Captivating The Witch

Barefoot, she stood up from her kneeling position on the floor in the middle of the salt circle she’d poured earlier. Eyes still closed, she swept her hands over her head and down her body to clear away any negative energy that may have latched on to her. And then, drawing her hands up her body from toes to crown of head, she replaced that sensitive open aura with a white light.

When she opened her eyes, the demon stood three feet away from the line of salt, hands shoved in his black trouser pockets. This evening he wore a gray-striped business shirt without a tie, and the open collar revealed tattoos or sigils that climbed his neck. Sleeves were rolled to his elbows, revealing yet more black ink in various designs. Gave him a bit of a gangster vibe. Add to that the dark hair parted neatly at his right temple, slicked back with a bit of pomade, and his gray eyes that held a hopeful curiosity, and he took her breath away.

Oh, what another kiss might lure her to do. Like unbuttoning that shirt and running her palms over his chest, which was nicely muscled, because the shirt stretched over some well-honed pectorals.

Of course, that meant he was strong, and she still didn’t know him at all. Would he harm her? She had a tendency to overlook danger. She preferred to see the best in most; the worst only after they’d proved their lacking worth. She had slapped the binding spell on him, so he could still hold some residual anger.

Tamatha shivered, but the sudden rise of insecurity reminded her she’d been in the office alone with him for over an hour and he hadn’t harmed her. And she did wear the white light.

“It’s good,” she said.

“Cleansed?” he asked incredulously, his body leaning forward in expectation.

“Of course. Can’t you feel it?”

Straightening, he spread out his palms, half-covered by the gloves, and looked about the candlelit office. Tamatha had requested only the six white candles provide the lighting while she smudged. Unnatural light would have decreased the spell’s efficacy. “I don’t feel anything.”

“Exactly.” She stepped out of the circle and slid her feet into the pumps.

In the circle remained the extinguished candle, a calcite wand, which aided in clearing negative energy, and her amethyst-hilted athame. She’d collect them before she left. They needed time to rest, and if any residual dark energy remained, the salt would leach it out.

“You’ll have to vacuum the salt later. Give it at least eight hours to allow any remaining dark energies to dissipate.”

“Me and salt...” He mocked a shudder.

“Ah, yes, demons and salt.”

“Not so pretty.”

Well, she wasn’t a maid, but she couldn’t stand for things to be out of order. But she also didn’t intend to stick around all night. He’d have to deal with cleanup duty on his own. “So is that wine for drinking?”

Ed grabbed the bottle from a marble-topped vanity by the wall and from the cupboard underneath pulled out two goblets. “It is. Thought I’d bring out my best Beaujolais if you managed to work your magic.”

“Thanks, but I’ll take information for the cleansing.” She accepted the goblet he handed her. She quickly sipped and averted her eyes from the dark tattoo that crept up under his ear. “No remaining evil in this room now. Unless, of course...”

“Unless I create the evil myself?” he volleyed at her. His eyes had a means of dancing with hers in a challenging yet sensual manner. A defiant smolder. Such a look stirred in her core and tightened her nipples.

She shrugged and resisted falling into that appealing challenge by taking another sip of wine.

“You know, not all demons are evil. We get a bad reputation from media and silly movies.”

“Oh, I know that. Your species is vast and varied. Though, the majority can tend to be nefarious and malefic. I sense you straddle the line between good and evil.”

He didn’t respond, and she followed him to the black leather tufted couch. She sat first, in the middle, and he moved over and sat three feet away from her. Humph. Yes, well, it wasn’t a date. Maybe?

“The same goes for we witches,” she said in an attempt to defend whatever it was about her he wasn’t willing to sit close to. “We’re not all vile. Very few of us are.”

“I’ve grown up listening to faery tales of your sort. You must allow me my ingrained childhood fears.”

“Really? A big strong demon like you feels faint around a little ole witch like me?”

“No one said anything about fainting. I just like to stay on alert when in the presence of...your sort.”

“Yikes. What does it take to win you over? I’ve cleansed your office. I’ve kissed back as good as you’ve given.”

He put up an inquisitive finger. “About those kisses.”

“What about them?” Pressing a palm into the black leather, she leaned a little closer. “Want to try it again?”

“I, uh...” He actually cringed from her, which gave her pause. She sat up straight and tugged at her skirt hem. Really? Those faery tales he’d been told as a child must have been some doozies. Probably featured the classic hag. Oh, how inaccurate they could be. Most of the time.

“You said you wanted to ask me things,” he offered as if tossing the suggestion out to deflect her sudden sway toward romance. “Ask away.”

“Awesome,” she said with little of the enthusiasm she should have.

The man had the weirdest ability to attract her while repelling at the same time. She shouldn’t take it personally. But when one was kissed so well and thoroughly, it was hard to not want more.

Perhaps since they were in his office he assumed a work attitude. Though it was late, she had no idea if a secretary lingered in an office down the hall or even if his henchmen were on the premises. Business it was, then.

Kicking off her shoes, she pulled up her legs and leaned an elbow on the back of the couch so she faced him. On the floor, her shoes righted and snapped into an orderly side-by-side position.

“What the hell?” the demon asked.

“My OCD magic. I like order.”

“And control, as you’ve mentioned. But really?”

“I can’t control it. I used to control it, but eventually the urge to straighten got so strong it took on a life of its own. It works in about a five-foot range.”

“So things snap into order as you walk by?”

She nodded.

“Weird.”

“Really?” Toggling the fragrant wine goblet in her hand, she asked, “Says the corax demon who can shift to raven form.”

“More than one raven—an entire conspiracy. And that’s not weird. It’s genetic.”

“It’s still weird. Does it hurt? How is it controlled?”

“It stings like a mother for two seconds and then I don’t feel anything but the freedom of flight. Multiple times over. When I’m in that form, all the ravens fly in sync and are controlled as one by me. But if I need one part of me to do something, I can break off and fly solo. It’s complicated. Of course, shifting takes a lot out of me. I don’t do it often. Driving usually gets me wherever I need to go.”

“Is that feather on your neck related to ravens?”

He stroked the tattoo, which appeared as soft as a feather and seemed to undulate under his finger as if touched by a breeze. “It is. It’s not a tattoo but a demonic sigil. Unlike a tattoo, the sigils simply appear on my skin. It’s not ink but darker pigmented skin cells. This feather is the top of the complete sigil that stretches the length of my spine. All corax demons sport something similar.”

“That’s fascinating.” She leaned forward but cautioned herself from reaching to touch him. Much as she wanted to nuzzle her nose against his neck and breathe him in, she would not go there. Not when she could sense his need to lean back as she neared him. “Were you born here in the mortal realm or did you come from Daemonia?”

“Mortal realm, born and bred. I have a certain distrust and dislike for those from Daemonia.”

“Why?”

“My opinions are not important to your research, are they? Let’s stick to facts and avoid the personal.” He tilted back the rest of his wine and got up to refill, and then he returned to the couch with the bottle and topped off hers. He remained a good distance from her. Which annoyed her. “Next question.”

Nothing personal? He was protective of himself. Perhaps she’d read too much into his incredible kisses. Way to anticipate a fabulous date night. Not.

Oh, who was she kidding? She wanted details more than she wanted kisses.

Yeah? Tell yourself another lie, Tamatha.

Shaking off the nuisance inner voice, she allowed her eyes to glide about the office to the marble walls and across the windows. The desk and wine cupboard were topped with the same black marble streaked through with silver mica. Above the vanity sat three objects on separate shelves, which had been lit by halogen beams before she’d requested only candlelight.

“Is that an alicorn?” she asked of the object on the center shelf. “If so, I’m stunned.”

“I buy and sell objects of magical nature. And yes, the three items are a genie in a bottle, an alicorn and a bit of angel dust on the third shelf.”

Wow. A genie in a bottle? He’d better not let that loose or he’d be responsible for a world of hurt. The angel dust intrigued. It was terribly expensive to buy at the Witch Bazaar, and she’d never the interest in testing its efficacy. Angel magic was the most powerful of all magics in the mortal realm. But if handled improperly? The witch may wish herself dead as opposed to experiencing the brutal backlash.

But the alicorn continued to draw her interest. Unfortunately, fascination was quickly overwhelmed by a sadness that tugged at her very core.

“There’s so much positive energy leaking from the alicorn now that I’ve cleansed the room.” Her heart shivered. “I could almost cry. Did a unicorn get slain?”

“I’m sure it was taken from a dead unicorn,” Ed offered.

She gasped at his utter lack of concern, or perhaps he simply hadn’t such knowledge. “Unicorns don’t die, Ed. They are immortal. Oh, that’s awful.” She sipped the wine, not wanting to consider the alicorn anymore.

“Back to the questions about me,” Ed said. She suspected it was an attempt to divert her from the alicorn. Good call. Maybe he was more attuned to her feelings than she suspected.

Very well. What else did she want to know, beyond that he could buy an item that had likely been stolen from a living being and had caused it much pain? Don’t think about it! Her eyes strayed to his desk, which harbored only a closed laptop. She had no idea what he did. Buying and selling magical objects? He employed henchmen, as well.

“What do you do, exactly?”

“That’s a faintly personal question.”

“I mean here. In this office. What’s your job? Is it to do with the collection on your wall? Is it related to you being a demon or is it a means to a living?”

He scruffed his fingers over the back of his head. “Let’s say I head an organization dedicated to keeping the peace.”

“That sounds entirely too heroic for—”

“For what? A demon?” He sighed and propped an ankle over his knee, rapping his fingers on the couch arm. “What are you wearing that keeps me at a distance from you? Is it a protection spell?”

“Huh? Oh. But I thought you...”

She thought he’d wanted to keep it all business. But instead he wanted to get closer? The man’s duality was aggravating. Of course, he hadn’t kissed her since she’d arrived. Unfortunately. And did his aggravation over not being able to get close to her have to do with his wanting to kiss her?

And why couldn’t he— Hmm... She hadn’t thought of that. “I always pull on a white light when I do a job. It protects me from any rogue elements or vengeful souls that I may not have control over.”

“And demons?”

“From most breeds, actually,” she said. “You can feel it?”

He tilted his head back on the couch, closed his eyes, then smiled. When he sat upright, he turned to her and touched her hand but retracted quickly as if bitten.

“Sorry,” she offered.

“You must not have had the white light on earlier today when we kissed.”

“I didn’t. Your thugs surprised me and I wasn’t calm enough to call it up.”

“Could I ask you to take it off now?”

The look he gave her melted her insides and made her question if he’d asked her to take off her white light or, instead, her clothing. Yes, please?

She swallowed softly. “Depends.”

“On my reason? I don’t expect you to trust me, Tamatha. Or to feel safe. But I have kissed you, and... I’d like to do it again. But we can’t do that unless I can sit closer to you and feel comfortable. It physically hurts me to be this close to you now. It’s like tiny electric sparks are emanating from your body.”

“Wow. I had no idea my white light was so powerful.” Then again. “Oh, but, you know. Most powerful witch in Paris, here. Of course it’s going to feel like that.”

Whew! Fast save. She had to be careful. He had provided her a reason to keep him in her life; best not shatter that reason.

“If I take it off, will you tell me about those tattoos on your fingers? If that’s not too personal a question.”

“Yes, and it’s a little personal, but some of the sigils on my skin are related to my genealogy.”

Satisfied, she exhaled and then swept a hand over her from head to toe and pronounced, “Exsolvo.” The white light slipped away.

“I felt that. Like prickles skittering over my skin.” He rubbed his forearms, then inhaled a deep breath. “Wow. Now I can smell your perfume. Lemons. I like that. It’s different.”

“I preserve my own lemons. My house always smells like a lemon orchard. It’s a scent my grandmother wore, though I only know that because my mom told me. Grandma Lysia died long before I was born. So, those tats on your fingers?”

“Demonic runes. They are tribal. The history of them goes back centuries, maybe even millennia. They designate me corax and my location and alliances. As well, they provide protection within the demon community and rank me to others.”

“That’s a lot of information from a few crossed lines. Are you in a denizen?”

“Always been a lone demon. I prefer it that way. I, uh, don’t play well with others.”

“You’re playing nicely enough with me.” His smile was a little shy and she liked that he was willing to relax now. “Tell me about those dark marks on your neck.”

He slid closer and pulled aside his collar to expose the design. Tamatha leaned forward only a little. Didn’t want to spook him. “These are demonic sigils that form on my body as I age,” he said. “It’s indicative of many demonic breeds but not all of them. Major life events imprint on my skin. And some are spells and wards.”

“Really? That’s so cool. I didn’t know demons could do that. So a life event? Like what?”

“Anything. Dangerous encounters. Life-changing events. The move to Paris from Italy a decade ago. Defeating Himself’s plans to send a dangerous demon into this realm. Growing into my horns. And I’ve already explained coming into my shifting abilities with the feather.”

She eyed the hematite nubs at his temples and then tapped his gloved knuckles. Ed pulled away.

“Does that hurt when I touch them? I touched the ones on your temples earlier this afternoon when you had me pressed against the wall.”

“I know you did. That touch was...” He blew out a breath laden with what she guessed was repressed lust. “Just take it easy, will you? Should you get cut, the thorns on my knuckles are capable of imbuing poison into your bloodstream, resulting in death. As for the horns on my temples...they are...sensitive.”

“Oh.” She’d take that sensitive as meaning sensually sensitive. Interesting. But she wanted to learn more about the thorns. They were a new bodily enhancement to her. “Poison? So you never take the gloves off?”

He clasped his hands together. “Only when I’m alone.”

“Bummer. Must make for some weird—” She almost said “sex.” Tamatha swallowed the last of her wine awkwardly. “So that mark on your lower neck looks like a scythe, actually.”

“It imprinted after I got my horns. Puberty stuff, like the feather. This here.” He traced his inner wrist, which featured a series of black wavy lines, almost as if a drunken bar code. “Was a fight with a werewolf. I won. And this one is a witch ward.” He tugged up his sleeve to reveal a small, solid black circle on the side of his forearm.

Tamatha smoothed her fingers over the ward. He didn’t flinch. Nor did she. “For or against witches?”

“It was supposed to be a sort of warning alarm should a witch come too close. Apparently, this one is bogus since I’m not feeling so much as a tingle from your touch. I’ll have words with Sayne next time I see the guy.”

“You had an ink witch tattoo you with a ward against witches? Doesn’t that sound a trifle ironic? I mean, did you really expect it to work? It came from a witch.”

He shrugged and a tiny smile softened his dark features. Compelled by his levity, Tamatha touched the corner of his mouth briefly. “I’m glad it doesn’t repel me,” she said.

“It has alerted me to other witches previously. I’m sure it’s because you are so strong. Of course, that makes little sense. Unless you’ve a ward to repel my witch ward?”

“It may be my white light.” Which she’d taken off. Hmm... That was weird, but not so startling she need worry about it. They were sitting here now. And he no longer seemed repelled by her presence.

And he leaned forward to kiss her, but stopped, their faces but a breath from one another. “I told myself I was going to keep it strictly business this evening.”

“Me, too.”

He considered it, frowned, but then nodded. “Right. So...” He tilted his head and nudged her nose with his. He smelled like leather and icy cedar. “I’ve always thought that nothing happens accidentally.”

“Oh, it doesn’t. There are no coincidences in this realm. I’m very sure our running into one another in the alley was destined. Though for what reason, we’ve yet to learn.”

“Destiny is a big concept. Serendipity sounds cooler.” He pressed his forehead to hers. A hint of wine on his breath compelled her closer and to close her eyes. “Demons and witches have a brutal history,” he said.

Tamatha nodded. Witches had often been demon conduits through the centuries, along with their faithful familiars. But she didn’t want to discuss their reasons for hating one another right now. Not when she could feel the pulse of his heart in the air and the cool hardness of his horn nub against her skin.

“This isn’t history, Ed. It’s right now. We’re writing our own pages.”

“I can get behind that. There is something I want to ask you,” he said, breaking their connection by a few breathless inches, “but after I do, you’ll not like me so much as you do at this moment. So I’m going to keep that one in my pocket for now.”

“I can deal. Later will always be there waiting. I’ve asked enough questions for one night. I want to set work aside.”

“No more business.” He exhaled. “This you-and-I thing is really odd for me—”

Enough small talk. If he continued on that tangent he’d talk himself out of so much fun. “Kiss me, Ed.”

She tilted up his chin with her forefinger and took the lead by kissing him. He responded nicely by not uttering another protesting word. Relaxing back against the couch, his hands spreading down her sides, he lured her on top of him. His hands glided down the purple velvet to her hips and she knelt between his legs because the skirt was too narrow for her to straddle him.

Lemon and cedar mingled as the two of them breathed in one another, tasting wine and anticipation, touching warmth, hair and the pulse beats of desire.

She spread her palm over his neck and felt a soft flutter. A demon sigil that marked him as corax. Cool. She hadn’t read anything about sigils in her research so far, but knew she’d passed her hands over a book or two that detailed demonic sigils. When she returned to the Archives she’d head straight for those books.

“Do all demons have markings like this? Or wait, you said it was only certain breeds?”

He tilted a frown up at her, but it quickly softened to a light wonder. “Witch, do you want to research me or kiss me?”

“Honestly? Both.” She teased a fingertip at the corner of her mouth. “But first I’d like you to stop calling me witch as if it were a bad thing.”

“Sorry, Tamatha of the pretty green eyes.” He clasped her hand and pulled it up to look at the side of her smallest finger. “Since we’re asking about skin markings, what’s this tattoo mean? Beatus?”

“Be-aye-tus.” She pronounced the word properly. “It’s Latin for ‘blessed be.’”

“Special. A witch offering a blessing to a demon? Wonders never cease.”

“I suppose I should be more cautious around you, but I can tell a lot about a person from his kiss.”

“Is that so?”

“You’re trustworthy.”

She didn’t miss his wince and then told herself she was being too trusting. She knew nothing about this man. But that was why she was there. To learn. And to learn one must set aside caution and dive in for the experience.

“So you must kiss a lot of people to have developed such a skill?” he proposed.

“I never kiss and tell.” She traced a finger down the feather on his neck and delighted when it fluttered under her touch. “I’d like to see them all.”

He waggled a finger at her. “That would involve removing clothing. And I suspect you’re not that easy.”

“Oh, I’m not.” She tugged down her skirt and started to sit, but then immediately turned to lean into him. Because she couldn’t not look into his eyes. “But kissing you is something I’d like to do more of.”

“You perplex me.” Grabbing the wine bottle and their empty goblets, he motioned she move aside so he could stand. “You say you want to ask me questions, do research,” he said and set the bottle and glasses on the vanity, “but your body says something entirely different.”

“What about you? The man who claims to be wary of witches and yet you were the one to ask me to take off my white light so you could get closer.”

“Touché. You don’t have a lot of fear, do you?”

“You keep assuming I should fear you. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

There was. She could tell in his pause. Must be that thing he said he’d wanted to ask her, but that would make her not like him. Should she ask him about it? Asking might bring whatever they’d started to a screeching halt. Must be the history he had with witches. Well, she’d have to change his mind and teach him that some witches were trustworthy.

Tamatha stood and placed a hand on her hip as she paced before the couch. “Let’s make a deal. We both want something from each other, yes? And whatever it is you want from me, I am going to assume it’s not a simple office cleansing.”

He nodded and swiped a palm over his mouth, and behind that swipe she saw his smoldering smirk. It was sexy, yet secretive, and the unspoken lust in his eyes made her heart thunder and parts of her simmer and grow wet. Oh, so wet.

“Whatever you want from me is a doozy,” she decided.

“On the scale of trivial to doozy, I’d say you are correct.”

“Must be dark and dangerous if you’re so nervous about it.”

“I’m not nervous. Nervous is not a word in my vocabulary. I am confident.”

“If a trifle cautious.”

“Caution is smart.”

“Like I said, I can read a person, and you are nervous. You can’t stand close to me. You keep touching your face, fidgeting. And you won’t look me in the eye.”

“And you are too perceptive. But I’ll let it go because you’re so pretty.”

She twirled a finger within her hair. “You think?”

He clasped his hands together before his mouth and considered it a moment. Were it not for the black markings, he would appear a businessman standing in his high-tech office. An organization that sought peace? Dare she believe such a ruse?

“I need a witch,” he finally said. “At least, I think I do. It’s to do with my mission to keep the peace.”