No. She might not have had time to put her protections in place, but that didn’t mean she expected him to show up for a date with her stepsister.
What can I say? She likes me.
Arrogant wizard.
He licked his lower lip and she glared at him. If that horndog thought he could get a witch and her sister out of this situation, he was sorely mistaken. Thoughts of Emily gave her the strength to look away. She’d never seen him hurt anyone he’d seduced since he’d arrived, but then again, he did know exactly how to control them.
“Emily, maybe this is a bad idea.”
“Don’t be silly,” Emily whacked her shoulder a little harder than she needed to. “It is kind of funny when you think about it. That we’re having our little get together here at my place when you’ve got such an amazing view from yours.”
She could feel Z’s amusement as Emily continued. “But we won’t question our good fortune, will we, Dorothy?”
She couldn’t respond around the tightness in her throat.
Z’s grin widened. “Well, I for one couldn’t be happier. Our friend Kansas told me all about her before I arrived, but I was beginning to think my neighbor was merely a figment of his imagination.”
He stepped in close, towering over her. Did all wizards smell this good?
“Hello, Dorothy. Nice to finally meet you.”
***
Finally.
The triumphant adrenaline was difficult to control, racing through his bloodstream like a drug. After weeks of evasions and denials she was finally close enough to touch. And oh, how he wanted to touch her.
To say he wasn’t used to rejection would be an understatement of global proportions. As the king’s right hand and the most powerful wizard of his generation, Z had spent all of his life turning away sexual partners and turning down proposals of the more official variety on a regular basis. He was, in many ways, the most sought-after man in his world.
He was no slouch in this one either. But this one sexy little redheaded witch had managed to resist him for weeks. Even in her dreams.
Perhaps he was as spoiled as Kansas Frayne had accused the king of being. But coming here had soon put him in his place. Nothing humbled him faster than realizing his perfect match wanted nothing to do with him.
In his long life, and though it had been long he was still in his prime, he could never recall feeling the kind of frustration and need that had consumed him the moment he saw her image in his human friend’s phone.
She’d been smiling in that picture. A genuine smile of delight. With the sun glinting off her auburn curls and skin like alabaster, she’d looked every inch a goddess to him. His goddess.
He had to know her.
That need had only grown since he’d arrived and confirmed what he’d already sensed from his own reaction. She had powerful magic that perfectly matched his own. In his world, that could only mean one thing.
She was his mate.
And she still hadn’t responded to his greeting.
Afraid, witch?
“Hello,” she said mutinously. “Z, right? What’s that short for?”
Prick?
Saucy witch.
He could tell she wasn’t happy he’d accepted her sister’s invitation, but he wouldn’t have had to resort to this trickery to get her away from the magical barrier that kept them apart if she’d only given him a chance.
The barrier wasn’t hers. She’d added to it, refined it, but he could sense that someone else had constructed it. But it had done its job in forcing him to keep his distance and thwarting him at every turn. Even his newfound friendship with her feline guardian didn’t win him entry into her home.
This had been the only way to get to her, and Z couldn’t wait any longer.