Page 2 of Rise of the Witch (Witches of Keating Hollow #17)

Melissa stared at her overnight bag and shook her head. “What have I gotten myself into?”

The silence in her house was deafening. Normally when she came home, the first thing she’d do was tell Alexa to play one of her many playlists.

The music helped her feel less alone. Ever since her mother had moved to Befana Bay a few years ago, she’d found that the silence was a little too much to take.

It had just been the two of them when she was growing up, and for some reason, Melissa hadn’t ever considered moving out.

Why should she? She liked her mom. Other than Sadie, her mom, Rachel, was her best friend.

And while she enjoyed her freedom these days, she still missed the company.

Not that she had to worry about that at the moment.

Though she was a little worried about how she’d manage to keep her hands off Briggs.

The man was just too yummy for his own good.

It really was too bad that she’d promised herself she’d stay away from him.

He was a flirt. A man who wasn’t one for commitment.

And Melissa was looking for a real connection these days.

Someone she could come home to every night, who would be there when she got home from one of her work trips.

Someone she could count on to help her with the puppy she desperately wanted.

Briggs wasn’t that man.

She grabbed her overnight bag and her laptop computer and then strode out of her house.

Just as she was putting her roller bag into the back of her Audi SUV, she heard a horn honk.

The sound startled her, and she quickly spun but then let out a breath when she saw Sadie climbing out of the new black Toyota Sequoia that King had purchased recently.

“Are you leaving on another trip?” Sadie called as she hurried over.

“No,” Melissa said with a nervous laugh.

She was a wine rep, and because her territory covered all of Northern California and now the Central Coast, she was often gone for a few days at a time when she was out schmoozing clients.

“I’m heading to Briggs’s to save him from an overzealous singer who managed to worm her way into staying with him while she records her new album. ”

“Kassie’s here?” King asked with a grimace as he wrapped an arm around Sadie. “And she thinks she’s staying with Briggs?”

“Yep.” Melissa went on to explain what happened back at the brewery. “So now I’m his buffer, I suppose.”

“This is bad. Real bad,” King said, shaking his head. He glanced down at Sadie. “You have no idea how crazy this girl is. I think I should probably go over there and let Melissa off the hook.”

“No, no,” Melissa said quickly as she waved a hand.

“That’s not necessary. Besides, Kassie already thinks we’re engaged.

If I don’t show up, she’s going to find that suspicious.

” Not to mention that if Kassie realized they’d lied, she’d likely be all over Briggs whether King was there or not.

And that just wasn’t something she would let happen.

“It’s fine. It’s just for one night. Briggs is gonna find her other accommodations tomorrow. ”

“That’s… nice of you,” Sadie said, giving Melissa a cheeky smile as she eyed the overnight bag. “Did you pack that lacy black number you bought last month?”

Melissa glanced at King and then scowled at her friend.

“No. I’m not spending the night with him, just sleeping over.

” But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she had the sinking realization that she probably would be staying in Briggs’s room.

As his supposed fiancée, sleeping somewhere other than with him would blow their cover.

Sadie chuckled. “Sure, Mel. Call me tomorrow. I’m gonna wanna hear every last detail.”

King whipped out his phone, tapped the screen, and then pressed the device to his ear. A moment later, he walked away and said, “Briggs. What the hell is going on?”

Melissa closed the hatchback on her Audi and moved to the driver’s side door. “I better get going. When do you two leave again?”

Sadie and King had been spending a lot of time on the road promoting their new single.

Melissa missed having her friend right next door all the time, but she was really happy that the new song was doing well.

Her friend deserved every good thing that came her way after all she’d been through, losing her mom as a teenager and having a difficult relationship with her absentee father.

“Not for a few weeks,” Sadie said. “So we should be around to catch all the fireworks.”

“There aren’t going to be any fireworks,” Melissa said as she climbed into her car. “Don’t forget about our dinner plans later this week.”

“I won’t.” Sadie waved and walked over to her house, where King was waiting for her on the porch.

Melissa glanced at the happy couple once more before letting out a sigh and taking off to save Briggs from his crazy stalker.

“This is my room?” Kassie asked, wrinkling her nose. “There’s hardly even a closet in here.”

Melissa rolled her eyes so hard she practically gave herself a headache. The princess was not happy with the sleeping arrangements.

“What’s wrong with that room?” the bratty pop star asked as she pointed to the one across the hall. “It’s at least a little bigger and has a nicer bed.”

“That’s King’s room,” Briggs said in a flat tone. “It’s this or you can have the couch.”

“But King isn’t here, is he?” Kassie said, making a move to head across the hall.

Briggs stepped in front of her and crossed his arms over his chest. “No one uses his room but him. It’s your choice. The guest room, the couch, or you can find somewhere else to stay.”

Kassie pushed her lower lip out in an exaggerated pout, and Melissa wished she could wipe it right off her face. The woman was something else. “Fine,” Kassie said with a sigh. “I guess this will do.”

“I guess it will,” he said and then waited as she hauled in no less than seven suitcases.

“How long are you planning to be here?” Melissa asked, wondering how she’d managed to fit it all into the compact Mazda SUV that was parked outside. It was one of those vehicles that had a back seat, but no one over five feet tall was going to be happy riding in it.

“As long as it takes,” Kassie said with a huff and then glared at Briggs. “You could have helped me haul my luggage in here.”

“I already brought it inside. The rest is up to you.” Briggs wrapped his arm around Melissa’s shoulders and added, “Mel and I are going to bed. Be up and ready to go by 7:30.”

“What? Austin said we didn’t need to be there until eight!” she whined.

“Right. We need time to get into town. Be up and ready to go or else I’ll be dragging you out of here.” Without another word, he guided Melissa into his room and slammed the door behind him.

She dropped her overnight bag onto a chair in the corner and then stood there, staring at him slumped against the door and wondering what to do next.

“Zeus above,” Briggs muttered to himself.

Melissa chuckled. “Are you praying to the Greek god?”

“Yes.” He raised his gaze to hers. “How did this happen?”

“You were too much of a coward to tell her to stop texting you, and now you’re stuck with her… at least for tonight.” Melissa walked over to him, took his hand in hers, and then led him over to the bed. “Sit.”

He did as he was told and was silent as he watched her climb onto the bed and position herself behind him.

“You need to relax a little,” Melissa said as she started to massage his shoulders. “It’s just for one night, right? Tomorrow she’ll be out of here, and you’ll only have to deal with her at work.”

He let out a grunt. “Only at work. You’re not really familiar with how recording works, are you?”

“I only know what Sadie’s told me,” she said. “I know she spent a lot of time with King, trying to get it right. But if I recall correctly, they didn’t spend more than a few days in the studio.”

“That’s… not typical,” he said and let out a low moan when she dug into a knot right at the base of his neck. “That’s perfect. Keep doing that.”

Melissa dug her thumb into the muscles, feeling an intense sense of satisfaction with each noise he made. She liked having the power to make him feel that good. “You were saying that King and Sadie’s process isn’t typical…”

“Oh, yeah. Those two have something magical.”

“Quite literally,” Melissa added. When Sadie sang with King, her magic blossomed and she was able to manipulate emotions.

It was both awesome and somewhat terrifying, especially when she hadn’t known she was doing it.

But she had it under control now, and the two of them together made the most beautiful music.

“Right. That means that when they work together, something just clicks. It’s a sixth sense.

For most other artists, they go into the studio with a song or idea, and we end up having them trying it out two dozen different ways.

The process can mean extremely long hours.

The last time when we worked on Kassie’s debut record, we often were in the studio well into the night.

When things start to look promising, no one wants to leave because you never know if the next day will yield the same results.

So for the next however many weeks or months, I’ll be spending a significant amount of time with Kassie Kinny whether I like it or not. ”

“No wonder you’re so tense,” Melissa said, feeling a little bit sorry for him. If she had to spend that kind of time with someone who was so manipulative, she’d lose her mind.

“The massage is helping,” he said with a contented sigh. “You’re really saving the day here, Melissa. You know that, right?”

“I do,” she said, smiling to herself. The truth was she really liked Briggs.

If she was only looking for a good time, she’d be ready to fall into his arms for the night.

She didn’t have a moral objection to a casual relationship.

It was just that she was ready for more.

Seeing her best friend fall in love with King had triggered something in her.

She was tired of coming home to an empty house.

To not having a special someone to call each night when she was traveling for work.

And if she let herself get involved with Briggs, she was going to want more than he was able to give.

So friends were all they could be to each other.

She could do that.

Right?

Wrong.

Briggs turned to look at her, and the interest in his heated gaze was enough to make her forget everything she’d just been thinking.

He reached up and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes and said, “How about I return the favor?”

Before she could answer, he repositioned himself so that he was sitting against his headboard with his feet out in front of him. He tapped his thigh and said, “Put your feet here.”

“You’re going to give me a foot massage?” she asked, completely caught off guard.

“Yep. You’re on your feet a lot. In heels, right?”

She nodded.

“Well, let me ease some of that tension. It’s the least I can do after you’ve gone through all this trouble.

” He gave her that wicked half smile that never failed to make her want to throw herself at him.

But thankfully she wasn’t so far gone that she just pounced on him.

Instead, she did as he asked and propped herself up on a pillow as she tucked her feet into his lap.

“You’re probably going to regret this since I’ve been on my feet all day. ”

“I can handle it,” he said as he reached into his nightstand and pulled out a bottle of lotion.

She raised one eyebrow at him, refusing to voice the thoughts in her head.

He just laughed and said, “Get your mind out of the gutter. There’s nothing wrong with men moisturizing.”

“Of course not,” she said with a laugh.

Then, as Briggs doused his hands with the lotion, suddenly the lights in the bedroom dimmed and a few candles that were sitting on his dresser flickered to life, the flames casting a warm glow.

Melissa glanced around and then stared at Briggs. “Did you do that? Are you an air witch or fire witch?” It was unusual for a witch to have the ability to both manipulate objects and light fires.

“Technically, I’m both,” he said with a shrug. “I’m actually an elemental witch.”

“Wow,” she said softly. “Air, water, fire, and earth. That’s impressive.”

“Not really. When I was younger all it did was get me into trouble. A lot of trouble. It was better if I didn’t use my magic at all. These days, I really only use it when I want to seduce a gorgeous woman.”

“Is that what you’re trying to do? Seduce me?” Melissa knew she should be backing away, putting distance between them, but with his warm hands already easing the tension in her feet, she couldn’t bring herself to move even an inch. His touch was just too delicious.

“Is it working?” he teased.

“Yes,” she answered honestly. What would be the harm? Just one night. It wasn’t like she’d never had a one-night stand before.

His hands froze on her foot as he stared at her intently. After a moment, he shook his head and climbed off the bed. “We shouldn’t. Not like this.”

Melissa frowned at him. “Not like what?”

“This.” He waved his hand around the room and then waved at the door. “You’re here doing me a favor, and I’m… Well, I guess I’m going to take a cold shower. You said before that we were just sleeping, and I don’t want to make you regret helping me out.”

“I won’t regret it,” she said even as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Melissa flopped back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. She honestly didn’t know if she should be relieved or offended. Briggs had done nothing but flirt with her since he’d moved to town. And now that she was ready to let her guard down and have a little fun, he was acting all chivalrous?

“Ugh,” she groaned and covered her face with both hands. Why were men so confusing?

Melissa rose from the bed, rummaged around in her overnight bag, and found her pink silk pajamas that she’d brought and her toiletry case.

Then she stood in the middle of the room, wondering what to do.

If she went to use the spare bathroom, no doubt Kassie would wonder why.

She’d either have to wait until Briggs was done or…

The bathroom door wasn’t quite closed, and when she took a closer look, she realized that the shower was behind a closed door and the sink was free to use.

She quickly brushed her teeth, washed her face, and got into her pajamas.

Then she slipped into bed and decided that when Briggs appeared from the shower, she’d be the one to do the seducing.