When he turned back to her, he fixed his stare on the diary, then lifted his terrible gaze to her. The force of his anger was like a missile. Even across the room, she knew the fury r.i.m.m.i.n.g his eyes with red could be fatal.

He took a deep breath. Another. Then strode across the room again in measured steps and sat on the sofa once more. "It's because you're female. d.a.m.n Morganna. Did a woman give this book to you?" She wanted to tell him to go to h.e.l.l, but he'd kill her for it. At the very least she had to stay alive long enough to help any of the Doomsday Brethren who came.

"Yes."

"Human?"

"I believe so."

"Even more puzzling . . ." Mathias sat back against the red velvet sofa, looking perplexed. Suddenly, he snapped.

Moments later, a bony woman with glossy black hair and black-rimmed brown eyes glided to his side.

She wore a blue bra that supported pert b.r.e.a.s.t.s, but was cut low, nearly exposing her hard nipples. Her matching knickers were nearly transparent.

"Sir?" she breathed.

He stood and dropped an open-mouthed kiss on her neck, his thumb idly strumming her taut nipple. She keened and writhed under his touch. Surely he was forcing her response by magical means, because the wizard made Sydney's skin crawl. When he caressed her hip and b.u.t.tocks, pulling her close, the woman lifted her leg over his hip and writhed sinuously.

They needed privacy. If she had to watch another moment, she would be ill.

"Rhea, be a good girl and grab that book from the human's lap." With an absent nod, the thin woman slinked across the distance between. Sydney clutched the book. The woman tugged, but Sydney refused to let go. Once she did, she was pretty sure she'd lose control of the Doomsday Diary. Mathias had it right; the little journal didn't seem fussy about which woman handled it.

"Let go," Mathias instructed.

"Sod off."

"You'll pay for that backtalk."

Mathias flicked his hand in her direction and the scorching bomb burst under her skin again. Reflexively, she released the book and doubled over, clutching her stomach. Oh G.o.d, she was going to die at the hands of this madman.

"Take the book to my bedroom, sweet. I'll join you there." The tall woman smiled, and Sydney wondered if she'd lost her bleeding mind. Likely so. Rhea strutted toward the door on four-inch stilettos, as if she'd been born on them. When she reached the door, she strode through with her head held high, then kept walking-taking the book with her. This time, it didn't reappear on Sydney's lap.

Sydney's stomach sank. She'd lost magickind's greatest weapon and put it in the hands of a madman who'd likely use it to kill her and all the Doomsday Brethren, including Caden. Her reckless need to tell the story, her voracious curiosity to explore the amazing world of magic had been her downfall. Why hadn't she listened?

It was her last thought before darkness overtook her.

After free-falling through black weightless s.p.a.ce, Caden slammed to the ground in a cold field. Fresh snow had fallen and seeped under his clothes. Every exhalation misted the chilly air. The crisp smells reminded him of the north country. He had no idea how far he'd traveled, but he closed his eyes, feeling for Sydney, and knew he was closer.

Her earlier panic had been replaced with a m.u.f.fled unease, as if she had a disturbed sleep. Now he prayed it was slumber, not something tragic.

He followed the feel of Sydney, closer, closer with each step through the dark. He almost thanked the snow for lighting his way with the reflective moonlight.

Through spindly trees, he saw a huge estate rise in the distance. More Italian Renaissance than Middle Ages, the beautiful limestone glowed in the golden light as pristine snow surrounded it. She was in there, his Sydney. He knew it, just like he knew if he took too many more steps around the perimeter, he could set off magical traps.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes. He was a trained soldier, often able to find and disable security. Mathias's would be magical, but should be disarmable.

Thinking with his magical senses would be critical.

Magic buzzed through his system, raced through his veins. His legs were a bit wobbly after the teleport, and this level of energy wasn't going to last. But he had to endure until he saved Sydney.

Caden skirted the perimeter of the building, looking for traps and holes in the security. A few feet ahead, he encountered a wall, presumably for humans since it did nothing more than put off a "keep out" vibe. It included a very mild electrical surge-more than enough to deter a normal human.

Too bad for Mathias he wasn't "normal" anymore.

Closing his eyes, Caden let his senses crawl around the wall. About ten feet high. Simple.

While he didn't know the limits of his magic, there was nothing he couldn't do if it helped him reach Sydney. For all he knew, he was b.l.o.o.d.y Superman. When he was a tot, his mother had certainly made it sound as if he would be. Besides, he'd already performed some magic. Lifting Sydney's pa.s.sword off her computer at Out of This Realm, sending a wall of gla.s.s flying into Anarki when the Doomsday Brethren had attacked Mathias. How hard could leaping a wall be?

Squeezing his eyes shut tight, he jumped-and quickly discovered that when he tapped into his magic, jumping tenfoot walls was no problem. One step closer to Sydney.

Moments later, Caden noticed a shifting of the air. Then he saw something unexpected. Someone.

Shock strode toward him as if rising up out of the mist. Even at night, he wore those blasted sungla.s.ses, so Caden had no idea what he was thinking. He'd never really trusted the sod, and now that the man had all but stolen his brother's mate away, he didn't trust Shock at all.

"You're here for Sydney. I'll sneak you past the alarms and take you to her."

"Why should I trust you? You had Anka under your roof and in your bed for days and told no one. Nor did you return her to my brother."

"She was mine before your brother stole her from me," he growled. "I owe Lucan nothing. She was abducted and hurt on his watch. It won't happen on mine." Caden hesitated, mulling over Shock's words. In all likelihood, that's exactly how Shock saw the matter.

But that didn't p.i.s.s Caden off any less or make him trust Shock any more.

"I don't really care about your tender sensibilities," Shock mocked. "If you're here for Sydney, I'll take you now."

Caden glared at the leather-clad wizard. "Just like that?" Shock looked past Caden. "You come alone?"

The truth gave Shock the green light to overpower him. But Shock would only read his mind if he lied.

Caden nodded. "This is my fight."

He raised a skeptical brow above those dark sungla.s.ses. "So Bram and Lucan and the others are leaving you to rescue Sydney and the book by yourself?"

"Sydney is my responsibility. The book isn't my first priority."

"But you're going to try to rescue it." It wasn't a question.

And Shock was right. Since opening his magical senses, he'd come to understand that if he didn't, he could save Sydney, but Mathias could use the book to consign them all to h.e.l.l on earth ten minutes later.

If he genuinely wanted her safety and the chance to live happily ever after with her, then he had to s.n.a.t.c.h the book.

Shock sighed. "Well, of course, you'll want to save the book. It shouldn't have been a hard decision."

"Get the h.e.l.l out of my thoughts."

"Look, you did a good job getting this close, but once Mathias took your woman, he knew you'd come.

I suspected you'd come after the book, as well. Despite what you think, the others will come. Now I'm going to restrain you and drag you to Sydney's cell, to make it all look believable." He shook his head. "Mathias seems like a natural ally for you, since your brother is all cozied up with him. How do I know that I can trust you, mate thief?" An acrimonious smile split his mouth. "You don't."

Caden roused with a groan and opened his eyes to find a dank limestone floor-and realized he was hanging upside down, a shoulder in his midsection. A throb ripped through the peace in his head, and he groaned.

"Awake, are you?" A male voice groused. Shock. "That was a quick recovery. Your magic is strong. I'll have to keep my eye on you. On your feet."

With a grunt, Shock set him down. Shadowed, underground. Prison-like. s.h.i.t.

"You're not locking me up!"

Shock shoved him around a corner. "Don't be difficult, whelp. You wanted to see your woman, and I'm taking you to her. I have to wait for the rest of the company." With a downward slash of his wrist, Shock opened the cell. Its rusty door squeaked open. Sydney appeared out of a dark corner, looking no worse for the wear. She ran to the open door, but Shock held up a palm, creating an invisible wall to stop her. Caden tried to focus on tearing down that wall, to no avail. Shock's magic didn't bend.

d.a.m.n, there was always Marine-style brute force.

Caden whirled and punched Shock in the stomach, and he grunted, doubling over. Running toward Sydney, Caden was determined to get her though Shock's force field. He grabbed her hand, and when his fingers closed around hers, a sense of home and thankfulness curled around him. Warmth, relief, need.

Until he felt a boot right in his a.r.s.e.

Caden tumbled into the cell, falling into Sydney. They toppled over, to the cold floor, in a heap of arms and legs.

With a rusty screech, the cell door closed, and Shock used his magic to seal it.

He sent them a sly smile. "Wait here. If your friends don't appear, Mathias will send you back to Bram and the others with a message. Your woman . . ." Shock shook his head. "You should know, it doesn't look good."

Scrambling to his feet, Caden raced to the bars and screamed at Shock's retreating back, "You traitor!

How the h.e.l.l could you do something so miserable and underhanded when people are dying? Do you care more about your own power than the fact Mathias is going to wipe out entire families?" Shock paused, then slowly turned to glare at Caden over his leather-clad shoulder. "You don't know a d.a.m.n thing about me."

Then Shock was gone, and Caden sighed as failure settled over him, heavy and oppressive. How b.l.o.o.d.y stupid had he been, believing that he could rescue Sydney from the most powerful wizard in a millennium by himself?

"Caden, how did you get here?" she asked.

He turned to her, drinking in the sight of her, loose sweat pants, baggy T-shirt, hair blazing like a wildfire around her shoulders. The impact of her slammed into him.

She was his, the past he should have grabbed with both hands, the future he could have if they found a way out of this b.l.o.o.d.y mess. He wasn't going to give it or her up for another second.

"Sydney, I'm sorry. I love you." Refusing to waste a second, Caden cradled her face in his hands and did something he should have done the moment he met her: He kissed her.

His mouth crashed over hers, open, seeking, dying for a taste of her. Their lips joined. Their tongues met.

Her taste boomed across his senses, spicy, sweet, slightly tart-all woman. His senses revved up, both magical and male. In concert, they demanded more, everything, from her. A chorus of now, now, now!

chanted in his head. His body tensed, his c.o.c.k hardened, and he grasped her tighter.

Under him, Sydney surged, throwing her fervor into the kiss. She grabbed his hair, clutched his sweater, moaning, writhing, accepting in every way.

Lucan had been right. Ten minutes with Sydney was better than an eternity without her.

Familiar words burst across his brain, and he embraced them, then tore his mouth from hers and panted, "Become a part of me as I become a part of you. And ever after, I promise myself to thee. Each day we share, I shall be honest, good, and true. If this you seek, heed my call. From this moment on, there is no other for me but you."

She gasped, her eyes welling. "You're certain?"

Caden took her mouth again, her flavor bursting across his senses, and he knew without a doubt she was his one true mate. Always had been. Always would be. "Completely."

"Mathias is going to kill me. Soon. You'll be like Lucan-"

"I'll do everything I can to prevent that, but if not, I would rather have had you for a few moments than not at all, firecracker."

"Promise me, if you make it out alive, that you'll continue fighting. Not for revenge, but for what's right.

For magickind."

"I won't let you go easily. You won't be unavenged. I won't let this sc.u.m take over my people." Warm tears rolled down her cheeks. Then she smiled, lighting up the cell, his world. "I'm so proud of you, and I love you so much." She sniffed. "But there's something you should know. I wrote about you in the Doomsday Diary. I wanted you so badly . . ."

Caden searched his memories. "The night I crashed through the door of your flat and we made love against the wall?"

"Yes. And again before you took me on my kitchen table."

"You minx." He caressed her cheek lovingly. "You had no idea what you were in for."

"I wouldn't change it for the world. I tried to . . . I wrote a reverse 'fantasy' in the Doomsday Diary to see if your feelings for me were all magically manufactured."

"They're not. I swear."

She sent him an impish smile. "I know. The diary told me." With a growl, he pulled her against him. "Don't you have an answer for me? Do you know the words?" She nodded. "Bram and Sabelle have a great library." Happiness broke over her face, like the sun from behind storm clouds, illuminating everything in joy. "As I become a part of you, you become a part of me. I will be honest, good, and true. I heed your call. 'Tis you I seek. From this moment on, there is no other for me but you."

A powerful jolt slammed into Caden's body, and his sense of Sydney as his mate jumped into the foreground of his consciousness, fusing into his heart. She had been important; now she was his everything. She gasped, clearly feeling it as well.

But with the sealing of their bond came another crashing need-to test her, taste her, claim her-all of her.

Without a thought, he dragged the baggy shirt off one shoulder to reveal a bare breast, then he cupped it.

"Caden! They're going to come back. We should focus on-" He cut her speech off with a kiss, deep, blistering, the kind that sent sizzle all the way through his body.

Slowly, she melted against him.

Caden eased back until he sat on the room's lone bed, bringing her down to straddle his lap. Narrow and squat, the little bed wasn't the haven he wanted the first time he loved his mate, but he wasn't going to quibble. She was in his arms. The future was coming, he knew. But he'd face it stronger if he joined with her first.

"This might be our last chance," he whispered against her mouth. "Our only chance. Let me love you." Sydney didn't hesitate. She grabbed Caden's sweater, tugging and pulling until she managed to yank it over his head. Rapaciously, she ran her hands over his hands and shoulders, and he thanked his years of daily running and training in the Marines and beyond that kept him in shape.

But he wasn't content to just have her hands on him; he wanted her open to him. Lifting her off his lap, he dragged the large sweatpants down one thigh. Another adjustment, and his own pants rested south of his hips.

As he brought her back to his lap, he captured her mouth again, brushed his knuckles over her collarbone, across her nipple, skipped the shirt covering her abdomen, then delved into the red curls between her pale thighs. Slick, steamy- ready. He'd missed her so, so much, trying to separate her from him, and thus from danger. Keep himself safe from the whims of magic. But he'd been foolish, wasting time. If they managed to escape this place in one piece, he'd never waste another second together. If they didn't . . . he didn't regret their mating in the least.

Raking his fingertips over her c.l.i.t, he basked in her sighs and moans. She melted, all delicious and sweet, around his hand as he plunged his fingers inside her and rubbed her sweet spot.

Her fingernails found their way into his shoulders, and he smiled when she dusted his neck with urgent kisses. The smile turned to desperate hunger when she caught his mouth in a searing kiss, grabbed his aching erection, and pushed her hips down to it.

Slowly, she sank over him, and the tight clasp of her body was both a homecoming and a pleasure unlike any he'd ever known. His mate. His. No matter what.

Their time was short, but their love unlimited. Grabbing her hips, he tutored her in a long, slow stroke as he brushed his lips over hers again, then settled deep, mating with her body, her mouth-her heart.