Oh, never mind. She knew why. She couldn’t forget the comforting warmth she felt around him. Like he was home, but not the kind of home she grew up in.
“Got it in one.” Holden picked up the bottle of apricot kernel oil and handed it to her before lying back down. He brushed his hair out of the way and waited; eyes closed, hands folded on his broad chest, and legs crossed at his ankles. The man apparently knew his oils. Apricot kernel was mostly used on faces. It was deeply nourishing and a useful source of Vitamin A and essential fatty acids. It was light in texture and absorbed easily into the skin. The perfect oil to aid in relaxation and smoothing of the face.
Ella hit play on the sound system, filling the room with soft crashing waves. Clipping on her massage oil holster, she slipped the bottle Holden picked out into the pocket and made her way over to him. With a couple of squirts of oil in her palm, she rubbed her hands together, then went to work. She worked her way down his forehead with her thumbs, slowly fanning them out. Over his sharp cheekbones. Along his strong jaw.
For a good fifteen minutes she rubbed, fanned, and applied light pressure over his face and neck. Holden grunted and groaned. His eyes rolled back and forth behind his closed lids, occasionally opening with a heavy-sated look. She finished him off by rubbing the lobes of his ears between her thumbs and pointer fingers. A full body shudder visibly shook him. She focused on the aura surrounding his spirit for a moment. It was more difficult with witches and warlocks. They had the ability to alter theirs to fit what they needed. Holden’s shifted from an orange, meaning determination and vitality, to a bluish purple, which represented balance and wisdom.
Running her fingers lightly over his face briefly to end the session, she had the impulse to kiss him on the forehead. Leaning down, she whispered against his skin, “Benedicentur cum pace et statera,” then brushed her lips against him. She blew softly and a small thread of silver air-like mist escaped her lips and ghosted over him.
Holden melted into the table with a sigh and she stepped away. When she turned to leave, she realized she hadn’t pulled the privacy shade down over the glass in the door. Colby stood on the opposite side, jaw clenched, and there was a hard set to his eyes that she didn’t like.
He spun away before her brain even engaged and processed what had happened. He, apparently, assumed the worst. She would never understand men and their need to jump to conclusions.
It fucking figured!
Colby went to the spa to see if Ella was around, without Claire’s ever watchful eye, so he could have a conversation with her, maybe ask her for a coffee, and he sees Holden flat on his back with Ella hovering over him. The man told him he would pursue her, but in the back of his mind, Colby hadn’t really believed him. Holden wasn’t that huge of a dick.
Granted, she stood at his head, but he’d seen the hard-on his friend sported. He didn’t want to, but his mind and eyes went there. The guy’s jeans had been bulged, the outline of his dick easy to see.
He knew Holden. He liked the chase and the conquest. He wasn’t so much into what happened after or making things long-term. Holden was as likely to want to settle down with the woman as Colby was.
He paused in the middle of the hallway as he stormed back to the bar office. Liar. Come to think of it, he did want to, well, maybe not settle down at the moment, but at least have that option with her. He’d thought it was a real possibility with her.
Well, fuck. Maybe he’d been wrong when he thought she was interested. The press of her lips against another man’s face. That was not part of a typical massage. Colby hadn’t even gotten a kiss on the cheek for the trouble he went through the other evening. He’d kissed hers, but it wasn’t the same thing.
Okay, it wasn’t trouble. He’d loved taking care of her. Wanted to do it more. Fuck, the whole situation was a mess.
In the distance, he heard the swish of a door closing, and the soft crunch of feet moving quickly over the carpet. It didn’t even register as a thought that Ella would come after him. At least not until her hand snaked between his body and arm, looping around and holding tight.
“Hey, Colby. You ran off before I could even make it out of the room. Thank Hecate you didn’t use your super Djinn speed to get away.” She laughed lightly, the sound carefree and delightful. It spun around him, skating along his skin. Attempting to tease a smile out of him.
“You looked busy back there.” His words came out stiff. Damn, he sounded jealous. Something he never pictured himself to be.
She made a huffing noise. “Not really. Holden was in my room when I went to set it up. I think he was just looking for a free massage.” She slowed down and canted her head toward him. “You guys don’t get free massages and stuff, do you? I’m still learning all of the rules. Yesterday was basically a blur of activity that left my mind spinning.”
“I think he wanted more than a massage. You couldn’t have missed the hard-on in his pants.”
Ella let out a full-bodied laugh. “That’s a normal reaction, and I don’t even acknowledge it anymore. Some therapists take it as a compliment that the person is enjoying it that much.”
He couldn’t help smiling at her answer. Relief that she didn’t notice what was clearly so obvious loosened up his chest. “To answer your question, no. We get some things for free and others at a discounted rate, like spa services. Otherwise, we’d all be in there getting treatments, and you guys wouldn’t have time for actual clients.”
They got to the end of the hallway relatively quick and stopped. Ella let go of his arm and looked back toward the spa. “I should probably get back. I think your friend fell asleep, and waking up a warlock is such a pain in the ass.” The roll of her eyes had him chuckling.
It took a second for her words to sink in. “Wait, how would you know?” Because he didn’t like the idea she knew that, or even how she came about that knowledge.
Ella snorted. “My brothers. My sister and I had to resort to alternate methods when they wouldn’t get up, the little shits. Mom warned us it would happen. She tended to use water. Ruby, my sister, took to electric shock, and I stuck with bolts of fire. Warlocks are such drama queens. My family knows I’ll never marry one, let alone date one.”
An even better thing to know. “Fire seems to be your specialty,” he smirked.
“That’s right. How did you know?” Her eyes opened in surprise, then shifted quickly, dancing with merriment. “Never mind. The night at the Club. Yeah. I have a bit of a fire bug in me.”
“You do seem to have a flair for it.”
Colby caught the sound of the spa door opening. Without any other noise around, it was easy to pick up in the empty hall.
“Ella,” a petite dark-haired pixie called out, with a lot more lung power than he would have anticipated. She flitted down the hall, zooming toward them. She hovered next to Ella, the near translucent wings fluttering a million beats per minute. “There you are. Did you know there’s a guy asleep in your room?”
“I do. You know, Bianca,” Ella drawled, “if you wanted to wake him up, I wouldn’t mind.”
Bianca’s eyes brightened with a spark of excitement. “Oh, I don’t mind at all.”
Before Ella had a chance to say thank you, Bianca was off down the hall again. Bits of black pixie dust wafting to the ground in her wake. They both watched her go, leaving them in silence. One filled with glances back and forth.
“I guess that’s my cue to get back to work.”
“I guess so.” Colby was at a loss as to what else to say or do at the moment. He’d originally gone there to ask her out, but seeing Holden there—that plan had flown right out of his head. He didn’t think he could get that moment back.
Without warning, she stood on her tiptoes and leaned into him. Her hands pressed against his chest. She brushed a fleeting kiss against his lips. “I’ll see you later.” She dropped flat on her feet and turned in the opposite direction. She got halfway down the hall before she turned back to him. “What was it that you wanted,
Colby?”
His immediate response was you. Thankfully, that didn’t come tumbling out of his mouth. “Uh, I wanted to know if you’d like to grab a coffee or a drink or something with me sometime.” He could have slapped himself on the forehead. Smooth, Noble. He sounded like a damn sixteen-year-old boy asking out a girl for the first time.
A full smile bloomed on her face. Her rounded cheeks turning pink. He was beginning to live for the moment’s he made her blush. “I’d love to.” In the blink of an eye, she stood next to him again. Digging in her pocket, she pulled out a pen and grabbed his right arm, turning it so his inner forearm faced her. “Here’s my number. Hopefully, you’ll do better than me and not lose it.” The pen made a clicking noise, and she shoved it back in her pocket. Another soft peck on the lips and she rushed away. “I’ll talk to you later.”
He watched her go all the way down the hall and through the glass doors. Cute ass, that he wanted to grab, swishing back and forth. A broad smile broke out on his face, and he turned to head back to his office, almost running over Claire in the process.
His smile dropped when he saw the scowl on her face. Nothing good could come of running into her. “Claire,” he said as politely as he could. One date, that’s all they’d had. And it was enough for him to know he didn’t want to see her again. It might have been the first time he realized dipping into the workplace dating pool was a fairly bad idea. But he didn’t think he’d run into her again. Satyr was big enough to where that was possible.
“I see you like the fresh meat, Colby,” she sneered. It was beyond unattractive.
“Don’t be ugly, Claire.”
She bulldozed over him like she hadn’t heard him. A French-tipped nail ran down his chest. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her from touching him. A small thread of revulsion crept through his veins. “Did you run out of decent women? Think she’s an easy lay? You know you could have me if you’d put a little effort in.”
“Claire, I told you, I’m not interested.” Colby dropped her hand, but she didn’t get the message.
Claire snorted, her eyes flickering down quickly. He knew she’d caught sight of Ella’s number on his arm. Though, with his luck, she’d probably been standing there watching it all go down. She reached out and ran a hand down his arm. There was a jolt of pain in his fingertips, burning a path up his arm. He pushed his own powers to the forefront, blocking whatever the hell she tried to do. Stopping the pain at his wrist. After his misstep with his first witch, he’d made it a point to learn to protect himself.
“Oh please, you mean I didn’t fall into bed with you immediately like the rest, and you didn’t know what to do. I know you’re playing hard to get. I like it.” A cruel little smile twisted her face. “I hope Ella knows to be careful. I’d hate for her to lose her job after just getting it. Not that it matters. Her true colors will show soon enough. She had to have done something in order to get that job. We haven’t hired anyone new since that one therapist went missing a couple years ago. I bet Ella spread those thick thighs of hers, or used magic on whoever she thought could help her out.”
Colby didn’t believe that for a second. Anyone with eyes and a lick of common sense could see Ella was as pure in heart as she was in soul. Unlike Claire. And to think they were the same breed of Mystic: Witches.
Stepping forward, he leaned into Claire’s personal space. His lips close to her ear. “I’d watch what you say about her, Claire. You know how quick rumors get started around here. How easy it would be to leak a little truth into them. I do recall you bragging on quite a few occasions about how you were able to siphon some of the life force and powers from a couple of your clients.”
Colby took a step back and left a shocked and slightly shaken Claire in his wake. He’d have to keep an eye on them both. Claire, because he was beginning to realize she was a vindictive bitch. And Ella, as much as he didn’t think she manipulated her hiring, her sudden appearance was a bit of a mystery. A happy mystery, but one that might need to be solved.
8
Sept 15th
Ella plugged her phone into the charger and tossed her keys on the counter. She was exhausted and needed a glass of wine—badly. Even though it didn’t physically effect her, it did a damn good job of mentally soothing her. One more human trait she’d picked up over the years.
Claire had been hard on her at work. To be honest, the woman had been an absolute bitch. She sneered at Ella and had her doing all of the crappy jobs. Taking out the trash. Washing and folding all of the linens and towels. Resetting every room after the other employees were seeing their clients out. The worst had to be the demon who’d oozed toxic fumes the more he relaxed. Ella had to sweep the room with sage and clear it with a cleansing spell, all while not breathing the stench in. The mask over her face had done little to filter it out.
The people Ella should have seen were given to other therapists. She’d basically been demoted to slave girl. It wasn’t exactly what she’d been told she’d be doing at the spa. In fact, the way Vasilis talked, she was to jump right in with both hands, so to speak. She had enough experience under her belt to know what she was doing, and a breaking in period wasn’t warranted.
She refused to cause waves, though, and approach him about what happened. It could be Claire put her through some form of initiation. Letting her get her feet wet and pay some dues.
“Or, more likely, she was just being a complete and utter bitch.” Ella mumbled as she stripped out of her spa uniform. Padding over to her stacked washer and dryer in her bra and panties, she threw it in. There wasn’t anyone around for her to cover up for, and she loved the freedom that came with that. The comfortable warm air circulating through the room caressed her skin, sending pinpricks of sensation along her nerve endings. Threads of contentment had her sighing happily.
Popping the cork on a bottle of wine, she poured a glass, chugged it, and then poured another. She pulled out leftovers and heated them with a wave of her hand. “No need for a microwave when you like to play with fire.”
The rest of her evening was uneventful, as usual. She switched out laundry and made a mental note to order a couple more uniforms. She watched the new TV reality show Witches vs. Wizards: Craft Showdown while she waited for the dryer to finish. It wasn’t bad. Wonky spells and ridiculous situations no purveyor of magic would ever find themselves in. It passed the hour until she could crawl in bed. The morning would come soon enough, and she had a feeling the next day would be a repeat of what she’d already been through. Jealous bitch. If things didn’t change by the end of the week, she was damn well doing something about it.
Ella may be a healing witch, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have a mean side.
9
Sept 16th
Ella was right in her prediction of what her day would be like. Claire was on her ass as soon as Ella stepped through the door.
“Ella, you’re on time,” Claire said, a hint of sarcasm bleeding into the woman’s tone.
She glanced at the large clock over the front desk. “Right on time, as a mater of fact.”
Claire grunted. “Early is on time, on time is late, and if you’re late…don’t bother coming back. This is your one and only warning,” she sneered. The corner of her mouth lifted into a not so pretty look. Ella narrowed her eyes, and for the first time saw what she thought Claire’s real appearance was. It was gone before she could really see it.
“That’s the first time I’ve heard that policy,” Bianca announced as she breezed through the door, interrupting Ella’s thoughts. She turned toward the dark-haired pixie and smiled. Bianca winked back.
Claire made a low irritated growling noise in her throat, glaring at Bianca. A flash of light lit from her fingers, sparking across the desk.
The pixie threw a hand up in Claire’s direction, bits of pixie dust diffusing Claire’s magic. “Oh please,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “You are not all that, Claire. We all got here at the same time, and you’re no better than the re
st of us. Just because you think you’re in charge, doesn’t mean you are.”
“Why did Vasilis appoint me lead therapist, then? He knows I’m better than the rest of you. Knows I have more leadership skills and can keep you…people…in line.”
“Girl, you do not want me to answer that.” Bianca brushed past the desk and hooked her arm with Ella’s. They headed down into the treatment area. “Don’t let that woman get under your skin. She’s had a stick up her ass since day one. Not to mention her obsession with Colby. They went on one date. Rumor has it she thought she would be the one to tame him. But according to Connie, who works at the restaurant they went to, he wasn’t all that interested. Claire mainly talked about herself and nothing else. No man likes that. Colby’s eyes glazed over, and Connie could tell he’d checked out mentally ten minutes into the date.”
Ella snorted. “I’m not surprised. She does seem a bit self-absorbed.”
The women laughed and got to work. Ella decided she wouldn’t put up with the crap Claire pulled the day before, now that she’d talked to Bianca. Work politics and soothing ruffled feathers wasn’t in her job description. And she had a feeling Claire hid something big beneath the veneer of her polished look.
Ella looked up, as the door swung open, to see Colby step through. After a whirlwind morning of clients, she sat at the front desk with Aurelia, the elf who transferred from guest services to the spa the day Ella had started, learning the check-in process. A simple thing really. A hand scan that fed into the system. The therapist was notified and things went like clockwork. Thank Hecate for simplicity.
Colby: September Page 5