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I traced my thumb down the curve of her throat. “I don’t think it’s possible for me to stop loving you.”
Logan grabbed my hand and set it firmly on her thigh. “Then it’s settled. We’re stuck with each other no matter what.”
By the time we arrived at our cabin for the night and picked up our key from an envelope under the welcome mat, we were all dead on our feet. Even though I napped a good chunk of the trip in Logan’s sweater, I was more than ready to get the fuck out of the car. Road trips were only fun when you could get out and play tourist along the way, but we needed time to get our shit together, which meant as few stops as possible.
It was hovering around four in the morning when we finally got inside. I hauled in the bags while Caden salted every doorway and windowsill.
All I wanted was to collapse face-first onto the bed, drag Logan as close as I could get her, and pass out until at least noon. We stayed awake long enough to brush our teeth and change into pajamas.
“Cuddle sleep?” Logan asked, the words melting into a yawn she hastily covered.
Caden nodded and I thanked the gods for whatever was making him so chill. Logan crawled up the middle of the king bed and wriggled under the blankets. We slipped in on each side and settled into much the same position as last night, with her leg slung over Caden and me pressed against her back. I snuggled in, nudging her hair away so I could breathe her in, tucking my face against the back of her neck.
Fucking bliss.
I woke gods only knew how many hours later and blinked into the blazing sunlight. I buried my face deeper against Logan with a groan and pulled the blankets over our heads. The smell of fresh coffee wasn’t enough to lure me out of my current location, but it did wake up Logan. She rolled over and into my arms with a contented hum, eyes still closed as sleepy fingers brushed my cheek. Her forehead touched mine and I held my breath, every nerve singing. She slid her fingers down, hooking under my chin to lift my face to hers. A soft sigh parted her lips a second before she pressed them to mine.
I sank into her, weaving my hand into her hair, savoring her perfect mouth. She was sweet and warm. I didn’t even care about the morning breath; I wanted to dive deeper, roll over and press her into the mattress, feel the suppleness of her body yielding to mine...
“Are you two getting up?” Caden asked from the main room.
Logan jerked back, eyes wide. She sat up sharply, not looking at me. “Yep. Be right there.”
I rolled onto my back as she slipped out of bed. Well, fuck. She probably forgot I was here and thought she was kissing Caden.
Okay, I could deal with this. I knew how to smooth things over.
I shifted into my small form and followed Logan out. They both turned to me and I paused, wondering if she’d said something to him. I slid closer, winding around her ankles as she sat down at the little kitchen table. She leaned down automatically and stroked along my back.
Caden picked me up by my scruff. Why did you kiss her?
If you think I’m capable of not kissing her back when she reaches for me, then you’re overestimating my self-control. I wriggled in his grasp until he set me back on the floor.
Caden sighed and crossed his arms, staring at me with some weird mix of emotions I couldn’t quite parse. After a few tense moments, he just asked, “Are you having coffee?”
I hopped up into Logan’s lap. In a bit.
He watched her stroke my ears. The world fell away as my eyes slid shut and she triggered my purrs and happy feet. Gods. Fucking magic fingers, I swear. I had no idea how long she pet me. It was hard to tell the passage of time in that delirious, gloriously blissed-out state.
When she finally stopped, I flopped against her chest and waited for the world to regain balance. I looked up at her. Sorry I kissed you. I got too excited.
She laughed and gave me a squeeze. “It’s okay. That’ll teach me for skipping over opening my eyes first.”
I stood and rubbed my cheek against hers.
“Doesn’t count as an apology if you immediately start rubbing all over her,” said Caden as he set a cup of coffee on the table for me.
Logan scooped me up and patted my hip. “Go get dressed so we can head into town.”
I scampered off to do that and wash up. We took turns in the bathroom, and soon enough we were on our way into Portland for breakfast and their massive bookstore.
I’d never been in one so big before. It was like a labyrinth. We wandered our way through and found the occult section, settling in. Figuring that old books were probably the most helpful to start with, we each picked one off the shelves and skimmed through. Mine turned out to be useless, so I prowled through the stacks to find something more helpful, passing them to Caden and Logan, and returning their used ones.
Logan’s phone pinged and she pulled it out of her pocket. “Oh, hey, Melinda says we can meet her between five and seven tonight at the shop. I guess when we’re done here, we can head over?”
“Perfect.” Caden squeezed her knee and went back to his skimming.
“I think I found a bit of something,” Logan said, looking up from a book of demonology spread in her lap. “I dunno if it’s the same thing but it talks about a beast of shadows called forth by a witch. Apparently if its witch dies or cuts it off, they lose their fuel source and basically go rabid to hunt magic sources.”
