Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” rang out on her iPhone, startling her. She pulled her hand away from his arm and stood there beside the bed, staring at him, her purse still in her hand.
He stared at her with wide eyes.
She fumbled the phone from her back pocket. It was the shop. “Hello?”
“Just checking in to make sure everything’s okay, boss.” Sachi.
She turned away from Brad and used her conversation as an excuse to step out into the hallway. “Everything’s fine. I took him home. We’re here now, doing a walk-through. I wanted to do a preliminary check before I come out with equipment.”
“And…everything’s copacetic?”
Other than we were having great imaginary almost-sex before you called. “Everything’s fine. Thanks.”
“Okay. Um, hey, listen. If you don’t get back here before we close—”
“Yes, I promise I’ll call you as soon as I leave.”
She laughed. “Thanks, boss. You read my mind.”
“Duh.” She ended the call and turned around to stare at Brad through the bedroom door.
He remained rooted in place. “‘Black Magic Woman’? Really?”
“It’s the tone I use for the shop number. Everyone gets custom tones if they call me a lot.”
“What do the general rabble get?”
“You’re avoiding the topic.”
He tugged at his jeans, which sported a pronounced bulge in the front. “Yeah. Ya think?” He scrubbed at his face with his hands. “Either those need to last longer, or I’m going to have to stop coming into contact with you.” He smiled.
She took a deep breath. “Yeah. Tell me about it.” She walked into the room again. He flinched when she held up a hand to touch him. “It’s okay. We’re both experiencing it.” She reached out and gently grasped his bicep.
Zilch.
She didn’t know if he looked disappointed or relieved. Fair enough, because she felt both. “Let’s finish with the rest of this floor before you take me up to the attic,” she said.
“Okay.”
He led her around. “So what is your ring tone for everyone else?”
She pulled her iPhone out of her pocket and flipped through to Settings. The chorus of Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London,” including the aahooooh, sounded loud in the otherwise quiet house.
He laughed. “I love that song. Warren Zevon’s great. I have all his stuff. Another artist who died too young.”
“At least it wasn’t by his own stupid actions. ‘Enjoy every sandwich,’” she said before she realized what she’d said. Grief threatened to sweep over her again as she thought about Julie’s life cut all too short.
He slowly nodded. “It’s a lesson I learned all too well. Not many people get second chances, much less third ones, the way I did.”
They stopped at the bottom of another set of stairs. He looked down at her and slowly reached out to touch her arm.
Nothing.
He sighed. “I still don’t hear Julie. I haven’t heard her since right before we left your shop. I don’t think she’s the one doing it.”
“No, I don’t think she’s doing it, either. If she was doing it, she wouldn’t be mean enough to interruptus our coitus.” She laughed. “She was always trying to fix me up on dates. Lead the way.”
She followed him upstairs. He opened a door and hit a switch at the top of the stairs that illuminated the entire attic. Along two of the walls, canvasses in various stages of completion leaned against the low eaves. At either end of the space, to the east and west, large new-looking windows would obviously let in a lot of daylight. He had several work tables and easels strewn throughout the studio in no apparent order. A couch sat pushed against one wall. Next to that, a desk held a laptop as well as a TV.
“This is my lair. Welcome to my sanctuary.” He smiled. “Muwahaha.”
She laughed. “Evil genius at work?”
“Something like that.”
She saw the couch was pushed up against a short door. “What’s back there?”
“Weird little crawlspace. I don’t know why the previous owners built it like that. Haven’t decided what to do with it yet, but it’s too tiny for storage, really. Goes up under the eaves. And there’s some plumbing stubs in there for another full bathroom in that corner when we get around to it. Make life a little easier for me. That’s probably being built in the next major round of renovations.” His smile faded. “I need to show you something.”
He led her over to one stack of canvasses. Most of the artwork she could see looked beautiful. His style ranged from abstract to impressionist, to realist, in a variety of techniques, mediums, subjects, and colors.
They were all beautiful.
Until he withdrew one and turned it around to show her. This one looked bleak, with an ominous feeling to it. Several darkened, derelict buildings along a street that looked like it’d seen better times.
She shivered.
“This is one I haven’t painted over yet. There were several others that were…dark. Darker.” He swept an arm around the space. “You can see what my normal feel for a piece is. I’m all over the place. But they all have a good feel. Right?”
She looked. He was right.
“That’s what Ellis tells me,” he continued. “He’s the one that pegged it. My good stuff, it all…just feels right. It makes you feel good looking at it, even if the subject or technique doesn’t particularly flip your switch. But this…this doesn’t.”
“Do you feel anything now being up here?”
He slid the piece back into its space, sandwiched between several others. “No, not right now. Usually it takes me a while.”
She slowly walked around the space, all her senses finely tuned.
Nothing.
If she had to make a committed guess right then, she’d bet the equipment would back her up and find nothing supernatural.
“You know, maybe there’s something in the house giving off high EMF frequencies. That can cause some of what you’re experiencing. Maybe you’re really sensitive to it.”
He walked over to the couch and slumped down on it. “Still nothing, huh?”
He couldn’t lie to her. She didn’t want to lie to him. She walked over to him. “I’m sorry. But I’m still coming back with equipment,” she quickly added. “And just because I’m not feeling anything right now doesn’t mean I won’t feel anything later. Maybe it’s just not the right time of day.”
He sadly shook his head. “I feel it up here day or night.”
She knelt in front of him. “Please don’t give up yet. I haven’t.” She put her hand on his thigh.
Their eyes met and she felt her breath catch in her throat. Supernatural or not, there was something about this man she couldn’t turn away from. Both of them. But right now, Brad was the one in front of her, and that white-hot, plugged-in feeling had returned.
He reached out and stroked her cheek. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of the warmth of his flesh against hers. She leaned into his touch.
“Is…is it happening again?” he whispered. “It is, isn’t it? I feel it.”
She didn’t answer. She didn’t want to think. If it was, she wanted it to keep happening.
Warmth radiated from his body, through the soft denim of his faded jeans. She kept her eyes closed and slid both hands up his thighs until she found his zipper.
He let out a soft groan as she quickly worked by feel to unfasten his belt and open his jeans. He helped her by sliding them down his hips. She opened her eyes to find a large cock straining against the front of his briefs.
Before anything could snap her out of their illusion, she pulled his briefs down, freeing his cock. A good thick eight inches, cut. She nuzzled the head before flicking her tongue out to swipe at a drop of pre-cum at the slit.
Brad moaned, his hands on her shoulders. She glanced up to look at him, his head thrown back.
In for a penny…
Her
lips parted. She encircled the base with the fingers of one hand as she slowly took him deeper between her lips. His fingers tightened on her shoulders as another moan escaped him.
Between her legs her pussy throbbed, aching, wanting this delicious cock inside her but wanting to taste him, too. She laved her tongue over and around his cock as she worked it deeper into her mouth. Under her fingers she felt his member twitching, jerking against her with every millimeter deeper she went. And he tasted good, too. Tangy and sweetly salty, she closed her eyes again and worked her mouth up and down his shaft.
He swelled even harder against her tongue. She felt heat building in him as his release grew closer. She wanted to make him come, to get him over so at least one of them could have relief before this mirage ended.
Faster, deeper, he clutched at her shirt until he let out a soft cry. His body went rigid as his cock spasmed in her mouth. Several spurts of hot, sweet cum flowed into her mouth and she went as deep as she could while swallowing everything.
As he went limp, downstairs they heard a door close.
“Brad? You up there?” Ellis called up. “Whose car is that?”
They looked at each other. Mandaline stared up at him, feeling as horror-struck as he looked.
They both looked down to where Brad’s now-spent cock hung out of his jeans.
They looked at each other again. Together, they both said, “Shit!”
Chapter Seven
Brad took point, almost catching his cock in his zipper as he stood and frantically worked to put himself together. “Blue toothbrush is mine,” he whispered. “Go!”
He headed down the stairs at a run to intercept Ellis while Mandaline grabbed her purse and ran downstairs to duck into the bathroom.
She locked herself in. In the mirror, she looked wild-eyed and…
Well, like she’d just given a guy a blow job in his attic.
Shit!
She dropped Brad’s toothbrush in the sink three times before she managed to keep hold of it long enough to get toothpaste on it. She could still taste his cum in her mouth. Not that it was a bad taste, but she didn’t want to be talking to Ellis like that.
That was no fucking illusion!
She brushed her teeth and freshened up. Before unlocking the door she took one last look in the mirror. She wore a wide-eyed look she knew wouldn’t fool anyone with an IQ over fifty, or an age over four.
Still trembling a little, she pasted a smile on her face, tried again when that one looked a tad too manic, and unlocked the door.
Ellis was coming up the stairs, followed by Brad.
“Welcome to our humble abode,” he joked. “And thank you for bringing him home. I really appreciate it.”
“Oh, hey, he bought me dinner. I’m easy like that.” She swallowed back the laugh that wanted to burp out as, behind Ellis, Brad clapped a hand to his face. “I mean, it was my pleasure. Um, it gave me a chance to look over the house to get a feel for it. And I needed to get out of the store for a while.”
Ellis looked at her a little funny, then turned to Brad, who’d managed to school his face into a mild smile before Ellis spotted him.
“Is everything okay?” Ellis asked.
Mandaline hoped they didn’t look like a couple of bobblehead dolls in serious need of Valium. “I tripped at the top of the steps when coming out of the attic. Just startled me, is all. Brad caught me. I’m fine.” Brad might not be able to lie, but I damn sure can.
Ellis’ brow furrowed, but apparently her explanation satisfied him. “So, what do you think of the house so far?”
She struggled to keep a near-hysterical laugh at bay. I think I’m losing my mind. “Like I told Brad, I’m going to bring the equipment in and we’ll see what we find. Actually, I’m wondering, based on his symptoms, if there aren’t some high EMF readings somewhere.”
Ellis frowned. “EMF?”
“Electromagnetic frequency. High levels can cause all sorts of symptoms.”
He actually seemed to brighten. “Oh. Really?”
Brad coughed. “Yeah, dude. I might really be feeling stuff.”
A little of a frantic laugh escaped her before she cut it off. “I’m not ruling anything out until we get some equipment in here.”
Yep, Ellis definitely looked relieved now. “That would be great, to know it’s something we can fix.”
“He likes fixing things,” Brad teased. “I’m going to walk her out to her car. I’ll be right back,” Brad told him.
They hurried downstairs and outside.
“Mandaline, I’m so sorry!”
She let that laugh escape. “You’re apologizing to me for the blow job that I gave you?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I thought it was another one of those…whatevers.”
“So did I.” She leaned back against her car and let out a long breath. “Holy crap.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Please, stop apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong.” She snorted. “At least you bought me dinner first.”
He stared at her a moment before they both broke out in laughter. She let him scoop her in close for a hug. “Thank you,” he whispered. “I feel bad I didn’t get to reciprocate.”
He felt good. Oooh, his body felt sooo good. “Next time, I’ll sit on the couch. And I’ll wear a skirt.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, you’re the first woman I’ve been with in a couple of years now.”
“Since that other woman Ellis told me about?”
“Yeah.” He looked down at her. “Are you really okay?”
She grinned. “Lucky for both of us I’m a swallower or we could have had a lot of trouble explaining that.”
He laughed with her before his smile faded. “I’m sure Ellis is going to grill me when I go back in there. I might end up spilling the beans anyway.” He released her. “Did he give you my cell number yesterday?”
“Yeah.” She fished out her phone and opened the text function, then handed it to him. “But text yourself so I have it in here and you have mine.”
He did, then handed it back to her.
He captured her hands in his and kissed them. “I’m sorry, Mandaline.” He spoke in solemn tones, his expression serious. “I mean it. I’m not sorry it happened, but I’m sorry it happened like that. I hope you don’t hate me.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t hate you,” she softly said. “I don’t know how I feel about you, but hate doesn’t even make the top hundred.” She stood on tiptoe and brushed a kiss across his lips. “How about you let me make you dinner tomorrow night? I’ll come pick you up.”
He glanced at the house. “I’d feel weird leaving him alone.”
“Bring him.” She smiled. “Hell, maybe that weird stuff will start happening with him, too.”
A playful smile quirked his lips. “I always told Ellis we needed to find one woman who’d put up with both of us.”
Tension squeezed her heart. “Let me get used to supernaturally induced fellatio first before you throw mystical ménages at me.” She stepped away as he burst into laughter.
He stood outside, waving as she turned her car around and drove away.
Halfway back to town she pulled over along the shoulder as the shakes hit. She rested her head against the steering wheel and tried to calm her pulse.
What. The. Fuck?
No, she didn’t blame Brad at all. She’d definitely been the initiator. But…
She tried to process what had happened. She was still sitting there five minutes later when her phone chirruped at her with a text message.
It was from Brad. Pls text me when u get home. Ok?
Reality calling. She glanced at the time and knew Sachi, at least, would still be at the store. She texted Sachi that she was on her way. She shifted the car back into drive and pulled onto the road.
* * * *
The arched eyebrow over Sachi’s crystalline blue, almond-shaped eyes spoke volumes.
“I don’t buy it. What happened?”
They were alone in the office. Kim was staying to help close up, but Sachi had cornered Mandaline seconds upon her return.
“Nothing happened!”
“Then why do you look like you’re trying to explain to your mother why you’re sneaking in the back window an hour past curfew, with a hickey on your neck, when you were supposed to be at the library?”
Mandaline’s hand involuntarily flew to her neck. There was no way she could have a hickey…could she?
Sachi grinned triumphantly. “Ha!” She dropped into the chair next to the desk and lowered her voice. “Tell me. You know damn well I won’t let you out of here until you do.”
No, she wouldn’t. “You won’t believe me.”
“Try me.”
“You’re going to yell at me.”
The other eyebrow arched skyward. “Oh, then I sooo have to hear this, boss.”
Not knowing where else to start, she started at the beginning, with the basics of what Ellis told her the day before, the little zing she felt when she touched him, and then the events with Brad, ending with what happened in the attic.
Sachi blinked but remained silent.
“Well?”
She started to speak, closed her mouth, then sat back in her chair. She wore a consternated look on her face. “What do you want to happen with him?” she finally asked.
“I don’t know.”
“And you’re attracted to both of them?”
Mandaline nodded.
Sachi pondered it a few more moments before letting out a sigh. She shrugged. “Go after both of them.”
“What?”
“Hey, Libbie sent me a reading list a few months ago when I was looking for new authors. Some of those books she has on her Kindle…whew!”
“This is my real life we’re talking about, not a smutty book.”
Sachi grinned. “They say truth is stranger than fiction, boss.” She stood and patted Mandaline on the shoulder. “I say keep your options open. If Julie really is speaking through Brad, and like you I suspect he’s telling the truth, then you’re screwed regardless. She won’t give up until she’s satisfied you’re happy.”
Many Blessings Page 9
