Devi's Bliss: Books 4-6

by Mika Lane

  Gaia wanted to return to her steaming to get the horrendous task out of the way. But Tabitha always told her to stay in the front of the store when there were customers in case someone needed help. Even if they were snippy…

  So she began re-folding the panties on one of the display tables, not that they really needed it. But things could always be a bit tidier. Outside, the streets were getting busy with lunch-goers.

  The store’s phone rang, and Gaia ran for it.

  “Hello?” she said into the cordless handset. “Hello?”

  No response.

  “Hello?” she repeated, peeking at her watch. When would Tabitha be in?

  “Hello, is there anybody there—”

  What?

  Gaia watched in disbelief as Cranky Customer scooped up a handful of the silk panties that had just been folded and deposited them into her tote bag. Her other hand held her cell phone to her ear. Just as she finished her heist, she looked at her phone and with her sticky fingers, swiped it closed. She made for the door.

  “Excuse me!” called Gaia.

  She picked up her pace.

  But Gaia was faster. Even in her stilettos.

  “Miss…excuse me, Miss—”

  Just as the customer started to push the door to exit, Tabitha appeared on the other side of it, pushing in to enter. That gave Gaia just enough time to grab the open edge of the woman’s bag so she couldn’t move any farther.

  “What do you think you are doing?” she spat at Gaia.

  Tabitha, looking puzzled, watched from the other side of the door. Her eyes moved from Gaia, to the customer, then back to Gaia.

  “Ma’am,” Gaia said, “I saw you place merchandise in your bag.”

  The woman tried to wrest her bag out of Gaia’s grip. “How dare you—”

  “Excuse me!” Tabitha had managed to squeeze inside. “What’s going on here?”

  The two sisters exchanged glances. Tabitha immediately grasped the situation.

  “This customer has something she needs to return to us,” Gaia said, keeping her hand on the woman’s bag.

  The shoplifter continued her attempts to free herself but Gaia’s grip only tightened.

  “I’m sure there must be some sort of misunderstanding,” Tabitha said from her spot between the woman and the door. “Miss, if you’d let me peek in your bag for a sec, we can show my employee she’s wrong, and you can be on your way.”

  Ahhh. Good cop, bad cop!

  The woman huffed in indignation and continued the tug of war playing out on her bag. “I will not show you the contents of my bag. It is none of your goddamned business what is in my bag.”

  Gaia huffed with indignity. “I saw you. Now return our merchandise, or I will call the police.”

  Sandwiched between them, the woman looked from one sister to the other. She was trapped, actually—Gaia blocked entrance into the store, and Tabitha blocked the way out. With one more unsuccessful yank of her bag, she released her grasp on it, leaving it hanging from Gaia’s hand. Taking advantage of the element of surprise, the woman shoved Tabitha out of the way and charged the door.

  “Hey!” Gaia yelled.

  With a clear path, she bolted out into the street.

  Bag of stolen goods in hand, Gaia saw the shock on her sister’s face.

  And then she started to laugh. It began as silent shaking, and she pulled her hand to her mouth. “You…you should see your face,” Gaia howled.

  Tabitha’s expression changed from shock to confusion. With eyebrows furrowed, the reality of the situation seemed to slowly dawn on her. “What is so funny, you goofball? She could have had a gun!”

  That sent Gaia over the edge. She doubled over, trying desperately to speak between gasps of breath. “I…I seriously doubt…that someone stealing silk panties…has a gun on their person.” Between trying to catch her breath and wiping tears from her eyes, she looked at her sister.

  Tabitha finally saw levity of the situation.

  “We’re….we’re a regular Cagney and Lacy team!” Gaia shrieked.

  Joining Gaia’s hysterics, Tabitha had to grip the wall to remain upright. “Oh my god. The look on her face. I mean, who steals freaking panties?”

  Gaia caught her breath and pulled the panties from the abandoned tote bag. “Well, she left us this nice, pleather tote. Big spender, that one.”

  With that, both sisters fell into another fit of laughter.

  “Oh, my,” Tabitha said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “That was something. Glad it doesn’t happen all the time.” She settled in behind the wrap desk, put on her glasses, and started typing on the shop’s iMac. “Hey, I heard you come in late last night. You must be exhausted.”

  Gaia’s face lit up with a smile.

  The plane, the skybox, the game…

  “Okay, spill it.” Tabitha removed her glasses and studied her.

  “Get this, Tab. We flew in a private plane to the Lakers game. In LA.”

  Tabitha’s mouth dropped open. “Get the hell outta here.”

  Gaia filled her sister in on the evening, from the center court seats, to the VIP lounge, to the celebrity sightings—keeping a few choice details private, of course.

  And suddenly Dan was back in her thoughts.

  “Holy shit! Tell me you’re gonna see him again.”

  Gaia’s smiled wavered for a moment when her stomach did a flip-flop. “Um, yeah, of course. I mean, I guess so.” She turned away and headed back to her steaming.

  What the hell?

  But Tabitha was right behind her. “Wait a minute. Can we talk about this?”

  “There’s really nothing to talk about.” Gaia picked up the steamer and returned to the silk gowns.

  “Gaia, c’mon. I know it’s not been easy, getting back out there after…” her voice trailed off and she looked down at her hands.

  “You can say his name, you know. It was Dan, remember?”

  Tabitha looked as if someone had slapped her across the face. “Hey, I lost someone, too. I lost my brother-in-law.”

  “Yeah, well. You didn’t lose your husband.”

  “You’re right. I didn’t.” Tabitha took a deep inhale, and ran her hand down Gaia’s hair. “I didn’t. I know how hard it’s been on you. I can see it.”

  She shrugged. “Then, don’t push me. I’m not diving into a relationship just because everyone thinks I should. I still love Dan.”

  “I know, sweetie. I know.”

  Finished steaming, Gaia put the new nighties on display.

  “Hey, I have something to tell you,” Tabitha called across the shop after another male customer left with a large bag of gifts for his “wife.”

  Gaia leaned onto the wrap desk. “What’s up?”

  “I talked to the bank today. I’m going to try to buy the building.”

  “What? This building? Are you kidding me?” She threw her arms around her sister.

  “I know, right? I’m really excited. I talked to the investors who helped me open the shop. They’re interested. I have a call in to the attorney representing the sale of the building. It may not be too late.”

  “Oh my god. That is amazing.” All the possibilities ran through her mind again…she and her sister selling sweet nothings well into their eccentric old age…from the number one lingerie shop in all San Francisco…maybe even the entire country…

  Gaia glanced at her watch. “Oh, geez, I gotta run. I’m covering for Jewel. She’s at class.”

  “Thanks for helping me today,” Tabitha said as she threw her arms around Gaia. “And thank you for helping me catch that thief.”

  “Well, I’m not sure I’d say we actually caught her. But we got our stuff back.” Gaia laughed. “And she gifted us her tote bag. So we came out ahead. Maybe it’s a sign of good things to come.”

  Gaia kissed her sister goodbye. As she walked out into the afternoon sunlight, the door jingled shut behind her. She pulled on her sunglasses, grateful the day’s fog had burned off. However, i
n spite of the sunny day, something pecked at her, something she wanted to brush off, but couldn’t. It was like when her cell phone rang somewhere in the house but she couldn’t find it. It would just keep ringing away. Whatever was bugging her was just like that. She wanted to turn it off, but first she had to find it.

  Thanks to an unusual absence of traffic on the typically busy San Francisco streets, Gaia arrived at work with time to spare. No matter. She’d enjoy the spa just as one of the guests might, with its oversized teak furniture and bamboo plantings swaying in the overhead fans’ breeze. Every component of the Devi’s spa experience was well thought out, from the essential oils in air, to the plush cotton robes, to the meditative music floating from the spa’s hidden speakers. But of course, the best part was getting a massage by one of Devi’s girls.

  “Hey, Devi.” Gaia, just arrived, leaned over the counter toward her boss.

  “How may I help you, Miss Raven?” Devi put on her best faux-stern face.

  But Gaia was not deterred. She adored her boss, like all the girls did. “Just saying hi. I was at my sister’s today.”

  “Oh, right, your sister with the shop on Union Square.” Devi put down her pen and focused on Gaia. “How’re things there?”

  “Well, thank you for asking. Business-wise, it’s great. The location gets steady traffic, and she’s already repaid her investors. But it looks like she might need to go back to them.”

  “Really?” Devi asked. “Why is that?”

  “Well, remember I told you how great the shop’s location is? It turns out someone else thinks it’s great, too, and has bought the building.”

  Devi’s brows wrinkled. “But can’t the shop just stay? Regardless of the change in ownership?”

  “That’s what we thought. My sister was ready to sign a new lease. But…come to find out, the new owner wants to use it for his own business. Tech offices or something like that.”

  “I’ll be damned.” Devi shook her head. “As if we business owners don’t have enough to worry about already…” She looked up at Gaia, brow furrowed.“So what’s your sis going to do?”

  “Buy the building.”

  “Whoa. Can she do that?”

  “I think she just might be able to. With the help of a couple investors who really believe in her.”

  “No kidding. Well, good for her. I wonder if Ruth and I could pitch in a bit, support the cause?” Devi said, referring to her long-term partner.

  “Devi!” Gaia pulled her hand to her heart as tears sprung to her eyes. “No way. You and Ruth are heading for retirement. Keep your money. But, thank you. I got a bit of life insurance money when Dan passed. I’ll probably contribute that.” She placed her hand over her boss’s and gave an affectionate squeeze.

  The spa’s heavy door thumped open, and Devi peered past Gaia to greet the client coming toward them. Her expression switched to all business.

  “Mr. H, good to see you,” she said. “Thanks for coming in for another visit.”

  Gaia whipped around, nearly smashing her nose into the guest. When she stumbled back with enough distance to focus, she saw that Mr. H was none other than Luke Hall of the private plane, center court seats, and VIP lounge distinction.

  “Luke!” she gasped. “What are you doing here?”

  “When you told me you were working tonight, I called for an appointment. Your proprietor here was kind enough to accommodate my request for you.” He turned to Devi and said graciously, “Thank you again.”

  “It’s my pleasure, Mr. H. Gaia was just heading to the staff room to get ready. Weren’t you, Gaia?”

  Gaia snapped back to attention, eyes wide and heart pounding. “Oh, yes, Devi. Sorry. I was just so surprised to see Luke—I mean, Mr. H. Let me get going.” She hustled down the hall.

  “Mr. H, if you will follow me, I’ll take you to the Heart Chakra room where you can get ready for your massage.”

  “Wonderful,” he said.

  At the doorway to the staff room, Gaia glanced back over her shoulder. Luke was looking straight at her with a huge grin, and he winked at her slyly.

  Why does he have to do that?

  Once in the staff room, she hurried out of her street clothes and into her white robe. Grabbing a hair clip, she parked herself in front of the vanity mirror and gathered her blazing hair into a tidy French twist.

  She studied herself for a moment. She always did her best to look nice and neat for a client, but this time she took a bit more care. Reaching into her makeup bag for mascara, she brushed on a bit, then smeared nude lipgloss on her smiling mouth.

  There.

  The trick was to look good while looking effortless. There hadn’t been many occasions recently—well, in the last two years, anyway—when she’d cared much about looking more than baseline presentable. But something was different now. As she turned from the mirror to head to Heart Chakra, tinges of hope and guilt passed through her at the same time. The dichotomy was confusing. It left her head muddled.

  Time to focus on work, and nothing else.

  She hustled down the hall and rapped three times on the treatment room door.

  “Mr. H? Luke?”

  “Enter.”

  As she slowly opened the door, her eyes adjusted to the dim. The light from scattered candles cast just enough illumination on Luke to make his nude skin glow, as if it had been painted in the thinnest layer of gilt.

  “Luke,” she said in a soft voice after she’d kicked her flip-flops into the corner. “Thank you for coming in.” Her now-bare feet came to life on the abrasive fibers of the room’s tatami floor covering.

  “Hello, gorgeous.” With his face buried in the massage cradle, his words came out sounding like he had a mouthful of marbles.

  Gaia smiled as she ran a hand along the length of his back. Her touch dipped at his sacrum and rose again over the heap of muscle that was his shapely ass. Fingers trailing light as a feather, she tickled his skin until it exploded in goosebumps and a shiver rocked him. Encouraged, she wandered along his crack to the crease that joined his ass and the back of his thighs. He parted his legs presumably to make room for a growing erection, just as the tingle between her own legs burst like a small firecracker.

  With palms full of massage oil, she made long strokes from his neck to as far as she could reach in the opposite direction. Back and forth, she swayed in a spellbinding rhythm.

  Unexpectedly, his hand gripped hers. He’d flipped over so fast, his erection bounced from his belly button to his thigh and back. Her heart pounded in anticipation of…whatever could be next.

  “C’mere,” he said in a low growl. He pulled her down to his mouth and devoured her lips until she could barely breathe. She wrestled herself from him and smiled.

  The activity pulled her robe to one side, leaving a breast and a very erect nipple close to his face. His hand flew to the pale flesh, pulling it into his mouth with a force that made her moan.

  “God, baby…” she murmured.

  Releasing her, Luke looked around the room. He jumped off the massage table and led her to the simple wooden chair in the corner. In one swoop, he sent the chair’s small pile of clean towels flying. He sat, positioning her right in front of him.

  He pushed her robe open and let it slide off her shoulders to the floor. He sucked in his breath as his gaze wandered from the glossy hair that had tumbled from its tidy twist, to her swollen red lips, to her light-pink nipples, and on to her creamy white thighs. He looked up at her with an appreciation unlike anything she’d experienced in…well, in a couple long years.

  Luke’s admiration brought back a sense of an earlier time, when Gaia waltzed through life as though nothing could ever hurt her. Little had she known…

  But now was the time to relish all that Luke was offering her.

  He pulled her close and feathered wet kisses across her abdomen and up to her breasts. He took her pale globes in his mouth one at a time, licking and nibbling until she was dizzy. She gripped his shoulders to
remain upright.

  Pulling back, his gaze wandered to her lacy panty, one of the many beauties from her sister’s shop. With his hands on her hips, he ran his thumbs over the delicate edging and up to the tiny embroidered rose on the waistband.

  It feels damn good to be admired.

  His fingers moved at an agonizing pace to the legs of the panty, sliding under their edges and back out. Gaia cocked her hips toward him an imperceptible amount, quietly begging for more attention.

  In a swift move, he yanked the panties to her knees and his thumbs inched toward her clit. Her breath came in rasps as her pussy throbbed, silently crying for the relief that only his attention would bring.

  As he moved farther south, his thumbs gently pried open her lips. He leaned back for a better view of her most private parts, now swollen with lust and glistening with desire.

  His tongue savored a long, slow taste of her swollen flesh and pink pussy. She stood before him on quivering legs that she hoped would not fail her. To offer more access, she lifted one knee and placed it on the edge of his chair. He moaned at this offering of her sex and pushed his tongue so deeply into her folds she cried out. Gripping fistfuls of his hair, she ground into his face, her eruption getting closer.

  With one hand on her ass, his other wandered between her legs. His tongue remained between her lips, sliding up and down her slit, tormenting her explosive nub.

  He found his way among her folds and paused at the opening of her pussy. She rocked forward just enough so that just his fingertips entered. At her invitation, he drove two fingers deep inside. Her head snapped back, and she lowered herself to accept as much of him as she could into her slick channel. She leaned on him for balance and her other hand flew to her breast. She began to torment her nipple, pulling and twisting as if to offset the delirium between her legs.

  As Luke finger-banged her, wetness dripped from her pussy, falling to his feet below. With one last plunge, he drove his fingers inside and held them there, aiming for the spot that always made her scream.

  How did he know…?

  And scream she did. It started as quiet moans and then became something like a half-laugh, half-cry. Gaia’s head bucked back and forth as she came on Luke’s hand, meeting his thrusts with a force that would later leave her sore. She humped his hand until her legs shook so violently she could no longer stand.