Irreplaceable (17 page)

“Are you going to make me beg?”

Oh God, he was too close. My legs tightened together in
need, and I was thankful they were already squeezed between his strong limbs.

“I’m waiting,” he prompted, his nose nearly touching
mine. “You asked me to show you. You should know better than to take back a
request so...enticing.”

“Logan…” I wasn’t even sure I said it aloud until he
replied with his lips on my cheek, gliding over my scorching skin and down over
my chin, following the curve of my neck.

“I can’t…think.” I swallowed, desperate for space. “Get
up. Off!”

“No.”

His nose stroked my neck, followed by his wet lips over
my clavicle.

“Log—”

His tongue dipped into the hollow of my clavicle. “You
feel this. I know you do.”

There was no denying and no stopping it when he pulled back
to grip the hem of my shirt and yanked it up, over my head. My weight was
unable to stop him, unable to hold it on, with my body following his lead.

“What about this?” His tongue ran down between my
breasts, a white lace bra covering them. “Do you feel that?”

Logan spoke so deeply to my body that I clutched a
handful of the comforter pooled at my waist. His tongue swirled below my right
breast just under the lace, then to the left. I waited for him to rip the bra
to shreds or move it to display my breasts, but they remained covered.

“Yes, I feel it,” I murmured, my voice strained and
broken as I kicked the blanket away and raised my legs to circle his waist,
desperate to bridge the connection I craved like nothing else. “Please, I need
you,” I begged, grinding against him, begging for him to finally take me.

“You need me?” He repeated my plea.

“Yes.”

“You want me?” His lips were tickling my stomach
relentlessly, further fanning the fire building at my core.

“Logan…” I moaned when his mouth covered my breast over
the lace and, after a hard suck, released it with a devious smirk.

“You want me to show you—show you how good it can be?”
His voice was thick and rough, and it thundered right through me.

“Yes. Show me,” I begged with a longing I couldn’t control.

His eyes darkened and his body slid down, rubbing over
mine in the process. His palm rested on my abdomen, holding me still as his
mouth moved down and landed over my hip.

I moaned a deep, needy hum. His tongue swirled across my
abs again and again, circling my bellybutton and causing my hips to lift off
the bed. He held me down and rolled to the side, lying half over me, half on
the mattress.

He had me panting with desire, and there was no coming
back from it.

With bated breath, I was locked on watching his every
move. His lips kissed farther down to the hem of my panties and then back up,
teasing me.

“Show you like this?” He words were nothing but a clipped
rumble as he hooked a finger under my panties and tugged the thin lace fabric
between his fingers.

My heart thundered, stomach turning, until he spoke
again.

“Yes,” I moaned, squirming with desire.

His tongue dipped into my bellybutton, one hand kneading
my breast. The other slid fully into my panties, stroking my needy sex. My head
fell back onto the pillow, my body nothing but shudders and pleas.

“Oh, God, Logan!”

My toes curled. It was unlike anything I’d ever felt
before—completely unexpected—as he massaged my breasts, then leaned up and
placed his lips over mine, kissing my lips with a confident ease, aware of what
he was doing to me, while his other hand caressed between my legs.

“I know you feel this. You feel me giving you this
pleasure—no one else but me. You want more?” he asked, his lips sliding to my
cheek, where he placed the sweetest peck.

His thumb ravaged my pleasure point and my hands wrapped
around him, nails digging into his back. It had been so long. The massive
spring inside me tightened to a point that was nearly painful. I couldn’t
handle it. My clammy hands tore up his back and buried themselves in his hair.

“Yes! Logan, please!”

I was lost to something primal and foreign—something I
thought I’d experienced so many times before, but it was never like this.

“Let it go. I’m here…trust me. I’ll always be the one to
give you what you need.”

My body began pulsating, stomach tight and hard, until my
breath caught and my body exploded over his hand. It was unlike anything I’d
ever felt before, and the screams that rang out of me weren’t my own.

They couldn’t be. It wasn’t like me to feel…that.

Bucking my hips forward one last time, I lay there
breathless, covered in a sheen of sweet, gasping for air to replenish my winded
lungs.

The grin on my face brought a sweet, boyish laugh from
the man who quite literally blew my mind. He rolled over to his side and
propped himself up on one elbow, watching me.

“You’re so beautiful, sleepy, and satisfied,” he said,
raking his hand up from my sex and running his thumb over his bottom lip before
depositing it into his mouth.

I flushed, struggling for breath. “Not completely
satisfied.”

“You need more?” he asked, head tilted to the side,
observing me carefully. “So do I. I need your trust, your heart, and your soul.
I want you to be mine completely.”

“Then take me.”

He rolled back over me, putting us in the same position
we were earlier, his nose brushing back and forth over mine. “Tell me you
believe I’ll never want another—nobody ever but you.”

I swallowed, unsure how to answer in my aroused state.

“I want you. Nothing else matters. Not now. Take me. Take
what you want.”

His head fell forward, my nostrils hit with the
intoxicating scent of a beachy day. Whatever shampoo he used, I would never
forget that smell. It was so unique and clean.

When he looked back up with an unexpected grin, I
couldn’t help but smile in return, unsure what had brought it on.

“You sure know how to work a determined man, sweetheart.”
His thoughtful features softened, his grin melting into a soft, easy smile.
“Don’t ever lose that strength. I adore you for it.”

Slowly, his lips lowered over mine, and after one
lingering peck, he rolled back to his side.

“And you once called me a tease,” I said with a head
shake and soft breath of laughter, staring at the darkness above us.

“You were never a tease—merely a goddess I was unworthy
of.”

He really needed to stop with the sweet talk.

Silence hung over us while I found my breath and closed
my eyes, my arousal fading as quickly as it had materialized. My thoughts
erupted with the uncontrollable desire to lick my lips, taste him, and savor
it. Yet with his eyes on me, my mind sunk into the depths of a reality I could
no longer deny. What had happened? Was it real? Did I imagine him giving me so
much pleasure?

My mind raced with images of rolling over onto him and
forcing him to give me what I want—to finish it. Force him to take what I knew
he wanted. But I didn’t. I knew that look on his face. The ball was in his
court, and for the night we’d keep it there. He looked relaxed—happy—and I
didn’t want to change that. His happiness lightened my entire body.

I needed to either change gears quickly or get up and
leave, and the second option was unbearable to think about. My body was already
half asleep—or, more accurately, coming down from a high and not willing to
move.

“I thought Caleb owned the building,” I said, thankful
for something to talk about.

“We’re partners in it,” he replied casually.

“Partners?” I rolled my head to the side, brows knit
together, staring at him looking at me with an easy smile.

“Is that so hard to believe?”

“Yes. I thought you met him after you moved here.”

Logan chuckled and shook his head once. “No.”

My curiosity was now fully piqued.

“Three years ago.”

Three years ago? What?

Then it clicked.

“You’ve known Caleb for three years?” Interesting…someone
who might have a clue what the elusive Caleb had been doing while he was away.

He nodded with that same sweet smile that begged for me
to return one, and I did.

“Why didn’t I know this?” I asked, rolling further to my
side to better face him, eager to hear what he had to say.

“You never asked.”

“I just assumed that—”

“Well, you know what they say about assuming.”

“Ha ha.” I rolled my eyes, but my smile never faded. “So
how did you guys meet?”

“I kicked his ass.”

My eyes widened, my body shaking with laughter.

“You kicked his ass?” I said through the images in my
thoughts. With another chuckle, I covered my mouth with my hand. “Why?”

“I love seeing you laugh. I didn’t realize how much I
missed that.”

With my eyes locked on his, I swallowed and found my
words. “Why did you feel the need to harm Caleb?” I asked, changing the
subject.

Logan tucked his arm under his pillow, his gaze never
leaving mine. “He was out on a date with Julia.”

“Julia? Three years ago?”

My face scrunched up as I redid the math in my head.

“Exactly. When you catch your sixteen-year-old sister on
a date with a grown man when she’s supposed to be home sound asleep, you tend
to throw a few swings.”

“But you two seem to get along now.”

“That’s because he was smart enough not to swing back. I
got in one good blow, my sister hanging off my back screaming for me to stop,
and I could tell by the way he stared up at her he didn’t know she was
underage. My sister was a spoiled brat back then, and with one stomp of her
foot, she showed her maturity and he apologized. Even offered to buy me a
round.”

I listened, impressed how easily men could get over
things.

“Julia wasn’t too happy about it, but he and I became
fast friends.”

“So when he moved back to Harmony…”

“Julia wanted to move here first, which I later found out
had to do with Mark. I told Caleb I was thinking about purchasing the paper
that I’d heard was looking for a buyer to keep an eye on her, and next thing I
know, he tells me he bought an old diner to fix up. Said it was past time to
return home.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing—or worse, that
there was so much about Logan I didn’t really know. The time we spent together
over the fall was great, but aside from a few conversations about Natasha, he’d
rarely opened up about his past.

“So I have to ask…” I smiled to myself, catching my
bottom lip between my teeth, knowing this was none of my business but wanting
the information nonetheless. “Did Caleb ever talk about Hilary after he moved
back?”

A chuckle rumbled in his chest. “That’s such a girl thing
to ask, sweetheart.” He shook his head, grinning. “And here I thought you had a
little more class than that.”

I reached over and smacked his chest. “Just curious.”

Logan caught my arm, and with bated breath, I watched him
place it to his lips and kiss my palm before holding it against him, over his
beating heart. I didn’t move—not even when he laid his hand over mine, all but
trapping it.

I couldn’t look away from where my hand lay, but his eyes
on me pulled my attention up his chest slowly to meet his soft eyes. With a
release of breath, I relaxed, my hand comfortable on his warm chest. The thump
of each beat of his heart soothed something deep within me.

“The guy had it bad,” Logan said, puncturing our silence.
“Something about remembering Hilary always hanging around your place as kids.
He said he never thought about her one way or another back then, but the night
of the open house, he was hooked. Wouldn’t shut up about how much she grew up.”

I couldn’t stop smiling, relieved to know Caleb was in it
as much as Hilary was. We lay there a while longer, enjoying the closeness, at
least, for the night.

“My father left my mom and me for my babysitter,” I said,
unsure why I was opening up. It was just so easy with him.

“I’m sorry.”

I didn’t need to say more. It just felt good to get it
out.

Minutes passed in a silent, enjoyable calm.

“Thank you…for this,” he said as my body began to relax
and mold into the mattress, my hand still on him. The easiness between us
weighed on my conscience as I pulled my hand free from under his slowly. The
thump of his heart began to quicken, but I knew it was for the best.

Staring up into nothing again, I struggled to control my
emotions. It felt good to be there with each other—too good, too comfortable.
Like when we were friends.

“I forgive you.” My voice was as weak as my pulse, and I
was stunned I was able to speak those words aloud. I hadn’t even known it was
true until it fell out of my lips.

The intensity in the gaze he set on me was too heavy for
me to look his way.

“Cassandra, I wasn’t trying to push you to—”

Hearing the nerves evident in his voice, I rolled to face
him, smiling softly.

“I know, and that’s not why I’m saying it. I just want
you to know I understand that Natasha coming back that night was a shock to
you.”

“It doesn’t make up for—” I placed my pointer finger over
his lips.

“We were friends—amazing friends—and I know you were
hurting that night when you saw her. I should have gotten Caleb to take you
home, or…I don’t know.” My finger fell away, and we both lay there on our
sides, gazes locked on each other.

“I just wish I could forget. I wish it never happened,
but it did, and it left me with all these insecurities I can’t get past.” I
paused briefly. “Logan, I want to be your friend…I do…but this thing between
us, it’s not love. I don’t know what it is, but until we work it out, I can’t
be around you like this. It’s too painful.”

Logan lay there, his eyes glistening in the darkness, and
nodded slowly. “I won’t give up. Love’s not supposed to be easy, and this is
love, Cassandra. You’ll never convince me otherwise. I know you’re scared to
believe in me again, but I’m not that guy anymore. Not with you.”