Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

" Y ou sure you don't want to come? You look like you could use a night out." Raven grinned from the doorway but Wren stayed put where she was on the couch.

"I'm sure. Have fun, be safe."

"I'm always safe." Raven did a finger wave as she headed out to meet her girlfriends for a night of drinking and dancing.

Wren wasn't in any mental state to deal with the girls tonight. She'd barely managed to hold it together when Raven had come in for work and tried to give her third degree. Wren had left the office early, come home and showered and changed into a ratty old t-shirt and a pair of comfy boxer shorts and then she'd curled up on the couch to stew. Raven had been surprised to see her already home but Wren had dodged her questions and her sister had let her be… for now.

A knock came on the door and Wren rolled her eyes. Raven was great about locking the door behind her when she left the house but she had a tendency to forget her keys. Wren groaned but forced herself up to go see what else her sister had forgotten.

She pulled the door open, "Ray I…"

Her words died in her throat when the tall figure on her porch came into view. Not Raven. Logan.

"Hey." He had his hands shoved into his pockets and he looked like hell.

"Hey." she echoed back, "I thought you were Raven. She just left."

"I know. I saw her." His lips thinned and Wren realized her panic must have shown on her face because he sighed "I saw her. She didn't see me. Can I come in?"

Wren moved aside purely out of common courtesy. She didn't want him here, at her house. She didn't even know how he'd figured out where she lived. It didn't matter though because he was here. He was in her house and she had no idea why he'd come.

Logan wandered in, slowly turning as he took in the interior. Wren shut the door behind him and watched him nervously. Once she got her own warring emotions under control she could feel the tension radiating off of him. The bond between them was continuing to grow. Not that she needed the bond to tell her that he was hurting. That was written all over his handsome face.

"I like your house." he said as the silence stretched between them.

Wren raised an eyebrow, "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He touched a vase of wildflowers, "It's colorful and warm. Inviting. Not like the cold, boring gray house I grew up in."

"Logan…" She frowned when he continued to touch picture frames and knick-knacks on the shelves in the little entryway. "Is your mom…"

When she trailed off he finally turned back to her and his eyes were sad, "She's gone. She died this afternoon."

"I'm so sorry."

"I hate that I didn't get more time with her but there's nobody to blame for that but me." He lifted one shoulder, let it fall and sighed. "I'm the one that left, the one that stayed away and refused to call. Even when I got back I put off seeing her because I was still so angry with her for always standing by him, for never taking my side."

Wren bit the inside of her cheek. She wanted to ask him what he meant. Why had he been angry with his mom? Something about her taking her husband's side over her son? But she kept her questions to herself because now was not the time to press him on his family secrets.

He was hurting and he had come to her. He needed something and the ache in her chest demanded she give it to him, whatever it was. That's what the bond did. It tied them to one another, made them feel one another's wants and needs. Only the bond wasn't fully formed yet so she was still struggling to understand exactly what he needed her to say.

She went with the obvious, "I'm sure your mom understood, probably better than you think. She was your mom and even if we're not close to them, they still hold a piece of us nobody else ever will."

"Maybe." he muttered noncommittedly.

"Were you able to see her before…" She winced, not wanting to say it and cause him more pain. "Your sister rushed you out so fast earlier. I wondered if you made it back in time to be there with her like you wanted."

"I did. Yeah. I spoke to her a little before she passed."

"That's good. It's nice you got a chance to say goodbye."

She didn't point out that she'd never had that chance with her sister. The silence stretched between them again and Logan wandered further into the house. He ran a hand over the island in the kitchen as he passed and then a barstool. The area opened into the living room but Wren couldn't imagine inviting him to sit with her on the couch.

The dam broke and the words rushed out of her, "Logan. What are you doing here? What do you need? I want to help you, but I don't know how?"

He turned and his heavy gaze met hers. Her heart sped up of its own accord. The electricity that had been between them since that first night in the alleyway surged and she sucked in a gasp of air when she was hit with a powerful wave of sadness and longing. It took her a moment to realize it wasn't her own, that it was Logan's emotions pouring into her through the bond.

"You are helping me." His lips curved just at the edges but fell again quickly, "Letting me be here. Letting me be with you. It helps."

"I'm here for you." She automatically took a step towards him before catching herself and pulling up short. "I know this thing between us is complicated but, whatever I can do to help. I'm here."

Logan stared at her for a long time before he shook his head, "I don't want to be like them."

"Be like who?"

"My parents. I don't want to be like them. I don't want to be mated in name only. I don't want to put on a show for the pack but live separate lives in private. They were never in love. Even though fate put them together, they never figured out how to love one another, never even tried, and I don't want to live like that, Wren. I want more than that for my life, for us."

"Logan…" his name came out hesitantly, a question, but he was already answering what he hadn't asked.

"I want the bond between us to be real. I want to make you mine. I want to be yours. I want us to truly be two halves of a whole the way the bond was intended. I want to try. Can we do that?" His eyes searched her face. "Can we do that, Wren? Please? Can we try to do better than our parents?"

Her heart gave a painful squeeze and her bottom lip trembled. He was talking about his own parents, but it hit home for her too. They'd lived very different lives but they'd each ended up with parents who were too self-absorbed to put their children first. She might not know his secrets and he might not know hers but there was a reason fate had put them together and maybe this small bit of common ground was part of it.

"Please?" Logan stepped closer again, the heat of his body making her own respond in kind. His hazel eyes locked on her as he slid his hands into her hair, holding her face gently in his palms. "Wren?"

She shivered as awareness skated through her and she realized that he was waiting for her answer. She could say no. She could push him away. He was a good man despite the horrible things she'd accused him of and she knew that if she refused him that he would walk away. But her heart ached and her wolf whined and she was so damn tired of fighting something that felt inevitable.

"Yeah, we can try." she whispered and before the last syllable left her lips, his mouth was on hers, breathing in her acceptance with a relief that nearly undid her.

He pulled her body against his and she melted into his kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back. And she knew that this time there would be no stopping, no interruptions, no rules or excuses. This time they were on the same page and this was only going one way, forward, but they'd be going together.

Together they just might be able to build a future, but first they'd have to put the past behind them… starting now.

Logan hadn't realized just how much he'd been holding back until he let go of his tightly wound control. He'd kissed Wren before but those kisses had felt like a battle meant to be won or lost. Those had been punishment and retribution.

They hadn't been like this. This was different. This wasn't about the past. It was about the future.

This kiss was just as wild, just as frantic and passionate as the others, but the connection between them was stronger now. He didn't know whether the bond was growing deeper because they'd spent more time together or because they'd finally agreed on something, but honestly, it didn't matter.

All that mattered was that he could feel Wren now, like a part of him, and he knew she wanted this just as much as he did.

Not just kisses. Not even just sex. But the connection, the bond, that came with mating.

Wren opened her mouth for him and he plunged his tongue inside, tasting her and claiming his territory. He could kiss her for hours, days even. But she was busy multitasking. Her hands slid to his shoulders, pushing the unbuttoned shirt off his shoulders and while he was still struggling to free himself of it she was back at his undershirt, pushing it up and over his head.

Logan grunted but obediently broke the kiss to rid himself of the clothing. As soon as his shirts hit the floor he tugged Wren back into his arms. She tilted her head up and he tangled his hands in her silky black hair again.

Wren wrapped her arms around his neck and tiptoed up so their mouths were at the same level as he kissed her again. He loved that she was so tall, that he didn't have to stoop to reach her lips. He loved the way her body lined up against his in all the right places. Her soft breasts against his chest. His cock rubbing against the V at the apex of her thighs. Her legs tangling with his as she pressed closer and fuck, he loved those long legs of her.

He released her hair and slid his hands to the back of her thighs, he lifted her and her nails dug into the back of his neck as she held onto him. Logan hitched her up and she wrapped those long legs of hers around his waist, making him groan. He slid his hands to her ass to hold her steady and gave a quick squeeze, wishing the little shorts she was wearing would disintegrate so he could get his hands on that warm brown skin like he longed for.

Wren did something with her hips, rubbing herself against him, and he stumbled but managed to stay upright. He felt the kitchen island at his back and turned them as Wren's tongue tangled with his and a moan escaped her throat. He swallowed the sound and instantly ached for more of the sweet sounds she made for him.

He set her atop the cool stone of the countertop and Wren broke the kiss on a gasp. He chuckled when she shifted uncomfortably and glared. She was so damn pretty with her lips swollen from their kiss, her cheeks flushed and that fire lighting her dark eyes.

"Don't you dare stop this time." she all but growled at him and his own wolf snarled at the very idea.

"Not this time." he promised, "But I can't hold you up, keep us steady and get your clothes off all at the same time. I'm talented but I still only have two hands."

"Men." she scoffed, her lips curving into a salacious grin, "Never willing to ask for help."

He started to open his mouth to warn her not to start a fight but the only sound that escaped him was a choked groan because her hands went to the bottom of her shirt and she lifted it up and over her head. She wasn't wearing a bra and she sat topless in front of him, making his mouth water and his teeth ache to sink into her soft skin. She was slim, with small breasts tipped in peach-colored nipples. Her stomach hollowed when she sucked in a breath and he wanted to lick her from the cute little dip of her belly button all the way up to that sweet spot between the twin peaks.

Wren dropped the shirt to the floor and reached for the waistband of the shorts she wore but he managed to snap his attention off her breasts and smacked her hands away. She hissed and he grabbed her by the wrists when she tried again. She struggled against his tight hold but he leaned close, pressing himself against her core and causing her to shiver.

"I want to do that."

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, "Take off your own pants. I can handle mine."

"No can do, thornbird." He nipped at her bottom lip, "The second I drop these pants, I'm going to push into you so deep I'll be part of you for the rest of our lives."

"Exactly." Wren reached for his jeans and managed to get him unbuttoned with her quick fingers.

He groaned as the sound of his zipper rang loud in his ears, "I told you I wanted you in a bed the first time…"

"Fuck the bed." She bared her teeth as she gave up on his pants and instead began to shimmy out of her shorts and panties. "And fuck me. Now, Logan."

Maybe it was the coarse words coming out of her sweet mouth. Maybe it was the scent of her desire, of his mate, that had his wolf snarling for more. Maybe it was her beautiful, naked body, so close to becoming his. Maybe it was the desperation in her voice or the surge of his animal instincts but his willpower faltered and he shoved his briefs down until his cock slipped free.

Wren immediately closed her hand around him and his eyes slid shut as pleasure radiated through him. Electricity pulsed between them and he shivered as she gave his throbbing cock a quick stroke. His own hands moved automatically, going to her ass again and this time, sliding her to the edge of the counter so that he could notch himself between her thighs. She lined him up at her entrance and he could feel the wet heat waiting for him just as he could feel her slight hesitation.

He paused, "Wren?"

"Do it." she whispered.

"Wren…" He started to pull away, to ask her what was wrong, but she wrapped those long legs of hers around him, locking her feet against his backside, and using her leverage to draw him forward.

"Logan." she hissed his name as the head of his cock slid into her and he groaned with surrender as every thought but claiming his mate evaporated.

He pushed forward at the same time she pulled on him and they both gasped. Her tight, wet heat surrounded him and nothing had ever felt so good, so right. He sank into her until their bodies were as close as any two people could be. He held himself there as Wren's body opened to him, adjusting for his size. He wanted to ask if she was okay, if he'd hurt her, but he was so far gone he had no way to stop them and when she wrapped her arms around him again and tilted her hips, urging him to move, he gave in to her unspoken demand.

He couldn't deny her what she needed, what she wanted. He'd give her anything. He'd give her everything. She was his mate. His other half. His. Only his. She'd been made for him and damn fate straight to hell because she'd given them nothing but grief up to this point.

Now they could finally share in the exquisite pleasure that only mates could find together.

Logan gripped her ass so hard he knew he'd probably leave bruises but if she cared, she didn't show it. Instead, she only responded in kind, digging her nails into the base of his neck as she forced his head down and his mouth to hers. He pumped in and out of her. Her body pulled at him with each retreat, trying to keep him inside, and he grunted as their tongues began a similar dance.

He felt his animal prowling towards the surface but he didn't have the strength or the desire to hold the wolf back anymore. He was gone. Lost in Wren's sweet body, in the way she responded to him and urged him on. He wanted her to be his in every way and he wasn't leaving here until either of them was ever able to walk away again.

Wren broke the kiss on a whimper and he felt her body tighten around him. She was close and he didn't stop. He continued to thrust, hard and fast, and when she cried out his name and began to convulse around his cock he buried his face in her neck and sank his teeth into the soft spot above her collarbone. She screamed, her head falling back, and he held onto her as he continued to drive her through the orgasm, barreling towards his own. When she snapped her head forward again, she bit him hard, burying her fangs into the skin of his left pec.

It felt as though a lightning bolt had struck him dead in the chest and he erupted. Hot come poured out of him, filling his mate, and his hips continued to thrust, driving his seed deep inside of her. It was instinctual. He didn't even realize he was still thrusting until he felt the wetness between them and his body collapsed against her in sweet relief.

Wren caught him in her arms, letting him curl over her. She buried her head against his chest and they held onto one another in the aftermath of their mating. They were both panting, struggling for breath, and their sweat slicked bodies were sticky where they were still joined.

Logan wasn't sure how long they stayed that way, catching their breaths and regaining their senses, but as his breathing began to return to normal he became aware of Wren's presence inside his head and his heart. He could feel her now. Not just a hint of the varying emotions she'd been fighting since they met either. He could feel all of her, as if she was an extension of his own body.

They were bonded now. Mated. There was no going back, no escaping it. Fate had worked her magic and between the power of their passion and fury, the mating heat, and the longing, they had finally given in. For better or worse, they were irreversibly linked now.

Which was when he felt the dampness against his chest and registered the slight shake of Wren's shoulders. Thinking it was her cooling sweat dripping and the chill of the air overtaking the heat of their bodies, he pulled her closer and rubbed her back. He nuzzled her throat, licking at the mark he'd left there for the world to see.

"You're mine now, my little thornbird. You're mine and I'm yours." he assured her but the shaking only grew worse and he pulled back, untangling them and using a finger to lift her chin so she had to look at him.

His heart sank when he saw the tears staining her pretty cheeks. She was crying. Her bottom lip trembled and he felt her twisting emotions like a punch in the gut. Worse then, he realized. They were definitely going to start out with the worst and not the better.