“Agreed. You don’t have a claim on me. We’ve just met, after all. Besides, you haven’t even shifted yet,” he goaded in an effort to test her reaction to his agreement that he wasn’t hers. A surge of delight touched his heart as her eyes flashed in anger. Perhaps she didn’t believe her own words? She really didn’t like it when he repeated them.
“And you have no claims to me either,” she quipped, quickly recovering. “I don’t belong to you.”
Why that hurt, he couldn’t say. It was the irrefutable truth. And that was the crux of his problem. Part of him wanted her, not just in bed, but wanted her to belong to him and with his pack.
“So you honestly believe everything that happened today at the pool was just a side effect of your transition to wolf? Hormones? Is that what you’re saying?” he pressed.
“Who was she anyway?” Wynter completely ignored his question. She had to know if there was someone else in his life. “The girl at the pool? Is she your girlfriend?”
“Luci?”
“Yes. You know, the woman rubbing all over you, drooling like a St. Bernard in heat.” Oh great, she’d just reduced herself to name calling. Whatever. She had one foot in; she might as well jump in all the way.
Logan laughed. Boy, she really was jealous. And why did he seem to enjoy that so much?
“Luci. She was Marcel’s girlfriend,” he explained, trying to choose his words carefully. He was pretty sure she wouldn’t like the rest of the explanation. “I allowed her to live with me in Marcel’s bayou mansion. You know, while I was busy establishing my role.”
Wynter deliberately closed and opened her eyes, taking time to process what he’d just said. He did not just say what I think he said.
“So you are living with her?” Just perfect. I really am an idiot.
“No, I said she was living with me…as in past tense. And it was only because she already lived in the mansion, and I didn’t want to kick her to the curb.”
“A humanitarian? Bet it was difficult,” she drawled.
“Well with Kat there, I…”
“Who is Kat?” This just kept getting better.
“She’s Tristan’s sister. But it wasn’t like…” He wanted to say that it wasn’t anything close to what he’d felt for her, but bit his tongue. “It wasn’t like you think, Wynter.” Logan’s eyes saddened and his voice wavered slightly as the emotions of Marcel’s death unexpectedly rushed over him. It had only been a couple of months and it was still hard to comprehend that he was dead.
“Marcel. He was my friend, my mentor. And my Alpha at one time. A few months ago, he was killed. It was difficult for everyone, but Katrina and I…we were just trying to get by. I promised him.”
“Promised him what?”
“I’d take over for him.” Logan emptied what was left in his glass and set it down. This was not at all what he planned on discussing with Wynter tonight. This conversation was finished.
Wynter saw the sadness in Logan’s eyes and recognized his pain all too well. The loss of someone you loved could never be erased or undone. True, the pain would lessen as time went on, but when you lost someone so close to you, a part of your heart and mind would never be the same. She gleaned that he hadn’t been Alpha for very long and wondered how he was coping. As a human spending much of her time observing Jax, she would never have known that Logan had just taken over his pack. He seemed such a natural leader. Yet, whatever he’d been doing over the past couple of months must’ve taken a great emotional and physical toll on him.
Even though there was a part of her that hated that he’d slept with other women, the rational part of her brain finally won out the battle. She swore it was that damn wolf making her so jealous. Of course, he had other women and in the moment, she didn’t care. She only wanted to take away his hurt, ease his suffering. Wynter reached to him, lovingly placing her hand on his cheek and looked deep into his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m sorry for your loss. I know…I know how it feels. I promise it’ll get better someday.”
With her words, she wanted to break down and cry, opening up to him about her own parents, everything that had happened with Jax. She’d been so scared and lonely, lost to the world. But she couldn’t tell him. It would lead to other questions; ones she wasn’t ready to answer.
Logan wrapped his hands around her wrist, holding her hand to his face. His eyes locked on hers in a heated stare. Whatever anger she’d held about Luci and Kat had melted away. This woman, a virtual stranger, genuinely cared that he was hurting over Marcel’s death. Kindred souls, they both had experienced great loss at death’s hand. His heart constricted. He wished they could forget this Kade business and just go home and be alone. Logan’s eyes fell; he glanced at her soft, inviting lips. Why did he want this woman so badly?
Their connection was broken as a spotlight flooded the stage and a lilt of music filled the room. Wynter glanced up to the stage, and tried to pull her hand away, but he guided her palm onto his thigh. Logan didn’t want what they’d just shared to end. As if she grounded him, the physical touch of her palm, however slight, stoked the fire within his heart.
Wynter considered how precariously close to danger she was. While she’d initially been worried about the vampires, Logan changed the subject and now all she could think about was him and her own feelings that were spiraling out of control. She prayed that it really was just chemistry. Deep down, though, she suspected her feelings were real, and it scared the living daylights out of her.
Wynter’s thoughts were interrupted as the big band music boomed from surround sound speakers. A high-heeled burlesque dancer seductively pranced onto the stage. Quite beautiful, with voluptuous curves, the brunette slowly slipped one leg to the side then rolled her wrists; her graceful hands flowed like ribbons into the limelight. Flicking open her red ostrich feather fan, she concealed her body, with a wink. Sweeping it up and around, she continued to tease the audience by caressing the plumage up and over her body.
Playing and tantalizing, she flirted while skillfully removing her gloves, one by one. A man whistled as she threw them to patrons in the front row. Turning her back to the audience, she deftly removed her bra, never revealing her breasts. She swung the garment round and round, then flung it across the room. Though the feathers artfully brushed over her creamy pale skin, revealing little, her erotic display captivated the crowd. The dancer bent over, shaking her behind, and encouraged the audience’s catcalls.
Her mesmerizing hips rocked side to side, sexy and slow. As anticipation grew in expectation of the big reveal, Wynter glanced up to both Logan and Dimitri, who, astonishingly, weren’t watching the show. Rather, both men were intently watching her, and she blushed. Giving them both a small smile, she drew her attention back to the stage just in time to see the woman raise the fan clear over her head. Striking a pose, she proudly displayed her red sparkling pasties and perfectly matching panties for everyone to admire. The audience clapped wildly in appreciation, while she curtsied.
Wynter had never seen a woman strip before but found the experience both arousing and erotic. The artistic dancing seemed to have the same effect on the crowd as she noticed several couples begin to intimately touch and kiss in response. As the dancer pranced off stage, Wynter felt a tug on her wrist.
“Did you enjoy the show?” Logan inquired with a grin. Judging by her heartbeat, he knew she did.
“Yes. I’ve never been to a burlesque show before. She was amazing.” Wynter caught both Dimitri and Logan raising their eyebrows at each other. “What? Can’t I admire art?”
“I just find it interesting that you spent all that time around a pack and weren’t exposed to any nudity,” Logan commented. He couldn’t understand why Jax would keep her so secluded from his wolves.