He ignored his bear. History had already proved that trying to explain to his bear why he couldn’t be with Cece was pointless.
Cece opened the door, and Briggs swallowed his growl when Monroe followed her into the bedroom. Briggs was right behind him and, despite his best effort, he immediately checked the nightstand. Cece’s vibrator was nowhere in sight, thank Christ. He glanced at Cece. She was staring at him with a look of amusement, and when she gave him a cute grin and winked at him, his jealousy vanished.
He growled to her, the soft sound he reserved for her and her alone, and her smile widened as soft pink infused her cheeks.
“Everything okay?” Monroe glanced at Briggs.
“Yes,” Cece said.
“Okay, so you need a barrier spell for the window, I assume?” Monroe ducked past a few of the vines hanging down from the ceiling and walked toward the window, peering behind the shelf of plants. “Yeah, this lock is shit. I can do a protection spell as well, like I did on the doors and windows downstairs.”
“Actually, it’s not the window I need the barrier spell for, and why aren’t you weirded out by the number of plants in my room?” Cece asked.
Monroe laughed. “My mom is a green witch, remember? My parents’ house looks a lot like this, just with more water features. My dad wanted to install an actual fountain in the dining room and even had the plans drawn up. Until the contractor pointed out that it would flood the entire lower level if it ever malfunctioned. My mom convinced him to add a second fountain to the back yard instead.”
Cece grinned. “I can’t imagine having two fountains in the back yard.”
“Oh, it’s three now,” Monroe said. “I helped him add a third one just last year.”
Cece laughed, and Briggs felt that stir of jealousy again as Monroe grinned at her. “My mother doesn’t love that both her husband and her son are water warlocks. Anyway, what do you need the barrier spell for if it isn’t the window?”
“I need one for my bed,” Cece said before grabbing a book of spells sitting on the bed. “I found a few online, but none of them seemed strong enough. So I looked through my spell books and found this one.”
She flipped through the book to a page marked with a bookmark. “It does require - Monroe, what’s wrong?”
Briggs’s bear made a low growl when Monroe’s gaze turned to him. Behind his wire-rimmed glasses, Monroe’s dark irises were rimmed with teal and teal light pulsed in his hands. One hand reached up to grip the shell that hung from the chain around his neck as he stared at Briggs.
“Why does she need a barrier spell on her bed, shifter?” Monroe’s voice was low and tension filled. “Are you too thick-headed to understand what no means?”
Anger flared in Briggs, and he bared his teeth at the warlock. “What the fuck did you just say to me?”
Monroe took a step toward him, the light in his hands pulsing brighter. “Are you scaring her, shifter? Forcing yourself into her bed when she doesn’t want you there?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Briggs snarled. “I would never scare or hurt my mate.”
Something brushed against Briggs’s shoulder before curling around his arm. Vines were descending from the ceiling and quickly wrapping protectively around his upper body, their leaves tickling his skin.
Monroe paid no attention to the vines, his body stiff with anger as his hand gripped the shell tightly. “Then why does she need a barrier spell on her bed if not to keep you out? If not to keep you from hurting her?”
“Accuse me of hurting my mate one more time. I fucking dare you,” Briggs said as his fangs descended and he clenched his hands into fists. “Go on, warlock. Say it.”
His body was swelling, and the vines around him tightened in response. More vines slithered in front of him, twisting and weaving together to create a barrier of leaves and vines between him and Monroe, as the warlock gave him a soft, deadly grin.
Before he could repeat himself, Cece stepped between them. She waved her hand, and the vines untangled and retreated to the ceiling. “Monroe, it’s because of me. I need the barrier spell on my bed because I keep attacking Briggs.”
The light faded in Monroe’s hand as he gave her a confused look. “What?”
“You’re not attacking me, Cece,” Briggs said.
She waved off his statement, staring intently at Monroe. “Briggs is my conduit. When I’m sleeping, my magic takes over, and my plants carry me to him and toss me into his bed.”
“Holy shit, he’s your conduit?” Monroe studied Briggs as if he’d never seen him before. “I’ve never met a conduit in real life. I’ve only read about them. How did you find out he was your conduit?”
“He touched me, and my magic went crazy,” Cece said.
“And now you’re obsessed with each other.” Monroe studied Briggs again. “What does it feel like when she touches you? How much magic do you absorb?”
“None of your goddamn business,” Briggs said.
