Chapter 33

CHAPTER 33

“ A trap,” Jill said, looking lost in thought.

“One that he’ll never see coming,” Logan said, watching her as a myriad of emotions suddenly tore through his chest too quickly for him to make out.

“Has he come back yet?” Jill asked as her gaze flickered in the direction of the children’s bedroom.

“No, not yet, Angel,” Logan said, watching her absently nod as she went back to tracing shapes on his torso while he lost himself in her touch, barely resisting the urge to close his eyes and savor the feel of her fingertips caressing his skin.

“You were telling me why you waited so long to escape from the compound,” Jill said as she ran her fingertips in a teasing caress down his chest and over his stomach, leaving him struggling to bite back a groan.

“Was I?” Logan asked, wondering if he’d ever felt anything better.

“You were,” Jill assured him.

“I still needed information,” Logan said, more than willing to tell her whatever she wanted to know as long as he kept touching him.

“About…”

“You,” Logan admitted.

“And what did you find out about me?” Jill murmured as she flattened her hands against his torso and slowly slid them up his chest, leaving him to wonder if she had any idea what she was doing to him.

“Enough to make sure that you were safe,” Logan said, reaching up to run his fingertips along her jaw, unable to help himself.

“And after you escaped, you picked up where you left off and…” Jill began, letting her words trail off as she slid her hands beneath his shirt and over his shoulders.

“I struggled to stop thinking about you,” Logan said, watching her go still as beautiful green eyes met his.

“And now?” Jill asked as he watched her beautiful green eyes turn silver.

“I’m wondering when you’re going to share this theory of yours,” Logan drawled, watching her worry her bottom lip between her teeth as she debated her next move.

“I’m honestly not sure that you can handle it,” she said, making his lips twitch when he finally gave in and released a soft groan as he closed his eyes and dropped his head back against the couch.

“Try me,” Logan said, curious about where she was going with this.

“I’ll give you a moment to mentally prepare yourself for this,” Jill said, making him chuckle only to make him groan when her hands moved back down his chest.

“And I truly appreciate that, Angel,” Logan said as he felt her move closer and-

“You’re a good man, Logan,” came the softly whispered words in his ear that had him going still.

Opening his eyes, Logan reached up and gently cupped her face in his hands as he said, “No, I’m not.”

“You don’t think so?” Jill asked, appearing to think that over as she sat back on his knees.

“Not even a little fucking bit,” Logan bit out, wondering if her time spent locked up in a Sentinel compound was finally catching up with her. He-

“Why did you protect my family?” she asked as she ran her fingertips down his chest again.

“Don’t look for something that isn’t there, Angel,” Logan warned. “It was in my best interest to keep an eye on your family given their close association with the Sentinels, especially with a houseful of Pyte children.”

Nodding, Jill absently murmured, “Makes sense.”

“No vampire or shifter in their right fucking mind would risk even one Pyte reaching its immortality, never mind seven,” he said coldly as he watched her.

“True,” Jill murmured, watching her fingertips as they glided over his stomach. “But then again, most vampires wouldn’t place a demon in a middle school with the express orders to keep the school bully away from a twelve-year-old Pyte.”

Grinding his jaw, Logan bit out, “The little bastard needed to learn his place,” making her lips twitch.

“I did sense that from the daily reports the demon sent in,” Jill said, clearing her throat as she struggled not to smile.

“Your brother is too fucking nice,” Logan grumbled, deciding not to mention how close he came to going to the school and dealing with the little bastard himself.

“He really is,” Jill said with a heartfelt sigh. “Marc’s afraid that he’ll end up hurting someone.”

“He needs to get over that,” Logan said, dropping his hands away and placed them back on her thighs.

“Probably,” she murmured, not really sounding all that concerned, most likely because she knew that her brother and father would tear anyone apart that hurt her little brother. “Still doesn’t explain why you protected my grandmother or stopped an attack on my family.”

“Doesn’t it, though?” Logan asked as he absently caressed her thighs through her soft cotton dress.

“No, not really,” Jill said, shaking her head as she focused on running her hands over him. He didn’t need to ask her why she was doing it. He could feel how much the action soothed her.

“There’s no way in hell that I would ever risk another Master getting his hands on them,” Logan explained even though she should know how their world worked by now.

“Fair enough,” Jill said, sliding her hands back beneath his shirt and over his shoulders before her curious gaze met his. “And me?”

“I told you, Angel. You were just a distraction that I’d hoped to use to my advantage only to end up having to cut my loses when your family sent you away,” Logan explained only to lean forward when she slid her hands down his arms so that she could push his shirt off.

“That really doesn’t explain why you had your men watching over me or why you made sure the Sentinels took me into protective custody when you found out that I was in danger,” Jill pointed out with a heavy sigh that had his eyes narrowing on her as he pulled his arms free from his shirt.

He opened his mouth to argue, but she wasn’t done.

“That also doesn’t explain why you risked your life to save me when I was attacked in broad daylight and watched over me during my transition,” Jill said with a sad shake of her head as she ran her fingertips over his biceps, looking for any signs of the red patches that refused to heal.

“I had nothing better to do at the time,” Logan said, watching as she slowly ran her fingertips down his arms.

“And saving three marked shifter children?” Jill asked as her fingertips ran down the back of his hand and over his fingertips.

“Was just part of the plan,” Logan said as he watched Jill shift her fingers to the side so that she could entwine their fingers together.

“I can see how having three shifter children underfoot would help advance your plans for revenge,” Jill said with a heartfelt sigh. “The plastic tea set will definitely help.”

“It was necessary,” Logan bit out, refusing to mention that he’d been forced to visit five different toy stores before he found the perfect tea set for his little shadow.

“Of course it was,” Jill murmured as she pulled her hands away.

“You’re seeing what you want to see, Angel,” Logan said coldly.

Nodding solemnly, Jill said, “I get it. You’re evil,” making his eyes narrow on the little brat.

“I am,” he bit out.

“And I believe you,” she said, nodding solemnly, but they both knew that she didn’t.

“Explain the chain, then,” Logan said, reaching down to wrap his hand around the chain attached to her ankle and gave it a pointed shake.

“You have trust issues,” Jill said, blinking at him.

“Meaning?” Logan asked, releasing the chain.

“My mark,” she said with a shrug as she went back to tracing shapes on his chest. “You’re afraid of what will happen to me if I leave this penthouse.”

He wasn’t afraid.

He was fucking terrified.