The Witch and Her Second Chance

6 | An evening of meetings

Verin waited very impatiently with Celeste in a low rent demon dive bar. She was glancing at her watch, all too conscious that her dragon contact was horrendously late and Verin was meeting the male and female couple in less than an hour, which he was regretting agreeing to.

He felt terrible. The travel here had been tedious and his concern over whether he'd get the information he needed was weighing on him. She'd also manacled him–a necessary requirement when traveling–werewolves were prolific in the Americas, so when visiting it was better to mask what they were. This was done via a cuff style bracelet he was wearing. It was making his magic feel funny though, setting him on edge. He felt less aware of magic around him as well which was disorienting–Celeste seemed unbothered by it but she visited this realm frequently so was accustomed to it.

He shifted, uncomfortable in the jeans she'd given him to wear as well. They were dark blue, his long-sleeve Henley shirt blue also.

"Celeste," Verin grumbled. He was ready to just head home and tell the Grandmaster he just couldn't do it.

An alert appeared on her phone and she scrambled to read it. She frowned. "It's your girls, they've asked to meet tonight instead…"

"f**k it," he stood up. "I'm just going to go back to the hotel, sleep and go home first thing tomorrow. Delete that f*****g profile."

She grabbed his hand. "Wait! I'll find out what happened. I'll tell the ladies a time after your first meet and greet."

His face was fixed in a scowl but he let her lead him out of the bar and to the one he was meeting the other man and woman in. Celeste scrammed, but made sure she could watch. He should have known this was just going to be another one of her games. He held himself stiffly, waiting for the embarrassment he was now sure would happen, his anxiety elevating every disastrous thought that came through his mind.

"Verin?" He turned, seeing the young woman from the profile picture. The man was standing rigidly behind her.

Verin stood in greeting, "Hello. Please sit," he tried to keep the edge from his tone. The two looked a lot younger than in their picture.

The couple sat across from him. He'd bought a bottle of wine at Celeste's insistence. They spoke benignly for a few minutes, drinks poured.

"You're even better looking in real life," the woman, Sharon commented. "Isn't he Dan?"

"Yeah," he agreed, but it didn't have a lot of conviction.

"We could do this tonight," she continued excitedly.

Verin watched Dan as Sharon spoke. He was not into this.

"How long have you two been bo– together?" He cut off his instinct to say bonded. He was sure humans didn't bond like Warlocks did when they decided to couple up. It was a magical mark to connect as beings.

"A couple of months," Sharon answered.

"Right…" he glanced between the two. He was getting some Celeste like vibes from this young woman. "Maybe let us have a moment."

Sharon was surprised by the request. "Oh. Um…" she looked at Dan. The other man had a slightly panicked expression on his handsome face.

"Just a few minutes," Verin promised.

"Okay… I'll go powder my nose." She smiled briefly and gave Dan a quick kiss. She whispered something in his ear that Verin couldn't hear.

Verin gave Dan a few moments before he spoke, "You don't want to do this, do you?"

Dan shrugged but he had a very strained expression on his face, "Sharon wants it."

"You though?"

"Nah," he admitted, "I'm not into guys."

Verin nodded and downed the rest of his wine. What a spectacular waste of his time. He was really starting to hate this realm. "A word of advice," he said as he stood, "run as far away from her as possible."

With that he left.

Stepping out onto the bustling street he hunched his shoulder. He was officially done, he headed in the direction he thought their hotel was in.

"Rinni, wait!" Celeste ran to catch up to him. "What happened?"

"I don't know why I ever let you do this to me," he wasn't even angry now, just fed up.

"Hey," she grabbed his arm, "this was just the first one. You think I found one of my perfect c***s with a heartbeat the first time?"

Verin shook his head, "This just isn't me. Let's go back to the hotel."

"No way," she said stubbornly. "Don't be a pussy." She softened her tone, "If this is a bust too I'll take you to a strip club, wall to wall t**s– you'll love it."

He jammed his hands into his pocket and looked up to the night sky, or what he could see of it, the light of the city bouncing off the smog and editing the stars out. His eyes trailed up the tall buildings. Their city didn't have buildings this tall, it was impressive and claustrophobic.

Sure he would regret it, he let Celeste steer him to the next meet-up.

~*~

Jo and Jackie were already there when he arrived. Thankfully he'd entered without Celeste as she wanted to make some calls to locate her dragon contact again.

He took a breath and headed towards them. They were absorbed in each other, their affection for each other apparent. He studied them as he approached. They were gorgeous. He felt a stir of arousal as Jackie pushed a strand of hair behind Jo's ear, her hand trailing and brushing the other woman's breast on the way down. Jo laughed at the not so subtle grope.

Watching their ease, Jo's joy–the tension he had felt build across his back all evening released.

She was still laughing gaily, Jackie grinning mischiefly back at her, when she noticed his approach. Jo sat up straighter, Jackie following her gaze.

"Evening," he greeted them.

Jo's cheeks flushed deliciously as their eyes met.

Jackie checked him out unabashedly and motioned for him to sit across from them.

"Hi," Jo breathed.

"Easy girl," he heard Jackie say under her breath. It garnered a small smile from him. This felt more natural than his earlier meeting. The mutual attraction was apparent and started an excited feeling in the man.

The bar they were in was more relaxed too, couches and coffee tables seemingly scattered around without prior planning. The women sat in a two person loveseat, an armchair across from it, which he sat in. The music was low and thrumming.

"So," he decided to just get to the point. "How do you like to do this?"

Jo bit her lip and glanced at the other woman. Jackie spoke. "We have a conversation, if we all don't find each other repellent and we don't get serial killer vibes from you, we progress."

He nodded, "Sounds logical." He saw they were almost finished their drinks. "Can I get us all a drink first?"

Jackie smiled, "That'd be great."

He could hear them whisper to each other as he walked away from them to the bar but didn't catch any words.

He glanced back as he waited for their drinks, catching Jo looking at him. She blushed again and he thought he might c*m in his jeans–if she blushed so easily he wondered what she'd be like when he sunk into her.

Not being able to hide his pleased smile he returned to them.

"Tell us about yourself," Jackie suggested.

Shit. He hadn't thought of a good lie. "I'm an inventor." Was that a thing here?

"What do you invent?" Jo asked. She tilted her pretty face to the side in her curiosity.

"Any manner of devices," he said vaguely. "Solving problems as needed. You?"

"We run a cafe," Jackie answered.

He didn't know what a cafe was. "What's that like?"

They both laughed. He liked the juxtaposition of the two. Jackie's laugh was low and full, Jo's carefree and very feminine. The sound edged into him.

"A lot of work," Jackie answered.

"How long have you been together?"

"Going on ten years," Jo responded. She sat forward a little. "It's always better to get this out of the way. We have a very good intimate life together–this is just for extra fun. We see s*x and love as separate."

He nodded. He understood that without ever having been in love.

Jo continued, "If we do this, we do it honestly. If you stop being comfortable with the arrangement you tell us."

"Okay," he got the feeling there was something behind that. "You've done this before?"

"Many times," Jackie took a sip of her drink. "I know how amazing Jo is. She'll make you feel like you're the only person in the world. But all you're going to get is this."

The frankness of the conversation was refreshing to Verin. These two didn't seem the type to play games.

"I can handle that."

The two women glanced at each other. He wondered if they wanted to wrap things up, both had almost finished their drinks. "Shall I get us another round or would you like to end here?"

Jackie told him to get another round, which he did. He set their drinks in front of them, taking his seat again.

"I'd like to see if we have chemistry," Jo said just as he had settled back in.

He looked at her expectantly, wondering what that would entail. She stood up, drinking half her drink and reaching a hand out to him. He stood taking it.

The warmth of her touch did something to him, and he felt all saliva leave his mouth, the concept of swallowing forgotten from his body.

She took him to a small empty dance floor, the music slightly louder in the space. He looked back once, seeing Jackie watch them.

He returned his attention back to Jo. She fit against his body in a dance. She slid her arms up around his shoulders, without any thought his hands rested on her hips. He liked the way her high hip dipped into her small waist, creating a shelf for his hands.

"You feeling okay about this?" She asked.

Surprise at the question written across his face, he told her he was.

"I find you very attractive," she added.

He couldn't help the laugh that came from him. While s*x was easy and uncomplicated back in the warlock kingdom, almost a transaction, her confidence and openness were refreshing.

A smile danced in her eyes at his laughter, "This is when you say whether you find me attractive too."

"Yeah," he said, his laughter settling into a smile on his face. "I find you very attractive too." He licked his lips, "I thought maybe you'd realised." He let the meaning settle as he pulled her closer, letting her feel his attraction to her more.

That blush again, "A girl has to be sure. Words are important."

He agreed. He felt an impulse to kiss her but he held it in check. They were calling the shots and he was happy to see where they went.

"Has this not ended well before?" He asked.

Jo shrugged lightly, "There have been others that waited too long to tell us they wanted more. That's why we want to be honest and upfront."

"I'm not the type to settle down," he told her. Even if she hadn't been human, his people weren't typically like that.

"Good," she bit her lip, "'cause I'd really like to…" she trailed off, her bravado leaving her.

"Be f****d by me?" He finished her sentence. He groaned slightly. "That blushing of yours is going to have to stop if you don't want me to kiss you right now."

A little giggle bubbled up as she shook her head. "You're too cute. Let me have a quick word with Jackie."

He nodded and stayed where he was while she headed back. He leaned against the wall and watched the women converse. They both glanced at him frequently.

Jo was something else. He couldn't help his gaze from shifting back to her.

After a few minutes, she motioned him to come back. Her large eyes stayed on him as he returned to them. He remained standing, waiting for what they wanted next.

They both stood, Jackie, taking the lead. "If you're interested, we can go back to our place now. We'll see where the night leads us. Consent hasn't been given yet."

As if he was going to say no.

~*~