Page 26 of Devil's Haunting
Her eyes are like endless black orbs and flick over my woman and then me as she glides closer, passing the man who seems to shrink back, unable to stand on his own when confronted with the woman’s presence. She licks her lips as if she already tastes something delicious on them and it causes my nose to scrunch up in disgust.
I don’t like the way she’s looking at me, and I swear my balls are about a second away from crawling up into my body and waving a white flag in surrender.
Laiken’s hold on me tightens as my woman starts to vibrate with anger. It’s adorable and endearing as fuck.
But something tells me this is not the woman you want to piss off with threats.
“You seek something you do not understand,” she flicks her hand in Laiken’s direction, “but I see you have brought me a sacrifice.” Her eyes find me again and the implication is clear. “I can work with this.”
Laiken’s voice is filled with disbelief, “A sacrifice?”
“Yes,” the woman trills, “if you were looking to trade my services for him, I am willing to negotiate. It is clear he is a man who can give much pleasure. Pleasure is a welcome commodity in my line of work. It not only fuels my energy, but it is so much fun.”
The smile on the woman’s face grows as Laiken scowls at her. Before I can stop her, she steps in front of me as if she’ll shield me with her smaller body.
“I’m not here for a trade. There will be no negotiating about it, and I would appreciate it if you would stop looking at my man as if he is a yummy snack.” She reaches back and wraps her arm around my torso. “He’s mine.”
Even though this is not the right time, my heart soars as my cock thickens behind the fly of my jeans. My woman must feel it because she takes a step back against my body to press her plump fucking ass right against my cock like I won’t take her to the ground right now and fuck her just to prove a point.
Okay, I won’t do that. Probably. Maybe.
“Really?” The woman tilts her head as she considers the both of us. “I thought you came here seeking the Serpent’s Eye. You have found her, and my services are not cheap. You want a curse broken and a land freed from the spirits who still cling to it.” She licks her lips again, her eyes flicking back to me. “He will be the perfect payment.”
“Mine,” Laiken growls at the woman, the sound echoing in the small space around us to be absorbed by the shadows like an offering.
The woman, who must be Rene, nods once. The movement is decisive and sends her curls writhing around her head like snakes reaching for warmth.
Laiken grabs my hand and throws one more glare at the woman before swiftly moving back toward my bike. She doesn’t exactly drag me, I don’t think she’d be capable of doing any such thing, but she certainly does pull me along behind her with surprising strength.
It’s only when we’re far away from the scene, Laiken’s arms wrapped around my waist and the vibrations of the bike underneath us, when the sound of hissing snakes disappears entirely.
What the fuck was that?
CHAPTER 11
LAIKEN
I’m fucking seething. How dare that woman suggest I trade Tripp for her services. I don’t care what she does or how badly I need it, I’m never giving up my man.
I love him. I’m never letting him go.
Going down to the French Quarter in search of someone to break the curse, some Voodoo Priestess my great aunt wasn’t sure even really existed, was a stupid idea. I can admit that now. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do.
I want my house to be free of the history associated with it. If that means breaking a curse, then so be it. If it’s just the circumstances of time which ruined the lives of people, then it’s just that simple as well. I don’t really care about the means behind it. I just want to be able to live my life without the specter of the past looming over me.
That’s no way to live.
The moment we pull up in front of the house, which is more a construction zone than domicile right now, I practically jump off Tripp’s bike and start to pace. My hands wave around me as I bite out the words, “Can you believe that fucking woman? She wanted me to trade her knowledge and services. For you. She wanted me to trade you.” I glance in Tripp’s direction to find amusement dancing in his eyes as he sits astride his bike. “Like I would ever do that. Who would do that? It’s fucking insane,” I shout the words, my hands jutting upward toward the stars.
“I know you weren’t going to trade me, my little Mischief-maker,” he assures me.
It does nothing to temper the anger flooding my veins. Not a damn thing. I whirl in his direction, my eyes blazing with indignation.
“You better not have believed for even a moment that I would trade you,” I grit out at him, my finger jabbing in his direction as I step closer.
When I’m close enough to touch, his arm shoots out and snags me around the waist. He hauls me to his side from where he still sits on his bike. The moonlight is coming from behind him making the angles of his face appear even more severe than they normally are. I can’t see his dark eyes, but I know they are boring into me. I can feel them and their intensity.
“I know, Laiken,” he soothes me.
