Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 115860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
“How did he take that?”
I hate to paint Caden in a bad light, but Holly is more than a boss; she’s a mentor, too. She can probably help me put this mess into perspective, but I can’t get her unvarnished opinion if I’m not honest.
“Over the weekend, he dropped by my flat and expressed romantic interest in me. I realized he was lying and threw him out. So he waited for me to leave and tried following me to my meeting.”
“Prat. I ought to sack him now.”
“I thought the same thing. I particularly doubted his reason for returning to the UK because he’s been so vague about his brother’s mystery illness. Do you know about it?”
“I didn’t ask since it’s personal.”
“I did. He’s said next to nothing, except that it was his reason for returning here after over a dozen years in the States. He’s on sabbatical from a job at a prestigious paper to work here. But if he’s upending his whole life for his brother, why does he rarely talk about the man? Why doesn’t he ever sneak away to visit the hospital or even call?”
“So you fear he’s trying to scoop you and made up an ill brother to explain why he’s working here? And that he tried to get romantic with you so you’d divulge your source? Because he wants to steal your magical war story?”
“It sounds far-fetched, I know. I’ve wondered if I’m being paranoid. Caden says he’s concerned for my safety because Mathias is quite dangerous.”
“Rubbish.”
“Is it?” I shrug. “Why would he help me find a better angle for my story if he simply wants to steal it? The man is a bloody puzzle. I’m keeping him at arm’s length, just in case. I can’t risk him stealing my information and selling it elsewhere.”
“Hmm. Does he behave like he’s guilty?”
“His behavior is odd. But guilty?” I shrug. “Still waters run deep. Until he suddenly became agitated today, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man more still.”
“Is he violent?”
“No. But something isn’t right. He swears he doesn’t want my story. Then why is he here? I know the excuse he gave me, but I truly can’t fathom another reason for his odd behavior.”
My editor frowns. “The magical war news is too lucrative to risk. Keep your notes to yourself. Lock everything up. Don’t leave your computer untended without password protecting it. And send the current version to copy editing tonight.”
I hesitate. Maybe I let the trauma my source endured and Caden sway me too much. Holly is probably right about everything. I nod.
“Excellent. Our rivals are beginning to investigate the magical war story. In fact, I had a call, feeling me out for details. Which reminds me! I’ve also had a ring from another bloke, claiming to have pictures of the tunnel and the bodies no one else has. Odd name…” Holly’s brow furrows as the wheels in her head turn. “Zain Something-or-another.” She shrugs. “I’ll chat with him, see what he’s got and if we want to acquire it.”
That doesn’t make me feel any better. The fact remains, Caden works beside me for reasons I can only guess at, while my interest in him has grown. “Brilliant.”
“What’s next? Did your source give you anything new over the weekend?”
“Not much. She’s away temporarily.” And if I tell her I’m a reporter, I fear she’ll stop talking altogether. “So unless there’s another magical battle, I’ll have to try crafting an article about related topics. I have the supposed ‘magical diary’ Aquarius gave me for my birthday. When she returns from holiday, I’ll ask about its origins.”
“Have you tested it out?”
A mental image of a naked Caden pressing my body to a wall and taking everything he wants from me burns across my brain. I wrote my fantasy nearly forty-eight hours ago.
So far? Nothing.
I sigh in disappointment. “Yeah. I don’t think it works.”
Chapter
Twenty
Caden
Panting, I lurch up in my bed and scan the dark bedroom, bathed in sweat.
Fuck. I just had the most vivid, erotic dream of my life. Of all the times for my subconscious to tempt me, why now? And why am I so fixated on Sydney Blair?
I close my eyes. Automatically, the dream begins to replay—her greeting me at her front door wearing nothing but a tiny wisp of pale lace before she slowly strips. Then I fuck her like a wild animal against her foyer wall until we collapse in a tangle of arms, legs, sweat, and satisfaction.
The memory makes my cock throb painfully in the dark.
You could have her, a traitorous voice in my head points out. After all, Sydney offered to shag me a mere two days ago. A thousand reasons to refuse war with the one urging me to give in. My damned mating instinct howls that she’s the one, fueling an uncontrollable lust born of the oldest magic.