Haunted by Your Touch

Chapter One

Mathias attacked the Lowery estate and burned it to the ground. The family is dead.”

Raiden Wolvesey staggered and fell against the nearby wall. Those terrible words repeated over and over in his head.

The entire family dead? Including Tabitha… and the child she’d been carrying? His child?

He’d never said good-bye, held her one last time.

The pain swept over him, fast and unmerciful, like a forest fire out of control. He struggled to stay upright, deny the news. Though he’d been witness to the aftermath of other such attacks, he refused to believe it until he saw her body himself.

After wreaking havoc on magickind for months, Mathias d’Arc, an evil wizard recently returned from exile, had been quiet for weeks, his indiscriminate raping and killing of magic-kind paused. He claimed to commit his crimes against the wizarding upper class, the Privileged, in the name of lifting the Deprived, magickind’s lower class, to power.

Liberation based on blood and pain and torture? Rubbish! Raiden shook his head.

“I know what you’re thinking, and you’re not going alone,” the bearer of the bad news said from the doorway.

Bram Rion. He led the Doomsday Brethren, a handful of warriors devoted to stopping Mathias. They’d taken to hiding in this series of caves like damn underground rodents scurrying for shelter. While others above them died. Like beautiful Tabitha.

Her fiery hair, her laughter, her hazel eyes… all gone?

Fury assailed him, and it was all he could do not to charge across the room and rip Bram’s blond head off. “I’m going. I have to see if there’s any way…”

Raiden raked a hand through his hair. He couldn’t even talk about the possibility of Tabitha’s death, much less accept it.

“The neighbors reported fires. When Caden and Ice”—Bram referenced two of the Doomsday Brethren’s other members—“teleported over to investigate, they found no survivors. You won’t solve anything by going there.”

“If someone had attacked Emma’s house, wouldn’t you investigate personally?” Raiden snarled, referring to Bram’s mysterious mate. She’d bonded with him, then disappeared after just one night.

Bram raised a brow. “It’s different. Tabitha wasn’t your mate. In fact, didn’t you spend last night with another woman?”

Raiden steeled himself. Yes, he had. A human whose name he couldn’t recall. And didn’t he regret that now? While trying to avoid Tabitha so she could have a safer, better life, he’d left her to face Mathias alone.

Self-loathing ate his stomach like acid.

He shot Bram a menacing glare. “I’m going. I don’t care if you come with me or not.”

Forcing himself to concentrate, Raiden took a deep breath, centered his magic, and teleported to the Lowery estate.

The grand home lay in ruins, blackened, ransacked as if someone had searched it high and low. The devastation was absolute—and like a fist in his gut. Bodies were strewn on the lawn. Her mother, father, two brothers.

No Tabitha.

Raiden prowled through the charred remains of the house, which still smoldered with the aftereffects of the fire. No one in the foyer, the sitting room, the bedrooms. Upstairs—or what was left of it—downstairs, servants’ quarters… all empty. With every step, his fear for Tabitha burned hotter. Panic rose.

He could think of only two reasons Tabitha’s body wasn’t among the dead: either she’d miraculously escaped, or Mathias had taken her with him. If the latter, the bastard would torture the beautiful witch unmercifully before ending her life in a cataclysm of humiliation and pain.

Suddenly, he heard a little whooshing sound and he whirled, heart chugging, anticipating a fight. Hell, he welcomed one. Instead, he found Bram. Again.

“She’s not here.”

As Raiden could plainly see. But he wouldn’t rest until he found her… one way or the other. “You didn’t mention that.”

“You didn’t let me.”

Fucking semantics. Raiden had no time for them. “I must keep searching. Maybe… she escaped and sought refuge elsewhere.”

“Maybe.”

Bram didn’t sound convinced, and Raiden stifled the urge to rage at him. Doing so would make him feel better, but it wouldn’t bring back Tabitha.

With a sigh, Bram clapped him on the shoulder. “I know she’s expecting your child.”

“Yes,” Raiden choked.

God, yes. She wasn’t very far along, three months at most. If any other woman had ever conceived by him, he’d know exactly when because he never spent more than a single night with any of them, never went back for seconds. No attachments, ever. For Tabitha, he’d broken that cardinal rule. Repeatedly. He’d been unable to stay away, no matter how much better her life would have been without him.

“Rightfully, you’re concerned about the baby,” Bram placated. “Children are difficult for magic-kind to conceive, and I—”

“Shut up.” Not for anything would he confess his feelings about Tabitha to Bram. Hell, he barely understood them.

“Or is this about Tabitha herself? If you loved her, why didn’t you mate with her?”

Raiden didn’t want to have this discussion.

“I’m not wired like you or the others. You know my family was cursed so that we can’t sense our mates. The mating instinct was bred out of us generations ago,” he said, referring to the sixth sense that allowed a wizard to taste a woman and know if magic intended her for him.

Bram raised a golden brow, his blue eyes laser sharp. “That didn’t stop your twin. Ronan looks quite settled with Kari. For months he hasn’t looked at another woman.”

Nearly two years, if Bram wanted the honest truth. Oh, prior to mating with the pretty human Kari, Ronan had bedded other women. Magic must be powered by a strong exchange of emotion, and sex always worked like a charm. Playful encounters with many partners were expected until one mated. But almost from the start, Ronan had fixated on Kari, finally mating with her, despite the fact that the rest of the Wolvesey family, eternal bachelors all, thought him mad.

Raiden understood. Meeting Tabitha had been almost surreal. His first thought had been that no witch could possibly be so lovely. Once he’d talked his way into her bed, his second thought had been that no witch could possibly be so sweet.

It had taken great effort to leave her that next morning, but he’d vowed never to return. She’d been too tempting, had felt too damn good once he’d sunk into and made love to her. But he’d been back again three days later, hungrier than ever. Then again, and again…

“I’m not like Ronan.” He clenched his jaw so hard that he swore it would shatter.

Bram scoffed. “Exactly. He’s smarter.”

When Bram turned away to sift through the ruins, Raiden charged after him. “What the hell does that mean? I don’t have the instinct!”

“But, in theory at least, you have a brain. And a heart. You knew that woman meant something to you, but…” Bram shrugged. “Well, water under the bridge if she’s dead.”

Raiden growled, “I refuse to believe that until I have proof.”

“Chances are—”

“Finish that sentence, and I’ll wring your bloody neck. Call Shock. Find out what he knows.”

It went against everything in Raiden’s body to suggest that Bram call the Doomsday Brethren’s supposed double agent. No one liked the confrontational bastard. They trusted him even less. But he alone was close enough to Mathias. Maybe Shock knew the truth. Raiden closed his eyes and prayed.

“Are you mad? If Shock says Mathias has her, what will you do? Charge in like her white knight? You’ll be signing your own death warrant.”

If Mathias had Tabitha, Raiden would go after her. Period. No one deserved to die the way Mathias preferred to kill: shaving, branding, raping, then leaving the victim to bleed to death. She was the warmest woman, passionate beneath that shy exterior, so smart it roused him, so welcoming he’d lacked the strength to say no. She was, in a word, perfect.

Tabitha deserved a better father for her child. Her parents had insisted on it and found her a suitable mate, whom she would have joined with in mere days from now. Raiden had never imagined that finding the strength to walk away from her would lead to this.

“Call Shock,” Raiden demanded. “Now!”

With a shrug, Bram pulled his phone from his pocket. “You’re presuming the wanker will answer.”

After pressing a few buttons, Bram handed him the phone.

Shock did answer… in his usual manner.

“What the fuck do you want?”

“It’s Raiden Wolvesey. Help me.”

“We have nothing to say.”

The hell they didn’t. “I need information about the Lowery attack.”

Shock said nothing for a long moment. “Why do you think I can help you? What’s done is done.”

“You knew about this? Knew Mathias would attack Tabitha’s family?”

Shock remained silent for so long that Raiden wondered if the wizard had rung off. Finally Shock said, “If you were Mathias and you could obtain information you needed while bedding one of magickind’s most renowned beauties, what would you do?”

“So he planned to take her and—” Raiden couldn’t finish the sentence. The reality made him altogether ill. “Did he succeed? Does Mathias have her?”

“I wasn’t present for the attack. It was sudden. Mathias had this mad idea last night. Wouldn’t share it. Just said he’d solved his problem and needed information. I don’t know why. I don’t know who, if anyone, he took with him from the Lowery estate. But he’s in a foul mood now. That’s all I know.”

There was a soft click in Raiden’s ear as Shock ended the call. With a curse, Raiden thrust the phone back at Bram, trying to tamp down his growing fear and fury.

Mathias had wanted information? But was in a foul mood now? Then something had gone wrong. And Raiden prayed it was that Tabitha had escaped.

He clung to that glimmer of hope. He must continue looking for her.

“Shock knows almost nothing,” he muttered.

“Or is willing to admit almost nothing. With him, who knows the truth?”

Who, indeed? Raiden wandered into what had once been Tabitha’s bedroom. Amidst the rubble on the floor, he found the green glass heart necklace she’d been so fond of. His breath froze in his chest. She’d never taken it off, and the fact that it wasn’t around her neck now… He resisted the urge to hurl the little glass pendant across the room. Instead, he shoved it in his pocket. It might be the only thing he had left of her. The thought was another stab in the heart.

Damn it! How could he be this grief-stricken for someone to whom he hadn’t given his heart?

Chapter Two

If Mathias had Tabitha in his grip,” Bram mused, “he’d likely be taunting you with the knowledge.”

Raiden clenched his fists. “Why? As you pointed out, she’s not my mate.”

“But she is the mother of your child. Her magical signature would tell him so,” he said, referring to the aura around every witch and wizard that told others about their power and lineage. “He’d start with the idea that you’d do anything to protect your coming youngling.”

A very good assumption.

The phone in Raiden’s pocket rang. He withdrew it, peered at the display, and swore. His father. If Nathanial told him that he’d scored two sisters and to come home immediately to share them, as he had last week, Raiden swore he’d throttle the man.

“What?” he barked into the phone.

“Good evening to you, Son. Are you… busy?”

In other words, was he already shagging someone tonight? Raiden rolled his eyes. How could a grown wizard think so much like a fifteen-year-old boy? Raiden had tried more than once to explain that since he’d joined the Doomsday Brethren, finding a different woman every night no longer topped his priority list. Staying alive did. Granted, that was likely futile. Seven warriors stacked against the most evil wizard in history and his growing army? The odds weren’t good. But his twin, Ronan, was committed to this war, and the cause was noble, so Raiden wouldn’t leave his brother to fight alone.

“Yes, I’m busy, Father.” Looking for Tabitha. The lie would dissuade Nathanial from calling for a few hours at least.

“Very well, I’ll tell your encinta that.”

His encinta. The woman carrying his baby. Raiden’s heart stopped. “Tabitha is there?”

“Indeed. Unless there’s another—”

“No. Is she all right?” Raiden demanded.

“Shaken and bleeding a bit from a small wound.”

A relief stronger than he’d ever felt poured through Raiden. Something in him had died when he’d thought he might never see her again. Now it awakened with a vengeance.

“I’ll be happy to take care of her,” Nathanial said.

“Don’t touch her.” It was all Raiden could do not to crush the phone.

He’d never been possessive of a woman—until recently. Before Tabitha, females had been interchangeable. Since meeting her, Raiden had done his best to put on a good front, but he ached for her alone.

And now he might have the opportunity to hold her again.

No. Though she was alive, she was all but pledged to another. It was better that way.

“Well.” His father sounded affronted. “You needn’t yell.”

“Keep Tabitha there. I’ll be home in a moment.”

He rang off and bent to her family’s burned, bloody bodies. He lifted Tabitha’s mother. Her ending had been violent but quick. Small blessing, but better than the alternative.

The woman had despised him for impregnating her only daughter. Had said the baby had ruined her chances of mating and that a notorious playboy like Raiden didn’t deserve her. Naturally, they’d been relieved when Sean Blackbourne, nephew to the head of the magical Council, had stepped forward and agreed to mate with Tabitha.

Older and well-connected, Sean sought a companion and heir now that his mate had perished without breeding. He would be better for Tabitha and the child. To protest the match would have been selfish, so Raiden had swallowed his pride and wished her well. That had been the last time he’d seen her, over two months ago. God, how he’d love to turn back the clock. Even if he could, he didn’t know what he’d do differently. Nothing changed the fact that her parents had been right.

Raiden turned to Bram. “Help me take her family to my house.”

“Tabitha is there?” When Raiden nodded, Bram shook his head. “She’s going to be too grief-stricken to see their bodies now.”

Did Bram think Raiden was daft? “I didn’t plan on displaying them. I’m going to take them to the gardens, prepare them for burial.”

With a nod, Bram took her father and middle brother. Raiden lifted her eldest brother as well and closed his eyes, focusing on home. Moments later, he found himself in his gardens, freezing in the December chill. Carefully, they laid her family out inside the gazebo, protected from the elements.

“I keep wondering, why the Lowerys?” Bram murmured. “It seems so… random.”

Impatience chafed at Raiden. He wanted to see Tabitha, but this question had crossed his mind as well. “I haven’t a clue.”

“Random is unlike Mathias. Lowery hadn’t spoken publicly against Mathias, hadn’t lifted a wand to fight. Tabitha was to be joined to Blackbourne, a family with ties to Mathias. I can’t imagine what Mathias would have sought from Lowery. He was a bloody historian. The information he collected is public to all of magickind. But by the looks of the ruins, Mathias wanted something badly.”

Indeed. And Raiden wanted to get to the bottom of that mystery—after he’d seen Tabitha.

His heart pounded overtime as he ran toward the house, each step bringing him closer to her, to seeing for himself that she was alive and well and the baby was still safe.

As he reached the back door and threw it open, Tabitha stood waiting, her long skirts torn, her pale cheeks sooty. The air left Raiden’s body in a giant rush.

Her fiery hair, which he’d loved to spread across white pillows, had come loose from its usual upswept do. A tear in her soft cinnamon blouse bared her shoulder. Her hazel eyes looked wide and stricken.

She was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.

The moment she saw him, she ran toward him. For safety and comfort only, he knew. Still, Raiden opened his arms and wrapped them around her, clutching her small frame tightly.

“T-they came so quickly. I… I didn’t know what to do. Father told me to run. Mathias made it impossible to teleport and—”

“Shh,” he comforted her. “I know. I… saw. Take a deep breath.”

Wildly, she shook her head, and more of her fiery hair escaped its knot. “He killed them, didn’t he?”

Oh, God. She didn’t know her entire family was dead? And he had to be the one to tell her. She already despised him for walking away. The pain of her hatred already hurt so damn bad….

But she deserved to know. No one else would break it to her as gently.

Lifting her in his arms, he carried her to a nearby sitting room, shutting the door against his curious father. He set her on his lap, then used his magic to pour her a bit of water from the nearby bar and levitate it to her.

“Drink this.”

“Answer me!” That temper of hers flashed hot and suddenly. “Are they dead?”

What the hell could he say? “Yes. I’m so sorry, Tabby.”

Tears immediately flooded her eyes as pain crested over her face. “A-all of them?”

He nodded. “I brought them here for burial.”

Her hazel eyes were twin wells of anguish, and Raiden didn’t know what else to do but hold her as long as she needed him.

Tabitha buried her face in Raiden’s neck and did the one thing she’d sworn never to do again: she clung to him. As always, he was solid. Hard body, substantial shoulders. His long golden hair pulled away from the masculine angles of his chiseled face. The sight comforted her.

Everything she’d ever known, everyone she’d ever loved—except Raiden—was dead. Now she was virtually alone in the world. Scarcely knowing her intended mate, she really had no one else to turn to. And certainly no one else who knew anything about fighting Mathias.

Sobs overwhelmed her. Raiden could be a real bastard, and she didn’t expect him to do more than protect her now—likely more for the baby’s safety than her own.

Still, she couldn’t help sinking into him as he held her tightly, caressing her back, whispering assurances. No, it wasn’t going to be all right. Since the attack just after dinner, she hadn’t felt safe for a moment. Until now. This Raiden was the considerate lover who’d seduced her several months ago, not the unfeeling cad who’d broken her heart.

Tabitha shoved that thought aside. That no longer mattered, only the here and now did.

“I-it was terrible,” she muttered. “So unexpected. We’d just finished eating. Mother was pouring wine, Father informed me that Sean would be over for dinner tomorrow, then…”

Raiden’s hand tightened on her. “You don’t have to say more if you don’t wish.”

But she did have to. The danger wasn’t over.

“The windows crashed in. There were men everywhere. Wizards and half-rotted human corpses.” She shivered.

“The Anarki. Mathias’s army.”

She nodded. “I-I… they swarmed like locusts. Everyone scattered. My father grabbed my arm and whispered in my ear, then used his body to protect me as he shoved me through a hidden door in his office.”

She shook with fresh sobs as grief wrenched her all the way to her core. God, she could remember that last look at his face, so frighteningly resigned. “I… ran until I was far enough from Mathias’s power, then I teleported here.”

“I’m sorry you went through that. And I’m sorry about your family, Tabby.”

“I didn’t know where else to come. I know you and your friends fight Mathias…”

“You did the right thing.” He held her even tighter, and through her grief, Tabitha wondered why. Raiden didn’t love her. When her parents had demanded that he leave and never come back, he’d complied easily enough. If this hadn’t been a life-or-death prospect, Raiden would have been the last man she sought.

But only he could help her now.

“What did your father say before you ran?”

“I-I don’t understand it, really. It makes no sense. Maybe I misunderstood…”

“What?” Gently, he wiped her tears away.

Tabitha replayed her father’s voice, filled with forced calm, in her head. Then she frowned. “He told me to protect the secret tree.”

Chapter Three

The secret tree?” Raiden paused, his thoughts clearly churning. “Did you have such a thing on your property?”

“I’ve no idea what he was talking about.”

“Do you know where he might have grown a secret tree? Or why it’s so secret?”

Tabitha shook her head. Frustration warred with panic. She must figure out what her father wanted her to protect or his death would be in vain.

She sucked back her tears and forced herself to focus. “He never mentioned a secret tree previously.”

“We will figure it out,” Raiden soothed her, cradling her against him. “Had he behaved differently of late?”

“Since this business with Mathias began a few months past, he’d become cautious with his historical documents. He removed some from the house, but I’ve no idea where he took them. The only other time I saw him relocate work was long ago. When I was a child, he brought me with him once to an office. Perhaps a Council building? But who knows if it’s still in use.”

“Do you recall where? Maybe the secret tree is there.”

She could picture his large, modernish building in her mind, remembered the guards smiling at her and the labyrinth of stairwells, the colorful tiles. “That was years and years ago. The memories are hazy. I… Do you think Mathias was after something of my father’s work?”

“Possibly. Or perhaps Mathias just wanted to cause terror and instigate violence. Drink up, love.” Raiden pressed the glass to Tabitha’s lips.

She hesitated, then took a delicate sip. “Thank you.”

A soft smile curved his mouth. “Always so ladylike.”

Raiden had this way of poking fun at her gentility… yet making her feel so much like a woman. Tabitha sent him a bittersweet smile.

When she’d first fallen in love with Raiden, the feelings had rushed her like a hurricane—hard, fast, undeniable. She’d quickly learned that loving Raiden was like eating too much chocolate—scrumptious and incredible, but decidedly detrimental. “You’ve said that to me before.”

Indeed. The first time he’d seduced her. And shown her the meaning of passion beyond words.

Best not to think of that now. After spending amazing days with Raiden and even more amazing nights, she’d awakened one morning to find her magical signature altered to reflect the fact that she now carried his child. Within twenty-four hours, he’d been gone from her life.

Tabitha shifted away from him, rising to pace the room. She had to focus. Her family was dead, killed for something she didn’t understand and didn’t know how to protect.

“Tabby,” he murmured. “I see your mind working. We’re more likely to solve this problem together. Talk to me.”

She shook her head. “Too much nervous energy.”

And being close to him was too dangerous to her fragile heart.

He rose. The heat in his eyes was unmistakable. He wanted her. Very much. Then again, he always had. Sex for him meant nothing. She’d learned that the hard way.

What surprised her was the genuine warmth and concern in his expression. So unlike the Raiden who had turned his back on her suddenly. That man had been cold as ice. Did he feel sorry for her? The thought made her choke.

Tabitha rounded the couch, moving away from him. He changed course and followed. Slow. Stalking.

Running from Raiden was never an option. When he wanted something, he went after it ruthlessly. He never made any move without purpose.

She whirled, faced him, planted a hand on his solid chest to keep him at bay. Beneath smooth skin and hard muscle, she felt the beat, beat, beat of his heart. That sound had been permanently embedded in her memory the first time he’d covered her body with his, kissed her neck, then slid deep inside her.

“What do you want?”

He sighed and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You look scared and ready to collapse. I want you to rest.”

Before she could respond, she felt his magic pulling her under, compelling her into a deep slumber. And she collapsed into his arms.

Damn him! She wouldn’t stand for this.

That was her last thought.

Raiden settled Tabitha on his bed upstairs and tucked the covers around her. Dark circles shadowed her pretty eyes. Being an expectant mother naturally drained a great deal of her energy, and she’d just lost her whole family. She should have been in bed. Instead, Tabby had been pacing, trying to solve this dilemma on her own.

Not while there was still breath left in his body.

As he settled her against his pillows, she released a contented sigh.

Rising to his feet, Raiden started planning. First, he had to ensure her safety. To do that, he had to figure out this secret tree business. And somehow, he had to bring himself to deliver her to Sean Blackbourne. Lucky, undeserving bastard. But the other wizard would take care of her and the baby in a way Raiden couldn’t.

Shoving the terrible thought aside, he reached for his mobile and dialed a familiar number. Bram picked up on the first ring.

“Is Tabitha all right?”

“Shaken. Distraught.” And still so beautiful, she haunted him. Raiden couldn’t deny that his desire for her went dangerously deep.

Bram’s voice sounded heavy. “That’s to be expected. Her life has been forever changed.”

Indeed, and Raiden ached for the grief she must be enduring. But his first item of business must be protecting her. “What do you know about a secret tree?”

“A what?” Bram sounded puzzled. “Never heard of such a thing.”

That wasn’t good news. “Can you search your grandfather’s texts?” Raiden asked, referring to the tomes the great wizard Merlin had passed down to his family. “Or talk to your sister?”

Then he explained Lowery’s last words to his daughter.

Bram sighed. “Bloody hell, I have no idea.”

Not what Raiden wanted to hear. “When the sun rises, I’ll be searching her family estate again. There are clues, I’m certain. Damn it, we’re simply missing them.”

Trying to shake off dark dreams of screaming, destruction, and death, Tabitha awakened with night still streaming through the windows. Panting, she opened her eyes, eager to shake off the nightmare.

But she saw only an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. Raiden’s arms were curled around her. His blue eyes searched her, intent, concerned.

Reality crashed in on her. God, her worst torment wasn’t a terrible dream. Her family was gone. She turned her face away, not wanting to show him her tears.

“I’m so sorry about your family.” He caressed her long, loose hair gently.

She shoved it behind her shoulder self-consciously. Her mother, raised in another time, had always preached that wearing her hair down was a sign of wantonness. She’d let her hair down for Raiden, revealed her inner temptress. He’d broken her heart. She shouldn’t read too much into his concern other than compassion.

“I’ll be fine.” She tried to pull away.

Raiden held firm. “Should we have someone out to look at the baby? You’ve been distraught…”

Such emotions weren’t good for an expectant mother.

Tabitha took several deep breaths and willed herself to be calm. “No. There’s nothing wrong.”

His thumb caressed her cheek as his fingers curled around her nape. And those blue eyes of his looked through her. She shivered, recalling a thousand intimate moments between them—and foolishly wanting a thousand more.

“Have you been feeling well? Is the pregnancy normal? Any problems?”

She’d never heard his voice so gentle, and she didn’t want to be warmed by the fact that he’d asked. “No problems.”

That wasn’t totally true, but he didn’t need details.

“Tabby, until—”

“Don’t call me that anymore.” He’d called her that when he’d held her, kissed her, made love to her. He’d called her Tabitha as he’d left. Once he’d done that, he’d lost the right to use the more familiar name.

He ignored her. “I heard that you experienced sickness early on. That you nearly lost the baby.”

She gasped. How could he have known that?

“You never told me.” He actually looked hurt by that fact.

Tabitha shook off the covers and darted to her feet, horrified to discover that he’d stripped her down to her bra and knickers. Spearing him with an accusing stare, she grabbed the top blanket, wrapped it around her, and shoved her hair behind her again. “You no longer have the right to look at me this way, to touch me, to know about the baby. You made yourself very clear when you said you wanted nothing to do with mating and fatherhood.”

“I am not good for you.” He withdrew. “You know I’m not cut out for mating. My work is dangerous. I care very much, but I’m not capable of the devotion you sought. I’d rather see you happy and settled.”

“And allowing my parents to pawn me off on Sean Blackbourne made your life much easier, didn’t it? In days, he and I were to exchange the words that allowed you to go, guilt free, back to your warring and whoring.”

Something cold settled over his face. “Exactly.”

“I shouldn’t be here.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have come.”

Safety had been her first concern. Raiden would know how to protect her from Mathias, but perhaps she’d underestimated Sean. His family was powerful. Maybe he would know how to protect her equally well.

“You did the right thing.”

Clearly not. “I’m going to Sean. Now.”

“The hell you are! In my home, you can’t teleport in or out without my permission.” It was a common safety measure. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re remaining here. I’ll keep you safe, even if it takes my last breath, and you know that. What do you know about Sean?”

That he was going to man up to the responsibility Raiden had rejected.

Anger boiled up in her, morphing to a new realm of fury. She marched to him and slapped his face. He recoiled from the blow, a tic working in his jaw, but said nothing.

“I gave you everything,” she shouted. “Everything! I revealed myself to you in a way I’ve never done with another lover. I opened my heart and body to you. Yes, I knew your reputation, but when you came back to me again and again, I allowed myself to hope that you cared. And you knew that,” she snarled. “You knew how badly I wanted you for a mate, how totally I gave myself over and over. I think I willed your seed to take root, praying that you’d…”

God, it seemed so stupid now. So foolish and naive. She’d bedded down with one of the most notoriously carnal wizards ever and gotten what she’d deserved. Still, the pain staggered her.

“You’re right. I took advantage. I… the way you revealed yourself slowly to me, unfurling each time, shedding your ladylike inhibitions to embrace the sizzle between us, how could I refuse when you kept tempting me?” He shrugged. “Sorry. Next time, don’t offer.”

Chapter Four

As the sun rose, Raiden left her.

How like him.

After dressing and repairing her hair, Tabitha wandered from room to room in the big house until she encountered a cozy library—and found another intimidating wizard inside.

“Hello, Tabitha.” A mirror image of Raiden rose, except his hair was dark as night.

This must be Raiden’s twin.

“Ronan, correct?”

He nodded, approaching her slowly. “I’m sorry we’ve not met before.”

They hadn’t because Raiden had tried hard not to incorporate her into his life.

Then why hadn’t he simply dropped her in Sean Blackbourne’s lap and washed his hands of her, especially when she’d demanded he do exactly that?

When Ronan stuck his hand out, she approached cautiously. His eyes showed nothing but concern. His signature proclaimed him mated. She put her hand in his, and he smiled.

“Nice to meet you.” And it was. She’d known that Raiden had a twin but not how identical they were. In fact, she knew very little about Raiden’s life other than his sexual one.

“I’m sorry we’re meeting under these terrible circumstances, rather than a more auspicious one, like the coming youngling.”

“Where is Raiden?”

Ronan paused, clearly deciding what to tell her. “He had an errand and asked me to keep you company.”

Doublespeak. Raiden had left, avoiding emotional intimacy, as usual. Or perhaps doing something he considered to be for her own good without first consulting her. Both possibilities rubbed her the wrong way. “Does every male in your family have difficulty with open and honest discourse?”

“Indeed. My mate has tried to teach me….” His smile was self-effacing.

“You wouldn’t want to disappoint her, then. Let’s try this again. Where is Raiden?”

“He said that you were beautiful but neglected to mention that you’re a cunning little thing.”

She cut him a killing glare. “Don’t flatter me. I’m a woman who lost her entire family barely twelve hours ago. I’m aware that as his encinta I have no claim on him, and he may very well be out with another woman. I understand your reluctance to admit that to me, but—”

“No. Raiden is looking for clues regarding the secret tree your father mentioned, as well as taking care of some of the burial details for your family. He didn’t want to trouble you.”

Tabitha froze, stunned. Her family? Did he think her weak or incapable? “They are my responsibility. I’ll take care of them. Why hide that from me?”

“We both feel it’s too much, given your condition and recent loss.” He sent her a probing stare. “Raiden suspected you would disagree.”

And had done whatever the hell he’d wanted anyway. Lovely. “I’m pregnant, not hysterical.”

Ronan looked as if he swallowed a smile. “He will come to you for the decisions regarding clothing, location, time, and such. He merely wanted to spare you the preparation of the bodies.”

A physically arduous, emotionally trying task—one usually reserved for family. If Raiden was truly protecting her, she ought to be glad. Instead, she couldn’t help but ask why. And why spare her the bathing, preserving, and painting of her family’s bodies? Merely to keep her from becoming overwrought and harming the baby? It was the most likely explanation… yet could his caring mean more?

Such hopes had landed her alone and pregnant. She had to stop wishing for some ridiculous fairy-tale ending now.

“Hmm. Would you like to tell me why he’s so secretive and closed?”

Ronan peered at her with amused disbelief. “I’d sooner wrestle in a pit of angry cobras without my wand.”

“Brilliant. Should have known you’d take his side.”

He shrugged. “Any good brother keeps his twin’s secrets. Though if he’s half as much like me as I believe him to be, there will come a point he won’t be able to keep anything from you.”

That didn’t sound like Raiden at all. “What point would that be, when I’m threatening his life or manhood?”

Ronan choked back laughter, then shook his head. “When he stops denying what’s in his heart.”

Raiden entered his house with a curse on his lips. Nothing. Not a single goddamn clue that would help him protect Tabby or figure out this secret tree, whatever it was. Now what the devil was he supposed to do?

He entered the library moments later. Ronan sat in the room’s cozy armchair, studying Tabitha like an intriguing puzzle. Raiden would have been jealous if he hadn’t known how crazy his twin was about Kari, his mate. And since Ronan was ridiculously happy with Kari and believed every wizard should be thus, Raiden knew that Ronan was plotting his downfall into an equally harmonious state.

Matters weren’t that simple for him and Tabby. Never would be.

“Did you find anything useful? Or would you like me to take over the duties with my family?” she asked as he stepped farther into the room.

Raiden sent a glare his brother’s way. “So much for secrecy.”

“She has the right to be involved. It concerns her.” Ronan’s gentle chiding chafed him.

Raiden hated when his slightly older brother was right. “You may go now.”

“Looking forward to it. It’s somewhat painful to sit here and watch you make an ass of yourself.”

“Bugger off,” Raiden said with mock cheer.

Ronan saluted, then teleported away.

“So?” she prompted.

“Let me worry about this. You’re dealing with grief and—”

“And trying to figure out this puzzle so that my father’s sacrifice won’t be for naught takes my mind off my pain. Please.”

Raiden shook his head. She wasn’t going to bloody leave this alone. And he couldn’t just let her ache.

“I found nothing. Just an update to The Peers and People of Magickind that should be published soon, outlining changes to every family’s births, deaths, matings… all of it public knowledge, really. Why keep track of it at all?”

She shrugged. “The older generation cares about such things, you know. Father loved his work passionately, enjoyed marking the passing of time by recording every magical family’s momentous occasions.”

“I can’t imagine sitting down to read page after page of someone’s family tree.”

His last word echoed around the room, and they both froze. Raiden’s thoughts started whirling.

“Tree?” she choked. “Father kept family trees for a living. Maybe…”

“… we’re not dealing with a real tree.” He rushed across the room and grabbed her shoulders—and tried to ignore the sting of desire that threatened to overwhelm him every time he touched her. “Do you know of any family tree that’s kept secret?”

“No. He took care to correspond with all families, no matter how Privileged or Deprived. Most people volunteered their family changes. Deaths, while sad, were always promptly reported. Matings, usually happy occasions, as well. He didn’t always hear of a mate breaking right away, but often within a few months.”

“Can you think of any circumstances in which that wasn’t the case?”

“No.” She paused. “Wait! Just one. That same trip when my father took me to that mysterious office in London I mentioned. The evening before, he took me to a hospital. It was quite late, and we met with a human couple. The woman had just given birth. She held her daughter once, cried, then gave the child to other humans. Her husband pleaded with my father to strike the child’s name from his books. I remember asking him who the family was, why he would ever record a human birth, and why they wanted to keep the baby a secret. He never answered except to say that I was never to repeat the incident to anyone. He never spoke of the humans again. That’s the only secret I can recall.”

Raiden paced the airy room. “You went to the hospital before he took you to the office?” At her nod, he went on. “We must find that building. Perhaps he left something there.”

“But what?” She shrugged. “Why would Mathias have a sudden interest in a human baby girl born over twenty-five years ago?”

“I don’t know. But if there’s a connection, I’m going to find it. And deal with it. Mathias isn’t coming near you ever again.”

Chapter Five

Raiden made a call to Bram in low, secretive tones that infuriated her. This was about her family and her future. Did he really think he was going to keep her in the dark?

When he rang off and turned to leave, she grabbed him by the shirt. “I’m going with you.”

He shook his head. “Too dangerous.”

“That’s what you’ve decided?” she asked tartly.

Raiden sent her a wary glance. “I have.”

“Too bad for you, then. You’re not my mate.” She shrugged. “You’ve no right to decide anything for me.”

His icy blue eyes narrowed. “The child you carry is mine. I have every right to care about your well-being.”

“Care, yes. Decide, no. Either I go with you or I resume this search alone. If Bram Rion knew that easily how to find the office my father most likely visited, then someone else will as well. Unlike you, I’m more likely to have privileges to enter, given that I’m his next of kin. What reason will you use to access his paperwork?”

Raiden clenched his jaw. “Bram is a member of the Council. I’m sure he can pull a few strings for me.”

He was right, Tabitha realized. In fact, they both were. Between his connections and her familial relation, they should have no trouble viewing whatever her father might have kept in the building.

“Should we be wasting time arguing about this, or should we be working together? What could happen, really? It’s a Council building in the middle of the day. Others should be there. We’re doing nothing wrong.”

Raiden hesitated, looking like he was about to refuse.

“Hello?” Nathanial Wolvesey called.

Tabitha shivered. Raiden’s father had looked at her all too sexually, given that she carried his son’s child.

Raiden watched her with an unblinking gaze. “What’s the matter? Did my father say something to you that made you uncomfortable?”

A ginger brow rose. “Merely that he understood why you desired me so much. Then he assured me the two of you had passed a woman or two between you over the decades.”

He winced. “Bloody hell.”

Tabitha didn’t ask if Nathanial had been lying. The truth was all over Raiden’s face, and pain bulldozed her. He had treated women like interchangeable playthings. Convenient energy sources. Likely still did.

“He said that you wouldn’t mind if I allowed him to—”

“I mind. A great deal.” He clenched his teeth but met her gaze without flinching. “I’m sorry.”

Sorry for the behavior or sorry his father had revealed the truth to her? She shoved the thought away. “I politely refused, in case you’re wondering. But I won’t be alone with him again.”

“Hello?” Nathanial’s footsteps across the gleaming hardwood floors came closer.

Raiden didn’t hesitate. He grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”

As always with teleporting, a loud sucking noise filled her ears. Then eerie silence. Suddenly, she lost her balance, and a sense of tumbling through air overwhelmed her. The weightlessness, the not knowing which way was up and which was down, made her slightly ill.

A moment later, they stood outside a neo-modern office building. Built in the 1960s and topping off at about five stories, the concrete structure had been carved with magical runes between each tier of white-draped windows. There wasn’t a soul in sight.

“It looks abandoned.” Eerily so, in fact.

He frowned, grabbing her hand tighter. “Indeed. Bram speculated that the Council ministries no longer use this building. Apparently, it’s been the source of human speculation, particularly the meaning of the runes.”

“I recognize some of the symbols. Magic, mastery, truth, Fate. Death.”

Raiden shrugged, his wide shoulders looking almost menacing in a dark trench. “We don’t have time to decipher it now. I have an uneasy feeling. Let’s move quickly. I don’t want you out in the open where you’re vulnerable to Mathias or any eyes he might have watching.”

“He likely has no idea where I am.”

He hustled her under the building’s portico, deep in shadow, and pinned her with a glare. “Do you really think it would take Mathias very long to figure out that your father had a daughter he hadn’t managed to kill in the attack? And that the daughter carried my child? Once he pieces all the information together, he’s going to be but a breath behind us.”

Dear God, she’d never thought of that before, but her father would have recorded her own birth. There would be no mating listed in The Peers and People of Magickind because she’d never mated. The fact that she carried Raiden’s child wouldn’t be listed until the youngling’s birth, but even so, a wizard with Mathias’s cunning and resources could find that information. After all, he hadn’t managed to outwit most of the Council and stay a step ahead of the Doomsday Brethren by being a half-wit.

“Fuck.” Raiden ran a hand through his long, pale hair. “And once he starts pursuing us, I know where he’ll look first. We can’t go back to your house. Or mine.”

“You’re right.”

“I’ll tell Ronan to warn my father away until this is settled. He won’t be happy, but if we can find what we’re looking for now, then I can set all back to rights soon.”

“Meaning your father can go home, and you can wash your hands of me by dumping me on Sean Blackbourne’s doorstep?”

His face tightened, darkened. Raiden’s temper wasn’t a small thing, and she wondered if she’d crossed some line.

He cursed and turned away. “That would be for the best.”

“For whom?” she challenged, furious to the bone with his oblique answers. “It would certainly be easiest for you. Then you could rid yourself of me, guilt-free and—”

Raiden grabbed her and pulled her close. “Listen to me. I have tried every way I know to spare you more heartache. I was a bastard to you, yes. I seduced you with every intention of walking out the door. I don’t mate. I am my father’s son.”

“I refuse to believe that.” Tabitha shook her head.

“I’m trying to do the right thing now. Instead of seducing you again, I’m warning you away. Which do you think I’d rather do?” He raised a golden brow, his hot gaze wandering down her body.

She flushed hot and tingly. “You held me with such tenderness. The way you made me feel so secure and whispered to me when we were together was—”

“Designed to separate a pretty female from her knickers.” He forced himself to be brutally honest. “It’s a skill I’ve spent decades perfecting. Your parents knew this when they threatened me out of your life.”

She blinked, her hazel green eyes wide and astounded. “Threatened you?”

“To step aside or have the Council elder, your mate-to-be’s uncle, censure and incarcerate me until you were happily mated.”

That would have left the Doomsday Brethren fighting with one less warrior. Had Raiden allowed that to happen, he might as well have signed his own twin’s death warrant—along with those of the other Doomsday Brethren. They’d already been woefully outmanned. He hadn’t wanted to leave Tabby, though he hadn’t believed for one moment that he would have made a genteel witch like her happy. His desires ran deep, dark. He’d barely begun to unleash his wants on her. Eventually, he would have shocked her, and she would have realized what her parents already knew: he wasn’t good enough for her.

“You didn’t fight for me at all.” She didn’t ask because she knew the answer, but the hurt in her voice made Raiden bleed inside.

“No.” In good conscience, how could he?

Tabby stepped back, a protective hand over the gentle swell of her belly. Shielding their baby from him. Pain at that realization gouged his chest and nearly took him to his knees. Raiden forced himself to swallow and send her a stare of cold challenge.

“Why are you helping me now? Because of the baby?” she asked.

God, she looked ready to break into a thousand pieces, and Raiden couldn’t stand to heap more pain on her. His gaze softened. “I’m not cruel. You and the baby matter. It would devastate me to see Mathias hurt you. And if you remain near me, he’d certainly try. Besides, I’m simply not built for commitment. The sooner you accept that, the happier you’ll be.”

She stared at him as if he were a stranger, her eyes wary and tear-filled. “Then you’re right. We should find whatever is in this building quickly so we can part ways.”

Without another word, she tried the door. It didn’t budge.

“Drat!”

Bram had given him the heads-up on accessing these buildings, once used by Council officials and their ministers. Raiden closed his eyes and chanted the spell Bram had provided, then coupled it with his own ability to sense other beings near.

Seconds later, the latch in Tabby’s hand clicked. She blinked and pushed the door open. “How did you do that?”

He shook his head, sensing they weren’t the only people here and praying Mathias wasn’t already hot on their tails.

“Quiet. We’re not alone,” he whispered. “Let’s go.”

Raiden led them away from the nearby encroachers, tiptoeing up the stairs with Tabby’s hand in his. Once they’d started up the stairs, she squeezed his hand. He turned to her.

“This is familiar,” she whispered with an unblinking stare. “I remember being here.”

He took her shoulders in his grasp. “Do you remember exactly how to reach your father’s office?”

She frowned, as if trying to sort through her memories. “I’ll try. I know we walked up several flights of stairs, through a big brown door. There was a reception area with lots of colorful tiles…”

For all he knew, every floor looked that way, but he smiled encouragingly. “We’ll keep going and see if anything looks right to you.”

They ascended another flight of stairs. When they peered out the door from the stairwell to the offices, she shook her head. They repeated the process with the same results. On the fourth floor, she nodded emphatically.

“My father’s office was on the other side of the fountain, near the tiles shaped like the rune for Truth, a giant Y-looking symbol.”

She raced across the floor before he could stop her. Thankfully, the building’s other occupants, whoever they were, hadn’t come this way—yet. Raiden prayed it remained thus. He needed to keep Tabitha safe, help her protect the tree her father had been willing to die for, then get her out of his life. Because God help him, with every moment he stayed near her, Raiden wanted nothing more than to grab her, kiss her, remember every perfect, lush curve, retrace them with his hands, his mouth. Keep her close always.

She tiptoed across the tiled floor quietly, then reached for the door. Raiden closed the space between them with a blink and clapped his hand over hers, staying her.

“Let me,” he demanded. He sensed no one inside… but he couldn’t be too careful where Tabby was concerned.

She stepped aside. “Be careful. Please.”

And just like that, she undid his good intentions of keeping his distance. Even when he was a bastard to her, she goddamn cared. How was a man who’d never known genuine feelings supposed to do without them once he’d found them? It would be like living without sunlight.

Was he doing the right thing in letting her go?

For a moment, Raiden closed his eyes and sorted through the cacophony in his head, which was clashing with all the clatter in his heart. But at the end of the day, he still didn’t know if he was capable of caring for one woman for the rest of his life. Was it fair to risk her to try and learn to love? No. He’d be putting his own desire for her above her safety. Mathias or the Anarki could kill him tomorrow and leave her mateless and mourning. Or she could become a target in her own right.

He would have to accept that as much as he desired Tabby above all others, he would be doing her a disservice to let her believe they had a future.

“Is something wrong?” she asked. “Is someone inside?”

Her questions brought him out of his reverie. “No.”

Raiden shoved the door open to reveal a fairly standard, if outdated, office. A clunky desk with a fake wood-grain top and chrome legs. A phone. Empty file folders. A picture frame. A plant, curiously alive.

“Does this look familiar?” he asked her.

But when he turned, she was rushing into the room and lifting the picture frame. Tears filled her eyes, ran down her cheeks. “Daddy and Mum. Winston and James. I can’t believe they’re truly gone.”

Looking so lost and alone, Tabby met his gaze across the room. Raiden couldn’t stand it; he closed the distance between them and grabbed her up in his arms.

Chapter Six

Tabitha felt Raiden’s strong arms encircle her protectively. Like a life preserver in a sea of drowning grief, he alone kept her afloat.

She shoved aside the ugly thought that he’d soon leave her.

Wiping her tears away with impatient hands, she pushed out of his embrace. “Sorry. I know we don’t have time for this now. We should look in the desk—”

Raiden didn’t let her move more than a meter away. “You’ve suffered an incredible loss, Tabby.”

“Tabitha,” she reminded him through gritted teeth.

He stifled a curse. “And you’ve been so strong since the attack. If you need to lean on me, do.”

And what, he would be here for her? She studied him, trying to discern the answer. But she couldn’t. His face appeared like granite, ungiving. Yet his blue eyes radiated warmth, life. The picture of compassion. Would he be here for her today? If today, why not tomorrow?

Because he pitied her, not loved her. God, what a bitter pill to swallow.

“I’ll be fine.”

But she lied. Her hands shook as she set the picture down on the desk. She didn’t quite manage to balance it, and the metal frame clattered onto the desktop. Sadness and frustration crashed down on her as the loss struck her all over again. Angry tears flooded her eyes, poured onto her cheeks.

Raiden cursed, grabbing her by the shoulders. “That’s it. I admit that I’ve been a bastard, and I’m probably the last person in the world you want comforting you. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to watch you bleed inside and do nothing. Don’t shut me out if you need to cry.”

She did need it. Tabitha hated to admit it, but shoving all her shock and grief down for the past day had finally caught up with her. But if she burdened him more, he’d only leave faster. He wanted nothing to do with emotion or commitment, and taking advantage of his momentary compassion would only hurt more when he left.

She looked down, tried to hide her crumbling expression from him. Raiden was having none of that.

As the first sob wracked her, he lifted her chin and stared into her tear-filled eyes. Tabitha averted her gaze, but she knew he saw right through her.

Raiden knew her so damn well. Knew her… and simply didn’t love her the way she loved him.

With a curse, Raiden crushed her against his chest. The steady beat of his heart under her ear was both a joy and a sorrow. Needing Raiden too much to push him away, Tabitha clung to him, throwing her arms around his neck and burrowing closer.

“Raiden…”

A moment later, he brushed the tears from her face and cupped her cheeks, his blue gaze penetrating hers, open and full of a thousand emotions.

Tabitha caught her breath. She’d seen Raiden with many expressions, but in nearly every one, the windows to his soul had been closed to her. Hot, challenging, alluring, yes. But never revealing, stark. Haunted. Like now.

He lowered his head, slowly, so that she could stop him at any time. But stopping him was the last thing she wanted. Her heart thumped so hard that it threatened to beat out of her chest.

Raiden did this every time he touched her. She couldn’t absorb the rush of feelings and sensations quickly enough. He always took her to a new place, and she knew, even without a wizard’s mating instinct, that he was the mate of her heart.

Too bad that he lacked the instinct—or love—to believe she was his mate as well.

The first brush of his lips over hers pushed those thoughts aside. He lingered, breathed, urged her to open. Then he waited until she was breathless, on her tiptoes, silently begging as she grabbed his shoulders and pressed closer. Suddenly, he was deep inside her mouth, stealing her sanity, reclaiming her soul. That familiar taste of his haunted her, so male. So Raiden. So irresistible.

With a moan, she opened more to his kiss, and he sampled gently… yet took in that subtly commanding way of his.

Unable to remember why she shouldn’t, Tabitha ran her fingers over the hard breadth of his shoulders, caressed her way across his chest. Raiden gripped her hips and pressed closer, demanding. He was so solid—in every way. He was her something to hang on to. Her safe harbor in a raging sea.

“I’m here, Tabby,” he murmured against her lips. “I’ll help you. I’ll keep you safe.”

Before she could object, his lips lowered to her neck. She gasped at the electric sensation of his breath feathering over her sensitive skin, his lips claiming the flesh he’d claimed so many times before… but with a new urgency she’d never sensed. A new possessiveness. She rolled her head to the side, allowing him all the access to her that he craved.

One hand left her hip to caress its way up her waist, her rib cage, the sensitive side of her breast. When she gasped into his ear, he murmured, “That’s it, Tabby. Don’t do anything but feel me. Let me take your pain and give you pleasure.”

Impossible. She’d be leaning on him too much. He wouldn’t be here later when she needed him and realized that she’d never learned to cope with her grief on her own. But his thumb trailed over her puckered nipple. Her entire body pinged with tingles and need at that one touch, and she arched his way.

Suddenly, he was nuzzling that nipple right through her shirt… even as his hands rose to her buttons and began to undo them, one slow unfastening after another, measured with a seductive cadence. Mere seconds later, they were all open and the only thing between him and her breasts was a flimsy lace bra.

“Raiden…,” she breathed. “We shouldn’t.”

“There’s no one on this side of the building. You need someone to hold you as much as I want to.”

He didn’t say another word, just pressed reverent kisses to the swells of her breasts, his lips hovering just above the scalloped lace. Fighting him was no use. The feel of his mouth on her, his hot breaths warming her skin… it was too much. She fisted her hands into the hair at his nape and let her head fall back, opening herself to him totally.

Raiden moaned his appreciation and pushed the cup of her bra aside, exposing one mound. His thumb scraped across the sensitive surface, bringing it back to screaming life, just before his mouth followed suit.

The sensations bombarding her were instantaneous. They sucked her under, into a world of pleasure. Tingles abounded. Her skin felt tight. She was itchy inside, restless, dying to get closer to Raiden.

After removing his trench, she attacked his sweater, pulling it over his head, baring the broad, ridged chest. The bronzed skin, brown male nipples, light dusting of pale hair, corrugated abdominals… he was pure male animal power, and Tabitha basked in the fact that she’d have him once again. All hers.

At least for now.

As his teeth scraped against her nipple, his free hand pushed her other bra cup aside. He took that nipple in his mouth as well and pinched the first with devilish fingers. The pleasure zinged from the sensitive points straight down, right between her legs, where she was wet and welcoming and so achy that she couldn’t wait much longer.

Raiden did this to her. Every time. Yes, every witch or wizard relied on sex for the majority of their energy needs, so Tabitha hadn’t made it through her thirty-six years without physical recharging. But she’d never basked in the sensations, never lingered over a lover, as she had with Raiden.

Today was no exception.

He ripped into the rest of her clothes and shoved them down her hips, falling to his knees so he could still worship her breasts whilst stripping her bare. And she let him, gladly.

Once he’d peeled away her skirts and knickers, he remained crouched, staring at the most secret part of her. He reached a finger through her slick flesh. She gasped.

“Always so wet and ready, Tabby. For me? Just for me?”

She didn’t know how to answer that question. Yes, just for him. No lover had affected her so much. But to admit that… He already knew how much she loved him, and still he wasn’t prepared to stay with her, raise their youngling together.

“Touch me,” she said instead. “I want to feel you deep inside me.”

“You will,” he murmured, coming closer, closer…

A moment later, he lifted her leg with one powerful hand, opening her to him. He licked his lips, and Tabitha’s heart stopped. As intimate as they’d ever been, Raiden had never indulged in the intimacy of tasting her. He’d kissed her, yes. But this sort of behavior was common among wizards sampling their mates… or so she’d heard.

Why was he doing this with her now?

Then his mouth latched onto her, and the answer didn’t matter. Gently, he raked his tongue through her slit, sucked the sensitive bead above into his mouth. Gentle fingers caressed her hip with hypnotic rhythm.

It didn’t take long for Tabitha’s entire body to light up. Inside, she tightened, yet expanded. Burning as she hurtled toward climax. And Raiden’s unrelenting mouth seemed hungry, insistent. Thought-robbing. The lash of his tongue against her clit generated the sort of pleasure that robbed her of sanity. Tabitha couldn’t rub two thoughts together, couldn’t find the will to do anything but plant her hands in his hair and try to absorb all the wanton sensations clawing through her.

As her body coiled up and the ache behind her little bud turned to fire, she burst out like a supernova, screaming through the most intense peak in memory. And Raiden’s powerful hands held her in place as he murmured against her sensitive flesh and lapped at her in reward.

“Raiden…” She couldn’t catch a breath, couldn’t believe the stark inferno of pleasure his touch incited.

Suddenly, he raised his lips, pressing a series of soft kisses against her abdomen, which was just beginning to show the bump of the growing baby inside. He smiled against her skin, his palm swiping a caress across her belly. And her heart melted. Yes, he could give her pleasure unlike any other, but he could also touch her heart. This big, proud warrior cared for her and their baby somewhere in that thick skull. He was capable of love and devotion. He had to be. Surely, he couldn’t touch her like this and not be.

With that thought bouncing through her head, she let him back her onto the desk. Tabitha hissed at the feel of cold faux-wood, but didn’t finish the sound before she felt the thick stalk of his flesh pressing at her swollen folds, tucking just inside her body. That hiss became a moan as he began to press in… in… in, until he was so deep that she felt deliciously stretched and filled with him. Completed.

“Oh, God,” he moaned in her ear. “I’ve missed the feel of you.”

She had missed him as well.

Raiden gripped her hips in his large hands and took control of their lovemaking. Swift, sure strokes deep into her heat… right into her heart. He filled her everywhere, rubbing against flesh still swooning from her last orgasm, he built another tsunami of ecstasy so quickly that Tabitha literally felt her head spin.

His fingers tightened on her. He began to pant. His pace picked up. Sweat popped out on his forehead, down his temples, across his back.

“What the hell do you do to me?” He breathed the words into her face, his eyes lost and angry, yet so focused on her.

His question was all it took. The earth shifted beneath her. Her body clamped down on him, convulsed, then careened into pleasure so strong that she cried out, clutching his shoulders for dear life.

“Look at me,” he demanded.

No. If she looked at him, she’d be totally lost. Already, her heart was his. And even after this absolute exchange of pleasure, he’d leave her soon. And even if she mated with Sean Blackbourne, a part of her she’d never get back would be his forever. She shook her head.

“Tabby, now! Please…”

He moaned, all but begging, his hips pistoning in and out of her with rapid force and devastating pleasure, keeping the climax ravaging her endlessly. Though she wasn’t looking at him, his gaze burned her. His plea resonated in her head. Her heart beat for him.

Tabitha opened her eyes. His blue stare looked desperate, wild, hungry… yet so focused on her as he hardened inside her and let go.

He groaned long and loud as he released inside her, his head falling back as he pressed their bodies ever closer and held her tight, as if he’d never let go.

“Tabby…”

The word was like melted caramel pouring all over her, and she sighed. He sounded torn. And what could she say? Raiden knew how she felt.

Suddenly, he stiffened and his eyes flared wide. “Bloody fucking hell!”

In a split second, he withdrew, fastened his jeans, and thrust on his sweater.

She guessed that meant he regretted showing emotion to her or whatever his latest hang-up was.

“Get dressed,” he hissed, shoving her bra back into place.

“Look, if you’re wishing now that you hadn’t touched me or been real or—”

“That isn’t it.” He scowled as he handed Tabitha her shirt. “Hurry! Someone’s coming.”

Chapter Seven

Tabitha struggled into her shirt as Raiden pushed her toward the door, wondering if they’d make it out alive. He understood the reasons the Council had made teleporting in and out of government facilities impossible, even nearly deserted ones like this. Security against the nosy and unexpected was important—but damned inconvenient.

Raiden cursed. This was his fault. If he hadn’t been so dazzled by Tabby, and so drawn to the idea of savoring her sweetness, he would have sensed the intruder’s approach much sooner.

Now, it might be too late. Bloody stupid!

With efficient fingers, Tabby tied her shirt around her still trim waist, only bothering with the button over her breasts. “Can you hold off whoever is coming?”

Raiden was about to ask what the hell she thought she would be doing in the meantime, but she dashed around the desk and yanked a drawer open, rifling through the contents inside.

“We don’t have time for this.” He grabbed her wrist to pull her to the door.

She wriggled from his grasp and continued on her quest. “If someone is coming, they know we’re here. We won’t get a chance to search this office again, and I can’t let my family have died in vain. My father wanted this family tree protected. If I have to die for it…” She shrugged. “Let’s not argue. Just go!”

“You’re pregnant. If you die, the baby—”

“Dies with me, I know! Do whatever you can to make certain that doesn’t happen.” She slammed the first drawer shut and dove into the second, rifling through one file folder after another.

“Three minutes,” he growled. “If I send up a red spark before then, it means get the hell out now.”

She nodded, and he looked at her one last time, fear for her thrumming through his bloodstream.

Stubborn woman. He understood her need to fulfill her father’s last wish. After today, this opportunity would be gone. But damn it, allowing her to put herself and the baby in danger… Raiden almost couldn’t do it. For her, he tried.

Leaving the office, he crept into the once-bright reception area, staying in the shadows falling across the dusty walls. There were two entrances onto this floor. The one in front of him still showed a door firmly closed. The one around the corner he couldn’t see.

It was a risk, but Raiden closed his eyes and filtered through all the sounds and scents in the building, searching for the ones that signified a living, breathing creature. Or more than one.

There in the stairwell. Footsteps.

A creaking door a moment later confirmed his worst fears. Whoever stalked them had just entered the floor and closed the door behind him soundlessly.

Too late to call for backup now. He had to hope that their surprise visitor couldn’t sense him waiting and counter his surprise attack. Otherwise, he and Tabby were dead.

As the intruder came closer, Raiden sensed more. Male based on the scent. Sweat hung in the air. Excited but not nervous. Raiden would bet his very wand that the encroacher thought he had them cornered.

And he was probably right.

Twenty meters, fifteen, ten… Raiden held in a breath, his wand at the ready. He’d get one clean swipe at this bastard before the fight would be on.

Finally, a tall figure eased around the corner, light on his feet, almost elegant. Poised for battle.

Raiden zipped out a spell designed to stun a wizard unconscious.

At the last second, the intruder stepped aside with a laugh. “Really, is that the best you can do?”

Mathias.

Oh, shit.

The magical sociopath whipped his wand and an arc of green light jetted out the wall of windows behind him, bursting across the sky with an eerie glow before fading.

He was calling in the reinforcements.

Fuck. Raiden knew that he and Tabby had moments to get out of here, but he couldn’t run into Lowery’s office to get her. Besides alerting Mathias to Tabby’s presence, he’d trap them inside with no escape route except out the window and a four-story free fall.

Suddenly, a jagged bolt of white light arced across the space between them. Raiden hit the ground, barely dodging it. He felt the lethal heat of the spell skate over his head, singe the little hairs on his arms. Mathias cursed.

Raiden charged to his feet, scurrying across the floor. He had to get smart and use the deep shadows in the room to any advantage possible.

Making his way to the far wall, he hid behind a big potted plant and hurled a fire spell at Mathias, the orange ball crackling and screaming through the air.

It hit him, setting the bastard’s sleeve on fire. He shot an evil glare in Raiden’s direction and lifted his other hand above his forearm, fingers dangling down.

Raiden didn’t waste time watching. He crawled across the floor, rolling toward Tabby’s father’s office door. Shoving his wand under the crack, he sent up a quick red spark and hoped like hell she didn’t just come tumbling out into Mathias’s path.

When Raiden looked up again, water trickled from Mathias’s fingers like a faucet, extinguishing the fire. What Raiden had hoped would be a game-changer had really been nothing more than a moment’s annoyance for someone with Mathias’s heavy-duty power.

Bloody hell, he’d had no occasion to fight the villainous wizard one-on-one. He’d trained for it. The Doomsday Brethren had discussed it. He’d heard war stories. But face-to-face alone with one of the most cunning wizards in magickind’s history? His worst nightmare. The fact that Tabitha was caught in this deadly struggle only made everything more horrifying.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Mathias singsonged with a laugh. “I’ll make certain your death won’t hurt. Much, anyway.”

Raiden rolled beneath a low bench just beside Lowery’s office door. Tabitha’s footsteps approached slowly. He could sense her fear and caution. Raiden was the only thing standing between Mathias and Tabby, and he’d have to do whatever was necessary to distract Mathias so she could escape.

Rolling out from under the bench, Raiden leapt to his feet and charged with a roar. Mathias whirled, wand poised, as Raiden jumped onto the round table in the middle of the reception space.

From above, he could see everything. Mathias had no place to hide. But Raiden also knew it made him a huge target.

With a grunt, he kicked the flower arrangement on the table toward Mathias’s head. The wizard ducked to avoid it, then flicked his wand. Raiden didn’t want to know what spell that evil blue streak held as it headed his way. Instead, he jumped over the bolt, then whipped his wand at the bench that had once been his hiding place. It hurtled across the room toward Mathias, who ran, taking cover behind the reception desk. The bench crashed against the desk with a clatter.

In that same moment, Tabby opened the door to her father’s office and peeked out. With one hand, Raiden gestured her to the stairwell. With another, he sent a fireball at the reception desk. It burst into flame and exploded.

Mathias dove away from the fire and glared as he whipped up a wall of water, dousing the flames. Raiden could feel his anger seethe.

“This game grows tiresome, neophyte.”

Raiden felt every one of Mathias’s centuries of warfare and his own decided lack of experience. He’d only attained his magic in the last sixty years, and he’d spent most of those being a lover, not a fighter. Today it showed, and he cursed every night he’d spent carousing instead of learning how to defend himself and the ones he cherished.

On the far side of the area, he sensed Tabitha approaching the other stairwell. They were well lit, and the second she opened the door, the light would spill into the darkened reception area—unless he masked it.

Clenching his teeth and focusing his energy, Raiden whipped his wand and thrust his arms wide. Blinding light filled the entire space. He screamed with all his frustration and fear, praying the sound would cover Tabitha’s exit. If he died protecting her, the sacrifice would be well worth it. He just had to get her out alive.

Mathias rushed across the room, shielding his eyes with a nasty curse. Raiden knew he wasn’t going to beat the wizard magically, but thanks to Marrok, the Doomsday Brethren’s only human warrior, he was a well-trained machine in conventional fighting methods.

With a shout, he leapt off the table, onto Mathias. The evil wizard tried to scramble away, but Raiden tackled him, pinning him to the floor with his larger body. Mathias’s wand clattered out of his hand. With grim satisfaction, Raiden reached for the knife in his boot with every intention of slitting Mathias’s throat. The other wizard roared and managed to brace one foot against the floor, pushing off and rolling them over. Suddenly, Raiden struggled beneath Mathias, who smiled down with malice.

“Enjoy your death. Send me a postcard from hell.” He conjured a knife and held it over Raiden’s throat.

A moment later, Raiden felt the sensation of sharp, cold steel pressing at his neck. Blood broke out across Raiden’s throat and ran down into his ears. He was going to die. He could deal with that—as long as Tabitha had escaped.

Mathias lifted his hand and the press of the blade abated, but then he clenched his fist, blade gleaming, and stared with wicked glee. Then his hand plunged down.

Before the blade struck deep, Mathias went limp.

Raiden scrambled out from under him and looked around. Tabitha stood by the stairwell, wand outstretched, shaking. “I don’t know much self-defense, but Father taught me to immobilize people once.”

Heart beating wildly in his chest, he ran across the room to capture her in his arms. “You should have gone.”

Her head twitched back and forth. “He would have killed you.”

“The point was for you to escape.” And arguing this here and now was dangerous.

Raiden looked back at Mathias, then hurled a blood red spell at him, designed to evaporate all his blood and kill him. The other wizard merely jolted and began to rouse.

Damn it! According to legend, Mathias had already died once. Could he ever be killed again?

Raiden couldn’t wait around to find out. Despite exchanging energy with Tabby minutes ago, those spells had exhausted him. He must rest—or recharge—and soon.

He grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”

Tugging her into the stairwell, Raiden kept her as close as possible. His mind raced. After the way he’d abandoned her, she had come back to save him. She had risked herself with the most dangerous wizard in magickind’s history, and if not for her, Ronan would have been mourning his twin. Raiden didn’t have to ask why; he knew she loved him. And it humbled him like nothing else. She was an amazing woman.

“Do you face danger all the time?” she panted as they flew down the stairs, racing for the entrance.

“Yes.”

“You… you’ve met him in battle before?”

“Not alone. The Doomsday Brethren fight his army together.”

Her hand tightened on his. “But there are only seven of you.”

“Yes.”

He saw the glass doors in front of them at the same time he sensed other beings making their way into the building’s main lobby, closer. Shoving Tabby behind him, he summoned the last of his energy and flung a fireball at the nearest one, felling him instantly. Another ran for them, sending streams of something that looked like red water headed their way. Tabitha gasped, and he tried to think of a defensive spell, but his overtaxed body was diverting energy from his brain.

The next thing he knew, Tabby reached him and flicked her wand. “Damn it, I put you behind me.”

She just pushed him forward, then grabbed his shirt to hold him behind the thick clear protective wall she’d erected.

“It won’t block much or hold for long. Maybe two minutes.” Her voice shook with exhaustion.

He needed to get her out of there now.

The rage and frustration he felt at Tabby and the baby’s being in danger he funneled into a wall of wind he hurled toward the remaining dozen Anarki. It swept the lobby furniture, then began whipping bodies into its frenzy, at least for the precious seconds he and Tabby needed to escape.

They rushed outside, into the winter dusk. Raiden clamped an arm around her and thought of Ice’s caves in Wales. After a few disorienting moments, they hovered outside the dwelling on the windswept rocks, looking into the sea.

Tabby staggered, and he held her steady in his grip, panting with exhaustion.

“It’s safe here,” he murmured. “Let’s get inside.”

She nodded and followed him through the arched entrance. “That was the most frightening thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

Raiden couldn’t disagree.

“How will you and the other wizards ever be able to fight him off?”

The million-dollar question. He sighed. “Honestly, I don’t think we can. But Ronan is devoted to this cause. I’m with him, and now devoted to whatever it takes to keep you safe. But it’s another reason you’re better off without me. I don’t know how to be the mate you want, and I won’t be alive long enough to figure it out.”

That reality ate at his insides. The last thing he wanted to do was give her to Sean Blackbourne, but it was for the best, especially now that he’d failed her at Lowery’s office.

“Raiden—”

“No. It’s true. And I’m doubly sorry that you risked your life to go to your father’s office, only to come away empty-handed.”

“But I didn’t.” She peeled her hand away from her chest and revealed the family photo that had been on her father’s desk.

His spirits sank. He’d been hoping for something useful, rather than sentimental. “I’m glad you’ve come away with something meaningful.”

She shook her head, all that gorgeous red hair that had tumbled from her proper clips tousling on her shoulders, reminding him yet again of one of the million reasons he always wanted her.

Tabby grabbed his arm. “I know what Mathias wants. I found the tree.”

Chapter Eight

From the back of the picture frame, Tabitha extracted a long piece of paper. Raiden sidled closer as she unfolded it. Names, dates, multiple branches on one long tree stretching back thousands of years. Throughout, a handful of names had been highlighted.

“What does it mean?” He had no damn clue.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged.

Raiden looked it over again, but he might as well have been reading gibberish. However, the bottom of the page had been altered. On the last entry in the family tree, the child’s date of birth remained, but the name, once highlighted, had been deleted.

“I think I know someone who might be able to help us,” Raiden mused. “Come with me.”

“Someone trustworthy?”

“There’s no one I’d trust more.”

He took Tabby’s hand and prowled the caves until he found Bram’s sister, Sabelle, who sat in the kitchen, drinking tea. After introductions, the beautiful witch looked between him and Tabitha and smiled.

“Did you finally pull your head out of your arse? I’m hoping so, and that the fact you haven’t mated with her is merely temporary. Ronan says you love her.”

Raiden resisted the urge to throttle Sabelle. “Stifle the matchmaking. We were chased minutes ago by Mathias and some of his goons while retrieving this. What is it?”

He thrust the paper under her nose and Sabelle took it, studying it intently, her blue eyes growing wider and wider. Then she peered up at him, looking suddenly pale. “Where did you get this?”

Tabitha grabbed the scroll back, defending their find. “It was my father’s, Nigel Lowery.”

“The record keeper?”

“Yes. Mathias killed my family for this, I think. My father’s last words were to protect the secret tree and—”

“This is, indeed, a great secret.” Sabelle hesitated, as if she was searching for the right words to impart bad news. “It’s the family tree of the Untouchables.”

Raiden felt his stomach drop to his knees.

Beside him, Tabby gasped. “Oh, dear God.”

A sacred race, the Untouchables had blended in with humans long ago. In fact, most were ordinary humans. But every thousand years, some recessive trait rose to the fore and the lineage produced a child far more than human—but one completely unaffected by magic. According to this document, one had been born in London a mere twenty-five years ago. Tabby’s father had erased that child’s name.

“The hospital we visited when I was just a girl!” Tabby covered her gaping mouth.

Raiden nodded. “The Untouchable’s sire persuaded your father to keep her name secret.”

“Yes, and they gave the baby, a little girl, up for adoption that very night.”

“To protect her, I imagine.” Sabelle’s face softened with compassion.

Any business involving Untouchables was always dangerous. They were often killed not only for their seeming immunity to magic but also for their ability to suppress magic near them. Likely, Matthias saw her as a threat. Whoever this girl was, she was in terrible danger if Mathias learned her name.

“Look here.” Raiden pointed to the mother’s name on the parchment. “The Untouchable’s mother died shortly after giving birth.”

“I wonder if it was for refusing to divulge her daughter’s name.” Tabby looked discomfited by that possibility. “And her father passed just a few weeks ago.”

And he’d been far too young to die of natural causes. Raiden’s gut clenched with worry. Clearly, Mathias hadn’t yet learned the woman’s identity if he still sought this page. And all of the deaths in the evil wizard’s wake showed that he’d have no problem killing Tabitha to get what he wanted.

“Do you think Mathias plans to kill the Untouchable?” Raiden asked.

“If he learns the woman’s identity, likely so.” Sabelle frowned suddenly. “Except… why find her now? If she could derail his plans, why didn’t Mathias hunt for her immediately after he’d risen from exile? What’s changed?”

A terrible possibility hit Raiden. “Or perhaps the Untouchable is to be a weapon used against the Doomsday Brethren, meant to disable our magic long enough for Mathias to wage some terrible attack on magickind and gain control.”

“A very real possibility.” Sabelle shook her head. “Let me think on it. And I’ll take it up with Bram when he returns. But regardless, in case Mathias could somehow use this record, it must be protected.”

“Agreed. Where is Bram?”

She shrugged. “He left with Duke, Ice, and Marrok about an hour ago. Said something about solving a mystery. Hopefully, we’ll hear from him soon.”

Raiden rubbed a hand across his throbbing forehead. “When he returns, have him find me.”

Sabelle agreed. Raiden thanked her and took Tabby’s hand again, leading her through the shadowed, narrow caves to his own.

By all rights, he should send a message to Shock right now advising him that the Untouchable family tree was now in the Doomsday Brethren’s possession. That missive should reach Mathias quickly and lift the threat from Tabby. Then, Raiden knew, he should deliver her to Sean Blackbourne, the man who would be responsible for her safety and happiness for the rest of her life. Then she would be safe. Mathias should have no cause to hunt her.

But he couldn’t—not yet. First, he must talk to Bram, ensure this was, in fact, the secret family tree. In all likelihood, yes, but… better safe than sorry. And really, that was an excuse. Truth was, he yearned to keep Tabitha for another night. A whole night. Not merely long enough to make love to her. Not simply to comfort her after a staggering loss or to shield her from more danger. But because he needed her with him, from sunset to sunrise, in his arms, in his bed. His.

Swallowing, Raiden finally reached the door of the cave in which he’d been staying. He ushered her inside. “I know you’re used to better. Your father provided for your family admirably, and this cave is temporary—”

“A bed! I’m exhausted.” And she sounded thus. “Do you have a shower as well?”

He pointed the way, and Tabby closed the door between them. He spent the next twenty minutes listening to the sound of water sluicing over her naked skin and fighting the urge to break down the door and ravish her.

Just as his patience gave out, she emerged in a cloud of steam. And he caught his breath. She wore his black terrycloth robe. The sleeves fell past her hands, and the hem dragged on the ground, but something about seeing all that fiery hair of hers streaming over his robe made him hard as hell. He needed her madly. Now.

“Raiden?” She looked at him with wary eyes.

He should let her sleep alone and in peace. It was the honorable thing to do, since she didn’t belong to him and never would. But he’d never been accused of being honorable before.

Rising from the bed, he crossed the room and took her shoulders in his grip. “Tabby. I…”

Where to start?

She looked down. “I know. Now that the secret tree is safe, you’re going to take me to Sean.”

He refused to lie to her. God knew he wasn’t mate material or even a wizard of high morals, but he wouldn’t intentionally hurt her again. “I must. For you.” He dropped a hand to the gentle swell of her abdomen. “For the baby.”

Tabitha shook her head, her red hair tousling everywhere. “If you’re worried about the danger to us, then leave here! Don’t fight this war. Don’t put yourself in danger.”

In other words, stay with her. Bloody hell, it was so tempting. He’d love nothing better than to wrap Tabitha in his arms, and maybe, if magic-kind had been peaceful, he’d have put their futures and their hearts on the line and tried to mate as any normal wizard would. But everyone knew he wasn’t normal. He laughed. There were still bets out there among a skeptical few on the duration of Ronan’s mating to Kari. And of the twins, Ronan had always been the more steadfast. Raiden feared he had zero chance of making Tabby happy for more than a night.

And magickind wasn’t peaceful.

“I can’t leave Ronan, Bram, and the others to fight alone. But I won’t have you in the middle of the danger. Blackbourne will care for you. His mate passed to her afterlife without birthing a youngling, so he will cherish yours. He’s connected and powerful and—”

“Not you.” Her face crumpled as tears welled in her eyes.

Raiden’s heart turned over. Why did she love him? He shook his head, still trying to understand.

“He won’t mean to me what you do.” Her hazel eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “He won’t make me feel desired. He won’t challenge me. He won’t make every day an adventure. He isn’t the other half of my heart.”

Oh God. Raiden closed his eyes. Her plea was persuasive, and the urge to throw caution to the wind strong. He steeled himself. This was their last night together. It had to be. And he would make every second count.

“I’m sorry, Tabby. I can’t.” Raiden held out a hand to her. “Be with me?”

Tears fell down her cheeks and she shrugged. “You know it’s impossible for me to say no to you.”

And saying no to her sweet pleas had been the hardest thing he’d ever done.

Raiden didn’t say a word, just pushed his robe off her delicate, pale shoulders, unbelted it, and let it drop to the floor, baring her sweet curves to his gaze.

Breath left his body in a rush. Dear God, she was beautiful. He knew that, but every time he saw her, Tabby reminded him all over again. And not just physically beautiful. She oozed warmth, intelligence, sass… along with an alluring vulnerability and a pure heart. She opened herself totally every time he touched her, and there was something so compelling about falling deep into her. It felt like finding home.

Laying her on his bed, he quickly disrobed and covered her body with his. He captured her lips, knowing this would be the last time. And that hurt like a bitch. In a perfect world, he would do this every night: kiss her, caress her, show her how much he wanted her.

But in this flawed world, he had only tonight.

From the first touch, Tabby arched up to him, and Raiden closed his eyes, slipping into fantasy, a place where she was his—and always would be. Every night would be filled with her love. And after he’d swallowed her sated cries with his kiss, he’d roll over into blissful, untroubled sleep with her by his side and their youngling growing strong in her belly.

The thought was a powerful aphrodisiac. He deepened his kiss, claiming every inch of her mouth as if he’d been able to make his wish reality.

He drowned in her sweet taste, sinking into a pool of want so deep, he knew he’d never emerge. And he didn’t want to. He let the undertow of desire drag him under as he caressed her so-soft skin, down her neck, to the swells of her breasts. Her sighs tugged on his heart. This last time, he wanted her experience to be so special. She might mate with Sean Blackbourne and give her body to him for the rest of their days, but Raiden wanted to believe that she would never forget him.

He swept tender kisses across her skin, lingering at the sensitive peaks of her breasts, reveling in her slender fingers filtering through his hair, holding him close. He worshipped both nipples, laving them with attention for long minutes until she writhed, until the scent of her arousal grew unbearably, drawing him lower.

Raiden caressed the swell of her belly again, regretting like hell that he wouldn’t see his youngling born or know what it was like to hold him or her. After tomorrow, he’d lose most rights to the child. Yes, everyone knew he’d fathered Tabby’s baby. But as her mate, Blackbourne would be seen as its father.

Shoving the thought aside, he lowered his forehead to her stomach and cupped the swell in his hands. Tears pricked his eyes, and his mouth drifted across the little mound.

“Raiden… I’ll stay. The danger, it’s—”

“No. Please. Just let me… say good-bye.”

Tabby tried to wriggle up, no doubt to argue, but he eased her back down and found his way between her legs, kissing the sweet, silky-wet flesh there. He’d never forget her taste, no matter how many women he took to maintain the energy to fight. There would be no one like Tabitha.

Beneath his caress, she mewled and bucked, selflessly giving all of her pleasure to him so easily. God, even after everything, she trusted him with her body in a way that both humbled him and blew his mind.

As she convulsed and her cries of pleasure echoed off the cave walls, he rose over her and slid inside her. Deep, deep, so damn deep, Raiden didn’t know how he’d ever find his way out. She welcomed him, her slick heat a haven, the place he’d always crave. The place he’d want to stay in forever.

Ronan believed that Raiden loved Tabitha. Ronan was right.

Fucking impossible time to realize it.

He cupped her face in his hands, refusing to look away from her for a single second. Instead, he made love to her with a soft, reverent stroke, guiding her body up until she moaned, tensed, gasped, then surrendered her pleasure to him completely. Lost to her, Raiden followed Tabby into the abyss. And when she fell asleep in his arms, curling up like a trusting little kitten, he burrowed deep under the covers with her, hand over her belly, and drifted off, pretending that when he woke tomorrow, Tabitha would still be his.

Chapter Nine

The following morning, Raiden woke with Tabitha in his arms, her legs tangled in his. He buried his face in her neck and inhaled. Her natural perfume, like cinnamon and fresh spring rain, made him ache instantly. He’d know it anywhere. And he’d miss that scent forever.

The sun hadn’t yet risen, but his fantasy night was over. Though he’d awakened her several times to make love, it hadn’t been enough. It never would be. But the time had come to face reality. Keeping Tabby and the baby safe was his first responsibility, even if that meant cutting out his own heart.

After pressing a kiss to her forehead, he untangled himself from her and rose. Stomping down his regret, Raiden showered and dressed. He found Bram in the kitchen, drinking coffee. He poured himself a mug and sipped, wincing. When Bram made it, the brew could take the paint off walls. Today, Raiden feared he’d need it.

The Doomsday Brethren leader wore an edgy, watchful expression that didn’t bode well.

“Do you have a minute?” Raiden asked him. “I have a problem.”

Bram sipped coffee. “A minute, literally. I must meet Duke this morning. Long story.”

Not one with a happy ending, clearly.

Quickly, Raiden told him about nearly everything that had transpired over the past two days, including the parchment outlining the Untouchable family tree he and Tabitha had retrieved.

“Bloody hell.” Bram shook his head. “Well, the good news is, there’s no need for you to worry about Tabitha’s safety now. Mathias knows the identity of the Untouchable. Duke found her last night and is bringing her here. I’ll fill you in later. I’m expected to meet them now.”

Before Bram could leave, Raiden grabbed him by the shirt. “You’re saying that Mathias no longer needs the information Tabby’s father begged her to protect?”

“Precisely. We found the Untouchable last night, and Mathias is on Duke’s arse now. He shouldn’t bother Tabitha again.”

With a grim nod, Bram disappeared out of the room and left the caves. Raiden melted against the wall and loosed a staggering sigh of relief. Mathias had no cause to hurt Tabby now. She was safe. And as soon as Raiden could get her away from him and settled with Blackbourne, he could rest easy, knowing she wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire of this bloody ugly war.

Thank God.

Except now this really meant good-bye.

That reality settled in as Raiden ambled back to his cave in a sightless daze. His legs moved as if they’d become leaden. Tightness banded his chest, and sharp pains tore through him. Breathing fucking hurt. Tears stabbed his eyes like needles.

Today, he’d lose Tabitha forever. He’d never know her kiss or her love again. He’d never hold their youngling. He’d never imagined this moment would bring him to his knees, like an army of dull knives gouging his soul.

Better that than Tabby widowed or dead. Knowing she was safe had to satisfy him for the rest of his life.

Tabitha paced the little bedroom, her hair tucked up at her nape, her skirts swishing around her. Worry jabbed her stomach.

When she’d awakened, Raiden had been gone. Wasn’t that a metaphor for their relationship? Only now, she wasn’t worrying that he simply didn’t love her. The way he’d made love to her last night, she knew better. No, what concerned her now was his safety. Had he left her to fight? Would today be the day Mathias bested Raiden, killed him?

Seven against an army. Staggering odds, to be sure. For the youngling’s sake, she should be happy that Raiden would soon deliver her to another man who would make her and the baby his responsibility.

True, she didn’t have to be Sean’s mate. Her father had left her with much. She could rebuild the house and live comfortably for the rest of her years. But he’d wanted this match for her, wanted a father for her youngling. Raiden couldn’t—or wouldn’t—fill the role. She understood, really. If Mathias attacked them here and she had to escape, smuggling a youngling to safety… odds were, Mathias would kill them.

Sean was a kind man, and he made her laugh, feel secure. As matches went, it was a good one. He would never demand her heart and soul, yet would always put her first. It was more than many of magickind’s arranged matings. But now that she’d known joy in Raiden’s arms, Tabitha feared that mere comfort would never be enough.

Still, how could she naysay her parents’ wishes? And Raiden’s as well? He fought for such a noble cause and tried so hard to keep her safe.

She couldn’t. And arguing would only make them both hurt more.

A moment later, Raiden entered the little bedroom, resignation all over his face. Dread crashed into the endless pit of her stomach.

Tabitha tried not to think about the fact that he would never make love to her again. From today on, that would be a virtual stranger’s right.

“Bram says the identity of the Untouchable is no longer secret. Mathias knows who she is. The danger to you is gone.”

And so was her reason to stay. Raiden was, no doubt, eager to send her on her way.

“I’m sorry for her, then.”

“Indeed. Would you like coffee? Breakfast?”

Before he dropped her off and left her forever? “No, thank you.”

He nodded. “I’ve already talked to Blackbourne’s household staff about taking over the rest of the details for your family’s burial. They will work with you. The bodies are being transferred now, so you needn’t trouble yourself.”

She swallowed down her rage and guilt and endless sadness. They swirled together, making her stomach pitch and roll. She placed her hand over her belly, where the life she and Raiden had created together rested. He would never know his son or daughter. She could never share the joy of parenthood with him. Desperate tears burned her eyes.

“Thank you,” she choked out, then looked around, realizing she had no reason to delay the inevitable. “I have nothing to pack or take to Sean.”

Raiden shook his head, clenching his jaw as if he held back a terrible pain inside. “He’ll have you. He needs nothing more.”

Tabitha felt more tears sting her eyes, and she stared at the ceiling, willing them away. But nothing could stop them.

“Can’t we…” What? Find some way to be together, yes. But how? She had no idea.

“No,” he bit out. Then he kicked the bed with a frustrated roar. The mattress lurched across the floor, shuddered, stopped. “The last thing in the world I want to do is let you go. But you saw Mathias yesterday. He and his Anarki are relentless. In the past, they’ve attacked us at Bram’s house, burned it down. We’ve engaged them in battle repeatedly. It’s only a matter of time until the casualties mount up. The rest of these wizards have mates, and I don’t understand bringing them into danger.” He shook his head. “But none of them have a coming youngling. If this fight with Mathias drags on for decades, as it did during his first existence, then raising a baby constantly in danger… no. Besides, I don’t know how to care for you the way you deserve. And you deserve everything.”

She cupped his face in her hands, willing him to understand. “You care for me in every way I could want, Raiden. If not for the baby, I would do whatever it took to stay with you.”

“And God help me, I would probably let you.” He grabbed her shoulders. “I’m so damn weak where you’re concerned.”

She caressed his cheek, and he closed his eyes, a shudder racing through him.

Then he leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss to her mouth, soft, full of regret and good-bye. “I love you.”

Tabitha felt those three words light up her whole body. The air left her lungs. He loved her? Really? Yes, it was there in his blue eyes. He looked straight at her, not blinking, not flinching. Finally, he let her see how much she meant to him.

“Why now?”

“Because I’m selfish. You’d recover from me more quickly if you believed I didn’t care, but I can’t stand you thinking that I’m too much of a bastard to love you. And because there’s a part of me that hopes you never forget me.”

“Never,” she vowed. “I’m praying our youngling has your eyes so I can look at him or her and remember you each day.”

Tabitha held back a sob. God, this was tearing her up inside. While she would be safe and protected with a man who would watch her and her youngling, Raiden would be alone, fighting the war that most of magickind was too cowardly to wage—and likely dying. And knowing all the while that once Sean Called to her and she spoke the Binding, Raiden would lose her forever.

To keep her and the youngling safe, he was causing himself immense pain. As much as she hated the situation, she loved him even more for his sacrifice.

“Don’t do this. I’m willing to risk the danger to stay here with you.”

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m not. Your safety means more to me than… anything.”

Damn it, under that playboy surface, he was a good man. “But you won’t be safe.”

Raiden shrugged. “All I ask is that you remember me. Tell the youngling about his or her father, please.”

She nodded, but everything inside her was falling apart. “I don’t want this.”

“It’s for the best.” He held out a hand to her. “Let’s go. Blackbourne is expecting you.”

As she linked her hand in his, her insides crumbled. Tabitha fought to stay on two legs and not throw herself against his chest and beg. Her heart hated this. Her head knew he was right.

Together, they ventured through the cavernous structure, then exited to the rocky outcrop overlooking the sea. The winds were calm today. The sun rising over the water looked magnificent with the promise of a new day, a new beginning.

“I can make my way from here,” she whispered.

Raiden squeezed her hand. “I’ll see you there safely.” He hesitated. “Don’t make me let you go before I must.”

Tabitha held back tears and nodded. A moment later, the vacuum swept around her head, and she staggered, her balance off as Raiden transported her to Blackbourne’s estate.

When they arrived, he gave her hand one last squeeze… then released it.

She wanted too badly to grab him again, hold him one last time, but in front of them were the imposing black wrought-iron gates protecting Blackbourne’s rambling house from intruders. On the other side of the gates, Sean walked toward them with a purposeful step.

He was still in his prime and a handsome man in his own right, and Tabitha knew she should feel fortunate. She didn’t.

Sean raised a hand. Moments later, the gate opened. Raiden guided her through until they stood before her mate-to-be.

“Thank goodness you’re safe,” he murmured, taking her hand. “After I heard of your family, I worried for you and the youngling.”

“I’m fine.” Physically, yes. On the inside? Dying. How could she mate with this man? Or any man other than Raiden?

Sean directed a firm stare at Raiden. “You’re giving her to me, correct? You understand that once you leave this estate, she will be mine and you will no longer be welcome to see her?”

Raiden didn’t look at her, didn’t hesitate. “I understand. It’s as her parents wished. You will keep her and the child well.”

Sean curled an arm around her and brought her close. Nothing about him repulsed her. She simply didn’t love him and knew that she never would.

“Well, then.” Sean sent Raiden a tight, polite smile. “There’s nothing more to say.”

Raiden shook his head. “One more request: when the youngling comes, if I’m still…” He hesitated.

Alive. That was the word he sought.

He cleared his throat. “If I’m still… fighting, will you send word of the youngling’s birth? I’d simply like to know that he or she is delivered safely.”

Blackbourne hesitated. “I will. But don’t ask for anything more.”

Chapter Ten

Raiden paced the barren turf around the perimeter of Blackbourne’s estate like a damn stalker, sinking into the newly-rain-soaked soil as he eyed the towering gates and the imposing house beyond. He should leave. Tabby—Tabitha—was no longer his. But he remained. Wind whipped his hair, tugged at the bare branches of the trees above, and echoed hollowly around him.

Two damn days since he’d dropped her off with Blackbourne and the wizard had taken her into his home. Had he Called to her already? Claimed her?

Raiden clenched his fists. Likely so, and it was best for Tabitha. But damn if it didn’t hurt like hell.

Gnashing his teeth at the futility of his pain, Raiden heard a whooshing sound behind him. Then another. Followed by several more. Heart pounding, he tucked himself deeper into the shadows, crouching behind a massive tree. He peered around the gnarled trunk.

Mathias and a dozen Anarki emerged into the spill of light at the perimeter of Blackbourne’s gate. This wasn’t a social call. Everything about their manner screamed violence.

Fuck! Why were they here? Between the Blackbourne family connection to Mathias and the fact that he already knew the Untouchable’s identity, Tabitha should have been safe now. This show of force made no sense.

Except Mathias’s expression said he had revenge on his mind.

Raiden didn’t dare teleport away. This close, Mathias would hear. And he couldn’t leave Tabitha alone. But he also couldn’t fight a half-dozen Anarki by himself.

Sending up a prayer that his unconventional idea would work, he whipped out his mobile phone and snapped a picture of Mathias and his goons, then sent it to Bram. He added a text: Get ur arses 2 Sean Blackbourne’s & b quiet.

Unless and until reinforcements arrived, Raiden had to slow the Anarki’s entry into the house. Because if Mathias reached Tabitha, the fighting would likely be brutal, swift, and one-sided.

As the wind turned particularly brisk, he aimed his wand at the nearest tree and lopped off a heavy, dangling branch. He sent it hurtling into two of the formerly human soldiers. Their undead corpses toppled over, one decapitated. The other grunted, losing his arm and bleeding an oily black.

Mathias tensed and glared at the tree. Raiden knew he was sizing the situation up and wondering, Natural causes or magical?

Raiden plastered himself behind, low to the ground, trying to figure out how the hell to stall Mathias now.

A moment later, he heard a gentle whoosh to his right. Raiden tensed, but Bram, Ice, Caden, and Ronan appeared in the shadows beside him, against the wall. Raiden whipped his gaze around to see if Mathias had heard or sensed their arrival. But the Anarki had already vanished, ripping the wrought-iron gates wide and stomping onto the grounds behind the brick walls.

Raiden stood, thoughts burning through his head. He motioned the others over. “We have to go in now. Tabitha is inside—”

“We don’t know what we’re walking into,” Caden argued.

“I don’t fucking care. He can’t…” God, Raiden was so terrified of the possibilities, he couldn’t get the words out. “I will not let him touch her.”

Ice and Bram exchanged glances, then nodded.

“We’ll split up. Caden, you and Ice head to the east side of the house. See if you can determine where Mathias has gone and what he’s done. The rest of us will take the west side and do the same.”

No one was in sight as Raiden and the others sprinted across the expansive grass and approached the rambling house.

As they crept around the west side, one look into the windows proved to be Raiden’s worst nightmare. Blackbourne lay facedown on the ground, unmoving. Unconscious? Dead? And Mathias clamped a cruel hand around Tabitha’s arm, smiling with malice as he said something that made her flinch.

Terror pumped through Raiden. He prepared to launch himself through the window. Mathias could not touch her for another second without Raiden losing his fucking mind.

Bram grabbed his shoulder and forced him down. “Do you want to ensure her death? We need a plan.”

Mathias used his free hand to rip the top button of her dress. She shrank away with a scream. He laughed and reached for the second.

“We don’t have time for a plan.” Raiden shook off Bram’s grip. “If you want to help me save her, come with me. Otherwise, leave me the bloody hell alone.”

This time, he leapt through the window. Glass shattered everywhere, and Tabby turned away to avoid the spray. Shards peppered deep into Mathias’s face and chest. With a nasty scowl, he cursed.

Raiden reached for Tabitha to teleport her away—but Mathias stepped between them. Glaring, he magically wriggled the glass free from his skin. The bleeding cuts healed an instant later.

“Coming to your encinta’s rescue? How touching.” He grabbed Tabby tighter.

She fought and kicked, but Mathias slapped her soundly—a sharp crack of palm to cheek. Her head snapped back. Then she went completely limp.

Dear God, was she dead?

Seething bloody murder, Raiden charged, only to see Mathias raise a hand—and an invisible shield.

He bounced off the force field and snarled. “What the hell have you done to her?”

“She’s merely unconscious,” Mathias drawled. “Until I deem otherwise.”

“Tabitha doesn’t have the information you want. I do. Leave her be.”

“Oh, it’s not the information I require. And you’re in no position to give orders.” With a menacing grin, Mathias hovered one hand above Tabitha’s throat, mimicking a strangling grip. Even in her unconscious state she choked, turned red, thrashed.

Raiden tried desperately to push past Mathias’s invisible barrier. But damn it, the wizard had five hundred years’ experience on him.

Still, Raiden refused to give up. “Don’t hurt her. She can’t help you.”

“But you can. I’ll release your encinta unharmed if you give me the Untouchable within an hour. I know you, Bram, and that ridiculous Duke are sheltering her. Give her to me, and I’ll leave your sweet Tabitha alone.”

Duke would never allow that. He’d given up virtually everything to keep the Untouchable woman safe. Besides, surrendering such a weapon to Mathias… they could all die an unpleasant death.

Raiden shook his head. “You’d never turn Tabitha loose unharmed. I think you’d kill her for the sport alone.”

Mathias raised a brow. “It pays to know your opponent. Clearly, you do. Bravo!”

While Mathias verbally jousted, Raiden caught site of Caden and Ice quietly creeping up behind the wizard, slowly drawing their wands. Both were covered in black blood, indicating they’d killed more than a few Anarki.

Out of the corner of his eye, Raiden saw Bram and Ronan approach Mathias’s blind flank, wands in hand. God, would they finally catch the bastard and vanquish him once and for all? Could it be that simple?

Caden pointed his wand at Mathias’s head, fury and hate all over his face, then took a step closer.

He bounced against Mathias’s invisible wall. And their surprise was blown.

Suddenly, the chilling bastard whirled to growl at them all and, arms raised, sent a massive wall of water crashing in every direction. Water gushed with ear-splitting power, dousing everything in sight. They staggered back. The strong current swept Raiden’s feet out from under him and rolled above his head. Ahead, he could see Tabitha wriggling, a tangle of legs and skirts in the thick water as she fought Mathias.

Then another wave sucked him under.

Gasping for air, he fought his way to the surface, following the trail of bubbles. When he emerged, he sucked in a deep breath—and saw Tabby swimming across the surface toward him. Surprise jolted him like a live wire. She was alive! Free!

Greedily, he clutched her against his chest with one hand, wand in the other, while he scoured the room for Mathias. She grabbed Raiden tightly, buried her face in his neck, and sobbed.

As the water flooded out the open window and dissipated, Raiden realized Mathias was nowhere in sight.

“Damn it!” Caden shoved his wand back into his jacket.

Bram pocketed his wand and glared at Raiden. “We could have cornered the bastard, but we didn’t have a bloody plan. You jumped in without thought.”

With a glance, Raiden told the group’s leader that he could fuck himself. Yes, he wanted Mathias dead… but he needed Tabby alive more.

Ronan clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m glad she’s safe.”

“Besides,” Ice added, “we don’t actually know how to kill a wizard who’s already risen from the dead. There’s nothing to say that even with a plan, we would have succeeded tonight.”

In fact, they’d all wondered before if killing Mathias was a mere fantasy. Incarcerating him was nearly impossible, which left them wondering how the devil they could vanquish him once and for all. Raiden only knew they wouldn’t stop trying.

In his arms, Tabby pulled back and sent a terrified hazel gaze his way. “He’s gone, Raiden?”

“Yes. I’m here, love. How do you feel? How did you get free?”

“I’m fine. When he slapped me, I pretended to pass out, hoping he’d drop me or think me useless as a hostage.”

Wishful thinking.

“When Mathias blasted the water through the room,” she continued, “I-I felt him dissolving himself into the water. The way he grabbed me, I knew he meant to take me with him. And if he did, he’d kill me. So I surprised him by kneeing him in the groin and shoving away just as he dissipated.”

If Mathias hadn’t already been in the midst of breaking down his form to float away with Tabitha, he would likely have remained behind and killed her just for spite.

Raiden clutched her tighter. He hadn’t saved her, damn it. She’d saved herself. Her cunning and bravery made him love her that much more.

“You amaze me, Tabby.”

“Please don’t leave me again.”

He didn’t know what to do. But he couldn’t give her back to Blackbourne if the other wizard still lived. That, he knew.

“You haven’t mated yet,” he observed by studying her signature.

“I-I told Sean I needed time to mourn, that I couldn’t pile what should be the happiest time of my life on top of the saddest.”

Raiden closed his eyes. He’d wanted Tabby safe… but the thought of her being Blackbourne’s had ripped his heart out and poured acid in the empty hole.

“But Sean suspected,” she went on, “that I was stalling. He knew I mourned you as well.”

Raiden hesitated. He’d brought her here for safety, but if he hadn’t returned tonight, Blackbourne would have failed her. She might, even now, have been dead. Or worse.

At his feet, Sean Blackbourne staggered upright and saw Tabitha in Raiden’s arms. Blackbourne froze, resignation settling across his features.

“You’ve come back for her, then?”

Raiden looked between him and Tabby—and realized that even with the risk of war, she’d be safer with him and the rest of the Doomsday Brethren. As long as Mathias roamed free, trying to overtake magickind, there would be danger everywhere. Raiden had seen plenty of casualties among magickind’s innocents, who had no defense against a maniac like Mathias. “Civilians” like Blackbourne were ill-equipped to fight this terrible threat. Mathias could come for Tabitha again and again. Raiden shuddered to think what would happen if he wasn’t by her side.

Meeting Blackbourne’s stare, he simply said, “Yes.”

Blackbourne sighed with regret, then looked at Tabitha. “I don’t have to ask what you want. It’s clear that you love him.”

Tabitha’s lips pressed together as she slowly made her way to Blackbourne and kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry, but… I do.”

A sad half smile crept across the older wizard’s face. “Your haunted eyes made that hard to miss. At first I thought that mourning was strictly for your family, but when you said his name, I knew.” Then he glared up at Raiden. “You’re mating with her, correct? No more crap about lacking instinct?”

Raiden stiffened. “That’s something Tabitha and I will discuss.”

“See that you do. Quickly.”

Biting back anger, Raiden resisted telling Blackbourne what he could do with his edicts. But the wizard was letting them go with no malice, and getting Tabby to safety was more important.

With Blackbourne’s permission, they all teleported away from his estate and back to Ice’s caves. The other wizards quickly made themselves scarce. Raiden took Tabby’s hand and dragged her to his cave, then set her on the edge of his bed.

He knelt beside her, resisting the urge to fidget. “You deserve much better than me.”

“You’ve done your very best to keep me safe,” she argued quietly.

“It hasn’t been enough.”

“You don’t have to do it alone. Together, we survived these past few days. We will in the future, as well.”

“You don’t know that!” He jumped to his feet.

“I know without a doubt that you’ll do everything in your power to keep me and our youngling safe.”

True. And he’d never stop.

“This war is dangerous. I may not live to see old age.”

“I’ll cherish every moment we have, but I have faith you’ll do everything to return to me safely.”

Another truth.

Tabby grabbed his hand and urged him back down with a gentle tug. “Life doesn’t come with guarantees. These are dangerous times. Is anyone safe?”

No. And he knew it, had thought it himself mere minutes ago. “You’re right, but I’m…” Raiden shook his head, trying to force the words out of his mouth. He wanted Tabby so badly. But he wanted her happiness more. “I’m terrible mate material.”

“How do you know that for certain? You’ve never tried mating.”

Closing his eyes, Raiden hung his head. Shame clawed through him. He’d wasted years, focused on nothing more than conquering one female after another. It was all he knew. “You know my reputation.”

“Indeed.” She sighed. “If I released you now and gave you leave to bed any woman you wished, are you certain you wouldn’t choose me?”

Not choose Tabitha? No woman had ever affected him so much. He’d choose her every time. “You know I want you. God, so much…”

“Have you ever felt about another woman as you do about me?”

Until her, he’d never fathomed feeling about any witch as he felt about her. “No.”

“Have you ever told another woman you loved her and meant it?”

Say the three scariest words to some meaningless lay? “No. But your parents wanted—”

“My parents believed that you would never love me. If they were here now, what would you tell them?”

A wave of emotion broke over him. A realization. Sadness, joy. Raiden’s love for Tabitha flowed through his veins, as natural as breathing.

Suddenly, he knew exactly what he wanted. Always before, he’d been afraid to believe in it, fight for it.

Not anymore.

Raiden took her face in his hands, feeling tears well in his eyes. “I’d tell them that I’ll defend you to my dying breath, that I will want you always, and that I love you more than my own life.”

She smiled softly, tears running from those thick-fringed hazel eyes. “That’s what I hoped you would say.”

His thoughts raced. Only one thing stood between him and Tabby now. He’d faced down Mathias tonight with less terror than asking his encinta the question on the tip of his tongue. “Do you have any reservations about mating with me?”

She caressed the side of his face and sent him a huge, bright-eyed smile that lit up his heart. “Call to me and find out.”

Issue the formal vow of a wizard to his mate. Right. Hell, did he even know the words?

Raiden closed his eyes and pictured the rest of his days with Tabby. In contentment, shrouded in love.

The sacred words filled his head.

“Become a part of me, as I become a part of you. And ever after, I promise myself to thee. Each day we share, I’ll be honest, good, and true. If this you seek, heed my Call. From this moment on, there is no other for me but you.”

Tears flooded her beautiful eyes, and Raiden swore that even with her hair half-tumbling out of its knot and her clothes soaked, she’d never looked more radiant.

“Was that so difficult?” she whispered.

No. In fact, he’d never felt more certain about anything in his life. Except… “Are you going to answer?”

“I can’t wait.” Tabitha pressed a kiss to his lips, and nothing had ever tasted sweeter. “As I become a part of you, you will become a part of me. I will be honest, good, and true. I heed your Call. ’Tis you I seek. From this moment on, there is no other for me but you.” She smiled again. “We’re officially mated.”

“We are, indeed.” He tore off his shirt and hovered above her to remove the last of the pins from her hair. Then he sent her a lopsided grin. “I need to make you mine. Now.”

She sighed as she unbuttoned her dress. “I already am.”