Page 1 of Kuaket

CHAPTER1

Kuaket

I crickedmy neck and got out of bed to head over to the huge tank dominating the wall which housed my African rock python. She lifted her head as she sensed my approach and gave a greeting that she knew I’d understand.

“Erm...Kua?”

I turned back to the bed where Abrax reclined. “Mmm?”

“You’re not going to feed me to your snake, are you?”

I snorted. “Hardly. You’re not organic enough for that.” I resisted the urge to get Pattie out of her tank and handle her. That would have to wait until Abrax left.

He gave a nervous laugh and stretched out, drawing attention to the flickering warlock tattoos that decorated his body head to toe. There was something captivating about them, even if I knew I was supposed to see them as a warning sign.

“You know, I had thought about kicking you out, but maybe I’ve got a better idea,” I said.

“Oh?” He eyed the snake uneasily despite the fact she was safely in the tank and well away from him.

I rolled my eyes. I dreaded to think he’d react if he realisedIcould shift into a snake just as big and deadly as this one. Presumably, he’d skipped that part of his research on me. If he’d done any at all.

I turned back to the tank and smiled.

The warlock on the bed watched my every move, likely because I was completely naked and I was well aware of how much he enjoyed that show. I made my way back to him, swinging my hips in a way I knew would be hypnotising to him.

No doubt all worries about my snake eating him had completely vanished by the time I got back to the bed.

“What does this one mean?” I asked, tracing the warlock mark which started at his shoulder and travelled all the way to his navel.

“I thought you didn’t want to get to know me,” Abrax asked, a slightly teasing note in his voice.

“I’m not. I’m curious.” I lightly trailed my nail over the mark, and he sucked in a breath, the evidence of how much I was affecting him very much on show.

“That one is a strength tattoo,” he responded. “Or it’s supposed to be. I didn’t really feel any different after I got it, so who knows if that’s true.”

“Hmm. And this one?” I moved over to the tattoo on the other side of his chest, this one crossing over where his heart was.

“That’s the heart tattoo. That one Ididfeel different after.”

“Why?” I asked.

“It’s the one that granted me warlock magic,” he responded. “Without it, I’d just be an ordinary human.”

Surprise flitted through me, we hadn’t talked about this at any point during the past nine months. “Really?”

He nodded. “That’s how the Sons of Seth get you. They promise you power that you otherwise couldn’t imagine, and then before you know it, you’re covered in warlock tattoos and able to do magic.”

I frowned, realising just how little I actually knew about the cult he was part of. “That doesn’t make sense.”

Abrax shrugged. “It’s how it works. I can assure you that I didn’t have magic before I entered the fold, and I do now. Though it’s limited.”

“I thought the Sons of Seth were actual warlocks,” I admitted. “Just ones who liked to decorate themselves.”

“Like you?” He reached out and touched the tattoo of a snake on my shoulder.

I snorted. “Hardly, this was a drunken decision in the eighties.”

“It’s cute.” He traced his fingers over the length of the snake’s body, his touch sending pleasant tingles throughout my entire body.

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