Part 5 (1/2)

But this, he truly meant. She'd wowed him with her very first story. Though she knew nothing about magickind, she'd somehow caught onto the nuances, what was important to the warring factions.

”Honesty.”

He longed to kiss her mouth, mere inches from his, taste her, bring her closer to him, ease her pain.

Inside, he d.a.m.ned his magical impulses for dangling this temptation in front of him and making her so forbidden. If she was, as he suspected, the mate magic intended for him-no, he couldn't think about what could be or he'd go mad.

The reality was, he was deep in this magical war. Not only did he want to avoid Lucan's fate, but he didn't want to place Sydney in danger. If he kissed her and succ.u.mbed to the need to Call to her as his mate . . . he couldn't bear the thought that, instead of reporting about a woman who had been repeatedly raped by Mathias, she might actually become one.

”Are you going to stare at my mouth or kiss me?”

Caden backed away. ”I'm reminding myself to take it slowly. Perhaps I should help with lunch.” She sighed. ”There's some clementines and crisps in the cupboard.” After retrieving them, he turned to find Sydney setting up the little bistro-style table in her kitchen. She turned and grabbed two plates piled high with lettuce and fresh tomato. He held the chair for her. Sydney sent a raised brow at him, but sat.

”So,” he said before she could start interrogating him again. ”Your parents don't love what you've chosen to do with your life. My guess is that you work very hard to be the best and hope they will someday recognize your genius.”

”Thank you, Dr. Freud.” She sent him a quelling glance. ”Something like that. Though I know I can't live to please them.”

”No adult does, but you hate to disappoint them, right?” She swallowed her bite of sandwich and peered across the table at him. ”You came to get to know me, yet clearly you already do. Perhaps we skip the rest of this silly 'getting to know you' c.r.a.p and go straight to bed?”

CHAPTER THREE.

AN HOUR LATER, SYDNEY knew for certain that Caden was following her when she ducked into a little jewelry shop- and he peeked in the window moments later. Not for an instant did she believe that he had window-shopped for a lovely pair of earrings or a belly stud.

In fact, today he had a hidden agenda. After professing his infatuation, what unattached, red-blooded man turned down s.e.x so blatantly offered? Only the kind trying to dupe her. His sneaking after her now merely confirmed her suspicions. The only thing he'd shown genuine interest in since coming to work with her? The magical war story. She suspected that he meant to steal it.

After she'd refused to let him accompany her to visit her source, he turned up on her doorstep and suddenly professed romantic interest. How stupid did he think she was? She'd called his bluff over lunch by inviting him to her bed, figuring she'd determine whether he was feeding her c.r.a.p or genuinely interested in her. She'd personally hoped for the latter. Though he was a deceitful w.a.n.ker, he was a s.e.xy one.

His stuttered refusal was his loss. Caden lying about desiring her didn't hurt. All right, perhaps a bit. But she had to stop thinking with her emotions and get smart. He sought to scoop her, after all.

Over her dead body.

She was going-alone, thank you-to meet the battered witch, listen to more of the woeful tale that tore at her heart, and gather more information for her story. She shoved thoughts of her gorgeous, deceitful photographer aside.

Exiting to the street again, Sydney walked half a block. She'd give Caden credit; she couldn't see him behind her, but she sensed him. As she rounded a bend in the road, she caught a glimpse of him, pretending interest in a street vendor who s.h.i.+vered in the November chill. He didn't look her way, but Sydney felt his attention.

Nonchalantly, she proceeded south, hunkering down into her coat until she found the right place. Once spotted, she dodged traffic and crossed the road, then entered a crowded, smoky pub. She sat on a stool near the back, far from the barkeep.

A dozen seconds later, Caden and a stiff breeze blew in. Sydney grabbed a discarded menu and pretended to read.

He wandered along the front of the pub, looking out the windows at the sidewalk, presumably not noticing her. Finally he sat at an empty table in the corner, grabbed a menu-and peered at her over the top. She made a great show of checking her watch and her mobile, fidgeting and squirming.

Finally, a waitress popped by his table. What he ordered Sydney didn't know or care. Now was her chance.

She rose and headed conspicuously for the toilet. She wished she could see the look on Caden's face when he realized she wasn't coming back out. As the door to the loo shut behind her, the thought made her smile.

She'd vanished. Out the window of the loo, he'd guess. Brilliant.

He'd underestimated both her cleverness and determination. Again.

Frustration crept in, and Caden raked a hand through his hair. How the devil could he find her source if she didn't trust him? But he was also concerned about Sydney. Didn't the girl realize that she was potentially in danger?

The mobile at his side rang. A glance at the display had him cursing not so softly.

”What?” he snapped.

”Your delightful mood means things aren't going well, I take it?” Bram drawled.

”Not exactly. The woman is too smart by half and knows everything I say is s.h.i.+t.”

”You're not being charming enough.”

Caden gritted his teeth. ”Deception isn't my style.”

”It's charm. Do you need me to demonstrate?” Though Bram was mated, the thought of him anywhere near Sydney made Caden feel uncomfortably homicidal. ”The same charm you showed your now-missing mate?”

”Leave my mate out of this,” Bram snarled.

If you return the favor.

As soon as the words blazed across Caden's mind, he sucked in a breath. d.a.m.n, he had to stop thinking about Sydney like that. He didn't want a magical mate. And now he had to distract Bram. ”Likewise, leave Sydney alone.”

”Are you having the urge to Call to this reporter?” Every time he neared her, his temperature spiked. She was a fever, and if he kissed her, he feared he'd blurt the words that could bind them together. Not good signs.

Her proposition at lunch had boiled his blood. A hearty ”yes” had hovered on the tip of his tongue. Yes, he wanted her naked. Yes, he wanted to taste every inch of her fair skin, possess that sweet body. Yes, he wanted all that intelligence and sa.s.s. Yes, he wanted to be the one to protect her. But giving in to his urges would spell disaster. Too bad no one had given his instincts the memo.

”Can we focus on the mission?” Caden unleashed his annoyance. ”She knows I've scarcely said a true word to her since we met. She's seeing her contact this afternoon, knew I was following her, and intentionally lost me. Now, she's thinking of writing an article about the Doomsday Diary. What do you think will happen if she does?”

Bram cursed. ”She'll get a very unpleasant, firsthand look at magic, Mathias-style.”

”Exactly.” Caden gripped the phone, the thought too terrible to contemplate. He would protect Sydney at any cost, do anything to silence that story. Keep her safe. As much as it chafed him to ask for Bram's help, he must.

”You need to step in,” he went on. ”I'm compromised. Sydney knows I'm interested in the magical war story and that my seduction wasn't real.”

”I can't.” Suddenly, Bram sighed, sounding frustrated. ”Another attack last night. Nearly everyone dead, two women missing. One transitioned just last week. Gossip and panic is beginning to spread around magickind about Mathias's return. The Council elders have their thumbs up their a.r.s.es, as usual. They want me to quell the rumors. I'm trying to be the voice of reason, but they don't wish to hear logic. Duke and I are visiting Privileged households likely to be attacked and preaching caution, but . . . it's frustrating to be forced to lie. I dare not leave the Council to their own devices for long. I'd insist on transcasting the truth to magickind, but I don't have enough of the other Councilmen's votes behind me. In the meantime, Marrok is ferociously training us for the war we all know is coming. If I sent Ice to help you, he would simply flatten Out of This Realm. Besides, magic isn't a cure-all. I can't just wave my wand and have Sydney forget about the book and her story ideas.”

Bram painted a bleak picture, and Caden nearly felt sorry for the b.a.s.t.a.r.d. What the h.e.l.l good was magic? Oh, that's right, none. He'd had proof enough of that early in life. Caden gripped the back of his neck and ma.s.saged at the tension gripping him. The d.a.m.n tingles had returned. He was exhausted, yet his body craved s.e.x. Lots of lovelies in the pub, several looking in his direction. But a glance south proved his c.o.c.k was having none of them. It was fixated on Sydney. He sighed.

”You're going to have to fix this,” Bram said. ”Get closer to Sydney, however you must. Convince her with whatever necessary. Get that b.l.o.o.d.y diary out of her hands. Stop those stories. Nothing about the Doomsday Diary can appear in print.”

Caden sighed. How the devil was he to do all that?

”I'll talk to her tonight,” he told Bram. ”I'll be waiting for her when she gets home. Until then, I should visit my brother for a bit.”

”I can't spare any of the warriors to transport you, but I can send my sister.”

”Sabelle's company is always a delight.”