Page 19 of Spirit Witch

I liked the way it sounded coming from his lips, even if I did not know what it meant.He raised an eyebrow, and I realized I hadn’t answered him yet.Flushing, I wiped my sweaty hands on my pants and nodded.

“Yes, I’m ready.”

“Good.”

Judge stepped forward, tugging my coat off my shoulders before I knew what he was doing.He stepped back, folding it in half and placing it on a cushion beside the door.Next, he dropped to one knee, his hands going to the zipper on the side of my boot.He started removing them, and I had no choice but to hold on to his shoulders so I didn’t fall over.

First one, then the other, he removed them carefully, and I couldn’t help but stare at the play of muscles on his arms and back as he worked.To answer my previous question, his upper back was free of body art, but the lower, that was covered in the same tribal designs as his arms.

The intricate detail was sublime and the sight of all his beautiful, bronzed skin stole my breath.My socks went next.

“Relieving ourselves of the physical burdens we carry is the first step into unlocking what is inside of you,” he explained.

I trembled under his expert fingers and tried to calm my irrationally racing heart.His dark eyes focused on mine as his hands traveled to my pants next.I held my breath, expecting him to linger, to make a move, to reveal he regarded me in some way other than a magical oddity.But if that was what I secretly wished for in the deepest, darkest recesses of my being, I was grossly disappointed.This was no romantic rendezvous.

Judge undressed me with unattached, perfunctory movements until I stood in nothing but my totally boring cotton briefs and matching cami.Though, I thought I saw a hint of a smile on his face when he came face to face with my kitten printed underwear set.

What could I say?

I was a comfort over fashion kinda gal.

I wanted to shield myself from him as a wave of embarrassment hit me hard, but I managed to hold still.This was so not me.I didn’t walk around in my panties in front of random dudes.For one thing, I had no boyfriend to speak of, and I wasn’t really sure if I ever had.Not having all my memories sucked for more reasons than one.

What if I really was a femme fatale, and I just forgot?

I doubted it.

But what if?

There was nothing extraordinary about my body, but as Judge carefully folded my clothes, I suddenly wished there was.He wasn’t even looking at me, for fuck’s sake.

Was I shallow for wanting a man’s attention when I was almost naked and vulnerable in front of him?

Maybe.

Or maybe he simply didn’t find me attractive.

It happened, right?

I wasn’t perfect.Far from it.My hips were a little too wide, my breasts a little too small, and my belly not as flat as I’d have liked.But everyone had their own thoughts about their bodies and things they wanted to change.Witch or not, I was no different.Finding out I had magic did not mean I was any less of a woman.Normally, I was fine with how I looked other than the fact I sometimes felt like something was off.

But who didn’t feel uncomfortable now and then?

Suddenly, Judge stood, turning away from me as he kicked off his own boots and shrugged out of his jeans.He wore black cotton boxer briefs that showed off way too much of his perfect body.There wasn’t a thing about him that I would change, and I wondered if boys had the same doubts girls did.Probably not.I mean, if I was a guy, I would want to look just like that.I closed my eyes, willing myself to not be affected, but I was only sorta human.

“Sit,” he said, though it sounded more like a command than an invitation.

I did it anyway, my hands fidgeting in my lap.Judge took the cushion across from me and we were so close our knees almost touched.He exhaled a deep breath, closing his eyes.Next, he began to sing, and the sound coming from him was so intensely beautiful it almost stopped my heart beating in my chest.

No, I could not understand his words, but the timbre of his voice was so rich and deep, the magic he called forth with his song swirled around us in glittering mists of brown and white with lavender rippling around the edges.Without prompting, I slid my hands into his raised ones, noting the gratified look in his eyes.Such small praise, and yet it sent my heart to soaring.

He continued to sing, holding my hands in his bigger, warmer ones, then he lifted my left hand and placed it on top of my right, holding both in one of his.With his right hand, he gathered some of the ingredients from the tiny bowls on top of the rock ring.He made a fist around them and raised it to his lips.Then he blew, and the powders floated in the air between us, swirling and blending together on their own.

His song went on, only pausing as he added more ingredients to those mixing right in front of my eyes.I could feel his magic then, powerful, thick with history, and ancient compared to what I knew.I could feel the earth and the sea, the air and fire, all the elements contained in his magic, but it was so different from the wizards and witches I had been around at Westwood Academy.So different from my friends.

When he finished adding to the potion, for lack of a better word, he reached out with his free hand and dipped two fingers into the mix.Next, Judge leaned forward, his unwavering gaze locked onto mine as he brushed those fingers down the center of my face.Then again, down my cheeks, chin, and my neck, then a thick horizontal line across my chest.

He continued to paint me with the potion, leaving lines of it down my arms, and those parts of my legs he could reach while I sat crisscross applesauce in front of him.My skin tingled everywhere he touched, whether from the potion or the novelty of having this man’s hands on me, I did not know for sure.Finally, when there was no more of the thick paint-like substance floating between us, he stopped singing.

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