Page 25 of Devil's Haunting
But Laiken was not going to be put off, she was determined to come down here and find this Rene woman. I tried to cajole her into forgetting about it. That was a mistake.
My woman’s eyes just hardened, and she told me in no uncertain terms, “I’ll go with or without you. You can choose which, but I am going.”
As if I was going to let her come down here by herself. No fucking way. Never going to happen.
Even if she weren’t wearing jeans which mold to her body like a second skin and a long-sleeved shirt that makes her tits look fucking edible, I still wouldn’t let my woman come down here without me. I can feel the eyes of men checking her out and it has me on edge. She’s attracting more attention with every fucking step she takes.
It’s just a matter of time before I’ll have to pull my gun and shoot someone, I just know it.
I grumble, “Do you know what we’re looking for?”
“The Serpent’s Eye.” She says it like that’s enough of an explanation for me. It’s not. When I clear my throat and shoot her a look of pure fucking frustration, her cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink. “It’s a shop, I think. Marilyn could never find the address or confirm if it was an actual shop. I couldn’t either. It didn’t come up in an internet search. I figure it might not be a brick-and-mortar type shop and more of a word-of-mouth thing.”
“So,” I growl, my anger spiking because the words I’m about to say piss me off, “your plan was to come down here and just ask around?”
Laiken shrugs like it wouldn’t be a big deal if it was her plan.
I run a hand down my face and shake my head. “What the fuck am I going to do with you, my little Mischief-maker?”
Without missing a beat, she tosses back, “Give me orgasms later.”
My cock goes rock hard behind the fly of my jeans. She’s not fucking wrong, but damn. The image of her on her knees with her pretty lips wrapped around my cock has me glancing around. Maybe we can find a nice, dark corner and I can experience it right now. Talk about fucking incentive.
“You’ve got a plump ass that’s perfect for slappin’, Doudou,” is called out from behind us.
I whirl around, taking my woman with me, to find a man stepping out of the shadows. He’s tall, not as tall as me, and wiry. There’s something about him that sets me on edge, something bordering on sinister. And I’m a man not easily intimidated who has done more damage with a hammer than most people would even consider.
Laiken whispers, “Doudou?”
I speak out of the side of my mouth, having heard the phrase a lot in the years I’ve lived in the city, “It means honey or sweetie.”
My woman makes a humming sound as she tilts her head and studies the man. He’s dressed casually in loose fitting clothing, his hair in dreads which fall down his back. His nose has a hook in it as if he could use it to reel someone closer. His skin is dark, the shadows wrapping around him and blending along the edges.
His eyes, though, are lit up from the inside. But it’s not a good thing.
My stomach sinks. This man thinks he’s the predator in this situation. He calculated incorrectly though because there is noway I’ll ever allow another man to touch what is mine. And Laiken is mine.
“You won’t be slapping her ass or touching her in any way,” I snarl the words, my lip curling up as I bare my teeth at the man.
His lips curl into a wicked smirk which looks like a threat. His eyes flick toward my woman and then back at me. “And who is going to stop me? You?” He looks me over, his eyes lingering on my cut. “You think that leather protects you in a place like this?”
The man throws his head back and laughs, the sound echoing around us. As it does, it changes, and I swear I can hear snakes hissing in harmony.
Or maybe it’s a trick of the acoustics of this small side street which might as well be a back alley.
Laiken’s voice shakes as she asks, “What do you mean a place like this?”
The man’s eyes move over to my woman, and I can almost feel it when their gazes lock. “You’re in the snake nest. Don’t you feel it?”
A shiver rolls down my spine and Laiken moves closer to me without even realizing it. My fingers twitch to reach for my gun, but I hold off. For now.
The silence stretches between the three of us. Every second that ticks by feels like way too long and yet, I don’t know how to break the tenuous truce. That’s the only way I can describe it because he doesn’t move closer, he doesn’t threaten, he doesn’t harass my woman. He just stands there.
And so do we.
Before the moment can shift again, this time into something darker, a woman steps out of the shadows very close to where the man first appeared. The curls of her hair are a riot around her head, the darkness of the street and the broken light of the moon hitting them in such a way that they look like they are writhing with every step she takes.
The sound of hissing snakes surrounds us again as my heart starts to hammer in my chest. I want to grab my woman and run, but it feels like I’m unable to move. It’s a feeling I don’t like, not even a little bit.
