Chapter 11
LANTANA
The blue light of my phone screen burned into my retinas, the digits of a single phone number staring back at me.
I sat perched on the high wooden stool behind the counter of Nocturne Bloom, the scent of dried valerian and crushed cinnamon fluttered in the air from one of the candles I had lit earlier. My thumb hovered over the call button.
The number belonged to Benjamin Harper. Just seeing the contact name, though I hadn't even saved it yet, sent a shiver down my spine.
He had an energy about him that was electric even though he was slightly arrogant.
But the way he looked at me as if he already owned all my secrets made me hold off on calling the man.
The chime from the elevator snapped me back to the present and Rainbow swept inside, two cardboard carriers of coffee balanced in her hands.
She didn't wait for an invitation, sliding across the floor with a grace that always made me feel like I was walking through molasses.
She set one cup in front of me, the steam curling upward in lazy spirals.
"You have that look on your face again."
She was wearing a Care Bears t-shirt and yellow and black plaid pants with yellow boots. Her curled hair was pinned up to the top of her head being held there by a number two pencil.
"What look?" I asked, sliding the phone face down on the mahogany counter.
Rainbow leaned in, her eyes narrowing. She took a slow sip of her latte, her gaze scanning my expression with clinical precision.
"The 'I'm debating whether to jump off a cliff or dive into a volcano' look. Spill it. What are you staring at?"
I shrugged, wrapping my fingers around the warm paper cup.
"Met a guy the other night."
Rainbow’s eyebrows shot up. She rested her elbows on the counter, a predatory grin spreading across her face.
"A guy? Since when do you meet guys on a Tuesday?”
“It’s all of your fault for leaving me at Obsidian’s mercy.”
“Girl, that’s on you. We all know she never goes through with her plans. Now give me details. Height, build, bank account, red flags."
"I don't know. I'm not sure if I should call him."
"Why not?"
I stared into the dark swirl of my coffee."I don't know. He unnerved me."
"Unnerved is just a polite word for turned on in your vocabulary, Lan."
"He was intense," I countered, my voice dropping. "The whole encounter was... brief. But it felt like he was stripping me down with his eyes before he even spoke. He intimidates me, Rainbow. There's something about him that feels familiar, but I can't place it."
Rainbow chuckled, a low, knowing sound. She reached over and tapped the back of my phone.
"You liked him."
"No, I didn't."
"Yeah, you did. Your pupils are practically swallowing your irises just talking about him. Call the man."
"I'm not that reckless."
"Please. You sell potions that claim to induce lucid dreaming and heartbreak. And I know exactly what you do in that room of yours back there. You’re not kidding anyone, you're the queen of reckless.
Just hit the button. Worst case scenario, he's a psycho.
Best case, he's a psycho who knows exactly how to handle you. "
I sighed, the heat of the coffee warming my palms, but the thought of Legion brought a different kind of heat, a slow burn that started in my gut and radiated outward.
Rainbow straightened up, her expression shifting as she looked around the shop. She traced the line of the shelves, where jars of iridescent powders and dried roots sat in orderly rows.
"Anyway, how's the business? The vibe in here feels heavy today. You shifting the inventory?"
"It's quiet for the most part," I said, leaning back against the shelving. "The usual crowd. A few regulars looking for sleep aids, a couple of tourists who think this is a costume shop. But every now and then, I get a strange visitor."
Rainbow paused, her cup halfway to her lips. "Like who?"
I hesitated, the memory of the woman from a few days ago surfacing. She had walked in with a calculated gait, wearing a coat that cost more than my monthly rent, her eyes scanning the room not with curiosity, but as if she were scoping out the place.
"The other day, this woman came in. She didn't care about the merchandise. She didn't ask about the scents or the healing properties of the blends."
"What did she want?"
"She started asking if I made love potions.
And then she pushed further. She wanted to know if I made stronger shit.
Not just things that suggest attraction, but things that.
.. compel. She wasn't interested in buying anything, she wanted to know more about the process of how things were made.
The exact ingredients. What they induced in people. "
Rainbow stopped sipping. The playfulness vanished from her face. "That's weird.”
"Right? I thought she was a Fed at first. Maybe trying to see if I was cooking up something illegal in the back. But it didn't feel like an officer. It felt... different. Darker. And after what the Harlots are going through, it just feels suspicious."
"Did you tell Duchess?"
I shook my head. "No. Why worry her? She has enough on her plate with the murders and Jameson. It was probably just me looking into it too much. Maybe she was just a weirdo with a fetish for alchemy."
Rainbow shrugged, though her eyes remained thoughtful. "Nothing's too much these days, Lan. People are getting weirder. Just keep your door locked and never underestimate your gut."
She began to back toward the door, waving a hand over her shoulder as she prepared to head back upstairs. Just as the elevator doors shut, she called out with a mischievous glint in her eye.
"Call him!"
I looked down at the phone. My heart hammered a frantic rhythm against my ribs as my anxiety mixed with anticipation. I didn't want to be the girl who regretted anything. And I didn’t want to miss out on this because I was afraid.
I picked up the phone and pressed the call button.
The ringing lasted only two pulses. Then, the line clicked open.
"Thought you weren't gonna call."
His voice was deep enough to vibrate in my chest and make my body react. It wasn't a question; it was an observation. He knew I had been hesitating. He could probably smell the doubt on me from across the city.
I gripped the edge of the counter, my knuckles whitening. "Were you waiting by the phone?"
A low, intimate growl vibrated through the speaker, a sound that felt less like a human voice and more like a predator claiming its prey. I liked it.
"Maybe."
The word lingered, thick and heavy. I could almost feel his breath against my ear, the scent of leather invading my space. My skin prickled.
"I want to see you again," he said.
The directness of it hit me like a physical blow. There was no flirting, no circling the subject. He simply stated a fact. He wanted me, and in his world, wanting was the same as having.
I fidgeted, shifting my weight on the stool, the denim of my jeans suddenly feeling too tight against my thighs.
"Okay, where?" I asked, my voice sounding small, even to me.
"There's a bar I know," Legion replied. "Quiet. Dark. I can save a back booth for us. Away from the noise."
A small, nervous laugh escaped my throat. "A back booth, huh?"
"I told you last time, Lantana," he said, his tone shifting, becoming darker, more focused. "If I'm going to sit next to you for more than five minutes, I won't be able to keep my hands to myself."
The air in the shop seemed to vanish. My core clenched, a sharp, sudden pull of desire that left me breathless. My throat went dry, and I swallowed hard, the sound loud in the quiet of the room.
"Are you prepared for that?"
The question wasn't a request for consent; it was a challenge. He was daring me to step into the circle of his influence, to see if I could handle the heat. I closed my eyes, imagining those large, calloused hands gripping my waist, pulling me flush against the hard planes of his body.
"Yes," I whispered.
I wanted to know what this man was. I wanted to know why he felt like a storm I needed to be caught in.
"Perfect. I’ll send you the address," he murmured. "I'll see you then."
The line went dead.
I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding, and I stayed frozen for a moment, the phone still pressed to my ear.
This man wanted to do wicked things to me.
And he was so direct about it that it both took me off guard and yet it was somewhat refreshing.
I had never encountered that kind of honesty in any man before.
He didn't wrap his desires in poetry or lies, he simply laid them out on the table for me to decide what my next move wold be.
I had had one-night stands before. I had played the game of fleeting connections, the hollow thrill of a stranger's touch that left me feeling more alone than when I started. None of them had been worth the effort. None of them had made my blood sing.
But this? This encounter felt different. It felt dangerous.
I looked around my shop. My safe, scented sanctuary of herbs and crystals, and realized it felt too small. I needed the dark. I needed the man who promised to ruin my composure in a back booth.
I leaned back against the counter, a slow, hungry smile tugging at the corners of my lips. For the first time in years, I wasn't the one in control of creating the brew. I was the ingredient, and I couldn't wait to see how Benjamin Harper planned to make me simmer.