Free Conjuring Darkness by Melanie James

Lexi thought about the sudden burst of excitement she felt about Ryan. What the hell? Is this the spark they talk about? Chemistry? Maybe it’s because I’ve been looking for something to happen and now here I am in this exotic place with this superhot guy.
    Lexi unwrapped the towel from her head and shook her hair loose, down around her shoulders. “So tell me where can I wash my clothes? I have a request to make, also. Do you have anything cooler than this bathrobe? I’m going to die of heatstroke with this on.” 
    Ryan looked at her seriously for a moment. “No. Sorry but I don’t have anything for you to wear.”
    Lexi realized that he was teasing her and she smiled playfully. She started to untie the belt on the bathrobe, deliberately fumbling with the knot to prevent it from actually untying. “Well I hope you don’t have a problem with naked female guests.” She laughed and thought Oh shoot what if he calls my bluff? I can’t believe I am actually flirting with him. I think this is flirting.
    Ryan scratched his chin and looked at her as if he were trying to decide what to do. He had a sly smile and said, “Well I can’t say that I’ve ever had this situation arise here. I think I would be just fine with you being naked. After all, I want you to be comfortable.” He laughed and went to retrieve a large faded maroon t-shirt from the bedroom and handed it to Lexi. “Here you go.” He said, as he handed the shirt to her.
    She disappeared into the bedroom and returned with the t-shirt hanging loosely down over the top of her thighs. She carried a tiny bundle of her clothes and Ryan took her over to a small room with a little washing machine, where she hastily started her laundry. He brought out a carafe of coffee and led them to the weather beaten, but comfortable chairs on the deck. Buddy was already enjoying the morning ocean breeze by laying down and hanging his head between the posts on the deck rail. The west facing deck stayed shaded in the morning by the large palm trees behind the house.
    Ryan wanted to be sure that Lexi was completely at ease before he started prying into her life. He led the conversation by saying, “First off your sister is safe and we can dig into the puzzle more. I think it’s important that we get to know each other a little. We’re about to head off on a mission that we haven’t quite defined and my experience has always taught me to prepare for the unexpected.” He said, before taking a long sip of his coffee.
    “We don’t really know anything about each other and that’s a problem. Think of it like this—if you and I were partners that worked together on situations like this on a regular basis, we would be able to anticipate what each other would do. We would know our strengths, weaknesses, and talents so we could work together with optimum efficiency.” Ryan waited letting his words sink in.
    “Think of it as a two man...I mean two person team. Now I’ll admit that I’m pretty guarded about diving in and sharing a lot, but you have to trust me when I tell you that if we should ever find ourselves separated or in trouble we want to have an intimate...wait! Wrong word there.”
    Lexi chuckled at his slip of the tongue wondering if it was truly a Freudian slip.
    “Anyway, we’ll want to have a good idea of what to expect from each other. I refuse to go into any job with a total stranger. I’d sooner go it alone.” He watched trying to gage her response, but she remained quiet.
    “So Lexi, I’ll make it easy and let you start by getting to know me. Alright shoot. Ask whatever you want to know about me. I’ll do my best to answer honestly.”
    She reflected on all he said for a few moments. It gave her time to collect her thoughts. She hadn’t the slightest idea what to ask the man sitting before her. She didn’t want to sound like a total idiot.
    “Okay well—I don’t know what all I need to know about you, but I appreciate that you’re willing to do