Read Online Primal Cravings by Susan Sizemore - Free Book Online

Laurent had been raised in a Tribe himself, where any touching between Primes was only for inflicting pain to show dominance.
    “I’ve traced the girl to this area, and to a group that calls themselves the Burners. But I haven’t yet found out who the Burners are or where they’re keeping the kid.”
    “That’s because you weren’t drinking at the right table,” Piper said. “I know where the Burners are hanging out.”

Chapter Thirteen
    Piper stepped onto the street and closed the car door. The sun wasn’t quite up, but it was light enough to make out details of the landscape. He looked up and down the curve of the suburban street tucked on the hillside, and gave an exaggerated shudder.
    “Scariest place I’ve ever seen,” he said.
    House after almost identical house stood out in the first faint glow of dawn light. Dee saw what the Prime found disturbing, but she didn’t think the sight was anything to sneer at.
    “I grew up in a neighborhood like this,” she said, coming to stand in front of him on the empty street. “Well, it didn’t look a thing like this, with the multiple garages and huge yards.”
    “What did it look like, then?”
    “Blocky brick houses all alike, set close together on street after street, with tiny yards. Typical Chicago neighborhood. It’s what goes on inside that makes a home or a hell.”
    He stared at her. “I have no concept.”
    His dark eyes held a confused pain that momentarily made her want to hug him.
    “It’s what goes on in the houses that matters,” Dee said. “Our house zinged with spell work, but we didn’t bother the neighbors.”
    “I suppose black magic doesn’t have to bother the neighbors, either.”
    She chuckled. “If anything is going to bother the neighbors around here, it’ll probably be us.”
    He chuckled too. They shared a conspiratorial look. “Keep it quiet and professional, people,” they both said, quoting the Dark Angel leader’s usual pre-raid pep talk.
    They moved toward the back of the target house. Laurent Wolf had called in another member of the Bleythin detective agency, a werewolf named Harry. The Prime and the werewolf were going in through the front of the house. Two Primes and a werewolf weren’t worried about going up against some devil-worshiping humans, magic or no magic. While no one had said anything, Dee supposed the three macho immortals considered her the weak link in their little invasion force.
    “If I tell you to wait here, you won’t, will you?” Piper asked after they crossed a wide deck to reach a sliding glass door. Her mortal, but highly trained, senses tingled with warning. The place grew creepier with every step.
    “The place is warded strongly enough to give even you a nasty headache,” she said. “I’ll be perfectly happy to wait here until the energy dissipates attacking you.”
    “Happy to be of service,” he grumbled.
    Curtains pulled across the glass door blocked any view into the house. Piper touched the glass, fingers splayed out.
    Dee couldn’t help but notice the long-fingered, elegant yet powerful shape of his hands as they splayed across the glass. The more she was around him, the more she noticed about him. The visceral data were almost overwhelming. She’d been so much happier merely being aware of Jake Piper as an object of suspicion.
    “TMI,” she grumbled.
    “You’re right about the headache,” he said. “They are definitely trying to blank out energy signatures. I can’t pick up a specific number or people inside. Lots of psychic energy blending together. They are up to no good, I can tell that much. But we already know that.” He looked back at Dee. “Black magic at dawn? Don’t you people do your ceremonies at midnight on a full moon?”
    “Dark of the moon is better for black magic,” she answered. “Which it is at the moment. If they call themselves Burners, they’re likely invoking solar energy.”
    “Hence, sunrise human sacrifice,” Piper said, turning to