Chapter 4
Ash
No matter what I did, my gaze kept dropping back to his cock. It was like they had a mind of their own. They’d drift up and take in those ethereal silver eyes, the cut of his jaw, then sweep down over his firm pecs and abs before settling on his dick once more.
Goddamn he was gorgeous.
“S-Sorry…” I stammered, realizing he’d spoken to me nearly ten seconds ago and I had yet to answer. “What did you say?”
The man laughed, the smile on his face bright, perfect, and undeniably sexy. “I said you must be the new cleaning guy.”
“Oh.” Gods I was acting a damn fool in front of this man. Thisbeautifulman. “Y-Yeah. That’s me. I…” I paused a moment, the shame settling in. “I scrub things now I guess.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” the man replied, holding out a hand. “My name’s Silver.”
“Ash,” I nodded, taking his hand. The moment our skin touched, there was a bolt of electricity that slammed through my body. Heat pooled in my groin, and I couldn’t help shifting against my uncomfortably tight jeans. “N-Nice to meet you.”
Silver’s hand was warm, his grip firm but not crushing. I couldn’t make myself let go, even though I knew I should. Westood there, my hand in his, while my brain short-circuited at the contact.
“You okay there?” Silver asked, his voice deep and smooth like aged whiskey. “You look a little flushed.”
I finally managed to release his hand, immediately missing the contact. “I’m fine. Just... wasn’t expecting to walk in on anyone. Coach Flannery said everyone would be gone by nine.”
“Coach likes to think we move faster than we do,” Silver replied with a casual shrug that made water droplets cascade down his purple skin. He still hadn’t wrapped the towel around himself. “Especially when we’re all hungover from the stoplight party.”
My eyes betrayed me again, dropping to his cock. It was thick and impressive, even soft, a deeper shade of purple than the rest of him with a pink head that made my mouth water. I forced my gaze back up to his face, mortified by my own lack of control.
“I should really come back later,” I muttered, taking another step backward. My heel caught on the edge of the bucket, nearly sending me sprawling across the wet tile floor.
Silver moved with surprising speed, catching my wrist and swinging me into his arms before I could hit the floor. “Careful there,” he said, his face suddenly much closer to mine. I could see droplets of water clinging to his white eyelashes. “Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself on your first day.”
Oh fuck. Oh gods. Oh… this was nice.
“How did you know it’s my first day?” I asked, trying desperately to focus on his words and not the fact that his naked body was now pressed against me. Or the fact that his dick was just barely grazing my forearm.
He smiled, and gods help me, it was like the sun breaking through clouds. “Just a guess. I know most of the staff around here, and I definitely would have remembered you.”
Was he... flirting with me? No, that couldn’t be right. Guys like him didn’t flirt with guys like me. He was probably just being nice to the help.
“I should really let you finish getting dressed,” I said, my voice coming out higher than I intended. “I’ve got a lot of cleaning to do.”
“Don’t let me stop you,” Silver replied, finally stepping back and casually draping the towel over his shoulder rather than wrapping it around his waist. “I’m in no hurry.”
He walked past me toward his locker, giving me an unobstructed view of his perfectly sculpted ass. I stood frozen, mop in hand, wondering what I’d done in a past life to deserve this exquisite torture.
“So, Ash,” Silver called over his shoulder as he opened his locker. “You’re a student here, right? Not just staff?”
I swallowed hard, trying to compose myself. “Yeah. Sophomore. I’m studying shadow magic.”
“Shadow magic?” Silver turned to face me, genuine interest flickering across his features. “That’s really rare. Damn near unheard of, especially in humans.”
I nodded, unsure of what to say. Not everyone responded well to my kind of magic.
Silver cocked his head, studying me with new interest. “You don’t look like you’re from one of the old mixed families. They’re usually a bit more...” he gestured vaguely with his hand, “goth.”
“I’m not,” I admitted, trying to focus on our conversation rather than his nakedness. “My family doesn’t have a lot of magic at all anymore. I’m the first to show this kind of power as far as I know.”
“That’s impressive,” Silver said, and he actually sounded like he meant it. “Most witches come from powerful families and inherit all their power. But to have raw talent, let alone shadow magic… that’s pretty cool.”
