Free The Soul's Mark: HUNTED by Ashley Stoyanoff

tattoo?” she asked, dumbstruck.
    “On your neck.”  He pointed and Amelia couldn’t be sure, but was that a sneer marring his cute face?  “You’ll probably regret putting his name on you like that.”
    She narrowed her eyes, sifting through her memory.  She searched and searched, hoping to pull up anything, anything at all that she knew about this guy, but nothing was coming to mind.  “Look, I’ve got to go, but thanks,” she said, stuffing the envelope in her purse.  Talk about awkward, she thought as she spun around and jogged off to the car.
    “See you around,” Cole called after her, and Amelia gave a quick wave.  Okay, not a local, she thought as she retreated.  If he was from around here, he surely would have known about the mark.  She jumped in the car, soaked to the bone.
    “Who was that?” Tyler asked, as Amelia fastened her seat belt.
    Amelia shrugged.  “He said his name was Cole.  To be honest, I really don’t remember him, but he wanted to return this.”  Amelia pulled the envelope out of her purse and flashed it for the others to see.
    “What is it?” Eric asked.  He snatched it from her hands and ripped it open.  “A DVD?”
    Amelia grabbed it back and gave him a playful punch.  He chuckled.  “I guess,” she said, looking it over.  It was in a little white sleeve with no labels.  “It’s probably just notes from class or something.  I must have leant it.”  That was the best explanation she could come up with.  It made sense though, since she always burned her notes onto a disk just in case.  Computers were great, but they weren’t reliable, and she had learned firsthand what happens when they crash.
    It was still raining steadily when they got home, and it didn’t look like it would let up anytime soon.  Not that she minded the rain.  It was April, and the rainfall had chased off the horrible heat wave from the week before.  After changing out of her drenched clothes, Amelia settled down in the media room to watch a movie.  She settled on a sappy romance and curled up on one of the beanbag chairs.  Still chilled from the rain, she pulled a throw around herself.
    She was too restless, annoyed, and frustrated to notice the movie, and before she knew it, her thoughts drifted to Mitchell.  She wanted to be mad and jealous and hurt, but all she could think about was Angelle’s seduce Mitchell plan.   Could Tyler be right?  Was Mitchell just holding back and waiting for her to make the first move?  Amelia wished she knew, but she didn’t, and the whole idea of his possible rejection made her stomach flip in somersaults. 
    “Did you have a nice time with Eric?” Mitchell asked from the doorway.
    For a second, Amelia thought about ignoring him, closing her eyes, and pretending to be asleep.  Instead, she clenched her teeth and glared.  “Enough!  I’ve had more than I can take of this crap between you guys.  Get over it already.  I kissed Eric.  It was like eight months ago, and it was just a stupid kiss.”
    She held her breath for a scared moment, feeling the blood rush from her cheeks as she realized what she had actually said.  None of them had really talked about it, and she had never fully admitted the kiss to Mitchell before.  He knew about it.  He had seen it over and over, replaying her memory through the bond, like a slow torture.
    He pulled the door shut behind him and crossed the room, taking up the empty beanbag chair beside her.  “I wasn’t trying to fight with you,” Mitchell said, fixing his gaze on the movie.  “I was just asking.”
    “Oh,” she responded lamely, totally lost for words.  It was unexpected, but man, did she ever feel stupid at that moment.
    After a long, incredibly awkward and painfully silent moment, Mitchell pulled her out of her chair and into his arms, pressing her against his lithe body.  “I love you,” he murmured.  “I love you more than anything in this world.”  He leaned in and