Witches Be Burned: A Magic & Mayhem Novel by Stacey Kennedy Read Free Book Online

it.”
    With his focus intent on her, he held her hips still with a grip that had a bite. “I can’t have you in danger like you were before.”
    “Yes, I understand that, but with Lazarus it was
personal,
” she gently reminded him, dipping her hands into the water. “He wanted to kill me, and he was stronger because of Tillie’s blood. Like you said, he’s dead—and most vampires are weaker than he was.” Embracing how delicious the bite of his fingers was on her flesh, she forced another shift of her hips. “I’m strong, Kyden, stronger than I was before everything went down with Lazarus. Every fight, I’m getting stronger, and I trust my abilities more than ever. And you’ll be by my side, right? What could go wrong?”
    His eyes blazed, red-hot. “You could die.”
    “You’re right, I could, and so could you.” She softened her voice, hoping to improve his mood. “There’s always the possibility of that, but I can’t live in fear.”
    A pause. Then, “
You
make me live in fear.”
    The haunted look crossing his face flooded her with a coldness that neither Kyden nor the warm bathwater could ease. Lazarus had created this—and she wished she would’ve made his death more painful, or at least longer than the few seconds it took her to kill him with her magic.
    “I can’t stay in the Otherworld forever and do nothing,” she admitted to him, hoping honesty would help him understand her position. “It feels good to finally get back out there—to be doing something other than mourning everyone I lost. Just as you take pride in working for the Council, so do I.” The line between his brows deepened, the refusal right there on his lips, but she added for good measure, “I need you to support me, not grumble at me.”
    More silence. Then, “I dislike these human conversations you subject me to. It’s ridiculous.”
    She shrugged, not knowing what else to do. What could she say? She
had
been raised human. In the Otherworld, she’d noticed that some of the men were still stuck in the Middle Ages. They liked beating their chests and protecting what was
theirs
or
mine,
as they called it
.
Well, Nexi lived in modern times, and she would make damn sure no one forgot that fact. Her adoptive mortal parents hadn’t raised her to sit down and shut up, they’d raised her to stand up and fight.
    Kyden stared at her. Right through her. Right into the depths of her soul. “That’s what you need of me? To support you?”
    “Yes, that’s what I want.” Then she threw on the big finale that would push him past his domineering ways. “That’s what would make me happy.”
    With his eyes instantly amused, he snorted a laugh. “You are too damn smart for your own good. You know this, right?” At her shameless grin and nod, he added, “Promise me this: If we fight, we fight together as we did tonight. Don’t be a hero. Don’t save someone else to the point that it puts you in grave danger. Promise me that you will think of
your
life before anyone else’s.”
    She rolled her eyes, fully understanding—she often acted to save the ones she loved before she saved herself. But she
was
a guardian and she
loved
people, and that included being a brash fool at times in the fight against evil. “I promise I won’t put myself in unnecessary danger.”
    His features went all stormy in the way they did when he was in Elite Guardian mode. “That’s not good enough.”
    “Okay,” she said, rethinking, and quickly added, “I promise not to think I’m invincible. Plus, I won’t go jumping into a dangerous case on my own and will wait for backup. Better?”
    “Yes,” he replied with a nod, shifting himself beneath her and sending the bubbles popping around them. “That will do.”
    It took only a split second to realize that the position he was getting himself into would take her to places that didn’t involve talking. All the tension vanished from his expression in a millisecond and his grin turned downright