Page 14 of Swamp Kings 1

The paper trembled in his hand as he closed his eyes shaking his head. “For five thousand dollars.”

“She divorced you for money?”

Spar folded the paper and slid it in his back pocket, his laughter coming in slow sputters of shock.

“Is this… comical in swamp culture?”

Now that was funny.

He looked around again and finally spotted Juliette on top of one of the houses. She blew him a kiss and waved real big. “Fuck, I’m ready to bat-tie that bastard Viking to have her.”

“What Viking?”

“The one she’s betrothed to.”

“This is allowed?”

“Really not sure. Don’t recall anyone ever challenging such a thing.”

“So… you would be the first.”

Spar nodded as he recalled the look on Juliette’s face when she was with thatViking. Purer love he’d never seen. Best thing he could do forherwas leave her the hell alone.

“I would be the first…. But…. I won’t.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“And do you think he’s accidentally found his way onto my boat?” Natasha hissed quietly to Celeste at the far end of the pontoon, as far from that Creole King Player as she could get, but surely not so far she couldn’t keep a note-taking eye on him and boy was the mental notepad overflowing quickly.

“I mean of all the boats he could be on, he picks this one, and would you look at him—God, don’t actually look—” she strained, snapping Celeste’s face forward. “With the corner of your eye, just look at all the sisters at his feet, like he’s the second member of the godhead! It is disgusting! And by all means, take unobvious notes at the look on his face, pretending to be so austere and aloof as if anybody with a pebble of a brain can’t see he’s casting his witchery spells to all near him and look at the glow on his face, how he loves it, he loves that he is the most beautiful, most sexiest man on the planet and that is the… Celeste what’s wrong? You’ve got black spots on your face!”

Her eyes snapped up to hers with a gasp. “I do?”

“Do you feel sick, are you hurting?”

She nodded a lot.

Natasha jumped into touching and feeling her for symptoms. “Why didn’t you tell me!”

“Because you…you needed somebody to listen to you.”

“You don’t feel feverish. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“It’s him,” she gasped.

“Lore!” she barely hissed, instantly furious then getting her rapid headshake.

“Kaphas. My stomach is in knots, I’m nauseated, my head is pounding my body is hurting and look, my nails, they’re—”

“Black!” Natasha shot out, alarmed.

Celeste quickly hid them and faced her. “What if something’s wrong with me?” she pled so very quietly.

“What do you mean, wrong? How?”

She stared into the fretful brown eyes, watching in alarm as the whites filled with specks of black now.

“Ever since…we made love, I have him in me, parts of him, he told me this. What if my human body can’t take it, what if…”

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