Gravity (Mageri Series: Book 4)
Page 40
“Ghuardian, let me talk to him alone.”
“Worry not, Mage,” Logan replied in a smooth voice. “To my grave I’ll take it if that is what she wishes.”
“And to your grave is where you’ll be if you do not hold to that,” Justus said as he looked me over and slowly walked out of the room.
I cautiously glanced up at Logan. “There’s no one who can guide me through this. Only my Ghuardian. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with all this power, but going into the world alone frightens me. I’ve been on my own for a long time, and having to live with Justus has been difficult. Being independent in my old life meant being alone and doing things alone. Humans are in such a rush to leave the nest, only to give up their single life and get married. I used to think that was a bad thing—that you were giving up part of yourself. Now I get it. Independence isn’t about solitude, it’s about someone giving you freedom, trust, and protection. He’s gotten better since I started working for Novis, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to leave Justus. I need friends and family in my life. I don’t want to be alone.”
He kissed my forehead and whispered softly.
“Logan, are you mad that I kept this from you?”
My Chitah nuzzled against the crook of my neck. “I adore you.”
Logan moved his soft, wet kiss around my neck and then stepped back with his fingers tucked in the waistline of my jeans. He just couldn’t keep his hands away from my tattoo. He finally let go and scraped his fingers through his hair—something I’d noticed him doing more often since I had cut it.
“Are you drunk, Mr. Cross?”
He covered his mouth with his fist, hiding a smile as he watched me with reverent eyes. I could tell by the glazed look in his eyes he was over the legal limit. “I’ll be staying here for the night,” he said decidedly. “Shall I go turn down the bed and put on my sleeping clothes?” Logan licked his lower lip and slid his eyes down my body.
“You don’t wear clothes to bed.”
“Precisely.”
I got butterflies and smiled. “Can you send Justus in here? I need to talk with him privately.”
Logan leaned forward and brushed his lips across mine. “As you wish. Don’t keep me waiting, Little Raven. After I grab some sweets from your pantry, I’m going to hand-feed you in bed,” he said intimately.
A man after my own heart.
“I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“Immensely.”
Logan exited the room and a few moments later, Justus squeezed through the door and closed it. Laughter and loud talking echoed from the men in the other room. “You wish to speak with me?”
Justus was the only sober person in the house, aside from Page. His prominent tattoo glistened with sweat—an indication that he’d been working out. Nothing strenuous, probably just lifting weights.
I didn’t get nervous around Justus very often, but I found myself struggling to find the right words. “I have something I want to tell you.”
He tucked his hands beneath his biceps and widened his stance. “Speak.”
But it was hard to look up into his sharp blue eyes. He could cut a person to the marrow with his stare, and I’m sure he could tell by my body language that I was about to reveal something that might upset him.
So I took a deep breath. “I’ve accepted Logan’s claim. Do you know what that means?”
By the slide in his jaw, I knew he did.
“It means it’s permanent. It means… I want to marry him.”
His voice rose angrily as he tried to move toward the door. “You’re drunk, and what he did was coercion.”
“No, wait,” I said, grabbing his arm and blocking his exit. “This didn’t just happen tonight. I was completely sober when we had the conversation, and to be honest, I made the decision when we were separated. That’s when I knew.”
“Has he given you a ring?”
“You know Chitah customs,” I argued. “That’s not how they do it. That’s not how we do it either.”
I waited anxiously for his reaction as he mulled it over. “You are young, Learner. And a woman.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I said in clipped words.
“It means you’ll change your mind. Women can turn love on and off like a switch,” he said with a clenched jaw, averting his eyes.
My hands fumbled with the button on my jeans and I pulled the zipper down. Justus’s eyes widened and he snatched my wrists, trying to pull them away. “You’re drunk, Silver. You don’t want this.”
I couldn’t help it; I busted out laughing. “I’m not trying to seduce you, Ghuardian. There’s something you should see so maybe you’ll know how serious I am about this being permanent.”
I pulled my jeans open far enough that he could make out one of the paw prints.
Then his eyes flashed up to mine. “Did you put liquid fire on that?”
My brows arched. “Guilty.” I zipped up my jeans and held his wrist. “I know it’s not easy for you to accept this because you’re still my Ghuardian and you don’t take a lot of what I say seriously. But please don’t dismiss my feelings. I love him more than I ever thought that I could love someone, and we’re going to face the firing squad of public opinion, but that’s okay. I don’t care.”
“Logan is still a target,” he said with a grim tone. “Retaliation will not be tolerated for the death of Tarek, but it can’t be prevented. I’ve spoken with Leo and there’s a possibility that Logan could be arrested. If that occurs, then the punishment for assassinating a Lord is death.”
I bit my lip angrily. “He did not assassinate him. And I’ll stand by him no matter what, even if I have to walk into the fire with him.” I softened my tone and found the courage to address another important topic. “What happened between you and Page? I saw a change and… I thought you two were going to become an item.”
His cheeks flamed and Justus looked away.
I knew right then and there Page had denied him. By the slant in his eyes, the waver in his voice, and the color of his face. My heart softened, as did my voice. “Don’t give up,” I said. “Logan never did. He once said something like ‘anything worth having is worth chasing.’ If you really care for her, then you’ll wait. Prove to her you’re the man that I know you are. Show her.”
He drew in a slow and heavy breath. It was a sensitive topic, but something melted away in his expression.
“Once you marry, Silver, you’re free. You no longer need a Ghuardian. That’s law. It may not be legal, but it’s as good as marriage in my eyes if you have a ceremony.”
“Ghuardian, I don’t mean that—”
“As you have accepted his claim, you no longer have to call me Ghuardian. You’re in his care now.”
My heart sank and a bittersweet feeling moved through me as my life was about to change course. New beginnings always meant an ending of something else. My eyes welled with tears—I hadn’t realized how profound this moment would be once it finally arrived. I wasn’t ready to call him Justus. I thought too highly of him. He would always be Ghuardian in my eyes.
A man who had mentored me, taught me the laws to live by, and showed me a stranger could influence my life in ways I’d never imagined. A man who’d opened his home and his heart to an obstinate young Mage with no family of her own.
“If I can’t call you my Ghuardian, then what do I call you?”
Justus stepped forward and gently cradled my head with his strong hands. I nervously listened to the thumping of my heart as he leaned in and kissed my forehead, showing me affection in a way that he never had before. One of respect.
A gentle smile spread across his rough features, etching a deep line in his cheek. “If you will not call me by my given name, then I would be honored if you called me by another. It’s an honorable name that I have never gone by, nor ever will as a Mage.”
“What name is that?”
“Father.”
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Books by Dannika Dark
THE MAGERI SERIES
Sterling
Twist
Impulse
Gravity
Book 5 (Coming late 2013)
NOVELLAS
Closer
SEVEN YEARS
Coming soon
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