Stalked by Death (Touch of Death) by Kelly Hashway Read Free Book Online Page B

raised an eyebrow. “Okay.” He didn’t hesitate. He closed his door and wrapped one arm around my waist as we headed to my room.
    Okay, so I’d purposely misled him, but I had to get him to come with me. It was the only way I was going to make it through the group movie. The only way I’d be able to keep myself from staring at Chase. As we got to my open door, Alex heard and saw the group inside.
    “What’s going on?” He stopped short, hooking his finger through my belt loop so I had to stop, too.
    “Movie night.” I tried to sound all innocent. “Come on. Things have been tense lately. I think it would do everyone good to hang out and watch a zombie flick.”
    “A zombie flick? What moron decided that would be a good movie choice for a bunch of stressed out necromancers?”
    “I did.” Chase stepped into the doorway. “This was my idea, only I was hoping—”
    “That everyone would think the zombie thing was funny,” I blurted out before Chase could tell Alex what his real plan had been. To get me alone.
    “Funny?” Alex asked.
    “You know, in an ironic kind of way.” I forced a laugh and reached for his hand, lacing my fingers through his.
    Chase’s eyes dropped to our hands before he gave me a look that clearly meant “What are you trying to prove?”
    “Shall we?” I motioned toward my room.
    As we went inside, Alex whispered in my ear, “You owe me. Big.”
    I reached up and kissed his cheek. He gave me a small smile, and we sat down on the bed. I kind of thought the bed would give out under the weight of all five of us, but it held strong. The movie was every bit as cheesy as I’d expected it to be. We were all cracking up five minutes into it.
    “Oh, yeah, as if a zombie would really walk around with its arms out all the time,” Randy said.
    Leticia laughed. “Or yelling, ‘Braaaaiiins,’” she said in her best Hollywood zombie voice.
    I smiled at Alex, happy to see everyone having a good time. Well, almost everyone. Chase was sitting by my feet, and he spent most of the movie staring at me instead of the screen. I ignored him as best as I could, trying to keep my attention on the movie.
    I must have been tired because, at one point, I dozed off to the sounds of everyone talking and getting along. I woke up to a tingling in my foot. It started very lightly and crept up my leg. The sensation was electrifying, and after all the stress I’d been under, it felt amazing. I opened my eyes and rolled over slightly, resting my head on Alex’s chest.
    “Thanks, that feels great.”
    “What does?” he asked.
    I saw Alex’s hands behind his head. I discreetly looked down at his feet, thinking maybe he was rubbing my foot with one of his, but his legs were crossed. My gaze met Chase’s, and he smiled.
    Oh, God!
    “Jodi, what feels great?” Alex asked again.
    “Being here with you.” I tried to keep my voice steady. “Thanks again for agreeing to this.”
    He smiled. “I don’t really have a choice when it comes to you.”
    I put my head back down on his chest and stared at Chase. He was still rubbing my foot, sending waves of this strange tingling sensation throughout my body. Why wasn’t I stopping him? I willed my foot to move away from Chase’s hand, but it wouldn’t. I was paralyzed by this feeling. I didn’t want it to stop. Not really.
    I closed my eyes, giving in to it. My blood surged with power I’d never felt before. It was sort of like the power I used to raise souls, but there was something different about it. Something stronger. Something that felt almost wrong. Yet, I couldn’t stop it. Wrong felt right.
    I felt Chase’s fingers on my other foot now too, and the power welling up inside me doubled. I didn’t know what was happening. Only that I didn’t want it to end.
    “Jodi?” Alex’s weight shifted under me. “Are you okay?”
    I couldn’t answer. Couldn’t open my eyes. I was lost in the power. Lost in Chase’s touch. The energy in my body was