Logan squinted, and took a few seconds to answer. “Not sure, but probably a few thousand at the most. They were hunted almost to extinction a few centuries back.”
“You didn’t...”
He shook his head. “No, we never hunted them. Deer, rabbits, wild hogs, and fowl. We kept sheep and cattle too.”
A faint neigh sounded from ahead and to the left, and I widened my eyes. “Ooh.”
“Told you we’d see more of them.”
There were a few more vehicles in the parking lot, but I was too busy babbling about the unicorns to pay much attention to them. “I had no idea they came in so many colors. And did you see the two babies? They were so cute, with their itty bitty horns.”
“I did, and yes, they were.” Logan hadn’t pushed to keep going once we had reached the unicorns. We’d spent the past two hours at that viewing area, and I’d only agreed to leave because my stomach had begun growling. It didn’t seem as though we’d walked much, but my legs were beginning to ache a bit too.
“There was a purple one. Did you see it?”
“I did.” He was smiling, watching my face, and I could feel waves of pure contentment emanating from him.
Good to know I wasn’t boring or aggravating him, because I couldn’t make myself shut up about the unicorns. I wasn’t even sure why they had captured my fancy so completely, but they had. “Do they ever let people ride them? Because that would be so awesome.”
It would possibly beat riding an elven horse through the sky. Maybe.
“I don’t know if any of these have, but yeah, people have been allowed to ride unicorns in the past.”
I stopped as we reached the door of the main building. “Is the thing about being a virgin true?”
“What thing?”
“Unicorns won’t let people ride them unless the person’s a virgin. Or so say human fairytales.” I thought that’s where I’d gotten the idea from, even though I couldn’t remember a specific fairytale that had said so.
Logan laughed. “No, that’s not true.”
“Oh, good. I mean, I probably won’t ever get to ride one, but it would suck if I did have the chance and couldn’t because of that.” Realizing we were blocking the door, I started to reach for the handle, but he beat me to it. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He followed me inside. Cressley wasn’t behind the counter this time; the shop area was empty of anyone. We crossed to the batwing doors, entering to find the dining area occupied. The couple we’d seen earlier was there with their son. There was a group of four other people at another table, two men and two women, plus another couple nearby.
I didn’t get much of a look at them, because Maggie spotted us and waved us over to a table. After we were seated, she said, “I know what he wants, but would you like to see a menu?”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll have the same thing.”
“Roast and Weirding Pale for two. Got it.” She trotted off to the kitchen.
I leaned toward Logan. “I haven’t tried ale before. It’s like beer, right?”
“Ale is far better than beer. Less watery, more tasty. There’s no comparison between the two. None.”
His vehemence gave me a private giggle. The man was serious about his ale. Maggie returned, bearing platters, a basket of rolls, and tankards on a large serving tray. “Here we are. Plenty more, Logan.”
A mound of carrots, potatoes, and onions lay to the side of a pile of thick deer roast slices, all covered with rich brown gravy. Once again, far too much food for me, but from the way Logan was eying both platters, my leftovers wouldn’t be going to waste this time.
We thanked her before digging in, and Maggie beamed. The first bite made it clear the deer had been roasted over an open fire, due to the smoky taste. “Mm.”
The low hum of conversation from the other tables filled the air. We were too busy eating to talk. Logan was right about the ale, which I was surprised to discover had been served at room temperature.
I’d eaten my fill by the time he used part of a roll to mop the last streaks of gravy from his platter. “Have room for more?”
“I do.” He pushed his empty out of the way, and I slid my platter over to him. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Settling back, I sipped from my tankard while looking around, and noticed the teen’s mother watching another table. The couple occupying it were elves, both of whom suddenly found their platters interesting when I glanced their way.
A frisson of paranoia put a frown on my face. I didn’t recognize the elves, but that didn’t mean anything.
The other two couples looked human, but from the way they were focused on devouring their meals, I suspected they were shifters. All wore the same heavy-lidded expression of pleasure Logan did. I fought off a laugh by taking another drink.
Nothing wrong with people enjoying good food, and lunch had been delicious.
I had to cover a yawn, my full stomach and the alcohol combining to cause drowsiness.
Logan paused. “We can take a nap after lunch, if you want.”
“But there’s a lot more to see, right?”
“Yes, but it’s not like this has to be our only visit. We can come back anytime.”
Which would mean asking more dog-sitting favors. I bit my bottom lip, because with eight dogs, that was a lot to ask of anyone.
“More ale?” Maggie reappeared at my elbow. “That’s a look. Something wrong with your meal?”
“Oh no, everything’s fine,” I assured her. “Lunch was fantastic.”
“We were talking about coming back. Cordi has a pack of dogs, and I think she was worrying about asking people to watch them.”
The dwarven woman dismissively flipped her hand. “If they’re well-behaved, bring ‘em along.”
“Ah, there’s eight, and one is an elf hound,” I said.
She shrugged. “Not a problem. We’ll put you in a larger cottage.”
I wondered then how much our weekend getaway was costing Logan, and whether or not I should ask. “Thank you.”
“Welcome. Now, more ale?”
We both accepted refills, and not too much later, finished and left the dining area.
“Okay, definitely need a nap.” I clung to Logan’s arm, my ears buzzing from the two tankards of ale I’d drunk. “Maybe a couple hours?”
“Sounds good to me.” He patted his stomach. “It’s entirely possible I overdid it.”
The full moon had been a few days before. I’d learned something new: They didn’t simply have to change when there was a full moon, but had to change when the full moon rose, and didn’t change back until it set. Which meant the clan had spent roughly fourteen hours as tigers. “Are you guys hungrier than usual after the full moon?”
He freed his arm from my grasp to slide it around my shoulders, and I put mine around his waist. “We do have bigger appetites for a few days, because we usually don’t spend so many hours in our larger shapes.”
“Bet the hunting’s better now, having a pocket realm.”
Logan laughed and kissed the side of my head. “Yeah, it is.”
We were halfway across the parking lot when I spotted the elven couple on the path. They didn’t seem to be walking very fast, and definitely hadn’t made much headway by the time we reached the path.
They also weren’t holding hands or anything. Something about their posture made me certain they were listening to us. I shook it off as dumb suspicion after a few seconds. Just because I’d been front page news a couple weeks before, that didn’t mean everyone I ran across was spying on me. A faint noise sounded from behind, and I glanced back to find the couple and their teen roughly twenty feet behind us. They were holding hands, the man smiling at her.
What the hell? They’d still been sitting at their table when we’d left, and I hadn’t heard them leave right after us, or walking in the parking lot. Puzzled, I checked Logan’s face from the corner of my eye, and saw his faint frown. He hadn’t heard them before then eit
her. Neither of us said anything, but I pointed at the little pink starflowers, and he nodded. We paused so I could squat down and look at them.
The couple, with teen in tow, passed us, and the elves finally disappeared around the path’s bend ahead. I probably made too much of a production, cooing over how much my mom would love the flowers until they were all out of sight.
“I can ask Maggie about them.” Logan took my hand to help me stand. He was looking down the path. “They were not behind us when we left the parking lot.”
“I’m a little tipsy from the ale so I wasn’t positive, but if you didn’t hear them either...”
He shook his head. “The kid’s human. The guy’s a shifter, wolf, and I think the woman is as well. But that could be his scent mingling with hers, and she’s wearing a citrusy perfume too.”
We started walking again. “The kid’s human?”
“He smells human.”
If they were both shifters, how did they have a human child? “What do I smell like?”
A grin broke out on his face. “Like you and me.”
I poked his arm as we made our turn. “Do I smell different from other humans? And I don’t mean like tiger.”
“You do have a little something different in your scent. I haven’t figured out what it is yet,” he admitted. “But it’s an attractive element.”
Nick had mentioned my scent more than once, but I wasn’t going to bring that up. “The witches smell different than regular humans. I remember that from when I was a dog.”
“Their ‘element’ is more of plant scent, one I’m not familiar with. Yours is something entirely different.”
Though I was curious, my drowsiness had returned and we’d reached our cottage. “Maybe we can figure it out later. Right now, I’m pretty focused on snuggling and napping.”
Logan was too.
Chapter Five
My cell phone’s alarm went off, and I opened one eye to handle turning it off. I had a few seconds of wondering where the hell I was before remembering why I was lying in a strange bed. Logan’s low purr helped. Rolling over, I looked at him. He lay on his back, hands clasped over his stomach, and head turned toward me.
I’d learned that he purred in his sleep all the time. Probably the whole clan did, being feline shifters, but I hadn’t asked about it. I liked pretending he only purred in his sleep because I was there.
His purr hitched and slowed, then Logan opened his eyes. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Holy crap, how did I get so lucky? He was adorable, blinking sleep away as a slow smile spread across his face.
Me? My hair was probably sticking up on one side, and flat on the other. I’d perfected lopsided bedhead.
“Ready to go see more wonders?”
“After some freshening up, you bet.” It was a feather bed, not quite as easy to escape as my regular mattress. I managed and looked at it while he sat up and stretched. “I’m afraid it will smother us during sex.”
He chuckled. “You were checking out the rug in front of the fireplace earlier.”
Ooh, and that was on my bu...
“Is making love in front of a fire on your bucket list?”
I tossed a grin over my shoulder on my way to the bathroom.
“It is,” he said. “We’ll take care of marking it off then.”
Yay! I did what I needed to in the bathroom, and yep, lopsided bedhead was in full effect. Brush in hand—Logan had apparently unpacked everything for both of us—I vacated to let him have his turn.
By the time he’d finished, my hair was once again presentable. He was carrying the comforter and pillows when he left the bedroom. I raised both eyebrows, and he said, “Advance planning.”
“Fill me in on this plan.” I helped him spread the comforter.
“More sightseeing, dinner, a soak, and,” he dropped the pillows in place. “Taking care of your bucket list item.”
There was wood in the fireplace. I couldn’t remember if it had been there before. “You’re really good with plans.”
“I’ve had a lot of practice, being in charge of the clan for so many years.” Logan smiled. “But if I go overboard, say so.”
That wasn’t happening anytime soon, as far as I could see, because he wasn’t pushy about his plans. I didn’t think he’d suddenly start being pushy. “You know what? You’re really good for and to me. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, and the feeling is mutual, Miss Jones.” He reached for my hand, still smiling, and we left the cottage.
I could’ve listed half a dozen ways my life was steadier because of him, even though we hadn’t been a couple for a full month yet. My days had some order to them since we’d begun dating. At least, they felt less hectic since then. And I was doing better about keeping track of and living up to my commitments. “How am I good for you, Mr. Sayer? I come dragging loads of crazy.”
Lifting our joined hands, he kissed my fingers before replying. “You are a busy person, it’s true, but I’ve been managing a group of busy people for years. Making things work with one busy person is much easier.”
“Point taken.” It was a good point.
“We’re together, and that’s good for me. Beyond having someone to cuddle with, share meals with, and oh, scrub my back,” he paused to grin when I laughed, “our relationship is probably keeping me from having a lot of trouble with Terra.”
“Not easy turning over the reins, huh?” I was not going to mention her boyfriend, Devon. They’d made a truce over him.
“It would’ve been harder. She was a tiny, helpless baby the first time I saw her. She needed me for years and now,” he shrugged, “she doesn’t as much.”
About to protest that, I hesitated when he said, “You were a grown woman handling a couple of punks the first time I saw you. You didn’t need me, but you chose to let me into your life anyway.”
He certainly didn’t need me in his life, with all the crazy craptacular that came with me. Yet he’d also chosen to let me in, even while still fully responsible for the clan. I squeezed his fingers and bumped my head against his shoulder. “I love you.”
“I love you back.”
“Terra and the clan do still need you though.”
“Sure, just not to the same degree as before she came into her own.” Logan chuckled. “Which works greatly in my favor, so I’m not complaining. I have a job I enjoy, and it allows me to spend a lot of time with you. Plus, I’m still guarding a queen, doing my duty to our clan.”
I knew he’d watch my back even if I hadn’t joined the clan. He’d helped me before I’d joined the clan. He was a good person, not inclined to look the other way if someone were in trouble. “There’s gotta be something you wish I’d do, or stop doing.”
With a shake of his head, Logan said, “I’m not complicated, sweetheart. I have shelter, food, work I enjoy, and a woman to love who loves me. I’m an appreciated asset to my clan. That’s all I need to be happy, and I’m damn lucky to have it all.”
Maybe that’s why we’re working out so well. No hunger for power or delusions of grandeur in him.
“Okay, yeah. There is one thing. I wish you weren’t so hard on yourself.” He glanced at me. “You’ve done some amazing things, but no one wins all the time. No one is perfect.”’
“I know. It’s just that there’s things I know I can do better than I have been. Hell, I still owe Thorandryll’s hounds a cookout. I’ve never had Schumacher over for dinner. Dude, I haven’t even met his wife and I’ve been helping out the police for like five years now.” There were a number of other things I’d promised to or should do, and hadn’t yet. I stopped walking. “Oh my God, I’m more hippy dippy than Mom. She’s organized. Does more before lunch than I manage to in a week.”
“Sunny isn’t a natural mage who has to recover from retrocognition reenactments, or headaches from using her abilities. She has a 9 t0 5, Monday through Friday job. You don’t. Well, you usually don’t.” Logan tugged me back into motion.
&
nbsp; “Yeah, but she makes it look easy. And I should be able to manage as well, considering she raised me.”
“You’re not her, and her life has a different structure and demands than yours does,” he countered, before adding, “Viewing area ahead.”
How far had we walked? I blinked. “True, but still...”
“I’m not trying to talk you out of becoming the person you want to be. Just saying I think you should give yourself a little more credit for who you are right now.” He stopped, turning to face me. “Who you are now is pretty wonderful, whether you realize it or not.”
Who was I to argue with his opinion of me, especially since it was such a positive one? Not being a complete dope, I smiled and kissed him. “Thank you. I’ve been saying that a lot, but I really, really mean it.”
“I know you do, and it’s fine. You’re welcome.” He settled his arms around me and lowered his head for another kiss. A lip melting, tongue tangling one that flooded my senses with him, heat, and a heady flow of love, and respect.
I’d never doubt where I stood with him and that knowledge was something to revel in. We were smiling when the kiss ended. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me.”
“Likewise, my queen.” He moved, offering his arm to me. “Shall we?”
“We shall.” Taking hold, I strolled alongside him the few steps required to enter the viewing area, and barely contained a squeal of delight when I realized it was a petting zoo. There were two elves in charge, and the teen and his parents had beaten us there.
His mother was flat on her back, laughing as a trio of clumsy wolf cubs crawled all over her. Anyone who didn’t care about being chewed and slobbered on by puppies earned points in my book. Her husband sat nearby, a half-smile on his face as he divided his attention between her, the kid, and a fourth wolf cub in his lap. That cub was enjoying a belly rub with closed eyes.
Their son—I remembered wanting to ask Logan how the kid could be human if they were both shifters—was on his knees, listening to one of the elves while stroking the feathers of what I thought might be a baby gryphon.
We didn’t have to wait before our chance to interact came. Two muddy-colored cubs pounced from beneath a bush, one latching onto Logan’s jeans-covered leg. The other found my left running shoe interesting, and began chewing on the laces.
Just Like Magic Page 3