Chapter 4
Ash
No matter what I did, my gaze kept dropping back to his cock. It was like they had a mind of their own. They’d drift up and take in those ethereal silver eyes, the cut of his jaw, then sweep down over his firm pecs and abs before settling on his dick once more.
Goddamn he was gorgeous.
“S-Sorry…” I stammered, realizing he’d spoken to me nearly ten seconds ago and I had yet to answer. “What did you say?”
The man laughed, the smile on his face bright, perfect, and undeniably sexy. “I said you must be the new cleaning guy.”
“Oh.” Gods I was acting a damn fool in front of this man. This beautiful man. “Y-Yeah. That’s me. I…” I paused a moment, the shame settling in. “I scrub things now I guess.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” the man replied, holding out a hand. “My name’s Silver.”
“Ash,” I nodded, taking his hand. The moment our skin touched, there was a bolt of electricity that slammed through my body. Heat pooled in my groin, and I couldn’t help shifting against my uncomfortably tight jeans. “N-Nice to meet you.”
Silver’s hand was warm, his grip firm but not crushing. I couldn’t make myself let go, even though I knew I should. We stood there, my hand in his, while my brain short-circuited at the contact.
“You okay there?” Silver asked, his voice deep and smooth like aged whiskey. “You look a little flushed.”
I finally managed to release his hand, immediately missing the contact. “I’m fine. Just... wasn’t expecting to walk in on anyone. Coach Flannery said everyone would be gone by nine.”
“Coach likes to think we move faster than we do,” Silver replied with a casual shrug that made water droplets cascade down his purple skin. He still hadn’t wrapped the towel around himself. “Especially when we’re all hungover from the stoplight party.”
My eyes betrayed me again, dropping to his cock. It was thick and impressive, even soft, a deeper shade of purple than the rest of him with a pink head that made my mouth water. I forced my gaze back up to his face, mortified by my own lack of control.
“I should really come back later,” I muttered, taking another step backward. My heel caught on the edge of the bucket, nearly sending me sprawling across the wet tile floor.
Silver moved with surprising speed, catching my wrist and swinging me into his arms before I could hit the floor. “Careful there,” he said, his face suddenly much closer to mine. I could see droplets of water clinging to his white eyelashes. “Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself on your first day.”
Oh fuck. Oh gods. Oh… this was nice.
“How did you know it’s my first day?” I asked, trying desperately to focus on his words and not the fact that his naked body was now pressed against me. Or the fact that his dick was just barely grazing my forearm.
He smiled, and gods help me, it was like the sun breaking through clouds. “Just a guess. I know most of the staff around here, and I definitely would have remembered you.”
Was he... flirting with me? No, that couldn’t be right. Guys like him didn’t flirt with guys like me. He was probably just being nice to the help.
“I should really let you finish getting dressed,” I said, my voice coming out higher than I intended. “I’ve got a lot of cleaning to do.”
“Don’t let me stop you,” Silver replied, finally stepping back and casually draping the towel over his shoulder rather than wrapping it around his waist. “I’m in no hurry.”
He walked past me toward his locker, giving me an unobstructed view of his perfectly sculpted ass. I stood frozen, mop in hand, wondering what I’d done in a past life to deserve this exquisite torture.
“So, Ash,” Silver called over his shoulder as he opened his locker. “You’re a student here, right? Not just staff?”
I swallowed hard, trying to compose myself. “Yeah. Sophomore. I’m studying shadow magic.”
“Shadow magic?” Silver turned to face me, genuine interest flickering across his features. “That’s really rare. Damn near unheard of, especially in humans.”
I nodded, unsure of what to say. Not everyone responded well to my kind of magic.
Silver cocked his head, studying me with new interest. “You don’t look like you’re from one of the old mixed families. They’re usually a bit more...” he gestured vaguely with his hand, “goth.”
“I’m not,” I admitted, trying to focus on our conversation rather than his nakedness. “My family doesn’t have a lot of magic at all anymore. I’m the first to show this kind of power as far as I know.”
“That’s impressive,” Silver said, and he actually sounded like he meant it. “Most witches come from powerful families and inherit all their power. But to have raw talent, let alone shadow magic… that’s pretty cool.”
I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. Nobody ever complimented my magic except Professor Blackwood. Most people heard “shadow magic” and immediately assumed I was practicing dark arts.
“It’s not that big a deal,” I mumbled, fidgeting with the mop handle. “I’m still learning.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Silver said, finally—thank the gods—pulling on a pair of black boxer briefs that hugged his muscular thighs. “Rare talents deserve recognition. I’m not sure I even fully understand shadow magic, but I know it’s a special gift. Make sure you nurture it.”
I watched as he continued dressing, pulling on jeans and a tight T-shirt that showed off his broad shoulders. Each movement was fluid and confident, like he knew exactly how good he looked and was completely comfortable in his skin.
“So, you’re on the football team?” I asked, desperate to keep the conversation going even though I should have been cleaning.
Silver nodded, running a hand through his damp white hair. “Yeah. Just got made captain, actually.”
“Congratulations,” I said, genuinely impressed. “That’s a big deal, right?”
“It is,” he agreed, a flash of something uncertain crossing his face before his easy smile returned. “Just means I have to be even more responsible now.”
“I’m sure you’ll be great at it,” I said, then immediately wanted to kick myself. Could I sound any more pathetic?
Silver laughed, the sound echoing off the tiled walls. “You don’t even know me. I could be terrible.”
“You just... seem like you’d be good at it,” I shrugged, feeling my cheeks heat up again. “You have that... leader vibe.”
“Leader vibe?” Silver raised an eyebrow, looking amused. “Is that your professional assessment, shadow witch?”
“Absolutely,” I replied, feeling a small spark of confidence. “I can see auras pretty easily. Yours screams ‘bossy.’”
I had no idea where that came from. I never bantered with attractive guys. Hell, I never even talk to them if I can avoid it. But something about Silver made me want to impress him, to keep his attention on me just a little longer.
Silver’s eyes widened in surprise before he burst out laughing.
“Bossy? That’s a new one.” He shouldered his gym bag and took a step toward me.
“I prefer to think of it as... assertive.” He stopped only a few inches in front of me, placing his hand on my shoulder as he leaned close.
“When I want something, I do everything in my power to have it.”
I gulped audibly. He was so close. I could feel the heat of his skin, smell the sweet scent of soap rolling off him. Even this close his skin was flawless and those silver eyes seemed to see right through me.
My breath caught in my throat as his hand lingered on my shoulder, thumb grazing the edge of my collarbone. Every nerve in my body seemed to focus on that single point of contact.
“I—” I started, but words failed me. What could I possibly say to someone like him? This purple-skinned god who’d just casually implied he went after what he wanted. Was he implying that he wanted... me? No, that was ridiculous.
Silver’s eyes seemed to dance with amusement as he watched me struggle to form coherent thoughts. “You should get to your cleaning,” he said finally, his voice dropping to a whisper that sent shivers down my spine. “But I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of each other, Ash.”
The way he said my name made it sound like something precious, something worth savoring. I nodded dumbly, unable to tear my gaze away from his face.
“See you around, shadow witch,” he said with a wink, finally stepping back and breaking the spell he’d cast over me.
I watched him walk toward the exit, my heart hammering against my ribs like it was trying to escape. At the door, he paused and looked back over his shoulder. “Oh, and Ash?”
“Y-Yeah?”
His gaze flicked down to the obvious bulge in my jeans. “Those pants look good on you.”
Then he was gone, leaving me standing there clutching my mop like an idiot, my pants uncomfortably tight and my mind racing with possibilities I had no business entertaining.
A dark elf. A football captain. A guy who looked like he’d stepped straight out of my most secret fantasies. And he’d talked to me like I was worth noticing.
I leaned against the wall, trying to steady my breathing. “Get it together,” I muttered to myself. “He was just being nice. Guys like that don’t go for guys like you.”
Did he look at my dick? Yes. But was that probably just some strange dark elf custom that I didn’t understand? Maybe. Nobody had ever shown much interest in me before, so why would this guy? He was way too far out of my league for that.
But as I finally began my cleaning duties, I couldn’t help replaying every second of our interaction. The way his hand felt in mine. That bolt of electricity when our skin touched. The intense look in his silver eyes when he’d caught me staring at his cock.
Maybe I was reading too much into it. Maybe this was just how popular, attractive people behaved—confident and flirtatious with everyone they met. But a tiny part of me, the part that still believed in magic beyond the practical kind I studied, wondered if there might have been something more.
My brain was running in circles. I couldn’t accept that he was flirting, but there was too much evidence to suggest he wasn’t. My thought spiral had met a brick wall, which meant there was only one option left.
I shook my head, forcing myself to focus on the task at hand. I had a job to do, classes to prepare for, and a future to secure. I couldn’t afford to get distracted by gorgeous dark elf football captains, no matter how perfect their asses were or how their voices made my insides melt.
But as I worked, I couldn’t stop a small, hopeful smile from spreading across my face. Silver had said we’d be seeing more of each other.
And gods help me, I hoped he was right.
I spent the next hour cleaning the locker room in a daze, my mind replaying every moment with Silver on an endless loop. The way water droplets had clung to his sculpted chest. Those penetrating silver eyes that seemed to see right through me. The slight curl of his lips when he caught me staring.
Gods, I was pathetic.
By the time I finished mopping the shower area, my jeans had finally stopped feeling like they were going to burst at the seams. Small mercies.
I moved on to the toilets, grimacing as I channeled a simple cleaning spell through my fingertips.
The shadows around me rippled slightly, responding to my magic even when I wasn’t directly calling on them.
“Focus, Ash,” I muttered to myself, watching as the darkness in the corners thickened and began to scrub the porcelain under my guidance. “He’s just a guy. A really hot, confident, probably straight guy who was just being friendly.”
But the electricity I’d felt when our hands touched... that hadn’t been normal. I’d shaken hands with plenty of people before and never experienced anything like that. It was like some primal recognition, a spark that ignited something deep inside me.
My shadows faltered as my concentration slipped. Instead of scrubbing away the grime from the toilets, the shadows intensified and began to eat away at the glaze and into the porcelain.
“Shit!”
I cut the spell off early in an attempt to force the shadows back. But it was too late. There was now a small hole in the bowl of the toilet and a steady stream of water leaking out the other side.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck…” I grumbled, staring at the damage I’d done and the growing puddle on the floor. “How the hell do I fix that?!”
I walked back to the bench where I’d left my bag and pulled out the spellbook. I flipped through it, looking for some sort of repair spell to help me fix the hole in the toilet. But instead, all I stumbled upon was the author synopsis and a picture of Martha Stewart.
“Well,” I grumbled, staring at her curly blonde bob and smiling face. “That explains a lot.”