“Mom.” Samosa sat across from her adoptive mom Anna White. Samosa’s adoptive father, Henry White passed over a year ago. The drapes were still the same pale lavender and the place always smelled of fresh laundry. In fact, Samosa bought her mother the Febreeze with the scent of Gain recently. They sat at the kitchen table conversing over a steaming cup of Apple Cinnamon Spice tea.
“I said I’m engaged.” Samosa repeated. Anna brushed her hair back and tugged on her silver cross. Her lips were thin with soft Coral tint and the crows feet by her eyes were beginning to rest on her plain but smooth and honest face.
“I heard you the first time,” her mom’s voice sounded rough. She looked at Samosa and asked if she was tired or using drugs.
“ I’m happy and getting married. Didn’t you get the picture of Stone I sent?”
“I did. But where is he at a time such as this?”
“In the car.”
“Invite him in.”
Samosa cleared her throat. “You have to.”
Anna regarded her daughter with a keen perception- born of years as a mother and volunteer crisis counselor at a local grief center. So she knows when there is something wrong just by a tone of voice, the twitch in a brow or neck, the dilation of pupils. Little things like that.
“He abuses you?”
Not exactly, thought Samosa. Being tied to him is abusing my body. My soul.
“No. He’s awesome mom.” Samosa went out the door to wave at Stone, who slid out confidently from his seat just as another car pulled into the driveway.
Anna met Stone at the door. She pulled on her eye glasses and peered up at him. Stone’s body filled the doorway. His presence was enough for Anna to suck in her breath and back away from him.
“S-Stone is it?” Her mother stuttered. That was surprising.
“Yes ma’am.” His rich, foreign accent sounded seductive without meaning to be.
Her mother cleared her throat. “Where are you from? What do you do? Why Samosa? Will you make her happy?” Rapid fire questions were thrown at Samosa’s exotic lover.
New Mexico. Teaching. Unique for me. I am enchanted with her. His answers were simple lies- except for the enchanted part, but Samosa caught him sweating beads down his neck. His eyes stayed on her mother’s silver cross the entire time. Okay so that was why he sweated buckets of slick sweat.
“Are you religious, Stone?”
Shift. Scoot. “Depends.”
“On what?”
“Do you mean organized religion?”
Samosa interjected. “Mom is the Sunday school teacher at New Christian Church down the street. She is a devout believer.” She smiled reassuringly at her mother then said, “Stone is deeply spiritual.”
Anna nodded. “I see.”
At that moment, a knock pounded on the door. Not a loud pound, but more insistent. Samosa looked at her mother for clues, but Anna wore a blank expression as she rose to answer the door.
That familiar scent!
Irish Spring and Navy cologne.
Lyle!
________
Stone watched Samosa stand speechless. Who was this man?
The guy’s eyes moved from him to Anna, and finally rested- a bit long on Samosa. He gave a small smile and waved at her. Stone blocked Samosa’s view of this tall, dark skinned stallion that had the nerve to waltz in here throwing the testosterone level to hell.
“Mom…um, why is Lyle here?”
Anna closed the door and offered a seat to Lyle, who took it with a booming thank you. Stone realized Anna did not offer him a seat-oh well. Lyle’s entire aura was programmed to lure women. Stone knew this because he had methods far superior to Lyle’s to get them into his bed as well. But this couldn’t be the ex who dumped his Samosa. And he sat there grinning ear to ear like a Jack O-Lantern.
Samosa got from behind Stone and faced her ex. Stone’s hand was on the small of her back.
“You better explain yourself. You too mom. What’s going on?”
Anna sighed and looked piteously at Samosa. “Lyle heard you were dating.”
“How the hell-?” Stone’s inquiry was cut off when Lyle replied “Facebook”. Which Stone knew was a lie. For anyone to have known outside of his home meant either Samosa was lying to him which couldn’t be thought of right now, or someone was snooping around their home. His dog Sugar Rocks can’t talk so he wasn’t the snitch.
“You’re the new man, I see.” Lyle said.
“Her only.” Stone replied with venom.
“Look,” Lyle leaned against the arm of the paisley colored sofa. “I’m not here to start anything. I was concerned. She was close to leaving this world.”
“Funny how you left though. Why be so concerned now?” Stone thundered in return.
“I was concerned then.” Lyle said softly. Gazing at Samosa he said: “Maybe I couldn’t take the pressure of going to all those cancer treatments, Samosa losing her weight and hair, her vitality left the marriage. I’m human.”
Stone scoffed at the piece of louse called a human before him. Lyle Greywood and others like him proved that demons weren’t the only ones causing hell on Earth.
Stone refocused his attention on Samosa; very aware that Lyle was too. Not to say Lyle was competition, because he was NOT on a large scale. Yet he was a pretty boy and at one point Samosa fell for him and loved him.
Ick.
Stone still had his sharp hearing and sense of smell, but his psychic abilities were fading away and he couldn’t peer close enough into Lyle’s psyche to see what he was really up to. If Korin was right, then marrying Samosa over to his side would need to be done quickly. The ceremony would need to be arranged by one of his jinn hosts.