Colby: September (8 page)

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
.

C
olby 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 waved 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.”

“So, since I hold my own kind of magic, I can see it better or quicker?”

“Or, it could be because you and I have our
own
kind of connection. The one where you want to take me out to eat at my favorite place, Claudio’s, and I let you.” She pressed a kiss to his lips, short and sweet, then grabbed him by the hand, dragging him out the door.

There was a connection between them all right, and it had less to do with dating her and more to do with them being soul mates.

C
olby leaned
against the wall in the conference room, a big, dumb ass grin on his face. Holden would join him soon, make fun of him, and be promptly told to fuck off. They’d arranged to meet up and get a start on the pass over from night to day shift. He would also be telling his friend to back the fuck off of his girlfriend, and the bet was over. Better yet, there never
had
been a bet, and if he so much as said anything to Ella, Colby would break his fucking legs. Or some other suitable punishment.

Maybe he could introduce Holden to the witch who’d cursed him. Or Ella’s cousin.

That sounded like a plan. Ella would never know, and he could go about dating her, convincing her to be his and
only
his, to his heart’s desire. Which he was pretty fucking content to do at the moment.

As soon as the morning meeting was over and Holden understood he needed to find a new masseuse, Colby would find Ella and take her for coffee. And, if they ended up back in his office rolling around on the bed, that would be great too. He lived for her sweet kisses and light, possessive touches.

A muscular shoulder bumped into his. “You’re awfully zoned out, aren’t you?”

That was one way to put it. He looked over at Holden, who’d propped himself against the wall on his shoulder facing Colby. “Got a few things on my mind.”

“Oh? Does it have…” he trailed off as more people came in the room and walked by them. A couple of them cast glances in their direction. Holden did one of the half grin, nod greetings. When it was clear, he spoke again. “Does it have to do with one sweet, curvy witch I’m about the seal the deal with? You’re about to lose the bet. I’ve got a standing appointment with her every morning. Fuck, she’s got the softest hands; and her fingers, I swear I could come just from her touching me. It’s only a matter of time until she’s putty in my hands.”

Colby knew his friend was goading him. Ella had told him repeatedly that she had no interest in Holden. He reminded her of her younger brothers. Definitely not something a guy wants to hear. “You’re full of shit,” Colby whispered. More people filed into the room, filling up the space around them. “She thinks of you like a brother. And trust me, she’s not too keen on them.”

“Bullshit,” Holden said, not bothering to keep his voice down.

“Not bullshit. You lost already anyway. We spent Friday night together locked up in the office. Or, did you forget that she left you standing on the dance floor to go off with me?
And
we had a lunch date earlier in the week. You lost. I won. You have to cover my shifts for a week
and
do all of the paperwork.” Colby couldn’t help the smirk lifting his lips.

C
laire did
her best to hide behind Holden’s bulky body, as she listened to the two men talk. She’d known there was something going on between Holden and Colby when it came to Ella. No way either of those men would be chasing her without a good reason.

A bet. How…pedestrian.

But, boys will be boys, and she would never deny someone the chance to play a joke on someone else. Especially a goody two-shoes like Ella. The woman could do no wrong, and had won over the rest of the spa employees. They accepted her into their circle as though she’d always be there. Something they’d never done with Claire. They’d pretended, but they’d never accepted her.

She came in thinking she was special. Thinking she could fall into place and take over without paying her dues.

Claire had paid hers. Flirting with that repulsive dwarf Vasilis. Playing nice with all of the other women. Pretending to be their friend. Acting like a simpering fool.

Ella was about to have a reality check, and Claire was getting Colby back. He would be hers come hell or high water. And when she was done with him,
she
would be the one to break things off.

As quietly as she came into the room, she left. The men never noticed. She needed to strike while the iron was hot.