Simmer

By

Kaitlyn Davis

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Kaitlyn Davis

Cover Art: Manipulated by Kaitlyn Davis from
attribution licensed flickr creative commons photos by:
Andrew
Kuznetsov
and
Leland
Francisco

The right of Kaitlyn Davis to be identified as the
author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

This eBook is copyright material and must not be
copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or
publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically
permitted in writing by the author, as allowed under the terms and
conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by
applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of
this text may be direct infringement of the author's rights and
those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

This is a work of fiction and any resemblances
between the characters and persons living or dead is purely
coincidental.

Other Titles by Kaitlyn Davis

Ignite
(Midnight Fire Series Book One)

Blaze
(Midnight Fire Series Book Three)

Scorch
(Midnight Fire Series Book Four… coming
in 2013!)

To my family for their unconditional love,

my friends for their overwhelming support,

and my fans for their incredible enthusiasm.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Table of
Contents
:

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Keep An Eye Out For Book Three

About The Author

Connect With The Author

Chapter
One

"I hate packing," Kira whined and collapsed
onto the heap of clothes piled high on her bed. She did not want to
move another muscle.

"Just pick out some outfits," Tristan
chuckled, not looking up from the pad of paper he was scribbling
on.

Kira arched her head, glancing in his
direction. He sat with one leg outstretched and one knee bent,
leaning against her headboard in relaxed concentration. With
squinted eyes, he focused on rubbing in the graphite pencil marks
he had just made with his already blackened fingers. If she wasn't
so tired, Kira would have crawled a little closer to see what he
was drawing, but instead she dropped her head with a sigh.

"Easy for you to say. You just have to sit on
my bed looking all artistic and mysterious while I run around like
a crazy person trying to get ready for two months at conduit boot
camp."

"Then my plan is working perfectly," he
smirked and finally put the sketchbook down. Kira peeked over at
the pages, wondering what image of her he was crafting, but saw the
last thing she ever expected: a self-portrait. Fighting her
exhaustion, Kira jumped up in curiosity.

"What are you doing?" She spun the image to
look at it closer, noting the strong cheekbones and crystal eyes he
had drawn perfectly. The hairs that always threatened to fall over
his eyes seemed just ready to spill and Kira saw the faint outline
of her own features. She realized he had been sketching both of
them.

"Just something for you to take to
Sonnyville, to carry around and show everyone, especially any guys
ages eighteen to twenty-two..."

Kira rolled her eyes. "You know I don't date
men who are younger than a hundred. I can't stand the immaturity
level."

Tristan grabbed her hand and pulled her
against his chest, making her giggle. With her arms wrapped around
his waist, she let her breath slow to the pace of his heartbeat.
Tristan's strong arms encircled her, hugging her as tightly against
his body as he could, and he sighed.

"I'm going to miss you," he whispered and
Kira's mouth widened into a smile. She rested her chin on his chest
so she could look into his face, taking in each hair on his head
and memorizing the features she already knew better than her
own.

"I'm going to miss you, too." She leaned up
and kissed him quickly, her thoughts already wandering to what lay
ahead.

A few months had passed since Kira had woken
up from the coma. Luke had convinced the Council to let her
recuperate before forcing her to go to Sonnyville, and they all
agreed that the day after graduation would be, what Kira liked to
call, doomsday. Just this morning, she and her friends had all
donned their robes and received their diplomas. And before she knew
it, time had all but slipped away. But more than anything Kira
dreaded saying goodbye to Tristan. Luke had promised to sneak him
into Sonnyville at least once, but Kira wasn't sure if it would
even be a good idea to bring Tristan around so many conduits.
Tomorrow morning they would have to say goodbye, and even though
Kira knew it wasn't goodbye forever, two months was starting to
seem like an impossibly long time apart.

"It's going to be fine," Tristan said and
kissed her forehead. "And you'll be safe there, which is the most
important thing."

"I know. I just wish it wasn't for so long.
Do you think you'll be able to find Diana soon?" Kira questioned,
bringing up the topic they had skirted around for the past few
weeks. Tristan knew Diana was still a threat. She had come back to
Charleston multiple times while Kira had still been in a coma. She
managed to evade Tristan, but he still sensed her presence and both
of them knew that she was planning something. But neither Kira nor
Tristan had known what, until about a week ago when a pack of
vampires came to Charleston after hearing a rumor that a mixed
breed conduit was alive and in the neighborhood. Tristan had
managed to persuade them, forcefully, to leave but more would come.
The safest place for Kira was with the conduits, not with her
vampire boyfriend, especially since Tristan would be off hunting
Diana down while Kira was away.

"I know where to look. She can only run for
so long." Tristan tried to reassure Kira. He ran his hand along her
arm in a soothing motion. Kira relaxed into his touch.

"And you'll find out about my mother?"

"I'll try," Tristan said, but he wouldn't
look her in the eye. They had had this conversation before, with
Luke too, and Kira was the only one with hope that her mother was
still alive. Luke and Tristan agreed that Diana had used it as a
dirty trick to shock Kira, giving her the chance to escape, but
Kira felt something deep inside, a gut instinct urging her to
believe that her mother was living and breathing somewhere on this
earth.

Kira opened her mouth to say so, but decided
against it. She was too comfortable resting in his arms to bother
fighting and the last thing Kira wanted was to argue with Tristan
on their last night together. Instead, she inched up his chest,
noting the glint in his eye and leaned in for a kiss.

He slid his hand up her back to cup the base
of her neck, pulling her face into his and letting her know he was
thinking the same thing. After a teasing moment of stillness, Kira
leaned the extra centimeter forward and their lips met.

Instantly her pulse quickened and her heart
began to race as she lost herself in the sensation. The butterflies
flying in her stomach seemed specifically tuned to Tristan,
appearing every time he touched her. A warm feeling spread from her
fingers to her toes, creating a titillating contrast as his cool
fingers brushed over her skin.

With heavy breaths, Tristan grabbed her
around the waist, easily flipping her over and pressing her body
down into the soft bed as he took charge. A familiar twinge of
excitement ran up Kira's spine, but she felt something else too,
almost like a hint of anger stirring distantly in her mind. And
then she heard a cough in the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt," Luke said with a smile
on his face and a steely look aimed at Tristan. Kira sighed and
pulled back, trying to scoot out from underneath Tristan. For his
part, Kira noted wryly, Tristan made no move to help her escape and
instead let his weight hold her down. After a few seconds, which
seemed like a few hours, Kira freed herself from Tristan's
arms.

"Hi Luke," she smiled and sat up, trying to
fix her hair. Yes, she was happy to see her friend, but who
wouldn't be slightly annoyed at the interruption and very annoyed
at his obviously smug face? Yup, Kira mused, the coma hadn't really
changed a thing. Their mutual fear for her health had allowed Luke
and Tristan to stand in the same room once in a while, but they
were a long way away from friendship.

"Clearly, you're almost ready to go. Now, if
we could just find a way to teleport your room to Sonnyville..." He
surveyed the empty suitcases and piles of clothes all over the
floor. Kira threw a small pillow at him for the sarcastic remark,
and he jumped out of its path, holding his hands up in
surrender.

"Alright, alright, but in all honesty...what
the heck happened in here? It looks slightly like the Tasmanian
devil tore this place apart."

Kira shrugged. "This is just how I pack."

"So, there's a method to the madness?"

"No, trust me," Tristan spoke up and turned
over to lean against Kira's pillows. Traitor, she thought, your
hair is still rumpled from our make-out session and you're siding
with Luke.

"So, it's a little messy. I'll be ready by
tomorrow, don't worry."

Luke copiously surveyed the room again with
eyes wide in doubt. "It's not like your going to see the
Queen—"

"There's a conduit queen?" Kira interrupted,
ready to freak out.

"No, the Queen of England... Did you hit your
head again?" Luke questioned, barely able to contain his
laughter.

"No," Kira huffed and picked up the closest
thing she could find, which happened to be a dress. She looked at
it and debated if she would need sundresses in Sonnyville. It
wasn't like she would be trying to land a date; she was going there
to learn how to fight. Kira cocked her head to the side, going back
and forth between the options.

"What's the big deal? Just put it in your
suitcase," Luke said, exasperated.

"That's what I said," Tristan chimed in again
and Kira dropped her hands to her side giving him a stern look. It
seemed they had no trouble ganging up against her, but when she
wanted everyone to get along they were enemies again. I mean
really, Kira thought, this is absurd.

A beep sounded from the street and Kira threw
the dress back onto the floor, excited for the escape. Their whole
gang was going out together, one last hurrah before Luke and Kira
left, which meant she could put off packing for a few more blissful
hours.

"Time to go!" Kira chirped and raced from the
room, not waiting for either of the boys. Her parents were gone for
the night, at a preschool summer event for her little sister Chloe,
so she walked right out the door and into Emma's car. Luke appeared
a minute later and hopped into the backseat.

Kira suspected that Tristan had already
slipped away. Her friends liked him, but the tension with Luke was
always obvious, and Kira and Tristan had both decided it was not
worth the battle, at least not on her last night in Charleston.

"So, where to?" Kira looked around, eyeing
her friends. As per usual, Emma drove and Kira sat in the front
seat, while the boys piled in the back. She took in Emma's short
jean skirt and professionally applied make-up, and looked back at
the boys again, seeing that Miles had replaced his usual comic book
t-shirt for a button down. It seemed as though everyone had gone
fancy for their last night.

It suddenly dawned on Kira how strange it was
that this would be the last time the five of them could hang out,
at least for while. They were sort of her family, especially after
helping with her recovery. But, with Miles going to Harvard, Emma
and Dave both going to Texas, and her and Luke "taking a year off,"
things would definitely be changing. Kira wasn't sure what she
thought about it yet, but decided to just try to enjoy this night.
She needed to have fun, because even though Luke hadn't said so,
Sonnyville would be far more work than pleasure.