“Don’t knock it! I learned in boot camp, very handy skills to have. ”
Ian leaned in for another kiss. “I was worried about you getting enough to eat. ” “We were fine. I know how to defend myself too. ”
”I noticed. If Nicky had been able to defend himself as well, you might have taken the five Hunters when you attacked them. You took two by yourself with your hands tied. ” He gave him a tortured smile. “Nicky got in your way. ”
“Not his fault. He’s never been trained to defend himself. He was an artist and a waiter in his former life, for God’s sake. Since he’s the mate of the alpha, and as such, an important target, it’s criminal not to train him in self-defense. ”
Ian looked uncomfortable. “That’s up to Marco. ”
“It’s up to Nicky,” Logan corrected softly. “He’s a grown man, and he can make the decision for himself. ”
Ian said nothing, but he did slowly nod his head. “I guess you’re right. We just try to protect our mates. Maybe we get a little overprotective at times. ”
Logan grinned. “You think?” When Ian blu
shed, he laughed aloud and reached for his hand. “Wait till you hear what Dawson told me. ”
A loud voice called from outside before he could even get started. Ian shrugged out of his shirt and threw it to Logan. Big on him, it covered him to mid-thigh when he stood and put it on. Not satisfied with the skimpy clothing, Logan went for his pants, hurrying into them as Ian went to the opening of the cave and motioned for Marco and Nicky to enter.
Marco walked in, followed by Nicky. He held Nicky’s hand tightly. Nicky smiled at Logan as he came in, his eyes twinkling at the sight of Logan wearing Ian’s shirt.
“Has Logan had a chance to tell you what the Hunter told them yesterday?” Marco asked.
“No, he was just getting ready to tell me, actually. ”
“Well, sit down, Ian. You need to hear this. ”
Ian sat beside Logan while Marco sat down by the fire and pulled Nicky onto his lap. Nicky launched into the story of meeting the Hunters on the trail.
When he finished the description of how Elias had used his own son’s life to bait a trap, Ian was at a loss for words, his face pale. “Oh God, Logan, and I blamed you, sweetheart! Can you ever forgive me?”
“I forgive you. ” To show him in a way that spoke stronger than words, Logan scooted up in his lap, cuddling up against him. He knew with this wolf he would never be ashamed of his feelings again. He would never again be embarrassed to show his love. “It was an honest mistake. I wish you’d trusted me a little more. I understand how hard that is for you, and it means a lot to me that you loved me no matter what you thought. I guess I haven’t made it any easier. ” He dug into the pocketof his pants. The note he’d written was still there. “I couldn’t say anything when we were at the compound. They were watching me too closely. I was going to try sneaking this note to you the next day. ”
Ian read it. His eyes watered, and he pressed his lips to Logan’s neck as he hugged him. “They’d have killed you if they saw this. ”
“They were going to anyway,” Nicky said.
“There’s more,” Marco said, reluctance showing on every plane of his handsome face. “He meant to keep the two of you alive, monitoring both blood levels for a time, then killing you andputting Logan on another wolf’s blood to see if he could survive on it—Logan lied to him about needing only yours—monitoring that for a time, and if he survived that, taking Logan off wolf’s blood completely to watch what happened to him. He’s got some screwed up ideas about Werekin too, that Logan never corrected. ”
“My God, oh my God. ” Ian moaned, holding Logan tight, and the note clutched in his hand. “I’m so sorry, baby. ”
“Logan wasn’t surprised to hear it,” Nicky put in.
“I was dead to him the momentI was captured,” Logan told him. “In his eyes, I’d already failed,and he expected me to break under the torture he was sure you’d use. ”
Ian’s fingers trailed down Logan’s back. The cuts and scabs had long ago healed and he wasn’t scarred, thanks to being Werekin, but the new healed skin showed in faint marks through the darker, tanned skin on his back. Logan had kept his back turned away from Nicky and didn’t think about what Ian had seen when he undressed him until Ian asked, “They did whip you?Why did you act like they hadn’t?”
Logan answered over Nicky’s gasp. “It hurt me, Ian, that you believed something so bad and wrong about me. A floggingwouldn’t have made any difference to you then anyway. You’d have believed it was for the reason he said and had nothing to do with me trying to save you. The doctor came in every day to monitor the healing process. Just another one of his experiments. ” He gave them a twisted grin, more like a grimace. “Not nearly what my father wouldhave liked to do to me, I’m sure. ”
“I’ll kill him if he ever tries to touch you again. Hell, I might kill him anyway. ”
Logan snuggled even closer. He was hurt by his father’s actions, but he was not going to let him destroy his happiness. In a murmur, he teased,“Maybe another sympathy fuck would help ease my pain. ”
Only Ian knew what he referred to, blushed a bright red, and burst into laughter. He hugged Logan furiously. “Okay, but don’t you think it’s going to become any kind of habit. ” He bent, kissing his mouth hungrily. Going to a whisper for Logan’s ears only, he said, “One of those compromises, maybe. Then you could do something for me. I got pretty turned on with you all tied up. ”
Suspecting Ian enjoyed being fucked more than he’d admit, Logan whispered back, “I can teach you about your prostate. It’s a very interesting little gland. ”
He twisted on Ian’s lap, wrapping his arms around him and deliberately ground his ass in the rapidly growing bulge in Ian’s pants. With a growl, Ian told him, “I’ll show you how interesting it can be. ” He spoke to Marco. “Alpha, if you wouldn’t mind. ”