In an effort to prevent himself from ravishing her right there in his office, Logan plastered his hands so hard against the window, he thought it’d crack. At the sound of her moan, he darted his tongue out against her silky skin. He had to taste her. Just once. Ah fuck, no; his wolf wanted more. Eyes feral, he locked them with hers, taking her arm. He placed a small kiss to her palm before dragging his tongue along her wrist all the way to the crook of her elbow, releasing a growl of satisfaction.
Wynter’s heart pounded as he gently took her arm into his hands. She shivered as he pushed up her sleeve and brought her delicate wrist to his lips. Wet with arousal, she couldn’t break their connection as she stared deep into his mesmerizing eyes. Oh my God. Wolf. Human. I’ll be whatever you want me to be…just please, just take me. Wynter thought her knees would give out, except he had her pressed up against the window. Lost in his spell, she responded by nudging her own hips against his hard arousal as he tasted her skin.
Logan groaned as the territorial need to take her consumed him. He needed to get things under control. Jax. Fucking, goddamned Jax. His name alone should have killed his raging hard on, but it wasn’t helping one damn bit. No, he needed to separate himself from her before he tore her clothes off. He closed his eyes and blew out a breath, but didn’t release her.
“Wolf,” he breathed into her hair.
“What?”
“Wolf, sweetheart. You’re very much a wolf,” he confirmed.
“No, I know I was sick but that just can’t be.” Wynter tried to move, but he wrapped his arms around her protectively. “I need to see a doctor. Please, Alpha.”
Confused, Logan pulled away enough so he could look at her. He wasn’t sure why she was denying her wolf. Considering her illness, he tried to be gentle, to calm her. “Wynter,” he said softly, noticing that she’d rested her forehead against his chest. “Look at me.”
Wynter complied, slowly raising her head. She was overwhelmed. One minute she’d felt a healthy dose of fear, then instantly she was overcome with lust for the Alpha before her. She didn’t know him, but something deep down told her that she could trust him. He had nothing to gain from telling her she was a wolf. She suspected she’d been compromised somehow by ViroSun. How, she didn’t know.
“Hey, I don’t know what’s goin’ on with you, but we’ll deal with this. And given that we’ve technically slept together, I think you can call me Logan.” He winked in an effort to put her at ease. “Last night when you were unconscious, I had my doctor examine you. And before you ask, she’s a hybrid so she knows about wolves and humans. But I need you to be honest with me. Why do you keep denying your wolf?”
She sighed, resigned to the fact that she needed his help. While it was true she had to talk to Jax, the man before her was offering her a lifeline and she desperately needed to grab onto it if she had a shot in hell of keeping her sanity. She had to explain to him, tell him more about what happened to her.
“I deny my wolf as you put it, because I’m not a wolf. I’m human,” she explained, placing her palms against his chest. “Please listen to me. I swear I’m human. I’ve never in my life shifted. And I don’t know why I scent like wolf to you. But you have to understand, the place I worked; they…they could do things. I was forced to help them do these things.”
“Things? What kinds of things?” Logan didn’t like where this was headed, but he tried to sound encouraging and not angry. He didn’t want to scare her any more than she’d already been.
“I was working on many different things….mostly viruses. When I’d refuse or give them a hard time…let’s just say there are parts of my employment that I don’t remember. These people…they’re evil. And capable of horrible things…things I never knew could be possible,” she croaked.
Logan pulled her into an embrace and stroked her hair. “Whatever happened we’ll figure it out,” he assured her. He couldn’t understand how a human could smell like a wolf, but a few months ago he’d been around wolves, who through pharmaceutical means, could hide their wolf, scenting as humans. Perhaps she’d been injected with something similar? “I need to know what exactly you were working on. Sounds pretty important if these vampires were willing to risk going after you out in the open like they did.”
Wynter wrenched herself out of his arms and wrapped her arms around herself. She knew he wouldn’t like what she was about to tell him. As much as she wanted to tell him everything, her loyalty was to Jax. Her Alpha had first rights to access the intelligence she’d gleaned in her captivity.
“I want to tell you. But…I can’t,” she said softly. “Jax. I have to talk to him first.”
Logan’s stomach clenched at the mention of the New York Alpha. He had to know. “Do you belong to him?”
Wynter slowly turned around and gave him a sorrowful frown. “Yes.”
As the word left her lips, she wished in that moment it wasn’t true. There was something about Logan. She wanted so badly to tell him everything. Her attraction to the gentle wolf couldn’t be denied. But she owed Jax her life and her allegiance. Maybe after she talked to Jax, she could explore the budding feelings she had for the New Orleans’ Alpha. But now was not the time. No, out of respect for Jax, she needed to speak with him first.
Logan blew out a breath. Needing to put distance between them, he returned to his desk and sat down. He leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, trying to concentrate. If she thought she could tell him that there was something nefarious going on in his city and simply walk away from him, she was surely delusional. The next question he was about to ask was critical to how he’d proceed with regards to her and his investigation.
“Are you his mate?” He held his breath, awaiting her response.
She froze. Jax’s mate? She lived with Jax, wore his scent even. But she’d never revealed the true nature of her relationship with Jax to anyone. She and Jax agreed that it would be best if she lived with him, kept others in the dark. He assured her that that would be the only way she’d be protected under his care. Despite the fact that they’d agreed upon it in the past, she couldn’t lie to Logan.
“I’m not his mate,” she responded, not quite meeting his eyes. Please, no more questions. “Logan, I know you don’t know me, but I’m begging you. You know how this works. He’s my Alpha. What I worked on…it was with Jax’s knowledge and approval. I knew what I was getting into or at least I thought I did,” she huffed. Yeah, I knew exactly what I was doing right up until I couldn’t leave the compound and became dinner for the guards. “I need to talk with Jax first. That’s how it has to be. You know protocol.”
Fuck protocol. He wanted the goddamned truth. But he knew she was right. If she’d been one of his wolves, working for him, she wouldn’t be allowed to discuss business with another Alpha. That being said, New Orleans was his city and if Jax wanted answers, wanted her, he had to go through him.
Steepling his fingers, he pinned her with a hard stare. He suspected by the way she carefully responded that she was concealing the true nature of their relationship. Now why was that? If she was his girlfriend, why not just tell him? Maybe because he could have easily fucked her on his desk two minutes ago and she wasn’t at all resisting. The scent of her arousal was overwhelming. But if she wasn’t his mate, her attraction to another male shouldn’t have mattered to her or Jax. No, it actually would have been expected. All wolves played the field, quite unfaithfully, until they found their mate.