Colby: September

by Brandy Walker

  Ella snorted softly. “Nice deflection. Not going to work though. I haven’t been drinking. I wanted to be nice and sober for you this time.”

  This time? What did that even mean? Colby pushed up from his chair and stalked toward her. He hovered above her. Legs settling between hers. Holy fuck, she looked good. Plump breasts pushed up against the fabric of her dress. Her nipples hardened. The tie that looked to hold the dress together emphasizing her waist. The wonderful flare of her hips. Her curves might do it for him more than her being a witch.

  “What do you mean, this time?” His mouth was as dry as the Sahara. Tongue sticking to the roof. It took everything he had to push the words out.

  Silver eyes beamed up at him. A smile curved her lips and rocked up onto her elbows. “It was on a Friday that we met. Two weeks ago, to be exact. I don’t remember too much about this room from that night, but I had the feeling you wished you could lay down with me. Snuggle into my side and wrap your arms around me. I think you’re drawn to me.”

  Colby nodded without knowing he was nodding. He did want to do all of those things. The call of the witch to his genie. There was a connection to her he could feel in the marrow of his bones. It wasn’t the first time he’d felt that around her. Doubted it would be the last.

  One of those bright beaming smiles lit up her face. She sat up quickly, wrapping her hand in his shirt. She tugged him down until they were face-to-face. “You know, I’ve been waiting for you to show up,” she whispered against his lips. Warm, cinnamon breath heating his face. “To notice me out in the Club. Holden was a happy accident. It wasn’t until then that I knew.”

  “Knew what?”

  “How sexy it could be when the man you’re hoping to date gets jealous as hell when he thinks another man is poaching.

  “You aren’t tempted by Holden at all?”

  She threw her head back and laughed. Loud and lusty. His gaze dropped to her jiggling breasts. Damn, it was a sight to behold.

  “Goddess, no.” She paused and studied him. “Did you know I forced Lizzy and Tina to come with me tonight?”

  One of his eyebrows inched up. People generally came to Satyr on their own free will. “Forced?”

  “Okay, I forced Tina. Lizzy hoped to find the demon from a couple weeks ago.”

  “And why would you force your friends to accompany you here?”

  Staring into his eyes, she brushed her lips softly against his. It wasn’t enough, but he wanted an answer. Preferably a short one. “I wanted to see you. I knew you were working. I hounded Holden for your schedule when he came in the last time. He was very accommodating when I refused to give him a witch’s blessing.”

  Colby was surprised to hear that. Holden didn’t do anything for anyone without a motive. A flurry of interrogation tactic ideas bombarded his brain. His vision clouded over a little as the Djinn side of him got somewhat carried away.

  “Colby?” Ella’s voice broke through.

  “Sorry.”

  “I think we got a bit off topic.”

  Colby knew he was frowning, as he worked his way backwards through what had been said.

  Ella chuckled. “I wanted to know what was going on between us.”

  Ah, yes. The what is this question. Usually he hated that question. It may his mind and body shut down. Apparently, when it came from a woman you actually wanted to have more of a relationship, he didn’t mind. “I thought you were going to tell me what you thought this was.”

  She clucked her tongue a couple times and shook her head. “You thought wrong.”

  It was just his luck, he liked a woman who didn’t want to ramble on about her feelings and thoughts. But wasn’t that something he’d looked for in a woman? Someone who could think outside of herself. He gave a half shrug. “I like you.”

  “Just like?” Her lips thinned in disapproval. It hadn’t been the answer she wanted, he guessed.

  He dipped his head and kissed her. One day they would get past the light pecks and move onto heated and filthy. Just not that the moment. “A bit more than like. I’m drawn to you, like you said. I’ve always had a thing for witches. And curvy ones…damn they are the sweetest. Like bees to honey. A moth to a flame. The bee’s knees.”

  One corner of her mouth quirked up. “You’ve already just one about bees.”

  He grinned unapologetically.

  She sighed but no matter how hard she tried, he could still see the grin tugging at the corner of her lips. “I do like fire.”

  “You’re a cheeky little thing.”

  With more strength than he expected, Ella tugged him down on top of her. “What are you going to do about it?” She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

  Colby hummed lightly. Fuck, she felt good under him. Better than he imagined. In his entire history with women, no one had felt this damn good. And they weren’t even naked…yet.

  “Wrap your legs around my waist.” Once she did, he slipped a hand under her, and shoved them up the length of the bed. Lips pressed together. Pelvises meshed. He held back every groan wanting to escape at the feel of her pussy against his hardening flesh. The heat of her core seeped through her dress and into his jeans.

  When he got them positioned how he wanted, he settled between her thighs and rested his weight on his arms, hands planted next to her head. He had to squeeze his eyes shut and count backwards from ten, just to calm his ranging libido. He finally had her under him. Soft skin. Delicate, roving hands. Lips pressing against his lips, jaw, and neck.

  She snickered. “Got a,” her gaze dipped, “bit of a problem down there?”

  “No. Not a problem,” he grimaced.

  Ella was pretty sure he was lying. She titled her hips in a tease, grinding up against the bulge in his jeans. A shudder shook him, and she finally got the groan she wanted from him.

  Colby attacked her lips then. Nibbles, licks, nips, and more…he tasted her. Not one to be left out, Ella gave as good as she got.

  She sucked his tongue into her mouth, pulling a groan from his chest. It vibrated through her and down into her belly. He made noises like he was starved for her. Like she was the only one who could ever fill him up.

  Soon, they were a flurry of hands. She dipped her fingers under his shirt. Sliding her hands over his sides, pulling the cotton up along the way. The heat of his skin seared her palms. It was a good kind of burn. The one she liked. It coursed up her arms and into her chest. Part of the Fire Witch in her reveling in the connection.

  Abruptly, Colby sat up, ripping his shirt off with one hand. While he was occupied, Ella attacked the button on his jeans, undoing it quickly, then carefully lowering the zipper. With each click of his zipper, more skin was revealed. It was a glorious thing to see.

  “Oh Goddess, commando,” she said on a sigh. She may have quit breathing for a moment. Unsure what to do next. Colby helped her out.

  He pushed his jeans over his hips, his erection springing free. There may have been a chuckle from him, no doubt, because of her wide-eyed look. His cock was long and thick, curved near the top. It was one of the ones that made a girl drool and begged to be fucked with.

  “No wonder you’re a heartbreaker,” she said, a touch of awe in her voice. She reached out and wrapped her hand around his length. The silk of steel. Such a clichéd thought but beyond accurate.

  Colby grabbed the tie holding her dress together and tugged. Anticipation and lust warred for dominance in his eyes. The blue orbs shining bright, boring directly into her soul. He spread her dress open, and a deep rumble came from his chest. “Perfect,” he breathed. His hands were on her before she could blink. He plumped her breasts. Sucked her nipples. Crafty little fingers worked their way down her body until he pressed against her clit. Rubbing. Circling. Tapping. Her hips jerked and danced. Her arousal shifting higher and higher.

  “Goddess, you are perfect,” he said again. A reverent look on his face. He licked his lips once. His eyes traveled up her body to rest on her face, and he grinned like a
boy getting the best present—ever.

  In that moment, she wanted to give him everything. Be everything for him. The look in his eyes, the way he touched her, it was everything she’d ever wanted from a partner.

  Ella was done waiting. She felt like they had been leading up to this point since the moment they met. One long, drawn out tease. She would enjoy every inch of his body—later. She snapped her fingers and her clothes disappeared.

  Colby jolted back and then grinned. “Nice trick.”

  Ella snagged him by the back of his neck and pulled him back down. “It is.” She pressed a heated kiss to his lips. “But no more talk. I want you to fuck me, Colby.”

  “I haven’t gotten a chance to enjoy you yet, though.”

  “Later.” She snapped her fingers again and a condom appeared in her hand. Her eyebrow arched, as she handed it over. “We haven’t talked about sex, we’ll do that later, but until then.” She dipped her gaze down and then back up.

  Colby ripped the top of the wrapper off and rolled the condom on. Without preamble, he thrust his full length in.

  Ella cried out in a mixture of pleasure and pain. Her legs came up around his waist and feet dug into his back, when he started to draw back. No way was he getting away.

  Her fingers crept into his hair, where she used her grip to yank his mouth onto hers. Colby took over from there.

  With short, slow snaps of his hips, he worked her over. The bastard was teasing her, punishing her for taking away his explore-time. She couldn’t be mad at him though. The curve in his cock rubbed her in just the right spot. Each time he went over it, her pussy clamped and he groaned.

  “Fuck, Ella. So fucking beautiful.” He pushed up, her hand falling away. Grabbing her by the backs of her thighs, he tilted her pelvis up before powering into her.

  The slow snaps of his hips turned frantic and uneven. He panted above her, staring down into her face. The blue of his eyes glowed brighter. Her breath coming out ragged. “Need. You. To come.”

  Ella slipped one hand down her belly to finger her clit. She pushed down on it hard, then pinched it the same time she pinched one of her nipples.

  Colby’s eyes flared, narrowing in on the finger on her clit. Her pussy rippled. The muscles grabbing onto him. Frantic thrusts turned frenzied.

  Ella cried out his name, her orgasm slamming into her. Her body locked around him. It was enough to push Colby to follow on her heels.

  Minutes later, he collapsed next to her, their breathing still rough.

  “Holy shit,” she said.

  Colby turned his head and pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

  It was the best after sex moment—ever.

  12

  Sept 20th

  Colby had the day off. He’d been looking forward to it. Chill at his place, which he hadn’t spent much time at in a little over a week. Popping in and out via Djinn power didn’t qualify as being there. Thank fuck he didn’t have any pets. He had intended to grab a pizza, a couple beers, and lounge like a bum watching some football while being beyond domestic and doing laundry. Clean clothes were always a plus.

  But, now, after his night and very early morning with Ella, he looked forward to it for a completely different reason. He was still buzzed from his time with her. Felt her soft skin under his fingers. The tight grip of her hands in his hair, on his back, and every other body part she could reach.

  He couldn’t wait to spend the day with her. They’d made plans that didn’t involve Satyr. No Claire. No Holden. No uniforms or the smell of alcohol. Definitely no demons pounding on the office door begging to be let in, begging to be protected against one very handsy witch.

  Ella had gotten a kick out of that. Him…not so much. He’d had to get dressed, which, in turn, had Ella getting dressed and leaving. But not before agreeing to see him again. The date he was about to be late to.

  Damn laundry.

  It wouldn’t take him long to get to her place. In fact, she lived one building over from his. He’d used his own brand of magic to whisk her home following their Friday night/Saturday morning office tryst. Something he should have done the first time he’d had her there. But that was neither here nor there. It was a mistake that couldn’t be undone at this point, and there was no use beating himself up for it.

  Freaking nymphs causing all of that trouble. They were still trying to sort that mess out, and find a way to accommodate the water-born creatures.

  He debated for a second about getting to her place under Djinn power. A quick thought, a flash, and he’d be there. The only issue was that he didn’t know her neighbors. Didn’t want to be caught suddenly appearing in front of her door by some noisy busybody and have to explain who and what he was.

  One thing about Djinn power…you couldn’t magically jump from one place to a private residence unless there was a prior invitation. If the person wanted to revoke the invitation, they actually had to say it out loud. The rules of the Djinn were few, but the ones they had were strict codes they all lived by. His kind was a bit more secretive about what they could and could not do. More of a protection from those idiots who wanted three wishes, and in which one wish was inevitably for more wishes.

  Sorry, didn’t work that way. Not that people would believe him.

  Stuffing his wallet into his pocket, he left the apartment. A quick ten-minute walk and he was standing in front of her door. Before he could even knock, it swung open.

  “Hey, Colby. Come on in.” Her voice came from a distance in the small one-bedroom place. After walking in, he shut the door, locking it behind him. He didn’t know how she knew he was there, but there would be a talk about doing whatever hocus-pocus opened the door again. What if someone had him at gunpoint, or he was there under duress? She could have gotten hurt. And he could be more of a drama queen.

  Colby took a calming breath and decided to worry about that later. He should be focusing on her place and soaking it all in. Getting a peek into her life unfettered by her watchful eye.

  Moving further into the room, he realized there wasn’t much to look at. She had a minimal of furnishings. Comfy-looking red couch. Small black entertainment unit with a flat screen television on it. Two side tables, one with a lamp, the other loaded with books.

  The color on the walls wasn’t anything to scream about. Typical apartment taupe. Plastic blinds in the windows. Sheer curtains not even vaguely disguising them. There wasn’t a kitchen table. Really not much space for one. She did have two bar stools at the counter facing into what was sure to be an equally small kitchen.

  The place wasn’t personalized, which he found rather strange. Didn’t women love making their homes warm, cozy, and decorated within an inch of their lives?

  A plaintive yowl came from the vicinity of the couch. Taking the few steps to see what made the noise, Colby found a huge fluffy grey cat with brilliant yellowish-orange eyes. Its irritated expression was focused on him. Upper lip curled slightly, stuck on its tooth. Not the prettiest kitty he’d ever seen.

  “Hey, little fella.” He reached out to pet it like a dumbass.

  The cat’s reaction was instantaneous. It sprung from the cushion to the back of the couch. Fur stood on end, and its back arched while hissing, showing off some mighty pointy teeth. The squishy little face was a study in aggression.

  Colby held up his hands in surrender. No way in hell would he get closer to the thing. He backed up a step to give it some space. The cat apparently wasn’t interested in that.

  It stalked forward until getting to the edge, crouching, preparing to strike. Fuck, he hoped the thing had been declawed.

  Like a blessing from the Gods above, Ella emerged from her room. “Mr. Hufflington, stop that.” She snapped her fingers and the cat relaxed, dropping down onto its side. A bored look took over his face, like he hadn’t been about to attack Colby.

  “He can get a little overprotective of me.”

  Colby eyed the cat suspiciously. “I thought witches had sleek black cats, not…” he wa
ved his hand in the vicinity of the fluff ball.

  She laughed and went into the kitchen. “No. Not all of us. Believe it or not, he’s a healer as well.” She rooted around in the fridge for a second before coming back out.

  He never intended for his snort of disbelief to make the light of day.

  “I’m serious,” she said and handed him a water. “He isn’t used to a man being over here. Isn’t that right, my widdle Hufflington-poo,” she cooed, rubbing her face against the cat’s. “You don’t like to share your momma, do you?”

  The cat purred loudly in response, still managing to give Colby the stink-eye.

  Damn cat. He was going to have to make friends with the thing if he wanted to keep seeing Ella. Which he really fucking wanted to do.

  She stood and brushed the cat’s fur back down that she ruffled with her face. “What did you have in store for today?”

  “I have a couple ideas.” Basically, meaning he had no fucking clue, other than he wanted to take her out and spend every moment of the day with her.

  “Great. I love surprises. Shall we go?” She stood in front of him, a happy, expectant look on her cute face.

  “First,” he said and gathered her in his arms. Mr. Hufflington be damned; Colby was getting a hello kiss. Pressing his lips to hers, he kept it soft and warm. A preview of things to come. He flicked his tongue along the seam, and then pulled back when she melted into him.

  Ella let out a dreamy sigh. Her eyes fluttered open, and those mesmerizing silver orbs stared back at him.

  “Hey.” A ridiculous thing dawned on him as he stared into her eyes. “He’s a silver cat for my silver-eyed Goddess.”

  Her eyes widened for a moment before a pleased grin broke out. “You’re the only man I’ve known who has made the connection so quickly. When a witch is born, the animal destined to be her familiar comes into her life. A lot of them end up being the witch’s mate and equal. Those of us where that isn’t the case, there will be a tangible connection. Something that other witches and magic folk can recognize, bringing the two together. For Mr. Hufflington and me, it’s through the color of my eyes.”