“Can I meet one?” I ask eagerly.
Something flashes in his eyes, and I don’t know what it is, but I have a feeling that it should terrify me. It doesn’t. Instead, I lean forward a little more and grin as I wait for his answer. He doesn’t say anything right away and I’m shocked when he rises to his feet.
“Maybe,” he announces before he marches out of the room.
Turning to Logan, I frown and bite the inside of my cheek before I speak. “Did I say something wrong?”
Logan shakes his head, his eyes meeting mine. He doesn’t hide the sadness that swims in his gaze. “War is traumatizing for everyone, even men who seem to be the strongest of them all.”
“Logan,” I whisper.
“He called the lions to save her. To protect her and their little one. The lions could not make it to her, not with the massive number of troops that were battling throughout the land. A lone alpha made it to the house, but it was too late.”
“Why couldn’t they just bowl over those damn troops?” I ask, my heart beating hard and fast in my chest.
He smiles sadly. “Guns and lions don’t always mix. They know the drill, they are the kings of the jungle, but they are no match for the guns of men.”
Sadness washes over me, it consumes me and I think about Colt who tried to save his wife and daughter, thinking that he had the most powerful animals at his back to protect his family, but in the end, even they were no match for man’s destruction.
COLT
I imagine Adelaide, the lion running to her aid and being too late, except when I see the image of Adelaide’s lifeless body it’s not the fair-haired beauty that I was once married to, instead it’s the raven-haired one that I lay with last night.
Drat.
The office door opens and I’m not surprised to see Logan waltz in as if he is perfectly at home in my space.
“She is not of this world, unless her imagination is that fantastical,” he announces.
“I know.”
Logan sinks down into the chair across from me. “The weather has turned,” he simply states.
I don’t respond, because it is obvious that the weather has turned. He does not need my confirmation on this. He watches me for another moment, then clears his throat again.
“She has done that, with the weather. You know this?”
“So Florence claims.”
“She has. I watched the sadness roll over her at the news of the lions being unable to protect your family.”
Lifting my head, rage fills me immediately. “You told her about my family?” I growl.
“You haven’t?”
Pressing my lips together, I don’t dignify him with a response. He arches a brow, watching me for a long moment, then finally speaks again. He had best tread lightly, as I am on the edge of throwing him out and sending him on his way to fulfill his actual duties.
“You did lie with her, did you not?”
“None of the women down at the Blue Bird Theatre know about Adelaide and yet I’ve lain with most of them, Whitecotton,” I grind out.
He doesn’t move right away, then slowly he stands to his feet and walks over to my bookshelf. I watch as he stares at the titles, but I highly doubt he is reading any of them. He is thinking and buying himself a few moments.
“You think of your Birdie as a soiled dove, then?” he asks. Again, I choose not to answer. Logan naturally continues. “If that is how you view her, then perhaps the prophecy is completely false, or perhaps you are not the partner meant to fulfill it with her.”
Rising to my feet, I ball my hands into fists and place them against my desk as I lean forward. “Do you dare to repeat that to me, Whitecotton?” I ask, making sure to enunciate my words, slowly.
“Are you suggesting that there is a fiercer warrior around here? Yourself perhaps?” I grind out.
Logan shrugs a shoulder. “I’ve been known to hold my own, James.”
I think about challenging that, but then he turns to me, arching a brow and I see that his eyes are smiling and he’s trying to keep from laughing. I let out a chuckle of my own and shake my head.
“You had me,” I admit.
He smirks. “The prophecy is real, Colton. Do not put our world in danger because of your past or your pride. A woman like that, if she were destined to be mine, I can think of a few things I’d like to do with her, and none would include making her cry or walking away after I’ve taken her.”
He doesn’t say anything else and thankfully walks out of my office before I punch him in the face. Pushing off of my desk, I straighten and turn to the window. Staring out at the desert in front of me, I reach out to Lonesable.
We’ll ride tomorrow. I have a guest.
He doesn’t say anything immediately in response, then it’s as if he’s laughing at me.
I have heard of her presence. I was wondering when I would meet her.
Pressing my lips together, I wonder if I should even introduce them, but there could be a time when she needs him to save her. I don’t know what this world is going to look like if these men get their way and start an upheaval. I may need him to help her for me.
Tomorrow, I confirm.
I look forward to it. From what I’ve heard, she is different and alluring.
She is.
Ending the conversation, I decide to seek out the different and alluring beauty. Apparently, I made her cry last night. I must rectify that as I’m not a man to usually make a habit out of bringing tears to ladies’ faces.
Chapter Twelve
BIRDIE
Florence works with me for an hour outside in the hot sunshine. Aside from dripping with sweat in this fucking wool dress and corset, I don’t accomplish much. She leaves
