realized I’d been wrong about a few of them. First, there were no roots like I’d assumed. And second, everything seemed common, like something I’d find in my kitchen cabinet.
“What is all this stuff?” I asked. I picked up a piece of something green—like a sprig of a dried plant—and sniffed it. The smell was familiar, but I couldn’t name it.
“I’m making a cleansing, or purification, bath,” Theo said without looking at me. He reached into a Ziploc bag that looked like it was filled with crushed-up eggshells.
“Oh.” I raised an eyebrow. Who was he making that for? Me? “What’s all this you’re putting in it?”
He paused in sprinkling the eggshells into the bowl and glared at me. “The stuff the recipe calls for.”
I set down the sprig I’d been sniffing and took a small step away from the table. Theo’s jaw tensed and I got the impression he’d rather be anywhere other than here right now.
“Whatever,” I muttered. I walked over to the love seat. “I was just trying to make conversation.”
“Crushed eggshells, marine salt, dried basil leaf, basil sprig, a tablespoon of sage, a pinch of bloodroot, quartz crystal essence, and a spoonful of holy water…that’s what’s in it,” Theo growled over his shoulder, as though he didn’t appreciate having to explain anything to me. “And now they’re done.”
“You made two?” I asked. I watched him pour the mixture from the bowl into a white cloth bag. It looked like one spell to me.
He turned to look at me and pulled the strings on either side of the bag and then dangled it from his fingertips in the air. “I combined two powerful cleansing recipes.”
“Cleansing is like cleaning, right?” I asked. “Will that get rid of this tether thing?”
“I’m hoping,” he said. “Where’s your bathtub? Let’s find out.”
“Downstairs,” I answered in a bemused tone, curious as to how he was going to do this, because I was not about to get into someone’s yucky, used bathwater after them, regardless if it was for a spell or not.
“Where’s the biggest one you have?” he asked as we descended the narrow stairs that led to the second floor of the house.
“Umm, I guess that would be the one on the second floor.” I didn’t like where this was going. My stomach twisted as I thought of what I was more than likely about to do.
“Let’s use that one then,” Theo said, oblivious to the torment my mind and stomach were going through in the moment.
I led Theo across the hall and into the bathroom with the largest tub. He wasted no time in turning on the water and stopping up the drain. Once the bath had filled a little, he tossed the sachet of ingredients in. In a matter of minutes, warm steam filled the room, which wafted the scent of the recipes he’d created through the air and straight to my nose. I realized then that the sprig I’d smelled earlier was the almost licorice-like scent of basil. I watched as Theo stirred the water with his dark fingers, mixing the ingredients well. He stood, letting the tub continue to fill, and began to peel off his white tank top.
“Oh, God, wait a minute! Let me leave if you’re gonna strip and get in.” I bolted for the door, my hands covering my eyes like blinders, but Theo caught one of my arms. Warmth licked around the area where he touched me.
“You have to stay,” he said, giving me a smoldering look as he released his grip on my arm and tossed his tank top to the floor. “We have to do this together since the tether is on both of us.”
My cheeks flushed as I tried to look anywhere besides the sculpted muscles that made up his dark stomach and chest. “I was afraid of that.”
Theo reached for the button on his low-hung jeans and undid it as he slipped out of his sandals. “This is nothing sexual, don’t worry. I wouldn’t try anything with you.” The way he said it—like it was a joke for him to be attracted to me in any way—stung more than I liked to admit.
“What is all this stuff?” I asked. I picked up a piece of something green—like a sprig of a dried plant—and sniffed it. The smell was familiar, but I couldn’t name it.
“I’m making a cleansing, or purification, bath,” Theo said without looking at me. He reached into a Ziploc bag that looked like it was filled with crushed-up eggshells.
“Oh.” I raised an eyebrow. Who was he making that for? Me? “What’s all this you’re putting in it?”
He paused in sprinkling the eggshells into the bowl and glared at me. “The stuff the recipe calls for.”
I set down the sprig I’d been sniffing and took a small step away from the table. Theo’s jaw tensed and I got the impression he’d rather be anywhere other than here right now.
“Whatever,” I muttered. I walked over to the love seat. “I was just trying to make conversation.”
“Crushed eggshells, marine salt, dried basil leaf, basil sprig, a tablespoon of sage, a pinch of bloodroot, quartz crystal essence, and a spoonful of holy water…that’s what’s in it,” Theo growled over his shoulder, as though he didn’t appreciate having to explain anything to me. “And now they’re done.”
“You made two?” I asked. I watched him pour the mixture from the bowl into a white cloth bag. It looked like one spell to me.
He turned to look at me and pulled the strings on either side of the bag and then dangled it from his fingertips in the air. “I combined two powerful cleansing recipes.”
“Cleansing is like cleaning, right?” I asked. “Will that get rid of this tether thing?”
“I’m hoping,” he said. “Where’s your bathtub? Let’s find out.”
“Downstairs,” I answered in a bemused tone, curious as to how he was going to do this, because I was not about to get into someone’s yucky, used bathwater after them, regardless if it was for a spell or not.
“Where’s the biggest one you have?” he asked as we descended the narrow stairs that led to the second floor of the house.
“Umm, I guess that would be the one on the second floor.” I didn’t like where this was going. My stomach twisted as I thought of what I was more than likely about to do.
“Let’s use that one then,” Theo said, oblivious to the torment my mind and stomach were going through in the moment.
I led Theo across the hall and into the bathroom with the largest tub. He wasted no time in turning on the water and stopping up the drain. Once the bath had filled a little, he tossed the sachet of ingredients in. In a matter of minutes, warm steam filled the room, which wafted the scent of the recipes he’d created through the air and straight to my nose. I realized then that the sprig I’d smelled earlier was the almost licorice-like scent of basil. I watched as Theo stirred the water with his dark fingers, mixing the ingredients well. He stood, letting the tub continue to fill, and began to peel off his white tank top.
“Oh, God, wait a minute! Let me leave if you’re gonna strip and get in.” I bolted for the door, my hands covering my eyes like blinders, but Theo caught one of my arms. Warmth licked around the area where he touched me.
“You have to stay,” he said, giving me a smoldering look as he released his grip on my arm and tossed his tank top to the floor. “We have to do this together since the tether is on both of us.”
My cheeks flushed as I tried to look anywhere besides the sculpted muscles that made up his dark stomach and chest. “I was afraid of that.”
Theo reached for the button on his low-hung jeans and undid it as he slipped out of his sandals. “This is nothing sexual, don’t worry. I wouldn’t try anything with you.” The way he said it—like it was a joke for him to be attracted to me in any way—stung more than I liked to admit.
Similar Books
