Page 35 of Dark Souls

“Huh? Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I, uh, just have a lot, uh, can you excuse me for one minute? I think they got my order wrong.” I stood up, ignoring Ronnie’s protest that I did, in fact, order a black coffee and marched straight up to the coffee counter.

“Personally, I’d go for the caramel latte. A sweet lady like you deserves a treat. I’ll even throw on some of these little marshmallows for you,” Heathen said to the elderly woman, who was lapping up his attention.

“Oh, aren’t you the treat?” She giggled, causing me to stare wide-eyed between the two of them. This was so surreal.

“I can be if you want me to be, but it will cost you extra,” he flirted, causing her to blush and turn to me. She grabbed my arm in the way only old people do, as if they hadn’t just met you but had known you their entire lives.

“Oh, isn’t he just gorgeous? Back when I was young and beautiful, the things I would have done to a man like that... What an absolute diamond. I’d snap him up if I were you.”

“Age is just a number, Doris. And you are still beautiful. I am sure your husband tells you that every day,” Heath replied.

“That old lodger? He barely notices me unless he’s asking for his slippers. No, no, I’m afraid my days of feeling beautiful are long gone.”

The barista’s face scrunched with irritation, Heathen’s black eyes glistening with darkness. “Want me to kill him for you, Doris?”

Oh no, he did not just go there!My eyes widened as Doris laughed, completely unaware that he was not making a joke.

“No need for that, love. Unfortunately, despite his grumpiness, I love the damn fool so what are you going to do, hey?”

“A word?” I snapped, glaring at Heathen. He held up a finger in my direction, implying I should wait my turn and my nostrils flared.

“Well, I say you still deserve better, Doris. Go home, tell that husband of yours to get out of his damn armchair, take you out dancing and kiss you like he means it or next time he can fetch his own goddamn slippers.”

Her beaming smile said it all. She was in love. And not with her husband. She reached forward, grabbing the barista’s face in her wrinkly hands and landed a kiss on his cheek. “You know. I might just do that, Andy. Thank you for making a little old lady’s day.”

He sent her a wink as she released him and took her coffee to go. As soon as she had hobbled away, Heathen directed his amused gaze at me, a wide smile on the barista’s friendly face. “Snow. Fancy seeing you here.”

“Dare I ask where the real Andy is?”

“Oh, chopped up into little pieces in the meat grinder out back,” he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. I stared at him hard. “Joke. Andy is on his lunch break.” He smirked.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” I gritted through my teeth, stepping up to the counter, so I was directly face to face with him. Only the surface separated us, but I could already feel the pleasurable reaction my body was having just being this close to him again.

He looked around innocently at his surroundings. “What, this? Yeah. I think I’ve found my calling. Which is handy because you’re addicted to coffee, right? Black, with one sugar? That’s how you like it.” He leaned his elbows down on the counter, his whole body filling up the space between us as he lowered his voice to a deep drawl. “But I’d much rather make you coffee in bed. With no one else around. Especially that fucker.”

I glanced over my shoulder to see Ronnie watching us with caution, his eyes narrowing at our exchange. I gave him a reassuring smile, hoping he’d stay in his seat and not provoke the demon before me.

“Who the fuck is he, Snow?”

Heathen’s tone was terrifyingly fierce. It was the only warning I had that he was on the edge. His blank expression and his soulless eyes lacked any emotion, but his voice couldn’t hide just how possessive he was feeling. Panic rose when I remembered how the last encounter ended when Heath was feeling possessive.

“A friend of mine,” I replied with just as much raw aggression. “Which means he is someone you promised not to harm.”

“Don’t lie to me now, Snow. It only makes me murderous. Who is he?”

“I’m not lying. He is a friend.” I inhaled sharply as his eyes narrowed into slits of distrust. Fuck. He wasn’t stupid. He could sense there was more to this. “We have an… arrangement.”

“An arrangement? Enlighten me?” Heath arched an eyebrow.

“It’s none of your damn business,” I snapped.

“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong. If he thinks he can have what is mine, it is very much my damn business.”

“You are impossible! You want me to trust you? Leave him the hell alone. I mean it, Heathen. He is off limits.”

A deep growl vibrated from the barista’s chest and shot straight to my core, making me instantly soaked. I forced my thighs together and gave him my sternest glare before turning back to the table to find Ronnie staring between me and the demon that was watching me leave.

“Do you know that guy?” Ronnie asked as I sat back down, refusing to look in Heath’s direction. I didn’t need to. I could feel the venom radiating from him. “He seems a little intense.”

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