illisecond passed and the pink escaped him . Worry left her
m ind when instead, soft baby blue beam s radiated from his body .
Honesty. Truth .
She stepped close to him and grasped his hand. “I’m starv ed.”
CHAPTER SIX
Spicy , bitter scents of cum in and chili powder assaulted his
senses as Brett held open the door of Guardia de Serpiente for Holly .
She tipped her head toward the pink neon sign in the window.
“The Serpent’s Den. Your regular stom ping ground?”
He chuckled. “No. In fact, I don’t com e here often.” Often? He
av oided it like the plague.
Brett winked at the y oung, caram el-skinned hostess who stood
just inside the door. “Two, Bianca.”
With a bat of her ey elashes, Bianca led them through the
restaurant toward a secluded table in the back. Confidence
ov ertook Brett as they walked through the dining area; Sterling’s
suggestion m ight hav e m erit after all. Encouraged, he m anaged to
relax until they passed a large tank nestled against the far wall.
The hair stood on the back of his neck when he saw the contents.
Oh. Hell .
Inside, coiled in sev eral lay ers of black rubbery skin, a boa
constrictor peered out through red, glowing ey es. Brett took
sev eral steps back as the creature’s long, forked tongue shot from
its m outh to taste the caged air. Brett snuck a glance at Holly .
Unlike m ost wom en, she appeared to be intrigued by the anim al.
“This is Beau.” Bianca gestured at the tank. “We’v e had him
since he was just a foot long.”
Holly continued to stare. “How long is he now?”
“Six feet.”
“He’s beautiful,” Holly m urm ured.
Brett shifted, desperate to escape the area without being
obv ious. Beautiful did not fit his description of the beast.
Holly flattened her palm against the front of the creature’s
habitat. “Does he ev er leav e the tank?”
Much like a heat-seeking m issile, the snake slithered closer and
tapped the glass with its snout.
“Oh y es.” Bianca gav e a sm all giggle. “Once in a while, Mr.
Roberto, the owner, drapes Beau around his neck and allows him to
v isit the guests. Beau is v ery partial to our fem ale custom ers.”
Holly laughed. “A lady killer, huh?”
Brett bit his tongue. Killer, any way .
Bianca nodded. “Com e. I’ll show y ou to y our table now.”
Once seated safely away from Beau, Brett released a long
breath and forced him self to relax.
“You hav e quite a fascination with snakes,” he said while
glancing at the m enu.
Holly sm iled. “Not really . They just intrigue m e.”
“How so?”
She shrugged. “They ’re secretiv e. I can’t help but think they
can tune in to feelings just by sensing the heat in the atm osphere.”
Stunned by her answer, Brett closed his m enu and pushed it to
the edge of the table, careful not to rev eal his surprise. Secretive .
Interesting.
“Most wom en would run scream ing out of here,” he said
casually .
She twisted her lips and stacked her m enu on top of his. “He is
behind glass.”
Interrupted by a waiter, Brett turned his attention to ordering
dinner. After Holly gav e her order, there was another fam iliar lull
in the conv ersation. Brett glanced at Holly , who stared at the
snake again. Determ ined to crack her arm or, he attem pted to
continue easy conv ersation.
“Are y ou m aking sure he’s still in there?”
She turned and gav e a soft laugh. “I was just thinking how
confined he is in that tank, closed off from the rest of the world.”
“Was that som e kind of psy chological analy sis?”
Som ething close to panic glittered in her ey es before she
blinked it away and answered. “Probably .”
“How’s business at the gy m ?”
“Good. No one seem ed to be bothered by the incident.”
“Most people probably wrote it off as v andalism .”
“Thank goodness. I didn’t want to alarm any one.”
“I still don’t think it’s a good idea for y ou to be alone.”
“Usually ,
m ind when instead, soft baby blue beam s radiated from his body .
Honesty. Truth .
She stepped close to him and grasped his hand. “I’m starv ed.”
CHAPTER SIX
Spicy , bitter scents of cum in and chili powder assaulted his
senses as Brett held open the door of Guardia de Serpiente for Holly .
She tipped her head toward the pink neon sign in the window.
“The Serpent’s Den. Your regular stom ping ground?”
He chuckled. “No. In fact, I don’t com e here often.” Often? He
av oided it like the plague.
Brett winked at the y oung, caram el-skinned hostess who stood
just inside the door. “Two, Bianca.”
With a bat of her ey elashes, Bianca led them through the
restaurant toward a secluded table in the back. Confidence
ov ertook Brett as they walked through the dining area; Sterling’s
suggestion m ight hav e m erit after all. Encouraged, he m anaged to
relax until they passed a large tank nestled against the far wall.
The hair stood on the back of his neck when he saw the contents.
Oh. Hell .
Inside, coiled in sev eral lay ers of black rubbery skin, a boa
constrictor peered out through red, glowing ey es. Brett took
sev eral steps back as the creature’s long, forked tongue shot from
its m outh to taste the caged air. Brett snuck a glance at Holly .
Unlike m ost wom en, she appeared to be intrigued by the anim al.
“This is Beau.” Bianca gestured at the tank. “We’v e had him
since he was just a foot long.”
Holly continued to stare. “How long is he now?”
“Six feet.”
“He’s beautiful,” Holly m urm ured.
Brett shifted, desperate to escape the area without being
obv ious. Beautiful did not fit his description of the beast.
Holly flattened her palm against the front of the creature’s
habitat. “Does he ev er leav e the tank?”
Much like a heat-seeking m issile, the snake slithered closer and
tapped the glass with its snout.
“Oh y es.” Bianca gav e a sm all giggle. “Once in a while, Mr.
Roberto, the owner, drapes Beau around his neck and allows him to
v isit the guests. Beau is v ery partial to our fem ale custom ers.”
Holly laughed. “A lady killer, huh?”
Brett bit his tongue. Killer, any way .
Bianca nodded. “Com e. I’ll show y ou to y our table now.”
Once seated safely away from Beau, Brett released a long
breath and forced him self to relax.
“You hav e quite a fascination with snakes,” he said while
glancing at the m enu.
Holly sm iled. “Not really . They just intrigue m e.”
“How so?”
She shrugged. “They ’re secretiv e. I can’t help but think they
can tune in to feelings just by sensing the heat in the atm osphere.”
Stunned by her answer, Brett closed his m enu and pushed it to
the edge of the table, careful not to rev eal his surprise. Secretive .
Interesting.
“Most wom en would run scream ing out of here,” he said
casually .
She twisted her lips and stacked her m enu on top of his. “He is
behind glass.”
Interrupted by a waiter, Brett turned his attention to ordering
dinner. After Holly gav e her order, there was another fam iliar lull
in the conv ersation. Brett glanced at Holly , who stared at the
snake again. Determ ined to crack her arm or, he attem pted to
continue easy conv ersation.
“Are y ou m aking sure he’s still in there?”
She turned and gav e a soft laugh. “I was just thinking how
confined he is in that tank, closed off from the rest of the world.”
“Was that som e kind of psy chological analy sis?”
Som ething close to panic glittered in her ey es before she
blinked it away and answered. “Probably .”
“How’s business at the gy m ?”
“Good. No one seem ed to be bothered by the incident.”
“Most people probably wrote it off as v andalism .”
“Thank goodness. I didn’t want to alarm any one.”
“I still don’t think it’s a good idea for y ou to be alone.”
“Usually ,
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