Of Snakes and Men Read Online Jessica Gadziala

Categories Genre: Contemporary, Crime, Mafia Tags Authors: Jessica Gadziala Advertisement1

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“We will have something more concrete the next time we see you,” Mike assured me as I led Val back out of the office, feeling more agitated than I’d been when I’d gone in.

“We’re gonna have to head home and wait for her,” I told Val as he moped when I climbed into the driver’s seat.

The idea of her back in my house, though, seemed to do wonders with lifting my spirits.

In that black dress with the buttons down the front, just begging to be opened.

In my kitchen, working hard at a task she didn’t give a shit about because she wanted to impress me, whether she would admit that even to herself or not.

In the closet, her wet pussy against my hand, my mouth, her soft moans filling my ears.

“Fuck,” I sighed, hands gripping the wheel until my knuckles went white as I stopped at a light, trying to get my thoughts back under control. I didn’t need to be walking up to my house with a raging hard-on.

It was because of that light that my gaze moved around.

And I finally saw it.

Her car.

Parked at the library, of all places.

It took a long moment to remember that she had a club cousin who worked as a librarian there. Luna, I think her name was. The couple times I’d seen her, she had her nose in a book. Even when she was out with all of her cousins.

“Found her,” I told Val, reaching over to pet his head before turning on the blinker to go into the library parking lot. “You keep the seat warm for her, aight?” I said, climbing out, and putting on the remote start, so he stayed comfortable, then heading toward the doors.

I mean, I could always use a new book or two.

Sure, I liked my new copies that I could stick on my shelves after I was done, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate a solid public library. Hell, I donated a lot of money to the Navesink Bank Public Library.

The library in my hometown had meant a lot to me as a kid. It was safe and free, things that weren’t common in my neighborhood.

It was actually one of the librarians there that had helped me learn to read when the teachers at school couldn’t seem to get me interested. She’d been the one to instill a lifelong love of reading.

“Books allow you to be anywhere you want to be,” she’d told me.

And at the time, I wanted to be anywhere but in that town.

So I slipped away and dreamed of riches and adventures. Until, eventually, I believed in them enough that I felt I could strive to have them for myself.

So, yeah, I liked to support local libraries, even if I didn’t usually get my books from them anymore.

The Navesink Bank library was a long, low brick building that had a nice update a decade or so back, done in a pretty classic style that made it still seem timeless.

The sliding doors led into the check-out area, most of it self-checkouts these days, but there was still a desk there. To the right was the kids’ section. To the back was a seating area with a small coffee station to the side.

Then, to the left, was the adult and teen sections, the computer labs, the back rooms for meetings.

Even close to closing, there were several people browsing books, and even more working at their laptops at the long tables down the center.

My gaze slid back to the welcome desk, finding Hope’s sort-of cousin standing behind it, leaning against the back wall, a book raised, her face half-buried in it.

Luna was gorgeous in that sort of quiet, standoffish way. It doesn’t smack you in the face because she was usually not even bothering to look at you. But when she happened to look up, it was immediately clear what a shame it was that her face was always hidden.

She was slight, delicate-looking, with golden skin that spoke of her white father and mixed-race mom. Her loose curly brown hair was tamed back into a jaw clip. Her pretty face was makeup-free. But who needed makeup when you had green eyes like those? Sure, they were half-hidden around big framed glasses, but they didn’t dampen their impact.

“Oh,” she breathed out, eyes going wide when they landed on me.

“She here?” I asked, figuring shit never stayed quiet between the women of this group. She knew who I was and who I was looking for.

“I, ah, yeah. She’s… browsing,” Luna said.

“Mind if I browse too?” I asked.

“I, no… I mean… it’s a public library,” she said, her plump lower lip slipping between her teeth for a second.

“Thanks,” I said, then turned back at the last second. “Out of curiosity, does Hope browse here often?” I asked.

“Ah, no. Actually, this is the first time,” she said, then her hand went to a book sitting on the desk.


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