Free Sensual Magic by Lauren Dane

he held his hand out. She waited while he tossed the condom into a nearby trash can, covering it with napkins before draining his drink.
    â€œI…I have to get back to the club. Let me know what happens with Leah.”
    She stood there, livid and hurt as he rushed off, his anguish written on his face.
    â€œWhat the fuck!” Snatching up her panties, she shoved them in her bag and rushed after him.
    Oh, she was so going to make him pay for this when she finally won him over!

CHAPTER NINE
    N ell trailed him, wanting to make sure William got back to the club safely.
    Her contact said the mages knew of William and he was at risk from them, too. She didn’t want him to get jumped by something he couldn’t handle before she got the chance to wipe the floor with the fools.
    William’s reaction was sort of cute once she got over her initial hurt. He’d touched her with tenderness, spoken to her with possession in mind. He wanted her, was moved by her, no doubt. It wasn’t that surprising it freaked him out. The differences between the way she saw the world and he did were vast. Her rational mind knew it. Knew his understanding of Fate wasn’t similar to hers in any way, no matter what his heart and soul told him. He was a businessman, he believed in the bottom line.
    Lucky for him and for her, too, being together was the bottom line in their situation. He’d just have to accept it.
    Smiling, she kept some distance, thinking she’d have to give him a few lessons on self-defense and how not to get followed. That smile died when he got to the doors of the Dollhouse and he was met by two women. Two women whoinstantly began rubbing all over him and worse, he ate it up and even played a bit of grab ass as they entered.
    Oh, that prick! She narrowed her eyes and after one last sweep through the area, she headed back to Bellagio.
    * * *
    William’s head swam. What the fuck was he going to do? He’d never, ever felt that intensity of connection when he’d been with anyone. Every time he touched Nell, thought of her, he warmed inside.
    He wasn’t some untested boy. He’d been with plenty of women, but he’d never had a reaction to any of them the way he did for Nell. What they had—chemistry or magic or whatever it was—he knew at some elemental level was different from anything that ever had been or ever would be.
    He’d gone to that club, stepped firmly into her world and he’d gotten off on it. Moving aside one of the women who’d attached themselves to him when he entered the club, he ran a hand through his hair. Licking his lips, lips that still tasted of her salt, of her tang, he groaned.
    â€œLadies, if you’ll excuse me. I just remembered something I need to take care of. Please enjoy the evening. I’ll have a bottle of champagne sent over.” He said it absently, not even noticing the features on their faces. He’d intended to fuck the pain away, to wash Nell from his skin and soul with the bodies of other women and he knew it would be useless.
    Worse, it would be a mockery of the heat he’d shared with Nell, and that would betray not only her, but himself, as well.
    Heading into his office, he tossed himself onto his couch with a growl of frustration. The interlude on the balcony had been meant to be lighthearted. Hot and fun. But it backfired.It backfired because fucking her, touching her there had sent him headlong past pretensions of extreme lust into the seeds of love.
    He sat up. Love? No. Fucking. Way. Sure, he liked Nell; he’d liked her more each time he’d seen her. Each time he’d thought about her he’d recalled something else he admired. Not just the way she felt while he’d been inside her, not just the way she matched him sexually, although admittedly that was huge. He’d never had that sort of parity with anyone sexually. But in truth, he loved the way she held herself, the way she was so