Logan: Chosen Champions Book One, page 11
“Bailey! Get your ass down here so we can start,” Heather bellowed.
“She’s a delicate flower,” Bailey whispered against Logan’s palm.
“She’s loud as fuck,” Logan whispered back. They shared a grin before Logan backed away. “Let’s go train.”
“Can I take a cold shower first?”
Logan opened the door and looked back over his shoulder. “Nope. I’ll take care of that problem later.”
Then he winked.
Bailey might possibly have come in his pants. Only a little, but still.
And Logan knew it. He glanced down at Bailey’s cock, then back up to his face with a wicked, knowing smile.
Bailey gave the whole growling thing a try. It wasn’t anywhere near as hot as Logan’s, but he gave it a whirl anyway.
It only seemed to make things worse. Well, for him, anyway. Logan seemed to like it just fine.
“Later.”
Bailey huffed. “You get me this wound up, then want me to go roll around on the floor with you in front of my friends.”
“Nope. You’ll be rolling around with Scout today. So you better get that”—Logan glanced at Bailey’s crotch again—“under control.”
Before Bailey could protest again, Logan went out the door and down the stairs. Bailey took a minute to gather his wits and give his nether regions a stern lecture about not being hard in front of their friends while he unpacked the bread and soup from the coolers.
By the time he made it downstairs, the others had already partnered up. Logan had Heather in a headlock, and she escaped it quickly. He didn’t even look up when Bailey approached, which actually made Bailey happier than it should have. Logan’s full focus was on Heather’s training, and it somehow made him even sexier to Bailey’s weirdly wired brain.
“You’re drooling,” Scout whispered.
Bailey absolutely did not squeak in terror. “Must you people terrify me?”
“Pretty sure Logan wasn’t terrifying you. I mean, from the state of your lips, I’m guessing you weren’t terrified at all. Nope. Not terrified.”
“Would you stop staying terrified!”
His shout might have been louder than he intended. Everyone stopped their practice and stared at him. Logan, the ass, smirked.
“I hate you all. I’m taking my delicious homemade chicken noodle soup and my loaf of crusty bread that I made this morning before any of you cretins were even out of bed and going home.”
“No, you’re not,” Ashley said.
“I might!”
Will snorted.
Scout grabbed Bailey from behind. It startled the hell out of him, and his instincts kicked in. He stepped forward, turned, and shoved. It happened so fast, he ended up standing several paces away from Scout, stunned and shaking.
“Nice!” Ashley shouted. “Holy shit, Bails. I didn’t know you could move that fast.”
He hadn’t either.
Bailey glanced at Logan, curious to see his reaction, and the pleased gleam in his eyes promised Bailey he’d know exactly how happy Logan was with him later.
13
Logan
Logan couldn’t take his eyes off Bailey the entire morning. When he was working with the others, they had his focus. But the moment they completed a movement, he checked on Bailey.
The scent of Bailey’s fear still lingered in the air, and it had the wolf in him restless. It hadn’t helped that Dasan had called for backup at Bailey’s house. Something had caught the martial eagle’s attention, but he hadn’t identified what was off. Scout had gone to scent the scene.
It made Logan incredibly uneasy to think that someone had actually been looking at Bailey that morning. If the amount of fear he’d smelled indicated anything, it was that Bailey’s inner sense of preservation had known he was being watched.
When they broke for lunch, Bailey and Will went upstairs to get everything ready. Logan took the opportunity to slip in one of the earbuds that connected him to the oracle.
Over the past few months, Logan had come to depend on the wisdom of the anonymous person at the other end of the connection. If, as an alpha, he had a second-in-command at his side, like so many packs did, he’d want it to be someone like the oracle. Steady and analytical where Logan was instinct and emotion. Experienced in things Logan was not, like technology.
All the equipment they needed came from the oracle, as did the warehouse itself, with all its setup. Logan simply had to speak his needs and the oracle made things happen. It was more than the seemingly endless supply of cash the oracle had access to, though.
They could have made do with much less. But Logan had never had someone in his life to talk things through with like he’d found with the oracle. The fact that he—if he was even a he at all; the electronically-altered voice kept even that much hidden—had become a true sounding board for Logan had given him the confidence to try this experiment at all.
“You there?”
“I am. What do you need?”
“To organize my thoughts,” Logan replied. To the others, he said, “I’ll be up in a few minutes. You better save me some soup!”
Aleron laughed and pushed ahead of Gideon on the stairs. “Sure we will, Logan.”
Logan glared but had no doubt Bailey would make sure he had some soup of his own. He went through the door at the back of the warehouse and up another flight of stairs to his apartment. There wasn’t much to it, but he didn’t need much—a bed, a small kitchen, a bathroom, and a couch.
He wondered what Bailey would think of it but already knew the answer. He’d find it lacking. Logan hadn’t put anything into the space because he’d considered it temporary. Bailey’s college apartment had more personality than Logan’s living space.
“Did you see the text from Dasan?” Logan asked.
“Yes. It looks like your friend wasn’t seeing things after all.”
“We don’t know that for sure.”
“Don’t we?” the oracle asked.
The oracle never let him get away with doubts either. He pushed Logan to trust his instincts as an alpha, even when Logan would prefer otherwise. “It doesn’t mean it was the incubus.”
“Agreed. It could have been a neighbor walking by and Bailey just caught a glimpse of movement.”
Either way, it meant Bailey needed to feel safe. Logan never wanted to scent fear on him like that again. “Who do we know who can put in a security system at his place?”
The oracle took a moment to respond. “Your wolf is leading you in this, Alpha. You’re aware of what you’re implying by taking these actions?”
Logan growled. “I’m aware. Bailey is not, however, so I won’t be claiming him. I’m sure this is—”
He couldn’t complete the thought. Nothing about this felt like a passing phase. Nothing about his connection to Bailey felt like anything he’d experienced before. The closest was the one thing he’d sworn he would never have again.
“Tread carefully, Logan. Our mission is greater than hunting down this single creature.”
The reminder bristled his already growing annoyance. “I’m well aware of our mission.”
“Good. I’ll have someone out today to get security measures in place. You’d better get to the break room. Bailey’s soup is going fast.”
As usual, the oracle managed to leave him annoyed but not so angry he couldn’t take time to process their conversation. Not that Logan had a chance to truly speak his thoughts, but they’d somehow managed to get to the crux of the matter anyway. Logan’s connection to Bailey changed things for him, but Logan had to decide just how far he was willing to take it.
The idea of opening himself up to something more had him itching to shift and let his wolf roam. The animal side of him had such pure instincts, and even though Logan still had his human side in his beast form, he seemed unable to have so many complex thoughts.
And the doubts weren’t there either. The wolf in him already knew he was an alpha in need of a pack. It was the human side of him who was unwilling to take the plunge again.
Logan kept the earbud in his ear and left his apartment. When he reached the break room, he found Bailey standing guard in front of the stove, where a giant bowl of soup and a large chunk of bread waited. The scents in the room soothed his bristling nerves. Chicken noodle soup had a way of doing that, and it didn’t hurt that Bailey’s scent had become more relaxed and at ease as well.
“You saved me some?” Logan asked with a grin.
“Yes. At extreme danger to my life and limb, I might add. These vultures tried to trick me into giving it to them, but I stayed strong.”
“We know your weaknesses, Bails,” Joey said. “And we’re not afraid to use them to get more soup out of you. It’s your own fault, really, for being so good at making food. We’re starving college students, don’t you know.”
“Starving, my ass,” Bailey said. “You eat more in a day than the rest of us combined.”
“It takes a lot of calories to maintain the glory that is my physique.”
Bailey laughed and turned to Logan, his eyes still sparkling. “Ignore him. I kept you some soup and bread. I hope you like it.”
“We should order dessert,” Ashley said. “A cake to celebrate!”
“Celebrate?” Logan asked.
All of his friends looked at Bailey, and his cheeks began to flush again. “I was accepted into the master’s program at school.”
“Oh my God,” Will yelled, obviously surprised by the news. “You’re not abandoning us! I’m finding cake.”
“We don’t need cake,” Bailey said, then ignored all the pouts directed his way.
Logan also pretended his team wasn’t looking at him, begging for cake as well. Since when had he enlisted a team of children? He ignored them and turned his attention to Bailey. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. I… I was going to tell you later. If I had a chance. I wasn’t sure. God, I’m so awkward.”
Logan touched the back of Bailey’s neck, and when he finally looked up and met Logan’s gaze, Logan gave a gentle squeeze. “It’s great news. You should be proud.”
“I am. Ashley made me apply last week, and, well… I can’t believe it. I planned on taking two weeks off and then doing a massive job hunt all summer. Now I’m going back to school in the fall.”
“So you’re not going to find a job?”
“I… I don’t know what I’m going to do, to be honest. I haven’t even had time to think about it with everything going on.”
Aleron cleared his throat, drawing Logan’s attention to the silence that had fallen in the rest of the room. He glanced over and found everyone staring at them.
“Is there a problem?”
“Oh no,” Joey said, “unless you consider the fact that you two are staring at each other with so much heat you’re setting my pants on fire. But, you know, I wouldn’t call that a problem, per se. Well, it’s a problem for me. Well, not exactly a problem. I mean, I can handle it, but—”
Heather clamped her hand over Joey’s mouth. “He’s thinking with his dick at the moment. We all know what that’s going to get him, don’t we?”
Ashley snorted. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Except maybe a hand workout.”
Joey protested, but it came out muffled.
Bailey leaned closer to Logan. “Um. So, yeah. These are my friends?”
“Was there an actual question hiding there?”
Bailey’s lips tipped up in a tiny grin. “Nope. I’ve got nothing.”
“Me either. Can I please eat now? This soup smells like heaven.”
“Oh! Of course. Let me reheat it for you. Even though you claim cold soup is good, I promise you, you’re mistaken.”
“I never said warm soup wasn’t better. Just that cold soup isn’t bad. You’re twisting my words.”
Bailey full-on grinned. “You’re cute when you’re teasing me. And I didn’t think you could be any cuter.”
“I am not cute,” Logan scoffed. “I’m stunningly handsome.”
Bailey laughed before slapping his hands over his mouth.
“What’s funny?” Will asked.
“Bailey doesn’t think I’m stunningly handsome.”
“What? I never said that!”
Logan ignored the smack to his arm and mock-pouted.
“What is happening right now?” Gideon asked. “Someone has replaced Logan with this strange, happy, pod wol—uh, person.”
“He hasn’t snarled at me in over an hour,” Aleron whispered. “He’s clearly been kidnapped by aliens. We should run.”
Ashley laughed and leaned against Aleron’s arm. “He’s got Bailey-itis.”
“Is it contagious?”
“Pretty much,” Joey complained. “Depends on how bad of a case you get, though. Logan’s got it bad.”
Bailey ignored the teasing and pulled Logan’s soup out of the microwave in the break room. He buttered a couple of pieces of bread before putting it all on the table.
“Just for that, I’m not sharing any of the marinara sauce I made last weekend. I was planning a lasagna party, but I’d hate to give anyone Bailey-itis.”
“Lasagna?” Will whimpered. “But Bails, I didn’t say anything. Don’t punish me for their mistakes. It’s not fair.”
“I didn’t hear you defending me.”
Gideon leaned forward. “Um, I’m a fan of lasagna.”
“Good for you. Too bad only Logan’s going to get any.”
Joey spit out his soda and began coughing.
Logan sat down in front of his soup and tried very hard not to laugh.
“Any lasagna, you asshole!” Bailey’s blush intensified when he realized what he’d implied.
Logan leaned in and breathed in the heavenly scents coming from the bowl. He took a bite, making sure to get as much as he could on the spoon. The sound he made once it went in his mouth couldn’t be described as anything but filthy.
Everyone quieted and stared as he swallowed. “That’s… that’s…”
“Yeah, we know,” Joey said. “No one makes soup like our Bails.”
“How’d you do that?” Logan asked.
Bailey shrugged. “I put a couple extra containers in the freezer for you. I always make too much. And you four, pipe down. You already know I’ve got some for each of you as well.”
“We pitch in for groceries,” Ashley explained. “If you want in, let me know.”
Aleron immediately grabbed his wallet. A stack of hundred-dollar bills hit the table a second later. “Is that enough? I can get more.”
“Yeah, well, considering there is absolutely nothing in this entire kitchen worth eating, that might be enough,” Bailey complained. “Don’t you eat?”
“We order a lot of takeout,” Gideon explained.
“Wait, Bailey’s not going to job hunt this summer, and we’re in need of some TLC. What if you work for us, Bailey? Keep us fed and we’ll pay you well.”
Logan glanced up, his eyes flashing at Aleron as he made the offer. The griffin stilled, his smile frozen into place as he realized what he’d done. They couldn’t afford to forget that Bailey and his friends were human.
Hell, Logan needed the reminder more than most.
“It’s not a bad idea,” the oracle said in his ear. “He can’t be around during official training, but it would add an air of legitimacy to our company if we have a forward-facing employee, at least in the short-term.”
Logan tuned it all out and turned his attention to Bailey. “Ignore them. I won’t let them pressure you into cooking for everyone. I’ll only pressure you into cooking for me. I think that’s a fair compromise.”
Bailey laughed and leaned against him. “You scared me there for a second.”
“Sorry.” Logan ran his hand down Bailey’s back and then pushed him gently toward the empty seat at his left. “Sit down. Someone else can do cleanup.”
“This is some sort of bizarre mating ritual, isn’t it?” Joey asked. “Super sexy mystery man meets the soup of his dreams. He hunts down the deliciously attractive home chef who prepared it and proceeds to charm the pants off him, guaranteeing himself access to said dreamy soup for the rest of his days.”
“That’s one way of describing it,” Aleron said. His sheepish grin let Logan know he’d received Logan’s warning message loud and clear.
Of course, it wouldn’t surprise Logan in the least if Aleron also got an actual warning message in his ear from the oracle. In fact, he didn’t quite understand why the oracle hadn’t protested the amount of time the humans had spent with them over the past week.
“Stop thinking so hard,” the oracle said in his ear. “And to answer your question, it’s because I know what it’s like to feel powerless. As long as we keep our secret safe, I don’t mind humans around. We have a duty to keep our other selves hidden, though.”
It was another clue to the identity of their mysterious benefactor. Logan didn’t have many. He let the sounds of chatting and laughter wash over him as he enjoyed the chicken noodle soup. And if he made plans to steal the extra Bailey had left and hide it at his place, well, no one needed to know.
Now, though, he needed to figure out how to tell Bailey he’d ordered a security system installed in his apartment without talking to him about it first. His wolf paced inside him, not used to him having so many doubts. If Bailey were his, he wouldn’t be worried about rejection.
But Bailey wasn’t his.
His phone dinged with a text from Scout, letting him know he’d not tracked anything at the scene. Instead of giving Logan a sense of relief, the news had him bristling even worse than before. His wolf demanded he take action.
Something about the entire situation felt off, and he couldn’t figure out what it was. His wolf agreed. He didn’t want to let Bailey out of his sight, but he honestly wasn’t sure if it was because of the threat or the intensity of his feelings for him.
Either way, he’d need to have the conversation soon, because he’d also received a text from the security company saying they planned on stopping by for an estimate that afternoon.
