Chapter 8 #2
“If you don’t freeze to death first,” he said. “Or fall through the rotting front porch, or die when someone breaks in through the front door because you can’t get it to close properly. Or maybe they’ll smash a hole in these windows and open the ridiculous excuse for locks on them.”
Irritation flickered across her face. “I’m sorry that my house doesn’t live up to your safety standards, but this is what I’m working with. If you’re too scared to stay here, I can text Willow and ask her to reassign Garth instead.”
His growl escaped before he could stop it, and she gave him a look. “It’s rude to growl at someone.”
“I’m pointing these things out for your safety,” he said. “The witches trying to harm you won’t even need magic to break into this place.”
“Isn’t that why you’re here?” she asked. “To stop them from doing that kind of shit.”
“I didn’t expect to have to protect you in a house that’s a strong wind from falling apart around us.”
Her face turned red again, and her hands clenched into fists. “As I said, if you’re unable to do the job, then I’ll text Willow and ask for Garth.”
“No,” he snapped. “He can’t keep you safe.”
“According to you, you can’t keep me safe either.”
He growled again, and she arched an eyebrow at him. “Do you always have this much trouble controlling your shifter side?”
Christ, he wanted to spank her for her insolence.
Is that what you really want? His inner voice asked.
No, what he wanted was to spread her out on that damn sectional and feast on her pussy like a starving man. Had wanted that for weeks now. Wanted to know how she would taste, how she would sound. Wanted that small taste of her magic.
Because she is our mate.
He ignored his polar bear. The damn thing didn’t understand that they were under a spell, one that he needed Cece to remove immediately, since his plan of avoiding her until it wore off was no longer feasible.
You could let the bull shifter keep an eye on her.
His polar bear’s roar of anger made Briggs wince.
We’ll stay with her. Keep your cool, buddy, he soothed the beast.
He’d made a stupid mistake earlier in front of his bosses by losing his shit with Garth, but after his security shift at the mall, he’d stopped in at the office, and Fenton had told him what happened to Cece last night.
Finding out Cece nearly died had freaked out his polar bear, and for one of the few times in his life, Briggs hadn’t been able to stop his bear from taking control.
He’d driven straight to Kat and Ronin’s, and he considered it lucky that he hadn’t completely shifted and torn out Garth’s throat.
He took a deep breath. He just needed to get the little witch to end the spell, and his bear would realize she wasn’t his mate.
Before he could demand she release him from the spell, Cece walked past him, making sure to give him a wide berth.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m covered in dried blood,” she said. “I need a hot shower.”
He grabbed his bag and followed her out into the hallway and up the stairs. She gave him a look. “If you think you’re going to stand in my bathroom while I shower, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“I have zero interest in watching you shower,” he lied. “But it’s my job to keep you safe, which means I need to confirm upstairs is safe.”
She stepped aside, holding out her arm and giving him a brittle smile. “Then by all means, check away.”
He walked up the stairs, acutely aware of her behind him. He paused at the top, and she said, “The two doors to the left are the guest bedroom and bathroom. The door at the end is my aunt’s office. My bedroom and my aunt’s bedroom are to the right.”
He checked the office, the guest bedroom, and the bathroom, leaving his bag on the bedroom floor.
“The bed will be too small for you,” she said.
He eyed the queen-sized bed and shrugged. “It’s fine. I’m used to it.”
He followed her down the hallway, checking her aunt’s bedroom and pretending not to notice how watery-eyed she got just being in the room, before following Cece into her room.
He stopped abruptly, a “Holy shit” escaping his mouth.
The bedroom was on the larger size with a king-size bed, two bedside tables, and a wooden dresser.
It was a totally normal bedroom, except for the hundreds of plants that crowded the room.
Multiple tall wooden shelves, short metal shelves, wall shelves, and even the floor itself were covered with plants of all shapes and sizes.
A hexagonal wooden plant stand loaded with plants stood in front of the only window. Briggs glanced up as something tickled the back of his neck. Dozens and dozens of hooks were screwed into the ceiling, and pots of various sizes with cream-braided macramé holders were hung from each one.
Each pot held a vine plant, and he brushed away the vine tickling his neck. Eventually, the vines would grow so long and thick that Cece would have to hack her way through them to get to her bed.
He inhaled deeply. The room smelled like rich, dark earth with a hint of floral, and his polar bear growled in approval. Whether it was his bear’s obsession with Cece or because of the plants and the scent of good, clean dirt, he was finally chilling the fuck out.
He took another deep breath as Cece gave him a look. “Don’t say it.”
“What?”
“That my room has too many plants,” she said. “I love plants, and I won’t apologize for it.”
“I like it,” he said honestly.
She blinked at him before her shoulders relaxed. “Oh, um, thanks.”
“I’m surprised they grow so well with how cold it is in here.” He crossed the room to the window, leaning around the plant stand to study the lock. It was just as flimsy as the rest and, he scowled, not even locked.
He squeezed his arm between the stand and the window and turned the lock. “Keep this locked.”
“Right,” she said.
“Do you use magic to make the plants grow so well?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Not deliberately, but I’m a green witch, so plants tend to do well under my care.”
Her eyes suddenly widened, and he followed her gaze to her bedside table. A pink silicone vibrator sat next to the lamp, and he immediately turned away as Cece rushed over to the bed.
He heard her yank the drawer open and then slam it shut, and while he could practically taste her embarrassment in the air, he was too busy trying to block out the mental images that had roared to life in his head.
Cece, naked in the bed, one hand teasing and toying with her nipples, the other slowly sliding that pink toy into her wet pussy, while she moaned his name.
He grimaced, resisting the urge to reach down and adjust his half-hard dick. One, he was being a fucking pervert, and two, why would she moan his name while using a toy?
His bear growled in annoyance. He didn’t want Cece using a toy, not when Briggs had a dick that was perfectly able and willing to let her ride it for as long as she wanted. His bear was, in fact, trying hard to force Briggs to take Cece’s vibrator and toss it in the garbage.
Get it the fuck together! Briggs snarled when his bear tried to force the shift so he could get rid of the toy.
Acutely aware of the thick scent of Cece’s embarrassment, he strode toward one of the two doors in the room. “What’s in here?”
“Bathroom, but don’t -”
He opened the door, sticking his head into the room as Cece made a loud sigh behind him. Hanging from the shower rod was a plain cotton sports bra and - his dick pressed against his zipper again - a pink lacy bra.
The matching pink panties were crumpled on the bathroom floor. Briggs closed the door quickly before his urge to do something really inappropriate, like pick up those lace pink panties and bury his face in them, became impossible to ignore.
Her face as pink as those panties, Cece avoided eye contact with him as he grasped the door handle of the second door. “Closet?”
“Yes,” she said.
He took a quick look, shamefully more in the perverted hope he might catch another glimpse of panties rather than suspecting someone might be hiding in it. The closet was small but neatly organized, with not a single pair of panties in sight.
Without looking at Cece, he headed for the door, ignoring the vines brushing against his face and head. “I’ll be downstairs.”