Page 32 of Bloodline Unbound

Logan stroked his head. “I’ll drive for a while. You two have a cat nap.”

I wanted to argue but there was no point with both of them against me. I pulled into a rest stop and we swapped places. Caden insisted on still sitting in her lap. I patted my own lap but he rolled his eyes at me.

“Where are we?” she asked as she pulled back onto the interstate.

I checked the map. “Bit over half an hour from St. Louis.”

“Find somewhere for us to eat and walk.”

“Can do.” Looking at my phone gave me an excuse to not look at her. Looking at her wasn’t going to help me keep control.

This was ridiculous.

I shouldn’t have been this affected. Humans didn’t even go through heats, and that was the only thing I could think of that would make me this obsessive.

I watched her while she drove. Caden fell asleep on her lap and she was focused on the road, so I had free rein to look. As traffic picked up closer to the city, she’d stick her tongue out of her mouth, just the tip as her brow furrowed in concentration. I could easily imagine her as a child with the same expression, all her attention on some task, looking adorable as fuck.

Her scent had thankfully calmed down, though it lingered in the vehicle. Now she was getting agitated with the other drivers, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. It was too bad I couldn’t soothe her as easily as she did with us. My fingertips brushed the back of her neck before I even realized I’d reached out. Her spine snapped straight and she let out a breathy groan that woke up my goosebumps and my dick. I whipped my hand back before Caden opened his eyes.

She didn’t look at me, but I’d managed to flip some switch, and that maddening scent was floating around again. Logan was still shivering, weaving us through traffic as I fed her directions.

We got food and stopped only long enough to take a photo at the Gateway Arch before continuing on. Every few hours we swapped off who was driving, stopping only as required for bathroom breaks and gas. It was a miserable stretch of driving that took over thirteen hours to finally reach our destination—another cabin, this one situated past Denver in the Rockies, where we could be surrounded by the forest and isolated from the rest of the world. We’d stopped at a grocery store and, unfortunately for my imagination, a sex shop, before continuing to our accommodations.

I was vibrating with energy by the time we arrived, and I hurled myself out of the car and into my panther form at the first opportunity. Relief sank into my bones. The forest filled every sense and I swirled around a tall pine tree near the cabin. Logan and Caden looked like death warmed over even with the frequent naps. Guess that meant I was on guard duty.

Lucky me.

Ibrought our bags inside and pulled out the salt we’d bought on the way in. I poured it on the window sills and the doorways, adding a line by every door in the hopes that even if the monster got through one it might be slowed down by the others. Logan looked exhausted so I sent her straight to the bedroom while Seth and I locked down the cabin and put away what few groceries we’d purchased.

It was a relief to be somewhere much farther away than before. With almost a full day of travel between us and the unknown entity hunting us, we had a decent chance to relax. We all needed that rest.

I came upon Logan stretched out on the bed with her eyes closed, but not asleep. She was so beautiful. Her face was soft, brown hair sprawled around her like a halo as she hugged one of the pillows to her chest.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten that promise from this morning,” she said.

Instead of pulling out the ropes I’d bought on the way here, I lay down next to her and pulled her into my arms. “In a few minutes.”

Logan slid against me without question and buried her face against my throat. She wasn’t a particularly tiny woman, but she felt small in my arms. Her personality was big and bold, so it felt weird when she was worn down. I knew she wasn’t fragile. Despite knowing how strong she was, I had never tempered my desire to protect her.

Her lips pressed softly against my skin. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” I slid my fingers into her hair and indulged myself in cradling her body against me.

We were safe for the moment.

I held her until the panic of the day had melted away for me and all that remained was her scent and her warmth. Her breathing had relaxed, and got up to put to use what I’d purchased. I pulled the bundles of thick, braided cotton rope out of the bag. It wasn’t as nice as what we usually used, but it would do.

Logan was content and sleepy, lifting her hips to help me strip her down. She sat quietly as I started the process of tying her up. I took it slow, beginning at her ankles with a simple heel weave. She always looked somehow more beautiful than usual with ropes twining up her body in whimsical patterns. I’d never even heard of shibari before we’d gotten together. I’d put in the time, learning the patterns and knots, playing with her to find out which ones she liked best, which positions made her sink under the quickest.

The ropes tended to have a hypnotic effect on her. Logan craved this particular submission, needed it to shut off her brain, and I was perfectly willing to give it to her.

She was fucking magnificent.

I didn’t think anyone had ever put that much trust in me before. She’d offered in the past to reverse our roles, but I was pretty sure being tied up would be more panic-inducing than relaxing for me. I had a much more effective method of relaxation, and all it took was for me to shift into cat form and get her hands on me.

I worked up her body, binding each section in turn. I had a frog tie on each of her legs and had her arms bound across her stomach, cradling her breasts so I could easily give them all the attention they deserved.

I eased her down slowly. A kiss, a touch, gentle fingertips tracing the ropes and teasing the skin beneath. Gentleness was important for her early on. After her mind shut off, she liked to float like that and get slowly brought out with more contact, more passion, until she was quaking and squirming, fighting the ropes as the pleasure rose up.

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