And happiness was not something that came easy to her in life. She’d been happy at her job and volunteer work, but she hadn’t been happy while in this compound. And while she’d found happiness in the outside world, she was also a little lonely.
Because of what she was, she could never truly open up to another or fit into the human world, but she could with Logan. He knew it all—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and he was still here.
He may be a vampire, but he washervampire.
“There’s not a whole lot to smile about lately,” she said. “But there is when I’m with you.”
Logan smoothed the hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. He ran his finger along the outer shell before running his fingers over her thick earlobe.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to make it so there’s a lot to smile about every day,” he said.
“What a wonderful world that would be.”
“I don’t think we’ll ever see a time without Savages; as long as vampires exist, then so will Savages, but we have to be able to beat these demons back. It must have happened before if we exist and they weren’t always here, but they’re back now.”
At one time, she would have gladly killed all vampires to ensure no more Savages existed, but she would never seek such a thing now.
“And what if we can’t defeat them?” she asked.
“I refuse to let myself think like that. If I did… I’d….” His voice trailed off as he brieflydidlet himself think about it, and he didnotlike it. “It would all be pointless then, wouldn’t it? Why would we continue fighting? And we have to keep fighting; there’s far too much good in this world to let it be destroyed.”
Deciding to play the devil’s advocate, she said, “There’s also a whole lot of bad.”
“The good far outweighs the bad.”
She loved his optimism and faith in this world. After some of the things she’d seen, she’d lost that faith, but he’d also seen the worst of what this world had to offer, and he remained optimistic and sure.
She wished she could be like that, but hearing him say those words made her believe them. And more than that, it made her confident for a better tomorrow. He’d never give up hope, and neither would she, no matter how ugly it got.
“I’m going to choose to believe that,” she said.
When he smiled at her, his eyes twinkled in the most delightful way. He considered her beautiful, and she thought the same of him.
She kissed him gently, but before their lips touched, she knew where it would lead, and she welcomed the blissful oblivion his body provided her. She needed to connect with him and reaffirm her newfound conviction they could make this world a better place together.
She didn’t speak of love, she couldn’t when it was still so fresh and new to her, but it swelled in her heart, seeped into her limbs, and spread out through her body. When his hands settled on the small of her back, she slid on top of him.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Logan ranone hand up Elena’s back to her nape while his other hand settled on her ass. She slid along his rigid shaft as she teased them both until the increased beat of her heart thundered in his ears and her breath quickened against his lips.
She was so amazing and beautiful, and she smelled of lemons and the sex they had earlier in the night. His scent was all over her, inside and out, but it wasn’t enough. He cravedmore.
He had to be a part of her. He had to feel her blood pulsing through him as his flowed through her. He needed the mate bond.
Every day it was growing increasingly difficult not to taste her. She was a temptation the likes of which he’d never encountered before, and while he loved every second of it, it also tested his restraint daily.
He would never hurt her, but sometimes, like now, it took everything he had not to pierce the delicate flesh of her neck with his fangs and taste her. She was his mate, hiseverything.
He just didn’t know how it was going to work out for them. He couldn’t abandon the Alliance and stay here, but she was still lost and uncertain and trying to figure out her life. She’d been through alotlately, and he understood, but he couldn’t lose her, and he couldn’t walk away from the battle.
And then, all his concerns vanished as she shifted, so he was sliding into her. Logan groaned as she took him deep into her and circled her hips in the most exquisite of ways.
“You feel so good,” she whispered against his mouth.
“Not as good as you.”
He claimed her mouth and tasted the sweetness of her before his fangs lengthened, and he broke the kiss before he bit her lip. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to control the vampire part of himself when he was around her. He tried to keep it hidden, but he was failing at it now.
