Controlled Burn (Scarred Hearts) (14 page)

“More than I thought possible.” They’d accepted him quickly and without a hint of judgment. Nice as they’d been he’d expected to find them sneaking glances at his scars. The only one he’d caught looking at him had been Delancey, and it hadn’t been because of his burns.

Each time he’d caught her watching him he’d stopped caring about pool and making clean shots. He’d stopped feeling different. Her smile, her laugh, her ease with other people… They were enviable qualities. Enviable and arousing.

Logan put the pizza box in the trash can and moved to the sink where Delancey rinsed the glasses. He put a glass in the sink and then slid his hand up her arm.

She froze.

He curled his fingers over her arm and turned her to face him. All the almost kisses and charged moments and the kiss in his kitchen rushed him in a flood of images. Seizing the moment, taking chances, being brave, weren’t strengths of his. He’d chosen math in college because it was safe and the rules never changed.

Surprises and change weren’t welcome in his life, but he’d be a fool not to explore the change staring him in the face. Delancey had been one surprise after another and nothing bad had happened. Maybe the same could be said about a change in the pace of their relationship.

“Logan?”

His thumb moved in a circle over the sleeve of her shirt. He stared into her eyes. “You have the kindest heart. You shared your vulnerability and your friends with me.” He shook his head before she could minimize what she’d done. “I wonder if you’d share something else with me.”

“Something? Like what?”

He brought his second hand up and cupped her neck. “You.”

“Me?” Her voice cracked.

“Yes, you.” Logan’s pulse leapt with excitement.

“Why?”

“For a strong woman you seem suddenly unsure of yourself. Where’d the woman from my kitchen go?”

“She thought things were going to move slowly.” Her shoulder jerked, but the insecurity was short-lived. “You don’t have to sound so happy about making me nervous.”

“I said nothing about rushing. And I think I do.” Because it made her slightly less intimidating. Applying a little pressure to her neck, he eased her closer. “Everything about who you are makes me want you. It’s been unchanged since you first walked into my hospital room. Since you told me you didn’t want to be a part of lust getting in the way of my healing. ”

“You said I was a mistake.”

“When?”

“On the Fourth.”

The memory returned along with everything he’d said. He shook his head. “My going there was the mistake.”

“Why?”

“I’d wanted to see you. Badly. Then I saw you with all those people.” Why he’d said it was a mistake was coming back, making him wonder if he should’ve kept his mouth shut. “You were as comfortable with the big group as you were tonight.”

“That bothers you.”

Hell, yes.
“No one wants to be around a scarred man who could put Two-Face to shame. Hell, one look at me and Freddy would stay home on Halloween.”

“I always thought Two-Face was sexy. And Freddy’s a pussy who wishes he could borrow Jason’s mask.” Delancey pinched the fabric of his T-shirt, tugging it away from his stomach. “I would kiss you if you’d come down here.”

“Will you wear pigtails and let me call you Gidget?”

“Absolutely not.”

Chuckling, he grabbed her hips and lifted her up to set her on the counter. Almost at eye level, she shifted her legs to make room for him. Her grip on his shirt tightened, her nails brushing against him, sending a shot of electricity through him.

Logan framed her face, his little fingers resting against her hammering pulse points. He moved in, his own pulse points slammed against his still sensitive skin. The first touch of his lips to hers burst through the final doubt that he might be making a mistake.

Nothing about Delancey could be a mistake.

Chapter Fourteen

Excited was too calm a word to describe what Delancey felt.

Blood beat with brilliant vigor through the valleys of her veins. Sweetness of summer warmth swept the span of her skin. Awareness soared through her pores.

Logan kept the kiss light but altered the angle of his head. The growth of new stubble just making itself known in his new skin pricked her lips. It was softness with a bite and she loved it.

His hands moved to her hips. He squeezed and released. He kissed her soft and then hard. She leaned into him, sliding her hands to his back, careful not to press too hard.

With a shudder, he eased away and rested his forehead on her shoulder. “More?”

She kissed the edge of his mouth and smiled. “More.”

In case he needed encouragement, she kissed the other side of his mouth, then the edge of his scar. “More smiles and laughs. More kisses and touches.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“It can be as easy or as complicated as we choose to make it. I have little patience for complications I can avoid.”

“I have enough complications in a day. I’d like to avoid them with you if possible.”

“You only need to say something if things become complicated.” She kissed him again, directly on the mouth. “You set the limits.”

“Does that mean I could tell you to stop showing up uninvited and you would?”

“If you really meant it. And unless I feel something is wrong.”

He breathed slowly, staring. “What do you mean by that?”

Alarm deepened Logan’s tone like he didn’t want to know what she’d meant. Like he didn’t want to know but needed to hear her answer. The only way to keep things uncomplicated was to be honest.

“I get feelings about you. In the fire it was that you were there. In the hospital, even after you asked me to stay away, it was that I shouldn’t.” She’d be more comfortable pacing, she always paced when she wanted to work out the why or how of a situation. Fear of losing whatever connection they seemed to share held her in place. “It was like being compelled.”

“Like the need for oxygen when you’re underwater?”

“Exactly.” Being with Logan wasn’t a desire or a choice. It was a need that reached into her core and yanked until she obeyed. “Is that weird?”

“A little, but being with you… It just feels right.”

Elation swelled within and made her grin. “So,” going for the big score, “will you be cleaning out my leftover stash tonight or in the morning?”

“In the morning, but I’m not cleaning you out.”

“That’s too bad.” She nudged him back and hopped off the counter. Taking his hand, she led him to the bedroom. “I plan on cleaning you out.”

“And you were so well behaved during pool, leaving the dirty innuendos to Andy and Lexi.”

“I don’t need an audience. I actually prefer private parties.”

In the bedroom she released his hand and went to close the blinds. She’d loved the idea of an iron fence overlooking an always-green golf course. Until she’d moved in and realized how many night golfers lived in her subdivision.

Turning back, and seeing Logan sitting on her bed removing his shoes, had the nerves she’d expected all along made their appearance. Having bought the house after Chad, she’d dreamed of him where Logan now sat. It was only normal since they’d planned a life together.

Logan looked absolutely perfect against the backdrop of gray walls, black furniture and darker gray-and-black bedding. “I have this same comforter set,” Logan said, making himself more perfect. And making it easier to feel no guilt over moving on.

“I know. I’ve been in your room.”

They preferred the same kind of entertainment, small gatherings in a quiet place. He had the same taste in décor, where she’d always clashed with Chad’s taste of the antique. He also didn’t set his shoes at a perfect ninety-degree angle to the bed but instead dropped them and forgot them.

It wasn’t that she wanted him to be a slob. She simply liked that he wasn’t too rigid. As long as he was rigid in the right ways.

Pulling the extra pillows off and piling them in her chair, she said, “I think you’ll really like the sheets. I found them after my surgery when everything else was too itchy or clingy.”

“Or cold or hot.”

“Yes!” Being with him, talking about mundane things when they both knew they’d be having sex very soon, was easy. Not complicated had been the deal, but this simple? There had to be another shoe.

Or maybe she was looking for trouble where there wasn’t any. Not all relationships had to be full of drama or awkwardness at the start. Or at all. True, hardships during a relationship tested its strength, but sometimes it was better to proceed as if the worst was in the past.

“You good with that side, or do you want this one?” Logan asked.

“I could sleep on top of the fire engine with sirens blaring in the wide open. I have no preference on sides of the bed.”

“I tend to sleep on my right side now so unless I’m going to keep my back to you all night I should take the left.”

“I like your logic.” They rounded the foot of the bed, brushing hands as they passed each other. The easiness snapped beneath the power of his skin against hers. Hunger roared to life and had her ripping back the covers.

Standing on opposite sides of the bed, gazes locked on each other, Logan and Delancey undressed. She left her bra and panties on. Logan left on his boxer briefs, which hugged low at his pelvis and down his thighs. She’d seen his body and scars in the hospital when he’d been practicing dressing. Perfectly imperfect would be her description for him.

Now he revealed himself all for her pleasure and it was so much better.

Not big and bulky, but lean and lightly sculpted, Logan was sexy. His biceps and shoulders were the most defined parts of him, but not in a way that said he worked out a lot. Rather in the way that said he was healthy and in shape, or just lucky to be built that way.

His scars were primarily on his left side, with a few offshoots toward his right side, there were patches of wrinkled-looking skin, but most of his body was smooth from grafts. When he finished healing, the worst of his scars would be the few areas they hadn’t grafted.

His face and arms, where his skin had been exposed to the fire, had the worst of those scars. She wanted to explore him, taste him and convince him he was beautiful, scars and all.

Delancey’s heart rate picked up like it had in the kitchen. She moved to get on the bed, but Logan didn’t join her. Sadness darkened his face, obliterating the fun that had been there.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“I don’t have a condom.” He sounded as sad as he looked. “Do you?”

“No, but I take the pill. And I’m clean.” Walking on her knees, she moved toward him. “Are you?”

The grin he rarely showed brightened his face, replacing the darkness. He got on the bed and walked on his knees to the middle. “I am.”

“Excellent.” Delancey slid a finger down his chest and her stomach tingled with excitement and arousal. “I’d hate for you to show up pregnant in a couple weeks. That would be so embarrassing.”

Laughing, Logan placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her sideways with a little twist. She bounced onto her back and was reaching for him as he moved over her.

With a shake of his head, he took her hands and stretched her arms over her head. “Before you start touching me, I want my turn.”

“Okay,” she said with a dramatic sigh. “But if you take too long I’m going to lose patience and the touching will begin.”

“You won’t lose patience.” He didn’t release her hands though. He laced his fingers with hers and bent down, claiming her mouth.

The prickle of his partial beard teased her. She curled her fingers against his and lifted her head from the pillow, deepening the kiss. He read her signals and granted the wish.

He eased his tongue’s tip between her lips and ran it along her teeth. She opened her mouth on a sigh and he went deeper, taking his tongue on an exploration of her mouth. Thrusting and withdrawing, sweeping his tongue against hers on the withdrawals, nibbling her lip before the thrust, his kiss ramped her already-considerable arousal.

Over a year had passed since she’d been with a man. She wouldn’t have expected the first time back in the game to go so well, but they fit.

And he wasn’t satisfied with kissing.

Logan journeyed along her jaw and down her neck. With his mouth caressing the skin at her shoulder, he released her hands and slipped her bra straps down. The textured skin of her burn had always felt a little numb to her own touch. Logan’s mouth and fingers were kisses and brushes of worship that breathed new vibrancy into her pores.

Intensely reactive, her skin popped with bumps, standing her arm hair on end. Everywhere his mouth touched sang the praises of his prowess. Her muscles trembled and her skin danced. Her pulse pounded loudly in her head until she heard nothing beyond the race of her blood and the boom of her heart.

He removed her bra and gave her breasts the same attention he’d given her scar. When she was struggling to not writhe beneath him, to not shift her legs against each other in an attempt to take herself to orgasm, he trailed his fingers down her torso and played with her panties.

Delancey closed her eyes, anxious to block the sensations bombarding her. The self-inflicted blindness heightened the intensity of his seduction and made her more aware of the simplicity of his scent. Like the coconut milk salve she’d used to keep her skin moist after surgery.

Levering off her, Logan slid her panties down her legs, trailing the path with his fingertips. Naked before him, with his touch gone, Delancey snuck a peek to see what he was doing. He knelt at her feet, grinning.

“You’re a whole lot of sexy wrapped in a tiny body.”

She opened her eyes fully and smiled back. “You gonna sit there and talk, or are you gonna strip and have your way with me?” Pushing up on her elbows, she broadened her smile. “Or is it my turn to touch?”

Logan considered her question for a moment. He enjoyed having control, had almost shamed himself a couple times when she’d wiggled against him. If she set out to touch him and drive him crazy he’d lose all control. Quite possibly that could be part of the fun.

“What kind of Texan gentleman would I be if I denied your fun?”

“The kind who doesn’t let the lady go first?”

“The only ‘go’ that matters in bed is the finish.” He dropped his gaze to her body and traced unseen patterns on her legs as he worked his way back up her body. “I like to finish as a team…”

He slipped his hand up the inside of her thigh, creamy smooth and tempting to taste, and continued to tease her. Sex had always been sex, but Delancey made it fun.

“If you’d like to go first…” He teased her clit. She spread her legs for him, granting him freer access.

She was hot and wet and sliding home would be so easy and satisfying. A groan rumbled free from her throat. She rolled her hips, pressing herself against him. So sexy and responsive he couldn’t help but react in kind. His hips jerked as his dick begged to replace his finger. “I’m going to take that as a yes that you want me to keep going.”

“I sure as hell don’t want you to stop.”

He wouldn’t stop, but neither would he let her come without him. He wanted to be buried inside, hands linked when he watched her fall off the ledge.

Logan tried to make himself stop grinning when his face began to hurt, but then she’d squirm or moan or writhe because of a touch and his efforts were defeated. He slid his finger against her and then in and out. He twirled it when he went deep, massaging her inner walls and G-spot, retreating the moment before she lost control.

When she was twisting and turning, groaning and begging, with no restraint he slipped off his boxers and crawled over her. She flattened a hand on his left cheek, brushing a finger methodically over his burn.

Her eyes captured and held his. “Tell me you’re done teasing.”

“Have I met the elusive white unicorn? A woman who doesn’t want all the foreplay?”

“Oh, it’s good.” She slid a foot up the back of his right leg, digging lightly into his butt cheek. “But time for play is over. I’ve waited months for this moment.”

Logan positioned himself, and with a chuckle and a “you asked for it,” he thrust. All the excitement of a lust-obsessed teen coalesced into a mass of arousal. His back muscles tightened, squeezing his spine and pressing against his nerves until every cell in his being throbbed with need.

Delancey arched into him, pressed close and clung. As tight as she held him while he carried them both to the vortex of pleasure, she never clung too tight or in a spot that might cause him pain.

He withdrew. In a moment of calm before the climax he stared into her hazel eyes and for the briefest of moments could swear he saw his future. A future where he was old and gray with his petite savior at his side.

Consumed with all he’d ever wanted, all she’d done for him, and all he currently felt, he thrust. Her inner walls squeezed him tight, draining him until he lacked the energy to do more than collapse beside her.

Seconds passed into minutes and who knew how many of those passed until Delancey tugged at her left arm. “Can I get this back?”

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“You’re not moving.”

“Can’t.”

She laughed and poked him in the stomach with her right hand. “Logan.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m moving.” It took another moment but he finally shifted enough for her to free her arm. When she did, she asked, “Can I lean against you?”

“Are you asking me to snuggle?”

“Does the idea repulse you?”

“Yes.” He pulled her against him. “You’re very repulsive.”

Nestling her head into the crook of his arm, she curled into him. Her palm rested on his stomach. Her fingers moved slowly across his still oversensitive skin in the tiniest of caresses.

“You’re a sweet man, Logan.”

“Said no one. Ever.”

“Not even Ashley?”

“Not even her.” He knew how to be a brother, a student and an accountant. He was entirely unaccustomed to companionship that didn’t come from his sister. Part of him said to run, another said to stay and cling tight. The part saying to cling tight sounded remarkably like Ashley.