“You want me, right?”
He nodded slowly. “I do.”
“For what exactly? What is all this? Why do you keep trying to seduce me? Isn’t it a bit of a ball-breaker that I keep denying you?”
The side of his lip curved ever so slightly. “It is amusing.”
“It is pointless,” I shot back. “I have zero interest in you.”
“Nonetheless, still amusing, but also inevitable.”
“What is?”
“This…” Before I knew what was happening, he had me in his arms, pressing his lips against mine.
My magic flared up to stop him, but suddenly, a wave of pleasure swept through me. I could think of nothing else but his lips on mine.
At first, his kiss was soft, tentative, until he reached his hand around the back of my head and pulled me in closer. He opened his mouth, lightly teased my tongue with his.
By the time my mind cleared, I was cradled against his body, moaning against his touch. With each glide of his tongue, I gave more of myself to him. The worst thing—and it was more wrong than I could even grasp—I didn’t want to stop. I liked kissing him and it made me want more of him. It was as if I was meant to be here, cradled in his arms.
He groaned deeply, pushed his hard erection against my stomach. I met it with a little roll of my h*ps against him. In reaction, he slowly caressed my face. I reached up to run my hands along his strong back. His body was sculpted, each muscle flexed beneath my touch.
When he drew away, I gasped unhappily, and he chuckled deeply. He leaned back down and lightly kissed my lips. I opened my eyes and stared at him. Suddenly it all made sense. Why he’d been so intent on me and so patient.
I was his. I knew it in every part of me. My soul belonged to him, and the second I left his presence, I would only yearn to return.
“Now you know.” Magnus brushed his fingers along my lips.
Tears filled my eyes. “Oh god…no.”
“We are destined to be together.” Magnus said in a soft whisper. “You are my Lady.”
I stepped away from him, pushed against his shoulders to put distance between us “No,” I shouted. “You were using some trickery on me. What did you do?” The instant I no longer felt his touch, my body was gripped with sadness, wanting to return to his arms.
I couldn’t give in. I stood strong—far away from him as I trembled.
Magnus took his seat, trailed his finger along the rim of the glass. Hating myself, I followed the movement with my eyes. My body warmed at the sight of it, wanting that finger to run along my body. “I did nothing. I allowed our bond to show itself, and when I did, you accepted it.”
“It didn’t show itself last time you tried to kiss me. Explain that?” He was using something on me. This couldn’t be real.
“I did not open the connection to you then. I was giving you time to get to know me first. I figured if I waited until you accepted my world, it would be easier for you to accept me.”
“I will always deny you,” I screamed. “Just because I understand more of your world doesn’t change anything. I don’t want to be with you. I belong with Kyden. I love him.”
Magnus’ expression darkened with annoyance. “You may have strong emotions for the Guardian, but it is nothing compared to what you and I will share.”
“No,” I whispered.
Deep down, I knew he was right. As much as I loved Kyden, nothing compared to a bond between mates. The pull to Magnus was tremendous. The want to stay here with him, be with him forever, and the joy I felt that I finally found him. A thousand conflicting emotions made breathing difficult. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want him, but my soul told me otherwise.
“You will only be able to deny it for so long,” Magnus said, his voice soft. “Now, that you have seen the bond it will start to consume you quickly.”
“But I don’t use Black Magic! How could I be a part of your realm? How could I be mated to you when we don’t use the same magic?” I yelled.
His eyes twinkled. “Fate is an interesting creature, isn’t she? It does provide me much amusement that I find myself in this current situation. Why she has chosen my Lady to be a White Magic Witch is humorous indeed.”
“That makes no sense.” I roared, trying to grasp anything that resembled sanity. “I will never accept the darkness.”
“It is not a choice. You will not be able to stop it. You will come to the darkness, and be where you were meant to be all along.”
“If I was meant to belong here, why didn’t you just take me before? Why did you stop it if it is inevitable?”
“I wanted you to come to me willingly. It does not interest me to force you. It arouses me to know that you are choosing me.”
“No,” I screamed. “I want to get out of here. I want to go home. Right now.” I needed to get away. If I didn’t, I was scared I would choose not to leave. The longer I stayed here the more what he was saying made sense, and I couldn’t let it, couldn’t allow this take me. I needed to get back to Kyden. Needed the reminder of what we shared.
“Go then.” Magnus’ gaze focused heavily on me, and my body betrayed me as wetness spread between my thighs responding to his intent look. “I have waited a very long time for you. As I told you before, I am not going to push you. Your view of me is quite inaccurate, and my only wish is to see you happy.”
“I’m happy with Kyden,” I snapped.
He ignored me. “I can continue to be patient with you. Now that you have discovered the truth, it will not be long until you come to me willingly.”
Then, I landed back into the foyer with Kyden waiting there for me, lifting me into his arms. I took one look at him and burst into tears.
“Zia,” Kyden shouted.
She shook her head and remained where she stood. “She is not injured. Nexi, what’s happened?”
“The worst thing ever,” I sobbed.
Chapter Twelve
The emotions running across Zia’s face as she read into my mind only made my tears come harder. Never had I wanted to see such sadness sweep across her features. She gasped and sank to her knees beside me. Her breath shuddered as she raised her hands to her face in horror. “You’re his Lady.”
Kyden’s eyes met mine. The hurt that rippled across his beautiful features, sank my heart. It was there in every part of him. Pain, betrayal, rage sat hard in his gaze. “I will kill him,” he said in a low voice that barely made a sound.
Haven was sobbing loudly, and suddenly she threw herself at me. “You can’t be.”
“I don’t want to be,” I cried with her. “I can never go back there. I can never see him again.”
Kyden’s grip tightened around me. I held onto him to save myself for all the same reasons. This couldn’t be happening, couldn’t be real. After everything I’d been through, all I lost, life was still going to take more from me. What had I done? Why had I deserved such pain? It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t f**king fair.
Talon knelt down beside me, placed his hand on the top of my head and asked softly, “What happened?”
It only took minutes to tell them what had taken place. By the end of it, even Zia was wiping away tears.
“I love you, Kyden,” I cried. “I want you.”
Kyden still hadn’t said a word. Just sat there and watched me with a pained expression.
Zia took my hands in hers and squeezed them, offering support. “Your heart may belong to Kyden, but it appears that Magnus has your soul.”
“I don’t understand.” I screamed through the tears. “What does that mean?”
“The dark world is different from ours¯we do not have destined mates,” Zia answered. “Our world isn’t about power, isn’t about producing stronger offspring. Therefore, the destined bond mate never seeped into our realm. It just wasn’t needed.
“However, the Underworld is similar to what you have seen in wolves. The wolves need to produce stronger offspring to survive¯to provide protection around them. The Underworld craves it for future power. So in these beings, the soul searches out a mate who will make them stronger and provide more powerful younglings.” Her face became all too sad. “With you, it appears Magnus is your destined mate. Your bond with him will make you both stronger.” She gave Talon a knowing look.
I shot straight up, lunging out of Kyden’s arms and I stared at her accusingly. “You knew?”
She sighed, her eyes sank as she frowned. “It crossed my mind, yes. I had hoped that when Magnus took an interest in you it was only for your powers, but I did fear it might come to this.”
“How can this be?” Finn asked. “She is a White Magic Witch.”
“This is unusual indeed,” she replied. “But Nexi is unusual. We all know that.”
“What do I do?” I begged. “How do I stop it?”
“You can’t,” Talon answered dourly. “You are only lucky that Magnus has let you return to us. It is in his right to take you and keep you there.”