Chapter 30
Chapter
Thirty
D read nearly taking me out at the knees, I guide Sydney into the crowded pub with a possessive hand at the small of her back.
Fuck. Twenty minutes after one of the most amazing sexual experiences in my life, and I’m absolutely greedy for more. Desperate for it. Dying.
But now is the time for business.
I hope I can focus.
Across the dark bar, Duke watches me with a judgmental brow, focused on my palm laying silent claim to Sydney.
I know she can’t be mine. Fuck you.
As we wend our way through the little establishment, the walls seem to close in, filled with tables and bodies and the smell of ale, all threatening to strangle me.
Suddenly, the room lurches. I start to sweat again. The shakes set in. My energy wanes with every step. I wish I simply needed a nap after an orgasm that nearly blew my head off. But given my urge to hold Sydney close and drown in her again, I know better.
“Where the hell have you been?” Duke barks in my ear as he rips my hand from her.
Sluggishly, I turn my head. The wizard looks incredibly brassed off. Splendid.
A few feet in front of me, I’m vaguely aware of Olivia introducing herself to Sydney and smiles being exchanged. Olivia leads Sydney to another table. I growl, reluctantly letting her walk away as the women begin chatting.
“Sit down,” Duke commands.
Perhaps he’s right. I should. And perhaps I should also rest my head. I’m exhausted. I need sleep. Badly.
I sway on my feet, the room spinning. Duke peers into my face, then sniffs. “I bloody well know where you’ve been. Or rather, what you’ve been doing. Sex at a time this critical?”
“Piss off,” I growl, then collapse into a chair.
“Shut up and look at me.”
Slowly, I open unfocused eyes. “Wha…?”
“Have you been sweating all day? Shaking?”
I nod.
“Craving sex?”
A snort punctuates my answer. “Last two weeks.”
“You just shagged her, and you’re already exhausted?”
In the battle between me and my thousand-pound eyelids, the eyelids win. “Watch your mouth.”
“Answer me.”
Somehow, I find the energy to nod.
“Fuck.”
Usually, the titled wizard is every bit a gentleman. I wince.
“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 turns his attention toward Sydney. “Is she your mate? I know you haven’t spoken the words but…”
“Yes,” I gasp out.
Finally, I admit out loud what my body has been telling me since virtually the moment I met her. It isn’t a happy moment.
“Your transition from human to wizard is upon you,” Duke says in a low voice. “We’ve got to find a female to go through it with you. You’ll need great amounts of sexual energy.”
“Sydney—”
“Is a human. If that’s not bad enough, she’s 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 be impossible to hide. How do you know she won’t publish it in her human newspaper? Pick someone else. Sabelle?—”
“No. Want her.” I point Sydney’s way.
“I know,” he soothes. “But you can’t have her. Not for your transition. Not for your mate. She’ll either expose us to humankind or wind up as one of Mathias’s snacks—or both. I’ll call Bram. He’ll know a witch who will help you.” Duke reaches for his mobile.
My sluggish brain takes in Duke’s words. Everything inside me rebels.
Dredging up my energy, I grab his mobile and bash it against the table. It chirps and breaks into a dozen little pieces of plastic and wires as it dies.
Duke recoils, looking around to see who noticed. “Have you gone mental?”
“I want Sydney,” I demand.
Duke clenches his jaw tight as a fresh tremor overtakes my body, rocking every muscle. The wizard closes the short distance between us, drapes an arm around my shoulders, and drags me to my feet. “Let’s go.”
“Don’t touch me.” I try to throw him off.
“What’s wrong with him?”
Olivia. I know her voice.
“Guess,” Duke barks. “Mr. Hormones destroyed my mobile. Use yours to call Bram. Tell him I’ll be babysitting for a few days.”
She gasps. “All right, but get him out of here. People are staring. They probably think he’s having a seizure.” She turns to Sydney. “Perhaps we can continue our discussion?—”
“Sydney comes with me.” I raise my head and glare daggers at Olivia. Marrok will kill me for it later, but now all that matters is keeping Sydney at my side.
“What’s wrong with him?” Sydney looks stunned and concerned.
“Family affliction. We’ll take care of Caden. In the meantime, I’d like to take the book and examine it overnight.” Olivia smiles.
“No.” Sydney’s refusal is a crisp syllable that doesn’t surprise me at all. “Ring me tomorrow. We’ll meet then. Tell me what’s ailing him.”
Duke and Olivia share a glance. No way to answer her. I don’t care what they say. I only know that I’m burning up from the inside and that I need these clothes off and Sydney under me immediately. She’ll soothe me. Serve me.
Only she will do.
I lift my head and send a burning gaze to her. “Need you.”
“I’m here. What can I do?”
Olivia begins edging her away from me. I howl and lurch across the space separating us, teeth bared at the little American Le Fay.
You’ll take her from me over my dead body .
Duke yanks me back with a low growl. “We’re out of time, so you win. But listen to me. You do not, under any circumstances, kiss her. Or get oral with her. No tasting her at all. No speaking the Call. Is that fucking clear?”