A Little Street Magic (18 page)

Everything was slow and sweet and hot for I didn’t know how long, but eventually, he began to move faster, his purr deepening, and stopped kissing to press his cheek to mine. He came, a tidal wave of ecstasy pouring out of him to slam into the walls of my mental maze, and spill over their tops.

I wasn’t prepared for that, or the results: my body tripping gleefully into another orgasm. “Oh!”

“Mm.” Logan stilled, his face buried in my hair and the pillow. I blinked at the ceiling, my hands flat across his back, and wondered
Did that just happen?

“Mmhm.” He relaxed fully for a few seconds, resting his weight on me, and then suddenly raised up to look at me. “You didn’t say that, did you?”

“Nope.” I was beginning to freak out a smidge. “Um...”

“Do you want me to move?”

I locked my arms around him in answer, still trying to process.

“Cordi?”

Focusing on his eyes, I said, “Yes?”

“Calm down.” Logan kissed me. “Everything’s okay.”

He was partially right. It wasn’t as though I were in danger. On the other hand, I’d just...psychically vampired him. Fed off his pleasure. That was what happened. Wasn’t it? “I didn’t do that on purpose.”

“You know, having an orgasm isn’t the end of the world.”

I wanted to laugh, because he was trying to lighten the mood, but couldn’t. “But I wasn’t going to then you did, and I did, and...” I stopped, catching my breath, aware of another, smaller issue. “I don’t really understand what just happened. Also, I didn’t realize that um...”

Logan chuckled. “Yes, it’s a little messier sans condom. Let’s take care of that, and after, we can snuggle and talk. Okay?”

“Okay.” I lifted my head to kiss him, feeling guilty as hell.

“I
guess it was a heat of the moment slip up?”

“Probably, and that’s okay as far as I’m concerned.” Logan stroked my arm and kissed the top of my head. “What’s important is you being okay with it.”

“What if it happens again?”

“Then it does.”

“But,” I levered myself up to look at him. “It’s like, I don’t know, cheating or something.”

He shook his head. “How about we look at it as sharing? There’s no need for you to shoulder blame here.”

“But I’m the psychic.” I sat completely up, intending to cross my arms, and ended up hugging myself. He moved, sitting up so he could see my face. I felt my eyes begin to water. “I’m ruining it, aren’t I?”

“No, sweetheart.” He didn’t tell me not to cry, but brushed away the tear that fell. “I understand, or think I do, why you’re upset. You feel like you did something wrong, violated me in some fashion. Right?”

Shame had me dropping my eyes from his. “I feel like I stole something extremely personal from you.”

“No. We care about each a lot, and were having an intimate moment together. Maybe it was just us unconsciously connecting because we were so focused on each other.”

Could he be right? I chewed on my bottom lip before looking up. “Do you really think so?”

“I think it’s entirely possible. I know I don’t want the idea that it might happen again to inhibit you in the future, or worse, scare you away.” He stroked my cheek with his fingertips. “We’ve just started.”

“I know.” Damn it, I’d completely ruined our first time. “I’m sorry.”

Logan froze, his eyes glued to mine, and his fingertips resting on my jaw. “Why?”

“Because I’m freaking out about it.”

He relaxed, blowing out a deep breath. “Oh. I thought you were going to leave.”

“Not unless you decide I’m too high maintenance.”

“I won’t. I do think we should agree what happened wasn’t bad or wrong though. We’re supposed to make each other feel good when making love. You being more empathic than most is a bonus, don’t you think?” He smiled, but uncertainly and anxiety radiated from him.

I realized that I was on the verge of blowing us apart, and did my best to calm down. Looking into his eyes, the last thing I wanted to happen was losing him. We
had
just started, and I’d never, ever find another man like him. There couldn’t be anyone even close. If what happened didn’t bother him, then I shouldn’t let it use me for a chew toy. “Right.”

Relief caused him to sag. “Still think I love you.”

My heart began to thump harder, and I caught his hand to press it to my cheek. “I don’t think anymore. I know.”

Logan’s face lit up as though I’d just saved Christmas from the Grinch.

S
omething tickled my ear, and I opened my eyes. Logan lay on his side, facing me, one hand tucked under his pillow, the other flat on the bed between us. Our knees were touching, and I smiled, realizing we were mirroring each other.

Busy drinking in his peaceful, sleeping face, I didn’t immediately twig to the fact that his bed wasn’t in his bedroom any longer. It took another tickle to my ear. I tilted my head back and froze, staring at the large, fluffy, neon purple and teal moth sitting on my pillow.

More moths fluttered above us, in a canopy of leafy green vines. I closed my eyes, re-opened them, and sighed. Canopy and unearthly colored moths were still present. “Seriously?”

“You don’t like the bower I made for you?”

I raised my head enough to look over Logan’s shoulder. Sal sat on a stone bench a few feet from the bed’s edge. He grinned. I didn’t.

“Young lovers are such a beautiful sight.”

“Wrinkly faced old gods are such creepy perverts.” I shooed the moth away, and, keeping hold of the sheet, rose to sit tailor-style, clutching it one-handed to hide my breasts. “Where have you been, and why are you creeping on us?”

“It’s true some time has passed since we last spoke. You were perturbed, if you’ll remember, and I thought I should give you some space.” A pale pink and dark turquoise moth landed on his shoulder. Sal reached up to stroke its furry thorax.

I gave Logan a gentle poke in the stomach. He didn’t react. “Why is he still asleep?”

“This is a private conversation. Now tell me, how has my favorite psychic been?”

Past experience said the little god wouldn’t go away until he was satisfied. “Fine. I mean, aside from learning that demons had some of my blood and hair, had hexed me with delusions, oh, and were again planning to slit me from stem to stern.”

Sal bobbed his head. “Yes, I completely forgot to mention that. I meant to, but handling the Unseelie/Morpheus situation seemed more important at the time.”

Prick
. “Thanks a lot. You could’ve saved me a little grief there.”

“You apparently sorted it out just fine. Go on.” His wrinkles rearranged into an expression of expectancy.

“Well, let’s see.” I adjusted the sheet over Logan, making sure his butt was covered. “Maeve wants me to marry Thorandryll, and he’s not exactly against the plan.”

Sal waved that away. “I’m sure you can handle it. How’s your family? Your delightful mother, and those two cute little brothers?”

I cocked my head, my eyes narrowing. “Why do you want to know?”

He laughed. “So suspicious. You care for them, I care about you. Therefore, I care about them too.”

Uh huh. I needed to keep a closer eye on my little brothers. Wasn’t there a chance one or both of them might turn out to be psychic? We shared a father. “They’re fine.”

“Hm, and what about this?” He gestured at Logan.

“None of your damn business.”

Sal chortled, dropping his hand. “Oh, having your tiger trapped is new.”

“He’s not trapped.” What would happen if I tried to smack his smug, wrinkled face? Probably nothing good.

“Oh, but he is, and willingly so. He’s a fine young man, your Logan. It’s good to see how much your judgment has improved.”

Did I care about his approval? No. No, I did not. “How about you do me a favor and pay Maeve a little visit? Give her something besides me to think about?”

The little god shook his head. “I’m afraid that’s your situation to take care of.”

“Really, what good is it doing me to have you for a fairy godfather?” I tugged the sheet higher and switched hands. “You drop in, tell me I’m doing it wrong or that you can’t help with stuff, and then you’re out. As a bonus, when you need a ride, you don’t bother asking before jumping in.”

Sal petted the moth again. “You’re still perturbed about that, I see.”

Actually, I was getting angry about it. I hadn’t at the time, with everything else going on, but now? Oh, yeah. I was hot. “Wouldn’t you be pissed, if someone did that to you?”

He sobered, and met my eyes. “I sincerely apologize for our trespass, Discordia. It was necessary that you weren’t aware of our presence, or things may have gone quite a bit differently.”

Sal’s sincerity calmed me down a touch. “Why was it necessary?”

“If you’d been aware of being our vessel, others would’ve discovered us, and we likely wouldn’t have made it to the cavern where Morpheus was imprisoned.” He lowered his chin. “We gods are not united, child. Some of us work to maintain the world’s balance, while others crave chaos and destruction.”

I shuddered, and wished Logan would wake up. I needed a hug. “Sal, I really, truly don’t want to be involved in whatever you gods have going on.”

“It’s not a matter of ‘want.’ The choices you’ve made in the past have already placed you on my side. You chose to use your power to become a crusader. You make daily decisions to right wrongs and help others. You,” Sal stabbed his forefinger in my direction. “Are the one who chooses your path.”

Apparently, wanting to be good and useful had screwed me when it came to the god stuff. I felt a pout forming, and forced myself to stop it. He dropped his hand again, and looked at Logan. “Do you love your young man?”

I bristled, ready to launch myself over Logan and attack Sal to protect him. “Yes, and don’t you dare...” 

“Oh, shut up. I’m not going to threaten him. He’s good for you, and if he’s also part of your happiness, then that’s all the better.” A grin rearranged his wrinkles again. “Cernunnos even has a bit of approval for him, and let me say, getting that one to approve of a shifter is practically impossible.”

I wanted to know, so asked. “Why?”

“Because he’s the Horned God, Lord of the Hunt, and Level One Billion Master of Animals. Shifters are no longer mere animals. They were taken from him. He’s not a god who forgives lesser beings for taking away his toys.”

“Oh.” It suddenly made sense, Logan’s not being affected by the Hunt until he’d changed shapes. And Cernunnos’ sharp “You, a tiger who walks in the shape of a man?” before he’d delegated Logan to the role of being my servant.

It seemed that since I’d vowed to do better, I was learning useful things at a faster rate. Go figure.

“Well, my time’s up for now. Gotta run.” Sal shooed the moth from his shoulder and stood.

“Wait. We’re on a case, and...”

“Yes. Word of advice: What appears obvious isn’t always the truth.” He stared at me. “You need to walk with extreme care, Discordia. Don’t depend on just your powers.”

“Does that mean another god’s involved in the case?”

He smiled. “It means you shouldn’t forget you have more than one option, when it comes to protecting yourself. Or,” he nodded at Logan. “Those you love. Surprise people. Good chat, see you later.”

And boom, he was gone. I twisted and dropped down on my back, scowling up at the rainbow of moths and greenery. I hadn’t had the chance to ask him about Petra’s theory. “It sucks, being his favorite psychic.”

A fat, furry blue moth with yellow legs and antennae landed on my face. Dust fell from its wings. I sneezed...