The Demon's Half

Chapter 24

The sand was cool beneath my toes. I inhaled deeply. Mia's favorite scent. She always loved the ocean—said it had a personality. Playful one second, raging the next. A little reckless. Just like her. I dug my toes deeper into the sand. Soon, Mia. I'll help you soon.

Today had been one of those days that felt like a hundred crammed into one. Earlier, I was so exhausted I thought I'd collapse. Now, it was like my body had given up on sleep altogether. Running on pure adrenaline and maybe a little too much bottled-up stress. Behind me, firelight flickered. Today it wasn't as cold as other nights, but the fire definitely helped my fashion choices.
Logan arranged our feast: aged cheese, slices of cured meat, and a bottle of wine.
Gods. Wind-ruffled brown hair. The fire's glow catching in his dark eyes. Carajo, he was handsome. A different kind of thirst crawled up my throat, one no wine could fix. He uncorked the bottle as he smiled at me.

"What's with that look?" He asked.

"What look?" I asked, even though I knew it was the one that screamed I think I like you, and I kind of hate that I do because I'm a mess and we both know it.

"Come here."

He pulled me between his legs, my back against his chest. His arms wrapped around me.
My heart was loud in my ears. It drowned out everything, the crash of the waves, the crackle of the fire, even my own common sense. I let my head rest against his shoulder.
I tried not to think about the last time I felt a touch that made me tremble. Which had been only a couple minutes ago—

Logan didn't give me time to overthink. "Come back to me," he murmured.

"I'm here."

This is good, I told myself. This is what I need.
I curled my fingers over his arm. His heart beat pounded against my spine, fast and strong—beating.

He poured two glasses of wine. "What's with that look you keep giving me?"

"What look? This is just my face."

"It's a good face."

Heat bloomed in my cheeks.
I looked away, swirling my glass just to give my hands something to do. This was nice. This was easy. Alexander was not easy. Alexander was pain and chaos and—Ya cállate, pendeja.
Logan leaned in and pressed a kiss to the back of my head.

"I really like you, Morgan."

I had liked him since the first moment I saw him. Then why was I thinking like this? Maybe I really needed to go to sleep, I was making zero sense.

"How's the mind-reading going?" He asked.

Before I could answer, his thoughts slipped right into my head. "God, she smells so good."

I bit back a smile. "It's getting better."

"Fuck, I wanna kiss her."

I nearly choked on my own lungs.
He was clearly thinking this loud on purpose... I couldn't say I hated it.

"Getting better how?"

"I am just trying to, you know, use my training. Filter them out. It's working." I said as if it wasn't Alexander's exact instructions.

But I couldn't tell him that.
He was already paranoid about the mind-reading. If he knew who helped me... nope. Still, his expression made me think he wasn't as fooled as I wanted him to be.

"That's actually very smart, Morgan."

My mind wouldn't shut up.
The spirit dagger. The guard. The mind-reading. Shamaska. Alexander. I should tell him. Even my neck felt heavier with Mia's rosary. Why was my stomach in knots, twisting in on itself? I needed to tell him. Not yet.