Twist (24 page)

His thirsty eyes scanned the crowd, darting from one face to the next. When I turned around, he gripped my shoulders and pulled me against him.

Resting his chin on my head, he asked in a soothing voice, “Whose scent is all over you?”

His nose circled through my hair.

“This is not on the agenda.”

Showing no expression, he surged into the crowd, dipping his head by each person he passed. A hard swallow seized my throat when he reached Brandon, who was leaning on the bar and cupping a shot of whiskey. Breed rules dictated we could not reveal ourselves in front of humans, nor harm them intentionally as they were a weaker species.

Logan was a man who didn’t play by the rules.

He smiled warmly, looking in my direction before he inched forward and lowered his chin. Brandon stood up, but immediately turned his face away as if burned by the heat of Logan’s searing gaze. Not even a human could withstand the malice in a Chitah’s eyes.

“No need to memorize my face. You’ll be seeing it again,” Logan promised.

Brandon was the coward I always knew him to be, and chose not to confront the stranger. I expected Logan to do more, but he took my hand and escorted me back to the hotel.

Brandon was the biggest mistake of my life. He liked to dress like a soldier, even though he wasn’t one. As it turns out, he was just a control freak.

We briefly dated, but it wasn’t until we moved in together that I saw his teeth. It destroyed me, because I
chose
him. After that, I doubted every decision I made. Sunny took me in when my own mother would not, and while she wasn’t an emotional rock, she baked delicious pies and made me laugh again.

Nothing spells misery like a large pizza and an action flick. I needed bullets, blood, and mayhem. I replayed the scene at the bar in my head a dozen times, and wished I could have done things differently. In a matter of seconds, that man stripped away all of the tough layers I had worked so hard to build. Logan sensed the obvious shift in my mood and we went to our separate rooms. After greedily stuffing my face, I dozed off on my stomach with my feet on the pillows.

The flickering lights from the television forced me to turn my head towards the air conditioner and an icy breeze cooled my cheek. Then I became aware of a heavy weight and warmth across my lower body. I was stunned when I looked over my shoulder. Logan was unconscious and draped across me like a boa constrictor. Legs entwined around mine, and I was no longer able to tell where he began and I ended. A long arm tucked around my hip, while the other stretched down the length of my arm, clasping my hand. We were like chocolate covered pretzels, and Logan was the chocolate.

“Get
off
of me.”

He groaned, flopping onto his back with a fierce stretch. “What time is it?”

“It’s time for you to explain what you’re doing in my bed uninvited, Mr. Cross.” I glared at him.

He languidly rolled to his side, resting his cheek over a bicep. “Why are you so formal with me?”

“Why are you so
informal
with me?”

Logan was not able to conceal a smile, deciding to address my previous question. “The scent of food drew me in. I finished off your leftovers and watched you sleep. Your skin had those little goose pimples,” he said, running a finger down my arm. I shivered, and this seemed to please him.

“You could have covered me with a blanket.”

“Why would I do that when I can offer the heat you need?”

Silence.

A shadow caught my attention. “What is that stain on your shirt? Is that…
blood
?”

When he didn’t answer, I sat up. “Where did you go tonight?”

“Hunting.”

“For what?”

“What all men thirst for—justice.”

I knew. He didn’t have to tell me. Logan went back for Brandon and alarm ran up my spine.

“What did you
do
?”

“Nothing that wasn’t deserved.”

“Did you kill him?” I almost shrieked.

Logan chuckled. “Would you like me to? Killing him wouldn’t be half as fun.”

“You’re no different than him.”

“Not true, little raven, because when I hit someone, they
deserve
it.”

A knot tightened in my stomach. “There were a hundred men in the bar tonight. Maybe you caught the wrong man.”

Logan sat up and leaned forward on his knuckles. He could barely restrain the pride on his tongue.

“I am studious in my efforts. Never doubt my skills, young Mage. I’m a born hunter, and a male who takes his birthright seriously.”

“How badly did you hurt him?”

An animalistic sound erupted as he pulled air into his lungs.

“All this for a guy who broke my heart.”

“I have it on good authority that he broke more than your heart.”

I blinked, and lowered my eyes. “We all make mistakes.”

“And some will pay a hefty price,” he said, regarding me with strict eyes. “The mistake was not yours; it was his. Men like that should be weeded from the garden before they destroy all the flowers.”

I fell back and stared at the ceiling.

“Tell me you’re mad, and I’ll know if you’re lying,” he said.

Logan ran his hand across my forehead, smoothing out my hair. “You have every right to push men away as you do. When you know the way a woman has been treated—or mistreated—you understand her in a way that didn’t make sense. Lay with me tonight.”

Before I could turn my saucer wide eyes towards him, he touched my lips with his finger. “I’m not asking for what you think. Say yes—lay with me and let me have one night to sleep beside my enemy.”

In the back of my mind, I heard Justus warning me to keep my distance. His reasons didn’t seem good enough, and lately, neither did mine. If Logan meant to bring me harm, he could have done so when he was twist-tied to my body not moments ago. The same curiosity he expressed was one that even I couldn’t deny. The more time we spent together, the more he confounded me.

“You have my word that I will never hurt you. Keep your fingertips charged and on standby if you don’t trust me,” he chuckled.

I nodded.

Logan piqued my curiosity as a Chitah, and as a man. I sharpened my light—just in case.

He sat up and peeled his shirt over his head.

“Wait a minute!”

“Would you rather curl up to his blood? That might actually please me.”

“No,” I said, watching the fabric fall to the floor. “Just keep your pants on.”

When Logan looked at my clothes, I avoided eye contact. I didn’t own a collection of adorable gowns and pajamas. I slept in tank tops and boy shorts. They weren’t lace or silk, but something told me he liked them when his eyes lingered on the paw print design stitched on the left side.

Logan pulled the sheet away like a child opening gifts on Christmas.

“I have a few rules about sleeping together.”

His laughter echoed in the room as he punched a fist into the pillow, softening it. “This should be good.”

“Clothes remain on.”

“What little we have, yes, that’s doable.”

“Keep your hands off of body parts, including your own.”

This time he smothered his face in the pillow and laughed uncontrollably. I almost wanted to laugh at myself, but men always found sneaky ways around rules.

“Finally, no dirty talk. This isn’t an open invitation; I’m not a perk of any deal you made with Simon.”

“Cross my heart. You have my word I will not touch you inappropriately.” Logan turned to his side, rubbing the short whiskers on his chin. “I never thought I would want to sleep with a Mage.”

“What possessed you?” I asked, pulling the cover beneath my arm.

“I like to live dangerously, so please follow your own rules. I think we both know what you can do with your hands.”

I smiled. “Why do you despise us so much?”

He let go of a deep sigh and rolled on his back. “A Mage killed my mate.”

I turned to face him. “I thought you didn’t have a mate.”

“I did once… a long time ago.” Logan absently stroked his chest and when his eyes drifted upward, I saw him for the first time, not just the outer shell of a hardened man. “Her beauty was unmatched and I courted her for years before she accepted me. I was young and made foolish mistakes. I fell in debt with a Mage, and when I didn’t give him what he asked for, he took her life as payment.” Anger flickered behind his eyes, but it was distant, buried beneath years of violence all in the name of revenge.

“He knew she carried our young.” Logan’s lips peeled back in anger.

The room fell so silent that even my heart took pause. Logan not only lost a woman, but an unborn child.

“How long does a Chitah live?”

“I’m not as old as most, but let’s just say that I could have played poker with your great-great granddaddy. We have a natural ability to heal, just as you have your own healing magic. But we do age with time, just
very
slowly.”

“Do you only have one soul mate?”

“Yes, there is only one Chitah that is our perfect pairing.”

I touched the end of his pillow. “I want to apologize for what I said to you on the plane, about not finding a mate at the Gathering. If I knew about your past, I would have never said something so callous.”

“You’re spirited words did not offend me.”

“I mean it.”

He turned his head, but couldn’t lift his eyes. “I loved her, Silver. Deeply. I would have raised young and lived a good life, but that was not in the fates. She was not my kindred spirit, but it doesn’t erase the fact that I adored her.”

I learned more about Logan in a single conversation than the entire time we had spent together. He was so direct and willing to share his pain, whereas most people were closed off. He chose a woman who was not his soul mate, eager to start a family with her. I felt selfish for pining over my cat and a tire swing when this man gave up his family to the arms of death. The pieces locked into place, and I knew why he hated my kind.

“Would you have left your family if you had found your soul mate?”

“In the time I was with her I would have said no, never.”

“Said, but what would you have done? I’m not doubting you loved her. I guess I’m just curious if—”

“If what?”

“If that whole soul mate crap is true.”

Eloquently said, but the thought of predestined lovers was a bunch of bullshit.

“I once had my doubts.” He laced his fingers across his stomach and closed his eyes.

“Why should Chitah’s have the market cornered on soul mates? If such a thing existed, then we would all have them and the world would be a happier place.

Logan rolled to his side and propped his head in the palm of his hand. “You are a very pessimistic female. Humans have a larger pool of people to fish through and a shorter amount of time. Who’s to say that it’s exclusive to my kind? Look at your friend; she’s a perfect example of how such things are possible. Can they explain their attraction, their connection? No, but it’s undeniable.” He pinched his lip between his fingers, watching me. “Have you ever binded with another Mage?”

Two words with different meanings exist among Mage: bonding and binding. Bonding is something that couples do to make their relationship more permanent—like marriage—and includes markings of some kind. Binding involves the sharing of sexual energy and emotions by exchanging light through a current in our hands. It can be part of sex, or separate from it. Binding is an exclusive sharing of light like no other.

A warm blush touched my face. Simon and I twirled in the sheets after a night of drinking and shared a little light. Who hasn’t?

“You’re getting personal.”

“You have opened me like a book, and yet you’re unwilling to share your own story?”

“Simon wants me to talk to Marco again.”

Logan sensually ran his nose along the line of my neck. “Do you always do what Simon says? I never did care for that childish game.” He brushed away a loose strand of hair and changed his tone to an inquisitive one. “
He
was the one you binded with. Why would you give yourself to a man who doesn’t want you?”

“That’s a little insulting,” I said, inching away. “That man hits on me all the time.”

I refused to let anyone be a killjoy with the only man who spoiled me with compliments. Simon was a luscious flirt, and I loved him for it.

“There’s a difference between men who love to eat, and men who hunt for their food.”

Logan allowed me to look at him by turning his eyes away. His features were captivating. For the first time, I noticed faint smile lines carved in his cheek. The color of his hair was darker at the root where the sun didn’t lighten it, and his brow ridges left him with a serious expression. I shivered, pulling up the sheet.

“I would never have harmed you when I came to you that night,” he said. “I want you to know that. You, Silver, enthralled me with those emerald jewels.”