Page 18 of All's Fair in Love and Magic

It wasn’t going to stop.

A strong arm went around my waist.

Another dipped below the backs of my knees.

In one smooth motion, Liam scooped me up and hauled me into his arms.

I made a sound of protest, but everything was still swaying, so I couldn’t exactly tell him to put me down.

“You pushed yourself too hard.” He sounded pissed.

“I fixed the bubble.”

“Your health is the priority,” he snapped.

“I’m a blood witch. My health is a means to an end.”

“Like hell it is.”

I squeezed my eyes shut as everything swayed some more while he carried me.

“Is she okay?” someone asked.

“Whoisthat?” someone else snarked. “She reeks of witch magic.”

“Insult my mate again and you’ll have to find yourself another resort,” Liam said in a low voice.

Silence fell for a few blissful minutes.

“Technically, I’m not your mate yet,” I mumbled.

“I don’t give a shit about technicalities, Clove.”

“Liam is mated to a witch named Clove?” someone whispered.

“The least you could do is use my real name if you’re going to force me to mate with you,” I said.

“I’m not forcing anything.”

“I never said you could start heat.”

“Nature insisted you were mine. Fate would’ve intervened if I hadn’t taken initiative.”

“Sounds like bullshit to me.”

“My magic is exactly the bullshit you need to survive your coven when they show up, Clove. If you want to live, you need to learn how to embrace it."

I made a face.

The noise around us grew louder, and I heard someone else talking to Liam as he picked up more food. They were asking about me, and he was calling me his mate again.

Which was lovely.

Just lovely.

The noise faded as he made his way up to the top floor. I heard a keypad beep, and the door shut behind us a moment later.

He set me up in his bed as I tried to wrestle my eyes open again. My body was insanely hot, and now that I wasn’t focused on the bubble spell anymore, need had me aching between my thighs and in my lower belly.