Page 105 of Yearning For Her

But if they wanted to treat him like one…

All the power he’d built lately—all the power Willow had fed him—roiled within Kian, just as volatile as his emotions. He knew in that moment that his magic had the strength to bend these mortals completely to his will. To break them. They wouldn’t have been able to resist any command he gave them, no matter their desires.

A ragged breath escaped his lungs as he forced his magic down. If he used it like that now, if he resorted to employing his charm in anger, for revenge…

He knew exactly what he’d become. Who he’d become.

And he’d just told Willow he’d try not to use his magic on other humans.

The woman and her friends stormed off, leaving only the people at the next table, who glared at Kian until he met their gazes. They all swiftly turned away from him after looking into his eyes.

“That’s right, it is none of your fucking business,” he muttered. Plucking a napkin from the holder on the table, he wiped off his face, pressing hard enough to make the paper tear.

It was time to go. His tolerance for this place had evaporated. Without Willow, he couldn’t stand being here, and her enjoyment of the club had already ceased. The thought of staying here much longer only made his nausea resurge.

Need to tell her about this.

He tossed the wet, wadded napkin onto the table and scanned the club. The colorful flashing lights and dense crowd made it difficult for even his keen fae eyes to identify any individual human, but he knew Willow instinctively. He would’ve spotted her if she were out there.

Kian tugged his phone out of his pocket as he strode to the edge of the dance floor. He sent a text message to Willow.

Ready to get out of this place? We can drive the backroads, roll down the windows. Better air than you’ll find in the restroom.

He pressed send and returned his attention to his surroundings. He hadn’t wanted to let her out of his sight to begin with, not when her emotions had been so tangled and intense that even she seemed unsure of what they were. All the same, he didn’t want to dismiss her wishes.

She’d said she needed some time, and he would give it to her. But his heart quickened with each passing second, and that uncomfortable itch under his skin only worsened. The knots in his gut pulled tighter every time he checked his phone to see if she’d replied to his message.

She hadn’t.

Kian and Willow had been so passionate while they’d been dancing, so in tune with one another. He’d felt her excitement, had felt her joy. What the fuck had happened? What could’ve so suddenly and thoroughly altered the course their night had been taking?

“Fuck.” He stalked forward, cutting directly across the dance floor on his way to the restrooms.

Two minutes wasn’t a long time to wait for a response, but all things considered…

A small line had formed outside the women’s restroom when he arrived. Perhaps that was all—she’d had to wait, and had only just made it in. He wanted to believe that, but he couldn’t shake his worry. Couldn’t shake what he’d felt upon realizing that woman was kissing him.

Anguish. Betrayal. A cry from the depths of his heart…

And from the depths of another heart?

Shaking his head, he paced along the hallway. The women waiting to get into the restroom stared at him. A few whispered to each other, one bit her lip as her gaze roamed over him, and another called out to him suggestively.

Kian didn’t acknowledge them, and he didn’t slow. He checked his phone again, and again, and again. His message remained unread, unanswered.

Something was wrong. Something more serious than she’d let on, more serious than he’d guessed. And the instincts she’d awoken in Kian drove him to find her because he needed to know she was okay. He needed to see her, feel her, hold her.

Fuck this.

He strode to the door of the women’s restroom, threw it open, and stormed across the threshold. “Willow?”

The two women at the sinks stared at him wide-eyed through the mirror. One of them said, “I don’t think you’re supposed to be in here.”

The other woman nudged her companion with an elbow. “Who cares?” She turned toward Kian. “Hi.”

Kian continued past the women, moving to the stalls. “Willow, are you in here?”

“That was kind of rude,” the first woman muttered.

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