Warrior's Rise (23 page)

“So,” Logan started as he waved the bottle of liquor and then set it back down on the stump. “You want to tell me why you and a sixteen-year-old girl were halfway through a bottle of Jack, shooting arrows in the forest in the middle of the night?”

She shrugged and tried to locate one of the arrows that had gone astray. She gasped when strong, unyielding hands clamped around her upper arms and forced her to stand upright and stare into the one pair of eyes she didn’t want to look into.

“Tell me,” he persisted.

She frowned and tried to adopt irritation as a defense. “Don’t bully me, Logan. I don’t have to divulge all of my business to you.” She tried to push past him, but it was like trying to push past a wall. He took a step closer to her and she stumbled back to avoid him. That pattern continued until he had backed her all the way up against a solid tree trunk. She drew in a shaky breath and dared glance up at him. Her heart faltered. He looked absolutely predatory.

“You’re trying to tell me that you decided to down half a bottle of whiskey with a teenager just because you felt like it? The fact that me and Darien were supposedly being
persuaded
by the lovely ladies of your village had nothing to do with it?”

She swallowed. She couldn’t even speak. She couldn’t think. Not when he was so close. How was she supposed to be indifferent when he was so close? She could feel the heat from his powerful body. She could smell his intoxicating scent. He smelled like the forest and the wild, like everything she loved about nature.

“Willow.” He brought his face closer to hers, crowding her, making it impossible for her to escape, impossible for her to keep fooling herself. “Tell me the truth.”

She hated when his voice held that commanding note. She hated when he looked at her with that fire burning in his eyes. She hated when he stood so close! Treasonous tears filled her eyes and she met his gaze with force, her words coming out with vehemence. “What do you want me to say, Logan?” she cried in frustration. “That I want you? Is that what you want me to say?” Her carefully held in tears broke loose like a river breaking through a dam. “That the thought of any other woman touching you makes me sick to my stomach? That I want you all for myself? Is
that
what you want me to say?” She shook her head and her body started to tremble with the onslaught of her emotion. “Do you want me to tell you that some sick part of me has always wanted you? From the moment you walked into my office? Even when I hated you. Even when you disgusted me. And then…” She squeezed her eyes shut and let her head hang. “Especially when you showed me the real you, and protected me from Cyrcinus, and embraced my people like they were your own… Especially then.” She let out a ragged breath. “I promised myself I wouldn’t tell you, that I wouldn’t give in. Especially after my moment of weakness last week when I kissed you and slept next to you. I enjoyed it too much.”

“Willow, there is nothing wrong with—”

Her eyes snapped up to meet his. “Yes, there is! There
is
something wrong with me giving into you! I’ve only ever had myself to depend on! My entire life has been unstable!
I’m
solid!
I’m
stable! When you’re around, you just mess all of that up! I can’t think straight and I sparkle and I feel so angry whenever one of the other women here look at you with lust in their eyes! I can’t stand it. It makes me feel out of control and I know it’s all just a game to you!”

“A game?” His voice was angry and he took her by the shoulders, making her look up at him. “Is it a game that I left a perfectly sweet and willing woman back in that tent because, every time I closed my eyes, I saw you? Think that was part of my master plan?” He snorted and gave her a little shake for emphasis. “When are you going to stop judging me based on the man that I was? When are you going to realize that you are
not
a game to me? Have I pursued women for my own pleasure in my past? Of course I have. Was that originally the way I felt about you? Yes, I’m not going to lie, but tell me when you went from being a beautiful woman with a great body to the
only
woman who can make me feel like I’m a man and not and bumbling fool.”

Her bottom lip trembled as she stared up into his eyes. There was nothing but sincerity in them. They were impassioned. They were slightly angry, but they were sincere.

He heaved a sigh. “You give me a purpose. You make me feel like I have a path. You speak to the freakish beast that lives within me. You tame it with your touch and your voice. No one else can do that. Did I used to view women as score points? Yes. But all of that stupidity was blown out of the water by a gorgeous, proud, stubborn, infuriating—” he circled his hands around her throat and mimicked strangling her “—redheaded woman with more passion, goodness and love for those in her life than I have ever seen.” He shook his head and stared into her eyes. “You are magnificent, Willow. Tell me, why would I ever want to go back to lukewarm mediocrity when I can have fire?”

She let her shoulders slump as the last vestige of her pride melted and she cried. She brought her hands up weakly and placed them against his solid chest. Her whole life had been running, hiding, looking over her shoulder. She’d always had to be alert, in control. She wasn’t used to having someone to lean on. She wasn’t used to having someone she could share herself with. Aside from Tiyenen, she’d been a rock and an island for most of her adult life. It was hard for her to let someone close, and it was hard for her to admit that she had feelings for a man she’d loathed. But it was true and she couldn’t deny it any longer. She was falling for him and it was happening fast and hard.

He pressed his body close to hers and lowered his mouth so that his breath teased her ear. “Be still,” he whispered, “there is only you.”

This, of course, only made her cry harder. His sensual heat surrounded her, made her ache, made her burn.

“Only you who I see when I close my eyes,” he continued. “Only your skin I want to touch.” He ran his fingers down her cheek and neck, then tangled his hand in her hair. “Only your hair I want wrapped around my fingers.”

She closed her eyes and her hands bunched at the material of his robe. The action made him press his body full up against hers, pinning her between him and the unyielding tree at her back. The contact made her entire body shiver.

“Only your kiss I want to lose myself in,” he continued, bringing his lips close enough to hover over hers, but not enough to give her the satisfaction of their touch. He slid one hand down her hip and grasped one of her legs, bringing it up around his waist. He pressed his hips against hers, making her gasp. “Only your legs I want wrapped around me.”

His voice was hypnotic. His touch was driving her mad. She felt like she was going to go up in flames. She couldn’t catch her breath and her heart was racing in exhilaration at his eroticism.

He released her leg, then brought his hands up to frame her face. “Tell me you want me.”

She leaned her head back against the tree trunk, relishing his touch all the way into her soul. “I told you already,” she replied breathlessly.

He trailed his lips along the line of her jaw. “Tell me again.”

She tangled her fingers in his hair and gave a little tug. “Can’t you tell? I’m on fire.”

His lips played at her neck for a few seconds, then he lifted his head and brushed back her hair. “Now you know how much I burn for you.” He feathered his thumb across her lips. “But I’m not going to seduce you, Willow.”

Her eyes fluttered open.
What? Why not?

His smile was gentle. “I want you to trust me. I want you to realize, and know in your heart, that it is
you
I want. That you’re not just a conquest, not a game.”

Her heart shivered at his words and she slipped her arms around his neck, bringing his lips to hers and kissing him with a molten passion she didn’t even know she’d been capable of feeling. He matched her fervor with his own and the world and its cares fell away. There was no Cyrcinus, no imminent war. There was only Logan. Logan and his powerful kiss that took her breath away and made her melt. Logan, the man who had gone from selfish scoundrel to honorable warrior. The man who she’d sworn to despise, but who had wrapped himself right around her heart.

“Guys, I—Whoa… Sorry, my bad.”

Logan lifted his head and Willow crashed back to the present as Darien’s voice tore through the fantasy she’d fallen into. She looked over to see both him and Lucy standing with their backs to them.

Logan’s chuckle was rich and warm and it sent tingles throughout her body. He pulled away from her and rush of cold air cooled where his body had been pressed against her. It made her feel bereft.

“Good to see you dressed, Darien,” Logan said.

Darien turned and rolled his eyes. “Okay, yeah, that crazy woman was
still
searching for me. Lucy and I had to sneak back out here.” He shook his head. “I can’t take this anymore. As much as I love the fairy realm, I am in serious need of a dose of human.”

Logan laughed and he reached out to take Willow’s hand in his, pulling her to his side and slipping his arm around her shoulders. “Sounds good to me.” He looked down at her. “What do you say? Wanna blow this joint?”

Logan nodded. “We’ll wait here.” He watched her walk away, letting his eyes linger on the sway of her hips, and he sighed. Such beauty, such grace. And she wanted
him.
He replayed her words in his mind and relished them.

An ear-splitting shriek suddenly ripped through the night, followed by a chorus of more screams that raised the hairs on the back of Logan’s neck. His attention snapped over to the village, where a plume of smoke was starting to rise into the sky where the fort was.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Miss Willow!” Darien shouted. Without warning, he bolted back towards the village.

“Darien, wait!” Logan’s protest was cut short by an arrow grazing his arm. Lucy screamed. “Get down!” he demanded, falling to the ground and hauling Lucy with him. He peered through the undergrowth, his heart hammering, watching in horror as Darien continued to plunge through the forest towards the village.

“Darien!” Lucy cried.

“Shh!” Logan commanded. “We’re no good to anyone if we’re dead or caught. Be quiet.” He listened intently to see if he could pinpoint any movement near them. But no sounds came save the screams from the village. It led him to believe that the arrow had been meant for Darien, that it had been shot by someone who’d heard him shout for Willow. It meant that maybe, hopefully, Lucy and he had a chance to get away.

“Logan, we have to go back!” Lucy whimpered, her little body trembling under his.

“We can’t, sweetie,” he whispered, trying to sound encouraging. “Right now we may be the only shot everyone has.” He swore. “It figures she’d wait to attack during a celebration when everyone is unaware and half drunk. I’m an idiot for thinking we were safe. I should have known better.”

“Logan, you’re not a marine.”

“I should have known better!” he snapped, hating himself so acutely he felt sick. Two seconds… Two seconds earlier Willow and Darien had been safe. Now, there was no telling what would happen to them. He shook his head and tried to push his mounting panic away. He would be no good to anyone if he lost his cool. “Okay, Lucy, we have to try and skirt our way around the village. We need to get back to the portal.” He stood slowly and backed noiselessly into the darkness of the trees. He motioned for Lucy to follow. She sprinted over to him like a gazelle and grasped his hand.

“Logan, what’s going to happen to Darien?” Her voice wavered and she clutched his hand so tightly he thought she might amputate his fingers.

“Nothing if we can help it.” Even as he said it, his heart thundered against his rib cage. He spotted a small incline that led to a cliff overlooking the village. “Let’s see if we can get a look up there.” He was grateful that he had scouted most of the surrounding forest in his spare time over the past week. It made it easier to navigate. He stopped and pulled the robe he still wore off, discarding it in the bushes. It was bright blue and cumbersome. He’d rather run around in his boxers than in a bright blue toga thing that could be seen five hundred yards away. He crouched down and searched the forest floor until he found a decent sized rock he could dislodge without much fuss. When he’d kicked it loose, he grabbed a handful of the soft, damp dirt beneath it and rubbed it haphazardly over his skin. His white boy body wasn’t going to do much in the way of camo either. Mud would be ideal, but he only had the dirt so he had to make do and hope it would give him a little bit of cover.

Lucy had already climbed the hill and was hiding behind some brush by the time he finished and crawled up behind her. “Can you see anything?” he whispered.

“The Royal House is burning,” she murmured.

Logan peered through the brush and confirmed Lucy’s observation. His stomach dropped when he saw Cyrcinus, bedecked in a gaudy gray wolf pelt, circling Willow, Darien, and all of the other kids in the courtyard.

“Well, well, well,” he heard her say. “What have we here? A little Alveda d’Kai that has been hiding from me.” She stopped in front of Darien and grasped his chin in her hand. “Where is the other one? And don’t lie to me. I know he’s alive. My scouts have been watching you for three days.”

Darien’s response? He spat in her face. Lucy gasped and Logan wanted to groan aloud.
Great teenage diplomacy, Darien.