Gray's Domain: Purgatorium Series, Book Two Read Online Free PDF Page B

love it.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Four: Snakes
     
    After lunch, Daphne said goodbye to her parents in front of their unit before continuing down the path to Brock’s.  Cam and Bridget caught up with her and pulled her aside by the tennis courts, which were abandoned.
    “Want to have some fun with Brock today?” Bridget couldn’t stop giggling.
    Daphne glanced at Cam. “What do you have in mind?”
    Cam gave her a mischievous smile. “Let’s just say today would be a great day for a picnic.”
    “I just ate,” Daphne said.
    “But Brock hasn’t,” Bridget pointed out. “You could make him a couple of sandwiches in the room and suggest eating on the bluff overlooking the beach.”
    “The one you like to jump from?” Daphne asked.
    Bridget blushed, apparently unaware until then that Daphne knew about the exercise with newcomers. “That’s right. So?”
    “Anyway, there are extra blankets in the chest at the foot of his bed,” Cam said. “Use one of those for the picnic, and don’t be surprised if a few snakes join you on the bluff.”
    “What?” The corners of Daphne’s mouth reached all the way to her cheeks. This sounded like fun. “Not poisonous ones.”
    “Of course not,” Cam said. “Perfectly harmless, but scary as hell.”
    “You have to pretend to be frightened of them, too,” Bridget coached her. “And don’t look like you’re waiting for something to happen.”
    “We almost didn’t tell you for that very reason,” Cam said.
    Bridget put her hands on her slim hips. “You could ruin the whole exercise if you don’t play it cool.”
    “Just spread the blanket next to the big boulder on top of the bluff,” Cam said. “We’ll be hiding on the other side with the snakes. Go in about an hour, so we have time to set everything up.”
    “What should I do when we see the snakes?” Daphne asked. “Run?”
    “Improvise,” Cam said. “You can’t really mess this up, unless you’re obviously expecting something to happen.”
    “You know the one rule, right?” Bridget said with a sober look on her face.
    “Right.”
    “And remember,” Cam said. “It’s not why, but what.”
    Cam and Bridget walked off hand in hand, leaving Daphne to process this new information. With a smile on her lips, she turned and headed for Brock’s unit.
    When he came to the door, he had that oh-so-hot, fresh-from-a-nap look about him. She wanted to throw her arms around him and push him on the bed. She almost forgot all about the picnic with the snakes. Almost.
    “I didn’t sleep well last night,” he said. “The prank with the ghosts freaked me out.”
    She didn’t want to admit as he closed the door behind her and took her in his arms that she had had the best night of sleep since her arrival. The exercise with the ghosts had purged her of anger and guilt and a whole lot of messed up feelings.
    “I’m tired from the morning hike with my parents. Mind if I join you?”
    He grinned in that sexy way that almost made her forget she was mad at him. “Do you have to ask?”
    She kicked off her shoes and curled beside him on the bed, offering to scratch his back. He purred like a kitten beneath her fingernails. She had to suck in her lips to keep from giggling. She couldn’t wait to see him scream.
    “Reminds me of the good ol’ days,” he said softly.
    Her heart skipped a beat as the smile left her. How could she be so cruel?
    “Remember that time I got snowed in at your house?” he asked.
    “Of course I do.” Her parents had let him stay overnight on their sleeper-sofa.
    “I prayed for hours that you’d come visit me in the middle of the night. I was shocked when you actually appeared. I thought I was dreaming.”
    “It felt like a dream.” She sighed. Those were the days when she was still trying to cheer him ups after his mother had died—before Daphne had begun to feel guilty about her own happiness. It wasn’t long