“Kids,” we say in unison, shaking our heads in frustration because it’s not unusual that they try to play around but then it goes too far.
“How many times do we have to tell them not to play with fire for them to get it through their thick skulls?” Lance asks, shaking his head. “And where the hell are their parents?”
“Work?” Bill offers and Lance kicks up dirt on his pants in response, while I keep looking around.
That smell is not dissipating. It’s still here, clinging to someone and I jerk when I catch a movement between the bushes.
“There!” I yell, barely extinguishing a gasp and the bushes ruffle, showcasing a small figure that tries to clumsily run off and something fires in me. A need for hunting, a need for that small thing to not get away.
“Fucking freeze,” I bark out angrily, hearing another gasp and it shames me for having spoken that way. But at least it was effective because the figure stops. Freezing.
Tempering my voice, I say, “You need to come out.” Whoever is hiding behind there, hesitates.
“And if I don’t?” a syrupy voice sounds, belonging to a female.
One that’s got some sass and I clench my fists.
“Then I’ll walk right in and drag you out myself.”
“Rather you than me,” Bill says from the corner of his mouth. “Probably some creepy, old woods witch.”
But as it turns out, it’s not a witch. More like a little fay and my jaw slacks, my heart feels like its pumping blood for the first time at the first glimpse of her. She walks out carefully, on guard and her arms are wrapped around her waist.
First thing I notice is her shimmering mass of champagne colored hair cascading down to her butt. The tendrils are loose, but she’s got braids close to her scalp that she’s decorated with daisy’s. She’s tanned and dressed in yellow, nylon shorts, a grey top and dirty Converse.
Her body is small and athletic, just a hint of tits and hips but I bet her breasts swell with a good pawing and my fists clench at my sides.
Mine.
The word drops into my mind like a strike from the sky and I search her eyes, my chest rousing when I notice that they’re a passionate black. Limitless. I feel her, even if she’s a couple of feet away from me. I feel her in my gut.
“Name,” I say but my voice comes out raspy and I clear my throat. “What’s your name?”
Her eyes flicker in worry. “Why do you want to know my name?”
Lance lets out an impatient sigh. “Listen, little girl, you don’t want to be difficult with us. This is a potential crime scene and...”
He stops talking when I put my hand on his chest. Or maybe I punch him.
“Easy Lance,” I warn as strange emotions move in me. Aggressive. Territorial.
I already feel like this girl in front of me has put her mark on my heart. And she’s got the wordsTrent’s womanwritten all over her. Her body is ripe, looking fertile and so soft that sinking into her will probably feel like sinking into a cloud.
Too clean for me but it can’t be helped. If I don’t take her my body will likely shut down in protest.
“I’m Raye,” she finally says hesitantly, looking at me with those infinite eyes, shamelessly hooking into my soul like she has a right to me. She’s not wrong.
“Who are you?” She licks her inviting lips. “Apollo?”
I frown, rubbing my stubble with my hands. “Apollo?”
She nods, her eyes quickly grazing over my torso, flickering with female appreciation and it makes me stand straighter. “You look like a sun god.”
The corners of my mouth twitch and I stare at her, my shaft pointing at her in my pants and then I notice the stream of laughter behind me and how uncomfortable she seems.
Her lips pull to the side and she tugs at her hair, like she’s inwardly scolding herself. She shouldn’t. She’s refreshing. A crisp breeze on a day that’s hot as hell.
“Sun god, you hear that?” Bill guffaws, slamming my back with his palm. “Did any of you know we had a motherfucking sun god in our crew?” The laughter gets louder. “Ooh, all hail the god of sun.”