Goddess Rising Read Online Free PDF

passed, his lips pulled up in a sneer. Sam kept her head down as they raced down the road, Rita close behind.
    As they broke through a clearing, Sam forged ahead, staying close behind Alejandro, keeping him sharp. She smiled grimly as he glanced over his shoulder at her—clearly pissed as she continued to keep up the pace.
    Nothing will get in my way, De Soto. Sam smiled. Nothing and no one.

Chapter 3

    End of August—Friday Night, Two Weeks Later
    Sam’s Apartment, College Station, Texas
    S A M A N T H A
    S am’s front door was practically shaking from the force of Rita’s insistent rapping.
    “Open the damn door, jaina! 1 I know you’re in there! Mira , I can see the light on!”
    “All right, all right —I’m coming!” Sam called out, toweling her wet hair as she approached the door.
    “You’d better be getting ready like I told you to,” Rita announced as she trounced into Sam’s apartment, wearing the tightest dress Sam had ever seen, complete with spiked platform heels even a porn star would have balked at. Rita looked lush and gorgeous, with cinnamon skin and roundabout curves, the exact opposite of Sam’s lithe, almost gamine frame.
    She made a beeline for Sam’s kitchen, pulling out a bottle of Cuervo from her massive handbag.
    “I brought lube,” Rita told her with a saucy little wink.
    “I can see that,” Sam replied dryly. “I’d like to point out you’re the only chick I know who rolls with her own bottle of tequila at all times.”
    “Hey, you can never be too safe at these parties, chica ,” Rita replied smartly as she poured them both shots. “Have you tasted the shit these frat boys serve? Lukewarm, flat beer from God only knows where?” Rita handed Sam a glass, toasting her with a clink before knocking back the shot.
    Sam eyed the glass with trepidation. She wasn’t particularly fond of tequila, but she knew better than to argue with Rita, especially when she was about to mount a much larger battle and try to wiggle out of going out with her tonight. Sam threw the shot back quickly, struggling not to wince as the liquor burned down her throat.
    “Sooo, about tonight…” Sam began carefully.
    Rita’s smile slipped off her carefully made-up face as she realized what was coming. “NO!” she exclaimed. “ No, no, no —Samantha Wyatt, you are not standing me up for the first big party weekend of the year! ¡No mames! 2 , Sam! No way!”
    “Rita, think rationally,” Sam reasoned. “We’ve spent the last two weeks slogging our guts out with training, and classes have just started. We’ve both got to be up at 0500 tomorrow—”
    Rita refilled their tequila shots before shoving the glass back into Sam’s hand. “Put this in your mouth and stop thinking. I don’t want to hear any of your serious, wet-blanket bullshit tonight, Sam— I mean it . I love you like a sister—like my own blood,” Rita told her seriously. “But I will cut you if you leave me hanging. You do not bail on your best friend the first good party weekend of our sophomore year. You’re my wing woman for God’s sake—”
    “You mean, ‘sober companion,’” Sam replied wryly. “Saving you from bumping uglies with some Sigma Tau jackass when you’ve had too much of this shit,” she said, gesturing toward the shots.
    “YES! Yes . It is your job to help a sister out here!” Rita rounded the counter, grabbing Sam’s hand as she tried to drag her back to her bedroom. “You are going out with me tonight, or I will kill you.”
    “I’d like to see you try,” Sam drawled.
    “I will go straight up hood on your ass, Sammy,” Rita threatened, working her neck and her finger. She pointed at Sam’s bedroom. “Go put a dress on— now!”
    Sam sighed, running a hand through her still-damp hair. “Rita, I have to take shit seriously. This year is a game changer, and you know I want to make it onto the Challenge—”
    “Goddamn, jaina , you’re the most serious bitch I know. You’re