She took another step forward, and his heart slamming against his ribcage, Briggs said, “Baby, I want you to stop.”
She gave him a look of frustration but backed away, resuming her pacing and muttering as Briggs turned to Hudson. “Sorry, man.”
Hudson nodded, the white fur on his face fading away. “You good?”
“Fine,” Briggs said, scrubbing his hand over his jaw.
Ronin leaned forward from his spot near the couch. “I’m gonna jump back in here for a minute. What’s a conduit?”
“It’s a human or paranormal who makes a witch’s magic stronger just by touching them,” Bishop said.
Except for Cece, they all turned to look at him. He shrugged. “What? I read things.”
“So, when did you realize you’re the tiny tree witch’s conduit?” Ronin asked.
“The night at the hospital,” Cece said.
“But I didn’t know until a few days ago,” Briggs said quickly with a glance at Mal.
Cece stopped pacing and stared at Briggs. “He touched me, and my magic went crazy.”
She shivered all over, another bright flare of light flashing around her. “He’s mine, and when he fucks me, when he gives me his seed, my magic will be more powerful than you can imagine.”
Ronin broke the silence. “Your magic seems pretty strong right now. Were you and the big guy going to bone town tonight?”
“Ronin,” Mal said.
“What? Her magic is stronger. We can all see it.”
Mal’s gaze fell on Briggs, and another bright blush rose in his cheeks.
“Is Ronin right?” Mal asked. “Are you and Cece sleeping together?”
“No,” Briggs said.
Mal gave him a skeptical look, and Briggs said, “We’re not. We’ve been making sure not to touch, because if we do, we both… look, we’ve kept things professional, but tonight I woke up to find her in my room, wrapped in vines and hovering above my bed. Her plants - the goddamn plants - carried her into my room and dropped her on me in bed. And once we touch, we can’t… it was the goddamn plants, okay?”
Another few moments of silence before Ronin said, “There’s a lot to unpack there, big guy.”
Cece scoffed. “Why is it so hard to understand? Briggs is my conduit. If I touch him, my magic gets stronger, and Briggs gets a hit of my magic too. It feels good to him, which means he wants more, which makes it easy for me to take what’s mine. He wants to fuck me, I want to fuck him, and if we do, my magic grows more powerful. The more powerful I am, the safer I am from whatever crazy ass witch is after me. So, while I appreciate your help, I really want the four of you to get the hell out of my house so I can get back to fucking what’s mine.”
When they didn’t move, she sighed with frustration and returned to her pacing and muttering.
“I think the overload of magic is fucking with her head,” Briggs said to the others in a low voice. “This isn’t who she is or how she normally acts.”
“Hey, I get it. My lady is possessive as fuck. It’s kinda hot, especially coming from someone who’s usually so sweet, am I right?” Ronin said.
Briggs growled at him, and Ronin grinned. “Relax, I’m not after your girl.”
“She’s not my girl,” Briggs snapped. “Once her magic fades a bit, she’ll be her normal self again.”
“How do you know?” Bishop asked.
“I mean… I assume she will be,” Briggs said.
Mal rubbed his forehead. “Okay, let’s table the conduit thing for now. Can you bring Cece to the office tomorrow afternoon? I’ve arranged for a warlock to do protection spells for any staff working on the Cece job.”
Briggs nodded, and Mal studied the rock in Bishop’s gloved hand. “Maybe this guy can remove the spell from that thing. We’ll throw it in my trunk for tonight and talk to him tomorrow.”
