Gravity (47 page)

immune to stomach upset.

“Let me rub your belly. Roll over, my mate.”

I smiled against the pillow at his choice of words. Obediently, I turned to my back and Logan

carefully unfastened my jeans.

“Hey, wait a minute. You just wanna get frisky.”

“Scout’s honor.”

How I loved the way that he looked at me. Logan was a different man without the long tangles

of hair in front of his face, but I always did like it when he pulled his hair back. It allowed me to

see the carved features in his jaw, his strong nose, deep-set eyes, heavy brow, and crisp eyes. Not

to mention the infamous Cross smile—wide and wonderful.

He tugged the jeans to my hips and softly caressed my lower belly with his large hand. Of

course, what I really caught on to was that Logan just wanted to get my jeans low enough so that

he could lie there and stare at my tattoo again. He was so damn proud of those paw prints that I

think he might have been just as happy if I had gotten them on my forehead.

He smiled up at me and I stroked his choppy hair.

It was time to confess. “My mother was a Chitah human child, and the egg she carried was

from a Chitah.”

Logan didn’t catapult off the bed like I had expected. He circled his tongue around the edge of

the tattoo and gently kissed it.

“They weren’t able to find out anything about my father, but I guess that’s the proof you were

looking for.”

Logan slid up the length of my body until we were nose to nose. “It matters not.”

“I thought you wanted to know so you could prove your kindred theory.”

“At one time, I did. But I don’t care what you are, Silver. I only care who you are.”

“Maybe you should hear the full story. My mother was a Chitah-human surrogate. The egg

belonged to a Chitah and the sperm is unknown. Grady was an Infuser and used his energy to

protect the fetus; maybe that’s why I’ve always had a little Mage light in me.”

Logan kissed the corners of my mouth with his soft lips and all down my jaw and chin. “You

may hate the genetic experimentation, but I sure as hell don’t hate the results. It brought you into

this world—into my life.”

Never could I have imagined such a man existed who could love so unconditionally. My lips

pressed against his bristly cheek and I whispered in a gentle breath, “I love you.” It was the first

time I’d said the words aloud, but love never needs to be confirmed through words.

Logan eased down the length of my body, dragging his lips across the flat of my stomach. His

whiskers tickled my fingers as I caressed his jaw. “You going for the full beard?”

“You don’t like?” he muttered through his continued kisses.

“Well, it’s a little softer than the five-o’clock shadow, I’ll give you that. Maybe now I won’t have

sandpaper marks all over my face after we make out.” Logan nipped me again and I squealed as

he sat up. “I prefer it when you’re smooth,” I admitted, locking my fingers behind my head.

“Then my female will get what she wants,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Have you heard about Justus? I think he’s finally found himself a woman.”

“Did he now?” Logan reached down and unlaced my boots. “Jiminy. Since when did you start

dressing paramilitary?”

“Since I started getting serious about you?”

He pulled at the boot and my foot slid out. His fingers worked the lace on the second boot and

he glanced over his shoulder. “Silver, I want you to keep Christian as your protector. He has

proven himself a loyal guard. I owe him for that, even if I don’t forgive him for putting his hands

on your body and despite the fact I’d love nothing more than to tie him to the front end of my

car.”

“Christian, I feel the same way,” I said in a passive voice. “But tune your ears out of the rest of

our conversation, please.”

Logan tried to pull off my socks and I flattened my feet on the mattress.

“My feet are cold.”

He stretched out beside me. “Your jeans are staying on in case something happens; I don’t

want you running into the streets of Cognito half-dressed.”

“It’s not like I’ll freeze to death,” I said, kissing his arm that was folded beneath his head.

Logan rubbed his nose against mine. “No, but your body is not to be shared with any man.”

“I guess that means I won’t be wearing a bikini to the beach this summer.”

A burst of laughter sounded in the other room and I narrowed my eyes. “Christian,” I hissed.

“So help me, exit from this conversation now.”

Logan wedged his right leg between mine and we locked together like twisted pretzels. “What

do you know of Chitah customs?”

“Not much. Why?”

“If it’s your heritage, don’t you think it’s time you start learning about it?”

“True.” I stared at the shadows dancing on the foiled windows from the candlelight. “Tell me

it’s nothing like all those Mage books that Justus keeps in his study, is it? If so, I’ll take the

CliffsNotes version.”

Logan ran his hand along my arm and I wrapped mine around his side. Then all of a sudden,

my stomach made a horrendous noise—like a troll growling from underneath the bridge it’s

guarding.

“Jeez, girl.” Logan laughed and tucked his hand beneath my shirt to rest on my side. “What’s

going on in there?”

“A revolution.”

He gently stroked my belly in small circles and I relaxed. I don’t think it was doing anything to

cure me, but it felt good. Not just having Logan’s hands on me, but knowing I could always count

on him. After everything that had happened, he could have left me. Never did I imagine that I

would have him back in my arms, and never did it mean as much as it did now.

“Tell me how I can ease your discomfort. I will be most displeased if you respond with a joke,”

he said in his bedroom voice. The sexy, relaxed one that was reserved only for me.

“I want you to take me out to the movies and buy me some popcorn. I want you to put your

arm around me and share my soda, because I haven’t done anything normal in a really long time. I

want to do stuff like that with you. I want to go to a bookstore and sit at a table, drinking a cup of

coffee and arguing about what to buy. I’d love to go through a car wash with you, or go to the

fair. It’s been a while since we’ve had a real date.”

“As you wish, my sweet. What do you like?”

“What do you mean? What kind of movies do I like?”

He rolled on top of me and watched me with unblinking, animalistic eyes. “What is it that I do

that pleases you?”

“Oh.” I grinned shyly. I thought about it for a minute.

We were about to have pillow talk, and I really liked our pillow talk. Logan didn’t want to know

what movie I wanted to see, nor was he asking about my favorite sexual position. He wanted to

know the simple things he did that made me love him.

“I like it when you rub my legs.”

He immediately rose to the challenge and took my leg in his arms, giving me a deep massage,

probably the best I’d ever had.

Hands down.

Ever.

His fingers rubbed firmly into my thigh and all kinds of nerves were firing up. Naturally, he

sensed it with a sniff of his nose. I didn’t mind so much that he could read my emotions; it’s who

he was.

“I want to discover the things you like, Silver, and do them over and over.”

“Maybe I should have said something else then,” I joked, relaxing and watching the candlelight

shimmering against his skin. “Logan, that necklace Tarek made me wear…”

“What about it?”

“Justus had it on the other night.”

“You don’t say.” He smiled, working his fingers above my knee.

His nonchalant reaction irritated me. “Justus wore it so he could be with Page. It suppressed

his light so he wouldn’t hurt her, and he could touch her.”

Logan considered this and switched legs. “Your point?”

“Well, I’m just saying that I could wear it when we’re together.”

“Absolutely not.”

I propped up on my elbows, rattled by his answer. “Why, just because Tarek gave it to me? It

doesn’t matter where we got it because now it’s ours.”

Logan stopped the leg massage and gave me his serious voice. “That has nothing to do with it.

Remember when I told you I would have you just as you are? I meant it. Every word.”

“Yeah, but you need to be sensible about this. If it means that I can touch you when we’re

together, that I can be normal…”

“Ask me why I love you,” he quickly said, caging me with his arms.

My heart stammered and he leaned in close with a piercing gaze. A serious one that made me

slide down off my elbows and cross my arms over my chest. I was still wearing a shirt, but I felt

strangely exposed with his glare. Not in the sense of nudity, but my heart being open to him like a

book.

“Ask me,” he demanded.

“Why?” The question I’d always wanted to ask but was too afraid to. Exactly why would a man

like Logan Cross love a young Mage?

He scraped his teeth over his bottom lip before answering. “Because we have challenges, and

we’re not perfect. I love that with you—I have to try. That it’s not effortless to keep you as much

as it is to love you. You’re remarkably selfless and headstrong like me. I received the same scolding

remarks as you when I was younger and thought I knew it all. Don’t change that about you,

because it’s what I love. The fire keeps you alive. I love that we can both screw up and find a way

to work around it. I love you, Silver, because you are a creature of light. Do you think I would want

to suppress that light to satisfy my own needs? I can sate you, female, without you having to

touch me. If you wore that necklace, it would be an admission that I cannot accept you for what

you are. That has nothing to do with pride; it’s principle. I love you because of that very look you

have on your face right now as I’m telling you all this,” he said, stroking my cheek with his finger.

Then his voice softened around the edges as his breath warmed my cheek. “I love that you were

brave enough to cut my hair, Little Raven.”

He struck a nerve and I teared up. Logan wiped that tear away—melting on top of me like a

blanket and tasting the corners of my mouth.

“It proved how much you love me,” he whispered. “Now forget the damn necklace.”

“Yeah, but Justus—”

He kissed my chin and sat up again, placing my legs in his lap. “Your Ghuardian must wear it to

protect his mortal female. I am not mortal. All you can do with that power of yours is charge me up

like a battery. Now let this be the last time we discuss you wearing that damn necklace.” I melted

a little, and not just because he was rubbing my upper thigh, but because I didn’t deserve a man

like him. “I would have you no other way, because it is who you are, Silver. If you ever lost your

ability, then I would still want you. If you grew fangs, then I would still want you.”

“And if I grew a tail?”

“Well, that just might be fun,” he purred.

Tingles surfaced throughout my body as his expert fingers continued massaging me. I heard

deep huffs of breath as he watched me with hooded eyes. My scent was slowly doing him in, but

with restrained conviction, he continued rubbing my legs until minutes later, I was completely

satisfied.

“I need a cigarette,” I said, stretching out my arms.

“I need a bag of ice,” Logan replied. He fell on his back and I stared at the shiny foil on the

window, flickering in the candlelight. My Mage gift told me it was 10:23 p.m.

It was going to be a long night; not that I minded a long night in Logan’s arms.

Two hours later, I woke up with Logan draped over my stomach. It was typical for a Chitah to

offer his warmth to another, but it was hard to get used to. My previous boyfriends usually slept

with their back to me, if not falling asleep watching TV on the sofa.

Logan was fast asleep and I was dying for a drink.

“Oh, for the love of God,” I whispered.

Usually he was a light sleeper. But for some reason, whenever he was lying on top of me, he

not only became immovable, but he could sleep through a bomb dropping on the house.

Very convenient.

“Christian, can you have Levi bring me a glass of water?” I whispered.

I tried licking my lips but they were dry. A moment later, the door quietly opened and Levi

came in, shutting it behind him. He gave a thumbs-up and I shrank in embarrassment.

Levi knelt down and let me take a few sips before setting the glass beside the bed.

“He really loves you.” Levi looked over at Logan who was fast asleep across my hips. “He loved

Katrina, but don’t ever compare yourself to her. You’re two different women who loved the same

man, but in a way, you love a different man than she did.” Levi spoke in a quiet voice as he sat on

the floor with his right leg bent at the knee. “We know everything that happened between you and

Tarek, and let me tell you right now that I would put your ass on a fucking pedestal if you were

mine.”

I reached out and held his forearm, sliding my thumb across the inked letters that spelled

“truth” in Latin. “Why did you get this?”

“I was young and tired of hiding who I was from the people I loved. It was a secret for a long-