The Soul Stealer (9 page)

“What is it, boy? What’s out there?” she asked in a soothing voice, hoping to calm him down, needing her own heart to steady. She felt around on his body to make sure he wasn’t hurt or bleeding anywhere, but he seemed to be fine. Malia stood up and a cold shiver went down her spine. They both waited at the window, but nothing came through the trees. Whatever had been following them didn’t want to come out of the wild.

Malia picked up her cell phone and called Lani’s number. “Hi, can you come over?” she asked without any ceremony after Lani answered the phone.

“Uhhh, sure, but Eric and I were just about to watch the game.”

“The game?”

“Yeah, you know, Sunday football? The Raiders are playing.”

“I’ll buy all the pizza and beer you want. You fly, I buy?” Malia didn’t want to sound desperate, but the panic came through in her voice anyway.

“Okay, but the guys are here—Kainoa, Jack and Keanu—so I gotta bring them, too.”

“The more the merrier,” Malia said with a nod as she glanced at Max. He was still watching out the window in an alert manner. Loud, screaming football fans seemed just the thing to bring the day back to normalcy.

Malia plopped down on the tattered, brown sofa and waited, not wanting to make a move until they got there. She was used to her life being filled with trauma, but lately things didn’t make any sense. She put her head back and closed her eyes, feeling her neck stretch back. She had to confront Hunter and make him tell her his secrets. He had them, and now she wanted to know what they were, and why her life was out of control since they met. Control had been important for so long; she couldn’t lose it now.

The noise of the guys watching the football game drove Malia to the kitchen to finish her sewing. She had tried to be social for the first half of the game, but now just felt grateful for the company. Max sat in the corner, still a bit jumpy.

“Hey, howz it?” Lani asked as she walked into the kitchen to get another beer. She threw her empty bottle into the overflowing trash can under the sink. “Come watch the fourth quarter with us.”

Malia shook her head. “Football and me go only so far.” She smiled at Lani and kept pinning the ripped seam of the dress in her hands.

“Okay.” Lani took a sip of beer and disappeared into the living room.

Malia sighed and got up. She couldn’t stand to have the trash so full, so she grabbed the handles on the plastic bag and pulled it out of the canister. The sun was getting low in the sky but children still played ball in the cul de sac, so Malia felt safe once more as she took the plastic bag to the trash bin at the end of the driveway. It must have been a wild boar or dog chasing them this morning, and it was probably more interested in Max than her.

“Hi Auntie Jenna,” she said with a wave to the woman who had lived next to her family forever. Auntie Jenna’s curly hair was now entirely white, and her back stooped so she was visibly smaller than she used to be.

“Oh, my dear,” said Auntie Jenna. “I just want to let you know that your boyfriend was in your house yesterday while you were at work. I know how trusting you are, but you shouldn’t let him have free reign in your house when you’re not here, ya’ know.”

Malia’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You mean my tenant, right Auntie? The guy who’s staying in Grandma’s studio?”

“Ohhhh,” Auntie Jenna said. Her eyes looked glazed through her thick glasses. “Well, I don’t know, my dear. That blond boy. I thought he was your boyfriend since he’s here everyday while you’re gone.”

“You mean Hunter. He’s my tenant,” Malia said. “But he has brown hair, Auntie, not blond.”

Auntie Jenna looked confused for a moment and then gave a little laugh. “Oh no, I know who you’re talking about. He’s the handsome one. I meant the other boy, the blond. It’s good you have some boys to keep you company.” She patted Malia’s arm and then walked away chuckling.

Malia stood frozen, unable to form a complete thought. She blinked, trying to pull herself out of shock, and then ran up the stairs. She went straight to the refrigerator, popped open a beer, and downed it with her head tilted back, hoping the bitter, bubbly liquid would numb her as quickly as it had the other night.

Kainoa walked into the kitchen when she was about halfway through the beer. “Now you’re talkin’, girl,” he said with a smile. “You need to loosen up.”

Malia stopped guzzling the beer and looked at him as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Kainoa reminded her all too much of Alex, with his short-cropped hair, tattooed arms and hairless skin—just the kind of guy she used to want. He moved toward her with a certain look in his brown eyes, and his arm went around her waist.

“I’ve always had a thing for you,” Kainoa said under his breath, as he looked her up and down.

The squeak of the screen door opening caused her to look away from Kainoa.

Hunter stood in the doorway and looked from Malia to Kainoa in surprise. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize you had company,” he said. Although his words were polite, Hunter’s voice had an edge to it. His hands were in the pockets of his jeans, and the brown leather bag slung over one shoulder and across his chest. Although his stance was casual, he seemed ready to pounce. There was fire in his eyes as he focused on Kainoa’s hand on her waist.

Malia felt like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, but a mischievous smile played across Kainoa’s face as he looked at Hunter.

“Some friends came over to watch the football game. That’s all,” Malia said, as she took Kainoa’s hand off her waist and walked away from him, making it clear they weren’t together. Kainoa laughed, enjoying the trouble he had caused, and walked back into the living room.

“He’s just someone I know from high school. A friend of Eric’s, really,” she said, wondering why she felt the need to explain anything to Hunter. She cleared her throat to gather courage before speaking again. Then she looked directly at him. “We need to talk.” Malia knew those words were the best way to get any guy to run the other way, but she had to say them.

“Shall I come back after your guests have left?” Again his words were polite, but Hunter emphasized each one in a sarcastic manner as his eyes flashed toward the doorway to the living room.

Malia took a deep breath.
How dare he think he has any say about who I invite to my home!
She wasn’t about to let any man have control over her again, especially a stranger.

“Let’s not wait,” she answered in a clipped manner. “Let’s go to the studio.” Malia brushed past Hunter and went down the stairs, confident he would follow.

She stopped at the door to the studio and tapped her foot while Hunter fished the key out of his pocket, but the fresh fragrance of his hair filled her senses. She couldn’t help but close her eyes for a moment to let the feeling of having him close engulf her. Her anger with him was annoyingly weak.

After they stepped inside, she looked around the studio, surprised to find it so clean it almost sparkled. The bed was made, there were no dirty dishes in the sink, and his clothes were folded in a neat stack of T-shirts, jeans, and board shorts for the ocean.

“You can use the dresser,” she said as she looked at the pitiful dresser her grandmother had used for years.

“I know,” Hunter replied, as he took off his leather bag and set it carefully on the floor by the bed. “But since I’m only going to live here for a month, I figure it best not to get too comfortable.”

Malia winced at the thought of him leaving, but she did remember making that stipulation the first day he was there. And it would be for the best, after all, she reminded herself.

“Wow, you bought a laptop,” she said. It wasn’t just a laptop, but one of the most advanced and pricey models on the market. She had recently been shopping for a new system for the shop and had considered this one, but it was way above her budget. She wondered how he could afford such an expensive computer if he didn’t have a job or a permanent home.

“Yeah,” he said with a frown in the direction of the laptop. “It’s a little primitive, but it works.”

“Primitive? It’s got all the latest stuff.”

“Right,” Hunter said with a flash of confusion on his face. “I’m just used to more advanced software for my research. I just wanted to have something to get on the internet with, so it serves that purpose.”

“Oh,” she said with a nod. “But the studio isn’t wired for access.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ve been tapping into some wireless networks in the neighborhood, probably yours.”

“Are you from a wealthy family?”

By the look on his face, the question caught Hunter by surprise. He smiled a bit. “I guess I am. Why would you ask me that?”

“You seem to come by money pretty easily, as if it means nothing to you, even though you don’t have a job. I’d bet you’ve never had a real job. That story about working in a restaurant and getting fired was a lie, wasn’t it?”

Hunter leveled his violet eyes at her, and his face became an expressionless mask. “Yes, it was. And you’re right, I’ve never had a job, other than the tasks my father has given me.”

“Why did you lie to me? I guess I should make that more present tense, like why do you keep lying to me?”

“Because I didn’t think you would want me if you knew what I am.”

“And what are you?” She wasn’t about to let him off the hook.

Hunter looked around the room and then back to her. “I guess you could say I have a different way about me than most people, even those of my kind.”

“Could you be a little more specific?” Malia folded her arms across her chest.

“Well, I have special gifts I inherited from my mother.”

She raised her eyebrows, not sure how to respond.

Hunter sighed. “I have clairvoyant tendencies.”

“You’re psychic, or something?” Malia hadn’t expected that answer. “So what, you can read my mind?”

“Not entirely, no. Some feelings, though. Mostly I see what might happen in the future, and I have flashes of insight into the workings of the universe that others don’t have, which enables me to use science and other technology and skills to my advantage. But I don’t focus on people’s present thoughts,” Hunter said with a shake of his head. “It’s too intrusive.”

Malia stared at him, not sure she understood what he was telling her. She had always believed in psychic abilities, but she’d never met anyone who actually had them.

“Okay, I guess that explains some things about you,” she said as she took a step away from him. “So, why are you here trying to make me believe you love me?”

“I do love you,” Hunter said as his intense eyes bored into hers.

“That’s not what I meant to ask.” She sat down on the bed and had to look away to gather her thoughts. “Why are you here, and why do I feel like we’ve met before, or that you somehow know me?”

Hunter sat on the corner of the bed, close to Malia, and rested his hand on her knee in a tentative manner. The contact sent warm flushes through her body, and again she marveled at her physical reaction to him. She wanted to reach out and run her fingers through his hair and smooth over the ruffled strands, but she kept her hands to herself, knowing she wouldn’t stop there.

“I do know you,” he said in a silky voice. “I know everything about you. I’ve seen you all my life, in my visions. I know what you were like as a child. I know what happened to your mother, and how much pain it caused you. It still affects you. I know how your husband disappointed you. I feel your body filled with trauma and stressful emotions that you’ve somehow managed to control, or suppress, for a very long time. And I can almost see the barrier you’ve built around your heart.” Hunter moved toward her as he spoke in an even tone. “You are my other half, the one I belong with. And I’ve traveled from a faraway place to be with you, so I can be whole for the first time in my life. I’m only complete when I’m with you.” Hunter leaned closer, and rested his hand on her thigh. His violet eyes sought acceptance in hers. “You don’t have to be strong and try to make it on your own anymore. I’m here now, and you don’t have to be lonely any longer. I’m here.”

Malia couldn’t stop tears from flowing down her cheeks. Her heart caught in her throat.

Hunter closed his eyes and touched his forehead to hers. His voice became barely a whisper. “I’ll do anything for you. Anything. Just ask.”

Malia swallowed hard. “Will you tell me the truth about yourself?” She couldn’t see the expression on his face or what was in his eyes. It was too dark in the room and he was too close.

“Yes,” he answered with a sigh. “Soon.”

His hands went around her back, and Hunter’s lips touched hers, sending sparks of fire through her. She forgot her anger, she forgot her resolve to finally get answers from him, and she even forgot that he was a virgin. Malia unbuttoned his white shirt as she kissed him and ran her hands over the smooth skin of his well-muscled chest and abdomen. Wanting to put her hands on his impressive six-pack, she pulled the shirt down over his strong shoulders, then lower. She took her lips from his and then planted them at the base of his neck. She wanted to kiss him everywhere. Hunter didn’t protest as her lips moved over his neck, and her hands went to the button of his jeans.

“Can I have my way with you?” she asked with a smile as she pushed him down on the bed to kiss his tight bellybutton and then proceeded to go lower, freeing him from any clothes that got in the way. He gasped and then trembled as she took him in her mouth. Malia lost all thought and instinct took over as she showed Hunter just how much she adored him and what she was willing to do to please him. Hunter’s hands went to his face as he groaned in a deep writhing shudder, and his body released into her mouth. Malia felt a power over him she had never felt with anyone else, as if she were a goddess and he her slave, succumbing to her whims. He was right. He was hers to do with as she pleased.

She took her mouth away, and he sighed, and then he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up on top of him. His lips locked around hers, and his arms went tightly around her. Hunter rolled so Malia was pinned underneath him, but his lips never left hers and his tongue possessed her mouth.