Free Shadow in the Pines by PJ Nunn Page A

his eyes and she waited, holding her breath again until he spoke.
    “I don’t want that either,” he said softly. “Some tough guy, huh?” he grinned for the first time she remembered this evening.
    “Can we go now?” she asked, knowing she’d be in his arms in another minute, no matter where they were.

Chapter Seven
    Dani wasn’t sure exactly when the decision was made, but she knew by the time they reached her driveway that she wanted to be with him more than she’d ever wanted anything in her life.
    It wasn’t really even a matter of choice, Dani told herself. It was more a matter of destiny. Any objections raised by her intellect were promptly overruled by her physical responses.
    “What are you thinking?” she asked, rolling up on one elbow so she could see Noah’s face.
    “I’ll never tell,” he teased, smiling up at her in the moonlight that shone through her bedroom window. “Are you sure about this?” he asked quietly, tracing her jaw line with his finger.
    “Make love to me, Noah Russell,” she whispered.
    ***
    “Girl! You look like something the cat drug up!” Beth laughed as Dani set her cafeteria tray down on the table beside her.
    “Well, thanks!” Dani chuckled. “It’s that damn microbiology class that does this!” It was the only class she had on Tuesday and Thursday, but she struggled more in there than in the other three combined.
    “Ralston’s a bear,” Beth agreed. “I waited till I could get Deaver instead.”
    “Yeah, well Deaver’s class was full by the time I registered,” Dani said. “If I can’t make Ralston happier than I am right now, I’ll be sure to get Deaver for the retake.”
    “Oh, you’ll do fine,” Beth dismissed that idea. “Ralston’s projects are a pain in the ass, but I hear he grades pretty lenient.”
    “I hope so. The instructions are nineteen pages. How am I supposed to remember all that?”
    Dani chomped down on her burger, hoping to still the rumbling in her stomach that had gradually increased all morning long. Why was it she was never hungry until she sat down at her desk in the classroom?
    “So, you never told me how you like the snake farm,” Beth observed.
    “I haven’t seen much of it,” Dani said between bites. “Crane has this system of breaking everybody in on file work for awhile before he lets them near his babies,” she smirked.
    Beth laughed at that. “That’s the big secret,” she nodded. “Those snakes aren’t really reproducing, Crane is!”
    Dani choked on her soda at the wicked gleam in Beth’s eye. She’d thought the disparaging rumors about Dr. Crane were exaggerated until she met him. Tall and heavyset, his white lab coat was so tight that she feared the buttons on his belly might pop off at any moment and wondered curiously why he didn’t just buy a bigger one or leave it unbuttoned. When she turned her attention to his face, she was taken aback by the intense look of displeasure he wore and studied his face carefully, trying to figure out just what was wrong with it. His once dark hair was now smattered with gray and his eyebrows were nearly white. She’d never seen such long eyebrow hairs and was momentarily mesmerized by the way the hairs seemed to stand up and wave in all directions each time he frowned, which was often. But, she finally figured out it was his eyes that captured her attention. Dark enough brown to look black from across the room, they were incredibly close set for such a large face and she choked back a laugh when she realized they reminded her of the gorilla poster hanging in the zoology room.
    “He’s a real prize, isn’t he?” Dani snickered. Fortunately, after that first interview, she’d hardly seen him. What she’d heard from Joe, coupled with her own first impressions, convinced her she wouldn’t learn anything from him about the students’ disappearance.
    “I don’t know how you can stand it,” Beth agreed. “He’s creepier to me than those snakes.”
    “I