Read Online Drawing Deep by Jennifer Dellerman - Free Book Online
Authors: Jennifer Dellerman
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contract.”
Lines of dissatisfaction marred his face. Santos understood that and had always accepted the additional workload, and since it was shared with Porter, the burden wasn’t truly heavy. He knew it was more than touch-hunger that was making him lash out at those around him. He’d seen his fair share of interested beauties over the last several months, but the thought of actually touching any one of them was high near repulsive. And that gave rise to an anger that was beginning to seep into his soul.
“It never bothered you this much before.” Rome paused, eyes ever watchful on his newly volatile older brother. “Now you’re practically itching for a fight.”
At Santos’s continued silence, Rome straightened and snapped his fingers like a light bulb suddenly went off in his head. “Wait a minute. Now that I think about it, your behavior started to go to hell two months ago. When Ria first appeared.”
Abruptly shoving to his feet, Santos snarled at his brother. “She’s not my mate, so shut your fucking trap before I do it for you.”
Unconcerned of his safety, Rome came back with a mild, “Hmm. Your language too.”
With an aggravated shake of his head, Santos stalked to the edge of the boat and, in one graceful move, jumped over the side to land neatly on the balls of his feet. “She doesn’t smell right.”
“She doesn’t stink either.” Rome mirrored his brothers action and followed him across the concrete floor to where three metal cabinets lined the wall.
“She smokes.” An abhorrent vice for a creature with a super sensitive sniffer.
“Herbals.”
That single word made Santos stop in his tracks. He turned from replacing the boat keyring on the pegboard in the open cabinet door. “What?”
Rome nodded. “Our rooms are above hers.” He said, referring to where Gwen and he lived, on the third floor, opposite side of their parents. A temporary residence until they decided what they wanted to do. “The smell of lemon, coffee and curry was very strong when Gwen opened the balcony doors last night for some air.”
Brows beetling, Santos muttered almost to himself, “Why would anyone do that?”
“Because they’re either hiding something or they’re hiding from something. Something not human.”
Santos’s face crunched into a perplexed expression. “What?”
“She’s masking her natural scent, and from what else I found out about her, probably for years.”
Ears practically twitching, Santos waited impatiently for Rome to continue. “What do you mean?”
Bland as could be, Rome dropped a bomb. “Ria Montgomery didn’t exist until nine years ago. Oh there’s a birth record, but no school enrollment, no medical records, no teen summer jobs, no taxes or even a social security number until nine years ago.”
Indignation kicked in. “You ran a background check on her?”
Rome jabbed Santos in the chest with a finger. “You think I don’t check out every individual that walks through that door? That stays in the same house as my parents? My mate?”
Another jab that made Santos snag his brother’s hand and push him back a step with a rough growl. “Knock it off.”
“Fine, but you need to find out what’s going on. What’s more, you need to find out what she is. Human or not, I don’t particularly care, but we sure as hell don’t need any more surprises. If she’s in trouble, you need to find out what that trouble is and handle it before it comes to our home.”
Santos mulled that over, his mind recalling and then freezing, like a paused video, on that moment this morning when Ria had taken a cautionary step back at his sledgehammer comment. Inside, his cat crouched low in predatory stillness, a wordless snarl of anger showcasing razor sharp teeth. Santos couldn’t deny he’d wanted Ria within minutes of meeting her, just as any single, healthy virile male would want to indulge in some sheet music with a woman they considered sexy as hell, but his cat had
Lines of dissatisfaction marred his face. Santos understood that and had always accepted the additional workload, and since it was shared with Porter, the burden wasn’t truly heavy. He knew it was more than touch-hunger that was making him lash out at those around him. He’d seen his fair share of interested beauties over the last several months, but the thought of actually touching any one of them was high near repulsive. And that gave rise to an anger that was beginning to seep into his soul.
“It never bothered you this much before.” Rome paused, eyes ever watchful on his newly volatile older brother. “Now you’re practically itching for a fight.”
At Santos’s continued silence, Rome straightened and snapped his fingers like a light bulb suddenly went off in his head. “Wait a minute. Now that I think about it, your behavior started to go to hell two months ago. When Ria first appeared.”
Abruptly shoving to his feet, Santos snarled at his brother. “She’s not my mate, so shut your fucking trap before I do it for you.”
Unconcerned of his safety, Rome came back with a mild, “Hmm. Your language too.”
With an aggravated shake of his head, Santos stalked to the edge of the boat and, in one graceful move, jumped over the side to land neatly on the balls of his feet. “She doesn’t smell right.”
“She doesn’t stink either.” Rome mirrored his brothers action and followed him across the concrete floor to where three metal cabinets lined the wall.
“She smokes.” An abhorrent vice for a creature with a super sensitive sniffer.
“Herbals.”
That single word made Santos stop in his tracks. He turned from replacing the boat keyring on the pegboard in the open cabinet door. “What?”
Rome nodded. “Our rooms are above hers.” He said, referring to where Gwen and he lived, on the third floor, opposite side of their parents. A temporary residence until they decided what they wanted to do. “The smell of lemon, coffee and curry was very strong when Gwen opened the balcony doors last night for some air.”
Brows beetling, Santos muttered almost to himself, “Why would anyone do that?”
“Because they’re either hiding something or they’re hiding from something. Something not human.”
Santos’s face crunched into a perplexed expression. “What?”
“She’s masking her natural scent, and from what else I found out about her, probably for years.”
Ears practically twitching, Santos waited impatiently for Rome to continue. “What do you mean?”
Bland as could be, Rome dropped a bomb. “Ria Montgomery didn’t exist until nine years ago. Oh there’s a birth record, but no school enrollment, no medical records, no teen summer jobs, no taxes or even a social security number until nine years ago.”
Indignation kicked in. “You ran a background check on her?”
Rome jabbed Santos in the chest with a finger. “You think I don’t check out every individual that walks through that door? That stays in the same house as my parents? My mate?”
Another jab that made Santos snag his brother’s hand and push him back a step with a rough growl. “Knock it off.”
“Fine, but you need to find out what’s going on. What’s more, you need to find out what she is. Human or not, I don’t particularly care, but we sure as hell don’t need any more surprises. If she’s in trouble, you need to find out what that trouble is and handle it before it comes to our home.”
Santos mulled that over, his mind recalling and then freezing, like a paused video, on that moment this morning when Ria had taken a cautionary step back at his sledgehammer comment. Inside, his cat crouched low in predatory stillness, a wordless snarl of anger showcasing razor sharp teeth. Santos couldn’t deny he’d wanted Ria within minutes of meeting her, just as any single, healthy virile male would want to indulge in some sheet music with a woman they considered sexy as hell, but his cat had
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