by Dannika Dark
Logan sat back in his chair and folded his arms. When his jaw clenched, hardening the bones in his face, I realized that dessert was going to be the can of worms I just opened. The Gathering was a long-standing tradition among Chitah. Every three years, they assembled in search of their kindred spirits. They believed that each man had one Chitah soul mate. They could live a lifetime and never find her.
Many years ago, Logan married a woman who was murdered by a Mage. While she wasn’t his soul mate, he’d settled for love. He told me that most Chitah men didn’t mate until they found their kindred. A man would readily leave his family for her. Logan claimed the magnetic pull could not be ignored and no force could sever that feeling—even if she chose another man. I raised the topic because I wanted reassurance. How could I get involved with a man who would drop me like a napkin if destiny walked by in a pair of stilettos? If his kindred spirit existed, then I needed to know which of us he would choose.
“Where are you going with this, Silver?”
I set my napkin on the table. It had a faint lipstick smear and I frowned. “I think you should go.” He glowered at me and I leaned forward and spoke in a private voice. “Don’t look at me that way. If your kindred spirit is out there, then I’d rather you meet her now instead of hiding like a coward.”
“Would you be pleased if I found another?”
No, I wouldn’t. I would want to snatch her by the hair and swing her around until…
“If you believe there is a woman you would pursue until the end of time, then you have to go. It wouldn’t be fair to anyone you settled with, don’t you think?”
“This is not a winnable argument,” he said, shaking his head and pulling the collar of his jacket away from his neck. While he looked dashing in a suit, he also looked uncomfortable. “There’s no reason for me to go when I’ve already stated my intent to court you.”
“What if I said I won’t see you anymore unless you go?”
His eyes skidded to mine. “Then I would go.”
“Settled. I’m not trying to push you away. I’m protective of my feelings and if this is important among your kind, then be fair with me, Logan Cross. I don’t want to get serious with someone who’ll discard me the second he lays eyes on his soul mate. Maybe I’ll have peace knowing she hasn’t been born, or that this is nothing more than the power of suggestion and tradition. You’ll have a few drinks and… well, I don’t know what the hell goes on at those things. Karaoke?”
Logan burst out laughing and a few heads turned in our direction. “I’ll go if this pleases you, Silver. But only on the condition that you accompany me and stay away from any microphones.” He pushed an empty plate to the side.
“I thought it was exclusive?”
“They make exceptions if you’re partnered with someone.”
“Who would go with their partner? Talk about three’s a—”
“Chicken?” Logan leaned back in his chair with a confident gaze and a broad smile stretched across his face.
“Throw down the gauntlet, Mr. Cross. You and I have a Gathering to attend.”
Chapter 2
The car took an unexpected turn off the highway on our drive home. Darkness spun around us when we exited the city, and I watched Logan apprehensively.
“Where are we going? You aren’t taking me to your secret cave, are you? Because that’s not how I roll. The dinner was expensive, but if you have some kind of expectation of payment due—”
“I would never be so crass,” he said, cutting me off.
Logan had a commanding voice, but there were times when it was a seductive purr. I found each of them to be equally attractive.
Lately, cheesecake had become my new obsession and once he found out through idle table conversation, we weren’t leaving the restaurant without it. The box rested on my lap and I drew in a deep breath, releasing a moan with my sigh.
“Are you going to keep staring at that box? Have a bite.”
“It can wait,” I mumbled.
In a quick motion, he flipped the lid open and pulled off a wedge, shoving it into his mouth.
“Hey! You’re ruining it!”
“Then have a bite,” he said with a mouthful, giving me a sideways glance. “It’s delectable… like a certain Mage I know.”
While he was still chewing on his slice, I pulled his smudgy fingers to my lips. In retrospect, I’m not sure how clever that idea really was. I took his fingertips into my mouth and sucked off the chocolate cream, my teeth scraping against his skin. Logan drew in a hard breath, and the engine roared as we picked up speed.
“Silver… stop,” he panted. His eyes hooded with a possessive gaze.
“You were right, Logan. It’s delicious.” In one long stroke, I licked his thumb from base to tip.
His voice deepened. “If you keep touching me like that, I’m going to touch you back.” Darkness swirled in his eyes before switching back to amber.
The car made an unsteady jerk and I freed his hand. On second thought, I’d rather make it to our destination alive than wind up tangled in the windshield because I got overzealous from a few glasses of wine.
Despite his amorous words, Logan was a gentleman. His customs were foreign, but I was learning to appreciate how Chitahs revered women. It wasn’t easy for them to have a daughter and as a result, they were very protective of their sisters, respectful to their mothers, and honor bound to their wives—or mates, as they called them.
Logan’s silver car eased off the road in the middle of nowhere. He opened the door, took my hand, and quietly led me to a dark meadow.
An oversized blanket smothered the grass in an open area. Wine, glasses, and a small basket lay at our feet while the universe covered our heads.
“What’s this all about?”
“Sit,” he requested, extending his arm.
Logan dropped to one knee, set down the box of cheesecake, and opened the wine. He filled our glasses and lit several large candles. When he removed his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, I noticed his muscles. They were amazingly proportioned and solid. Not big at all, but athletic. He stretched across the blanket on his left elbow, casually bending his right knee.
“Did you just see that?” I asked, pointing at a white streak that flashed across the sky.
A smile softened his eyes and a memory rushed back. When Logan protected me from Nero’s guards, I had to talk him out of his primal condition. While I’d forgotten about my ramblings of meteor showers, Logan had not. Evidently, he marked his calendar for the next big show and orchestrated this entire evening. It was something I’d never experienced, and he was giving it to me on a silver platter.
I set my glass on a flat tray and placed my hand on his chest. “Are you trying to give me the stars?”
Logan’s chin lifted imperceptibly and he began to purr. That natural ability was a mystery, but it had to do with how the blood flowed through his chest and larynx. I felt it strongly around his neck and it rumbled in his chest. When that wonderful sound poured out of him, I wanted to curl against his body. He captured a lock of my hair between his fingers while keeping a steady gaze on me.
“This whole night is magnificent, Logan. Better than rollerblades.” I laughed.
Lying on my back, I thought about my place in the universe as tiny specks of dust infiltrated the atmosphere in a glorious flash of light. It used to make me feel small and insignificant knowing that I would burn out like one of those stars one day. Becoming an immortal changed the way I saw the world… and myself. There was time. Time to change, time to grow—time to make a difference.
We talked for hours, drinking in the wine and each other.
“Finn will be moving soon,” he said.
“Moving?”
“We’re a tight family and Little Wolf needs to bond with each of us. We agreed to rotate him.”
My brows arched. “Rotate him? He’s not a tire.”
“No, he’s a young Shifter who hasn’t been sociali
zed, and nobody will hire him if they run a background check. He’s not ready to go out into the world on his own.”
I agreed. If something happened to Finn because we pushed him out too fast, I’d never be able to live with myself.
“His wolf may never trust us—that’s a given—but Finn must learn to. I’ve taken an oath to look out for him, and I keep good on my word. He’ll take something from each of us and become a better man,” Logan said, taking a sip of wine.
I smiled and brushed a strand of hair from my face that the wind kept playing with. “What’s he taking from you?”
“My furniture.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Tooth by tooth. I’m just glad that I never bought drapes.”
A few more flashes of light silently skated across the inky sky above.
“Logan, why did you decide to court me? Am I just a curiosity to you because you’ve never dated a Mage?” When I stopped picking at a stray thread on the blanket, I glanced up and saw the disappointment on his face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be a buzzkill. I’ve had too much to drink and that idiot at our table got me thinking.”
Logan turned over and propped his head in his hand. “Does it matter to you that we’re different?”
“I guess I’m just—”
“Looking for reasons out.”
“That’s not fair. Don’t finish my sentences for me.”
“I apologize. The way men have treated you makes my fangs ache. I’m smitten with you, Silver. Indulge me in my pursuit.”
I fell into his rapturous gaze, wondering where this would lead. Too much wine provoked too many questions.
My teeth chattered.
“Let me warm you,” he murmured.
Logan crawled over me, propped up on his elbows. He rested his head on my stomach and the weight of his body warmed my legs instantly. I was dizzy from the intimacy.
When a sharp sting pierced my thigh, I shouted and sat halfway up.
“I think something bit me,” I complained, rubbing my leg.
“Let me take a look.” Logan slid my dress up on the left side and traced his hand up my long legs. He pinched two fingers together and held them up, examining closely. “It’s just an ant.”
I glared at the large insect resembling a fire ant that he held between his fingers, but it was hard to tell in the dim light. “Well, tell him that I don’t like being nibbled on.”
He quirked a brow and flicked his fingers. “Is that so?” Logan purred.
The intensity of his stare and the proximity of his body to mine sent butterflies swarming through my stomach. Logan’s energy was strong for a Chitah when his emotions ran high. Justus said I was becoming more in tune with Breed energy and it was part of my development as a Mage. Logan never had to tell me how he felt; I could feel it in his touch, taste it in his kiss, and smell it on his skin.
He leaned down and I tensed when his tongue—rough and smooth all at once—ran over the insect bite. The itching immediately numbed and I shuddered. Logan Cross may have considered his healing ability to be no big deal, but I didn’t think I’d ever get used to that man’s tongue being on me.
With a lift of his head, he drew in a deep breath and sensed my altered mood. He crawled up the length of my body and lowered himself on top of me.
“Tell me where else you’ve been bitten,” he said playfully.
The heat of his kiss against my cold lips roared a fire to life. I circled my fingers around a soft patch of skin behind his neck, clawing lightly. The heavy taste of wine lingered on his tongue—stroking against mine—and he groaned. I felt nothing except Logan and the earth.
He broke the kiss and turned his head to the side, every breath a testament to his control.
“Logan?”
A veil of loose hair obscured his face. I cupped his chin with my hand and lifted his gaze to my attention. That’s the moment I felt his heart galloping against my chest.
“Don’t start something you can’t finish.”
“A fire?” he asked. “One that I won’t be able to put out.” His eyes dragged down to my lips. “Do you know what it does to me to look at your mouth when it’s swollen with my kiss? Light glitters in your eyes, and the smell of your skin is a drug to me.” His hand traced down my jaw. “Strong features and soft to the touch—I want to feel every inch of your body. When there’s a flash of silver in your eyes, it’s because I put it there. Your body is a furnace, Silver. One I’ll lose control with if I play with matches.”
I let go of his hair and rubbed my eyes. Logan had customs that were supposed to make him feel like more of a man, but it made me feel undesirable. When he spoke that way, I melted completely, so it was confusing when he resisted too much physical contact beyond a kiss.
“I need another glass of—”
Logan suddenly unleashed his desire like an avalanche. I was buried in it. Consumed by it as he kissed my neck.
I wiggled beneath him, trying to push him away, but all it did was create friction between our bodies.
“Keep doing that,” he whispered hoarsely, settling his weight on me.
His lips grazed my neck and when his tongue flicked against my earlobe, Logan found the match that set my furnace on fire. I began to unfasten the buttons on his shirt. He stared at me with vehement desire as shifting patterns of color moved across his chest beneath my fingertips.
Logan wouldn’t touch me. His mouth sucked hungrily on my neck and the blanket twisted within his clenched fists.
“Touch me, Logan. I want your hands on my body.” My fingers slid inside of his shirt, craving the feel of his skin.
His hand caressed my arm and that one simple gesture was so electric that I could have set the grass on fire. There’s something so wonderful about the casual movement of a man’s hand across your body, moving his way down to your leg in search of bare skin.
Logan watched me intensely with magnetic eyes, observing my reaction to his touch. He tugged the dress higher until his fingers splayed across my hip, looking for the edge of my panties.
Except that I wasn’t wearing any.
Stark confusion crossed his face and his fingers bit into my skin. Because the dress showed panty lines, I had gone without. Why not let him think that I did it just for him? Something about that made it sexy.
He licked his lips.
“Why, Mr. Cross… you’re blushing.”
A soft breeze chilled my skin, an owl hooted, a flash of light dashed across the sky, and Logan penetrated my soul with a kiss so deep and reverent that the light within me surged. He shifted his hips and I moaned. He knew exactly how to use his tongue and each time it stroked against mine, I gripped the blanket to resist the urge to join hands with him. It was a Mage thing, and while I’d only experienced a little of the act of binding, my body knew exactly what it wanted to do. In that single kiss, I discovered exactly what kind of lover Logan was.
Insatiable.
My sexual energy had no place to go, not without injuring him. With another Mage, this wouldn’t be an issue, but I could hurt Logan with the energy that raced through my fingertips. His lips came away and he drew in a breath.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Your scent changed.”
“I can’t touch you. That’s what’s wrong. I’m starting to feel like a live wire.”
“Show me.”
“No!” I protested, struggling to sit up.
“Then how do you know for sure what will happen?”
“I’m not hurting you to prove a—”
Logan pried open my fingers and placed his palm over mine. The second he did, a surge of energy knocked him on his back, several feet away in the tall grass.
“Logan!” I flipped onto my knees and crawled, wide-eyed, knocking over a glass of wine. He rolled onto his side, looking like a truck had hit him.
Or a burst of sex lightning.
“Why did you do that? Are you okay?” I brushed the hair that pulled free from his band away from his face. “Didn’t your mother tea
ch you not to stick your finger in a light socket?” I laughed, relieved to see that he was conscious.
He sighed and rubbed his face. “That’s going to be a problem.”
“Well, look on the bright side,” I said, falling beside him in the grass. “You won’t ever have to worry about buying jumper cables.”
Chapter 3
“I don’t understand why you insisted on coming, love,” Simon grumbled as he skipped up the steps to Samil’s enormous house.
I held my arms as we passed the two fierce statues of lions before the front door. “I may not hold a position within the Mageri, but as long as Nero’s case remains open, then I’m going to be a part of it.”
The truth was, even if they closed the case, I would still be involved.
My Creator had legal rights to me before he died, but that didn’t justify the Mageri’s decision to hand me over to him like property. That’s why I related to Finn. Breed laws weren’t established to protect the people, only to uphold outdated customs. Seven days in that basement beaten, by a man who should have mentored me, had damaged my trust in the law. I never had nightmares about Samil because he was dead and gone. It was Nero that crept into my mind in the middle of the night. He was alive and doing God knows what with innocent lives.
Simon’s shoes tapped with contempt against the polished floor and he wiped the mud from his heel, leaving a brown streak on the marble.
“I don’t suspect we’ll find anything new,” he said. “I just like to be thorough.”
“If Samil had knowledge of anything that allowed him to create a stronger progeny, then maybe there’s something here,” I said. “A name, a diary, an instruction manual—hell, I don’t know. If there is, I don’t want Nero to find it.”
“The Council put this house on watch from day one; ask me what I had to do in order to get us permission to enter.”
“Don’t be dramatic, Simon.”
He spun on his right heel and lifted a brow.
“So how was Hannah in bed?” I snorted. Hannah was one of the Council members with the sharpest tongue and hairpins to match—so not Simon’s type.
