The Soul Summoner (The Soul Summoner Saga Book 1) (26 page)

I looked down at my outfit. "What's wrong with my clothes? I thought I looked pretty good." I had actually spent over an hour getting redressed after work.

She tugged on the hem of my sweater. "You can't go to a party like that." 

I pushed her hand away. "I'm not going to a party at all." I sat down on the couch. "Warren will be here soon, and we are spending the night at home."

She smiled and leaned against the armrest with a mischievous grin. "Like, spending the night at home or
spending the night at home?
"

My face flushed. "He and I have a lot to talk about." 

She laughed. "Yes. I'm sure there will be plenty of talking."

"Either way, we're not going out," I said. "What party is it?"

"Mark and I are going to the opening of a new club on Merrimon Avenue. It's called Crush. Everybody's been talking about it," she said.

With all that had happened in the past week, I had almost forgotten that Mark Higgins even existed. I choked back the bit of nausea that seemed to accompany thoughts of him and put my feet up on the coffee table. "I guess I've been too wrapped up in skeletons and boy problems to hear about the latest buzz in the Asheville nightlife."

"How's the detective doing since they identified his sister?" she asked.

The thought of Nathan's kiss resurfaced in my memory, triggering a mix of butterflies and guilt in the pit of my stomach. I hadn't told anyone about that night.

I pushed the thought away and shrugged my shoulders. "I don't really know. He's been in Raleigh all week with his family." 

Adrianne sighed. "That's so sad."

"Yep, but at least I think they have some closure now," I said. "I think that not knowing is worse."

Her phone beeped. She looked down at the screen and then back up at me. "I've got to run. Mark's going to pick me up at my house in five minutes."

I stood up and walked with her to the door. "Are you dating Mark now?"

She laughed and waved her hand toward me. "Just having fun," she said. "It's nothing serious. Maybe we can double date sometime soon."

"Sure. I would
love
to hear Warren's opinion about him," I said with a smirk.

I opened the front door just as Warren had raised his hand to knock. 

Adrianne shook her head and looked at me. "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to you being such a freak." She kissed me on the cheek. "Call me if you change your mind. Hey, Warren!" 

"Hi, Adrianne," he replied.

"I'm not going to change my mind!" I called after her as she walked out.

She giggled as she carefully maneuvered her way down the stairs in her heels. "Have fun you crazy kids."

"You have fun. And be careful!" I shouted.

I looked up at Warren, and my breath caught in my throat. "You're finally here!"

He stepped inside. "I'm sorry I'm so late." He put his bag down by the door and reached for my hand. "I had a really important meeting at work."

"About what?" I asked.

He pulled me to him. "I'll tell you in a minute." He bent and covered my mouth with his. He pushed the front door closed and moved me back against it. When he finally released me, I would have fallen to the floor had he not had his arms around me. 

I laughed as he rested his forehead against mine and the world seemed to swirl back into place. "I'm almost afraid for us to go any further than that," I admitted. "I'm kind of afraid my heart might stop or my brain might explode."

He smiled against my cheek. "That would be a hell of a way to go out." He pulled back and looked at me as he bit his lower lip. "I plan on testing it out very soon, but I want to talk to you first."

I exhaled slowly, still trying to catch my breath. "Talk to me about what?"

He tugged on my hand, and I followed him to the living room. "What did Adrianne want?" 

"She wanted us to go to a party with her and this creep, Mark, tonight. I told her no."

He sat down on the sofa and pulled me down next to him. "Do you want to go?" 

I laughed and leaned into him. "Hell no." 

He draped his arm over my shoulders, and I reached up to hold onto his hand. 

"Have you heard from Nathan?" he asked.

The guilt returned. "I got a text from him this morning saying that he has convinced the FBI and the state to send search teams into the game lands around the areas where the girls disappeared." 

He nodded. "That's good. Did he say if they positively identified the bodies?" 

I shook my head. "He's pretty sure it's his sister and the other girl, but he said it could take a while to get anything back from the medical examiner. Before he left, he told me that they are planning to do a burial service for his sister sometime, but they can't till they have finished with her remains."

He wove his fingers in and out of mine. "Are you going to go to the service?"

"Probably so," I said. "I can't imagine how hard this has to be for him."

Warren kissed my temple. "I can't either. I may hate him, but Nate's not a bad guy."

I smiled back over my shoulder at him. "You don't hate Nathan."

"If I hadn't been as sick as I was on Monday, I would've driven back over here and kicked his ass for sleeping in your bed," he said. 

I laughed. "You told him to stay."

He nodded. "He could've slept on the floor."

It felt like an angel and a demon were arguing on my shoulders about whether or not I should tell Warren about Nathan kissing me. Nathan had asked me to keep it a secret, but it felt wrong. "He stopped by before he went to Raleigh, and I told him that the DNA results said we aren't related." Silently, I gave one point to the good angel on my left shoulder who was urging me to be honest.

"How did that go?"

I sighed. "He was pretty obviously disappointed, but he said he understood why you and I are together. He even said, 'congratulations'."

Warren chuckled. "That's bullshit."

"Maybe," I agreed. 

"Not 'maybe'. Nathan is in love with you," he said. 

I kissed his fingertips. "But, I'm with you now," I said, and I knew that I meant it. 

I sighed and decided to give a point to the demon on my right shoulder by changing the subject before the conversation about Nathan went any further. "What did you want to talk to me about? I know it's not about Nathan McNamara."

He nodded and turned in his seat. I turned around sideways so I could look at him, folding my legs under me. He tucked his hair behind his ears. "You know how I'm a contractor for Claymore, right?" 

I nodded.

He took my hands and rested them on my lap. "And so you understand that it's only for a contracted period of time with no guarantees for a continuation after the contract is over, correct?"

I nodded. "Yes."

He sucked in a deep breath. "Well, they offered me a permanent position with them today. That's what the meeting was about."

"Really?" I asked surprised. "That's a good thing, right?"

He moved his head from side to side. "Well, the money is great. So are the benefits."

I raised an eyebrow. "But?" 

He looked down at my hands. "The job is in Oregon."

My mouth dropped open. "Wow."

He nodded. "Yeah. It's a pretty big deal."

"What did you tell them?" I asked.

He sighed. "I told them I would have to think about it. I said I had some reservations about moving that far."

"What are your reservations?" I asked.

He squeezed my hands. "You. You are my only reservation."

I took in a slow, deep breath, and then blew it out even slower. "Wow. OK," I said. "So, if I weren't in the picture, you would take this job?"

He nodded. "In a heartbeat."

It was like the weight of the world fell onto my chest. My shoulders sank down, and I balanced my elbows on my knees for support. It was a lot of pressure, especially considering I had cheese in my refrigerator that had been around longer than Warren.

He put his finger under my chin to lift my eyes to meet his. "I know this is a lot to put on you. We've technically only known each other for what? Twelve, thirteen days maybe?"

I laughed. "Yeah."

He pulled my fingers up to his lips and kissed them. "Sloan, I don't know about you, but I feel like I am finally where I'm supposed to be for the first time in my life. When I'm with you, it's just… right. It's like gravity has aligned when we are together."

I knew what he was talking about. There was something there. Something between us that couldn't be seen or explained or probably understood by anyone else in the world. It wasn't necessarily love; in many ways, it felt much bigger than that. Whatever it was seemed to be a cosmic or even supernatural desperation to be connected. I had never been one to believe in fate or predestination... not until I first brushed the hand of Warren Parish.

He shook his head. "I don't know what to tell them." 

"When do you have to give them an answer?" I asked.

He gave a reluctant smile. "That's kind of good news. They gave me the next week off to really think about it and come to decision."

"And if you accept?" I asked.

"Then I would be on the West Coast by mid-October," he said.

"That's just a few weeks away," I said.

He nodded. "I know."

"And if you turn it down?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Then they probably won't offer me another contract when mine runs out at the end of the month. Or, maybe they will. I don't know for sure."

I rubbed my face over my hands. "Wow. That's big."

He dropped his head. "I know. I'm sorry. This is way too much, way too fast. But I couldn't just make this decision without talking to you first."

My mind was racing. "What are you asking me, Warren?" 

He brushed a loose strand of hair out of my face. "I realize this is absolutely crazy, but would you ever consider going with me to Oregon?"

My mouth dropped open again. I laughed. "Really? Seriously? Are you asking me to move to the other side of the country?"

He turned his hands over. "I need to know if it's a possibility."

I thought of Adrianne and our lunches with martinis and goat cheese grits. I thought about Monday night dinners with my parents and the fact that I still didn't know how to make her mashed potatoes. I even thought of Nathan McNamara leaning against the wall in my office. "Warren, I've got my Mom and Dad here and Adrianne. I've got my career and my house—"

He nodded. "I know. That's why I'm asking." 

My phone rang. Adrianne's face was on the screen. I hit ignore and put the phone on silent before placing it on the coffee table.

I turned my palms up. "I can't make this decision for you, Warren. If you want to go, we will just have to figure it out." 

"Sloan, you don't understand." He pressed his eyes closed and then opened them. "If you won't even consider it, then I'm turning the job down. End of story. I can't stand being on the opposite side of the state from you, I can't imagine how much harder it would be if I were on the other side of the country."

"You're going to turn it down?" I asked.

He wrapped his fingers around mine. "I'm not asking you for some big commitment or anything. But, I do know that no matter whether or not you and I end up together, I can't be that far away from you."

"But what will you do?" I asked. "Where will you work?"

He laughed. "I'm a marksman. This is probably the easiest place in the US for me to get a job. It may not pay six figures a year, but it would be near you."

"Six figures?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. Does that change your mind?"

I laughed and shook my head. "No. I can't leave my family. At least not in just a few weeks. But I don't want to be without you either." I clasped my hands over my heart. "Is that really selfish of me? That I want to stand in the way of a really great opportunity for you?" 

He ran his fingers through my hair. "Do you realize that no one ever in my life has been selfish for me? I would give up all the money in the world to be wanted that badly."

He hooked his finger inside the collar of my sweater and pulled me close. His lips touched mine, sending sparks through my body. He pulled back and smiled.  "Did we just decide that I'm moving here?"

I giggled. "I think we did."

He grinned and stood up, offering me his hand. When I was on my feet, he tucked my hair behind my ear and trailed his knuckles down the side of my neck. His eyes, dancing with mischief, glanced to the stairs behind me. "Can I take you upstairs and try to kill us both now?"

I laughed. "Please!"

Without another word, he bent down and grabbed me around my thighs. He slung me over his shoulder, and I laughed all the way up the stairs. When he returned me to my feet at the foot of my bed, I nearly fell over from all the blood rushing from my head. He smiled and smoothed my hair back into place. His dark eyes searched mine and my giggles quickly faded. 

I bit my lip as he slowly reached for the top button on his white shirt. When all of the buttons were undone, I pushed his shirt off of his shoulders. Underneath was a black, fitted t-shirt with a distressed picture of the Grim Reaper on the front. I looked up at him in silence as I untucked the shirt and pulled it up. When I couldn't reach any higher, he tugged the shirt off over his head.

For the first time, I could see the full length of his tribal tattoo. I traced the lines with my fingertips. There was a claw that came down the center of his chest and curved to a point toward his ribcage. The lines came up along his left collarbone and spread wide over his shoulder and down to his elbow. He slowly turned to show me the back. There were three more large claws that stretched from his shoulder to halfway down his spine. It was a talon, like that of a massive eagle, gripping his body from above.

"Wow," I whispered.

He turned back around and slid his hands up the curve of my jaw. He tipped my face up and slowly brought his lips down to meet mine. His touch was gentle at first, but as his fingers twisted into my hair, the kiss deepened until he released every reservation he had held each time before. With one smooth motion, my sweater was on the floor and his hands were working at the clasp of my bra. He pulled my body against his as he slipped the straps off my shoulders. I pressed my teeth into his salty skin at the bend of his neck and heard my name.