Emanare (Destined, #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

anyone on her walk, especially not the dark stranger from outside the bar. “You scared me,” she said.
    “Sorry, I didn’t think a pretty girl would be out here all alone.” He smiled, exposing his gleaming white teeth against that dark 5 o’clock shadow. His eyes had a hardness about them, a bad-boy toughness, making him seem too dangerous to approach. With his smooth confidence, looks, and darkly charming demeanor, Sam was certain he left girls everywhere crying in the dust.
    “I couldn’t sleep.” Sam shrugged her shoulders.
    “Me either.” He swaggered over to the brick wall. “Can I sit with you?”
    “Sure. You know, it’s kind of odd, us meeting twice like this. Do you have a name?”
    “Cale—Cale Ember. It’s nice to meet you.” He extended his hand.
    “Sam Campbell.” She shook his hand, involuntarily gasping at how warm his skin felt against her frozen fingers. “Do you go to Tolbert?”
    “Yes. I assume you do to, since it’s six o’clock on a Saturday morning and you’re sitting in the middle of campus.” He laughed.
    “This is my second semester,” she said. “Freshman.”
    “Ah…” A gust of wind blew over the brick walkway between the English Hall and the Fine Arts building. He buttoned the top button of his black wool coat. Sam twirled her shoulder-length blond hair up into a loose bun to keep it from blowing in her face.
    “You look good with your hair back. It shows off your neck.” Cale pushed a loose piece of hair she had missed behind her ear. His fingers tickled the side of her face, tracing the tender skin below her jaw. He removed enough of her scarf to expose her neck. The chilly air touched her skin. She stiffened.
    Sam felt the blood rush from her brain to her cheeks, causing a euphoric lightheadedness. His touch scorched her flesh. “Um—thanks.” She gulped.
    “So, that was your boyfriend you were with last night?”
    “Well, yes, I mean, no, I—I don’t know.” She shook her head, playing nervously with the yarn on the end of her knit scarf.
    His eyes tightened skeptically. “You don’t know. What, did you have a fight?” He leaned into her like she had juicy details to share. “Was it a lover’s quarrel?” he joked awkwardly.
    “I—I don’t remember him.” She regretted her words. She sounded crazy.
    “You don’t remember your own boyfriend?” Cale’s eyebrows rose quizzically.
    Great—he does think I’m crazy. Sam focused on the red brick pavers under her feet, rolling a loose stone under her heel. “I don’t really want to talk about it.” She raised her head, meeting Cale’s intense dusky browns with her not-so-dark, boring brown eyes and smiled warily. “Right now, I don’t have a boyfriend – at least not one that I remember.” A feeling of sadness rippled through her. It came from somewhere she couldn’t quite recall.
    “He didn’t like me,” he said coldly. His eyes veered off to the side.
    “Yeah, it looked that way,” she agreed. Cale focused on something in the distance.
    Sam’s gaze shifted to a floating bright light in the same direction he stared. It bounced in mid-air, suspended by nothing but blue sky, resembling a bright star emitting colorful rays of sunshine while it danced. She blinked and the ball of light disappeared. She felt his stare on the side of her face, but she didn’t turn her head.
    “Did something happen to make Evrik so angry?” she said, still watching for the light to appear again.
    “So his name’s Evrik,” Cale said flatly.
    She wondered why he cared. She nodded, only half-listening.
    “Evrik seems possessive,” he added.
    Sam met his stare with an overwhelming need to defend Evrik. “What do you mean?”
    “Relax. I just meant he didn’t like me interfering in your business. I was just trying to make sure you were okay.” Cale’s lips arched into flirtatious smile.
    “I’m fine. Thanks for being concerned.” Sam felt his hand on hers—fire against her ice-cold fingers,