Forest Whispers Read Online Free PDF Page A

figured
she’d seen just about everything since she’d been working for the
rangers, but this was the first time she’d run up on anyone who
claimed to be able to communicate with animals—at least to the
degree he claimed. “The forest?” she echoed. “I doubt there’s an
animal within a mile of us.”
    “ There are not.”
    She watched him as he strode away. Animals
were a stretch, but she could get her mind around that. Animals had
brains and intelligence of a sort. If he was talking to the trees
now, though, she didn’t think she could swallow that.
    Shrugging, she pulled her map from her pack.
“Computer. We’ve missed him. I need a wider range. He’ll be
traveling fast now that he’s made a kill. Give me a fifty mile
radius of this position.”
    Shoving the map back into the pack, she
pulled the locator out and scanned the area. As she’d suspected,
his signature was so strong in this location, the locator was
virtually useless. When she’d stowed it once more, she looked
around.
    Corin had stopped at a little distance from
her and turned to study her curiously.
    “ You are not coming?”
    She waved him on. “I’m waiting for the
computer to survey the area and download a map for me. You go
ahead.”
    He frowned. His lips tightened with anger.
For several moments, he seemed undecided. Finally, he settled to
wait with her.
    Lana sighed irritably. She’d hoped he would
go on about his business. Obviously, he knew she would, too, and he
wasn’t planning on letting her out of his sight. Mentally, she
shrugged. She’d expected to have a local tagging along when she’d
spoken to Rex Pimetrius. She didn’t like it, but there wasn’t a lot
she could do about it.
    The wait made her tense—it took an effort to
resist the urge to pace—but she knew the value of resting while she
could.
    Surreptitiously, she studied Corin Thantos,
remembering the passion that had blossomed between them the night
before. She’d put it down to prolonged abstinence when she’d felt
desire stir inside of her, but she wasn’t prone to lying to
herself. Sex was something she could enjoy thoroughly, but she
could leave it as soon as take it. Her libido never got in the way
of her work—not that she’d allowed it to this time, either, but she
didn’t habitually take time out in the middle of a chase for sex.
Ordinarily, she was far too focused on the job even to think about
her sexuality, and certainly too focused to look at a man as an
object of lust.
    She wasn’t entirely certain of just why
Corin Thantos had had the effect he’d had on her. Granted, he was a
gorgeous specimen—he would’ve been with that body even if she’d
felt like she had to close her eyes—or put a bag over his head, but
even the fierce war paint failed to hide the fact that his face was
as pleasing to the eye as the rest of him.
    There were other aspects, however, that
should’ve been a complete turn off for her—first and foremost being
the attitude typical of the Ata Prime male of being supremely
superior only because they’d been born with a dick and a set of
balls.
    Her computer beeped, dragging her from her
speculation about Corin and back to the task at hand. Pulling it
from her pack, she studied the map the computer had downloaded to
her. As much as she hated to admit it, she could see at a glance
that Corin was probably right.
    The terrain east and west of their location
didn’t look promising … which was probably why Corin had decided
Sadin must have gone north, whatever he said about talking to the
trees.
    Shrugging mentally, she stowed the map and
stood up, shouldering the pack. “North it is.”
    Corin gave her a look, which she
ignored.
    Crossing the farm, they caught the cart
track north of it. The track meandered but basically led northward.
When they stopped briefly to eat, Lana pulled her map out and
studied it, wondering if they could cut some time off their walk by
taking to the forest at any point, but, considering