Page 28 of Rise of the Witch
“Well,” he finally spoke, meeting my gaze with a wry grin. “My dick didn’t fall off, so I guess we’re good.” Laughing as I swatted him, he began collecting his clothes and getting dressed.
“You’re leaving?” I asked, feeling oddly unsettled at the thought of us being physically apart, even if only temporarily.
He walked to the shower and turned it on, testing the water before returning to my side to deposit a sweet kiss. “Yes, my sweet witch. I’m going back downstairs becauseyoudeserve to fully enjoy this fancy shower, unmolested by me. If we get in there together, you will never get clean. Not to mention,” he paused at the door. “I’m dying to go rub up on Asa smelling like you...I might even torture Nox with it as well!” Blowing me a kiss accompanied by a saucy wink, he left me to my fancy shower.
Chapter 23
Asa
“Hey, Acey, let me have a taste of those Pralines...” I should have known Tan was up to no good by the way he sauntered toward me, but I was focused on politely listening to Harbison talk about the time he conducted a séance at Savannah’s Hamilton-Turner Inn. Before I knew what was happening, Tan was affectionately rubbing his face against mine just as a particularly intoxicating scent hit my awareness.
Sweet Mother of God!
I released a sound that was a cross between a groan and a choking gasp which I attempted to mask by pretending a piece of Praline had gone down the wrong pipe. Tan snickered as he moved down the island in Nox’s direction, casually grazing on the snacks provided while he headed for his next victim. Nox was also not paying him any mind, but I saw his expression change the closer Tan got. What started as creeping awareness changed to shock and horror as he turned to glare at the grinning man beside him with nostrils flared.
Harbison suddenly noticed Tan’s presence, although, blessedly, he didn’t seem to be picking up on his new cologne. “Taneer, correct? Your friends mentioned you hail from Turkey originally. Would you care for some Turkish coffee? I have a cezve, so I can make it authentically!”
Tan perked up. “Yes, please!” he mumbled through the crumbling lemon square he was eating. For a moment, I wondered if he had washed his hands first and then found myself also wondering if he might let me lick them clean if he hadn’t.
For someone who never cared for pussy before…
Forcing my attention back to the conversation at hand, I caught the tail end of Harbison babbling about the correct way to make Turkish coffee before he suddenly froze, eyes riveted to the air above Tan’s head. I followed his gaze to find a faint haze over my partner’s suspiciously mussed, chestnut brown hair—almost as if I were looking through a lens that was smudged.
Harbison raced from the room, returning a moment later with an unusual Polaroid camera which he immediately pointed at Tan. “How exciting!” the occultist chirped, blinding us all with the flash as he pivoted to take my photo next, followed by Nox.
As we all blinked the spots out of our vision, Anthia wandered back into the kitchen dressed in a skintight, dark purple dress that left little to the imagination. My interest level was the same it usually was when it came to women—next to zero—but I was surprised to see Tan barely give her a passing glance as well. Nox was definitely taking a closer look, but he seemed more confused than anything as if it hadn’t occurred to him that shifter women possessed nipples.
Probably because we were conditioned to not see them as people.
The occultist started clapping his hands excitedly at the now fully exposed Polaroids, shoving refreshments aside so we could better see the photos he’d spread on the island. “Look atthat!”he pointed to the picture of Tan, an unmistakable white halo surrounding his head. “Of course, it’s not surprising you have such a strong aura—you are a chosen companion of the Yaga, after all—but your ‘vital fluids’ are quite distinct!”
I choked on an imaginary Praline again as Tan grinned wildly in my direction.
“And you,” Harbison was speaking to me now. “Your aura—a deep,redcolor—is not quite as distinct, but certainly there, nonetheless. I wonder how you could get it to come out more..”
Tan began to loudly lick his fingers clean, maintaining eye contact with me as he smirked mischievously.
Maybe itistime to give being a top another try…
“Andyoudon’t have an aura at all,” Harbison frowned at Nox, clearly wondering how this usurper had found his way into this house. Shuffling away with his photos, the occultist muttered something about energies and “electrography” as he disappeared down the hall.
“Yes, you should work on strengthening that aura as soon as possible,” Anthia’s clipped voice sounded in my ear, and I turned to find her piercing stare appraising me like I was a stud for sale at the fairgrounds. “Although it’s a shame there’s probably not enough time before the séance…”
“Not that it’s any of your business,” I coldly replied, narrowing my eyes at the shifter. “But there is plenty of time for Vasi and me to do whatever the hell we want, whenever we want.”
Anthia snorted. “You think I give a shit about whatyouwant? My interest in this is purely to help Vasi grow more powerful so she can fight whatever is happening to our forest.”
We all snapped to attention at that, but Nox spoke first, suspicion darkening his expression. “What do you mean ‘help her grow more powerful?’ What the fuck do her powers have to do with us?”
The outspoken shifter at least had the grace to look mildly uncomfortable as she grimaced at Tan. “Vasi...didn’t tell you? Before you…?”
Nox looked ready to Hulk out at this point, but Tan nonchalantly shrugged as he replied, “Our little witch tried her best to scare me off, but I wasn’t having any of it. I already told her I’m here to stay.”
Anthia and I both gaped at him, but while a victorious smile quickly stretched across the shifter’s face, I simply stared at Tan in disbelief. I’d been so caught up with my own inner turmoil, I hadn’t taken the time to check in to hear his thoughts on the situation. Besides what he and I shared, Tan had never taken sex seriously, so I’d wrongfully assumed he was simply chasing Vasi for the temptation she provided while guiding me as I fumbled along.
Tan was acting casual, but a declaration like that fromhimwas the equivalent of a marriage proposal. The implications of what this meant for us as a couple made my heart feel so full I feared it may burst out of my chest.
If he wants to stay, then I don’t have to choose.
