Purpose Read Free Page B

the damn books. At least back
off everything else, okay? I’m trying as hard as I fucking
can.”
    “Alexis!” she admonished, following me into
my office. She hated my language, which was exactly why I used it.
“I just wanted to remind you Owen will be here later. You might
want to clean yourself up.”
    I looked down at myself. I wore the same
raggedy t-shirt and sweatpants I had slept in. Pretty much my
normal attire. What the hell do I care what Owen thinks? I
didn’t. Mom seemed to, though. In fact, she seemed to care a lot
about what Owen thought lately.
    “I’m fine,” I snarled.
    I grabbed my laptop and headed outside. The
mid-March morning in Atlanta, Georgia, had been a little crisp
earlier, but the air quickly warmed. It would be a nice day to
write outside and I hoped the fresh air would help my mood. I set
up the laptop on the patio table, opened the document and then
stared at the screen. For a long time. I just couldn’t focus on
stringing words into meaningful sentences. Giving up, I gazed
absent-mindedly across the yard, thinking about last night.
    I considered writing out the evil vampire
Claudius, after that rendition of him interrupted my dreams last
night. Maybe the time had come to kill him off. Of course, he was
one of my primary villains in this last book of the series, so he
was necessary until the end. But I was pissed at him now. How
dare the asshole harass me at night! I eventually dismissed him
for the time being after deciding he would die, a final
death, by the end of the book.
    Tired of thinking so much about the stupid
vamp, I closed my eyes and tilted my face toward the sun, focusing
on the heat of the rays on my skin, giving me paradoxical goose
bumps. I felt the burn of someone watching me, but I ignored the
feeling. It had to be Mom and I didn’t want to deal with her yet.
With the warm sun washing over me, I actually felt…well, not good , of course, but at least no longer Psycho. Then a
slight breeze came up, light against my skin and just a little
cool. And with it, a familiar scent.
    Mangos and papayas, lime and sage.
    My eyes flew open and I sat straight up,
nearly knocking my computer off the table.
    “Relax, it’s just me,” Mom said. She placed a
tray of food on the table. “Seared tuna on greens with a lime
vinaigrette dressing and fruit. I thought you’d be ready for
lunch.”
    I eyed the tray and realized the food must
have given off that mix of aromas. How could I even think it’s
anything else? I slumped back into my chair, feeling the
emotional wound pulling open again as if a physical gash had been
carved into my chest. My body quickly healed cuts, burns and
bruises, but not this most painful kind of mutilation.
    I moved the laptop out of the way and took a
plate from Mom. She joined me across the table. When I looked up at
her, I noticed for the first time that someone stood behind her.
Quite a ways behind her—at least seventy-five yards, on the other
side of the pool, by the fence lining the back of my five-acre
property. I froze at his sudden appearance, sure he hadn’t been
there just a minute ago.
    Something fluttered in my stomach and I
couldn’t tear my eyes away from him. I stood up and took a couple
steps toward him, not able to control myself. He just watched me,
his arms folded across his chest. Could it be? I had a
sudden need to see his face. I slowly moved another step or two
toward him, frightened and curious and…hopeful. Who are
you?
    “Alexis?” Mom startled me out of my
trance.
    I turned back to look at her as if I’d
forgotten she was there. She had twisted in her seat to see what
had me ogling.
    “Who is that?” I asked, raising my arm toward
the man.
    She brushed her chestnut hair from her face
and peered behind me with her inhumanly sharp eyes. “Who? I don’t
see anyone.”
    I turned back to him. He was gone.
    “I thought…” What the hell? Did he flash?
Was it him ? Or a protector? Or just my imagination?
    “Probably