As Logan smoothed her hair out of her face, she pecked his hand. “Your bear is okay?”
“Well, not okay, but quiet.”
“Can I tell you something, and you not freak out?”
“You can tell me anything.”
“For a second there, I thought you were going to claim me.”
The smile slipped from his face so fast his ears moved. He pulled the pillow under them better and rested his cheek just inches from hers. As quiet as a breath, he asked, “Would you hate that?”
Winter shook her head slowly, allowed him to see the steadiness in her eyes.
Logan swallowed hard in the quiet darkness and ran his fingertips along the sore claw marks on her arm. He followed his touch with his gaze, then blinked slowly and lifted those blazing silver eyes back to hers.
He didn’t say anything, but that single look in his eyes said so much. She felt struck by lightning. Suddenly, everything made sense. His bear’s attack, him promising he wouldn’t have killed her, his protectiveness, his inability to leave her alone, his need to touch her tonight.
Her throat got so tight she couldn’t speak right away, and her eyes misted with tears. “You didn’t hurt me tonight,” she croaked out emotionally.
“I told you I can’t hurt you anymore.”
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!
“Are these…?” Winter pressed her hand on top of Logan’s, flattening his palm against the new scars on her arm. “Are these claiming marks?”
Logan looked sick and ripped his gaze away. “I’m sorry.”
As he buried his face against her chest, she stared at the headboard above them. Claiming marks, the only way his monster knew how. It hadn’t been sweet or in an intimate moment. It had been violent and forced and animalistic. It had been so…Logan.
“You didn’t cover Brody’s mark,” she whispered, her head spinning.
“He’s part of your history. Fuck his mark. I had to give you another one just from me. It wasn’t a reaction to seeing Brody’s mark. It was my bear choosing and me not working hard enough to stop him. And now I’m tied to you. I didn’t ask you, though, and I know what this is. I can see it. It’s okay.”
“What do you think this is?” she whispered, stroking his hair. The tears streamed down her face, and her heart pounded like thunder.
“I take your mind off Brody.”
Winter huffed an emotional laugh and inhaled raggedly. “You’re no one’s replacement, Logan.”
“You forgive me?”
“On one condition.”
“What?”
“You promise me day by day.” Nope, she wasn’t giving up on him like he had on himself. If he felt strong enough to claim her, he could get strong enough to stick around. She knew it. She believed in him, no matter what damage he or his bear had sustained. “Promise me.”
He was quiet for so long she thought he would refuse to answer completely. But at last, with a huffed sigh, he cradled her closer and murmured, “Day by day.”
Chapter Thirteen
Winter now knew what that song “Walking on Sunshine” was talking about.
For the second day in a row, she’d put on make-up, fussed over her hair, and turned into a grinning idiot every time she saw herself in the mirror. It wasn’t vanity, but rather joy that she was finding her old self again. That and the giant hickey Logan had gifted her. And the marks. The claiming marks!
It was September, and chilly outside, but she was mighty tempted to wear a tank top again just so Logan would get that red flush to his cheeks and smile down at his feet like he’d done this morning before he left for his room.
These last five months she’d lived like a zombie, meandering from one task to the next, numb and mindless. Not today. And if she was honest, she had been on an upswing from the moment she set foot on Kane’s territory and met Logan and the D-Team. What a horridly dysfunctional batch of beasties they made, but Winter kind of liked it. None of them were angels, or even very safe to the human populace, and half the time they all drove each other bat-guano-crazy, but Winter was still protective over them in ways that surprised her.
She hoped they all made it into the crew.
But…what if they didn’t? What if she didn’t? What if Logan didn’t? Or what if one of them made it, but not the other? Or what if she and Logan made it, but not Beast, Emma, and Dustin? Or what if Dustin and Beast made it, but not Emma and— Stop it! She would drive herself nuts with this train of thought. Whatever happened from here, she had to trust the process and the dragons to build the best crew for them and for the territory.
A knock sounded at the door. It was the polite sort, and since Winter had propped it open with the door latch, she called out, “Come in.”
Emma pushed open the door and plopped onto the unmade bed as Winter continued folding up the clothes she’d discarded in her insane search for the perfect outfit.
“Dustin’s hungry for bacon.” Emma frowned up at the ceiling and fiddled with her hearing aid. Maybe her voice sounded off or something, but to Winter, Emma sounded the same as always.
“Are we all going to breakfast?” Winter asked.
Emily rolled her head toward her, and her frown deepened, so Winter repeated, “Are we all going to breakfast?” careful to keep her face angled toward her so Emma could read her lips, too.
“Dustin said he’s tired of hanging out with us.”