Dorothy belonged at his side, and he belonged with his king. She had to agree to come back with him. He couldn’t leave until she did.
“I’ve got to leave some mystery for our dinner conversation,” Z offered smoothly, unable to keep his attention off her glorious body. “Perhaps before then I’ll discover why he failed to mention how beautiful you are.”
He wanted to feast on every luscious bit of her. Those heavy breasts and round hips made his fingers clench with the need to touch. To take. He could feel her insecurity and it baffled him. Did she think he found her lacking? That he wanted the pretty blonde instead? She was fine, but unfortunately, she faded in the background next to Dorothy’s appeal.
The sister knew it, even if she didn’t.
Emily frowned, glancing suspiciously between them. “Why would he mention that? I doubt he could tell you what either one of us looked like. You do know Kansas is gay, right?”
Dorothy rolled her eyes and Z sucked on his lower lip to curtail his laughter. “Yes, Em, he knows. In fact, I imagine he knows Kansas better than we do.”
Did that bother her? He didn’t think it would. He could feel her arousal whenever he touched one of the men he’d brought home to tempt her.
The humans he’d played with had often called him kinky and insatiable. If they only knew. He was not the same randy wizard he’d been before the storm brought Kansas Frayne into his world, and Kansas had, unwittingly, introduced him to his mate.
Now the only haven he craved could be found between Dorothy’s thighs. No one else would ever do again.
He was getting ahead of himself. First he had to win her trust and discover why she’d been resisting him so aggressively. Then he could work on winning her heart and convincing her to leave her world behind.
His “date” snapped her fingers beside his temple, drawing his attention away from Dorothy. She looked a bit miffed, so Z smiled soothingly, automatically sending a blast of heat her way to distract her ire. “Emily, dinner smells marvelous, you didn’t need to go to so much trouble.”
“Trouble? No trouble at all. I ordered out.” Emily’s eyes glazed over and an awkward silence ensued. He was still getting used to reining in his powers. If he hadn’t realized that his natural magic made them react so intensely, he’d believe humans were all a little tetched in the head.
Dorothy narrowed her eyes, and Z winced. Obviously she was immune. But then, she wasn’t an ordinary human.
He guided the dazed Emily to the table, all his
attention focused on the voluptuous temptation lagging slowly behind. He squeezed Emily’s hand, winking at her to get her attention. “I think your sister is a little wary of me. She looks like she’s trying to decide whether she wants to throw dinner at my head or run home before I eat her instead.”
Emily snorted, turning toward Dorothy with one eyebrow raised. “Don’t be ridiculous, Dorothy. You aren’t in any danger of becoming the main course.” She rubbed her body against Z’s suggestively. “That’s my job.”
Well, that certainly wasn’t part of the plan. But as he watched Dorothy’s eyes flare and saw the sparks of power right beneath her skin, he decided that it might work in his favor.
Chapter Three
Oh joy. Her own private high school reenactment. The one where all her crushes would end up following Emily around like a puppy inside a week once she knew Dorothy liked them. It always hurt, but this felt more personal.
It didn’t make any sense. The last thing she wanted was a wizard in her life. And after the nightly orgies she’d personally witnessed through her window, what difference did it make if he added Emily to his list of conquests?
But it did. The bastard.
She began to turn on her heel, determined to get as far away from this nightmare dinner party as she could, when Suki streaked past her legs. A joyful meow and one wild leap later, and she knew she wasn’t going anywhere. Not with her cat steadily purring in Z’s arms as if she’d found her soul mate.
Suki really was a sucker for sardines.
“Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
Emily sent her an odd look. She was used to Dorothy being the gracious one, putting on a polite face for company no matter how torn up she was on the inside. But she didn’t feel like being gracious. Not today. Not for this wizard.
Emily smiled a little awkwardly, starting that constant stream of chatter that was her superpower. Her stepsister was highly skilled at the art of small talk. She covered shoes, world affairs and the wildfire season in the first five minutes, all without pausing to take a breath.
Dorothy, meanwhile, dug into her lasagna with gusto and none of her usual fear at the inevitable comparisons with her sibling. What was the point? She could read the writing on the wall. It was obvious that the wizard wanted her powers and Emily’s body. He could have one—lord knew Emily would want him even if he weren’t using his gifts to scramble her brain—but he’d never lay his hands on the other.
She might as well conserve her strength for the inevitable battle. She really should have paid more attention to Aunt Glin’s lessons.
The sudden silence made her look up from her plate. Her fork clattered to the table when she saw Emily, frozen in mid-sentence, her arms poised mannequin-like in the air and her perfectly glossed lips turning blue from the icy wind that had put her into an unnatural stasis.
Dorothy slammed back her chair as she got to her feet. “What the hell did you do to her?”