He stared at me for a moment. A long, agonizing moment. I tried to read the expression on his face, but I couldn’t. Was he annoyed? Angry? Frustrated?

“I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “That was dumb. I shouldn’t of--”

He was on me in a heartbeat. So fast I couldn’t see him move. One moment he was by the fountain and the next I was in his arms. His mouth on mine with a hard, bruising kiss. His hands wrapped in my hair. I moaned as the pleasure shot through me. As he shoved me against the garden wall, he pressed his body against mine, as if he couldn’t get close enough. As if he wanted to crawl inside of me and make our two bodies one. Desire radiated off his skin, making his normally cold flesh scorching to my touch.

I wrapped my arms around his chest, his unabashed passion making me feel brave. Then I dropped my hands down to cup his backside. He groaned in appreciation, his knee slipping between my thighs. His hands dropping to my shoulders, his thumbs skimming the tips of my breasts. I shuddered as a shock of pleasure rippled through me like wildfire and I gasped against his mouth.

In an instant, he pulled away. Looked down at me, his beautiful eyes filled with questions. “Is this…okay?” he murmured huskily. “I can stop. I mean, if you’re not ready…”

I bit my lower lip. “No,” I said. “Don’t stop. I’m ready.”

His mouth curved into the most beautiful smile. His eyes radiated his lust and desire. He leaned down, scooping me up into his arms as if I weighed nothing at all. Then he carried me over to a bed of flowers and laid me down. The heady scent of roses mixed with his own woodsy scent made my head spin. But in a good way this time. The best way.

“Oh Logan,” I said, reaching up to stroke his cheek. He smiled against my hand, then took it in his own and kissed my palm.

“Hannah,” he said. And it was all that he needed to say.

I woke up sometime later, still swaddled in the flowerbed, our legs and bodies entwined with one another. The poor flowers were the real victims here, crushed from our enthusiastic coming together. But it had been worth their sacrifice. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt no fear.

And I didn’t want to cut.

“You’re awake,” Logan observed with a smile, reaching out to stroke my hair. I nodded.

“Were you sleeping?” I asked.

“I rarely sleep during the night,” he explained. “Only day.”

“Oh.” I blushed, realizing that I had passed out, essentially trapping him there while I slept. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to--”

He put a finger to my lips. “Trust me,” he said in a husky voice. “I liked lying here, watching you sleep.” He paused, than added, “Yeah, that came out creepier than I meant it to.”

“Okay Edward Cullen,” I teased. He laughed, sitting up and running his hand through his already tousled hair. He was still shirtless and it was all I could do not to run my hand down his magnificent chest. Start things up all over again.

But my stomach had other ideas.

“What time is it?” I asked, grabbing my shirt and pulling it over my head.

He glanced at his watch. “Almost morning.”

“Wow. I slept half the night?”

“You’ve had a rough couple of days. I’m glad you were able to get some sleep.”

“Yeah. Me too.” I pursed my lips, then dared look up at him. “You know, if I had known running for my life from vampire slayers was so fun, I’d have done it a long time ago.”

His expression sobered. “What?” I asked, a bit fearfully.

He rose to his feet. Grabbed his pants and shucked them on. “I should go talk to Jareth,” he said. “Find out if he learned anything about our situation tonight.”

I nodded. The concerned look on his face made the warmness of our earlier coupling cool a little. We’d been hiding out here, away from real life. But we couldn’t do that forever. The Blood Coven was only a temporary refuge. Eventually we’d have to leave. And when we did…

“I’ll come with you,” I said, hastily getting dressed.

But Logan shook his head. “No,” he said. Then he added, “I’m sorry. It’s just…we have our ways. And humans are not allowed to know them.”

“Oh.” I felt a sinking disappointment inside of me. I knew it was ridiculous—just because I’d hooked up with Logan didn’t mean I was suddenly a vampire and part of the gang. I was a girlfriend at best, but far from an equal partner.

Logan gave me a sorry look. “Come on,” he said. “Let me take you to our media room while you wait. We have every movie under the sun. You can veg out and eat popcorn while I figure things out.”

“Sure,” I said. Because what else could I say?

Logan peered at me. “You’re upset,” he observed.

“No.” I shook my head. “I’m just a little worried. I appreciate you trying to fix everything. I just wish I could be more help.”

He pulled me into his arms. I collapsed against his chest, trying not to sob. I didn’t want to be that girl, that helpless girl who needed a guy to save her. But then I also didn’t want to be that stubborn girl who went against all common sense and made things worse.

“You have no idea how much help you are,” Logan whispered in my ear. And he sounded so sincere, I felt a little better.

He took me to the media room, which was actually more like a small movie theater. He set me up with a big bowl of buttery popcorn and large soda and handed me the remote. Then he leaned down, kissing the top of my head.

“I had an amazing night,” he whispered.

I smiled up at him. “Me too,” I said. “We should do this more often.” I paused, then added, “I mean, the fun part. Not the hiding out for our lives part.”

“Let me see what I can do about that,” he said. “I’ll be back.”

I was asleep when Logan returned. I felt his hand on me, gently shaking me awake. I opened my eyes, blinking at him sleepily. Then a smile crossed my face. “Hey,” I said. “You’re back.”

He nodded slowly. There was something in his eyes. Something that resembled pain. I sat up, frowning.

“What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “Nothing,” he said. “It’s just…almost morning. I need to get back to the room to sleep. I didn’t know if I should just leave you here or…”

“I’ll come back with you,” I said, standing up.

He nodded and together we walked back to our shared bedroom. Logan was quiet on the way, which worried me a little.

“What happened?” I asked. “Did you talk to Jareth?”

He nodded. “You don’t have to worry anymore,” he said. “I’ve straightened everything out.”

“You did?” I cried. “That’s awesome.”

He gave me a small smile. But I noticed it didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Yes,” he said. “Awesome.”

We reached the room. As he closed the door behind us, I opened my mouth to ask more questions. Get more details. But Logan didn’t seem in the mood to talk. Instead, he stepped toward me, a haunted look in his eyes. Before I could ask what was wrong, he took my face in his hands, drawing me to him. Kissing me with a desperation that took my breath away.

Still kissing me, walked me over to the bed, laying me down. Then he climbed on top of me, dragging a hand down my side. I reached up, digging my fingers into his thick hair.

“Oh Hannah,” he groaned against my mouth.

Suffice to say, no one slept in the chair that morning.