Gravity (54 page)

on his mind after finding out the documents in the truck had been stolen. Without him in the

room, it was chilly, and I’d put on my slipper-socks. Page curled up with her oversized sweater

pulled over her knees, and Simon tucked his hands in his leather jacket—the one with the teeth

marks on the shoulder.

It was a somber occasion at first, but once we slammed down a few shots, the chatter began.

Simon, who normally was the first to crack a Knox joke, was uncharacteristically quiet. He kept his

face in the palm of his hand, studying the rim of his glass before each shot.

“I remember one night just after he quit smoking, we went to get some ice cream at that little

store on Beacon Street,” I said, laughter starting to bubble. “Knox disappeared and when Sunny

went to look for him, she found him in the ladies’ room.”

“Aye, now there’s an interesting place to be hanging around in,” Christian said sarcastically,

rolling his eyes to the ceiling.

I snorted and topped off my vodka. “He walked into the wrong bathroom; I guess he was in a

hurry to light up. When Sunny swung the door open, he was standing on top of the toilet with a

cigarette in his mouth, blowing the smoke in the vents. He was so startled that his foot slipped into

the toilet and the automatic flusher went off.” I laughed, tears streaming. “He had to walk home

barefoot that day.”

An hour later, the men drifted into the dining room and were on their fourth round of cards.

Leo, Simon, and Logan were whooping and groaning, and I heard hands slapping down on the

table as they continued knocking back drinks. I joined them for one round until Page brought out

the deli sandwiches she had ordered. They went fast, and I devoured a ham and avocado before

grabbing a bag of Doritos and heading back into the living room, leaving her to watch the men

play cards. I’m not sure what game they were playing when I left, but each had a card stuck to his

forehead.

Page didn’t drink because she was driving and also on call for work, so she stuck to root beer,

putting a dollop of ice cream in the glass to kick it up a notch. She’d taken over some of Slater’s

appointments and put in a request for a new partner to ease the burden. She wasn’t confident

that one would be assigned to her since they paired up Relics early on; anyone at this stage might

be unstable or unqualified. Page was likely going to search for one herself or reduce her clientele. I

knew something had happened between her and Justus, but I didn’t bring it up because it seemed

pretty mutual from the way they were both behaving.

I stumbled over the white flokati rug that Adam had given me for my birthday. He was the one

who brought the ashes over, but he didn’t join in the festivities in the other room. He sat quietly in

the living room, staring at the urn while drinking his stout. Losing Knox was more personal to him

than the rest of us because he was not just a friend but had watched it all go down. He had the

same contemplative look a man might have standing on the edge of the world.

Adam was half-asleep on the sofa, lifting an eye to watch me.

“You drink like a fish,” he murmured.

“You’re one to talk, Shamu. How many kegs did you guzzle down?”

His glazed eyes slanted my way and he tossed a pillow at my head. My Adam was slowly

returning, scars and all. They marked his jaw and lacerated his forehead and eye. Since that night,

he always kept his jacket on or wore long sleeves. I knew the explosion had scarred him

elsewhere, but I didn’t know how to express to him that it didn’t matter to me.

He ran his hand through his wavy dark hair and scratched his bristly chin before resting his fist

against his cheek. “So, it’s serious now with Logan?”

Adam watched me take a few swallows of beer and my voice softened. “I know you’re thinking

I’m rushing into this, but I can’t begin to explain how I feel when I’m with him, Adam. He’s not

perfect, I’m not perfect, but together… we’re perfect.”

His finger traced along the scar on his right jaw, something I noticed that he did when

thinking. “Just remember, if he breaks your heart, I’ll kick his ass,” he said, loud enough that I

cringed.

“Keep it down, Adam.”

“No, I won’t keep it down,” he replied, raising his voice to nearly a yell. “If he breaks your

heart, I’ll kick his ass!”

“As you should,” Logan said, bringing enough swagger into the room to set my heart afire.

“Come with me, Adam. Our man-to-man talk is long overdue.”

“Wait a minute,” I said. But Logan lifted his hand to silence me. He was as serious as a heart

attack and I looked on nervously as Adam polished off his beer and accepted the challenge. As

they moved toward the outside hall, Logan turned around and shot me a reassuring wink.

“You need to ease off that,” Christian said, nodding at my drink as he slumped into a chair.

“I can drink you all under the table,” I said with a hiccup.

He stared down his nose, looking as Vlad as a Vampire could with his short beard and apathetic

eyes. “A drunken woman is not fetching.”

“It’s so much easier for you men in this world,” I grumbled. “It’s hard to relate to Mage women

because most of them were brought on as sexual liaisons, not warriors. Most of them weren’t even

properly educated.”

“Aye. And your Ghuardian has tried to remedy that by giving you all the best.”

“For what? I haven’t seen many independent women who weren’t under the protection of a

man or organization. Maybe Page is on the abrasive side, but she’s more down to earth than some

of the Loopty Loos I’ve run into.”

“Well, you can piss and moan about it, or you could be the exception to the rule.”

I rolled on my back, gripping the rug between my fingers. “I don’t want to be an exception,

Christian. I want it to be like this for all the women. I’d like more women to be created, and for

there to be more balance in our race.”

“Jaysus. The men would go wild over some of the modern lasses coming into your little society.

Ever seen the girls in those clubs wearing the shorts that ride up over their arse?”

“And people like you are the reason why women were made into whores.”

He frowned and looked up at the ceiling. I tried to keep our banter going because something

had changed with Christian since the night of our blood sharing. He looked at me differently. Novis

had shared his concern that he might not be fit to guard me because that kind of blood sharing

sometimes created a personal bond not conducive to protecting me within the rules. He would

become easily distracted. I didn’t know much about Vampires, but I wondered if they felt a sense

of entitlement to those who had ingested their blood.

“Is it true that your eyes silver?” Page curled up on the sofa, hugging a small pillow.

“Sometimes,” I said. “Who told you?”

She smirked and pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “They’re drunk in there. Loose lips and

all that. Can you show me?”

Christian laughed enthusiastically. “I think I can help out with that.”

“You can stuff it, Christian.”

“Yes, I certainly can,” he said suggestively.

I ignored the remark and glanced at Page. “The silvering only happens when I get angry or…”

“I believe horny is the word you’re looking for,” Christian responded matter-of-factly. He leaned

in privately to Page. “Been there, done that.”

I narrowed my eyes and decided to buy Christian a box of wooden stakes for Christmas. “Why

do you ask?”

She rested her chin on her knee. “When it was mentioned, something clicked. It took me a

minute to figure it out, but I’d have to see it for myself to know.”

“See what?” Logan said in a deep voice, looking tall and delicious as he entered the room. He

was wearing Knox’s black hat, and his blond hair peeked out from the edges.

Adam came up behind him and I was relieved to see no black eyes on either of them. He

looked satisfied and took a seat in a chair beside the faux fireplace, sitting with his legs wide apart.

Logan sat on the floor and wrapped his warm hands around my ankles.

“Page wants to see her eyes do that pinwheel thing,” Christian answered.

A deep and guttural purr hummed from Logan’s chest and I melted—it was one of my most

favorite sounds that he made. There were different levels of purring and growling, and each had

its own meaning. He had one particular purr that was reserved for me, because it was at such a

low decibel that you could only hear it if you were next to him. He parted my knees very slowly and

began to crawl over me.

“Not in front of a crowd!” I shouted. Laughs filled the room and Logan winked.

“I tried,” he said with a wag of his brow. That dark gaze in his eye let me know he would have

made out with me on top of the queen’s dining table to prove his devotion.

Page picked a piece of lint from her black sweater. “I think I have an idea of what’s in your

genetic makeup if you ever want to show me.”

I sat up quicker than a heartbeat. Hell yes, I wanted to know.

I grabbed a fistful of Logan’s shirt and rose to my feet. “Give us a minute.”

He stumbled behind me obediently, sliding his hands around my hips and dipping his fingers

into my pants. I pulled Logan into the study and stood with my back against the wall.

Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was curiosity to know more about what I was, or maybe it

was just Logan being so damn sexy in that tight black shirt.

He pressed his hard body against mine and I drew in a deep breath, smelling his wonderful

scent. He pulled off the hat, revealing messy hair, and respectfully placed it on the arm of a chair.

Meanwhile, my hands were sliding around to grip his ass and he growled, pressing even closer

to me as his mouth tasted the curve of my neck. “I’m afraid if you work me over, Little Raven, the

good doctor will not be able to see what it is you want to show her.”

“Why is that?” I breathed.

His tongue laved a sensitive part below my ear and kicked my heart into fourth gear. “Because

I’m going to carry you to the bedroom and make love to you if you keep this up. Or maybe I’ll just

close the door and bend you over that chair.”

He kissed his way up my neck and I touched his smooth jaw as his warm lips mashed against

mine. Logan kissed me slow and sensually, curving his hand around the back of my neck and

pushing the hard muscle of his tongue against mine. He kissed me that same way during sex.

The back of his hand stroked my stomach before moving higher. He circled his thumb over my

bra and then took a detour, slowly heading south where he gave me a hard massage. I moaned

against his mouth and wrapped my arms around his neck, keeping my hands at a distance.

It took all of fifteen seconds before he turned his head to the side and shouted, “Relic, come

see.”

And then his mouth was back on mine. “I don’t think I can stop,” he whispered against my lips.

His chest vibrated like a motor and his breathing grew heavy.

Page walked in and looked startled.

Logan pressed the flat of his hands against the wall and lowered his head, looking at me like a

six-and-a-half-foot predator. Somehow, he managed to pull himself away so that Page could lean

in and get a closer look. I tried to straighten my shirt as I kept my attention on Logan’s eyes; they

dripped sex from every fleck of color that bled from them like honey.

Page suddenly obscured my view. Her finger pushed up my lid and she leaned in closer.

“Fascinating,” she whispered. “I never imagined how beautiful it was.”

Logan held my wrist as a reminder not to accidentally touch the Relic. I pinned them behind

my back and allowed her to look at my eyes before the silvering disappeared.

She scratched the side of her nose and stepped back. “Has anyone ever told you that you were

a…” Her lips formed a thin line and I knew what word was coming. She didn’t finish because Logan

was present.

“Logan, there’s something I’ve kept from you,” I said.

His heavy brow sank over his eyes. “What does that mean?”

I took a deep breath and met Page with a worried glance. “You’re about to find out.” I nodded

at Page, because I did not intend to keep secrets from Logan anymore. Those days were over.

“There are different kinds of Uniques,” she began. “Four that I know of. They were once called

Elementals because their power was different from a normal Mage, and they’re rare. But they are a

Mage. No one understood their unique power, so they were feared and hunted. Part of my gift is

learning the makeup of various Breeds: healing, treatments, abilities, limits, and believe me—I

could go on in what we know. Some of us specialize in Breeds that are rare, or have gone extinct.

Slater was one such Relic.”

“I’m not following.”

Page closed the door and lowered her voice. “My family used to consult with, treat, and assist

Uniques. That was many generations ago. There were more in that time because they didn’t hide

who they were. Many were killed, kept captive in their younger years, or just disappeared. My

theory is that they still exist and live in secret among us. I have never met one myself. Each