Page 69 of Spark
It was dangerous and exciting and completely feral. She loved it.
Then he bit her throat and actuallygrowledagainst her skin. Her climax exploded, a white-hot detonation of pleasure that sent sparks of sensation through her belly.
Chris growled again, then all of his muscles tensed. He shuddered against her, burying his face between her shoulder and neck, and his hot breath panted against her bare skin.
They stayed like that for a long moment, as her climax gradually died away in a slow series of pulses that sent languid ripples of pleasure through Sophie’s body, all the way out to her fingers and toes.
“Wow,” she breathed finally.
He chuckled and slowly lowered her until she was standing again. Sophie wobbled and realized that her legs were shaking. Chris steadied her with an arm around her waist. She could swear that he was looking as smug as a cat who’d just caught a bird.
“Want to head back to the car and continue this date at my place?” he asked.
She laughed. “Like I’d say no, after…that.”
* * *
Tringstad Farm
Tuesday, June 19
“So, you think that old hotel is haunted?” asked Sven Tringstad, chuckling. “I’ve heard the stories, of course. Haven’t been there myself in years.”
He handed Sophie a cup of tea.
From Alejandro Ornelas’s description of the man at their interview, she had half expected Mr. Tringstad to resemble some kind of ogre. Instead, he was a friendly and charming old man who looked an awful lot like Santa Claus, with a white beard, bright blue eyes, and a big smile.
Annika had told her that her great-uncle had a reputation for being always ready to help his neighbors, and that he and his wife played prominent roles in organizing fundraising drives for various local charities, including the no-kill animal shelter.
Sophie had spent most of the past week concentrating on sorting out her suddenly-complicated personal life.
After she returned home on Tuesday morning after her date with Chris, she was sporting a few finger-shaped bruises on her hips from their vigorous tryst in the park, and a bite mark on the top of her breast from later that evening, after they’d returned to his house.
After changing into clean clothes and making sure that her fresh top didn’t reveal any embarrassing marks, she decided that since things were feeling a little more settled now between her, Chris, and Matt, it was time to return to focusing on work.
Having spoken to Alejandro Ornelas two weekends ago, the next logical step was to interview Laura’s uncle, Sven Tringstad. According to what Annika had told her, her great-uncle was still alive and living in a retirement cottage on the Tringstad farm.
Sophie gathered up her courage—phoning strangers was at the top of her list of things that made her nervous and she really hated— and called him after breakfast.
To her surprise, he not only agreed to the interview, but asked her if she was interested in coming to his place that afternoon for tea and some homemade Swedish Midsummer Cake at his cottage.
“My granddaughter Linnea baked it for me, and it’s too much for an old man to eat by himself,” he said. “The missus is out of town right now, visiting our grandchildren in Spokane, and I’ll be glad of some company.”
The Tringstad Farm's retirement cottage turned out to be a charming log cabin located a few hundred yards away from the main farm house. Inside, the cottage had a distinctively Scandinavian feel to it, with white-painted walls and light hardwood floors, a rustic stone fireplace, and lace curtains on all the windows.
Now, as her host cut a generous slice of the cake, which looked scrumptious with layers of cake and whipped cream heaped with strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, Sophie asked, “What kind of stories have you heard about the Bearpaw Springs Resort, Mr. Tringstad?”
“Please, call me Sven,” he said, handing her a plate with the piece of cake. “And I’ve heard all kinds of stories about that place. Why don’t you tell me a little about your article, and I’ll try to fill in with anything you haven’t heard before.”
“Sounds good,” Sophie agreed. She took a bite of the cake. It was delicious.
She told him about the incidents she’d uncovered, including the apparition that had driven Calidus’s dishwasher to quit.
“What’s your interest in this story? Haveyouever seen a ghost or experienced anything strange at that hotel?” Sven asked, smiling.
Sophie smiled back.He seems like such a kind person. I wonder if my grandparents would have been anything like him.
Then, to her surprise, she told him about what she had seen at her birthday dinner.
