“Watch those claws.” Logan detached his leg climber, and cradled it in one arm. “I didn’t know there were any of you left.”
“What are they?” I knelt to persuade the cub trying to eat my shoe not to.
“Saber-tooth cats.” The second elf had come over to us. He had long black hair and lilac-colored eyes. “There aren’t many left, perhaps fifty adult breeding pairs in total.”
With his help, I soon had the cub in my arms. Each of us was given a long, thick piece of dried meat. The elf said, “Let them chew on those instead of you.”
A truly good idea, because my cub’s teeth were needle-sharp. “This is unreal. I’m holding a saber-tooth tiger.”
“I’m thinking we won’t be getting out of here any time soon.” Logan used his chin to direct my attention around the area, which was a largish clearing. “There are oh, so many baby animals.”
“Our rules for this section are simple: no forced interaction, and immediate release of any animal that begins to struggle. Also, do not feed them anything except what we offer. Their well-being is our top priority. I am Taenallen, and will stay close, should you require aid or have questions.” The elf inclined his head, taking a half-step backward.
“Thanks.” I’d loved petting zoos as a child, but not so much after my coma. Many of the less domesticated animals weren’t happy in them, but that wasn’t the case here. Possibly because they chose whether or not to allow anyone close, and none were sitting in cages or pens. “Why don’t they have big fangs?”
“The cubs are quite young, and still have their milk teeth,” Taenallen quickly responded.
I heard I knew that from Logan, but he was looking at the cub he held when I glanced at him. Repressing a smile, I concentrated on my new fuzzy friend.
Chapter Six
Logan was right. Dusk was falling when the two elves politely kicked us out. I was covered in bits of grass, dirt, dried slobber, and various types of fur. My face ached and my stomach hurt from all the smiling and laughing I’d done.
“That was awesome, but I’m gonna need a shower before dinner.” It had also been extremely educational, at least for me. He seemed to know most of what the elves did about the different animals. A reminder of just how different our lives had been before the Melding.
Logan leaned forward and scrubbed his hair with both hands. Dirt, grass, and more were freed to drift down to the ground. “Me too. Trade you back scrubs.”
“Deal.” I planned to throw in a chest scrub, because kisses had a way of happening when I did. A wet, soapy Logan rubbing against me had a tendency to make me really happy and more than a little turned on. Who wouldn’t be?
The trip back to our cottage didn’t take long. Nor did stripping down once in the bathroom, or stepping into the glass-fronted shower stall. Fortunately, it was square and large enough for us to share the shower spray aside from hair rinsing. I scrubbed while Logan washed his hair then surrendered my bath pouf when he held out his hand.
Turning around, I closed my eyes as he began slowly washing my shoulders and back. “Got a question.”
“Yes?”
“Is it the cat in you that likes the shared bathing so much?”
He chuckled. “Guess it could be. Do I take too long?”
“Nope.” I giggled as he swiped the pouf down my spine. “You can take all the time you want.”
“It could be,” he pressed closer, until his lips were by my ear. “I enjoy it so much because it’s you I’m sharing it with.”
I felt my dopiest smile appear. It’d been showing up a lot since we’d begun officially dating not quite a month before. Logan kissed my earlobe and moved back to continue his washing. “Better be careful, Mr. Sayer.”
“Why is that, Miss Jones?”
“Keep saying stuff like that, and you’ll never get rid of me.”
He scoffed. “Not exactly seeing the problem.”
Good. “It’s definitely not one for me.” I rested the top of my head against the tiled wall when he moved my hair out of the way in order to wash my neck. It was weird, in a good way, how relaxed and yet full of anticipation our shared showers left me. “We haven’t used the tub at my place yet. It’s a big tub.”
“I’ve noticed, and am open to using it whenever you want.”
“How about as soon as we get back Sunday night?” Wait, that’s clan hangout day. I made a face. “Or...”
“Sunday night’s good. They’re not expecting us to show up for the gathering.” Logan slid the pouf around my side and up, tickling my chin with it. “Your turn.”
I took it and half-turned, stepping into the spray as he moved to present his back. “It’s a date. Oh, crap. We have to pick up my pack though.”
“No, we don’t. Alanna and Dane will pick them up Sunday afternoon, and they’ll stay with Dane. He’ll take them over to Terra Monday morning.”
A twinge of guilt struck, because I hadn’t spent so much time away from my dogs since I’d gotten them. “They’re going to forget who I am.”
His back twitched, and Logan looked over his shoulder. “No, they’re not. It’s good for them and the clan, spending time together. But they know they’re your pack.”
Nodding, I concentrated on his left shoulder blade. It was better than the dogs being stuck at my place by themselves for hours on end every day. Safer for them, too. “You’re right.”
He began purring softly, and his contentment flowed, lapping at my mental maze walls. I tried to take as long as he had with the backwashing, but kind of wanted to move onto the chest washing. Logan didn’t seem to mind, continuing to purr after he’d turned around and rested his hands on my hips.
I took the opportunity he presented and stole a lot of kisses.
Freshly showered and dressed, we left the cottage hand in hand. I wasn’t the only one looking forward to our after-dinner plans. Logan’s dark green eyes were lighter than usual, and I could feel flickers of desire emanating from him every time he glanced at me as we walked along.
When we reached the main building, we found some of the other guests looking at the gift selection inside, and a dwarf I hadn’t met was behind the counter.
“Do you want to do some shopping?” Logan asked.
I shook my head. “I’ll wait until Sunday.”
“Okay.” We headed for the batwing doors, and he pushed one open to allow me through first. As he followed, catching hold of my hand again, I felt his grip tighten right before he muttered, “Well, shit.”
“What?” I looked around the dining room, and was jolted by an unpleasant shock upon spotting Nick as he looked up from the menu he held.
Of all the people we could’ve possibly run into, he was the absolute last I expected to see. He started to smile, but apparently noticed Logan because it became a frown instead. I realized Patrick was with him, and that they were sitting with the two couples I’d tagged as possible shifters during lunch.
Patrick’s open-mouthed surprise nearly pulled a nervous laugh out of me. Instead, I whispered, “Wow. Just my luck.”
Logan proved again what a great guy he was by asking, “What do you want to do?”
“Sit down and have dinner.” My ex-boyfriend showing up during our weekend getaway was not going to ruin it. Logan had gone to too much trouble for me to let that happen.
“Right.” He led the way to a table at the opposite end of the dining room. I chose the chair with its back to the rest of the room, and he obligingly pulled it out to seat me. He sat on my left. “Do we pretend we didn’t see them?”
He’d noticed Patrick too. I half-smiled. “Wouldn’t that be impossible, with your nose and the fact that we kind of stared at them?”
“Sure, but I’m willing to give it a shot.” Logan smiled, but it didn’t last long. “Feels like I should apologize.”
“How could you possibly have guessed they’d show up here?” I picked up my waiting menu.
“True.” He followed suit. “Have you tried rabbit yet?”
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“No, and I think I’ll skip trying it. But you go ahead. Ooh, they have salmon.” It’d been awhile since I’d had fish. “That’s what I want.”
“I’ll have the same. Maggie’s extremely good with fish.” Logan placed his menu on the table, his eyes flicking to the right. “And he’s coming over.”
Fan-freaking-tastic. Why couldn’t Nick stay at his own table? I prepared for a scene.
“Cordi.”
Pasting a smile on my face, I turned my head and looked up. “Hi, Nick. How’ve you been?”
He ignored my greeting. “Can we talk, privately?”
“Uh, I’m kind of,” I gestured at Logan and the menus, “busy. We’re about to order dinner.”
“Can’t it wait for a few minutes?”
Ugh. I glanced at Logan, who gave me his most neutral expression, and made a decision. “It depends on what you want to talk about.”
Nick vented a frustrated sigh. “Us.”
Crap, scene incoming. “No.”
“Why not?” He scowled at Logan. “Because of him?”
“Partially, yes, but mostly because there isn’t an ‘us’ anymore,” I said. “So there’s really not anything to talk about.”
“Hi, ready to order?” Cressley slipped between my chair and Nick, forcing him to take a step back. He frowned down at the top of her head.
“Two of the salmon, and did you want wine?” Logan asked me. I fought a giggle at the absurdity of the situation, and the weird jumpy feeling in my stomach, and nodded. “Plus a bottle of whatever wine your mother chooses.”
“Sure thing, Logan.” Cressley turned to look up at Nick. “Your table’s orders will be ready in a minute.”
“Thank you.” He didn’t budge, but I silently thanked her for trying as she sniffed and left.
Nick pulled out the chair on my right, dragging it closer to mine, and sat down. Ignoring my raised eyebrows, he leaned forward. “There was an us, and I’d really li—”
“I’d really like to not be having this conversation. Because it doesn’t matter how many times we do, I’m not going to change my mind.” I kept my tone firm and patient, in spite of the niggling guilt all too eager to begin dancing around in my head. “I think you’re a good guy, but you’re not the right guy for me.”
Nick straightened, stabbing his forefinger in Logan’s direction. “You told me you didn’t break up with me because of him.”
“She told you the truth,” Logan quietly said. “She didn’t.”
That earned a snort from Nick. “Right. You were holding hands when you came in, and I’ve heard...”
I interrupted him. “Yes, we’re dating. It’s a recent development, one that has nothing to do with you.” I wasn’t sure why I was giving him even that much information. My life wasn’t any of his business now. “I’m sorry I’ve hurt you; it wasn’t my intention. But you’re hurting yourself now, Nick. Please stop.”
His lips flattened, and his eyes were changing colors. “Did you ever care about me?”
It took an effort to keep from sighing. “Yes, I did. Not enough to marry you when it became obvious we weren’t seeing the same kind of future.”
“Hey.” Patrick walked up, halted beside Nick, and put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. He gave it a squeeze. “Fancy seeing you two here. Our food’s been served, Nick. Come back to the table.”
I leaped at the chance to change the subject. “Why are you guys here?”
“Meeting with the reps of another pack.” Patrick grinned. “You’re not the only one capable of making alliances, Psychic Girl.”
Interesting. “Well, good luck.”
He gave Nick’s shoulder another, harder squeeze. “Thanks. Come on, brother. It’s rude to keep the others waiting.”
With a low growl, Nick stood and gave Logan a nasty glare before stalking away. Patrick sighed, his grin gone. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I could be gracious since he’d decided to play the cavalry. “Thanks.”
With a nod, he left. I made a face while turning back to Logan. “My turn. I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “You don’t need to apologize. If anyone does, it’s Nick.”
Can’t see that happening. “I guess. I wasn’t mean, was I? I wasn’t trying to be mean.”
“No. You were clear and direct. He has to decide to move on. No one can force him to.”
True, and if nothing else, I could be proud that I hadn’t let my nagging guilt push me into getting snappy with Nick. That may have led to blurting out the truth about why I’d gotten together with him in the first place. It didn’t matter how Nick acted, no one deserved being told “I was lonely and you were convenient” by someone they loved.
I didn’t hate him, and I didn’t want him hating me. I just wanted him to move on.
Chapter Seven
Dinner was served. I took my first bite of encrusted salmon and had an epiphany—one ingredient triggered a sense memory. “Oh. Wow, now I know.”
“Now you know what?” Logan put his second bite on hold.
I hesitated, realizing that telling him my discovery could come across as really weird. “Um, well, the crushed nuts in the topping are pine nuts.”
“Yes, they are.”
Recalling the menu’s description, I said, “Siberian pine nuts. Mom uses the oil for a few recipes, which is where I’ve tasted it before.”
He nodded, taking his second bite. I considered leaving it at that, but who the hell else was I going to share it with, if not him, since it was about him? “That’s what you taste like.”
Logan stopped chewing for a second. My face began to warm. “I’ve been trying to figure it out since that morning at Thorandryll’s.”
On the morning in question, I’d pulled him into a retrocognition dream, resulting in our first, albeit totally unintentional, kiss. Huh, I’d forgotten about pulling him in. Since then, I’d pulled Moira and Dane into waking retrocog visions. Leglin too. What exactly does that all mean? I blinked as Logan swallowed and chuckled.
“I taste like pine nuts?”
“Yep.” Siberian pine nuts. And his second shape was a Siberian tiger. Probably not a coincidence.
“Is that a problem?”
“No, not a problem. I like it.” My blush was making a comeback. God, I’m so weird.
Logan half-smiled. “Okay, as long as you like it. Though I have no idea what I’d do if you didn’t.”
I didn’t either. Use loads of mouthwash all the time? Dating someone who tasted like something I didn’t like would be awful. “Let’s be thankful you don’t taste like lima beans.”
That made him laugh. “I am grateful, since I’m certain that would mean less kissing.”
It would. Lima beans made me gag.
Fortunately, Patrick and Nick were still busy with their meeting when we finished dinner. I was aware of Nick watching us leave with a faint scowl on his face. I pretended not to notice, because what else could I do? Stomp over and demand that he stop looking at us, like a little kid?
Logan caught hold of my hand once we’d left the dining room. “Kiffle didn’t show.”
“What? Oh.” I’d forgotten his friend was supposed to see him at dinner. “Maybe something came up. Is he in charge here?”
“They have a council of elders, and yes, he’s on it.” He shrugged. “Probably something did come up. I’m sure it’s a lot of work, turning this place into a tourist attraction.”
“I bet. I like that they’re not making it too touristy though.” And I hoped they kept it that way. Rides and shows were fun sometimes, but there were already loads of theme parks. “This is more a bed and breakfast with nature walks. It’s awesome.”
“Have you thought anymore about my armor offer? This is a good opportunity for getting your measurements taken.”
I hadn’t thought about it. “Even with a discount, won’t it be really expensive?”
“It’s not cheap, but then good armor never is.” Logan released my hand
to wrap his arm around my shoulders. “I don’t care about the cost. All of our other queens have armor. You should too.”
I smiled at him. “Yeah, okay, but seriously, how often do you really think I’d need to wear it? I haven’t even started sword training.” For that matter, I hadn’t gotten to use my new training arena yet. If Mr. Whitehaven didn’t unground me soon, I’d probably be spending a lot of time there though, if only to blow off steam. There was only so much for me to do around the office—or maybe nothing since we’d finished the software upgrades and new program installs. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to another week of staring at my office walls.
“Maybe not often, but when a situation calls for armor, it’s too late to have it made if you don’t own any.” He lightly squeezed my shoulders. “It’s your call though. Just thought I’d mention it.”
The fact that he had brought it up again told me it was important to him. Whether it was because he’d promised, or something else, I didn’t know. It really didn’t matter. It was important to him. “If you’re sure you don’t mind, then okay.”
“I’m sure.” Logan dropped a kiss on the side of my head. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I was not the only weird one in our couple. He was thanking me for getting to spend a lot of money on me? I fought a laugh. “Guess I’d better see about getting a sword too, and starting those lessons.”
“Sure. How do you want to handle those?”
I bit my lip, knowing how bad I was about practicing in general—oh my God, when’s the last time I attended a self-defense class?—and not wanting to look like a doofus in front of him. I also didn’t want him to think I didn’t want him teaching me. “Um, I don’t know.”
“My feelings won’t be hurt if you’d rather have a woman teach you. That may be better anyway, because they’ll know how to teach you to use a sword to your advantage.”
He’d suggested Moira before. “Okay, then I guess I need to talk to Moira.”
Just Like Magic Page 4