2
CERRI
After what happened, I slept the daylight hours away. I woke just in time for Feri the ferret nuisance to point me towards a bar at the edge of the city. Thankfully, I recognized the name and realized it was Vi’s favorite spot. She and Luca liked to chill there a lot.
I called Vi up and had her help me pick out an appropriate outfit—and I vetoed the first three. We finally settled on a pair of ripped jeans and a sheer top with floral embroidery. My assets were a little too big to go with only a bra underneath the sheer fabric, so I added a spaghetti strap tank top under it.
In the bar, I shuddered as a cold breeze wafted through the incredibly thin sheer fabric. I wrapped my arms around myself and ran my fingers over where the gash from the night before would have been.
As much as I hated it, I needed help.
“So, who are we looking for?” Vi asked as she scanned the crowd.
The antichrist kept her hair cut close to her scalp and a sly grin on her lips. Her dark eyes sparked with mischief. I grabbed her jacket sleeve and yanked her close.
“You stay out of trouble. You hear me?” I hissed between us.
She gave me a wink, but it couldn’t hide the wince of hurt that crimped the corners of her previously joyful eyes. Guilt dropped like a stone in my stomach. I tore my gaze away from her and kept my lips sealed. I hated how I couldn’t bring myself to trust her.
She was theantichrist. I mean…she’d nearly started the apocalypse more times than I could count. Was it wrong of me to be untrusting?
I shook myself. That didn’t matter right now. I had to find an old man to protect me so I could get on with my life.
Did I really have to? I could dye my hair and change my name. I could go into hiding. It would give me time to figure out a way to escape Beryl’s attention for good. Right? I could do this on my own.
I didn’t need some old man hounding my every step.
When I scanned the bar, I found one grizzled bear of a man with his back to a wall in the far corner. He leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest. A thick beard covered his wrinkled face. I grimaced. He looked like he might smell like yeasty beer.
Feri the ferret weaseled his way out of my hair and pointed past my nose. “He’s over there!”
I followed the direction of Feri’s little clawed paw and found someone else at the end of it. The creature wasn’t pointed at the grizzled man in the corner. This man had long black hair flowing down his back. Some of it had been pulled into braids wound with delicate gold and silver wire.
A leather vest covered his broad shoulders, but the short sleeves of the t-shirt beneath left his muscle-bound, tattoo-covered arms bare. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of this unruly looking man. He scowled down into the depths of his amber-colored drink and scratched at the barest hint of stubble on his chiseled chin.
I blinked several times. “Oh,” was all I could say.
My heart thumped wildly inside my chest. This man was not at all what I’d expected. He was a total hunk. His hair gleamed in the artificial light. When he turned his head and scowled in my direction, I caught a glimpse of his violet eyes.
Rhoan
Damn women always stared. I didn’t know what would ever get them off my back.
This one, a stunner with massive breasts barely contained by the flimsy, see-through top, gaped at me with her jaw nearly on the floor. I sighed and turned back to my drink so I could finish it off. By the time the glass was empty, she stood at my side.
I bit back a growl of frustration and stole another quick glance at the woman. She was damn pretty. Her lips had a berry stain to them. The sun seemed to shine through her golden curls even though we were inside at night. She was otherworldly and lush, and I wanted nothing more than to bury myself inside her.
But women and relationships were off limits.
So, before she could even speak, I said: “I’m not here looking for pussy.”
She recoiled, taken aback. I would have chuckled were it not for the look of rage that suffused those green eyes of hers when she gathered herself again. Her hands trembled at her sides.
“What made you think I came over here to offer myself up to you? Is that what you expect of all women?” Venom filled her voice.
She was the kind of woman who could have slapped me across the face, and I would have thanked her.
I paused. Had it really been that long since a woman touched me? Was I really that starved for affection?