Glenn, Stormy - Love Sexy [True Blood Mate 3] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) (13 page)

“Love!” Logan roared as Mick yanked Love away from the window. He banged his hands against the door. “Mick, if you hurt him, I swear you will never see another sunrise.”

“I’ll come back for you when I’m done with your little human.”

Laughter filled the hallway then slowly faded away. A moment later, a door slammed shut. Logan’s heart pounded frantically when he could no longer see his mate. He pounded on the door over and over again until his hands throbbed. He screamed for Love until his throat grew sore and his voice started to fade.

Tears sprang to Logan’s eyes when he heard nothing but the sound of his own breathing and water dripping somewhere. It was eerily silent. Logan’s dread began to grow as he started to imagine what Mick was doing to his sweet mate.

Love might be a bit flirtatious, but Logan knew he wasn’t fast and easy with his affections. Whatever evil and twisted thing Mick came up with to torture Love with would be horrific and possibly damage the man for life.

And Logan was helpless to stop it.

Logan gave in to the rage flowing through his body and shifted. The moment all four paws hit the ground, he started throwing himself against the door with his body, trying to break through with his weight.

He could hear it creak, but it didn’t give way. Logan lunged over and over again. His body began to ache with each impact. He ignored the pain and continued to throw himself against the door, the thoughts of the horrors Love might be experiencing spurring him on.

As Logan moved back to the far side of the room and readied himself to run at the door again, it suddenly swung open. The threatening growl that started to build in Logan’s throat slowly faded away when he saw Love standing in the doorway.

It renewed itself in a deep cry of anguish as he took in Love’s naked body covered in blood, a sharp knife held securely in his hand. Love’s eyes seemed vacant, haunted, until they landed on Logan.

“Can we go home now?” Love whispered. “I want to go home, Logan.”

Logan lunged, shifting to human form in mid jump. He wrapped his arms around Love the moment he reached him, pulling the man’s smaller body as close as he could get it. Love shuddered and burrowed closer.

Logan could feel him shaking, feel the fear pouring out of Love. He desperately wanted to comfort his mate, but the stench of blood was so strong it almost overrode Love’s fear. Logan pulled back from Love enough to look down at his naked body.

“Are you hurt, baby?”

Love’s hand trembled as he reached for the top of his head. “I lost my ears.”

Logan frowned. Love seemed totally disconnected with what was going on. He could only imagine what his mate might have suffered at Mick’s hands, and it was the worst case scenario. He wanted to howl with grief, but Love’s welfare took precedence.

“It’s okay, baby, we’ll get you some more ears.”

“And some lollipops?”

“And some lollipops.”

Logan still didn’t understand Love’s fascination with having a fake, furry set of ears, but just knowing one was coming seemed to make the man happier. Love sighed deeply and burrowed back into Logan’s arms.

“Come on, baby, we need to get out of here.” Logan led Love toward the door. He had no idea which way was out, but he’d search every direction until he found it. He just needed to know which areas to avoid.

“Love, where’s Mick?”

Love pointed down the hallway without lifting his face away from Logan’s chest. Logan could only guess which door it was by the smell. As he walked past it, Logan glanced inside. He felt the blood drain from his face as he took in the blood splattered room. Mick’s dead body lay on the floor in the middle of it.

A cold black silence surrounded them. Logan felt like his breath had been cut off. He glanced back down at Love and the blood covering his naked body. He didn’t want to ask, but he had to know.

“Love, did Mick touch you?”

Love shook his head rapidly, almost too much so.

“Love, baby, look at me,” Logan said as softly as he could. He gently lifted Love’s chin so he could look into his mate’s eyes. “No matter what you tell me, I will still want you, Love. You’re my mate. That means forever.”

“He...he said...he wanted…” Love shook his head. “But you said no one could touch me without your permission and...and…”

“Ssshh, baby,” Logan said as he pressed Love’s face back into his chest. “I did say that, Love.”

“I...I...I killed him.”

Logan’s mouth dropped open in shock. He knew Mick was dead. Both he and Love were covered in blood, and Love had a knife in his hand that he still refused to let go of, but somehow he’d never connected the dots. Love had killed a shifter to protect himself.

“You had no choice, Love. He was going to hurt you.”

Logan was confused when Love shook his head.

“No.” Love pushed away from Logan. He looked defeated, broken. Tears started falling down his face. “I mean, yes, he was going to hurt me, but that’s not why I killed him.”

“It’s not?” Logan asked, half in anticipation, half in dread.

“He kept telling me what he was going to do to you after he was done with me.” Love twisted his hands together. His eyes started to dart around the hallway then landed on Logan. “I couldn’t let him do that. You know that. I couldn’t let him hurt you.”

In his heart, Logan had always been afraid that Love would never accept their mating. Yet, Love had just killed someone to protect him. If that didn’t prove the man was accepting, Logan didn’t know what did.

“Okay, Love, you did real good.” Logan took Love back into his arms and started ushering him down the hall. He wished he had something to cover them both up with, but stopping to look for clothes wasn’t an option. They needed to escape. They could cover up later.

“Are we going home now?”

“Yep, just as soon as we find a way out of this place.”

Chapter 9

Love couldn’t stop shivering. He felt cold all the way down to his bones, and he didn’t think it had anything to do with running naked through the woods with Logan. He couldn’t seem to get the picture out of his eyes of the light dying in Mick’s eyes as Love stabbed him.

He’d never killed anyone before. He prayed he would never have to again. It was horrifying. Mick had seemed so surprised, like he never expected Love to fight back. Love didn’t understand how he couldn’t know. He wasn’t about to let anyone hurt Logan.

He didn’t exactly want Mick to hurt him either, but he had been prepared to fight the man off as hard as he could. It wasn’t until Mick started going on about what he was going to do to Logan that Love had lost it.

Love was pretty sure it was Mick’s statement about skinning Logan alive that threw him over the edge. Before that, Love had simply been fighting back by hitting and kicking Mick whenever he could. Then Mick threatened Logan.

Love didn’t exactly remember grabbing the knife and stabbing Mick. He wasn’t even sure where he found it. He just remembered the surprise on the man’s face as he slowly fell to the floor. His mind felt hazy as he walked away from Mick and went back to find Logan.

He still felt kind of hazy like everything that had happened was a dream, or a nightmare. The only thing that seemed to be real and solid to him was Logan. Love tightened his grip on Logan’s hand. He just knew if he held onto Logan that everything would be okay. That was the only thing he did know.

Everything else was chaotic.

Logan stopped suddenly. Love almost ran into him before he could stop. He glanced up at Logan in confusion until the man pointed several yards away. “I’m going to go right over there and grab us something to wear. You wait here.”

Love nodded and watched Logan sneak across the way and into someone’s backyard. He chuckled then quickly slapped his hand over his mouth when Logan held a small mini skirt up to his naked hips and shook his head. Logan tossed them back over the laundry line and grabbed for something else.

A few minutes later, Logan came back across the yard and handed Love a pair of pajama bottoms. They were hot pink with little black cartoon puppies all over them. Love adored them even if they did fall past his feet.

“These match my ears,” Love said as he reached up to check the placement of the fuzzy black ears on his head. His face fell when he suddenly remembered that he had lost his ears somewhere during the night. “Oh, well, I guess they would, but…”

“Love, I told you I would get you some new ears and lollipops as soon as we got home, remember?” Logan asked. “They will look great with your pajama bottoms.”

“Yeah.” Love glanced up at Logan, hoping he didn’t look as desperate as he felt. “You did say that.”

“I will, baby.” Logan leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Love’s lips. “I promise, just the minute we get home.”

Love bit the edge of his lip. “It doesn’t bother you? I mean, I know it’s kind of weird and a lot of people think—”

“Love,” Logan said as he pressed his finger over Love’s lips, “I adore everything about you, even the ears. If you’re more comfortable wearing them, then wear them. It doesn’t bother me in the least.”

“Yeah?”

Love was a little hesitant about believing Logan. With the exception of his friends, who understood he was nuttier than a bed bug, no one truly understood how much more comfortable Love was facing the world when wearing his ears.

Logan’s hand curved around the side of Love’s face. “I swear to you, Love. It doesn’t bother me at all. And if anyone gives you any trouble about it, you send them to me. I’ll set them straight.”

Love buried his face against Logan’s shoulder. He felt so much safer being near the larger man. After everything he learned over the last two days, Love knew the world wasn’t as black and white as he originally thought.

Logan was like a rock amidst the storm brewing around him, destroying the rose-colored glasses he’d been looking through all of his life. He didn’t want to live in this harsh reality, but he didn’t want to live in a world without Logan either.

“Love, can I have the knife?”

Love jerked back, suddenly remembering that he still held the knife in his hand. He held his hand out, but his fingers wouldn’t uncurl around the handle. They wouldn’t move. Love whimpered.

“Sshhh, it’s okay, Love,” Logan said, “you don’t have to give up the knife if you don’t want to.”

“I can’t...I can’t let go,” Love whispered as he stared down at his hand. His throat ached with despair. “My fingers won’t move.”

“Do you want me to help, or do you want to keep the knife?”

Love bit his lip until it throbbed like his pulse. The knife in his hand was still covered in blood, much like his body. Every time he looked at it, he remembered Mick’s threats against Logan and relived the shocked look in the man’s eyes as he died.

Love quickly shook his head. “I don’t want it.”

“Okay.” Logan slowly reached for the handle of the knife with one hand, Love’s fingers with the other. “Then I’ll take it and hold onto it for you. How does that sound?”

Love understood that Logan was talking to him like he was deranged, and he wondered if he was just a bit. “I didn’t mean to kill him, Logan.”

“I know, baby. You were just protecting us. No one will blame you.”

“I just—”

Love heard a sudden noise behind him. He tensed, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, then he swung around with a deep growl. His grip tightened on the handle of the knife. He didn’t care how much blood was on the knife. He’d use it again and again if it meant protecting Logan from harm.

Two men he’d never met stood there, their eyes on the bloody knife in Love’s hand. They looked like they wanted to pounce on Love but were afraid of what he might do. Love backed up, putting himself between the two strangers and Logan.

“Mine!” Love waved the knife back and forth in front of him, giving the men a silent warning that he wasn’t afraid to use the weapon. “Go away.”

“Love.” Logan’s voice was very calm and soothing. “It’s okay, baby, I know these men. They are not here to harm us. They are here to help us.”

Love slowly lowered the knife enough that he hoped he didn’t look too threatening, just a little. He didn’t want them to think he didn’t mean business. The first wrong move they made and Love would rip them apart.

“This is Cáel and Garen, Love. They are
guardians of my clan
.”

Love nodded like he understood. He didn’t. He didn’t have a clue what a guardian did. But he trusted Logan. If the man said Cáel and Garen worked for him, he’d accept that. He still tensed when Logan reached past him.

“Give me your shirt, Cáel.”

Without a word or protest, one of the men pulled his black shirt off and handed it over. Logan started to place it around Love’s shoulders then frowned. Love pressed his lips together to keep from smirking as Logan rubbed the shirt all over his chest then wrapped it around him.

“Scent?” Love asked.

Logan’s face flushed as he nodded. “You don’t need to smell like anyone but me.”

Love looked down at his body. It had been long enough that the blood covering him had dried and started to itch. “Then I definitely think a bath is in order.” Love looked up at Logan. “I stink of death.”