Colby: September (9 page)

E
lla switched
on the light to her room before taking a deep breath. Another week at Satyr. And another week of Claire acting like a diva. Claire decided that the staff needed to spend time in their treatment rooms getting them ready for clients. Decided for them all that they didn’t need to be at the morning meeting since they weren’t in charge. It was a manager’s job, and she would disseminate the information she felt they needed to know.

They’d all given into Claire’s high-and-mighty demand, mostly because none of them felt like bothering with a challenge about authority. Bianca and a couple of the other seasoned employees were secretly cooking up something to take care of the woman. She repeatedly told Ella not to worry about it, and things would be better soon.

It didn’t matter how Claire acted though. Out of sight, out of mind. Besides, Ella had had the best weekend ever with a hot Djinn, and she wouldn’t let Claire and her snippy, bitchy remarks get to her. The woman could take a flying leap, with some help if need be, as far as Ella was concerned.

Crap, now she needed to cleanse the room of all of the Claire-induced bad juju floating in the air.

Heading to the cabinet where she’d stashed the sage, she pulled a bundle up and set it on fire with a flick of her wrist. She blew it out and smoke unfurled. Twisting and turning toward the ceiling. Ella closed her eyes, finding her center. With slow methodical waves of the sage, she walked clockwise around the outer edges of the room chanting.

A
fter her third pass
, she snuffed out the sage and placed in it a bowl back in the cabinet, ready for future use. Already the room felt better. There was a lightness to the air. A fresh quality that breathed of life and calming clarity.

She wasn’t at all surprised when her door opened suddenly. Holden was on her list of clients, and it had to be about the time he came in. “Give me a second, Holden, and I’ll get you taken care of,” Ella said as she kneeled down, her head practically stuck in a lower cabinet. She’d been looking for more towels and was sure she’d seen them in there.

“Oh, honey. How sad to think you could take care of a man like that.” Claire’s voice was like nails on a chalkboard. The grating sound had Ella gritting her teeth.

She stood smoothly. Gently closing the cabinet door. “Claire, back from the meeting so soon?” Her gaze flicked to the clock up on the wall. “It seems a bit early.”

“Don’t you worry about the meeting. I just wanted to come back and see how it felt.”

Ella was confused by the woman’s words. She canted her head, and her brows furrowed. There was something off about Claire, and not just her attitude. “How what felt?”

Claire sneered and stepped further into the room. A golden ripple rushed over her skin. Almost too quick to catch. She ran her hand down the massage table, stopping opposite of Ella. “To be the butt of a joke. A bet between two men. From what I understand, whoever tapped you first was the winner.”

Her eyebrows shot to her hairline. Heart skipping a beat. The words couldn’t be true. “Excuse me?”

Claire’s skin rippled with the golden glow again. “Well, you didn’t actually think
both
of those men were interested in you, did you? I mean, it must have been so overwhelmingly flattering for a woman like you,” she eyed Ella with disdain, “to have two
very
attractive men pursue you. But you
had
to know it wasn’t real.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But Ella had a sinking feeling she did. Colby let his interest be known from the moment he’d met her, if she remembered correctly. White Lightning and a fuzzy head didn’t help with her memory of that night. Holden, well he had been up to something, she knew that; but he’d started coming around right on the heels of her working there.

Claire looked at her, a sad moue on her face. “Oh, but you do. Holden would never go for a girl like you. You’re too plain. Too timid. Too…fat. And Colby. Well, he has me, doesn’t he?
I’m
his type,” she hissed. “He chased after me for
months
before I would give him the time of day. He likes his women tall, blonde, and skinny.” She ran her hands down her sides as she talked.

Ella knew that wasn’t true. He’d loved every inch of her curvy body Friday night. He touched her every chance he got. Kissed her. Stared at her like she was his salvation. He didn’t let go of her once when they’d gone out Sunday, shooting daggers at other men who even glanced in her direction.

Claire twitched, pulling Ella from her thoughts. It was so out of the norm that she couldn’t help but stare at the other woman. And that’s when she saw it. The golden ripple down her body. Slower this time, but coming in quicker waves. Like there wasn’t enough magic flowing through Claire. Ella missed what happened to Claire’s face, but she saw the ripple work its way down her bare arms. The skin turned ashen and wrinkled. Spots dotted over what was before smooth, clear skin.

“You’re wearing a glamour.” Ella was beyond surprised. About as surprised as Claire appeared. The woman’s mouth dropped open on a gasp. Her gaze dropped to her hands, which hadn’t changed back to their faux appearance. “For the love of Hecate, that’s why you steal from your clients.” The rumors all made sense now.

Before Claire could refute the accusation, the door swung open. Vasilis and Bianca stormed into the room. The dwarf’s face was blood red. His cheeks puffed out in rage. His hair puffed up on his head like Mr. Hufflington’s did when he was enraged.

“I’ve finally got ya, missy,” he hissed. His tiny beaded eyes narrowed, and spittle formed at the edges of his mouth.

While Claire’s focus was on Vasilis’ rants, Bianca zoomed up behind her and covered her with pixie dust. Black ribbons of it snaked around the witch, binding her.

“Get in here,” Vasilis raged. Two burly men entered the shrinking room. “Take her. I never want to see her face again.”

Claire’s mouth opened on protest, but nothing came out. Her eyes bugged out in panic. Fingers twitched where they were pressed against her sides. The men each grabbed an arm and lifted her, carrying her out of the room.

Vasilis turned to Bianca. “Good job, lassie.” He nodded at Ella and stormed out of the room with the same ferocity as he’d arrived.

Bianca fluttered over and sat on the table. “Told you I had something up my sleeve. I’m just sorry it had to happen to you.” She shrugged apologetically.

“Yeah. I’m glad I could help?” It was more of a questioning response, because she really hadn’t done anything. Except get in Claire’s crosshairs.

Bianca giggled and wings fluttered like a hummingbird’s. “You know that other stuff she said…”

“Go on,” Ella encouraged. She didn’t know what all they had heard before bursting in.

Bianca nibbled on her lip. “I would go confront Colby. In my experience, Holden is an instigator. If there was a bet, it was probably his idea.”

“Ah, but that didn’t mean Colby had to take part,” she insisted.

“You’ve met him, right?”

Ella merely nodded.

“He’s a guy. I think it’s some male pride ego thing.” Bianca shook her head in disgust. “That is why I don’t date men…often. So not worth the trouble half the time.”

Ella couldn’t help but laugh. Bianca giggled along with her. It took them a couple of minutes before they settled down.

Bianca hopped off the table and hugged Ella. When she stepped back, she held Ella at arm’s length. “I’ll cover for you. Go find out. I think Colby really does like you, and the bet wasn’t even on his mind when he was with you. There’s a connection between you two. Any fool can see that.”

Ella nodded. She thought so too, but he wouldn’t be getting off that easy. “What about Holden? He should be here soon for his morning face massage.”

“Don’t worry. I have something in store for him too. Thinks he can mess with one of my friends.”

Ella lunged and squeezed Bianca impulsively. A puff of pixie dust shot up into the air. Bianca blushed and shooed Ella away. It was time to settle things once and for all with a certain Djinn who held her heart.

C
olby swiped
his hand over the panel, impatient for the door to slide open and see what the hell was going on.

Tuari approached him at the end of the staff meeting to inform him he was needed back in the bar office. His plans for tracking down Ella, who hadn’t shown up at the meeting, were derailed. There were whispered words of something happening at the spa that prevented them from showing.

He had a moment’s panic when he’d heard. His first thought going straight to Ella, to wanting to have her by his side and never let her out of his sight. Whatever happened had to have involved Claire and Ella. He knew it in his gut and by the way unease crawled up his spine and his stomach rolled with nausea.

But he wouldn’t be able to find out until he dealt with whatever waited for him. Fuck, he prayed it didn’t take long.

Stepping through the door, the sight that greeted him stopped him in his tracks. The door damn near closed on him as it slid shut. It was also probably why he didn’t feel the magic slip over him as he walked inside the room.

“Ella,” he exclaimed, reeling back. To say he was surprised to see her sitting in his chair, one eyebrow arched high, and lips pinched, would be an understatement. She looked unhappy. Very, very unhappy.

He took the few steps to get to her and reached out to haul her to him. She dodged him. Pushing back in the chair before standing.

“Sit,” she commanded, pointing to the chair.

He wanted to stay standing, to keep on an equal level. There was a force pressing on him to obey. He plunked down into the chair and spun to face her, as she paced back and forth. “What’s wrong, babe?”

“Don’t you
babe
, me.” Her eyebrow inched higher. Lips pursing tighter. It was a look that told him he was in deep shit. One his mother used when he was a boy. Little Djinns had a bit of mischief coursing through them when their powers manifested. He’d given his mother a run for her money. So much so that she used magic on him.

He racked his brain going over the last couple of days. There wasn’t anything he could think of that he’d done wrong. Didn’t say anything to set her off. He had no idea what he’d done wrong. Except…he groaned and squeezed his eyes shut.

“The bet,” she confirmed, reading his mind. He didn’t know how the fuck she’d done that, but she was right.

“How…”

She sliced her hand through the air, cutting off his words. It was almost as if she were stuffing them back in his mouth. “I had quite the morning with an off-her-rocker bitch. She had all sorts of interesting things to say about you. Seems there was a bet with Holden. Who could get me in the sack first?” Her eyebrow inched even higher. He was sure it would get lost in her hairline at any moment.

“Colby,” she snapped.

“No,” he paused. The silver in her eyes flashed bright. Something he’d seen a witch do only once before.
Ah fuck
. He hoped like hell he wasn’t about to be cursed again. “It was who could get you to go out with him first,” he mumbled. Better to stick to the truth than try to cover his ass. Not like he could say anything different. There was a force pressing against his skin. Pressing him to admit his sins and tell only the truth. It was foreign and had the feel of magic. He narrowed his eyes and studied Ella for a second. A silver hue glowed softly around her.

“Did you put a spell on the room?”

Her lips thinned. “And if I did?”

“I would understand. I heard something happened at the spa.”

“Geez, that was fast,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Rumors have a way of finding people. It had to do with Claire, didn’t it?”

Ella pursed her lips. Her nostrils flared at the mention of the other woman’s name. “The bet.”

“I was going to tell you about it,” he sighed in resignation. It all needed to come out one way or another.

“Oh.” Power snapped from her fingers, arcing from one hand to the other. “And when were you going to do that?”

He opened his mouth, words on the tip of his tongue, but Ella wasn’t allowing it. She glared at him, and he snapped his mouth shut. How the fuck was he supposed to explain himself if she didn’t let him?

“I know,” she snapped her fingers, the sound cracking loud through the room. “You were going to tell me now, since, you know, we’ve slept together. You’re the big winner. No reason for you to keep chasing after me and pretending to like me. Is that right?” Colby caught the tiny bit of hurt bleeding through her question. Hope bloomed in his chest, no matter how horribly timed it might be. To him it meant she cared. That she was invested in him.

Colby jumped out of the chair. He briefly thought about not touching her, but that was a ridiculous notion. Grabbing her gently by the upper arms, he rubbed his thumbs over her soft skin. Felt the tension and power vibrating through her, and wished like hell that they weren’t going through this rough patch. She frowned down at one of his hands, but didn’t tell him to let go. Thank fuck for that. “No, absolutely wrong. The bet was never on my mind. Not really. I’ve wanted you from the start, before Holden came up with the dumb idea.”

Her eyes narrowed marginally. He could tell she wanted to believe him but needed more. Fuck if he knew what that would be.

He nudged her over to the bed. He didn’t have a plan. Just needed her sitting comfortably and in a place with such damn good memories. “Sit down, Ella. Please.” She obliged without comment and only a slight stubborn chin.

Colby took a step back, took a deep breath, giving himself a moment to gather his thoughts. How did he convince the woman he wanted her, and was falling in love with her after such a short time together, and not sound like a complete loon? That the bet meant absolutely nothing to him. It was barely an afterthought.

“The night we met. The night in the Club. I wanted you the first moment I saw you. It was the flash of light that caught my attention. I watched as you and your friends passed around that ball of fire. When the music stopped and you were left holding it,
damn
, I was captivated. The flames highlighted your beautiful, smiling face. Joy and happiness poured off of you. You were…irresistible to me before we even met. Then when you looked my way,
fuck
, Ella, I’ve been smitten ever since.”

Her features relaxed a tick. He could see she worked to suppress the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Then why the bet?”

“Because I’m an idiot. I’m a guy with an ego and ridiculous male pride. Holden started talking about how fucking sexy your ass was, and then I saw who he was talking about, Goddess, I wanted to punch him in the face. I flipped when he called dibs.”

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Her shock was a palpable thing radiating from her. “Dibs?”

“Yeah, he said he saw you first and insisted that meant he got a shot at you first. I told him it was wrong, that you didn’t do shit like that, and it was a horrible way to treat women. I’m pretty sure he laughed, and I refused to let him pursue you. The only thing I could think of was to agree to the bet. I figured my chances with you were pretty good, since I felt like we had a connection before Holden ever laid eyes on you.”

E
verything Colby told
her was true. Yeah, she’d been angry when she first heard about the bet. Fumed all the way from the spa to the bar. People who walked past her gave her a wide berth. She even heard one person murmur
witch on a warpath.

Bianca had talked her off the ledge Claire shoved her out on, mostly; but she was still fuming about the entire thing. Deep down inside, she knew Claire would say anything to hurt her. Even lie about Colby just so she could somehow have him back. Which Ella knew would never happen, the man had been adamant about that one detail. And even if Colby hadn’t been into Ella, Claire would
never
get the man. Not that knowing that gave her any solace.

Ella lifted her hand and waved it above her head. “Evanescere,” she murmured, lifting the spell she’d cast earlier. A silver fog formed and swirled around the room before burning off in a quick ball of fire.

Colby’s blond eyebrow rose in question.

“Vanish,” she said. “I made the spell vanish. Now you won’t be compelled to tell me the truth or to do what I say.”

“Didn’t you trust me to be truthful?”

She did a one shouldered shrug and screwed her mouth up a little. “I did, but I wanted to be sure. For all intents and purposes, I’m a really strong woman, but I rarely date and when I do, it’s because I think the man is special. To think that something went on behind my back, hurt. Bianca said Holden would be behind everything and I have to admit, I kind of knew something was going on with him. The first time I met him, he told me he was giving a friend a
shove
.”

Colby dropped down in front of her, sliding his palms up her thighs. Heat seeped into her skin, warming her from the inside out. She loved his hands on her. The strength and feel as they skimmed her body, pressed her down, and manipulated her however he wanted. With only his hands touching her, her heartbeat raced and her breathing stuttered.

“This thing between us,” she motioned back and forth, “it’s more than I ever expected this early on.”

Colby nodded, a grin working up the corner of his mouth.

“And to have feelings for someone and hear there was a bet behind it.” She sighed and it broke his heart a little.

“Stop right there. The bet...complete afterthought. Actually, not even a thought.”

“But still there,” she insisted.

“And I should have said something from the get-go. Told Holden to go fuck himself and that you were mine. My only excuse…”

She frowned.

“Okay, not an excuse. My only reasoning behind it was to shut him up and get to you as soon as possible that day after the meeting.”

Ella was mostly mollified. His words rang true, and he’d never once told her silly lies or waxed lyrical with false compliments or words of flattery. She heaved a sigh. “It’s going to take a little time.”

Colby stood and pressed his hand on the bed next to her hips. He leaned in, brushing a light kiss against her lips. “And that’s fine. We have forever to figure this out.”

“Well, forever is a pretty long time. I’m hoping, at some point, we’ll move beyond figuring it out and start living it.”

Colby grinned and pressed his lips against hers again. Hard. More insistent. Like a promise of more to come. He leaned back marginally. “We will.”

Ella looped her arms around his neck and tugged, pulling him down on top of her. She flicked her tongue over his mouth. “Good,” she whispered right before getting lost in the feel of him against her. Lips pressed together, exploring, dipping and tasting.

Moments passed before they came up for breath.

Ella panted. “Just so you have the proper motivation. I will curse your ass if you
ever
pull a stunt like that again.”

He grinned and kissed her quickly. “Never again.”