Page 95 of Guardian

He chuckled. “Hold that thought. There’s something else I want to do first.”

“But you already—”

He silenced her with a kiss, then drew his head back. He took a deep breath. “I need to tell you something.”

She hesitated. “About?”

“About our situation here.”

“At the compound?”

He nodded. “I spoke to the council today.”

“About my living here?”

“Yes. They’ve given me two choices. Since you’re now allied with us and working for us as a psychic, the council has offered to set you up in your own secure compound, complete with 24/7 protection.”

“But I already have 24/7 protection with you,” she protested, a frown building on her forehead.

“I’m getting to that. I need to lay out all your options, so you know that whatever option you choose, you’ll be safe from the demons. And you’ll have everything you’ll ever need. The council will take care of all your needs, your living expenses, everything.”

She nodded. “You said options, plural. What’s the other option?”

“The other option depends on how you feel about me.”

“You know how I feel about you.”

He sighed. “Actually, I don’t. Not really. I know you’re grateful that I saved your life, and I know you enjoy having sex with me. Just like I enjoy having sex with you.”

“Is this where you tell me you enjoy the sex, but…” She pulled out of his arms. “Well, I guess it was too good to be true. I should have known. I mean, you never said the L-word. I just assumed that because you risked your life by coming to the Underworld to rescue me that it wasn’t out of duty. It’s okay.”

He gripped her chin and made her look at him. Now he saw everything he needed to know. “No, it’s not okay. And the reason I never said the L-word is because I didn’t want you to say it back because you were grateful.”

He pulled her back into his arms. “Winter, I love you. I know now that I should have told you how I felt the moment we were back from the Underworld. But I didn’t want to push my luck. You’d only just forgiven me for what I’d done in the past and—”

She put a finger over his lips. “I love you, Logan. I wanted to tell you, but… I guess I didn’t want to push my luck either.”

Logan let out a relieved chuckle. “Look at us. Brave in so many ways, yet scared when it comes to love.”

“Not anymore,” she said and smiled. Then she lowered her hand to his crotch and pressed it against his erection. “Now were you gonna take me to bed and use this gorgeous cock to drive me wild?”

“Yeah, about that…”

She raised her eyebrows. “What now?”

“About that other option the council offered…”

“Yeah?”

“You have the option of living here, at the Baltimore compound, with me. Under one condition.”

“Which is?”

“You would have to bond with me. To become my eternal mate.”

“Is this a proposal?”

“What if it is?”