He cocked his head to the side, his brows drawn together. “I’m doing this for us. Isn’t this what you want?”
“Not if it means losing you. Maybe it’s not in the fates for us to have children. I love you, but this could destroy us if we let it. I can imagine a life without children, but I can’t imagine my life without you.” My voice cracked.
Logan stretched out his long legs and pulled the covers over us. He surrounded me with his body and nuzzled against my neck. “I’ll stop searching, and we’ll go on as before. No more tears?”
I nodded against him. “No more tears.”
His kisses against my neck grew insistent, and he slipped his hand down the back of my sweats. My lips parted, and I gasped when he rocked against me.
Logan released a throaty growl—one that told me he was going primal. Sometimes when we were intimate he’d flip his switch, losing all control to the Chitah instincts within him. He glanced up at me, his eyes as black as two ebony stones beneath moonlight. Logan was in there somewhere, sharing the experience with his inner animal. I kissed his mouth as my sweats and panties slid down.
“Mine,” he growled.
“Always,” I whispered.
Chapter 8
Simon and Adam
“Oi! Where’s Silver?” Simon shouted. “Bloody hell, she’s going to miss the unveiling.” He could hardly endure the excitement any longer.
Adam set his beer on the fireplace mantel and held the stepladder for Simon. “Plug her in. We’ll give Silver the full show tomorrow. I don’t want to miss this.”
Simon held a plug in one hand and the socket in the other. “Feast your eyes…”
As the power cords merged, the tree topper lit up and Sadie barked out a laugh from across the room.
A soft green glow illuminated the corner walls, and Adam stepped back to admire the sinister head of Mr. Grinch. A naughty smile curved up one side of the character’s face, and a Santa hat covered his head.
“That’s in Justus’s honor,” Simon announced, stepping off the ladder, proud of his festive purchase. “I thought Silver would get a kick out of it. The resemblance is uncanny.”
Adam patted him on the back. “She’s gonna love it, but it might scare the hell out of the kids.”
“Bollocks. He’s smiling.”
Adam chuckled. “That’s the smile someone gives you before they cut your throat.”
Simon strode toward the couch, murmuring, “You better be good for goodness’ sake.”
Simon took a seat and faced the fire, his arms draped across the back of the sofa, his leather pants creaking as he stretched his legs. There was a large box of sweets already opened, and the angel and devil on his shoulder were arguing on whether or not to leave it out for when the little ones arrived. The confectionaries were chocolate liqueur, and perhaps it would act as a narcotic and quiet them down. In his day, there was no such thing as a legal age for drinking. Simon didn’t mind children so long as they belonged to someone else, but he did tire of hearing them prattle on about cartoon characters and pink unicorns.
Adam lifted his beer off the mantel and sat on the other couch to Simon’s right. “You look like you’re scheming. Where’s Ella? I thought Silver invited everyone.”
Simon pursed his lips and pretended he didn’t care about Ella as much as he did. He had never announced their relationship since they were still figuring it out themselves, but everyone knew they were an item. He just wanted to take things slow since the poor girl had been through enough trauma, and entering a serious relationship with Simon Hunt was likely to scar her for life.
“She wants to be alone,” he finally answered.
Adam arched his brow judgmentally. “Do you think that’s a good idea on the holidays? Maybe you should send her a message and invite her yourself.”
“She’d have to call a cab, and all that snow,” he said, waving his hand. “No need to fuss. It’s just a day like any other day.”
The conversation died.
Ella found it difficult to be around families during the holidays since it only reminded her of her own loss. It seemed absurd to argue with that logic.
Still, it left him feeling sour about the whole affair. The shopping excursion with Justus had been a welcome distraction, but now that he was alone with his thoughts, he couldn’t help but wonder if he should have just dragged her here by force.
An image flashed in his mind of her sitting alone by the window, a bowl of chicken soup in her hand and tears spilling down her cheeks while she watched the snow falling.
