Page 9

Chapter nine

Damien

‘Dream’ – Priscilla Ahn

I walk with Carter towards Cut Me Down, trying not to full-on skip with enthusiasm like a psychopath after a rampage. He met me a few blocks away to talk about the Sahara meeting, which hasn’t been scheduled yet, a new pop-up Dust location, and Cooper Siezly. As he talks, all I can think about is her. How soft her skin brushed against mine. Her smooth, straight hair dragging against her skin so delicately. The even breaths making their way out of her lungs, causing her perfect chest to rise and fall. I can’t concentrate on anything but her image in my head. She haunts me, invading every hidden crevice in my mind. Calling out to me and taunting me, even when I’m awake.

“There was a flight log from Seattle-Tacoma with his name on it. The flight was connected in Chicago, and now he’s on his way to Richmond.” His words pull me from my daydream.

“Fuck. He’s probably headed back here.” I say through gritted teeth.

“Possibly. I told Zeke to hang around Seattle until later tonight and find out what he could about him. Cooper has been in Seattle for two years now, and it didn’t take him long to find the local drug lords up there. Zeke said anyone who knew of him wasn’t a very stand-up citizen. I looked them all up, and numerous of them had charges. All ranging from domestic violence to distribution and manufacturing drugs. Real low lives.” He says, all while never looking up from his phone. Obviously reading off the details he discovered.

“Zeke didn’t find anything on why he’d be heading here?” I ask, turning my attention back to the sidewalk.

“No, and he said from the sounds of it, he didn’t run because of a hit or because he was in trouble. He left on his own.” Fuck. He’s coming for her. I would. Once she’s mine, she won’t be able to escape me. The lengths I would go to keep her in arms reach sends me spiraling, and I can practically feel the shreds of my humanity crackling under the pressure of my thoughts.

Do they still create moats? I could put one around my house. Fill it with rabid alligators and snakes. Construct a draw bridge that only moves up or down to my DNA, and be sure that not only is she safe, but that she would have no means of escape. No, that’s ridiculous. That would take too long, and what if she’s scared of snakes? Then I’d have to kill the snakes, and that’s just even more of waste.

We finally walk up to the barber shop, Carter having to keep up with my fast pace, and my heart rate instantly quickens. The large muscle beats against my chest the same way a boxer would punch his opponent. Am I nervous? Is this what that feels like? Oh fuck, I cannot look like a little bitch the first time I meet my girl. I take a deep breath, and then shakily exhale. Steeling my resolve as Carter opens the door and I step up to it.

“You’re coming this time?” He questions me shockingly.

“Absolutely.” He gives me a confused look as we walk in, and the moment I lay eyes on her, my heart stops. All I can do is look at her face and picture her moans again as her golden eyes make their way to the door and catch mine. She’s silent for a moment as my stare steals her breath away. Her throat tightens, and I can see her body stiffen slightly before she exhales. I feel our attractions pull at each other, as if the atoms in our being turned into magnets. My blackened soul reaching out for hers.

Fuck, keep it together.

“Hey, you're back soon.” She says as nonchalantly as possible, and obviously directed to Carter, but her words are shaky, and she keeps her gaze on me. That’s right, baby. I know you feel this too . “You brought your friend this time.”

“Heh, yeah. He decided to tag along. You got room for one more?” He asks as he grabs the back of his neck and shrugs his shoulder, as if he’s nervous too. What the fuck is he nervous about? I’m the one officially meeting my soulmate for the first time.

“Just one?” She says, almost disappointingly, still staring at me. Fuck. Does she think I need a haircut? Does my hair look bad? Or was she just hoping to be closer to me? No. Don’t be ridiculous, you arrogant bastard . Carter turns to me for an answer and lightly tilts his head to the side. Play it cool.

“Yeah, just one. We don’t want to keep you too late.” I say to her, not able to fight back the grin that creeps into the corners of my mouth, and I watch as her eyes widen ever so slightly. She’s reacting to my voice. Fuck, she finds it sexy. I'll speak to her and say her name forever if that’s what she wants. The thought of her ember eyes closing tight to the sound of me screaming her name makes my dick hard. My cock presses up against the material of my pants painfully, dying to be inside her, but now is not the time or place. So, I hold back the urge to dart across the room and jerk her up like I’d die if I don’t touch her, and hell, I just might. “Definitely next time though.” I beckon her.

“Okay.” She says softly, blinking those doe eyes at me and trying to compose herself. “You two can have a seat, I just need to finish up with Jack.” Fuck, her voice…just as perfect as I remembered from two weeks ago. No, even better than what I can replay in my head. It’s a little deeper than some women, but somehow still breathy, dulcet, and melodious. She doesn’t sound like a Barbie doll or a whiny housewife. Her voice is as bad ass as her exterior, and I can’t wait to make it hoarse from her screaming.

She quickly finishes up with her current client, and I can’t help but salivate over the way her hips sway as she walks. She’s wearing fitted boot cut jeans, and her normal half-revealing V-neck t-shirt under her barber’s cover that she leaves unbuttoned. She’s shorter than most women, but still about five foot four. She’ll have to climb on me like a tree, and the thought of her claws ripping through my back enter my mind. The way she stands with her weight concentrated on one hip pokes her ass out like she’s a statue no one can break down. Portraying a false image of a confident and overbearing woman. I'll be sure to show her how wrong she is. I’ll break her, but only so she can build herself up stronger than ever.

“Carter? You can come back.” I instantly get hot with jealousy as she says his name. The heat increases with every passing moment. It about boils over when she wraps her cape around him and touches his head, running her slender, velvety hands through his hair. I know this is just a job for her, and that the only one she’s thinking about right now is me, but I can’t help but want to walk over there and rip Carter out of the chair. I get harder just thinking of her nails scratching my scalp, pulling on my hair as she comes on my cock.

My fantasy is interrupted by the bell of the front door. A very old man with a walker makes his way in and sits in the front row of waiting chairs. He’s shorter, and hunched over, wearing a nice shirt and bow tie. Looks nice enough, and he probably doesn’t know that the shop is technically closed right now. Or at least, he better not know. I won’t let this old geezer interfere with my time with her.

“Hey Charlie, what are you up to?” The angel speaks comfortably, obviously relaxed and familiar with the old man.

“I came to get my mojo, darling.” He says brightly as he bounces his shoulders up and down. Holding his hands up, with bent elbows in a mock, stationary dance.

Darling? I will fucking end you Charlie .

“You have another date? With who this time?” She scrunches her brows and asks, halfway surprised.

“Lucille.” He bobs his head up and down as a smirk grows on his old, chapped lips.

“Again? Damn Charlie, this is the third time in a week.” Ashia looks at him with her eyes wide. “You must really like this one.”

“What can I say, the way that lady grabs my jewels gets me going.” He balls his fists and moves them back in forth in another small dance. I can’t help but snort out laughing. That’s how we’ll be when we’re old and gray. Playful, still crazed for each other.

“Well, Charlie, I have clients. You know I don’t like to do it with other people here.” She gently glances at me before quickly moving her line of sight back to the old man. She’s nervous, but little does she know that there’s not a single thing she could do to make me repulsed by her.

“I’m sorry sweetheart, I tried to come after hours.” His playful demeanor vanishes and is replaced by something else. Desperation, almost.

“What does he want you to do?” Carter asks chuckling.

“Whenever he has a date, he comes in and I clean him up, and then I sing for him.” Sing? She can sing? I can’t help but widen my eyes at the thought, and she quickly moves her gaze from me again, as if she read my mind and is suddenly embarrassed. “B-but I get nervous in front of other people.” She stutters.

“Oh please, Ashia? You know my dates never go as well when you don’t do it.” She turns back and looks at him, her face softening sweetly, like he’s a kid asking for ice cream before bed. A slight grin creeps on her face as her eyes glisten. She’d make a great mother, but those are thoughts for another time. Perhaps after I introduce myself formally.

“As long as they don’t mind.” She cowers between her shoulders as she cuts to avoid our answer, sure to keep her gaze on the back of Carter’s head.

“Well boys?” Charlie asks, clearly pleased with himself, as he looks between us with a new straightened posture.

“Of course not, I'm sure you sound beautiful.” I say for Carter and I, not giving him the chance to be the nice boy he always is and give her a way out. Carter better cover his fucking ears because if he catches a hard on for my girl, I'll have to find another technical specialist.

“Which song you want Charlie?” She asks as her shoulders sink, giving in to his request.

“Do the one about the trees. That one always has me feeling nostalgic.” He wiggles in his seat excitedly.

I stare at her, and I notice her nervous ticks coming out. She starts shifting her weight between her feet and biting her lower lip slightly between her perfect teeth. Her clippers shake a little more in those delicate hands as she breathes in deeply and avoids eye contact with either me or Carter.

“I was a little girl.

Alone in my little world.

Who dreamed of a little home for me.

I played pretend between the trees

And fed my house guests bark and leaves

And laughed in my pretty bed of green.

I had a dream.

That I could fly from the highest swing,

I had a dream.”

Holy fuck…I like music, love it even. I find it astonishing how certain pitches and tunes can cause different chemical reactions in our brains. Pulling different emotions out of the deepest parts of our souls. But this? Her voice? She’s not an angel, she’s a Goddamn siren. Pulling every part of me in with every word.

“Long walks in the dark

Through woods grown behind the park

I asked God who I'm supposed to be.

The stars smiled down at me

God answered in silent reverie

I said a prayer and fell asleep.

I had a dream.

That I could fly from the highest tree

I had a dream.”

I watch as her hips start to slightly sway at the thought of the missing tune behind her voice, and it’s taking every fiber of my being not to grab those hips and sway with her. My fingertips tingle at the thought. Wishing more than anything that I was the one sitting in her chair right now, looking at the front view of her gorgeous face and pursed lips.

She begins to sing solid notes in place of the missing lyrics, and it’s as if the siren is howling, piercing my heart and my dick with every note. Her humming, stretching into a seductive smile, showing off her canines.

My little wolf…

I can already feel her vibrating throat on my cock as I shove it down her throat, and the howls that will escape her as I make her come. I’ve had an epiphany. An awakening of sorts, as if every shattered piece of this cruel and vile world suddenly glued itself back together. She’ll sing this at our wedding, and then to our kids at bedtime. Her smooth voice plays through my head like a movie, and each scene is a piece of the life we’ll have together. She’s everything I’ve been searching for, and I'm not waiting to have her any longer. Not after she calls to me like this.

“Now I’m old and feeling gray

I don’t know what’s left to say

About this life I’m willing to leave.

I lived it full, I lived it well

There’s many tales I lived to tell

I'm ready now

To fly from the highest wing.

I had a dream.”

The next time she sings this song, parts of it will be true. So far, she hasn’t lived a full life or lived it well. Her life has been nothing but darkness, casting its shadow over anything good that dares to slither its way in. The thought of that actually jerks sad emotions into my mind. After everything I’ve watched and read, was there ever a time where she was happy? Has she ever had fun that wasn’t orchestrated by her friend? Seen any place she actually wanted to see? I’m going to guess and say no. I’ll be sure to change that for her.

There’s a very slight moment of silence before Charlie claps and brings me out of my trance, drawing my gaze away from my little wolf.

“Beautiful as always, my dear. Thank you very much. I'll see you tomorrow for the usual.” He shakily stands, and I reach out to offer him a hand, but he politely rejects, holding his hand out in protest and nods lightly in thanks.

“Apparently, I'm not working tomorrow.” She says, attitude laced in her voice as she moves her head from side to side. She’s not? Now that is strange, but her off tone suggests that it wasn’t her idea. I’ll need to find out why. She finally looks up and over to Charlie. “Where are you going? I don’t see Jamie.” She starts to walk away from Carter with concern etched onto her face.

“Lucille is picking me up.” He says slyly as a mischievous grin creeps on his face, and her eyes widen in surprise.

“How old is she, Charlie?” Ashia says in disbelief.

“Much younger than me darling, and that’s all that matters.” He says as he walks out, and we all start laughing. I stand up to relieve the pressure of my hard cock up against my zipper and walk over to the half wall near her. Her smell is intoxicating. Even though it’s late spring, she smells like fall. My favorite season. Where the decaying earth releases its sweet scent, and my favorite orange color swarms the trees. The best complimenting scent, sweet vanilla, fills my nose the closer I get and it’s hard not to take a bite out of her.

“What are you doing tonight?” I ask her seductively as I lean against the half wall, determined to get as close as possible without alarming her.