jealousy didn’t. She knew he wasn’t interested in Miriam. Siri, in fact, knew everything that went on. That was why they needed to talk before he got back to work. He’d been at home for nearly a month before tonight’s meeting, meditating, thinking, dreaming, leaving the outside world and grocery delivery in Siri’s capable hands while he prepared for the Hunt.
She put a hand on his knee, then ran it up his thigh. “Skinny but cherse,” she judged.
“Stringy,” he answered.
Her lips found his throat, her kiss a soft, teasing plea. The night went red and warm around him. He smiled and licked his lips. Then he forced his mind back to business while he let himself enjoy her touch. They hadn’t talked much on the ride over. He’d beenconcentrating too hard on the upcoming meeting to pay much attention to her, even though her resentment had filled the car, acrid as smog. They were comfortable together for the moment, and he reveled in just being with her. He wanted to tell her
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