Logan hummed and rolled over on the grass. “Nope. Kind of neat my body took all the power of the first orgasm to heal. I’ve never needed that much before.”
“How much did it heal you?”
She squirmed, testing the range of her muscles before wincing and settling back down. “Not enough.”
I touched her just because I could, threading my fingers into her hair, delighted at the spark of energy against my skin. “Can I carry you back inside? We should get the torque in with the other artifacts before you melt it right off your neck.”
She traced over the gold. “I guess itisgetting a little toasty.”
I scooped her up, guilt twisting a metaphorical knife in my chest when her face pinched. We crossed the grass together and I settled her back into the wheelchair, pulling on my discarded clothing before picking out the bits of plant life clinging to her hair.
People cast curious glances our way, but I didn’t stop to talk to anyone, heading straight to the elevators and down to the basement. Once I had gotten her settled in her nest, she passed me the torque and I slipped it back inside the warding. The magic it fueled shimmered.
“Do you ever feel like being afraid of the predators crosses wires in your brain it probably shouldn’t?”
“What do you mean?” I kneeled outside her tent, climbing inside when she beckoned me.
“My wires are crossed. Most of the time, being afraid turns me on. Doesn’t matter if it’s a horror movie, the panthers stalking me for fun, or running for our lives from a monster. I just wondered if you were the same.”
I stretched out, wrapping my arm around Logan when she cuddled up by my side. “Not quite. The power of predators does do something for me, but I definitely wasn’t thinking about anything else when Yelena was trying to eat me. It could haveinfluenced my idiotic crush on her, though. She’s the one that scares me the most and I hate that she’s so fucking hotandthat she knows it.”
Logan giggled, the sound cut off a moment later with a pained groan. “I was hoping laughing wouldn’t hurt anymore.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s o?—”
“It’snot. You don’t need to placate me. I know what I did.”
She fell silent, toying with the fabric of my shirt. When she arrived here, I hadn’t dared hope to get this close to her. Her sweet scent had haunted me from the moment she walked through our doors, and now I was in her nest. It smelled mostly like her, but the presence of the others was unmistakable.
“I feel like a teenager, wanting to ask ‘what are we?’”
“What do you want us to be?” she countered.
Everything. “I don’t know. If it were just you, I would have an answer, but you’re kind of a package deal. Seth likes me well enough, I think. The others are a different story. Neutral is the best I can hope for there.”
“I think we can hope for a little better than that. You know full wellIdidn’t like you when I arrived here, and Seth was the same. Granted, Yelena, Haru, and Velda have had a lot more time to change their opinions and haven’t, but Caden could turn in your favor. I’m still confident the others could too.”
“I don’t want my presence to ruin things for them. Yelena is your bondmate, and we put down the building blocks for peace, but it’s not instant.”
“Relationships with the others are up to you. I can only offer myself.”
“I would think it’s obvious to anyone that I want you. I won’t fight them, though. If I piss off Yelena, you’re going to feel it. Even without a bond, there’s too much at stake. I know everyone thinks I’m a selfish asshole, and maybe in some ways I am,but I’m not so selfish that I can ignore the consequences of me getting involved with you.”
The door creaked open and Seth trotted in, little tail swishing behind him.Hey, roomie. He climbed onto my chest and settled into a loaf since Logan was sideways next to me.
The witch kissed all over his forehead, his purr vibrating right through me. “Hello there.”
Smells like you had fun.
Logan squirmed. “Not quite as much as I would’ve liked.”
“Rude,” I said with a laugh.
“I meant getting to fuck you. You didn’t get off.”
Seth stretched, ass in the air, paws in front of him, claws kneading my skin.Want me to change back and fix that?
