Free Untamed (Vampire Awakenings, Book 3) by Brenda K. Davies Page A

felt like a cartoon character
with its eyes popping out as she was once again treated to the
delightful image of his bare chest with its sprinkling of hair
across the carved surface.
    He held his hand out to her and helped her to
her feet when she took hold of it. Her heart pounded with
excitement and apprehension as she realized the others were all
going to go swimming. She loved the idea of getting a chance to
spend some time alone with him but she was a conversational idiot
around him. Even still, she was practically bouncing on her feet as
he grabbed two of the poles and the tackle box before helping her
maneuver to the front of the boat.
    He handed her a pole and set the tackle box
down. Emma popped the locks on it and began to pick through it in
search of a lure. Ethan quirked an eyebrow as he watched her
expertly attach the lure to the line. "I take it you've done this
before."
    "Once or twice," she told him with a
grin.
    He laughed as he dug into the tackle box and
pulled out another lure. "I wouldn't have pegged you as a
fisherwoman."
    "Well I'm a little difficult to peg," she
teased. Was she actually flirting with him? Maybe she was only a
complete moron when other people were around them. It was a
pleasant thought and one that helped to ease her anxiety.
    Something so hot and hungry flickered through
his eyes that she felt her body immediately react to it as she
sucked in a breath. "Let's hope you're not impossible."
    Yep, she was simply going to melt into a pile
of goo, or jump him, she wasn't entirely sure which one it was
right now. She really wished that she had chosen to plunge herself
into the water instead, but even the ocean wouldn't be enough to
cool her right now. It took all she had to break eye contact with
him and cast her line out. She settled onto the edge of the boat
and let her legs dangle over the side.
    "Where I'm from in New York, we either fished
in the summer, rode our ATV's, or sat around a bonfire," she told
him as he settled beside her.
    She was acutely aware of the heat of his body
as the hair on his arm tickled against her skin. "My siblings and I
spent our time tormenting each other and daring each other to do
some pretty crazy things," he said.
    "That sounds like it was a lot of fun."
    "It was."
    Her fishing pole made a clicking noise as she
reeled her line back in. "If you don't mind me asking, what does
Stefan do for a living?"
    He leaned a little more against her side.
"Not much." Emma frowned at him before glancing questioningly
around the large boat. "Family money."
    "So he's not in the mob then?"
    He laughed as he shook back his raven colored
hair. "No, he's not in the mob."
    "Jill will be relieved to know that."
    The sound of his rumbling laughter caused her
to smile in return. Emma couldn't remember the last time she'd been
this happy as they continued to talk. He told her more about his
massive family and his home in Oregon. She told him more about her
mother who was a nurse, and her father who was a reporter at the
local news station. They'd lived a simple life, in a small home,
but she'd been loved and she'd had a lot of friends throughout high
school. She saw most of them when she returned home for breaks and
they all shared stories, it wasn't the same but she knew that most
of them would be returning to live there when they were finished
college.
    "Is that what you plan to do, return home and
stay there?" he asked as he cast his line out again.
    For some reason the question made him tense
up, he didn't like to think of her returning home and being so far
away from him. He didn't understand where the sudden feeling came
from or why it lodged so firmly inside of him. He enjoyed talking
to her and the feeling of peace that being in her presence brought
to him, but he barely knew her and he had no investment in her
life.
    "I'm not sure. I love it there, I love my
parents, but I also really enjoyed being away from home. Mandy and
Jill have asked me to go to California, Jill is