Gravity (34 page)

to read his bloody lips.

Just like a Mage, a Chitah could be killed by decapitation. When I saw the blade, I turned

away. I had told Logan that I never wanted him to kill a man because murder was wrong. What I

was witnessing wasn’t murder; it was justice. If Tarek lived, innocent blood would spill as more

lives were cut down. He was untouchable as a Lord, and his time on this earth was done.

With my back to the violence, the sound of the gate door breaking caused me to jump as

Christian tore it away with a few hard shakes.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, looking down at where I sat.

I shook my head at the broken concrete.

“Search him for a key; it’ll be a small one,” he shouted at Logan. “Let me see your face.”

I turned and his fangs descended like angry switchblades. He bit into his wrist and I heard the

sound his teeth made as they punched through the skin. But I denied his offering.

Logan removed his tank top, wiping his face clean.

“Did you find it?” Christian called out, holding my necklace between his fingers.

Logan strode forward, arms heavy at his sides. He tossed Christian a small key and with an

audible click, the necklace fell to the concrete and released me from Tarek’s magic. A prickling

sensation swept over my body, like when the blood begins moving through a limb that has fallen

asleep.

My guard turned to confront him. “You’ll never appreciate what this Mage gave up for you. If

you say one cross word, I’ll break your face.”

Logan wiped his mouth, averting his eyes from mine. “I will always come for this woman to

protect her. But remember, Vampire, she did not choose me. I will say what I want, so careful who

you aim your threats at.”

“I didn’t realize that girlfriends came with an expiration date. I merely planted a suggestion in

your peanut head to find another woman, but it only took you a week to claim a new mate? That

doesn’t show much devotion on your part,” Christian chastised.

“You charmed me?” Logan roared. “How dare you judge what I had no control over!” He took a

hard breath through his nose and gave me a sideways glance. “I have given up my pride for your

games. What has she given up?”

“Her freedom,” Christian bit out. “Tarek threatened to put you in the ground if she didn’t do

exactly as he said. To the word, he ordered her to bed another man. I can tell you right now that

she was not acting of her own free will. Tarek worked her like a puppet in order to have his

revenge on you. When she thought you were daft enough to try to win her back, she cut your hair.

I know what that means; I’m not a fool. It was the only way to cut the strings still attached and

save your sorry arse. I’ve watched her endure all this pain and suffering so her loved ones would

not, because he threatened them all. Her Ghuardian, your brothers, her friends; as long as she

complied with his wishes, no harm would come to them. He just kept taking it one step further so

that he would always have control over her.”

Logan paled, taking a step back. The fire in his eyes dimmed, and a light switched on.

“After the engagement party, he tried to force himself on her.”

Logan squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away.

I could feel Christian’s rage pumping through my veins and I hadn’t even tasted his blood. “Let

it go, Christian. It’s over now. I’ll take the blame for all this mess; I don’t want Logan involved.”

“The hell you will,” Christian argued. “You have taken enough bullets, lass. I will not sit here

and watch you bite another one.”

“Is what he says true?” Logan watched me with a stony expression.

“What good is truth anymore?” I asked in a despondent tone, pushing myself up. “What’s done

is done. What kind of woman have I allowed myself to become because of Tarek? He’s dead, but

the damage is done. How can I ever look you in the eye again knowing what I did, even if I was

forced into it?”

“Is it true?” His voice was a shout, and he moved toward me.

Christian wedged between us.

“I need to hear truth from your lips, Silver. I never sensed you were lying when you told me

that you didn’t want me.”

“Because I didn’t! If it meant watching you die, then I would never want you! Knowing you

could have a normal life without me made it the easiest lie I’ve ever told.”

He quickly exhaled. “So it’s true,” he whispered. The gold in his eyes vanished and beautiful

markings rippled across his skin like a mirage. The coloring was heavier on his shoulders, arms, and

flanks than on his torso.

Christian shoved me against the wall and caged himself in front to protect me.

“Christian,” I whispered. “Let me go.” His head turned just a fraction. “Back off, guard.”

Reluctantly, he moved aside.

Logan stepped forward and wrapped his arms around my waist. I had forgotten how cold I was

in my bra and jeans until I felt his warmth envelop me. The moment I knew that he still wanted

me was when he brushed his nose against my neck, drawing in a deep breath, owning my scent.

“I’m sorry for—”

His hand fell across my mouth and he shook his head.

Logan’s eyes were black because his switch had flipped. Yet somehow, his anger was under

control. Enough that he allowed Christian to take my hand. Not long ago, Logan was a man who

would snap because of jealousy. He swore one day he’d master his animal and gain control over

his instincts. I doubted his word, and regret filled me when I caught his uncharacteristic reaction.

I had been so wrong.

“Do you love me less, Logan?”

His hands cupped my face as he unabashedly kissed the corners of my eyes, my cheeks, my

mouth, and my forehead. Only one word fell from his lips, a single word spoken in his animal state

that made my heart swell to epic proportions.

“More.”

Chitahs could rarely speak when their switch was flipped; only a few Lords had acquired that

kind of control and power.

“You have someone else now, Logan. It’s too late.”

He pressed his strong body against mine and I wept against his chest. Logan bent down and

nuzzled my cheek in a single upward sweep—his eyes still obsidian black and vivid shades of honey

and sand melted across his skin.

“I’m so sorry.” I sorrowfully touched the ends of his short hair. Logan ignored my gesture.

“My mate,” he growled. Logan collected me in his arms and I listened to the rhythmic pounding

of his courageous heart. I hugged him tightly and yet it still wasn’t close enough.

“Jaysus, get a room,” Christian blurted out as he walked down the steps. “We can’t call in

cleaners on this one. It has to be reported.” He stared absently at the mess that was Tarek. “I

need a pint.”

Logan dropped to his knees and held my legs as he nuzzled my stomach. “Forgive me,” he said

in broken words.

“For what?”

“You sacrificed your heart and I was blind to it. I couldn’t see beyond my own pain to recognize

yours. I should have known it; I should have scented it.”

By the inflection in his voice, I knew his eyes were now gold.

“Don’t do that, Logan. Don’t make me out to be a martyr. I didn’t sleep with Christian, but I

was ready to. I’ve always had a choice and I took the one with the least risk involved. Christian

had to charm you or you would have figured it out. Stand up.”

Logan rose to his feet and I felt sterilized by his gaze. He didn’t look at me like I was a woman

who had betrayed him. He looked at me with love.

“Unless you have any objections, I’m taking my female home.”

Chapter 28

After we arrived at his condo, Logan lent me his red Flash Gordon T-shirt with the lightning bolt

in front while he took a shower and washed himself clean of Tarek’s blood. I harnessed the

morning sunlight to heal my wounds, although Logan took the liberty of grazing his tongue across

a few scratches. He had put ice on his face and ribs, but said he would heal soon enough.

Then he placed me on his mattress and whispered, “Sleep, Little Bird.”

Without curtains, the room was bathed in sunlight. I kept my jeans on and Logan grabbed a

pair of clean white socks from his drawer and pulled them up to my knees.

Silent hours drifted by while I slept. In my dream, I remembered being in warm, crystal-blue

waters. I was sitting in a shallow area with the sun on my shoulders, listening to the waves lap up

on the shore. Just a little ways up the beach, Logan was sitting on the sand with his knees bent

and his arms draped over them. He wore a thin white shirt and his jeans were rolled up at the

ankle. A smile stretched across his face and he turned away to look at the ocean. Logan was not a

figment of my imagination—he was dreamwalking. I’d once warned him to stay out of my head

while I slept, but suddenly, I didn’t mind. He respected my space and watched over me from a

safe distance.

I wanted it to be real. No rules. No conflict. No politics. No prejudices. No death. Just the two

of us, lying in a hammock, falling asleep in each other’s arms as the clouds drifted quietly

overhead.

When I awoke, Logan was standing in front of the curtainless window, watching the colors of

sunset melt across the horizon. A light tap sounded at the door and Logan opened it, taking a tray

from someone’s hands. He set it beside me on the floor because his bed was nothing more than a

wide mattress without a frame.

“Stay in bed,” he insisted.

“Did I sleep all day?” I mumbled against a pillow.

Logan crawled into the bed and laid on my right side. He had changed into a pair of sweats

and a white, formfitting undershirt. The cut emphasized the tight muscles in his arms and

shoulders.

“My feet are hot.”

He sat up and tossed my socks into a corner. “Do you want to remove these?” he asked,

tugging my jeans.

“No.”

His nose twitched and he took in two quick puffs of air. “I’m not sure of that scent.”

“What do you mean?”

“The one you put out whenever I ask to remove your jeans. It’s not fear, it’s not… it’s like a

flavor I haven’t tasted before and I need the name of it.”

“Speaking of flavors, what did you bring me to eat?”

A mysterious grin crossed his expression and he rolled over. When he reappeared, an egg roll

was between his fingers.

“Chinese,” I said approvingly. My stomach growled and I sat up, propping the pillows behind

my back as Logan set the tray on my lap. My appetite wasn’t all there, so after a few bites of

chicken stir-fry, I announced I was finished.

“You take good care of me, Logan. It was delicious.”

He placed the tray on the floor and I scooted down, stretching my legs. The room seemed

uncomfortably warm, so I swept my hair off my neck and pulled the sheet away.

Logan gave me the infamous Cross smile and waved a small sugared donut in his hand. My

heart soared. It wasn’t just a memory that we shared of the time we met, but hand-feeding was a

sign of trust among Chitahs.

When I opened my mouth and took a small bite, he tossed the donut back on the plate and

kissed away the sugar from my lips.

“Logan?”

“Yes?”

“If you have a new mate, you need to take what’s best for you, not what you crave. I don’t

want to be your drug. Does that make sense?”

“I didn’t know what I was saying, Silver. I had no idea,” he said in somber words. “Charmed by

a Vampire or not, I should have trusted my instincts. It will end tonight when I call to break it off.”

“That seems a little cold.”

He rubbed his eye with the palm of his hand. “She only coveted my position, not my heart.

That was made clear when we spoke privately. I want you to know that I never bedded that

female; it is not the courting custom.” His eyes immediately lowered, heavy with guilt.

“Except with us,” I said, stating the obvious. “It wasn’t fair for me to push it that far when I

wasn’t ready to commit.”

“It never felt right with her and now I know why. I’m not a man who will settle as long as my

soul mate walks this earth. It will end tonight when I call to break the news.”

“Do you actually believe that? Logan…”

His fingers fell over my lips. “I don’t believe it. I know it. I swore I’d never enter your dreams

without permission, but the night you cut my hair, I needed to know. I felt your grief, but it was

confusing and you couldn’t see me. You sat in a pile of white weeds of some kind with a

disparaged look on your face.”

“I don’t remember that,” I said, watching his eyes lower.

“I kissed your cheek and whispered in your ear that I’d always come for you if you needed me,

Silver. I meant it.”

“Can you ever trust me again?” I reached for the plate and took a fresh donut, holding it up.

Logan caught my wrist and parted his lips, taking the entire pastry into his mouth along with two

of my fingers, sucking every granule of sugar from them.

Logan had allowed me to feed him.

He trusted me.

“I’ll eat a steady diet of whatever you feed me from your hand, Little Raven. I’ll prove that I’m