Chapter 19 #2
“The stones are black tourmaline, and this is rosemary,” Monroe said before blowing out the rosemary.
It produced a steady stream of smoke as he waved the bundle of herbs in a gentle back-and-forth motion for a minute or so before he gently pressed the smoldering end into a small bowl of sand.
Briggs studied the scallop-shaped seashell that hung around the warlock’s neck on a thin silver chain.
It was cream with teal streaks that seemed to shimmer in the light.
Monroe studied Briggs’s t-shirt. “Can you take off your shirt?”
“Why?” Briggs asked.
“Skin to skin contact is needed for the spell,” Monroe said.
Briggs glanced at Cece, who gave him an encouraging smile. He pulled his shirt over his head, holding it in one hand, and pretending it didn’t make him or his bear deliriously happy when the faint scent of Cece’s lust drifted to him.
His bear growled softly when Monroe placed his right hand on Briggs’s chest, and his left hand gripped the shell around his neck.
Monroe ignored the growl and, in a low voice, said, “Briggs, be safe, be whole, be strong. Where you walk, may nothing go wrong.”
Monroe’s hand glowed with a soft teal light, and Briggs’s bear chuffed in alarm when heat radiated from Monroe’s hand into his chest.
His voice still low and steady, Monroe said, “You who are Mother and Guardian, surround Briggs with a shield so bright, to keep him safe both day and night. Protect him with your love and light. Keep him in your guarding sight. So mote it be.”
The light in his hand flared brighter, and the heat intensified for a second or two before disappearing. The light faded, and Monroe stepped back, dropping his hand from Briggs’s chest. “All done.”
“That’s it?” Briggs said.
“That’s it,” Monroe confirmed. He blew out the candle with Briggs’s name on it and set it aside before producing another stick of rosemary from a small leather bag. “Cece, are you ready?”
“Yes,” she said.
She joined them as Briggs pulled his shirt on and Monroe took the final black candle with Cece’s name carved into it and set it in the circle of stones. He eyed Cece’s shirt, and hot jealousy immediately washed over Briggs.
“You don’t touch her,” he snarled.
Monroe raised an eyebrow. “I have to touch her to do the spell.”
“No,” Briggs said.
“Briggs,” Cece said. “He has to touch me.”
“No.” His voice had gone deep and gravelly as his bear pushed to the surface.
“Briggs, wait with me outside,” Mal said.
“Not a fucking chance,” he snarled before turning to Monroe. “Do the spell without touching her.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Monroe said.
“Then maybe we need to find a warlock who’s better than you,” Briggs said.
Teal light flashed in Monroe’s eyes before it faded. He gave Briggs a bland smile. “Sure. Good luck finding another.”
He reached for the candle, and Cece said, “Monroe, wait.”
She glanced behind her at Mal. “Can you and Monroe give us a minute?”
Mal nodded, and she turned to smile at Monroe. “I’m so sorry. This won’t take long, I promise.”
Monroe followed Mal out of the boardroom. Once the door was closed, Cece gave Briggs a look of exasperation. “What are you doing, Briggs?”
“I don’t want him touching you,” Briggs snapped.
“He has to,” she said.
“We can find a more powerful warlock,” he said.
“Even a more powerful warlock or witch would still have to touch me,” she said.
She’s our mate!
His bear was freaking out, and Briggs could feel him pushing toward the surface again.
He tried to soothe him, but truthfully, he was freaking out as well.
What if Monroe touched Cece and her magic was boosted?
She would want him instead of Briggs, and he wouldn’t be able to stop her from being with the warlock, from letting him into her bed and between her soft thighs.
To touch her and tease her. It would be the warlock’s name she moaned when coming, Monroe who gave her the boost of magic she craved, Monroe who -
No! She belongs to us!
He could feel the shift beginning, his fangs piercing his bottom lip, and his bones cracking as his shirt stretched at the seams. Before he could fully shift, Cece’s soft voice penetrated the thick panic that surrounded him.
“Briggs, stop.”
“Mine,” he growled, his voice nearly unrecognizable. “You’re my mate.”
“Yes,” she said after a moment’s hesitation. “Don’t shift, Briggs. Do you hear me? Your, um, mate doesn’t want you to shift.”
His mate’s soft command helped him claw back control, and his bear retreated. He took in a deep breath, staring at Cece with shame. “Fuck. I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay,” she said.
He waited for her to ask him what the fuck was up with the mate thing. Instead, she said, “Tell me why you’re upset.”
He blurted out the truth. “What if he becomes your conduit?”
She stared at him. “What?”
“What if he touches you and then you want to fuck him? What if touching you makes him your conduit?”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Cece said.
“You don’t know that,” Briggs said.
“I do,” she said calmly. “One, witches are never conduits for another, and two, you’re my conduit. It doesn’t transfer to someone else.”
“You’re sure?” He’d never heard that plaintive note in his voice before, and another wave of hot shame went through him.
Thank fuck, the look Cece gave him wasn’t pity or annoyance, but empathy and a gentle understanding that shook him to his core. “I’m positive, Briggs. You’re my conduit, and another man touching me won’t change that.”
“He’s attracted to you,” Briggs said.
“No, he’s not.”
He scowled. “Yes, he is. I can smell his attraction to you.”
“God, that’s so weird,” she said.
“He wants you,” Briggs said.
“Okay, but I don’t want him,” she said. “It’s you that I want. You know that better than anyone.”
“Only because of your magic.”
“No,” she said, her cheeks flushing pink. “I’d want you even if you weren’t my conduit.”
He studied her as his bear nearly did a damn jig of happiness. Her cheeks went a darker pink, and she stared at the floor between them. “You were honest with me earlier, so I should be honest with you. I was attracted to you before I touched you.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “At least we’re on the same page.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Remind me why we’re not having sex?”
He sighed, regret colouring his words. “I can’t, Cece. You’re a client, and while there isn’t a specific rule about sleeping with a client, Mal’s made it clear he doesn’t approve. If I lose my job because I’m sleeping with you, I won’t be able to keep you safe.”
“Okay,” she said. “We should get Monroe back in here to do the spell.”
“I’m not leaving while he does the spell,” Briggs said.
“I know. But you can’t be growling and nearly shifting, okay? Touching me won’t make him my conduit, and I’m not attracted to him,” Cece said.
Fresh embarrassment hit him like a sledgehammer to the gut. “Sorry for being so… this. My bear is being really fucking weird right now, and I’m not sure why.”
Liar!
He ignored his inner voice. “I’ll keep him under better control.”
“Okay,” she said. “Your bottom lip is bleeding.”
He swiped his hand across the spot on his lip where his fangs pierced, ignoring the stinging pain and studying the red streak on his palm. “It’ll heal.”
Her hand rose as if she was going to touch him, and he wanted nothing more than to lean into her touch. Instead, he took a step back, and she twitched all over before grimacing.
“Sorry. Ready to go?”
He nodded, and she ducked past him to open the boardroom door. Mal and Monroe joined them, and Mal gave Briggs a look, his gaze lingering on the stretched seams of Briggs’s shirt. “Are we good?”
“Yes,” Briggs said before looking at Monroe. “Sorry about earlier.”
“All good,” Monroe said.