Page 91 of Short, Lethal & Claimed

“Yes,” Logan admitted, making her swallow hard as she thought about the moment when she realized that something was wrong.

Within seconds of the white smoke pouring off her skin, her fingertips and palm turned gray before turning to ash and fell away as the pain slowly made its way up her arm.

God, the pain was indescribable…

It had taken everything she had not to scream, afraid that once she started that she wouldn’t be able to stop. As soon as she found out that they’d used holy oil and Sentinel blood on the bars, she knew that she was about to lose her arm forever. If she’d lost her arm any other way, holy water, sunlight, even having it sliced off, it would have grown back after she’d gorged on bagged blood, but the combination of holy oil and Sentinel blood was a deal breaker. Thanks to Logan, her arm was able to grow back because he’d cut off the destruction before it could reach her shoulder.

“Why did you let me drink your blood?” Jill asked, watching him closely.

“I wanted the connection to go both ways,” he said as she dropped down in the chair across from him.

“Why did you do this?” she asked on a soft sigh.

“Because I wanted you to know what you were doing to me.”

“And what am I doing to you?” Jill asked as she sat there, considering him.

“Destroying me.”

“Did you do this on purpose?” Jill asked after a slight hesitation.

“Are you asking if I knew that I was claiming you the first time that I bit you?” Logan asked, shifting to get more comfortable.

“Yes,” Jill said, needing to know.

“No,” he murmured softly.

“And if you could do it all over again?” she asked.

“I would have done it the first time that I saw you,” Logan said with absolutely no hesitation.

“I see,” Jill murmured absently as she considered her options. “What have you learned about me from this connection?”

“That you don’t hate me.”

“What else?”

“That you love the children more than anything and that you miss your family,” Logan said.

“Yes, I do,” Jill said, wishing that she could see them, but she knew that it wasn’t safe.

“And when I’m not here, you feel like a part of you is missing,” Logan said, making her frown.

“You can tell all that from my blood?” Jill asked, leaning back in her chair as she watched him.

“No.”

“Then, how?”

“Because that’s how I feel,” Logan said, leaving her with no choice but to worry her bottom lip between her teeth as she thought that over.

“What am I feeling right now?” Jill asked as she absently drummed her fingertips against the armrest.

“I don’t know.”

“And how does that make you feel?” Jill asked as she felt a shimmer of fear spread through her chest, something that would have freaked her out an hour ago.

“Terrified.”

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