Obfuscate Read Online Free

melt butter with the way he romantically rolled words off his tongue. It was becoming clear the types of male attributes Dakota liked. She had a thing for languages and teeth.
    Had it been any other night and under different circumstances, I would have set up my camera and tripod to marvel and shoot the beauty of the sunset, but tonight the twilight colors across the sky became the sands of an hourglass condemning me to my fate.
    I heaved another heavy sigh and escaped the testosterone-ladened insults from Briggs by taking a small jog down the beach.
    I needed to be alone. To breathe.
    To think.
    I took off my combat boots and rolled my fatigues up to cuff them up at the knees. I strolled far enough away to talk out loud to myself. “This is crazy.” I paced back and forth along the water while my toes sank into the pristine white sands. My calves already ached from the unused muscles pushing into the next step. White and blue crabs, carrying their left claws the size and weight of their scampering little bodies, scurried under fallen palm fronds and wet driftwood.
    Outwardly demanding the Gods’ attention, I threw my arms up in the air. “Are we insane for doing this by ourselves? Do we need a legion of vampires, werewolves, and dragons to help us?”
    I picked up a broken, barnacle-encrusted seashell and skipped it out into the waves. “I’m not sure we’re qualified for this mission.” My voice trailed off and I hung my head with resolve. “Or, at least, I’m not qualified.”
    I kicked a weather-worn coconut husk. “I shouldn’t go. I’ve got no feckin’ idea in hell what I’m doing. I’ve never fired a gun. What if I accidentally hurt someone?”
    I skipped a shell out over the waves.
    Two skips.
    My conscience got the best of me. The little angel who sat on my right shoulder tried to talk some sense into me. “What are you thinking? You could totally compromise the mission and put their lives in danger. This is not a place for you. You need to call this mission off or find someone better to replace you.”
    Throwing it harder, I shot another shell out over the water. Stepping into the water, I embraced the warm waves crashing around my ankles.
    Four skips.
    The little red demon who lived on my left shoulder and loved to stir up shite just couldn’t keep the guilt away. “Yeah, but would you ever forgive yourself if they died and you didn’t do anything to help them other than weasel out? Do you really want to be known as the wimpy vampire who stood by and did nothing to save your family and friends?”
    Khaldon had walked up behind me and picked up another shell from the sand. “Cheyenne, we’re dealing with primitive natives.” He joined my game of attempting the most skips over the water.
    Eight skips. Damn.
    The sun added fiery red to the orange-hued clouds setting over the horizon silhouetting him once again. His sculpted build cut a deep V into his abs peeking out above his fatigues. “Once we swim to shore, we’ll navigate to the volcanic caves, we’ll rescue Dakota, and fly away on the dragons. Easy-peasy.” His voice was confident, self-assuring, as if this were just another day in the life of a vampire. “She’ll be safe, and you’ll never have to set foot on that island again. I promise.”
    “Get in, kill a couple of bad guys, rescue the damsel in distress, and be done with it, huh?” I swished my hands together, wiping off the wet sand. “You make it all sound like a Sunday picnic.”
    Khaldon rested his arm around my shoulders, pulling me in tight. He tilted his head in toward me and whispered into my ear. “Maybe we’ll get a chance to snack on a couple of Rakshasa ourselves. Wouldn’t that be grand?”
    An answer escaped me. I wasn’t sure what to think about his suggestion. Could I feed off another person without killing them? Could I trust myself? If I let go, would I become like that horrible bloody beast, the Red Man, who attacked me Halloween night?
    I can’t lose