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.
