Page 7 of Witch's Rite
Should I talk to her? What should I even say? Oh hi, nice to meet another witch for the whole shop to hear? Do witches have some kind of code word or secret handshake?
Damn it Deja, just leave the girl alone. Like everyone else in here she probably just wants to read her book and drink tea in peace.
...But what if she's like me and is desperate for someone to talk to about witchy things?
Her aquamarine eyes lifted from her book and caught mine from across the room.
Fuck! I'd been staring at her like a creep for who knows how long.
I abruptly turned and drained the last of my chai, staring intently at my cash register for a distraction.
The door then jingled with a new customer walking in and I looked up with a bright, plastered smile, grateful for an actual distraction and boy, did I get one.
"Ash!" I gasped as my heart crashed against my ribs and my body temperature rose with every passing second.
"Deja," the fallen angel greeted me huskily as he approached the counter, turning a few heads as he did so.
With his tall, imposing form exuding raw power that even ordinary humans could sense, such reactions couldn't be helped.
His icy blue eyes froze me to my spot but the way he looked at me set my body on fire. He stroked his short, blonde beard as he approached me and gave the barest hint of a smile on his stony face. His blonde hair was tousled carelessly. I wanted nothing more than to run my hands through it and mess it up even more.
"Where've you been?" I asked more eagerly than I intended.
He braced his muscular forearms on my counter and leaned down slowly, deliberately, to my level.
"A bit busy. Just putting out some fires," he said, his low voice rumbling like lazy thunder.
"Literal or figurative fires?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"A bit of both," he replied, never breaking his intense gaze from mine.
Like Sal and Raum, Ash's aura was incredibly dark with sparks of red and crackles of electricity. Of the three of them, he was the only one who also had large black wings sprouting from his back. Ordinary humans couldn't see them, but I wondered if the aquamarine witch noticed them.
I glanced up to her window and was surprised to see she was gone.
"Did you have fun with Sal and Raum last night?"
Ash's question jerked my attention back to him along with a tightening in my throat.
"You can tell me honestly," he said in a way that was oddly gentle and soothing. "The three of us hide nothing from each other."
I swallowed. "Yes," I admitted. "I did have a nice time with them."
"Good." His eyes flashed. "I ordered them to take care of you while I was away."
"It was just drinks and kissing,” I stammered. “We didn't--"
"I know, Deja." His hand slid across the counter to brush against mine. The heat of his touch calmed my panic.
I took a deep breath, trying to maintain control of myself with my body getting so hot and the chemistry visibly crackling between us.
"So what can I do for you, Ash?" I said. "Seeing as you're not a tea person."
"Come home with me," he said without missing a beat.
"What?"
"I missed you, Deja." His index finger drew some invisible gesture on the sensitive skin inside my wrist. "I was only gone for a day here but time passes much more slowly in Hell. It feels like I haven't seen you in weeks."
