Air she was certain was charged with energy.
They moved in rhythm. She’d never felt this in tune—this in sync—with someone else. To the point where she wasn’t sure who was leading whom. By the slow rock of his hips, Justus defined himself as a man of experience.
Of course he was. With his fat pockets, expensive clothes, angled jaw, and a confident attitude that many women would have fallen in bed with. He smelled better than any man she’d met, wearing expensive cologne imported by Adonis himself.
Here she was, drunk and ogling Mr. De Gradi, her client. Page reluctantly pushed him away.
Justus remained motionless, staring at her in such a way that made her touch the back of her sweaty neck with embarrassment. Then he did something unexpected. He lifted his left hand for her to take it. Confused, Page lifted her right hand, and he slowly closed his fingers.
“Now what?” she said with a short laugh. His right hand came around to her upper back, leaving a distance between them of several inches.
In the middle of a modern club, where couples were rubbing against one another like dogs in heat, Mr. De Gradi began to waltz.
Page clumsily followed his moves as he stepped forward, to the side, and back. She had never waltzed before but had seen it on television. Maybe it was the Green Dragon, or the magnetic look in his eyes, but Page danced and laughed, forgetting everything and completely letting go.
Until the heavy tread of her snow boot squashed on his shoe and she stumbled, almost falling on her back. But he caught her, and they stopped dancing.
Justus bent forward, lifted her off the ground, and threw her over his shoulder. She stared at the floor where he left his jacket behind.
“Let me down!” she yelled, slapping his back.
And without hesitation, he did. Justus set her down and she slid against his chest. The smell of his dark and wonderful cologne ended up all over her.
“I’m not a concubine,” she huffed, straightening out her blouse. “Handle me that way again, Mr. De Gradi, and I’m afraid I’ll have to deny you any further services.”
His brows quirked and she noticed the crooked bow tie coming undone. “My apologies if I’ve offended you,” he said. “Join us and I’ll order you a meal.”
“I can afford to pay for my own dinner, and aside from that, I don’t think I could eat anything after all those drinks.”
His lips pressed into a thin line and Page walked around the flustered Mage who held the attention of every woman in that club.
***
I stayed at the Red Door for hours and had the privilege of watching Levi doing a few illegal dance moves, trying to bait Logan onto the floor. Logan had no interest in that style of dance, but I teased him endlessly to give it a whirl. Page stayed long enough to call a cab and unfortunately, girls’ night out was cut short because her happy hour had begun hours before mine. According to Levi, there had been drama on the dance floor. I missed out because Sunny and I were visiting the ladies’ room. Levi didn’t elaborate; it just became a private joke between him and Knox.
Page’s phone kept ringing and she finally answered, yelling at someone on the other end as she left the club.
Sunny and Knox shared a slow dance in a dark corner, and Novis watched them for a while before heading out. Since Novis had left his car at Logan’s, Levi drove him home and I shared a passionate kiss with Logan as we said our goodbyes near the front door.
I talked with Sunny and Knox for an hour, sending Adam a few text messages. He kept in touch with me a little more and wanted to know how things were going, even if he didn’t feel ready to hang out with us. I was just glad we were getting on better terms again.
Eventually, the party wound down just after one in the morning. On the drive home, Justus shifted gears and made a right turn where he should have made a left.
The trucks had shoveled and sanded the streets until they had become a slushy mess. It was sad to see how ugly it became, all for the sake of us being able to drive to the grocery store. Snowmen of varying sizes and degrees of menace guarded the park. The kids had run amok, building forts and waging war against the snow people, leaving behind evidence of their battle.
The car slowed in front of a red brick building.
“Where are we?” I squeezed my bare fingers.
Justus threw the car in park and shut off the engine. I opened my door and stepped into a pile of dirty sludge that clung to my boot. When I tried to stomp it away, I slipped and landed hard on my rear end. Without a word, Justus gripped my arm and helped me to my feet. I wiped the street off my pants while he walked up to the door and pressed a button. That’s when I noticed a black bag in his hand.
“La Croix. Who is this?” a voice said through the speaker.
“Justus De Gradi.”
She waited a few beats before answering. “It’s late for visitors.”
“Then we’ll wait.” He scraped his shoes on the stoop.
I glared at Justus. “She could have been sleeping, you know. It’s moon o’clock.”
The door buzzed and I followed Justus up a set of stairs to the second level. I didn’t ask how he knew where she lived because Justus worked for HALO; he probably had the latitude and longitude for Santa Claus. The halls were frigid, and nothing about the building was upscale. The polished floors looked like something you’d see in a gymnasium, and the walls were scuffed and in need of a fresh coat of paint. Was this how a Relic lived? He stopped at one of the doors and rapped his knuckles on the wood.
A dark brown eye peered through the crack. “What are you doing here? I’m working,” she said in a shaky voice.
“I wanted to be sure you arrived home safely, given your condition.”
“I’m fine.”
Justus had his hands clasped behind his back, still holding the bag. “If you’re available tomorrow, I can bring you your car. You should be home so I can hand you the keys.”
“Thanks, Mr. De Gradi. That’s very considerate.”
“I brought your bag. If you have appointments, then you’ll need it.”
“You didn’t have to go out of your way. You two shouldn’t be driving around the city in this weather.”
Justus brushed his left hand across the coat sleeve on his right arm. “It was on the way home. No trouble.”
“Oh,” she said softly, staring at her bag. “Here, I’ll take that.”
The door creaked as she bent over and reached for the bag. When Page straightened up, Justus made an unexpected move that caused her to jerk back. He reached out and ran his hand through her hair, brushing it away from her face.
Revealing a fresh bruise on her eye.
She stepped back when Justus leaned on the door and forced it open. It looked like fireflies were dancing in the irises of his blue eyes. Page flinched when he reached out to touch her face and Justus stiffened.
“How did you get that bruise?” he asked in a voice that made me shudder.
“I slipped in the snow?” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. We were all adults and it wasn’t a mystery that someone had hit her.
Justus yanked off his coat and tossed it on the floor, revealing his dress shirt, sans tie. “Learner, bring me a bag of ice and a clean towel,” he said, rolling up his sleeves.
I walked into the kitchen by the front door and reached into the freezer, cracking open an ice tray. I lifted a thin dishrag from a drawer and ran it under cold water, squeezing it out before wrapping up a few cubes of ice.
I found Page in a small chair in the hall with Justus kneeling before her. When I handed him the ice, he carefully adjusted the cubes and pressed it to her cheek.
“It’s complicated,” she explained. “I’m not the kind of person who allows a thing like this to happen.”
“Neither am I,” Justus agreed.
“Is Slater your boyfriend?” I asked. “He doesn’t seem like your type.”
“He thinks he is. When my parents died, he took over making decisions for me. I let him at firs
t because I was in shock from their death, and he handled the funeral arrangements and finances. I was young, and he was a family friend. Slater has wanted to make babies with me for eons.” Her eyes rolled a little and she shook her head. “My family has a lot of knowledge on rare Breeds and he thinks I’m an agreeable match with his genes. It’s all very scientific.”
Justus lowered his eyes. “Why did he strike you?”
“Spending the night at your house really provoked him like I’ve never seen before. It started an argument that’s been going on for years. I didn’t tell him where I went tonight, but he heard the club music on the phone. He’s afraid I’ll find someone else so he tries to keep a tight leash on my whereabouts.” She ran her long fingers through the ends of her honey-brown hair and averted her eyes. “I got out of the cab and he was waiting for me. I said some things I probably shouldn’t have because of the alcohol and he lost control.”
Justus’s arm dropped like a guillotine, slamming the ice on the armrest as he rose to his feet. “I’ll pay him a visit.”
“Oh, no, no, no,” she said, rising to her feet. “He’s never done anything like this before, so there’s no need to start World War III all on account of a bruise. He’s not stepping foot inside my house again. I may have to work with him, but that’s as close as he’ll get to me. I’m not the kind of woman who lets something like this go. Hit me once and I will never…”
Tears glistened in her eyes and she turned her head away. Page had that familiar look of embarrassment, like she should have seen it coming and it was her fault for allowing it to happen. “Please don’t do anything; it’ll only make it worse. It’s not going to happen again.”
“You’re right about that, Page.” Justus allowed her to take the ice from his hand. “This won’t happen again.”
“Thanks for bringing my equipment, Mr. De Gradi. I’m sorry I can’t offer you anything to drink, but to tell you the truth—I’m beat.” A short laugh popped out and then she sighed heavily.
“Ghuardian, we’ve imposed here long enough. I think we all need some sleep.”
Sometimes you didn’t want all the drama, all the fuss, and Page had a lot to think about. I doubted she wanted to be chastised for not wanting Justus to rectify the situation with more violence. As chivalrous as it was, it could potentially make things worse for her.
“Page, I’m sorry about tonight,” I said. “I thought it would be fun for us to hang out.”
She smiled. “I really had a good time, Silver. Maybe next time we can just catch a movie.”
“Sounds good.” I looked at Justus, but like a bag of concrete, he didn’t budge.
“Please,” she coaxed. “I’m grateful that you thought to stop by and see how I was doing.” Her fingers grazed his arm for just a moment. “Let me get your coat.”
The air warmed ten degrees.
Chapter 6
“Tarek challenged for the position of Lord of his Pride… and won.”
“He what?” I gasped in a broken voice. My heart raced within my chest as I looked at Logan beside me on the sofa in his condo.
I had assumed that when Logan met with his older brother, Leo, they were discussing the trip with Christian. That was partly true, but there were also major political shifts occurring within the Chitah territories.
I once raised suspicion that Tarek might have killed his older brother in order to secure his claim for the position of Lord. He was in a top-ranked family among his Pride, and only the eldest brother retained the right to challenge for the position of Lord. In Logan’s family, Leo would be the one entitled to that privilege, should he ever choose to accept.
A Lord has authority over all his Pride. However, the Overlord rules all Chitahs. The frightening part was how close Tarek was to that rank, and his greed and treachery made his current position even more dangerous. Tarek’s younger brothers had privately disowned him after he raped his kindred spirit, but now they were forced to heed his call.
“How can he be a leader after what he did to me?”
Logan shook his head angrily and the black rims around his amber eyes intensified. “You’re not a Chitah, so nothing he does to you matters in their eyes. Female or not, we cannot impose punishment on other Breeds. Crimes like these fall through the cracks because leaders don’t want to instigate war between one another. With Tarek in a position of authority, there’s nothing we can do. He’ll be in power for fifty years. Until the next open challenge, the only ones who have a right to challenge for his position are his brothers.
“Fifty years,” I breathed. “What about your Pride? Did anyone challenge your Lord?”
Logan explained that each Pride alternates years so a complete shift in leadership wouldn’t occur all at once.
“I’m not sure if Leo will go for it. We have a fair leader, although his views are old-fashioned. He’s respected.”
“Tarek can’t come after you, can he? Now that he’s in power?”
“He only has power over his own Pride. We’re divided by territories, and he has no dominion over mine.”
“Maybe his people will stage a coup,” I said hopefully.
Logan slid his hand around the back of my neck and lightly ran his fingers against my sensitive skin. The oversized window in his living room loomed behind the sofa, offering little privacy from a curious eye.
“I wish there was more progress with Nero,” Logan murmured. “It burns me to know he walks this earth.”
I touched his wrist. “Justus said there are dozens of Neros out there, and eventually all of them will be caught.” I paused for a few beats. “Eventually. We had a long talk about it and I see his point. I can’t live my life for revenge, or else I’m not living at all. Someday…”
“Yes, someday. He’s hurt you once, and I don’t like that he’s still free to do it again.” Logan squeezed my leg. We couldn’t accuse Tarek of associating with Nero to help bring him down because slander was punishable if not proven.
“How’s Finn getting along with Lucian?” I noticed a small wooden carving of a cheetah on the table that I’d never seen before. “It’s so quiet around here; I wish he lived closer so I could see him more often.”
The Cross brothers had been rotating Finn between homes so they could each bond with him and his animal. Shifters and Chitahs—while similar in nature—faced different challenges. Chitah siblings often live within the same house or building when there is a sister to protect. Finn was a wolf, and it suited him to live in a pack environment. He had never received formal education, so Lucian, being the brains in the family, tutored him.
“Little Wolf is doing well. He’s got it in his head he wants to be a lawyer,” Logan said with an unwavering smile.
“He does?” I asked, poking my head up. “Seriously?”
Logan nodded. “I wouldn’t put it past him. He has drive that most men only dream of, and after what he’s been through, he wants to protect those who the laws have not. The Breed can always use good lawyers.”
“Ugh… Breed law. I should invite him over to take away all those bigass books that Justus keeps on his shelf. Our history is biased, making other Breeds look bad. Makes me wonder what you guys have on your shelves; no wonder all these rivalries exist.”
Logan laughed and nudged his fingers against my rib. “I think we should encourage him, don’t you?”
“Now that you mention it, we have to make sure our child gets nothing but the best in this world.” I sniffed out a laugh.
The motion was so fast I could only gasp; Logan pulled me onto his lap and locked his luminous eyes on mine. A look of possession crashed through him.
“What’s this about?” I saw the serious look on his face and dropped my humorous tone.
“Hearing you say the words our child.”
I swallowed.
Hard.
“Logan, I can’t give you one of those.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“Do you want them?” It was a stupid question because I
knew he did. His former mate had been pregnant with Tarek’s child and Logan was willing to raise it as his own. But maybe I wanted to hear it from his lips.
His eyes slanted away. “Having young would bring me satisfaction.”
“I don’t think you should waste your time chasing me when I can’t give you what you want.”
Several small kisses tenderly touched my lips, awakening the butterflies. “You’re my lemon cake,” he whispered across my mouth. “Children would only be a scoop of ice cream on the side, but I don’t require any. You’re more than enough. You’ll always be everything that I want.”
I leaned back a little. “Then why the enthusiasm?”
He traced his finger across the small ridge on my upper lip. “Hearing your admission to sharing something with me in life, whether we can have it or not, that is what stirs the male within me.”
I closed my mouth around his finger and gave it a little suck. He pulled it out quick. Awareness flared in his eyes, along with restraint. “I’m going to court you the right way, Silver. I’ve gone about it all wrong.”
Remembering the intimate moment I’d shared with Logan sure didn’t feel wrong, but it had weighed heavily on his conscience. He felt that he wasn’t honoring the Chitah ways of courtship. I hadn’t accepted his claim because that was as good as marriage. We had so many strikes against us—being mortal enemies, for one. Still, I craved him whenever I shut my eyes at night and thought of his body tangled with mine.
“Don’t you want me?”
Logan’s chest vibrated like a bomb about to go off. His lips fell across my collarbone and savored me like melting chocolate under the summer sun. I weakened at the feel of his soft mouth consuming the taste of my body. His kiss was insistent and rapturous.
“More than you know, Little Raven.”
He lifted his warm golden eyes. I traced the outline of his strong cheekbones and curled my fingers around his ponytail. Logan nuzzled his smooth jaw against my cheek while caressing the side of my neck with his hand. It felt wonderful to be so close to him.
“How long do you think you can hold out?” I tugged roughly on his hair, pulling his chin up so I could run my tongue over his Adam’s apple.
Gravity (Mageri Series: Book 4) Page 6