by Dannika Dark
Tarek stumbled over his lies and the moment he realized it, he backed down.
One of the elders thoughtfully stroked his chin and addressed Tarek. “You’re admission is enough; there’s no need to recant as we can scent the truth in your words. Your legal rights to court this Mage as a kindred spirit are severed. If that is all—”
“One more thing,” Logan said, circling around to face me.
He pulled me against him and my face pressed against his firm chest. Confused, I was trying to push away when suddenly Logan’s unique and robust scent filled my head and swarmed through my body like an intimate act. It was heady and intoxicating—different from any other time I’d experienced it. The power was concentrated, and the effect was immediate.
“Logan, what are you doing?”
The crowd murmured and slanted eyes placed their judgment upon us.
He lowered his head and spoke softly against my forehead. “What I should have done a long time ago.” His eyes blazed when he looked up to the elders and declared, “I am claiming this female for the right to courtship. No other male will court her without a challenge, or unless she makes a decision.”
“Logan, you already did this with me.”
“Not officially,” he said softly.
Logan spoke loud enough that everyone heard him, but soft enough that his words were mine. “I’m Logan Cross of the Cross family, and I claim you, Silver, in front of my elders and these witnesses. I will prove myself a worthy male and avow to honor your good name and protect you with my life. I do this, Little Raven, not because I’m possessed by you, but there is something that I’ve kept from you for a long time.”
Still in his arms, I lifted my head to look in his eyes when his smile faded.
“What I’ve concealed from you has lit a fire in me and at the same time, it rips me apart. From the moment I set eyes on you, I knew you were mine. Ask me why.”
I shook my head.
“Ask me,” he insisted, tilting his head to the side.
“Why?” I whispered.
Logan dropped to his knee and in a silly moment, I thought he was going to propose. In front of an audience, he rolled up my shirt with his fingers and nuzzled his warm cheek against my stomach, spreading his large hands around my hips. Soft kisses pressed against my stomach before he lifted his eyes and drew me into his gaze.
“Because you are my kindred spirit, Mage. I have waited a lifetime to set eyes on you and the connection I feel is undeniable. There’s more to it than chemistry because over time you’ve opened yourself up and allowed me to see that I’m a fortunate man. I was asleep—dreamwalking through my own life until I met you. My heart has reawakened.”
“You said yourself that it can only be with a Chitah. Don’t mess with my head, Logan.”
My legs felt like jelly and my blood didn’t bother to ask for directions on how to get to my hands. I barely heard the shocked voices around us because Logan became the center of my universe. I gripped the short mane of hair tied behind his neck and felt the resonant purr thrumming from his chest. How do you quell passion when it rages like a fire? I wanted to sink into his lap and kiss him for hours, but part of that may have been the drugging effect his scent had on me.
“Well, doesn’t that just warm the cockles of my heart,” Tarek chided. “Elders, that scrappy female he clings to is a Mage. Cross cannot find a life mate in her as a kindred, for she is not a Chitah,” he said with emphasis.
“That did not seem to stop you from claiming her, Tarek,” the bearded man pointed out.
Logan rose to his feet and faced the elders. “You know there is no denying your intended, and for whatever reason, she has been brought to me in this form. I can’t explain it, nor can I disregard it. I’m humbly asking for your acknowledgement of this courtship.”
“This is a most unusual turn of events,” Seth muttered.
Eyes washed over us with disgust. The women looked like they wanted to drag me down a hill and beat me with dead skunks. In their eyes, I was stealing one of their own. A Mage couldn’t have children and this only added insult to injury among a Breed who thrived on continuing their line with large families.
“For your sake, young Chitah, I hope that this is not trickery. Kindred spirits only exist among the Chitah race.” There was a pause as the elders looked between one another. “We will allow the tradition of the kindred courtship under the condition that we speak with you privately at a later time. Otherwise, a mating between a Chitah and Mage will not be acknowledged by our laws, so don’t get any ideas in your head.”
Logan nodded. “Agreed. May I request a favor? That Tarek and his companions are detained until we’re off the property. I don’t trust that he won’t attempt to retaliate, and I want to get this female home safely to her Ghuardian.”
Several men stepped out of the crowd and surrounded Tarek, escorting him to the other side of the property as the elders turned away. The crowd dispersed and a gust of wind blew from the north, sending a few leaves tumbling down the street.
Still reeling in shock, I shoved Logan in the chest. “How could you do that to me? This isn’t a game where you can toy with my emotions in order to get back at your enemy.”
I couldn’t contain the tears that burned my eyes and clung to my lashes. I covered my face with my trembling hands, lost to the possibility that Logan had manipulated a situation so that he could get what he wanted. Lost to…
He closed the distance between us and lowered my hands. Logan cupped my cheeks and gently wiped away my tears with his thumbs.
No words. No argument. Logan melted a kiss against my lips that burned like fire. My lashes were wet with a maelstrom of emotions, but I couldn’t fight the intensity that built with every seductive stroke of his tongue. So deep and penetrating that tingles roared through my body and I gripped his arms, feeling the rope of muscle.
His hands remembered me, moving down the slope of my shoulders.
The kiss abruptly ended. Logan Cross looked down at me with a crushing gaze and held me hard—the way a man does when they never intend to let you go, whether you wanted them to or not.
“I’m still mad at you,” I said in an unconvincing voice.
“Fire should never be tempered in a female because that’s what fuels her passion, causing it to ignite.” He lifted my chin with his hand and stroked his thumb gently across my lips. “All a male can hope for is to be consumed by it until there is nothing left of him.”
Chapter 22
We left Novis’s mansion on a sunny Thursday morning for the official move. My mood was glum. Despite its medieval embrace, our house had grown on me. I was going to miss leaping out of bed on the balls of my feet because the stone floor felt like a sheet of ice. I’d miss the crackling fire in the great room where I spent most of my time reading on the fur rug, and the amplified sounds of Justus’s sticky feet treading up the stairs after his workout, or the hiss of a candle as the flame bickered with the wax.
The Aston Martin veered off the main highway, coasting up a long country road paved with dirt.
“You should move into the city,” I suggested. “It would be a nice change to be near civilization and walk to the market.”
“Too dangerous,” he replied.
Justus seemed uncomfortable at times with modern society and I wondered if it had to do with him being an older immortal stuck in his ways.
I glared at the garage that looked more like an airplane hangar. Justus lifted the latch of the middle compartment and locked away his aviators.
“This is your idea of security?” I sighed inwardly at the idea of living in an open garage.
When the garage door lifted, so did my skepticism. Justus had been shopping and two glamorous cars were on display. One was a black Porsche, but I didn’t recognize the model of the second vehicle. The ornament was a leaping cat of some kind, but I didn’t know my cars well enough to tell. It looked a little plain, but I had a feeling the price tag was anything but.
We stepped out of the car and slammed the doors.
“Maybe that’s not such a good idea,” I said, watching the garage door close. “What if I have to escape and I end up caught in one of your bear traps? I like to take walks, you know.”
“No sneaking out, and until we get this situation contained—no walks.”
He opened a panel in the wall and scanned his thumb. I didn’t even see the lines because they were cleverly hidden within a large rack of tools. The wall slid to the side and I stared into a metal elevator.
“You have a thing for subterranean homes, don’t you? I hope the electricity runs all the way into the house or I brought my hairdryer for nothing,” I grumbled.
We stepped inside and the door closed.
“What’s that?” I asked, pointing at a flat panel on the wall.
When the elevator stopped, Justus placed his thumb against it and the door opened. It seemed excessive, but I was already beginning to feel safer knowing that a couple of thugs wouldn’t be able to kick in the door.
“You need to be in the system to get in, but you won’t have to go through the same security measures when leaving the house. It would defeat the purpose of a quick escape.”
I peered into a dark hallway lit with a caged bulb. After a few paces, we hit a dead end and I hugged my arms.
Justus bent over and stuck his face in front of a retinal scanner. “We’ll get you recorded into the system later,” he mumbled as a lock released behind the metal door.
It was another narrow hallway and I gripped his arm apprehensively. “I take it there are no windows down here. You’re going to make me the palest Mage in the history books.”
“I can arrange for a tanning bed,” he said, as if a snap of the fingers would make it so.
“No thanks,” I sighed. “I’ll just remain vitamin-D deficient for all eternity.”
The last door had a fingerprint and retinal scanner.
“Hope you don’t ever get pinkeye,” I said, watching the door open. “Holy shit!” I gasped.
“Home sweet home.” Justus looked inside the house indifferently and then back at me.
We’d officially graduated from the Stone Age. The old world vibe of our previous home had grown on me, but this one was sleek and modern. Immediately, goose bumps paraded all over my arms with victory flags waving. I could hardly contain my excitement as I stepped inside.
Beautiful wood flooring ran throughout. On the left was a dining room void of any unnatural light. The walls held flameless sconces, the table was hammered wood, and the room was warm and cozy. But the one item that stood out was the painting that had once hung in our dining room. It was an image of a beautiful maiden in a stream reaching for a man. He held the sun in his right hand and reached for her with his left, but their hands never touched. Almost everything looked unfamiliar, but there were just a few items that Justus had picked up from the old house.
The kitchen was a few steps to the right.
“Stainless steel!” I said excitedly.
Justus laughed. “Coming from a woman who doesn’t like to cook.”
The room lacked oven mitts and spice racks, and I had a feeling that it had never been used. Justus preferred to order out or make sandwiches, but lately I’d been making more of an effort to enjoy cooking. In the beginning, I’d refused to cook for Justus, but that’s when I thought he was a prick. Now there was a certain pleasure gained when he savored something I made—even if it was something as simple as spaghetti and meatballs. Justus loved eating meat and most of the things I knew how to cook didn’t involve a rack of ribs or five pounds of brisket.
Just past the kitchen was a small lounge—not much to see except some bookshelves and chairs. Straight ahead was the living room.
“This is unbelievable,” I muttered.
It was bright and lavishly decorated with a faux fireplace that generated heat. My jaw dropped at the massive television mounted on the wall—something we never had at the old house. A charcoal-colored shag rug covered the center of the room between the matching sofas. If his previous leather sofa matched the price of a car, I could only imagine the cost of the new living room set. All it needed was wheels.
The decor had a very masculine vibe with black leather chairs and a few curvy ones that looked European.
“I can’t believe we have power,” I said, stroking the tall lamp.
“Is that a pun, Learner?” He barked out a laugh and scratched the back of his head.
“What is that?” I asked in one extended breath.
To the left was a wall of flat screen monitors with no space between them. They were bordered by curtains, neatly roped and tied.
“Watch this,” he said.
A tiny remote beeped in his hand and the monitors popped on. After a few selections on the keypad, the scenic images began to change, giving the monitors the illusion of a giant window. Bright images filled the room: A sunset, mountains, snow falling, and a view of the ocean. They were moving and so crisp that it brought nature inside to us. He stopped on the fish tank and set the remote down.
“How much did all of this cost?” I couldn’t process the totals in my head.
“Money is of no concern.” He waved off the question, throwing his heavy weight into a swivel chair. “I’m paid well for my services and have a rather large piggy bank.”
“You have one obese pig,” I murmured.
“Justus kicked off his shoes and stretched out his thick legs. “They’re for surveillance. The security guy offered a few suggestions about screensavers and I thought you might enjoy them.”
“This is not my life,” I said in disbelief.
My eyes ate up every square inch of that place in awe as I wandered into a hallway with a mirror at the end. Justus dragged his feet across the floor and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Follow me. This is just a hallway with a big mirror.”
I snorted and cupped my elbows and we walked to the other side of the living room. There were only two doors in the short hall.
“This is the guest bedroom. Our quarters are below,” he said.
“I thought we were below.”
When he flipped on the bathroom light and stepped into the shower, I laughed.
“Shut the door and lock it.”
I turned around and did ask he asked. “Now what?”
“Turn on the water,” he said with his arms folded.
“If this is how you seduce women, let me start by telling you that your technique is all wrong. For one, you have way too many clothes on.”
He leaned forward with a heavy sigh and tugged at the hot-water handle, tensing the muscle of his bicep. His tribal tattoo wrapped around it, climbing up to his shoulder.
Suddenly, the floor began moving. I might have lost my balance, but the descent was slow and smooth.
“It only activates when the bathroom door is closed and locked,” he stressed. “The spare key to the bathroom is inside of the blue vase in the hall. This was a customized security feature installed by Simon years ago.”
“No kidding,” I murmured.
“The plumbing system is fully functional. The edges are seamless in the floor and watertight. Directly below the floor, Simon installed thin crevices to direct the water down a channel behind the walls that leads to one of our pipes. Otherwise, it would splatter on the floor below and call attention to the fact this lower level exists.”
“So when we have visitors, they’re going to have to take a shower with the door open? Was that Simon’s idea,
or yours?”
He arrowed his eyes at me and I grinned.
We stepped off the lift and it sailed into the ceiling with the help of a long metal cylinder beneath it. Justus ran his foot over a black button on the floor the size of an orange. “Just step on this when you want the lift to come down.”
The room was similar to our old training facility. A thin mat covered the floor and the weapons were mounted on the walls.
“I hope there’s a bathroom down here because if I have to go through a bunch of secret doors and lifts to pee, it’s going to be a tight race to the finish line.”
We crossed the room and I opened the only door visible. It was a hallway similar to the one upstairs with the mirror at the end and wood flooring. Beautiful round lamps with delicate etchings lined the walls between four doors. The first room was the bathroom and the library or office was across from it. I recognized some of the books, but it lacked a fireplace and a desk filled up space by the far wall.
The last door on the right contained a modern bed with a wide mattress, dark wood siding, and a low headboard. Hurricane lamps sat on a few tables and sconces lined the walls.
“That better be your room,” I said, glaring at the candles.
He walked behind me and opened the opposite door. “I think you’ll find these accommodations more suitable.”
When the door swung open, my breath caught. It looked like someone had painted a forest on the walls with soft colors. Track lighting gave the room dimension and a visual illusion of realism. Justus had even taken the time to buy plants, although I couldn’t tell if they were real or fake. It was twice the size of his room.
Then there was the bed on our right. He didn’t bring Goliath—my old bed. It was too big and I hated sleeping in it. Instead, a beautiful gold-and-green blanket was draped over a smaller bed that was the perfect size. An impressive rock wall climbed up to the ceiling behind the headboard. In the corner to the right—out of place—was my red chaise. My days of sleeping on that thing were over, I quietly decided.
Justus watched with uncertainty, scratching his bristly jaw. I wanted to reach out and hug him with the gratitude I felt, but he sensed it and stepped back with a handsome smile.