"That was . . ." Sydney didn't finish the thought.

Straight from his heart.

"It was," he panted, afraid to speak his thought aloud.

Now that the time to part had come, he wondered if he could keep her, tell her the truth, let her decide if she wanted to deal with magickind and the war. Or should he let her go, try desperately to forget her and know he'd likely never mate?

He didn't want to think of such things while still buried within her. Not while he had his arms about her.

But that wasn't reality. The phone vibrating on the table beside them was. Duke, again. No doubt wondering where the h.e.l.l they were.

His breathing had not yet recovered when he withdrew from Sydney with a curse, then picked up the phone. He didn't bother with pleasantries. "We'll be there in ten." Caden didn't wait for a reply, but simply hung up.

"Are you all right?" He caressed her shoulder, down the line of her spine, admiring the sleek curve of her waist, then pulled her body against his, front to her back.

She gave him a shaky nod. "What happens after this meeting? With us?" Though a fair question, it stabbed him. Putting distance between them would be best for her, but could he stay away?

"After this meeting, we'll talk."

Caden guided Sydney into the crowded pub with a hand at the small of her back. Pathetic. Twenty minutes after one of the most amazing s.e.xual experiences in his life and the only thing it had done was make him greedy for more. Now was the time for business.

He hoped he could focus.

The walls of the crowded pub seemed to close in, pressed with tables and bodies and the smell of ale.

He started to sweat again, shake. His energy waned with every step. He'd like to think he'd simply needed a bit of a nap after an o.r.g.a.s.m that had nearly blown his head off. Given his urge to hold Sydney close and drown in her again, he knew better.

"Where the h.e.l.l have you been?" Duke grabbed his elbow and barked in his ear.

Sluggishly, Caden turned his head. The wizard looked incredibly bra.s.sed off. Splendid.

A few feet in front of him, he was vaguely aware of Olivia introducing herself to Sydney and smiles being exchanged. Olivia led Sydney to another table. He barely let her go with a growl. The women began chatting.

"Sit down," Duke commanded.

Perhaps he should and rest his head. He needed sleep. Badly.

He swayed on his feet, the room spinning. Duke peered into his face, then sniffed. "Never mind. I know what you've been about. s.e.x at a time this critical?"

"p.i.s.s off," he growled, then collapsed onto a stool.

"d.a.m.n it!" Duke hissed. "Look at me."

Caden slowly opened unfocused eyes. "Wha . . . ?"

Duke pinched the bridge of his nose. "Have you been sweating all day? Shaking?" He nodded.

"Craving s.e.x?"

A snort punctuated Caden's answer. "Last two weeks."

"You just s.h.a.gged her and you're already exhausted?" In the battle between Caden and his heavy eyelids, the eyelids won. "Watch your mouth."

"Answer me."

Somehow, Caden found the energy to nod.

"f.u.c.k."

Usually, the t.i.tled wizard was every bit a gentleman. Caden winced at Duke's curse.

"Your magical signature is beginning to take shape. Black, blue, and gray. But there's something yellow and white trying to merge with it." Duke turned his attention toward Sydney. "Is she your mate? I know you haven't spoken the words but . . ."

Caden nodded. He'd finally admitted what his body had been telling him since virtually the moment he'd met her. It wasn't a happy admission.

"Your transition from human to wizard is upon you. We've got to find a female to go through it with you.

You'll need great amounts of s.e.xual energy."

"Sydney-"

"Is a reporter! If you transition with her, you'll bed her like a madman for the next few days, then emerge as a wizard involuntarily displaying your special power, which will likely be impossible to hide. How do you know she won't print it in her human newspaper? You cannot choose her."

"Want her."

"I know," he soothed. "But you can't have her for your transition. Not for your mate, either. She'll learn too much and expose us to humanity. I'll call Bram. Certainly, he'll know a witch who will help you." Duke reached for his mobile.

Caden's sluggish brain took in Duke's words. Everything inside him rebelled. Drudging up all his energy, he grabbed Duke's phone and banged it against the table. It chirped and broke into a dozen little pieces of plastic and wires.

Duke recoiled, looking around to see who had noticed. "Have you gone mental?"

"I want Sydney."

Duke clenched his jaw tight, but then a fresh tremor overtook Caden's body, rocking every muscle. The wizard closed the short distance between them and draped an arm around his shoulders. "Let's go."

"What's wrong with him?" Olivia. Caden knew that voice.

"Guess," Duke barked. "Mr. Hormones destroyed my mobile. Use yours to call Bram. Tell him I'll be babysitting for a few days."

"Get him out of here quickly," Olivia said to Duke. "People are staring. They probably think he's having a seizure." She turned to Sydney. "Perhaps we can continue our discussion-"

"Sydney comes with me." Caden raised his head and glared daggers at Olivia. Marrok would kill him for it later, but now all that mattered was keeping Sydney at his side. He turned his heavy stare on Olivia, willing her to understand.

"What's wrong with him?" Sydney looked stunned and concerned.

"If you'll go with Caden and help him, I'd like to take the book and examine it overnight," Olivia said.

"No." Sydney's refusal was a crisp syllable that didn't surprise Caden at all. "Ring me tomorrow. We'll meet again. Tell me what's ailing him."

Duke and Olivia shared a glance. No way to answer her. Caden didn't care what they said. He only knew that he was burning up from the inside and that he needed these clothes off and Sydney under him.

Immediately. She would soothe him. Only she would do.

He lifted his head and sent a burning gaze to her. "Need you."

"I'm here."

Olivia edged Sydney away. Caden lurched across the feet separating them. Duke dragged him back with a yank and got in his face.

"You do not, under any circ.u.mstances, kiss her. Or get oral with her. No tasting at all. No speaking the Call. Is that clear?"

CHAPTER NINE.

"b.u.g.g.e.r OFF," CADEN SNEERED, then staggered toward Sydney.

She steadied him with an arm about his shoulders. Dear G.o.d, he was an inferno. She gasped. Fear knotted her gut. What the devil was wrong with him?

"He needs a hospital!" she barked at Duke and Olivia.

Duke sighed, and Sydney recognized his expression; she'd seen it on other male faces prior to conversation: dread.

"No. He needs a bed with you beside him."

"What? If he's ill, the last thing he needs is s.e.x!" She opened her mouth to argue the virtues of modern medicine, but Caden nuzzled her neck. She shivered and momentarily lost focus, until a cultured voice brought her back.

"That, my dear, is the very thing he needs."

She could not have heard Hurstgrove right. "I don't understand. Is this what his brother has? Some s.e.xual compulsion?"

"No."

A horrible thought skittered through her head. What if she had done this to him by writing the latest fantasy in the book?

"We can't talk here," Hurstgrove went on. "I'll explain when we reach your flat. Can you . . . care for him?"

If Caden needed her, Sydney wanted to be there for him. She owed him, really, in case her midnight fantasies had put him in this state. But he was more than an obligation to her.

Though Caden hadn't always been honest with her, she understood his reasons for subterfuge. If she'd had a sibling and a few lies could save their life . . . she would likely have done the same. Besides, she sensed Caden needed her on a deeper level. Maybe helping him through this ailment would enable her to see all the way to his core and bring them closer.

"Yes," she said finally.

"Thank you." His eyes closed in relief. "Very much. Let's go." She didn't understand what was happening, but now wasn't the time for a lot of chatter. After Caden had recovered, absolutely. She'd want every detail.

"I'll come along, in case you need help."

From curious to bizarre. Help in bed? "I've got s.e.x covered, thank you." Despite her confusion, when Caden nibbled on her ear, Sydney shivered. He was insistent, almost feral.

The female in her basked at the intensity of his desire, though she didn't fully understand.

"I need you," Caden breathed, caressing a palm up her hip, under her shirt, to cup her breast. "With me .

As his touch burned her sensitive skin, Sydney met his gaze. Blistering blue supplication radiated from him, along with anxiety. Whatever ailed him, he wasn't in complete control-and that terrified him. Never had Caden seemed vulnerable, and even if her writings had nothing to do with it, she wouldn't deny him.

"I'll be in the next room to make sure he doesn't get . . . out of control." Hurstgrove yanked Caden's hand off her, then pushed them toward the door.

Sydney risked a glance around. People were staring- loads of them. Her cheeks heated up as if she flushed twenty shades of red. How many had seen Caden's intimate display of public affection? Duke didn't have to push her again; she dashed out of the pub, dragging Caden along. Olivia held the door open.

Outside, Sydney halted in the stinging November wind. She and Caden had walked to the pub. How the devil was she going to get him to stroll back to her flat when he was solely focused on unb.u.t.toning her shirt?

A moment later, Duke provided a solution, sprinting toward a very posh black SUV and opening the door. Sydney climbed into the backseat, and Caden followed with a growl, his predatory blue eyes glowing in shadow. Those eyes told her that he wanted her in every way possible. Though his condition concerned her, Sydney's belly flipped with desire.

With a feral smile, Caden grabbed her legs and swung her sideways until she reclined across the seat.

She gasped as he covered her until most of her body lay beneath him. Then he lifted her skirt.

"Caden," she whispered, trying not to surrender entirely to the delicious feel of him and the fact he needed her. "Wait! My flat is five minutes-"

"Can't wait." His voice was rough. "Need you."

There again, that vulnerability. She wouldn't abandon him. Somehow, she had to make him understand that she was only putting him off until they were alone.

"Just a few minutes longer."

Caden growled and wrapped his body around hers. Sydney supposed she should be mortified, but desire, both to hold and heal him, trampled her modesty. He'd never insulted her intellect or her profession-she couldn't say as much for her last date, let alone her parents. And given her brief conversation with Olivia, she knew Caden had truly brought her experts to talk about the unusual book she possessed. And how many men would move across an ocean and go to such lengths to help a brother? She'd been suspicious and judged him without really knowing him or understanding his behavior.

The fear she'd seen earlier on his face resurfaced, and he reached for her. His expression confessed his need for her- body and heart. "Help me."

"Of course. Five minutes."

He growled.

Two slams penetrated her consciousness, and she turned her head to see Duke and Olivia settle in the front seat, resolutely not looking their way.

"Did you call Bram?" Duke asked Olivia.

Who? Sydney wondered. The thought dashed away when Caden took her blouse in hand and ripped it in two. She gasped as the remnants of her top drifted to the floorboard.

"Not here!"