Impulse (10 page)

“Most. We’ve gone over this. I can’t erase my past—it’s not a chalkboard.”

I wiped a droplet of water from my nose and crossed my arms. “I’m not holding it against you. I don’t know why you chose that life, but I understand why you think it’s justified. In the end, it didn’t bring her back.”

“No,” he said, pointing a finger angrily at the floor. “Curse my life until you run out of breath, but the tragedy of who I was led me to
you
. I’ve never been a soft man when it comes to females, Silver, not since Katrina.”

“Your wife?”

“My mate, yes. She knew me in the spirit of my youth. I chose not to leave you alone on that rooftop for a reason. I fought the instinct to track down the scent,” he said, drawing in a slow breath through his nostrils. “I
know
that scent. It infuriates me that another male has marked you, and there is a familiarity to his identity. If he crosses my path—”

I cleared my throat. “I think we made the right decision tonight. It would have been for the wrong reasons and it shouldn’t become something that we regret.”

After a lengthy sigh, a wide smile stretched across my cheeks. I was impressed that he kept his eyes closed without the temptation to peek.

“I need something to put on,” I finally said.

Logan kicked off his shoes and when he unlatched his belt, I couldn’t look away. He shoved his pants to the floor and stepped out of them. It was the first time I’d seen his legs and they were more powerful-looking than I’d imagined—not like a bodybuilder, but conditioned like an athlete. He wore form-hugging briefs that were a little long in the leg and they were the sexiest damn things I’d ever seen on a man. I admired the v-cut that arrowed down his abdomen, wondering what it would be like to stroke my finger down the groove. When his thumbs hooked around his briefs, I whirled around and gaped at the tile.

“I’m not putting you on,” I insisted.

“You have permission to look at me.”

“How very gracious of you, Mr. Cross.”

“I’m not shy about anything I have to offer you, but I need to get out of these wet clothes and put on something dry before my ass chafes.”

I snorted. “I never did like peeking at my presents before it was time.”

He gripped my shoulders firmly and his lips grazed my ear. “When it’s time, Little Raven, I’m all yours to unwrap. And I promise that your present will be the biggest of all.”

That was no lie; I’d already seen the size of the box.

I turned to give him a kiss and, although his eyes remained closed, he felt my intent and leaned down.

The kiss was deep and penetrating. It was intimate in a way that the previous ones weren’t. When his tongue found mine and he slid his hands behind my neck, I nearly collapsed and flattened my hands against his chest.

“I love the way you taste,” he whispered against my mouth.

My bare foot touched his when I tried to get closer. Logan teased me by brushing his mouth against mine but staving off his kiss. I nipped his bottom lip and a dangerous growl rose from his chest.

“I dare you to do that again,” he whispered against the corner of my mouth. “You are always so eager to play with fire.”

Provoking him was not a good idea, so I pushed away. “Let’s get out of here; I’ve never felt so clean in my life that you could eat off me.”

His eyebrows popped up. “Now that you mention it, I’m famished.”

“Sorry, the restaurant is closed.”

“Then let me make reservations,” he offered with a suppressed grin.

Justus crossed my mind. “I need to go home.”

“Hand me the phone and I’ll call your Ghuardian.”

“Are you going to dial blind?”

“Excellent point. Shall I open my eyes?”

It didn’t seem like Justus not to check in on me. I glanced at my phone sitting on the edge of the sink and noticed it was turned off; the last thing I needed was my Ghuardian prowling the streets of Cognito in search of me. “I’ll do it. He probably left a few messages and—”

My knees buckled and in a quick motion, Logan caught me.

“Easy now, I’ve got you.” His voice was brimming with concern. When he shifted his hold, my towel hit the floor, but Logan’s eyes remained closed. “Tell me what’s wrong, Silver.”

I blinked away the dizzy spell. “It’s my energy; I’m still just a little weak and the shower relaxed me too much.” My legs were shaking. “I should go before it gets too late. I need to sleep it off.”

Without warning, Logan lifted me up so high that I locked my legs around his waist. Our chests moved together with each breath and I savored the way his wet hair smelled where it stuck against his shoulder. He made it easy to forget myself, and I didn’t think about the fact we were skin to skin. My weary head rested in the curve of his neck and a steady vibration fluttered in his chest.

“I’m not letting you go anywhere in this condition. You’ll stay here the night and sleep in my bed. I’ll call Justus and let him know.”

In Logan’s arms, I felt protected. His body was still warm and wet from the water and I caved, allowing him to carry me when a sensible person might have pushed away. That’s what my human side was telling me to do, but in the time since I’d become a Mage, there was an awakening. Everything about him was lush, like a decadent wine made from the sweetest berry. He slid his hands around my lower back.

“Can I open my eyes so I don’t fall on my ass carrying you out?”

I agreed, as all he would see was the slope of my back, but when he turned in the direction of the mirror, my shriek lit up the room.

His boisterous laugh was wonderful and I felt it throughout my entire body. “Female, you are naked in my arms, and yet you will blush if I see your body?”

“It would ruin the surprise,” I murmured, smiling against his shoulder.

His mouth grazed against my ear. “I’m patient,” he whispered.

Instead of his bedroom, Logan walked straight through the house and into the kitchen. The cold air licked my skin, causing me to grip tighter for warmth.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m thirsty,” he announced. “That was quite a chase you had me on.” I felt about as silly as a toy poodle in a thoroughbred race as he bent over and opened the fridge. “Do you want milk or juice?”

“I’ll have panties and a T-shirt, please.”

“Sorry. We’re all out.”

Logan tilted his head back and took three long gulps. Meanwhile, my ass was getting frostbite from the chilly air blowing on it from inside the fridge.

“I’m really going to hate you for this in the morning,” I grumbled.

“Feel free to get down and hate me for it now,” he suggested with a smile in his voice. “By all means, don’t let me keep you from anything.”

When he let go, I held on so tight that my muscles began to quiver. “Don’t even think about it.”

Logan chuckled darkly and wrapped his arms around me once more. The fridge door slammed and he lingered in the center of the kitchen.

I sighed hard. “Now what?”

“I have a taste for something,” he said. “I can’t decide if I want to scramble some eggs or cook up that leftover—”

“If you don’t get me back in that bedroom
right now
, Mr. Cross, I’m going to scream at the top of my lungs!”

“If you insist. But please, save your screams for the bedroom. All my fine crystal is tucked away in the cabinets and I wouldn’t want them to… shatter.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Immensely,” he said with a kiss to my shoulder.

“At my expense.”

Logan leaned back to look me in the eyes. “Let go of your inhibitions; not everything leads to sex. There are a thousand ways to be intimate, and I want to experience all of them with you.”

“Thousands? And
how
do you know that?”

He smiled, shaking his head. “I do love your fire. It makes me want to warm myself beside it.”

“I haven’t quite figured out if you’re a gentleman or a fiend.”

What kind of man pulls a woman naked into his arms and makes no advance, keeping his eyes at a respectable distance?

Logan Cross, that’s who.

It was so damn hard to stay mad at him. He drove me right to the edge of a cliff in a fast car and always made it spin around at the last minute. Being with Logan was indescribable; he knew how to push my buttons without crossing any lines. Maybe that’s why I didn’t mind the slow seduction—I was enjoying the chase too much.

“What can I cook for you?”

“You’re serious?” I moaned. “I’m not hungry. Feed me in the morning, but right now I just want to go to bed.”

He carried me down the hall and stood at the entrance to his bedroom. I uncrossed my ankles and dropped to the cold floor as he turned away. The sheets were crisp and smooth as I curled up beneath them.

This was Logan, the minimalist, who didn’t even hang a curtain on his window and his bed was nothing more than a mattress on the floor. The tall windows ran almost floor to ceiling and gave a picturesque view of his side of town. Luckily, there were no apartments across from us, but he faced due east and that meant the sun would be rising with us.

Logan was in the hallway talking to Justus on the phone. He kept his voice low, but the tone was assertive and indicated he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He respected Justus, but Logan was very much a man of his own who rarely held his tongue.

Moonlight shone through the open window and a mystical glow blanketed the dark room. When Logan returned, he was wearing a pair of snug black briefs that made his body look magnificent. He placed a steaming Tupperware bowl on the floor beside me and paced to the window.

“You’re Ghuardian doesn’t like me very much.”

“What would you do if some guy called you up and announced that your little girl was going to spend the night with him?”

He arrowed his gaze at me. “I’d tear out his throat.”

“So find a way to relate to him,” I suggested, eying his briefs. “I see
you
found something to wear.”

Logan reached down and picked up a shirt beside the bed, tossing it on my chest. It smelled like him, and I tried like hell not to take a deep breath when I slipped it over my head.

He fell beside me and slung his right arm over his face. “I apologize for arriving late tonight. Leo called us over to break the news about the bombing. I left the damn phone in the car and didn’t get your messages until I was on my way.”

“What did Leo tell you?”

“That you were safe, because
that
was my first concern. Leo downplayed the casualties, but I could tell by his scent that it was more serious than he made it out to be.”

“It was,” I said in a low voice. “Did he tell you they put liquid fire in the bomb? Everyone injured was covered in it.”

“Death is a better alternative than what some of them will be faced with.”

“Adam was hurt,” I said ruefully. “Justus could have died. I guess we aren’t so indestructible after all.”

Logan rolled on his side and brushed his palm across my forehead.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked. “I can call a Relic if you need me to. Say the word.”

“If something had happened to Justus, the Mageri would have given me a new Ghuardian—and you know how I feel about their decisions. It would have devastated me to lose him.”

He stretched over me and grabbed the plastic bowl, stirring its contents with a small fork. “Open.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t you trust me?”

He was always challenging me with the trust thing. I parted my lips and he held the fork to his mouth, blowing the steam before feeding me in bed. “It’s pasta shells with meat sauce. Do you like it?”

His eyes watched me unblinking, waiting for a response.

“It’s delicious,” I said with a mouthful. “What’s that zest?”

Logan lifted the fork to his mouth and licked the prongs. “My secret recipe.” He gave me another bite. “I enjoy feeding you in my bed,” he said decidedly.

“Not as much as I enjoy eating in it.” I wiggled in the sheets and pulled them up to my neck as he shoveled in another bite.

I could get used to this kind of pampering
, I thought.

“How did the intruders get in?”

“Simon learned that some of the guards were shot with metal arrows,” I replied. “They’re rare stunners acquired on the black market. Because stunners were made long ago, most were fashioned into blades. You can’t melt down the metal or it removes the properties that paralyze a Mage. Arrows make it easier to take down a Mage from afar. Not sure why they didn’t make more of them back then since they seem more practical.”

“Who was the intended target?”

“We think Novis, or the Mageri as a whole. Nero may be pissed that I’m walking free and not in shackles—”

A low growl rumbled in Logan’s chest at the word
shackles
.

“Nero resents the idea that we’re working together and forming bonds, and he despises HALO,” I said. “He thinks they’re sharing too many secrets.