Chapter 5: Bubble Bath

Sage struggled to focus for the remainder of the day. She couldn’t stop thinking about Caspian. There was something about him that made her whole body ache when he was near her. He seemed to cause an insatiable tension in her chest and a pooling of heat in her–

Her pencil lead snapped on her notebook’s page, pulling her from her thoughts.

“You okay, Sage?” Nikolas asked her. “You haven’t written a single thing and it’s literally your favorite topic.”

She glanced down at her page which was blank except for where the pencil had broken.

“Yeah, fine,” she said quickly. “Just tired after combat.”

Nikolas gave her an apprehensive look but didn’t pry. Sage tried to zone back into her herbology professor, taking her time to draw notes on the different plants she was unfamiliar with.

Why was a shifter getting into her head? More importantly, why had that shifter deemed her worthy of any conversation to begin with? And she wasn’t imagining that interest. She could have convinced herself of that at one point, but not now. It wasn’t a secret that witches and shifters were not very friendly toward each other. Civil, sure, but more? It simply wasn’t done.

After herbology, Nikolas and Sage filed through the halls to dinner. When they sat down with their meals, Nikolas turned to her.

“Alright, what is going on with you? I haven’t seen you this quiet since you were hungover that one morning after your 21st birthday party.”

Sage shook her head, “Maybe I’m hungover now.” She offered him a sly smile but he wasn’t convinced.

She sighed. “I told you, I really am just tired. Combat class wasn’t what I expected. And I think it is counterproductive to have physical activity in the morning that makes you tired the rest of the day.”

Nikolas studied her for a moment. She could tell he was unconvinced, but he would have to use a truth spell on her to retrieve the real reason she had been quiet all day. The last thing she wanted from him was a disapproving lecture.

She found her gaze wandering to the source of her thoughts. He was sitting at his usual table with the blonde shifter Felix and their other friends. To her surprise, Koa wasn’t on his lap today. Instead, a raven-haired siren was in her place. She was wearing a sea foam dress, straddling him so that she faced him and could easily lean in to whisper in his ear.

Sage tried not to imagine what it would be like to press her lips against his ear and whisper some joke that made him smile.

Sage scanned the room but she couldn’t seem to find Koa anywhere. She couldn’t imagine the she-wolf had given up her Alpha that easily.

“Want to do something fun tonight?” Nikolas asked.

“What did you have in mind?”

Nikolas didn’t have the chance to answer before Sage’s chair was pulled from under her. The sensation of falling was combined with her falling flat on her a** as she looked up in time to see Koa grinning over her shoulder. There was the missing b*tch.

Nikolas helped Sage to her feet before glaring over at the shifter table.

“Damn dogs.” He cursed under his breath. “Maybe our night should include a hex...”

Sage watched as Koa moved over to Caspian and shooed away the girl on his lap before plopping down onto him. He looked over at Sage before saying something to Koa. She frowned, stood up, and stormed out of the dining hall. Sage could have sworn she saw that flash of purple in Caspian’s eyes as he looked at her again.

“I think I am going to go study in my room,” Sage told Nikolas. “Can we hang another night?”

“You okay?”

“I’m fine, I would just like to take a hot bath and soak the smell of b*tch from my skin.”

Nikolas smirked at that, which made Sage feel better. She didn’t want him to feel like she was avoiding him.

She left the dining hall, working her way towards the Witch’s Tower.

“Don’t let Koa get to you,” a voice said. She should keep walking but she paused and turned to glare at Caspian.

“I have just had a long day of falling on my a** after dealing with shifters. I’d like the day to end.”

His lips turned up in a smile as he walked closer to her. Moon and stars, she loved that smile. “There’s a party this weekend. It will be the perfect way to end your dreary week.”

As he stood close to her, he lifted his hand and pushed a loose lock of hair behind her ear. She was caught off guard by the display of intimacy.

Sage leaned in, her lips close to touching his before she whispered, “What the f*ck do you think you are doing?”

“Don’t tell me you have never been to a party, witch, ” he said, unphased. His low voice sent a shiver down her spine. Sage had the sudden urge to pull him closer and drown herself in his touch. It would be so easy to give in to her growing desire for him. Caspian incited something inside her she never thought possible and Sage would be lying to herself if she said she didn’t want to surrender to it. She could feel his breath on her lips and his gaze as he waited for her next move.

That surrender wouldn’t happen today.

With a swift movement, she shoved him backward and captured his ankle on her own, tripping him. Caspian fell flat on his back. He took a moment to prop himself up on an elbow as he looked up at her and smirked.

“Horrible stance. I’ll think about this weekend,” Sage said, before continuing her walk to her dorm room.

Sage tossed her bag onto her bed, lighting the candle on the vanity. She stripped, grabbed her towel, and headed to the tub. With a swirl of her finger, it filled with hot water and bubbles. She slipped in, sighing in relief as it warmed her sore bottom.

Why was he inviting her to a party? Had he and Koa not spent enough time humiliating her today? Although she definitely felt better after exacting a little revenge on him.

She closed her eyes and sunk deeper into the water. She couldn’t help but think about his fingers through her hair, the warmth of his breath on her lips when he leaned in. Was this some sort of intimidation tactic?

Her mind continued to race until the water turned cold. She tried to muster up the energy to get up,

She was disrupted from her thoughts by someone barging into her room. She sat up alert and looked towards the bathroom doorway.

Nikolas walked backward into the bathroom, his hand over his eyes.

“Relax, it’s just me!” he said. “Not looking! Though it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Sage sighed, but why was she a little disappointed at who had entered her room?

“I just came to check on you,” Nikolas said. “I brought you something.”

He held out a bundle of fresh sage so she could see it. She smiled. He always brought her sage after she had a bad day.

“Thank you, Nik. My bath water is cold, I was about to finish up,” she told him.

Nikolas slowly walked backward until the back of his legs touched the tub. He sat down, careful to keep his eyes averted, as he dipped a finger into the water. It reheated instantly.

“Thank you, you didn’t have to do that.”

He shrugged and said, “Just taking care of my girl.”

They sat in silence for a moment as Sage soaked.

“I saw the shifter follow you to the hall. Did the mangy mutt give you any more trouble?” Nikolas asked.

“I wish you wouldn’t call them that,” Sage said quietly. “He isn’t that bad.”

He spun around suddenly, his gaze landing on her.

“He’s a shifter,” he said matter-of-factly like it explained everything.

He froze, his gaze slipping downwards. Sage felt the heat of his stare on her breasts. Her body was reminded of their drunken night when they were teenagers. She cleared her throat loudly.

Nikolas flushed red and turned back around.

“Give me a minute,” she told him. She stood, grabbing her towel and wrapping it around her.

“I’m decent now,” she said.

He turned and helped her out of the tub, his face still pink.

“Don’t act like you have never seen tits before, Nik. It’s alright.”

He took a breath and laughed shyly.

“There is a party this weekend, do you want to go with me?” Sage asked him.

“A shifter party?” he said, his tone turning cold again.

“Something we can go drink and socialize at,” she replied, ignoring his question.

He stared at her with a look of scrutiny.

“Or I can go to a shifter party alone...” she said, smiling sweetly at him.

“It’s a date,” he said, forcing a smile back.