She needed to change her jeans, which were soaked through at the seat from the wet grass. But first…
She unhooked Pers from his leash and let him roam free inside the store. She went upstairs and stopped before Julie’s altar, which sat on a dresser in the living room.
It was one of the things she didn’t have the heart to move yet.
She took the piece of paper and put it on the altar, weighed down with a small amethyst crystal. Eventually, she’d put her own altar there, with some of Julie’s pieces incorporated.
For now, this felt right. “I’ll believe, Julie,” she said, “but there’s only so much my frayed nerves can take.”
She was downstairs working on paperwork when Sachi arrived an hour early. Sachi leaned against the office doorway. “So?”
“What?”
“Any new developments since last night? Any unintentional orgies I should know about?”
“Perv.” But she smiled.
Sachi grinned. “Hey, at least one of us is getting lucky around here. I think tomorrow night’s gathering needs to include a ‘sex magick 101’ chant or something for the rest of us suffering through a dry spell.”
Mandaline had made the mistake of trying to sip her coffee. She managed to get most of it back into her mug as she laughed without choking or spewing it all over the computer. “And how, exactly, do you plan to do that?”
Sachi made a serious face and held her arms up toward the ceiling. “Oh, hail, Dildous, god of the Mighty O. Send us your celestial vibrations.”
Pers came running at the sound of Mandaline’s peals of laughter.
Sachi grinned and pointed at her. “You think I’m kidding. You just wait and see. I’m going to do it.”
“I believe you. That’s what’s got me worried.”
A little after nine o’clock, Mandaline still worked in the office when she heard the front-door bell tinkle. She heard Sachi greet the customer, then a familiar voice sounded. “Can I speak with Mandaline?”
Ellis.
She jumped up and nearly ran into Sachi, who was coming through the doorway. She tried to ignore the sexy mraoow Sachi made under her breath as they did a quick back-and-forth dance while Mandaline tried to get past her and out of the office.
She pasted on a smile that was probably too big. “Hi, Ellis. How are you?”
“Good. Um, can we talk for a minute?” He glanced at Sachi. “Alone?”
“Sure.” She led him back to the smaller room and shut the door behind them. “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Brad had a seizure this morning.”
She gasped. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he wouldn’t let me call an ambulance. He forgot to take his meds last night.”
A wave of guilt washed through her. She could guess why he’d forgotten. “If you want to cancel tonight, I understand.”
“No, I just wanted to let you know what was going on. It’s been like a year since he last had a seizure. I don’t know if it’s related to everything else going on right now or not.” He looked like he wanted to say something else. He reached out and touched her arm. “Look, I—”
Holy fuck! She stared up into his blue eyes, transfixed. She knew what was going on and had already prepared herself for it even though she hadn’t honestly expected it to happen.
She usually wasn’t that lucky. Yet the white-hot sensation, centered over her clit, poured through her body.
She waited for Ellis to make the first move. He grabbed her with his other hand and pulled her to him, crushing her lips with his.
She let out a soft moan as her arms found their way around his neck. He wrapped his around her, grinding himself against her. She felt the stiff bulge of his cock rubbing against her through his slacks.
Christ, they’re both big!
He tasted like coffee, and she could smell the shampoo he’d used that morning. His cheek felt smooth, freshly shaven. He turned and backed her toward the table. They’d almost reached it when she heard a cell phone ring.
She opened her eyes to see him still only touching her arm with the one hand, a look of disbelief and shock on his face.
He let go of her as if scalded before he fumbled in his pocket for his cell phone. He glanced at the screen before silencing it.
Their eyes met. He licked his lips, started to say something, then changed his mind.
She wouldn’t say it. He was the skeptic, so he’d have to say it.
“I…uh…” He stared at her.
She nodded. “Yep.”
“I…We’ll see you tonight.” Before she could stop him, he had the door open and hurried out.
Mandaline drifted over to the table and collapsed into one of the chairs. She had trouble filling her lungs.
She still felt the warmth of his lips on hers.
Sachi stuck her head in the doorway. “You okay, boss?”
Mandaline slowly shook her head.
Sachi frowned, then her eyes widened. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her, leaning against it. “Oh, frak! It happened again, didn’t it?”
Mandaline slowly nodded.
She grinned. “That’s great!”
“Great?” Sachi’s enthusiasm had finally broken through Mandaline’s stupor. “What’s so damn great about it?”
“Oh, please. Spare me. Have you seen those two hunks? Damn, you lucky bitch, I’d gladly be the filling in their sandwich.”
Ellis practically ran down the sidewalk toward his office. FuckfuckfuckfuckFUCK!
He had no idea what happened. One second he was talking with Mandaline, and the next it was like he’d stuck his dick in a light socket and all hell broke loose. He would have sworn he’d grabbed her and kissed her, but then when his phone rang, they were still just standing there.
She’d looked as shocked as him. But it hadn’t happened.
Had it?
He barely slowed as he passed the receptionist. “Hold my calls, please.” He rushed into his office and slammed the door shut, locking it behind him.
Collapsing into his chair, he tried to slow his racing heart.
Okay, think this through, Fargo. You didn’t really kiss her. You were just standing there talking with her. You must have imagined it.
He tried to latch on to that thought, even though it didn’t feel completely right.
And his cock still uncomfortably throbbed inside his briefs.
“It was my imagination working overtime,” he whispered aloud. “That’s all.” He’d met a really sweet woman he felt extremely attracted to. It didn’t help he’d had all sorts of sexy dreams about her the night before. In fact, until he’d heard Brad collapse, he’d been thinking about waking up enough to rub one out before his shower, with Mandaline as the star of his sexy fantasy.
“That’s all it was,” he said with a little more conviction. “Just my imagination.”
He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let it out again. “Just my imagination.”
Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure he believed that.
And still, his cock throbbed.
It’s going to be a long damn day.
Mandaline finally made it back to her office. She needed to call Brad, both to check on him and to tell him what just happened with Ellis.
She grabbed her cell phone and let out a little yelp when it rang in her hand. Brad’s number appeared on the screen.
She stuck out her foot and shoved the office door shut with her toe before she answered. “That’s freaky. I was literally just getting ready to call you. Had the phone in my hand.”