CHAPTER 9
Zarreth
I hear distant voices, but I can’t make them out. What the fuck was another hell-human doing here?
My head is pounding. Apparently, the hell-human and hellhound share the same poison. I can tell my powers are still not at full strength because it’s taking longer than usual to rid the poison from my body. I’m lucky its bite didn’t kill me with how weak I am.
So, tell me what you want, what you really, really want.
What is that awful music? Maybe I’m dead. And why does it feel like someone is rubbing wet sandpaper on my cheek?
I open my eyes to find a cat licking my face. I’m covered by a blanket with dogs wearing sombreros printed on it, and a scarf is wrapped around my neck.
I lift one end of the scarf, studying the bright pink feathers. “Please tell me I’m dead.”
“Hey, Toddy is awake!” a voice exclaims.
I sit up and look around. You have got to be fucking kidding me. I let Frankie escape last night, and she brings me back to her house? She is clearly not right in the head.
“Who is Toddy?” I finally ask.
“You are, Silly!” says the redhead wearing a yellow boa and a cowboy hat. But I barely notice her. My eyes are locked on Frankie. Fuck, she’s sexy; even with her ridiculous green boa and heart-shaped sunglasses.
I hear her heart racing. Her breath catches in her throat before she swallows and stutters, “Um, ah…”
The redhead cuts her off. “You’ve been out for a while, and we didn’t know your name, so we called you Toddy McHotty, for obvious reasons.”
I ignore her as I watch Frankie fidget with her necklace. I make her nervous, as I should. If she were smart, she would stay the fuck away from me. If I were smart, I would kill her and get this over with.
Turns out I’m not so smart because instead of ripping both their heads off and destroying the evidence I ask, “Why are pink feathers around my neck?”
“We didn’t want to leave you out.” The chatty redhead again. I wish she would shut the fuck up and let Frankie speak. “We all match, see.”
The two girls hold out their hands, each fingernail a different color. Frankie’s hands are trembling. She’s trying to act calm, but I can smell her fear.
The redhead doesn’t seem the least bit frightened by me. Frankie must not have told her about last night. Interesting.
I hold my hands out and find I also have an assortment of colors on my nails.
“You have got to be kidding me.” I lay back, covering my eyes with my well-manicured hands. Thank gods Ronin isn’t here to see this. I would never hear the end of it.
“You should thank us. We saved your life.” The redhead puts her hands on her hips. She’s really starting to annoy me. I want to hear Frankie’s voice, not hers.
Frankie swallows a few times, looking at her friend. She finally speaks, her sultry voice quivering. “Technically, he saved our lives. We only bounced quarters off his chest and took shots of whiskey until he woke up.”
She wraps her arms around herself, her shoulders curl inward. Shifting her weight back and forth, she looks like she wants to crawl out of her own skin.
“Either way, we should go inside. It’s getting cold,” the redhead says.
Frankie shakes her head, taking a few steps back. She’s pale as a ghost. I watch the wheels turn in her head, deciding whether to invite me in.
The redhead turns to Frankie and adds “Are you okay? You’re acting weird.”
Frankie stammers again.
The redhead grabs her arm, dragging her a few yards away. “What’s going on?”
“Do you think it’s smart inviting a stranger into the house?”
“Yes! He saved our lives. I feel way safer having him here. I love MJ, but she is not a watchdog to say the least.”
“He makes me nervous,” Frankie says, causing me to suppress a smile. I should make you nervous, little one.
“That’s because he’s fucking hot, and he hasn’t taken his eyes off you since he woke up. If you don’t invite him in, I will.”
I wonder why Frankie didn’t tell her friend about me. She needs to stop being so fucking reckless. I bet she didn’t even call the cops.
Frankie huffs. “Fine, maybe we can find out what actually happened back there.”
The girls walk back towards me, and Frankie gathers the blankets.
“So, I’m Jess, and this is Frankie,” the redhead, Jess, says.
“Zarreth.” I stand, brushing myself off. “It’s nice to meet you,” I say even though I haven’t looked in Jess’ direction since I came to. Frankie is the one I can’t take my eyes off.
I reach out to take the blankets from her when our fingers touch, the same shock that went through my body last night surges through me again. I thought it was from the chase, but apparently she still has this effect on me.
Her eyes widen, and I know she feels it too.
I take a step closer, neither of us look away from one another. For a second, I forget where I am. I’m captivated by the kaleidoscope of green in her eyes.
“So, are we going in, or are you two just going to stand there eye-fucking each other?” Jess interrupts, bringing us back to reality. I barely manage to suppress a growl.
Frankie’s cheeks turn the faintest shade of pink, making me smile. “Shut up, Jess,” she grumbles.
“Do I make you nervous, little one?” I whisper.
She looks away, nodding her head. I lean in, purring in her ear. “I won’t hurt you.”
I don’t know why I promise her that. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with her, but I can use tonight to get to know her better. She’s safe for now.
“Um, that was weird, and incredibly hot.” Jess scoops the cat up in her arms. “We can’t forget Cinnamon Williams!”
“It’s Ms. Kitty!” Frankie rolls her eyes, breaking our eye contact. “Cinnamon Williams sounds like a stripper name.”
“That’s why I gave her a last name. It’s classier that way.” Jess laughs as we all walk toward the house. “Come on, MJ.”
I notice the dog from last night watching me wearily from under the steps. She doesn’t try to move. Instead, she crouches lower to the ground as we approach the porch. “Let’s go, MJ! Why are you being such a baby?”
Maybe because the dog is the only one with common sense around here.
Frankie finds a bone and uses it to lure MJ inside, and just like that the dog forgets all about the demon standing two feet from her. She wags her tail, curling up on a small dog bed with her treat. Some watchdog you are.
Frankie’s nerves seem to calm once inside. She takes the blankets from me and throws them on the couch.
I can’t believe she let me inside her house. It fucking pisses me off. She is turning herself into an easy target.
“What the hell happened back there?” Frankie asks, turning on me as soon as her arms are empty. “And what was the thing that tried attacking us?”
Even though her voice is a little stronger, she still looks like she is about to flee at any moment; but something is keeping her in place. Maybe she feels the same strong pull towards me as I do her.
“I was walking by when I saw him running toward you guys,” I explain. “I could tell he was trouble, so I yelled at him to leave. When he didn’t, I roughed him up a bit.”
“And by roughed him up a bit, you mean rip his head off and get yourself knocked out?” Jess crosses her arms.
“Rip his head off? How much alcohol did you two drink? Like I could rip his head off,” I lie.
“But we saw it happen. He was enormous, and scary, and had fangs. And you jumped over our heads, landing in front of him. But that’s impossible, right?” Frankie states.
“Even I can’t jump that high, little one. Besides, I don’t remember seeing fangs. I broke his nose when I punched him in the face. That’s where all the blood came from.”
Jess digs in the cupboard. “That doesn’t explain what the hell it was eating in the woods, or his body turning to ash.”
“I hate to say it, but you guys were seeing things. You’ve obviously been drinking. Maybe the alcohol mixed with your adrenaline made you hallucinate.”
I feel Frankie’s nerves turn to anger. She raises her eyebrow at me. “I know what I saw, Zarreth. We did not hallucinate. Besides, we didn’t start drinking until after we brought you here.”
My gods this girl is stubborn. Why is that turning me on? “Well, I know what I saw, Frankie, and it wasn’t a monster with fangs turning to ash.”
“Why would I believe you? You’re a psycho.”
“Oh my God, Frankie! We need to work on your flirting skills,” Jess chastises.
Frankie looks at her. “I’m not flirting with him.”
“Maybe I’m flirting with you,” I suggest, watching color rise to her cheeks.
Jess pops a cracker in her mouth. “Brent said there’s a new drug out there. He warned me to stay away from it, like I’m an addict. I only smoke weed. Maybe it was a crazy guy on drugs.”
“Jess is right.” I’m thankful for the bone she unknowingly throws me. “There’s a new drug on the streets making people go crazy. It causes hallucinations, extreme paranoia, and violence. Some people report having superhuman strength. There was a case recently where someone ate the face off another person.” I honestly have no idea if there is a drug problem here.
“It still makes no sense to me.” Frankie looks suspicious. I can tell she doesn’t believe a word I said, but she drops the topic for now.
“We should just be happy Zarreth was there when he was. We have some whiskey left. We should celebrate!” Jess exclaims.
“Celebrate what?” Frankie asks. She hasn’t really taken her eyes off me since I came to. She’s still not sure what to think of me. She should be fucking frightened. I almost killed her last night.
“Being alive! Between Nate missing and your stalker, we have every reason to let loose a little.” Jess runs outside to grab the bottle of whiskey.
“A stalker, huh?” I sit back on her couch, making myself at home.
She backs away from me. “Yeah, well, I called the cops so anyone who wants to harm me should probably look out.”
“And did these cops offer you any help?” I ask knowing they didn’t do shit.
“Yeah, they’re sending a patrol car by my house every hour to make sure he doesn’t come back,” she lies.
I lean back, looking out the window. “Interesting. I haven’t seen them come by your place yet.”
Frankie’s face turns white when she realizes I know she’s bluffing. She looks like she might cry. “I won’t hurt you,” I tell her. “Not until you want me to.”
Her eyes widen. “I don’t know what kind of kinky shit you’re into, but you can count me out.”
“Is that why you moaned last night when a complete stranger chased you through the woods, grabbed you by the neck and tasted your sweet skin? Because you’re not into kinky shit? Maybe you’re just into me.” I love watching her squirm.
Frankie opens her mouth to say something, but Jess bursts back through the door.
“Let’s get this party started,” she yells, staggering into the living room.
Frankie grabs her by the hand. “Come with me.” She pulls Jess into her bedroom and shuts the door like that will prevent me from hearing their conversation.
“Dude,” Jess says. “He’s hot, and he can’t take his eyes off you.”
“Isn’t it weird partying with a complete stranger?” Frankie asks.
“Now, you’re concerned? You wouldn’t report that psycho stalker, but you’re worried about a sexy guy who literally saved our lives?”
“We don’t know him.”
“I feel better having him here. No one in their right mind would come after you with that menacing giant here.”
I hear drawers open and close. “What are you looking for?” Frankie asks.
“You don’t expect him to hang out with blood all over his shirt, do you?”
The girls return to the living room, giggling, holding a t-shirt. Some color has returned to Frankie’s skin.
Apparently, Jess’ little pep talk has her feeling better about our current situation. Which makes me question her sanity. Why the fuck would she trust me in her house? She has a lot to learn if we’re going to keep her safe. Not that I’m going to keep her safe.
“Here.” She throws a t-shirt at me that’s four sizes too big for her.
I hold it up, staring directly at a man’s hairy chest, the pink triangle of a bikini barely covering his nipples. “Do I even want to ask?”
“Jess and I dressed as mermaids one year for Halloween,” Frankie says. “It’s the only shirt I have large enough to fit you.”
“And when you decided to dress as a mermaid, this is what you came up with?”
Frankie looks offended. “I had a tail. You should be happy it’s not her Halloween costume, or you’d be stuck with a seashell bra.”
I don’t question why it makes me happy she wasn’t running around half naked for other men to see. I shouldn’t care what she does, but apparently I do because the thought of other people seeing her in a bra makes me see red.
I quickly change into the mermaid shirt. The girls laugh hysterically when I come out of the bathroom. Frankie covers her mouth, giggling until she snorts.
I wish she wouldn’t hide her smile. That little gap between her teeth is fucking adorable.
The rest of the night consists of terrible music and obnoxious singing. The more whiskey Frankie drinks, the less tense she becomes. Her worries melt away as she and Jess join hands, dancing around the living room like two tipsy hyenas giggling uncontrollably.
I stretch out on the recliner, Ms. Kitty curled at my feet. What is it with all these trusting females? Most animals fear demons, but of course Frankie’s cat is attached to me.
Jess passes out on the couch, while Frankie dances in a circle wearing Jess’ cowboy hat and two feather boas.
She lowers her heart-shaped glasses, looking me in the eyes while nibbling on her lower lip. She saunters toward me with an exaggerated sway in her hips. She’s so fucking sexy.
“So, Todd the Bod, I should repay you for saving us.” Frankie straddles my lap.
Leaning in, she parts her lips like she’s waiting for me to close the gap between us. Her gaze moves to my mouth, her green eyes now glowing like vibrant emeralds.
My cock hardens, and I know Frankie can feel it because I smell her arousal. The scent of warm vanilla and honey awakens a hunger in me I didn’t know existed.
“I’m glad your name isn’t Todd.” Frankie moves her hips over me and loops a boa around my neck. “Zarreth is the sexiest name I’ve ever heard.”
“Fuck,” I breathe. Hearing my name come from her lips almost cripples me. I need to get her off me before I lose control.
Frankie grabs onto my shoulders, leaning back. Her grip loosens, and she almost falls.
I catch a hold of her, using the opportunity to lift her up. Her lips brush against the side of my neck, her kisses quickly turning into nibbles as I carry her to her room.
“As much as I would love to fuck you until you can no longer walk, you’re drunk, and I do have a shred of decency,” I whisper in her ear.
My life would be so much easier if I didn’t have that shred of decency. I should kill her right now and be done with this, but I can’t. Something inside me wants only to protect her, to keep her safe from anyone who even thinks about laying a finger on her.
She sticks out her bottom lip, pouting. I can’t help but chuckle. How can someone so sexy, look so fucking cute?
I press my lips against her forehead and tuck her into bed before sitting back in her chair, watching her sleep.
I’m so fucked. I can’t believe I thought I could kill her. Is it possible she could be my mate? No one has ever had this effect on me before.
I scribble a quick note on a piece of paper and leave it on Frankie’s nightstand. I need to find Ronin and see if he discovered anything about these hell-humans roaming around.