Page 39 of Heir of Ashes

My hand flexed once, then connected with his face with such force the thunderous snap echoed through the room. His head turned ninety degrees, then returned with a chilling, deliberate slowness. I wouldn’t have been surprised if his eyes began glowing red with the rage blazing in them. He didn’t return the favor—but I could tell he was so furious that he was considering it. A perfect imprint of my hand marked his cheek. His nostrils flared, but no smoke came out—nor did any fire spew from my mouth.

I held my temper enough not to strike again. Or tried, anyway. Somehow, I doubted I would get another lucky shot or another free pass. I should have made a fist.

“You know nothing of how I feel,” I snarled, finally finding my voice, “and I don’t want to listen to any excuses and denials of what I saw with my own two eyes.” I thumped a fistto my chest for emphasis. “God knows I’ve seen it enough times over the years.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed, and he opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off with another decisive snarl. “Fuck off. I. Don’t. Want. To. Know.”

My hand flexed again, but he was faster. His hands clamped onto my upper arms with bruising force, shaking me so hard my teeth clacked. Oh yeah, he was furious.

His eyes were livid, his jaws clenched hard enough to snap. I knew then I had pushed him hard. When his hands tightened, I braced myself. My talons were at the ready. He didn’t shake me though. Instead, he jerked me toward him. Before I could react, his lips crashed onto mine. Shock froze me at first, and then I began to struggle in earnest, terrified suddenly of what he had in mind. Fear choked me, making my struggles feeble. I tried to knee him, but he blocked expertly. Just as abruptly as it began, he stopped, raising his head. His breathing was hard, his warm exhales fanning my face.

I stood paralyzed, afraid to move and trigger another violent reaction. An involuntary tremor ran through me. My eyes, huge with terror, locked onto his. My arms were still pinned down by his unyielding grip. I kept my expression blank, hoping desperately to block the terror from him, but my heart was beating so fast and hard, I had no doubt he could hear and smell the fear wafting from my pores. There was no use in hiding my expression when my body betrayed me so completely, but I did it anyway. It was better to give mixed signals than confirm how he frightened me. If only there were some distance between us … We were so close, our faces nearly touching. I could see small green flecks in his irises before he closed his eyes, visibly struggling to gain control.

He didn’t release me. His breathing was shallow, and I was sure his wolf was close to the surface. I forced myself torelax, hoping that if I could calm down, it would help him rein in his beast. His hands flexed on my arms once. I froze. My heart stuttered before slamming against my ribs with abandon. Logan’s nostrils flared, and a growl rumbled in his chest. Sweat beads appeared on his forehead and upper lip.

He was close. I closed my eyes and made an effort to calm myself, slowing my breathing and with it, my racing heart. An eternity later, Logan’s grip loosened a fraction, but he didn’t let go.

I opened my eyes and looked straight into his.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said gruffly.

No, but your wolf would.

As if reading my thoughts, or just my dubious expression, he shook his head. “I’m in control of my beast. I control my beast,” he repeated for emphasis.

I nodded in agreement. He had yet to let go.

“Ever since I met you, you’ve awakened a protective part of me that I hadn’t realized I was missing. I lost someone once … Someone I should have protected.” He swallowed hard before continuing. “I want to protect you, to keep you away from harm. If you saw disgust earlier, believe me, it was for myself. You were hurt, you handled the Society’s thugs on your own. I should be the one protecting you, keeping people away from you. Seeing all those marks on you was like a slap to my face. They could have killed you while I was lying there, unconscious.”

“They’re not all from The Elites. Some are from Remo’s wards. Some from the Bad Boy Team.”

His eyes darkened, his nostrils flaring. “Not helping here.”

“I’m not an easy person to keep safe. I don’t blame you for any of what’s happened to me.”

“I’m responsible for you, for your safety. I blame myself,” he growled.

I gave a brief nod, unable to come up with a suitable response to that. He lowered his head, touching his forehead to mine, and I stiffened.

“God, don’t be afraid of me. I’m not going to hurt you or touch you if you don’t want me to.”

My eyes flicked to the king-sized bed, and of course, he noticed.

“I can’t stay up on guard all night long and function a hundred percent. This way if you so much as move, I wake up. That’s all. I swear there is no double purpose there. I won’t ever touch you if you don’t want me to.”

“Then let go.” My voice was not as steady as I’d have liked it to be.

“Okay.” But he didn’t release me right away. He took a long, shuddering breath, exhaled slowly, blowing warm air on my face. Then he took a step back, let go of my arms, and turned away.

I watched his back for a moment, gripping my hands together to keep them from shaking. My legs weren’t steady either, so I sat. Logan was still there, and my back was rigid with tension. He took a step away, hesitated, then took a couple more steps. Then the door of the bathroom closed and locked.

Chapter 14

Logan took his sweet time in the bathroom. By the time he decided to make an appearance, I had already composed myself and was ready for action.

It was dark outside. It had been dark for some time. We should have been checking those addresses. But no, Logan had to go and sulk the time away. As if I had been the one molesting him. I shuddered and sent the memory away, back to a dark corner. I sure wouldn’t let my guard down or let fear freeze me again. If he tried anything, I was ready.

Maybe he was trying to decide if I was worth the trouble. I snooped around his still-running laptop, but most files were secured. The one with my name was still open. I memorized the addresses and was about to step away when I noticed one more file titled Fosch-Roxanne. Before I could click on it, the lock on the bathroom door turned, and I hurried away.

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