Page 14

Chapter

Fourteen

brIDGETTE

T he sound of a phone ringing woke me up. Knowing that it couldn’t have been mine based on the tone, I rolled over to see Logan reaching over the side of the bed. I admired the play of muscles in his back, and when I saw the bright red stripes near his shoulders, I blushed as I remembered how those scratch marks got there.

Logan finally found his phone and rolled back onto the bed, the sheet low on his hips from his actions. It was easy to see the outline of his thick cock not quite hidden by the purple fabric. I was thankful for the potion I took last night. Though my muscles were a bit sore, I didn’t feel any pain.

“Yeah, I’ll be there in twenty,” Logan said, catching my attention. As he hung up the call, he dropped the phone by his side. Then I found myself being hauled back against him, where I braced myself against his chest before I face planted there instead.

“Going somewhere?” I asked, trying to keep my tone neutral. I didn’t want to sound needy, or Goddess forbid, hurt.

He stared at my face for a long minute as I tried to look unbothered. His eyes grew soft, then he placed a gentle kiss on my lips. “I had to wait until last night to take you out because Mac and I take turns being on call. I didn’t want to take the chance that I would have to leave you in the middle of our first date. Unfortunately, we both get called during the day.”

“So you have to leave for a case?” I asked, feeling somewhat appeased by the man leaving just hours after he’d taken my first everythings.

“Yeah, babe. I have a case.” He ran his thumb over my cheek, then he placed another closed mouth kiss on my lips. “Can I see you again tonight? I can bring dinner, and we can watch a movie?”

“I’d like that,” I whispered as I took in his handsome face, noting that he looked relaxed. His gray eyes were a paler shade then the darker, stormier one I’d seen last night as he fucked me into the mattress.

“Good,” he whispered back. Then he slapped my ass with the palm of his hand. “I’ve got to go. I’ve got about five minutes to get out the door in order to make it across town.”

He slid out from under me and rolled out of bed with the grace of a panther. I tugged the sheet up to my chest and hugged the pillow he’d used, surreptitiously sniffing it and liking that my things had his scent on them.

I watched as he quickly dressed. He sat down on the bed by my hips and pulled his socks and boots on. I scrunched up my nose as I watched, knowing how much it must suck to have to wear the same clothes from the day before.

“You should bring a bag with you tonight.”

He looked at me over his shoulder as he tied his motorcycle boots. “Yeah?” he asked with a grin.

“Yeah,” I said with a slight shrug. “That way, you have a change of clothes. Maybe a toothbrush.” He laughed as he stood and turned to face me, leaning down with his hands braced against the mattress.

“Noted. Fresh breath tomorrow morning.”

“Um hmmm,” I hummed as I stared up at my mate.

“Later, little witch.”

“Later, Detective Storm.”

With a wink, a quick kiss, and a reminder to lock the door, he was gone, and I closed my eyes, falling back into a deep sleep.

“Thanks, Eileen!” I called out, stuffing a dollar bill into the tip jar. I brought my hot cup of white peppermint mocha coffee to my nose and inhaled. “Oh, my Goddess, that smells so good!” I groaned.

“Better than sex,” Shayla agreed as we sat down in our usual comfortable armchairs in the corner at the cafe down the street from Oohs, Ahhhs, and Orbs.

At my silence, Shayla looked up at me, immediately seeing my flushed cheeks, and squealed.

“Shhh!” I waved at her frantically, noting all the eyes that had turned in our direction. I gave old Mrs. Boone a small smile and a wave of apology. I brought the cup up to my lips, hoping that Shayla would let it go for now, but I should have known there was no way in hell she would.

She leaned into my personal bubble to whisper fiercely. “Girl, if you don’t tell me everything right this second, I’m going to call up my momma right here and now and tell her that you were the one who dug up her favorite tulips when we were ten.”

My horrified gasp was probably louder than her squeal had been. “You wouldn’t!”

“You bet my sweet momma’s petunias I would. And I will if you don’t come clean, I’m pressing call .” Shayla held up her phone, a picture of her mother already on the screen, and her finger hovering over the call button.

“That’s just harsh,” I pouted as I grumbled. “I was planning on telling you. I just didn’t want it to be in public. Geez. So impatient.”

“Well, we are here, so get to spilling. Confession is good for the soul. Or so I hear.” We both snickered, but then she nudged me. “Seriously, bestie. Is everything okay? Was it… consensual.”

I turned quickly in my chair so I could face her better and grabbed her hand. “Oh, Shayla, no! Nothing like that, I swear. Everything was better than I could have ever imagined.”

She let out a relieved sigh and smiled. “Okay, Bridge. Why don’t you start from the beginning? And don’t leave any of the juicy stuff out,” she warned.

I laughed, and we both took small sips of our coffees. “Okay. So, Logan showed up. On time, I might add.”

“Nice. Already a point for Mr. Detective,” she nodded.

“With his motorcycle.”

“Oh. Now I’m jealous. Was it scary-fun, or just scary?”

“It was amazing. I felt like I was flying. You know how I love being in nature. It was like nothing else. Zipping past all the trees while the moon was rising. I loved it. He took me to a bar. Remember that small, rundown looking place down the highway?” I waited for her nod and the expected nose scrunch. “It’s actually really nice inside. And kinda cozy. The owners are good people. I think the owner’s daughter has a touch of magic in her. Anyway, the food was fabulous. You should really go there with us sometime and try the burger. Truly the best one I’ve had. And you know I’ve been looking.” At her impatient raised eyebrow, I giggled. “Right. So he taught me how to play pool, which was more fun than I expected. Then we rode back to the shop. I thought he was just going to leave, to be honest. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He has this really great blank face. I think it’s probably because of his job.”

“Okay, I know I told you to spill everything, but I’m growing old here waiting for the good stuff. Come on!”

“Hey, you asked!” I protested, then hid my grin behind my paper coffee cup as her glare turned glacial. “Fine,” I huffed with a laugh. “Just when I thought he was going to leave, and I got all sad but tried not to show it, he kissed me. Then he carried me up the stairs and we did it.”

“Did… what?”

“ It ,” I stressed. “We did it. We got undressed, he ate me out, then he fucked me until I couldn’t feel my legs.” I sat back and sighed. “It was amazing. Truly fantastic. Odes could be written. Songs, sung in the honor of my glorious orgasms.”

Shayla’s laughter had started gaining attention again, so I shushed her. When she was finally under control, she whispered. “Was it really that good?”

I nodded. “It really was. Worth the wait, hun. I promise.”

“So was he well endowed or average. With orgasms the way you described, I can’t imagine he was smaller than average.”

My face turned hotter than the sun, and I was sure my cheeks matched the color of my hair. “Umm, bigger?”

She gasped. “How big?”

“Honestly? I’m not exactly certain. When I saw it, I freaked out just a little bit. I went straight to the pain relief potions on my dresser as a precaution. It may not have been as big as I first thought.”

Shayla held out her hands, palms facing each other. “This long?”

I tilted my head and studied the width, and thought back to what I remembered, and reached out. I pulled her wrists apart until the distance was about what I thought it would have been.

Shayla looked down at the space between her hands before using one of them to fan herself. “Oh, sweet tea and lemonade. When the Goddess decides to bless you, she doesn’t hold back, does she?” She looked down at my lap with her eyes squinted. “How’s your girly bits this morning? You seemed to be walking okay.”

I laughed and gave her a shove. “I’m fine. I got the feeling back in my legs somewhere in the middle of the night,” I snickered.

“When this semester is over and Hotty Professor stops playing hard to get, I’m going to need one of those potions. I’ve seen the outline of that thing he’s packing.”

I smiled. “Absolutely. So things are going well there?”

Shayla shrugged. “He stares at me a lot. Honestly, the man doesn’t seem to get any work done while I’m in his office. All he does is follow me with his eyes.”

“Are you still filing?”

She shook her head and took a swallow of the cooling coffee. “He had me start working on his bookshelves. He wants them all rearranged by type of law and then by author or publication.”

“Umm, are these floor to ceiling bookshelves?”

“What do you mean? They are tall enough that there is a sliding ladder. It’s kind of cool, actually. I want to slide on it like that scene from Beauty and the Beast when Belle is singing in the library.”

“Girl, he’s totally watching your peachy ass climbing up and down that ladder.”

A smug grin spread across her face. “You think so?”

I snorted. “Yeah, Shay. I do.”

Just then, the bell over the door rang as a new customer walked in. I didn’t bother looking, but Shayla froze, her eyes going wide. I turned to see what had her freaking out, to see a tall, incredibly handsome black man standing just inside the cafe. He had close cropped hair on his head, along with a very neatly trimmed beard cut close to his skin. He was wearing a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, navy blue slacks, and brown loafers. He looked nothing like the stuffy professor I had expected. He looked deliciously hot. And his dark golden eyes were laser focused on my best friend.

As I was taking him in, he began to walk over. “Miss Shayla. Lovely seeing you here.”

“Professor King. I wasn’t expecting to see you today. This is my best friend, Bridgette. She owns Oohs, Ahhhs, and Orbs down the street.”

He barely spared me a nod in acknowledgement, and I had to stifle a giggle at how obvious the two were while trying to pretend they weren’t already half in love with each other. I stood up, smoothly dodging the hand Shayla tried to use to no doubt pull me back to her side.

I held out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Professor King. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m not sure if you know that Shayla and I have been friends since we could walk.”

He finally looked at me and gave me a smirk, showing off straight white teeth that would make any dentist cream their pants. “Is that so?”

I nodded as he took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Yep. And since you know I own the best occult store in town, you should also know I’m a witch.” I leaned in a little closer and mock whispered. “A powerful one.”

I held contact for a prolonged moment without letting go of his hand. It took him a few seconds to notice how hot his hand was getting, but when he did, instead of jerking out of my hold, he simply gritted his teeth and inclined his head. “Noted.”

I gave him my best and brightest smile, letting the heat dissipate before pulling my hand away. “Wonderful.” I turned back toward Shayla and gave her an apologetic smile, but she didn’t look upset. Instead, I could see how grateful she was, knowing I would always be there for her. “Call me later. Love you!”

I turned to leave, ready to toss my empty cup on the way out, when the professor stopped me. “I only have good intentions.” He paused. “But, just so you know, Bridgette, no one will stand in my way when it’s time.”

I tilted my head as I took in his serious expression. Then I inclined my head the same way he had. “Noted.”

I gave a wave to Eileen behind the counter as I left and walked down the sidewalk toward my shop and home, knowing all the while that my best friend was in good hands.