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HE SAW HER ENTER THE bar and was immediately mesmerized by her. She was tall, slender and had the most sensual features. They locked eyes as she made her way closer to the bar. He let his gaze roam up and down her body. He loved the way her hips swayed when she moved, it was completely erotic. This woman was an enchantress.
She wore a long tan skirt and a blood red corset top. Her voluptuous breasts looked as if they would spill free at any moment. She wore a dark brown macramé belt around her waist and her raven black hair cascaded down her back. A necklace of animal teeth and sea shells caressed her chest.
He could hardly believe it when she headed his way. It was almost as if they were magnetically drawn to each other.
***
BIANCA WASN’T SURE what called her to this place. She just knew that she must come here tonight, now! As soon as she entered the bar, she saw him. His face was square and aristocratic. His body well defined. This man must spend a great deal of time maintaining his trim physique in the same way she did. The scent of money exuded from his pores. It was an intoxicating smell to her, one that she was familiar with. She could always spot the customers with money by the very smell when they came into her little shop. Those were the ones she could milk. She doubted this one, though, she could lure him away from his money as easily.
Unsure of what to say, he asked, “Do you come in here often?”
She shook her head side to side as she studied him intently. “Something told me to come here tonight.”
Intrigued, he asked, “What is your name?”
“Bianca, Bianca Honore. I run a little voodoo shop on Bourbon Street.”
***
THIS NEWS HAD HIS INTEREST piqued. Had fate brought them together? He must obtain more information about this young woman to see if she was the person he wanted to do business with. If nothing else, she may know someone he could start a business relationship with.
He asked, “So, you are from here then?”
“Mais oui. My family has lived here for generations. I moved away, but when my grand-mere’s health declined, I moved back home to take over the family business.”
That was why he didn’t know who she was. In general, he knew all the locals, even if it was a big city. It was part of the business. In order for him to be successful, he had to know what everyone was up to. He knew what they did for a living and who they were related to in case he needed to reinforce the importance of paying him back.
“And the family business is the little voodoo shop on Bourbon Street?”
***
SHE NODDED HER HEAD, “It is part of it. My grand-mere wanted to make sure I had not forgotten the craft before she passed away; although, if I ever have any questions, she is never far away.”
Bianca could see the excitement growing in this handsome man and wondered why he was so intrigued by her family. Most people shied away when she talked about voodoo and the family business.
She smiled at him, “You never told me your name.”
He bent down and whispered his name. His last name drew her attention. Everyone in New Orleans had heard of his family. They may not be the friendliest family in town, but they were loaded. She heard the family could be uppity to those they considered to be lower class. Their ancestors could be traced back to the French Acadian influx in the early 1800s. She heard rumors that they made their money by becoming bed partners with the Italian Mafia when they first set up roots here in Louisiana. So far, she hadn’t been able to find anything concrete on that subject, just a lot of whispered rumors. Her grand-mere always warned her about the enforcers as she had liked to call them. They stayed away from her since she threatened them with voodoo if they set foot near her shop or her family. No one in town spoke their suspicions out loud about them. She would love to ask him if he was part of the mafia, but she didn’t want to draw attention to herself.
***
BY THE TIME THE MAFIA Prince and his friends left the bar, it was well after two o’clock in the morning. The traffic on Bourbon Street remained heavy, except more people were inebriated than before. They had to almost shove their way through the crowd.
As they made their way to the car, he watched people as they passed. His father told him it was crucial to read someone. So he found himself always studying people. Besides, it helped keep him sharp. He became very efficient at reading every little line on someone’s face. When he read the lines on their face, he could read their story. He could tell by the way someone shifted their body if they were lying.
He learned how to pick out a badge in any crowd. He doubted the badges even knew they stuck out like a neon sign. He could tell by the expression on their face if they were a badge. They never smiled; their face had a permanent frown tattooed on it. He could also tell by their eyes. Every badge he had ever met had a tired look around their eyes.
He taught his girls how to pick out a sailor in the crowd of men on the riverfront. Those guys were easy dough. They would bring the sailors to the club for a dance and then in the back for a lay, either way they spent money on the girls and alcohol.
***
THE NEXT DAY WHEN HE walked into her little shop, she recognized him immediately. The sounds of Bourbon Street went silent. All that she heard was the beating of her own heart.
While she moved around the shop preparing a potion, she felt his eyes on her. She could hardly keep her eyes off of him. He looked even better in the daylight. Bianca couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen someone so tall, dark and handsome. Last night in the bar, the dim light didn’t do him justice. Before she realized it, she was undressing him with her eyes. She had to shake her head to get her mind out of the gutter.
Bianca tried to hurry up and finish with her current customer. The poor lady came in wanting a potion to give her cheating husband. She wanted to put the voodoo on the scoundrel as punition, punishment, for his cheating ways. Bianca chuckled to herself. Most of her business came from women who wanted to perform a ritual on their husband with a voodoo doll. Word must be getting around because they all came in with a lock of their husband’s hair.
For a voodoo doll to be effective, that person had to really believe in what they were doing. Only if the person truly believed in the voodoo doll, then and only then would their wish be fulfilled.
Once the customer left, she moved towards him. She didn’t realize how tall he was, she was almost a foot shorter than him. The closer Bianca moved to him, the more she felt the heat rising in her body.
She was attracted to this man, any woman would be attracted to him. He had a well defined body, one that she could spend hours exploring. He wore a t-shirt today that showed every ripple on his arms and chest. His blue jeans molded his body. She couldn’t take her eyes off of his arms. He had the kind of arms you dreamed of having wrapped around you. She fantasized about what it would feel like to have those hands touch her; have his body joined with hers. He was pure male perfection and total eye candy. He would make any woman hungry just by looking at him.
When he finally spoke, she thought she would melt. The deepness of his accent was damned sexy. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you last night and had to come check out your shop.”
She looked at him dumbfounded, unsure of what to say for a moment, “I’m glad you decided to stop by. Would you like a tour?”
He smiled down at her and it was more than she could stand. She took in a deep breath to steady her nerves and inhaled his cologne. It was incredibly sexy and made her unstable on her feet. She looked up to find him watching her intently. Time seemed to stand still, their gazes locked.
This was the one man she should avoid falling for. Her grand-mere would warn her to stay clear of this man. That he had the devil in him.
Bianca couldn’t fight the attraction she had for him though. He made her heart race. He was the best looking devil she had ever seen. Goosebumps crawled up her skin as he continued to look over her body.