Ashes to Ashes (Experiment in Terror #8) by Karina Halle Read Free Book Online

old truck there while we went
down the road. Her boobs were banging around from the potholes and
I was trying to keep my massive erection hidden.”
    She wrinkled her face. “Ugh.
Nevermind, you guys keep your thoughts to yourself.”
    I frowned, both turned on and
strangely flattered. “You had an erection from that?”
    Rebecca’s manicured nails
fluttered in my face. “I said, keep your bloody thoughts to
yourself. I don’t want to hear about anyone’s erections. Boobs,
maybe.”
    Dex sighed. “Rebecca, you’re
missing out on so many beautiful wonders about the male body.” He
gave me a sly look. “And yes, I had a hard-on most of the time I
was around you. Why do you think I was so fidgety? It wasn’t always
the meds, baby. It was your tits and ass and face and everything
else I thought I could never have.”
    I couldn’t help but smile at
that, at finding out what he first thought of me. And now I wanted
to prod him for more. God, I was such a doofus.
    Fortunately Rebecca was spared
from further tidbits because the front door to the house swung open
and Uncle Al appeared in the doorway, eyeing us suspiciously like
we were lost tourists or trespassers.
    I took in a deep breath. “We
better get out and say hello before he pulls a Clint Eastwood on
us.”
    We climbed out of the car, the
scent of the dunes and meats grilling on the BBQ bringing me back
again.
    I’d last seen my uncle and
cousins in December, so there wasn’t much difference to them over
the last six months. But oh, wait. Behind the jovial grin of Uncle
Al and his thinning slicked back hair was the look of a man in
peace, a man in love. Before I had a chance to wonder if he was
still with the woman he had been seeing, I saw her appear behind
him: a tiny woman with vivid eyes and a long, delicate face. Marda,
I think her name was.
    I quickly tugged down the
sleeve of my shirt, planning to keep my tattoo hidden from him
until my parents had a chance to see it.
    “ Perry!” my
uncle exclaimed, throwing his arms open. As if I were a little girl
again, I ran over to him with a shy smile on my lips and threw
myself into his embrace. He smelled like this strong cologne he
always wore but I inhaled the scent anyway.
    “ Hey, Uncle
Al,” I said as I pulled away, looking up at him. “You’re looking
great.” A little bit tubbier but I wasn’t one to talk. Looks like
we’d both put on the “love pounds.”
    “ Perry,
bella,” he said, giving me another quick hug. “You’re still blind,
I see.” He winked at me and then turned to his lady friend. “You
remember Marda, of course?”
    “ Of course,” I
said, offering my hand to her but she pulled me into a hug instead.
I felt like I was crushing her bones. “Nice to see you
again.”
    I looked behind me at Dex and
Rebecca who were hovering between us and the car. Dex was trying to
smile but I could tell he was nervous; he’d taken off his hat and
was holding it anxiously in his hands. You’d think he was about to
meet the President or something. It was actually damn
endearing.
    “ This is Dex
and Rebecca,” I said, though I knew he knew who Dex was. He knew
very well. Not just because of the ruckus we caused in his
lighthouse, but because he saw how in love with Dex I had been. He
was the one who told me that my infatuation for him was creating a
hole in my heart and that I’d get hurt and be stronger for it.
Well, he was kind of right about all that.
    “ Hello,
Dex,”my uncle said, walking toward him to shake his hand. Dex
smiled sincerely and I could tell he was giving him one hell of a
handshake. It was a lot different than the first time they met. Dex
was really trying to make a better impression.
    “ Thanks for
having us over,” Dex said. “Really appreciate it.”
    Oh boy, was he ever trying.
    Even Uncle Al seemed a bit
taken aback, raising his brows before shrugging. “It’s no problem
at all. When Perry said she was coming for a visit, I was
overjoyed. We all were. We