Prologue

November

Holy shit. Fuck this weather. It ’ s colder than a penguin’s asshole out here. I knew I should have stopped for gas last night. Now I ’ m in a rush and the pump starts beeping, forcing me to pay inside. Fucking hell I hate people, dealing with them and their small talk. “ It sure is cold out there today.” No shit. It ’ s so cold my cock and balls have retreated back inside my body for warmth.

Trudging my reluctant ass across the frozen hellscape, I make my way inside the corner store. Mounting irritation prickles my skin as I see this won ’ t be a quick exchange. There ’ s a woman at the counter making a scene. She needs her things immediately and she ’ s livid the machine is causing a wealth of problems.

“ If you pay cash I can ring you up right away,” the man behind the counter explains. Eavesdropping, I hear him tell her the extreme cold is causing the pay at the pump feature on the gas terminal to lag, which is making the internal debit machine slow down twice as much. Ah, that explains my issu e.

She ’ s got a juicy fucking ass that bounces as she pleads her case, trying desperately to get this cashier to fix the machine for her. My guess is this man has about as much knowledge of how to repair the machine as she does. She doesn ’ t have any cash on her. The man behind the till sighs and apologizes but tells her she will have to wait for the machine to sort itself out. It shouldn ’ t take too much longer. Issues of living in a small town and all that.

“ This is bullshit. Why have a machine if it never works?” She pulls out her phone, typing furiously. She bites her lip as she taps her foot. The employee asks the few people in the store if any of them wish to pay with cash and two move forward ahead of us. “ Ugh, why is this taking so long?” she mumbles to herself, pocketing her phone.

Who the fuck is this lady? Why is she so antsy? It ’ s freezing outside and she ’ s trying to purchase an iced coffee, along with a few other items: cigarettes, gum, a tuna sandwich that ’ s sure to give her food poisoning, and an apple. Normal people don ’ t drink iced beverages in the winter.

Now, I ’ m probably not the best person to judge the scale of what is and is not normal but a frozen drink in this weather is just asking for hypothermia. A laugh escapes me as I think of her freezing to death, lips blue, unable to complain anymore and hold up my day. It ’ s joyous. Cathartic. Convenience stores are supposed to be just that, convenient. A quick in and out. More often than not they leave me annoyed. Unfortunately, I ’ m so lost in my own thoughts I didn ’ t notice the woman turning around and focusing her frigid glare on me.

“ What?” I ask, completely dumbfounded.

“ You laughed. Is my misfortune amusing to you?” Her words are dripping with venom and I can hear her phone's muffled beep.

I was wrong, there's no ice in her gaze. It ’ s a raging inferno, blazing right towards me. Her dire need for the icy drink now makes sense.

“ Never. I was just simply wondering who in their right mind drinks something like that in this weather.” Gesturing to her icy coffee sitting on the counter. A smirk threatens to make its presence known, but I lock it down, knowing it will only infuriate her more.

“ Bold of you to assume I ’ m ever in my right mind.” Her gaze is unwavering. Damn it, the smirk has broken through, I can feel it pulling at my skin. She ’ s shorter than me by at least six or eight inches causing her to look up at me. Her eyes are the colour of honey, she ’ s pale skinned, and her ebony hair is pulled up into a bun. I find myself wondering how long it is. Could I wrap it around my fist as I pummel her cunt from behind? Or am I going to have to grasp it at the nape because it ’ s short. Her sizeable tits would fill my hands and visions of them bouncing as I dominate her invade my mind. My dick tingles to life as I reply, “ My apologies, you ’ re clearly insane.”

I ’ m ensnared. A moth to her flame. Her cheeks flush with colour and she giggles. It may be the best sound in the world. Her eyes reflect the fluorescent lights of the store and it ’ s as if they ’ re shining just for me, lighting up my little world. The sound of a throat clearing brings me back to planet earth and I want to punch the ass-face who dares to ruin my moment of joy. I turn, but the little old lady who ’ s probably a step away from knocking on Death's door, just wants to cut ahead of me in line. I wave her in and turn back to… Where did she go? The sound of a car horn snags my attention and I see her, she ’ s practically running to this vehicle. Muffled shouts and erratic hand gestures are exchanged between her and the grotesque older looking man in the driver's seat. That better not be her boyfriend.

I ’ ve moved to the store window now, faster than I care to admit. Her pull on me is undeniable. Everything in me is tense. Watching, I see her throw herself into the passenger seat and slam the door. This man is still berating her, she looks sad and defeated. The car backs up and proceeds to pull away. For one fleeting moment our eyes lock and she smiles at me. This gentle, warm smile. She ’ s happy we met, I can feel it. In return, I throw my hand up, make a peace sign in front of my mouth, and flick my tongue between my fingers. Shock like I ’ ve never seen overcomes her features and then she winks at me, a dimple appearing on her cheek as she fights off a smile.

There she is.

Then she ’ s gone.

Lingering at the window, I watch until the black Honda Civic has disappeared. I enter the license plate number in my phone, that could be helpful later. Fuck that man for making her feel like shit, extinguishing her spark. It ’ s not her fault the machine is down but my gut tells me the asshole will make it her fault. Turning back to the store I see she abandoned her purchases. I can finally pay for my gas, freezing my fingers off at the pump while I fill the tank.

Hopping back in the car, I shoot my boss a text, telling him I ’ m running late because of the fiasco at the corner store. Luckily he ’ s one of those guys that understands some things are just out of our control.

Pulling up to the cusp of the parking lot, I wait for the traffic to clear and I stare off in the direction the honey eyed goddess went. I wonder what she ’ s doing today. What does she do for work? How have I never run into her before? Surely she isn ’ t new to town, I would have known if anyone moved in. The gossip mill in this town is crazy, there ’ s no way she slipped through the cracks. Especially someone who's as captivating as her.

I pull onto the road, headed in the opposite direction. Mind whirling with thoughts of her and if I ’ ll ever run into her again. Where has she been hiding? The thought is both alluring and concerning. An insistent nagging in my brain, a thread I just have to pull to unravel the mystery of this bewitching creature. Her soul calls to mine on a preternatural level. She is a siren, working her deadly magic over my mind, the melody of her song leading me to my downfall.