Page 16 of Shifters Reckoning

That was all it took to send me over the edge. I came again, my body tightening around him, and he spilled into me again.

I reached up. His eyes were soft on mine. I traced a line across his jaw, feeling the roughness of stubble beneath my fingertips. “You’re here. We’re here,” I whispered as if saying it aloud might keep the moment from fading.

But fuck, we were both exhausted.

We finished washing our bodies for the second time, and that seemed symbolic, this moment of cleansing and rebirth, washing away the fear and the ache that had led us here.

We stayed under the falling water a little while longer before he reached over me and twisted the knob. “Let’s go to bed, hmm?”

Logan wrapped me in a towel and carried me to our bedroom. The sheets still felt as warm as when we had been in them hours earlier. Logan lay beside me, one arm draped lazily across my waist, his fingers tracing slow, absent circles on my skin. The motion was hypnotic—steady, unhurried, a wordless reminder that we were both still here.

I turned onto my side, facing him. His eyes were half-closed. It had been a long twenty-four hours for the both of us. He wasn’t asleep, though. I could feel his breath hadn’t settled into a true rest. I wondered if he would be able to let himself sleep after everything that had happened.

I watched him, memorizing his every breath. I brushed my fingers through his damp hair, still smelling faintly of earth despite the jasmine and sandalwood shampoo. “You look tired,” I whispered.

He smiled, soft and content. “You wore me out.”

“Good,” I said, laughing before grinning and resting my head back against his chest.

His laugh rumbled beneath my ear, and I could forget what had led us here, and I let myself find home in his arms.

We stayed this way.

I listened to the steady beat of his heart and experienced the motion of his breathing. The adrenaline had long since faded, leaving behind something gentler, an ache that wasn’t pain but peace. Every muscle in my body felt heavy in the best possible way, like I could finally rest without the fear of Logan disappearing.

Logan’s hand wrapped around my body as he switched places, spooning me. “Are you okay, Emma?”

“Of course,” I said. “Better than okay. I mean, all things considered.”

He nodded, pressing a kiss against my shoulder. “Good. I like seeing you like this.”

“Like what?”

“Safe. Peaceful.” His voice dropped, barely audible. “Like you believe me when I say we’re real, we’re here, and we’re safe.”

“I believe you,” I whispered.

And I did. I believed him. Nothing could hurt us now. I was home in his arms.

“Hey, I have a question,” I said.

“What’s that?”

“Did my mother see you naked earlier? Is that why she got the heck out of Dodge before I woke up?”

“Modesty has no place among shifters, so I suppose she did.” Laughter escaped him in a long series of barks.

“When you came to see me in our bedroom?”

“Yep.”

“No wonder she beat it out of there.”

He tipped his head to the side, as though considering. “For whatever her discomfort level is with nudity, your mother has adjusted remarkably well to the whole idea of shifters and the shifter world. She didn’t go running to the police when she found out.”

I grimaced. “She doesn’t really have a choice. I’m not sure she’ll be able to handle it when she finds out her baby girl permitted a beheading.”

CHAPTER FIVE