Old Demon and the Sea Witch (Welcome to Hell #9) - Eve Langlais Page 0,20
soggy self. “You’re right. That was fun.”
A hand skimmed down her body and sluiced the water to the floor. She glared at me, then broke into a chuckle. In moments, she was laughing hard. “You are not that shy librarian anymore, are you?”
“Nope. Just like you’re not a junior witch. Rumor has it you’re pretty badass.”
She rolled a shoulder and offered a preening smile. “I do all right.”
I wound the towel around my waist before approaching her. “I wasn’t kidding before. I’d like to get to know the new you.”
“You might not like her,” she said softly, staring at me.
“Actually, I am thinking that I might like her quite a bit.”
Dottie stood framed in the doorway, so I bracketed the opening with a hand on each side. I leaned into her, bending down to bring our faces close.
“You are much too cocky for my liking.”
“I would have said just cocky enough.” I leaned in and kissed her.
We both had our eyes open, Dottie’s wide. I tasted her immediate surprise as she drew in a sharp breath.
I winked. And whispered, “Kiss me back.”
“No.”
“Weren’t you the one saying I never took the initiative?”
“It’s too late now.”
“Are you sure?” I said, pulling back a bit so only my breath fluttered over her lips.
“I don’t even know if I like you,” she grumbled, yanking me back and pressing her mouth to mine. She kissed me, and not just a quick peck.
Her lips were soft and plush as they explored mine. Teasing me, tasting me, her hands roaming my body, skimming over my skin. Grabbing my ass through the towel.
She reminded me what if felt like to be a young man enraptured by a woman to the point where the barest touch enflamed.
When Dottie pulled away, she left me panting. My body was flushed with arousal, and the towel fell, pulled free by my erection.
She appeared only a little disheveled as she eyed me. “Do you always look like that after a kiss?”
As if my world exploded? “What do you think?” I growled. Did she yet understand just how much she affected me?
Apparently not, because she said, “If this is your standard kissing face, then at least you are not fooling around with Lucifer’s wife.”
The very idea had me losing my happy vibe and saying, “Excuse me?”
“I had to know for sure. And it seems you were telling the truth because your kissing face is nothing like your oh-shit-I-almost-got-caught face.”
I gaped at her. “You kissed me as a test?”
“Just making sure you weren’t being dumb.”
“Where would you even get the idea that I was sleeping with Gaia?”
“People talk.”
“No one is talking, because no one but you knows she was here. And how did you even…?” I groaned. “Lucifer. Don’t tell me he’s harassing you, too.”
“When isn’t he being a demanding devil?”
“What does he want from you?”
“I told you, he’s matchmaking again.” She snorted. “Me and you. As if that would work.”
“Don’t be so sure that’s what he wants. When your precious lord visited me, he didn’t say anything to me about you. He just told me to keep an eye out for hinky shit.”
“Hinkier than your nephew turning monster of the deep?” Dottie queried, the note of it high-pitched. “The boy almost drowned my Jane this morning.”
I winced. “Ian’s having a tough time. Turns out he married a woman last night. A Farseer, as a matter of fact.”
Dottie stared a moment before exclaiming, “He broke the curse!”
“Not quite. Marriage is only part of it. She needs to love him, too.”
“I have a spell that can help with that,” she mused aloud.
I shook my head. “Can’t be magic. It has to be real.”
“I know,” she muttered. “Curses are a delicate thing to play with. Could do more harm than good. But there must be a loophole. Maybe I could peek at him again.”
“I’ll see if I can arrange it. Ian’s been hard to track down of late. When he’s not off being a kraken, I think the plan is to woo his wife.” I kept hoping it would be enough, but he was running out of time, and the curse had yet to show signs of faltering.
“What were Lucifer’s exact orders to you?” Dottie asked, choosing to sit in a chair, putting herself out of reach.
Since my nudity wasn’t sending her into flaming puddles of desire, I went for clothes.
“I told you, I am supposed to watch for weird shit. He thinks there’s something bad coming to get him.”
“There’s always something bad coming to get him.