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While she’d been drawn to him before, now he was a yearning in her blood. She feared it was due to the magic but was terrified it wasn’t. If the attraction was natural, what did it mean? Where would it go? Bottom line, she was human. He wasn’t.
She grabbed her purse and dug out a small brush. After releasing the clip, she dragged the brush through her curls, doing her best to tame her unruly mass.
“Let me. You’re tearing your hair out.” He plucked the brush from her hand and went to work. For a big man, he was extremely gentle. No one—except her nanny when she was young—had ever done this for her. Certainly, her mother never had. In its way, it was as intimate as their kiss. Maybe more so because there was nothing in it for him. This was him doing a service for her because he wanted to. Or maybe he figured she was too nervous to do it herself.
“I can do it.”
“I want to. Don’t deny me this pleasure. Your hair is beautiful. The curls are sexy as hell. The gray streaks mixed with the brown are unique.”
And it tied them together. As did the color of their eyes.
Don’t think about it.
It was difficult to relax, but eventually her shoulders dropped, the muscles loosening. It was…nice. She was used to doing everything herself. It wasn’t in her nature to ask for help or accept it if it was offered. In her experience, help always came with conditions attached. While that attitude had allowed her to survive, it had blocked moments like this.
No one else had ever bothered to push at her boundaries to test them.
He worked methodically, from the tips to her scalp, careful not to tug too hard. It was soothing, almost hypnotic. “It’s natural to be nervous.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “But I’ll be right here with you.”
He thought her nervousness was due to the mage. In truth, her insides were in a knot because of their kiss, because of how quickly he’d gotten under her skin.And into my heart.Denying the truth wouldn’t change it.
He tossed the brush into her bag and gathered the mass at the nape of her neck. When he held out his hand, she didn’t bother to try to assert her independence. She handed him the clip, which he snapped into place.
The sense of loss she experienced when he stepped away was far out of proportion. It would be far too easy to start depending on him. What would happen when he got what he wanted and went on his way?
“Thank you.” She forced herself to step away and fiddled with the contents of her bag, making sure everything was tucked away inside. It was habit to reach back and check the clip. It was perfect.
A knock on the door saved her from deeper contemplation. It also brought the nerves rushing back. Right on cue, a vise of pain gripped her hand.
“You ready?” His eyes were dark with concern.
She clenched her teeth to keep from yelling and nodded. God, if it was this intense with the mage in the hallway, how bad was it going to get?
Kade flung the door open. Without waiting for an invitation, the woman strode in, the three-inch ankle boots she was wearing bringing her to over six feet. Talk about presence.
Luna was tall, but this woman was commanding. Red hair was pulled back in a bun, exposing exquisite bone structure and flawless skin. The long black velvet dress made her look like a cross between a witch and a rock star. Thick silver cuffs, studded with semiprecious stones, adorned each wrist. More stones dangled from her ears.
Pain, white hot and blistering, clawed through her. She wavered on her feet but remained standing as the mage looked her up and down.
“Solange got her claws into you,” she pronounced with a low, sultry voice. “I can smell the stench.” She reached for Luna’s hand, but Kade stepped between them, blocking her access. Hands on her hips, Onyx glared. “You asked me to come, remember? The longer you play games, the more your woman hurts.”
Legs giving out, Luna crumbled. Onyx surged past Kade and caught her. “Help me.” If Luna wasn’t on the verge of her entire body exploding, she would have laughed at the expression on his face. He wasn’t used to anyone telling him what to do. Let alone a mage he’d just met.
“Fuck.” He yanked her from Onyx’s grasp and sat on the sofa with her on his lap. “Help her.”
“If that wasn’t my intention, I wouldn’t be here,” she muttered. “May I?” She indicated Luna’s hand. Unable to speak through the agony, she nodded.
Kade grabbed the mage’s wrist before she made contact. “If you do anything to bring further harm, I’ll rip your heart out.”
Rather than be upset or frightened, Onyx seemed pleased. Or maybe the pain was making her see things that weren’t there. “Hurry.” The single word was ripped from her. Her temperature had spiked. Sweat seeped from her skin. If this was a tracking spell, what harm could Solange do with a serious spell? It didn’t bear thinking about.
Onyx’s fingers closed around hers. Luna tilted her head back, a thin cry falling from her lips. Inside she was screaming.
Then everything went black.
…
“What did you do?” Kade was sweating almost as badly as Luna. She was limp in his arms. Her human body couldn’t handle this kind of heat for an extended period. Too long and it would kill her. His instinct was to attack and kill the source of her pain—the mage. But that would leave them with the original problem.
