Chapter 25
“You don’t need him to do a barrier spell.
” Briggs pulled into a parking spot in front of the potions shop.
That there was a spot this close to the shop was in itself magic.
It was Friday afternoon, and the potions shop was smack dab in the middle of a popular shopping area for the paranormal.
Both the potion shop and the surrounding shops had a steady flow of customers.
He scanned the area and lowered the window to take a deep inhale of the cold air.
“I do. I’m not powerful enough to do the spell myself,” Cece said.
“A barrier spell doesn’t need to be done at all,” Briggs said, before closing the window.
“You know that’s not true. Unless you agree to lock your bedroom door at night?” Cece asked.
Briggs shook his head. As much as he didn’t want Monroe anywhere near Cece’s bedroom, locking his door wasn’t an option. “No, I won’t do that.”
“Then the barrier spell is the solution,” Cece said. Her phone chimed, and she glanced at the screen. “Monroe just texted me back and can stop by tonight to do the spell.”
The growl slipped out before he could stop it. Cece glanced at him, and despite knowing it was none of his fucking business, he said, “You need to have your room tidy before he goes in it.”
She burst into laughter. “Okay, Mom. And my room is tidy, thank you very much.”
“Don’t have your… things where he can see them… it,” Briggs said.
She stared at him in confusion. “What things?”
“Your…” he made a motion with his hand, “thing.”
Her confusion radiating from her, Cece said, “You’ll need to be more specific.”
“Your vibrator!”
Her mouth dropped open, and her cheeks went a fiery red as Briggs said, “Don’t leave your vibrator on the goddamn nightstand. I don’t want him picturing how you look using it like I-”
He cut himself off abruptly, but the damage was done.
Her eyes wide, Cece said, “Have you, um, pictured me using it?”
“Only every fucking night,” he said.
She swallowed hard at his admission, and his bear chuffed to her when the scent of her excitement laced with a tinge of embarrassment drifted to them.
“Are you being for real right now?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said.
She tugged at a small snag in her jeans. “I haven’t, uh… I haven’t used it since the day you saw it.”
“That’s a shame,” he said. “Your pretty pussy should have something filling it every night.”
“Briggs,” she said, her tone scandalized, but with a needy edge to it that he found very appealing.
“Why aren’t you using it, baby?” he asked.
“Because I know you have amazing hearing, and I would die of embarrassment if you heard me masturbating.”
He grinned wickedly at her. “I have zero problems listening to you touch your pussy, little witch.”
“Oh my god,” she breathed. “I couldn’t… I mean… wait, are you masturbating?”
His grin widened. “Not at your house, but I went through an entire bottle of lotion the last two nights at mine.”
“Briggs!” She giggled nervously, her hand still fiddling with the snag on her pants. “You did not.”
“It was a giant lotion bottle,” he said with zero shame.
She giggled again. “It’s embarrassing how jealous I am.”
“Then you should use your vibrator.”
“Right. While you listen,” she said.
“While I watch.”
Her pretty mouth dropped open again, and fuck, a man only had so much willpower. Shoving away the image of him sliding his dick between her lips, he said, “Only if you want me to, little witch.”
Her tongue slid along that full bottom lip, and he had to swallow his groan. He reached down and adjusted his suddenly rock-hard dick, as Cece tracked the movement like a predator.
“You really want to watch me do that?” she asked.
“You have no idea how much, baby,” he said.
“I think I… would like that.” Her voice was soft and low, but he had no trouble hearing it.
Fresh excitement washed over him, and any fucking minute now his cock was gonna tear through his jeans.
“Tonight,” he said, “after the warlock leaves.”
She nodded, her dark eyes locked on his. He held her gaze for nearly a minute before he muttered a curse. “I need to get out of this truck before I fuck you, little witch.”
She drew in a shuddering breath. “Ditto.”
He opened his door and slid out of the truck. “Give me a couple of minutes to confirm it’s safe.”
She nodded, and he closed the door against the scent of her need and his overwhelming desire to take her.
“God, Cece, I’m sorry.” Charissa gave her a sympathetic look. “It’s been a hellish couple of weeks for you.”
“I’ve had better,” Cece said. She’d just spent the last twenty minutes giving Charissa an abridged version of what was going on, and to her relief, Charissa hadn’t questioned any of it. Not even Willow’s ability to communicate with ghosts or Cece’s dead aunt reaching out beyond the grave.
“And you’re certain it’s your family who are after you?” Charissa asked.
“I mean… my aunt certainly thought so, but I don’t have any actual proof,” Cece said.
“Have you thought about reaching out to them?”
“I considered it, but Briggs doesn’t think it’s a good idea.”
Charissa glanced at Briggs. Charissa had led Cece to the wall of packaged herbs and other plants to chat in privacy, and the polar bear shifter stood a few feet away.
He was watching Cece, but - a smile crept onto Cece’s face - an ancient-looking witch with brown skin, a rich red cloak, and an elaborate walking stick was talking animatedly to him.
The top of her head was roughly in line with Briggs’s navel, and Cece’s grin widened when the witch gave Briggs a hard poke in the stomach.
He stared down at the witch, and she gestured wildly with her free hand before running it across his flat stomach. She grinned toothlessly as Briggs gave her a confused look.
Charissa laughed softly. “Oh goddess, Agatha is hitting on your bodyguard.”
“Briggs looks so confused,” Cece laughed.
“He’ll figure it out when she grabs his ass,” Charissa said. “I’ve had to threaten to ban her a few times from the store when she’s been inappropriate with other customers. We need to make sure Briggs doesn’t drink anything she offers him. It’ll absolutely be laced with a love potion.”
“Holy shit,” Cece said. “How old is Agatha?”
“Eighty-seven,” Charissa said. “But she assures me she’s very active in the bedroom.”
Cece snorted laughter. “Good for her?”
“Very good for her,” Charissa said. “But back to your family. Maybe you should contact them.”
“I don’t know,” Cece said. “As I said, Briggs doesn’t -”
“Just because the guy is in love with you doesn’t mean he can tell you what to do,” Charissa said.
Cece blinked at her. She hadn’t told Charissa about Briggs being her conduit and didn’t plan to. “He isn’t in love with me.”
“He looks at you like he is,” Charissa said.
“We barely know each other,” Cece said.
Charissa shrugged. “It’s called love at first sight.”
Cece stared at Charissa. The witch had always come across as very practical and level-headed, and she was the last person Cece would suspect who believed in love at first sight. But, then again, she didn’t know Elora’s boss all that well.
Charissa grinned at Cece. “I’m a closet romantic.”
She toyed with the witch’s knot pendant that hung around her neck. The red jewel gleamed against her dark skin, and she rubbed it absently with her thumb as she studied Briggs. “He’s obsessed with you, Cece. You don’t need magic to see that.”
Agatha was now leading Briggs to a shelf holding numerous bottles of different coloured liquids. He glanced at Cece, and she gave him a nod and the thumbs up, trying to keep the smile from her face at Briggs’s exasperated look.
“And you’re obsessed with him,” Charissa said.
Cece thought briefly of telling Charissa about Briggs being her conduit and that was the reason for the obsession, but, truthfully, she wasn’t entirely certain that was true anymore. At least not on her end.
“The tension between you two suggests you’re not giving in to that simmering attraction,” Charissa said.
“It’s complicated,” Cece said.
Charissa gave her arm a quick squeeze. “Sorry, it’s none of my business. Any chance you’ve heard from Elora? If she’s on her way home, then she could help you with this if it is your family.”
“I haven’t heard a word,” Cece said, trying not to sound dejected. But holy fuck, she missed her best friend.
Charissa nodded. “Not unexpected. The Rituals of Azeri are very involved and can take months.”
“Months?” Cece said. “Really?”
“Yes,” Charissa said. “It’s intense, but with how quickly Elora came into her full power, her grandmother is right to make her do the Rituals.”
“I know, I just… miss her,” Cece said.
“Me too,” Charissa said. “The shop isn’t the same without her.”
“Speaking of the shop… have you hired a temp for Elora’s job?”
“I have,” Charissa confirmed.
“Okay.” Cece wasn’t surprised, but she could hear the disappointment in her voice. There’d been a tiny part of her that hoped Charissa hadn’t filled it yet. Working at the potions shop would give her some income and stave off homelessness for at least a couple of months.
“Sorry, Cece,” Charissa said. “I assume you haven’t found a new job yet?”
“No,” Cece said. “But it’s only been a few days. I’m sure I’ll find something.”
Charissa studied her for a minute before saying, “You want to eventually move into making potions for money, right? I’m sure Elora mentioned that to me.”
“I would like to,” Cece said.
“I could hire you to make some potions.”
“I appreciate the thought, but my magic isn’t nearly strong enough to create potions for your customers,” Cece said.
It would be if she fucked Briggs, but, unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. She studied Briggs’s thick thighs and perfect ass as Agatha gestured wildly to the bottle of liquid she now held, and he nodded.
“Cece, focus,” Charissa laughed.
“Sorry.” She dragged her gaze from Briggs. “Thank you for considering me for potions, but -”
“I have a backlog of customers looking for folk magic potions,” Charissa said.
“You do?”