Free The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) by Laurie Olerich Page B

Ricki chuckled with a snort at her cleverness.
    Jumping at the sound of her voice, I snorted too. “Geez, woman! No, I did not!” Though the idea had some potential, the wearer wasn’t cooperating. “Besides, he’s not interested. You’ve seen him. He practically ignores me half the time.”
    Grinning evilly, she said, “Yeah, but the other half of the time, he looks at you like you’re lunch! God, he’s hot. He’s got a fabulous ass. You’ve got to reel that one in!” Pausing to nibble her lip, she added thoughtfully, “Now, Killian… mmm. He’s more my type. Wicked hot and dangerous…”
    “Yeah, he’s dangerous all right. Like a bomb! One wrong move and you’ll lose body parts! You can have that one. He’s too hot for me. I’ll just keep dibs on Sean.”
    “You got it. Do you think Killian will be there?” Sucking her finger seductively, she shivered for dramatic effect. “I want to throw him into a cave and…” Winking at my open mouth, she popped her finger out like a cork.
    Giggling in spite of my shock, I said, “You’re so nasty! Geez!”
    A little later we pulled onto the side of the road by the trailhead. Aric, Dani, and Tyler pulled up behind us. There was only one other vehicle there. Dec waved enthusiastically. Unable to resist the magic of his dimples, I waved back. Tons more reserved, Sean raised a hand in a half wave. No Killian. Ricki sighed dramatically. She narrowed her eyes in speculation as she mentally appraised Dec.
    I elbowed her. “Forget it! He’s too sweet for you. You’d give him a heart attack!”
    Dani glided over to us, and we headed into the trees. Tyler and Aric forged ahead like they had a speed record to break and were soon out of view. Ricki and Dani dawdled along like they had all day. Impatient with their speed, I finally broke away, taking off up the trail by myself. Sean and Dec hung together behind me. Sean still hadn’t said anything to me, and I was content to ignore him. He was one small person in this huge wilderness. There’d be time to talk later. Right now, I had a mountain to conquer!
    Barking randomly, Domino turned into a sheepdog, spending her time running back and forth between our little groups. She was crazy with joy as she loped beside us, occasionally grabbing at stalks of grass with her teeth. There was a long green stem hanging from her mouth when she raced past me again. I had to laugh at her because she acted like I felt inside. I would’ve wagged my tail if I had one. It was an amazing place. The trail cut through trees and over little streams. Huge granite boulders were randomly plopped here and there courtesy of the last ice age. Some giant had tossed them around for us to climb on and no two were alike. Some were bare and grey while others were covered with lichen or bright green moss. Occasionally water trickled down their sides and shimmered in stray beams of sunlight. It was a magical place. There should be wood nymphs and trolls.
    I eventually caught up to Tyler and Aric. They couldn’t contain their inner-billy goat and climbed to the top of every big rock they found. When I paused to catch my breath, Dec slipped back to join Dani and Ricki. Echoes of his laughter floated on the wind that whistled through the trees. Every now and then I caught the tinkling of Dani’s giggles too. That was interesting…
    I stopped at a cleft in a gigantic tumble of granite. It was almost big enough to walk through. No way was I venturing into the pitch blackness inside. As cold air drifted over my skin, I peered into the opening. What lived here? Bears? No, probably not. More likely foxes or something smallish… I felt him before he spoke. 
    “Too small for bears,” he said smugly.
    “Oh, you think you’re so smart, don’t you?”
    “You’re not that hard to read.” He wasn’t smiling, but he looked like he wanted to. I wished I could make him smile for me. What would it take?
    For the rest of the day he played shadow with me,