Chapter 5 #2
He set me on my feet, holding on until I was steady. “Towels and toiletries are there,” he said, pointing to a cabinet beside
the double sinks. “I’ll bring you a shirt to sleep in.”
“Always trying to get your clothes on me,” I teased, even though I secretly loved it.
“Well, I prefer you naked, if I’m being honest. But second to that is you in my hoodies. Still sleeping in them, Precious?”
Did this asshole have cameras in my bedroom?
I shook my head and lifted my chin. “Nope. No idea where they even went.”
His smirk grew. “Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty more for you to borrow and lose.”
Then he was gone, and on weakened knees I stumbled over to the shower. There were four levers, and with no idea what I was
supposed to turn on, I lifted them all to find multiple showerheads shooting water around the large stall. Okay. Rich people had better showers too.
Stripping off my clothes, I stepped under the warm streams, groaning at how good the hot water felt. Steam surrounded me as
well, and I wondered which one of the levers controlled that. There was a hint of mint and lavender in the spray, and I could
die a happy witch in Logan’s shower.
A tiled bench ran the full length of the far wall, and I lay across it, letting the water beat over me. Being naked and vulnerable in the house of a Kingston shouldn’t be congruent with relaxing, but I found my eyes drifting closed as I enjoyed the sensation of water beating across my skin.
I started at a knock on the bathroom door. “Clothes are just outside,” Logan called, and I pulled myself up to sit, knowing
I’d fall asleep otherwise. Finishing my shower by using his amazing bodywash, I turned the water and steam off and stepped
out. After drying myself with one of Logan’s cloud-soft towels, I cracked open the door to grab the shirt.
It was plain black and large enough to fall to mid-thigh. It smelled faintly like Logan, and I was soothed by the now familiar
minty evergreen. His hoodies I slept in no longer held that scent, and I’d been secretly mourning the loss.
Before leaving the bathroom, I brushed my teeth with the spare toothbrush he’d left on the shelf. I also found a brush to
run through my long hair—if I went to bed with it wet and tangled, it’d be a bitch to tame tomorrow.
When I’d delayed as long as I could, I exited the bathroom to find Logan sprawled on his bed. There were still no lights on,
but the moon had moved out from behind a cloud, and its beams filtered through those amazing windows.
When I crossed to his bed, I noticed his hair was damp and he wore a pair of soft shorts, leaving the full expanse of his
muscled chest on display. I’d been desperate to examine his tattoos for almost a year now, and in the low light, I noted a
large white tiger, and what looked like a dragon wrapping around his shoulder and down his biceps.
He sat up, and I tried very hard to ignore all those flexing muscles. “You okay, sweetheart?”
Fucker.
“Stop it,” I said, unable to help my splutter of laughter. “He’s a friend.”
Logan’s expression grew darker. “On your side maybe.”
James had been my friend and boss for a long time, and I’d never seen any real indication that he wanted to be more, so I
ignored that statement.
“Where am I sleeping?”
Logan patted the bed. “You’re with me, Precious. Where I can keep an eye on you.”
I blanched, even if almost every part of me wanted to dive into this sexy-as-fuck warlock. But I didn’t need him to have a
front-row seat to my nightmares. Without my potion and pills, I was going to wake up screaming.
“Maybe it’ll be better if I sleep alone. I have no intention of fucking you tonight.” My tone was bitchier than needed when
he’d been nothing short of amazing, but I was half-panicked at being this vulnerable with him. It was too much, and at the
same time, not remotely enough.
Logan stood, his energy sweeping out to surround me. “You’re exhausted,” he repeated, and I expected a bite in his tone after
my comment, but there was none. “This is not about fucking, Paisley. This is about you sleeping where the monsters can’t reach you. Let me do this for you tonight.”
My eyes burned. My soul fucking burned.
Trying not to let my tears spill, I decided I was too tired to fight him and stumbled forward to crawl onto the huge bed.
Logan waited for me to slide under the thick comforter before he got in after me, on the side closest to the door, nudging
me over.
“I sleep between you and danger,” he said as he settled under the covers.
There was a moment of tension where I wondered if I’d ever fall asleep with him beside me like this, but then he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his hard frame.
“Relax, Precious,” he breathed, pressing a kiss to my temple. “I’ve got you. I promise that I won’t let the monsters near
you.”
The tears I’d been holding back surged again, but only one slipped free. I felt the brush of his fingertip against the moisture,
the heat of his power wrapping around me. True to his word, I felt a sense of safety for the first time in weeks.
Seconds later, sleep dragged me under as if it had been waiting for me all along.