Page 119 of Shifters Awakening

The door on the gym trilled and then popped open. When I stepped inside, memories of sparring with Olivia brought a smile to my face. She hadn’t been wrong. The beginning felt it was already a lifetime ago.

Two male shifters—Phil and one I didn’t recognize—lay on the floor mats, face down, panting, and Logan stood above them both, glaring as though he meant to murder the whole world.

Logan’s foot rested between Phil’s shoulder blades with a wooden sword pressed to his neck. His dark hair fell over his forehead, nearly obscuring his bright blue eyes. “I asked, do you yield?”

“Yeah,” Phil yelled. “I already said so.”

Logan lifted his foot and sent the wooden swordskittering across the exercise mats. He practically tripped on his own feet when he caught sight of me, but he covered by scooping up a bottle of water and chugging it.

“What’re you doing here?” he demanded after he’d tossed the empty bottle aside.

“I came to get you,” I snapped, striding across the mats without kicking the flip-flops off first.

Maybe he couldn’t tell I was faking the mad and secretly giddy the thought of not having sex with me had upset him so much. Fighting could be like fucking when you did it with the right person, and there was always the fuck after the fight.

“Get me?” He gestured toward my feet. “You’re not supposed to wear shoes in the exercise area.”

“So throw me out,” I said, coming to a stop in front of him, flipping my hair, and crossing my arms. “But I came to get you before you make a fool of yourself.” I glanced at Phil and his buddy who were already scrambling away and out the door. “Unless you already have.”

He glowered but said nothing.

“Don’t make me drag you back to the manor.”

He scowled down at me, breathing hard, nostrils flaring. Sweat slicked his skin, shining in the lights of the gym. “What’s that?”

I pursed my lips, and his gaze dropped to my mouth, so I licked my lips too. “You should come back to the manor with me.”

“Why should I?”

“Because you’re a grumpy asshole in need of a fucking,and you promised me. I believe it’s my right as your mate.”

His eyebrows disappeared behind the shaggy, dark hair covering his forehead, and his eyes widened. “I thought you wanted time.”

I squinted at him and put my hands on my hips. “To shave my legs, take a shower, and wash my hair. Do you have any idea how long it had been since I’d shaved my legs?”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s not like I was having sex over in Red Tail.”

“You’d better not have?—”

I pressed my hand to his chest, the skin still pink, and his heartbeat pulsed beneath my palm. “You know I didn’t, and I didn’t want to fuck you when I hadn’t showered in days, and besides…”

“Besides what?” he asked softly.

“I wanted to wash Acheron off me and sleep a little, so we weren’t trying to cram it in before I passed out.”

In a flash, his hands closed around my upper arms, squeezing tightly. “Did the mage hurt you… I mean, in that way?”

“No, you got there before he could do, but he intended to bond with me likethat… while wearing your face.” I was fucking grown up, but I couldn’t bring myself to say Acheron was going to rape me.

Logan sucked in a breath. “I didn’t know that.”

“But he didn’t, and I intend to forget his spindly ass for the rest of my life.”

“Maybe weshouldwait a while.”

“Oh, no, I don’t think so. Now get your dick back to the manor.”

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