“I know.” He took my hand, vampire voices fading into the distance the more we walked along the second floor. “But,” he eyed me, “you will get to know us. You will have feelings for a vampire—or four—” he laughed, “and youwillbe into my cousins and me.” He stopped at a room with a knotty-pine door, reached over, grasped the handle, and flung it open. “The question is are my cousins and I going to end up killing each other out of jealousy over you or not?”
“You’re insane,” I said walking past him.
“I just know how we all feel—the devotion, the passion, and now, the desire to have you that only gets stronger when we’re with you—none of us have ever felt such intensity. And,” he smirked that damn sexy smile at me, “to know you’re going to match that intensity one day…I have no idea how we’re going to do this.”
I was silenced when I looked over at the king-sized bed. The room was massive. Rock walls, knotty pine accents, antler lighting, with the stunning addition of a secluded balcony that gave stunning views from the lodge we were in. I licked my dry lips, I never thought such rustic décor could be so breathtakingly beautiful. Either the room was a super relaxing environment or Logan was using his vampire mind calming techniques on me; regardless, I felt all my stress leave, and it was replaced with the comfort of this cozy, yet enchanting room.
Chapter Twelve
Ifollowed Logan out to the balcony where he sat and stretched out on a custom wood lounge chair. He looked out at the thick forest beyond the edge of the lawn that the balcony overlooked.
“Have a seat, and take in your new glorious view,” he nodded toward the chair next to his.
I did and tucked my legs up underneath me. I leaned into the comfortable cushions on the bench I sat on and ran my hands along the polished log furniture.
“Where did you guys get such neat furniture?” I asked, studying the craftsmanship that went into this patio set. “I mean, seriously, that is the biggest four-poster bed I’ve ever seen.”
Logan brought his hands behind his head, “Braden. He’s always been crafty like that.”
A soft meow brought my attention to the gray tabby cat who meandered out to the porch and jumped into my lap.
“Looks like Braden might have some competition,” Logan said, his eyes closed as he basked in the sunshine that peered onto the balcony.
I stroked my fingers through the cat’s silky fur, “I forgot about you,” I said. “What’s her name again?”
“His,” Logan opened an eye, looking over at me, “Hisname is Boots. Braden rescued him from an alley somewhere. That cat doesn’t like anyone but him.” Logan smiled and watched Boots curl up into a ball on my lap, “And you, apparently.”
“Well, from what I can tell about you guys, I can understand why a cat would like Braden.”
Logan sighed, re-centered his head and closed his eyes, “Oh? So she’s trying tofigureus out?”
“It seems easy enough to know you’re pretty arrogant, Cole seems to be serious about everything, Zac is protective, and Braden is kind and friendly and seems to be the most empathetic. He—”
“Little do you know, Ellie-doll,” he threw out that name like he’d known me for years, “Braden is probably the most dangerous out of all of us. The fact that you believe he’s a softy…” he squinted and smiled at me. “How ‘bout this, rule number one, don’t underestimate a vampire, especially him.”
“So what do you think about what’s going on with my mom and me? Do you think one of the vampire king’s minions did this?”
His face got serious, “He’s not a king. He’s a fucking demon—a true monster.”
“Sorry,” I shivered in response to the lethal tone Logan had used. “Don’t forget I just learned all about this crazy shit last night.”
He shook his head, “I get it.” He leaned up and rested his elbow on his legs, “We can’t take any chances with you, Elle. We won’t know until our scouts and the guys have cleared it all; although, unless you know a millionaire who all of a sudden gives a shit about you and your mom, I’m not very optimistic.” He looked over at me, eyes so blue that I was instantly lost in them, “We weren’t lying when we said we belonged to you—bonded, somehow, by who you are. We are devoted to you with our lives. Collectors will come for you one day—maybe today, maybe not. Could be tomorrow, three months from now, years from now, we don’t know. Know this though, up here? In this house…you’re safe.” He finished with a reassuring smile.
I watched him staring into the trees, seeing something more than just the majestic evergreens in front of us. “Okay. Safe here, but when do you think I can go home?”
He tightened his lips, “When we know it’s safe.” He arched an eyebrow and looked over at me, “I know this sucks for you, and trust me, none of us want to make you feel like we’re smothering you. Whoever did this put you in a position to where youhaveto live with us. Either live with us, or be taken. Simple as that.”
He was right. The fact that I was more worried about wanting to go home than I was about being hunted down by vampires seemed a bit ridiculous. It was evident that being near any one of them was the safest place for me.
I continued to stroke Boots’ fur and closed my eyes, “Braden said you were born…or thatvampireswere created by some gene to give them immortality. I don’t understand that. I thought you had to be bitten to turn into a vampire.”
Logan looked amused by my question.
“Humans have their ideas about vampires. They’re close on a lot of things sometimes, but they never got that part right.”
“Fill me in, then,” I said confidently.
“My cousins and I were born into a coven in the early 1800s,” he looked at me, most likely to see if I was following him.
