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 -
