Free Dark Tide (A Mated by Magic Novel) by Stella Marie Alden, Chantel Seabrook Page A

thankfully removed his hand.
    She shrugged. “When I was below deck, I found a room where papers were scattered on a large desk and pinned on the wall. Most of it looked like gibberish. Russian probably. But there were diagrams. Maps. Bios. Hundreds of them.”
    “That doesn’t tell us anything.”
    When he rose and started to leave, she held him in place by his shirt tail. “Wait. But I recognized one of the profiles. Abigail Skinner. She’s a half-breed water witch. Her father is a member of my clan. Mother is human. I think I can get her to talk.”
    A frown followed by a negative shake of his head indicated he didn’t buy anything of what she was selling. “If she’s hooked up with Gregor, she can’t be trusted.”
    “I know her. She’s a good kid.” What is it with this bloke?
    Josh’s lips tightened, then he nodded and sighed. “All right. We’ll go talk to her tomorrow. But right now I need to call your father and let him know you’re safe.”
    He walked over to the counter where he dropped his bag, and pulled out a phone.
    “I can do that from the boat.” She stood, snapped for Willy, and his ears perked. Then he padded to the sliding glass door, waiting expectantly.
    “You’re not going anywhere.” Josh followed, blocking the door.
    With brows raised, she turned and asked, “Excuse me?”
    “I promised your father I would protect you until we figured things out. That means you stay here, with me.” He gripped her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “Plus, I think we need to have a little conversation about what happened tonight.”
    At his touch, her knees went weak, her body trembled, and she stuttered, “Th-There’s nothing to discuss.”
    Damn him.
    “I’m not looking for a mate.” Wide eyes, almost black, bore a hole into her.
    “I didn’t say you were,” she snapped. This again? She jerked her chin away and took an unsteady step back.
    “No, but your body says something different.” He stood so close that his radiating heat warmed her and his masculine scent intoxicated.
    She practically melted.
    No, she couldn’t deny what he said was true. Her body did crave him, and not just for sex, for something deeper. And there was nothing deeper than the mating bond.
    It took a ton of will power to try to sound uninterested. “I can’t control that urge to mate. Trust me, if I could, you’d be the last person I’d choose.”
    He snorted. The man was so arrogant.
    She pushed on his chest. “Bugger this. I shouldn’t’ve come here.”
    “No you shouldn’t’ve.” One large arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her toward his hard body. His mouth crashed down on hers. Consuming her until she lost all form of thought.
    When he pulled back his eyes were dark, dangerous, wanting.
    Her brain turned to mush, her body vibrating with need. She wanted to struggle against him, but his pull left her weak. She needed to get the hell out of there. Clear her mind.
    “I thought you said you didn’t want me,” she whispered, closing her eyes.
    “I said I don’t want to mate with you. There’s a difference. It’s not solstice. There’s no chance of our powers merging.”
    Her brain slowly registered what he was saying. “You want to have sex?”
    His lips quirked up in a sexy grin. “Yes.”
    “With me?”
    He chuckled darkly, then lowered his lips to her neck, raking his teeth across the sensitive flesh.
    “Yes, with you.”
    Maya’s heart raced, slamming hard against her chest, as slick, wet heat dampened her thighs.
    “We shouldn’t,” she said breathlessly.
    “No, we shouldn’t,” he agreed, his hands roaming over her body, setting her skin on fire.
    Traitorous hormones raged within her body. She’d had sex many times with different partners, but his touch was different. It ignited something within her, something she’d lost hope of ever finding.
    “Just sex?”
    His fingers pulled at her shirt hem, lifting it over her head.
    “Just sex,” he murmured into the flesh