Sin Eaters: Devotion Book One (21 page)

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Authors: Kai Leakes

BOOK: Sin Eaters: Devotion Book One
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At that same moment, Sanna suddenly swayed and caught herself from tipping over.
Power washed over Khamun, and Kyo eyed him instantly as she stepped closer, her eyes flickering that metallic hue her kind is known for. They were awakening, and being near both of the pair had triggered it all.
Kyo let go of Khamun's hand as she slid a chicken salad sandwich with a cucumber salad to her. “Sanna, sit and eat some lunch.”
“I'm okay. I'm not hungry anyway. Just felt a little lightheaded.”
Both Kyo and Khamun stared with pure concern.
He couldn't stop his protective nature and reached out for her, brushing his fingers under her jaw, tilting her head up slightly to look in her eyes. Which was bad. Her skin seemed to melt into him like shea butter, and he had to grip her as his fangs almost dropped against his will.
They both locked eyes, and Kyo quickly placed a hand on both of them. Her touch instinctively neutralized the sudden energy boost.
Members of Khamun's crew watched in quiet approval as Marco strolled from his spot upstairs, tools in his hands. He stood watching on from a stairway.
The building was hidden from the Curse, so the energy boost that had just occurred would stay cloaked within the building. Even though that was the case, he still twisted the surge, double binding it into the foundation of the land as a means to strengthen the protection sigils from the Curse.
Khamun's mouth slightly opened as his body vibrated in the addictive and sultry feel of her feminine energy. It was so pure, ripe, and light. Drenched in her budding Evolution, he almost came right there as he fought his body's slight shakes.
“My man, you good?” Marco called out, dousing his jones.
Khamun looked up, his eyes reflecting various hues of gold. He slowly nodded up and down, speechless.
Sanna's Protector ripped him from his concentration as she gripped him hard, almost shaking him while pulling him away from his Vessel's touch. Kyo's beautiful mismatched jade eyes flared with confusion and anger as Sanna shook her head.
“Yeah, let me eat something. I'll take that tour in a minute. Kyo, you go with him, please.”
Still eyeballing Khamun, Kyo's hand clutched his pulsing bicep, and she never took her eyes away from him as he watched her say, “Okay, sis. Just rest and eat everything on that plate, woman, or else.”
Weakly laughing, Sanna raised her shoulders while taking a sip of her still warm tea. She glanced briefly at Khamun, who watched her intensely as she turned away blushing, reaching for her sandwich. She didn't know what the hell just had happened, but whatever that was, it needed to happen again, and soon.
Following the sassy woman who had the nerve to pull him away from his woman, Khamun had to shake his head and sort himself right. He let himself be led by the Gargoyle, making sure she felt as if she was in control of the situation.
She was pretty, very curvy in all the right areas. Her spiky asymmetrical-cut bob with its chestnut highlights accented her almond-shaped eyes as they let him know what she was. Had he been pure human, her nails would have sliced into his arm, but of course, all they did was lightly paper-cut him as he waited for her to dig into him.
“
Who
and
What
are you? What do you want with Sanna?” she hissed, a low clicking sound suddenly coming from low in her throat like that of a reptile, and she blinked in shock. Her hand quickly came up to her throat as she brushed it off and shook her head.
“Calm down, Gargoyle. I'm not here to do harm.”
“Excuse me?” Kyo tilted her head to the side. She swore she felt a shift in her body, as if she was fluid. Her mouth suddenly ached, and her skin suddenly felt aflame.
“Seriously, calm down, Kyo, before you stone!”
“Who are you? And what are you talking about? Stone? What!”
She clutched her stomach. Her insides felt wobbly, almost like she had swallowed thousands of butterflies and they wanted to fly around within her, and her breathing sped up. She saw the fine specimen of a man shake his head and reach in his pocket. He pulled out a small cigarillo, lit it, and then blew smoke in her face.
Sweet, spicy cinnamon, coffee and vanilla clouds caressed her face like a lover's hands. She suddenly coughed, flinging out to slap Khamun across his face, but ended up missing him because he'd quickly sidestepped the blow.
The shock of his rude ass blowing smoke in her face had her gasping. Then her erratic breathing slowed, until she suddenly felt giddy and relaxed.
“Hey! The hell is your problem?” she replied. The need to inhale again made her sigh. She smiled, leaning back against the wall.
Khamun chuckled then crossed his arms over his chest. He leaned back while studying her. “Now we can talk? This, my friend,” he said, rolling the cigarillo between his fingers before placing it back against his lips, “is a trinity. It helps calm anyone, and your kind especially loves the smoke.”
“Oh!” Kyo blinkd. Her hand slovenly ran down her face as she quickly stood alert. “My kind? What do you know about me? And what do you want with Sanna?”
“Chill, woman, chill. You are slowly awakening. You're a babe to the change, so chill. What I want is to protect you both. Who I am is just as I said—Khamun Cross. What I am”—He shrugged and spread his hands out wide, smiling—“you will find out soon. Just keep looking out for your godsister. You are doing good, and I mean her no harm.”
Kyo slowly followed as Khamun turned to walk away, taking a long drag and putting his trinity away.
“No harm? Well, I kind of gathered that,” she said as she tried to keep up with his stride. “How you were staring my sis down had me thinking I needed to get a room and take a cold shower. But . . . how do you know what I am?”
Running to continue her talk with Mr. Sexy was hard. He seemed to suddenly pick up speed in his pace while he glanced at Sanna. His beautiful eyes darkened then lightened with energy as he smoothly whipped around on her, guaranteeing Kyo would hear him.
“Relax, and we will talk soon. Now I can't check on your sis right now. She got me in a zone. So I'll be back later. Tell her one of my crewmen needed me and I had to go, okay.”
His eyes were beautiful like warm honey on biscuits. They seemed to glow and flicker with a gold liquid ring that seemed to pulsate. Why she felt the need to comply, she had no idea, but she knew it would be for the better if she just followed through. She didn't want to jeopardize whatever Mr. Sexy had planned for her and Sanna. As she nodded, she swore the man disappeared right in front of her eyes.
Whatever he blew in her face had her all kinds of loose, and she smiled as she saw Mr. Seduction—a slight Don Omar doppelgänger with a low, wavy and curly fade—hovering over Sanna with a plate full of cucumber salad in his hand.
Sanna seemed to be shaken, yet very pleased by the tall, quarterback-built man standing near her, softly speaking and slightly demanding she eat.
“
Relájese
and breathe, baby—I mean, Ms. Steele. Just quiet that mind of yours and eat this.” Marco ran a hand in circles on Sanna's back, watching her closely as she took the plate from his hands. “
Muy bien, mami
. Eat up,” he cooed.
A shimmering aura seemed to flow from him and into her sister as Kyo observed, head tilted to the side in awe.
Sanna quietly ate her salad, raising an eyebrow every time Mr. Seduction would nod his head and murmur in approval.
This made Kyo mutter, “Alrighty then,” as she slowly walked forward and picked up an icy-cold glass pitcher full of crushed ice and clear water to pour a glass for Sanna.
“You okay, sis?” Kyo looked Sanna over, handing her the glass.
Sanna gripped it with a shaky hand and took deep gulps of water. She nodded and took more bites from her salad.
“Yeah. Same ol', same ol'. Just need to sit for a bit, is all. Thanks.”
Glancing up, Kyo watched Sanna smile and hand her plate to Mr. Fine number two. He, in turn, handed her the chicken salad sandwich.
Giving a small thanks, she took dainty bites before briefly frowning and shaking whatever thoughts flickered in her mind away, looking toward the door Khamun had strolled through.
“Thank you. Marco, is it?”
Marco looked Sanna over and bobbed his head with a light smile. “Marco Spear, to be exact.” He stepped back with a low chuckle to give Sanna space and to keep from hovering as he assessed both women. “I can see why he's infatuated.”
Flabbergasted, Sanna and Kyo said, “Huh?” in unison.
Marco flashed a sensual smile before picking up his tool bag and rolled-up blueprints. “If you both need me, I will be upstairs checking on the crew. I have electric work that needs to be handled. Do not leave without letting me know, ladies.” He glanced at Kyo, his pupils undulating briefly with a silver sheen before they shifted back to normal. With a lopsided smile, he gripped his bag. “I would feel horrible if I did not get a chance to check on you two, a'ight.”
Both ladies seemed to nod in unison, blushing as Kyo exhaled. Just like with Mr. Sexy number one, she felt that she had to comply. A sensation that didn't feel against her will, but more like a natural trust, an understanding of sorts. And she did not have a problem doing just that.
Chapter 12
Sanna sat in her new home in Lincoln Park, sprawled on her couch in lilac boy shorts and a lilac tank. Kyo was plopped across from her in a nearby La-Z-Boy chair, dressed in a similar outfit, only in all white. She loved her new home. It was a brownstone building restored to its former glory that sat next to Kyo's own similar unit. Though the houses were separate, for some odd reason, there was an underground connecting tunnel that ran to both units that was still safely functional.
According to Mr. Lenox, the only ones who knew about it were the owner of the restoration construction company he worked with, her, and Kyo. Lenox had insisted she stop calling him Mr. Lenox, so she had to remind herself to stop with the formality. He had insisted in decking out their homes with security and other gadgets. Unbeknownst to both women though, the tunnel also ran to a private bunker that led to a part of the CTA subway system no human knew about, and the highway. It would come in handy if ever they needed to escape, or when it came time for them to train in their awakening powers.
The land that the two brownstones lay on sat in a protected blended Nephilim neighborhood, which ensured that the ladies would stay protected and hidden in plain sight.
“Today was too crazy, wasn't it?” Sanna chuckled as she hit play on her DVD. Larenz Tate and Nia Long flashed across her massive HDTV then
Ninja Assassin
as she played with the menu option before settling on
Love Jones
.
Tonight was chick-flick action night. That meant that any movie, be it chick flick or action with cuties in it, Sanna and Kyo would be glued to.
Kyo pushed a massive tin of Garrett caramel and cheddar popcorn toward Sanna. “Crazy is an understatement, girl. Since moving here, we have been surrounded by the holy grail of sexy-ass men.” She tilted her head as she raised her eyebrow in a sly smile. “Do you think Lenox or Marco would like a little geisha in their world?”
Sanna shook her head at her girl. She knew Kyo hated clichés and stereotyped references with regard to her race and sexual appetite, but tonight she definitely was playing it up.
Kyo batted her eyes and winked, a hidden flash of danger glinting momentarily before disappearing.
“Girl, do you think they would like a little brown sugar in their world?” Sanna ducked as popcorn suddenly doused her, and she shook her curly 'fro while she laughed. “What!”
“Please. They are off-limits. Plus, you have that ultra-sexy man, Khamun, after you. Please do not act as if you didn't see how he was literally so close that he could be your second skin.”
Sanna rolled her eyes, huffing. “Please. Mr. Cross was not into me like that. Did you see how fast he left?”
Kyo gave her a shrug. “Nope. No, I did not, sis.”
Quirking an eyebrow, Sanna shook her head. “Man, listen. No one is interested in me. I'm a curvy big girl who just can't seem to draw in them fine, tall glasses of men who aren't looking for stray ass. I keep getting old-ass, dusty, scary, stalking, Flavor Flav-looking men. What is wrong with me, huh?”
Kyo rolled her eyes and studied the movie. Larenz was spitting about how Nia was the blues in his left eye as jazz flowed through the house.
“Sanna, stop. You are in a new city. New world, new everything! Yes, those creepy, elderly, or Flavor Flav men do seem to like you, but guess what? So do those fine men who have their heads on straight. You just have to stop being blind and mean-mugging everyone.”
Sanna sighed and quietly shifted on the couch. “I do not mean-mug, and I do pay attention.”
“Do you? Okay. So when are you going to give Khamun your card? Hmm? When are you going to let him between those thighs, so the gates of heaven can sing and you can finally know what good tallywhacker is? Huh?”
Sanna flushed a thousand colors as she covered her face with her hands. “Oh my goodness! I hate your jokes sometimes. Damn!”
Kyo laughed. “What? Answer my question pretty please. So when he asks, you're going to give him a chance, huh?”
Sulking, Sanna couldn't help but wonder. She couldn't lie, she had been thinking about him hard since her second brief encounter with him. She couldn't help but be curious about that man. Who was he outside of the workplace? Was he really interested in her?
“Sanna! If he asks, will you give him the time of day?” Kyo watched her sister look away from her eyes, pretending she was looking for something near her seat.
“So Calvin is coming over tomorrow. He's going to work on some stuff in the house that didn't get fixed the first go-'round, and is going to take us shopping.”
Shaking her unruly bob, Kyo chuckled. “Scared ass.”
“What! Yes, okay. If he asks or hints, I'll give him my card. He's just so . . .”
Clapping her hands in glee as she bounced on her bent legs, Kyo paused then glared at Sanna out the corner of her eye. “He's just so what?”
Sanna couldn't form the words. It was like that man was everything she had been waiting on. As if the Most High slapped her across the face and said, “Here! Tired of you praying for him. Now get on with your life with him as destined.” Sanna couldn't help but inwardly laugh.
He felt like the man in her dreams. The man who would creep in at night and glide between the sheets of her bed to smoothly place a gentle hand on her inner thigh, stroking and spreading her open effortlessly. The man who seemed to slide down and leave her body wet with kisses that seemed to send euphoric pleasure through her body. The man whose rod was so hard, his veins seemed to add a ridged ecstasy against her wet bud while he brushed her gently. That man whose locks would spread over her naked body covering her in a sensual protection that made her spirit spread and flux through his solid yet comforting body. It felt as if it was him, and that scared her.
She licked her lips. Her body already felt alive in that memory.
Kyo's voice quickly jolted her back to reality. “Sanna, speak! He's just so what?”
“Oh, he's just the shit! I can't even think of a better word. Did you see his mural? It's like its breathing life. He has poetry painted in it too, girl. That man is something else. Like Larenz Tate wooing Nia on stage, kind of something else, and he is working at my restaurant!”
Kyo chuckled while inwardly sighing. She had stood by that mural all day and not noticed a thing, but after her run-in with Khamun and Marco, she noticed the difference. The words seemed to glow with power, and the people in the scene, the colors all seemed to breathe with a life and light of their own. Everything swirled, letting her know no one would come to harm in the building or near the building, that only good was allowed in. The fact that she was able to read that from the mural freaked her out. She quickly planned on calling her father as soon as she found the time for some privacy.
“Yes. That's what I'm saying. You two would look good together. So when you see him again, just slide him your business card. You know he's constantly working throughout Chicago and St. Louis because he's owner of the restoration construction company. Maybe you can get him to come back here and work on a little something-something.” Kyo snickered and tried to block the pillow Sanna sent flying in the air, but it hit her in her face.
“I bet that would make your day, huh!”
“Yes, it would. So now that we have that squared, you think Lenox or Marco would mind sharing a midnight snack with me?”
Sanna laughed. “What? Like, at the same time?”
“Yes! A girl has to dream.”
Sanna cracked up laughing. She knew Kyo was as fresh as the driven snow, like herself, but her mind wasn't. “What about that guy in your dreams? The one you said had you clutching at the sheets and grinding all on your pillow?”
Quietly munching on her popcorn, Kyo frowned. “What about him? He's just another wet dream for my mind to torture me with.”
Sanna loved how Kyo could be raw with the truth with her, but when it came to her own self, that wisdom always seemed to work backwards. “I don't think so, but that's just me, sis. I think you're going to bump into him one day.”
“Where? In St. Louis? Nantucket? I think I have to go to California, because he didn't seem like the dutiful Asian son. No. He seemed like a wildcard like myself, and where do you find that at anywhere? And don't say
ABDC
!”
Sanna just smiled and shrugged as she noticed her cell light up with a text. “Amara and Miya are coming back to see the new house and check on Momma on spring break. Which means my house is going to be flooded. You know Take and Dare already are annoyed that the whole family is in Chicago as is.”
Kyo laughed. “Yes. The whole point of them coming here was to get their own space, but I don't think they really are that upset with it as you think.”
“No, they aren't. They love that we are here, especially us.”
Chuckling again, Kyo nodded. “Right. Because where else can they go for good food and a HDTV, with all the entertainment they like? Plus all this space.”
“Mmm-hmm. So I know Mom is loving her downtown condo? How are your parents? Do they love where they are at?”
“Momma loves being near Loyola, and the fact that they welcomed her with tenure and her own graduate department, she is in heaven.”
“Really? I'm so happy for her. She's been so damn busy, she hasn't had the time to tell me whenever I call.”
“Don't I know. Daddy has been going crazy. He's been kicking the med students at UIC's ass. Being the top neurosurgeon in the country kind of sets you up with being gawked at by med students.”
“I still think it's funny that Take and Dare have to deal with Pops Hideo on their campus now. I heard him saying one day that he was going to get you and Take into that med school even if it kills him.”
Kyo exhaled and rubbed her temples. “
Again
, I'm too old to go back. Leaving in my third year was the best choice ever. Juggling both was too hard. I loved that I said, ‘Screw it,' and got my pastry degree instead. And, San, Take for damn sure doesn't want to mess with med school.”
“I know, I know. That damn photographic memory of yours had you at the top of the class in med school and culinary school. Anyway, I think he's just excited, is all.”
Kyo said, “Yeah, I think so too.” Then she added, “Don't think I'm playing, Sanna. Next time you see Mr. Sexy, give him your card. Otherwise, I think he's going to snatch you up one day, and I'm just going to have to let him.”
“Hmm. I wish he would snatch me up even for a little bit. Did you see his arms and his lips!”
Both women sighed and melted as they laughed and continued to watch the movie, not the least bit aware of the shadow in the window.

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