God, if he was going to confess that, why not just kiss her? Issue the Call that was instinctually bred down into every wizard’s bones and be done? He’d never known or paid attention to the words of the Call until meeting Sydney. Now, they slid through his head with frightening regularity.
“You truly want to be here?” Her voice trembled.
Yes and no . . . but more yes. “I don’t think I could leave, even if you tossed me out.”
His mobile phone, tucked in his pocket, rang. He glanced at the display and cursed. Duke.
“Don’t answer that,” Sydney said, startling him.
Want darkened her eyes. His body tightened, leapt in response. He shouldn’t do this. She deserved better. But he’d likely never again touch her, and the knowledge was killing him.
“You’re certain?”
After a slight pause, she gave him a shaky nod. “I may regret this tomorrow, but you’re right. I’m honest and I want you.”
With a press of his thumb, he silenced the phone’s ring, then set it on the table.
Bloody hell, he wanted to kiss Sydney. So damn badly. Those parted rosy lips were mere inches under his, moist and enticing. Somehow, for both of them, he had to resist. Otherwise, he’d blurt the Call. The words were a constant chanting in his head. Become a part of me . . .
He pressed his mouth to her jaw, the side of her neck. She scooted around, trying to inch her mouth under his again.
A distraction. They both needed one before things got out of hand.
Caden nibbled at the shell of her ear, breath harsh. She shivered. But her body trembled harder when he reached around her other shoulder and his fingers found the buttons to her little attention-getting blouse. He undid the first, the second, none too gently, then slid his hand inside, beneath her bra, to cup her breast. Under his palm, her heart beat like a wild drum. She pressed her backside against him and moaned. Beautiful, sweet woman.
As I become a part of you . . . the Call continued in his head.
He shoved the words from his mind and focused on the rest of the buttons. They parted for him in a fluid unveiling of skin, sighs, and desire. When he peeled the garment away, he couldn’t keep his hands from devouring all the soft cinnamon-freckled skin on her soft abdomen, until he molded his palms over her lace-covered breasts.
She threw her head back onto his shoulder and gasped. He smelled her fruity-jasmine scent, which had haunted him for two days. But now there was more. Musk. Desire. He could smell her arousal. Because of his coming transition? Was he simply more attuned to her? Didn’t matter. It kicked blood straight to his cock, and he pressed against her, dying to fill her up and be one with her.
Sydney reached up between his hands and he heard a little click. Suddenly her bra eased away from her breasts.
Grabbing one strap, he tore it off and tossed it across the room. Then he filled his hands with her bare breasts, the little beaded nipples scorching his palms. God help him. He’d always adored women, but this . . .this was more. Beyond control. Sydney set him on fire, pushed him past restraint. Amazed him.
Soft, feminine arms reached around him to clasp at the back of his neck, which pressed her breasts even deeper into his hands. Words kept popping into his head.
And ever after, I promise myself to thee.
He rolled her nipples between her fingers, and she moaned. His body shook. Fire raged inside him, barely in control. He wanted—no, needed—more from Sydney. Everything. Now.
Lowering his hands to the curve of her waist, over her hips, he encountered the side release of her skirt. He could have easily lifted it, but he liked the idea of her being bare for him.
He yanked the zip down, then shoved the garment over her hips. What she wore beneath—black, lacy, small—easy to shred with his hands.
Now she was naked, all warm flesh and breathy sighs, arched, exposed. His.
Caden had his shirt off in a moment. Sydney tilted her head, giving him the naked flesh of her neck and the soft curve of her shoulder. He put his mouth to her, dying for any taste of her he could afford.
He ripped into his jeans, discarding them and everything beneath, laving his tongue across her skin. He savored her addicting salty honey flavor. He moaned into her ear, and she shivered against him.
“Sydney?”
“Yes,” she breathed as his lips trailed across her shoulder blade. “Now.”
That was all Caden had to hear.
Taking her hip in one hand, he guided his erection to her slick sex with the other and pressed in slowly. Tight, like an amazing glove fit just for him. So perfect.
Each day we share, I will be honest, good, and true.
Caden shook his head, trying to dislodge the words that kept circling in his brain. This was about savoring their last touch, not claiming her forever. But Sydney’s hot grip short-circuited him. Instead, he sank in, gave himself over, let pleasure take him dangerously higher.
Beneath him, Sydney panted. Her body softened. The smell of her arousal grew stronger, so strong he swore he could almost taste her. Every instinct he possessed urged him to kiss her—her mouth, her sex—any part of her, every part.
He fought the urge, clenching her hip in one hand and wrapping the other around her body until his fingers found her clit. Draped over her back, Caden worked the delicate bud of nerves. Grazing, circling, slow caresses designed to drive her mad, while he filled her with deep, possessive strokes.
Soon, she tightened on him. Her fingernails dug into his wrist. Her pants became groans, then wails. And his body tensed, dying to feel everything about her, release himself into her completely, give himself, body and soul.
If this you seek, heed my Call.
The words no sooner crossed his mind when Sydney clamped down, cried out, and her body surrendered to his completely. God, he wanted to see her face, watch her expressive dark eyes as pleasure overtook her, kiss her mouth, and claim her as he came.
Even the thought sent him straight over the edge, into a white-light abyss that burned into his brain brighter than anything he’d ever experienced. Ecstasy jolted him, an unrelenting vise of need he’d strangled since he’d last been inside her. Now freed, the pleasure clawed down his spine, up his cock. He shouted, mesmerized by her feel, her smell. He drank her in, as if he was destined to know her above all others. Remember her only.
From this moment on, there is no other for me but you.
“That was . . .” Sydney didn’t finish the thought.
Straight from his heart.
“It was,” he panted, afraid to speak his thought aloud.
Now that the time to part had come, he wondered if he could keep her, tell her the truth, let her decide if she wanted to deal with magickind and the war. Or should he let her go, try desperately to forget her and know he’d likely never mate?
He didn’t want to think of such things while still buried within her. Not while he had his arms about her. But that wasn’t reality. The phone vibrating on the table beside them was. Duke, again. No doubt wondering where the hell they were.
His breathing had not yet recovered when he withdrew from Sydney with a curse, then picked up the phone. He didn’t bother with pleasantries. “We’ll be there in ten.”
Caden didn’t wait for a reply, but simply hung up.
“Are you all right?” He caressed her shoulder, down the line of her spine, admiring the sleek curve of her waist, then pulled her body against his, front to her back.
She gave him a shaky nod. “What happens after this meeting? With us?”
Though a fair question, it stabbed him. Putting distance between them would be best for her, but could he stay away?
“After this meeting, we’ll talk.”
Caden guided Sydney into the crowded pub with a hand at the small of her back. Pathetic. Twenty minutes after one of the most amazing sexual experiences in his life and the only thing it had done was make him greedy for more. Now was the time for business.
He hoped he could f
ocus.
The walls of the crowded pub seemed to close in, pressed with tables and bodies and the smell of ale. He started to sweat again, shake. His energy waned with every step. He’d like to think he’d simply needed a bit of a nap after an orgasm that had nearly blown his head off. Given his urge to hold Sydney close and drown in her again, he knew better.
“Where the hell have you been?” Duke grabbed his elbow and barked in his ear.
Sluggishly, Caden turned his head. The wizard looked incredibly brassed off. Splendid.
A few feet in front of him, he was vaguely aware of Olivia introducing herself to Sydney and smiles being exchanged. Olivia led Sydney to another table. He barely let her go with a growl. The women began chatting.
“Sit down,” Duke commanded.
Perhaps he should and rest his head. He needed sleep. Badly.
He swayed on his feet, the room spinning. Duke peered into his face, then sniffed. “Never mind. I know what you’ve been about. Sex at a time this critical?”
“Piss off,” he growled, then collapsed onto a stool.
“Damn it!” Duke hissed. “Look at me.”
Caden slowly opened unfocused eyes. “Wha . . . ?”
Duke pinched the bridge of his nose. “Have you been sweating all day? Shaking?”
He nodded.
“Craving sex?”
A snort punctuated Caden’s answer. “Last two weeks.”
“You just shagged her and you’re already exhausted?”
In the battle between Caden and his heavy eyelids, the eyelids won. “Watch your mouth.”
“Answer me.”
Somehow, Caden found the energy to nod.
“Fuck.”
Usually, the titled wizard was every bit a gentleman. Caden winced at Duke’s curse.
“Your magical signature is beginning to take shape. Black, blue, and gray. But there’s something yellow and white trying to merge with it.” Duke turned his attention toward Sydney. “Is she your mate? I know you haven’t spoken the words but . . .”
Caden nodded. He’d finally admitted what his body had been telling him since virtually the moment he’d met her. It wasn’t a happy admission.
“Your transition from human to wizard is upon you. We’ve got to find a female to go through it with you. You’ll need great amounts of sexual energy.”
“Sydney—”
“Is a reporter! If you transition with her, you’ll bed her like a madman for the next few days, then emerge as a wizard involuntarily displaying your special power, which will likely be impossible to hide. How do you know she won’t print it in her human newspaper? You cannot choose her.”
“Want her.”
“I know,” he soothed. “But you can’t have her for your transition. Not for your mate, either. She’ll learn too much and expose us to humanity. I’ll call Bram. Certainly, he’ll know a witch who will help you.” Duke reached for his mobile.
Caden’s sluggish brain took in Duke’s words. Everything inside him rebelled. Drudging up all his energy, he grabbed Duke’s phone and banged it against the table. It chirped and broke into a dozen little pieces of plastic and wires.
Duke recoiled, looking around to see who had noticed. “Have you gone mental?”
“I want Sydney.”
Duke clenched his jaw tight, but then a fresh tremor overtook Caden’s body, rocking every muscle. The wizard closed the short distance between them and draped an arm around his shoulders. “Let’s go.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Olivia. Caden knew that voice.
“Guess,” Duke barked. “Mr. Hormones destroyed my mobile. Use yours to call Bram. Tell him I’ll be babysitting for a few days.”
“Get him out of here quickly,” Olivia said to Duke. “People are staring. They probably think he’s having a seizure. ” She turned to Sydney. “Perhaps we can continue our discussion—”
“Sydney comes with me.” Caden raised his head and glared daggers at Olivia. Marrok would kill him for it later, but now all that mattered was keeping Sydney at his side. He turned his heavy stare on Olivia, willing her to understand.
“What’s wrong with him?” Sydney looked stunned and concerned.
“If you’ll go with Caden and help him, I’d like to take the book and examine it overnight,” Olivia said.
“No.” Sydney’s refusal was a crisp syllable that didn’t surprise Caden at all. “Ring me tomorrow. We’ll meet again. Tell me what’s ailing him.”
Duke and Olivia shared a glance. No way to answer her. Caden didn’t care what they said. He only knew that he was burning up from the inside and that he needed these clothes off and Sydney under him. Immediately. She would soothe him. Only she would do.
He lifted his head and sent a burning gaze to her. “Need you.”
“I’m here.”
Olivia edged Sydney away. Caden lurched across the feet separating them. Duke dragged him back with a yank and got in his face.
“You do not, under any circumstances, kiss her. Or get oral with her. No tasting at all. No speaking the Call. Is that clear?”
CHAPTER NINE
“BUGGER OFF,” CADEN SNEERED, then staggered toward Sydney.
She steadied him with an arm about his shoulders. Dear God, he was an inferno. She gasped. Fear knotted her gut. What the devil was wrong with him?
“He needs a hospital!” she barked at Duke and Olivia.
Duke sighed, and Sydney recognized his expression; she’d seen it on other male faces prior to conversation: dread.
“No. He needs a bed with you beside him.”
“What? If he’s ill, the last thing he needs is sex!”
She opened her mouth to argue the virtues of modern medicine, but Caden nuzzled her neck. She shivered and momentarily lost focus, until a cultured voice brought her back.
“That, my dear, is the very thing he needs.”
She could not have heard Hurstgrove right. “I don’t understand. Is this what his brother has? Some sexual compulsion?”
“No.”
A horrible thought skittered through her head. What if she had done this to him by writing the latest fantasy in the book?
“We can’t talk here,” Hurstgrove went on. “I’ll explain when we reach your flat. Can you . . . care for him?”
If Caden needed her, Sydney wanted to be there for him. She owed him, really, in case her midnight fantasies had put him in this state. But he was more than an obligation to her.
Though Caden hadn’t always been honest with her, she understood his reasons for subterfuge. If she’d had a sibling and a few lies could save their life . . . she would likely have done the same. Besides, she sensed Caden needed her on a deeper level. Maybe helping him through this ailment would enable her to see all the way to his core and bring them closer.
“Yes,” she said finally.
“Thank you.” His eyes closed in relief. “Very much. Let’s go.”
She didn’t understand what was happening, but now wasn’t the time for a lot of chatter. After Caden had recovered, absolutely. She’d want every detail.
“I’ll come along, in case you need help.”
From curious to bizarre. Help in bed? “I’ve got sex covered, thank you.”
Despite her confusion, when Caden nibbled on her ear, Sydney shivered. He was insistent, almost feral. The female in her basked at the intensity of his desire, though she didn’t fully understand.
“I need you,” Caden breathed, caressing a palm up her hip, under her shirt, to cup her breast. “With me . . .”
As his touch burned her sensitive skin, Sydney met his gaze. Blistering blue supplication radiated from him, along with anxiety. Whatever ailed him, he wasn’t in complete control—and that terrified him. Never had Caden seemed vulnerable, and even if her writings had nothing to do with it, she wouldn’t deny him.
“I’ll be in the next room to make sure he doesn’t get . . . out of control.” Hurstgrove yanked Caden’s hand off her, then pushed them tow
ard the door.
Sydney risked a glance around. People were staring— loads of them. Her cheeks heated up as if she flushed twenty shades of red. How many had seen Caden’s intimate display of public affection? Duke didn’t have to push her again; she dashed out of the pub, dragging Caden along. Olivia held the door open.
Outside, Sydney halted in the stinging November wind. She and Caden had walked to the pub. How the devil was she going to get him to stroll back to her flat when he was solely focused on unbuttoning her shirt?
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