Page 13 of Widow Mayker

“You sure you good, baby?” I asked her.

She nodded too emphatically for my liking. “Everything’s great, big brother. Chill out, please. You have a look in your eyes that I hate seeing.” She chuckled to play it off.

I swirled the contents of my glass around and dissected what was on the surface of my sister’s emotions. Some shit was up, and she was lying to cover it up.

I took a sip of my drink, then said, “We never lie to each other, lil’ baby.”

Kim’s eyes flew to mine. “No, we don’t.” She sipped her drink, grimaced, then added, “Everything’s good…for now. I’ll let you know if anything changes.”

That was better. “Aight,” I replied.

Just a few minutes later, Kim stood to leave the section as she answered her phone. Roy came back into the section and motioned over his shoulder. That was when I noticed Heir standing just outside my section. Her eyes were on me for a second too long. Then, she turned her back to me and focused on the crowd below us. Several pairs of eyes followed her every move. It was only right that I figured out what the fuck was going on with lil’ baby. She was out of place in here.

HEIR BELL

A man never looked so good in a tailored, sage suit. He must’ve spent a few thousand dollars on it. It molded to his body the way a pair of tights molded to my skin. Let some tell it, sage was the color of Kody’s eyes. I’d only seen him in person once, and I wasn’t close enough to him to gage the color of his eyes.

Now that I had Kody’s eyes glued to me, my heart rate skyrocketed. He was at least six-foot-five and built better than any football player I’d ever seen on the big screen or in person. His face was nearly perfect and framed by a short, thick brown beard. Any time he turned his head, I caught a peek of the tattoos covering most of his neck.

Kody vacated his VIP with his eyes set on me. Inhaling a deep breath, I prepped myself for the encounter of a lifetime.

This was by far the craziest shit I’d ever done in my life. There was no explaining what the hell I was getting myself into by garnering the attention of a man like Kody. However, this was necessary. If I wanted to put myself out of my misery, I had to go through with this. The minute I saw him approaching me, I knew that there was no going back.

“Miss Heir… Ya people know you here?” His voice was much richer than I imagined.

He looked even sexier being this close to me, and he smelled dangerous. His eyes… They matched his suit. His milky, light brown skin could’ve been the best thing ever made. Hours upon hours of fantasizing about this man did nothing to prepare me for this moment.

“I’m a grown woman, Mr. McAroy. I don’t need my people’s permission to be anywhere.” Like hell, I thought. Poppa and Adir narrowly allowed me and Maja to bring our asses in here. If it weren’t for Maja, they would’ve definitely told my ass no. Maja had a hold over Adir that I couldn’t deny. Truthfully, I loved that she could seemingly control him.

“Is that right?” Kody asked. His subtle smirk was so devious, he almost forced me to look away in fear.

“Aight, I see you a lil’ bold. I like that. So, what brings you to my place?” he questioned.

Going for it, I said, “I have a proposition for you.”

Just as his head tilted in reflection and his eyes piqued with curiosity, a woman approached and placed her hand on his shoulder. Her eyes shot daggers into me that would’ve scorched someone else. I wasn’t so easily offended or bothered.

“Baby, VIP is getting lonely without you,” the woman practically whined. I gagged a little. I’d never seen her before, but that didn’t mean anything.

“My apologies. I didn’t know you were taken,” I said. Bummer.

He smirked, just slightly. “Taken is such a strong word, love. For the record, I’ll never be taken.” His eyes found the woman who’d sidled up beside him. Slowly, her hand fell from his shoulder, and her self-assured smile evaporated.

“Good to know,” I replied to him. Taking my L with a smile on my face, I side-stepped Kody to head back to my section. I felt Maja’s eyes on me. Suddenly, Kody grabbed my forearm. Gently, he tugged me until I was back in front of him. The music changed to something a little more upbeat with the bass even louder than the song before it.

“We’re not done,” Kody stated. Again, his eyes flicked to the woman who still stood their looking lost. Kody barely blinked, but the signal for her to walk away was loud and clear.

Ugh. I couldn’t imagine letting a man treat me with such disrespect. She’d barely made the first step before Kody was back to eyeing me.

“What’s so pressing that you riskin’ ya life by comin’ up in here?” he asked.

There was the crazy plan I’d concocted. I was to come here, gain Kody’s attention, then offer him a proposal. I’d succeeded thus far. There was no turning back, now. I didn’t want a man and didn’t need one. One thing my father and brother taught me was that I couldn’t trust anyone; not even the men who were the closest to me and supposed to love me the most. The only men I had love for anymore were Poppa and Adir. They saved me and took me in like true men should.

So, no… I didn’t want or need a man. However, my body had needs, more like demands. My body demanded that I find a proper suitor to rid me of my virginity. Kody was the only man to ever command my thoughts, my dreams, and my every waking moment. Disturbing, it was.

For one, Kody wasn’t exactly the man to find the least bit attractive. Sure, he was sexy as hell. However, this was the same man who killed his entire elder bloodline. Although my family didn’t fear him, the streets feared Kody.

Secondly, Kody’s dark energy wasn’t the kind that was simply evil. It was the kind that silently stole every ounce of someone’s energy just to prove that he could. Kody was deadly in many ways.