Logan Kade (Fallen Crest #5.5) (20 page)

I groaned, sitting down on the bed to wait. “You’re not hurting for humility. That’s for sure.”

The water ran for a minute, then he turned it off. He returned, drying his hands, and smiled down at me. “Confidence is sexy, and speaking of sex...” He leaned down, suddenly in my space.

I stayed firm. A tingle shot through me at how close he came, but he stopped a few inches away. His eyes raked over my face, going to my lips, then back up to my eyes.

He grinned, slowly, deliciously. “When’s round two going to happen?”

I tried to ignore the adrenaline that shot through my body and the fact that if he lowered his face another two inches, his mouth would be on mine again. I gulped. “Technically, round two already happened.”

And round three. He’d bent me into a position I never knew existed. My mind started to wander, remembering that moment and instantly, my body was getting hotter. I cleared my throat and fixed a smile on my face. “Can you take me to my car now?”

He chuckled, moving back, and, good gracious, I didn’t want him to leave. I almost sagged forward at his abrupt absence.

“Come on, Firecracker.” Grabbing his wallet and keys, he opened his door and pointed to the hallway. “You’re lucky you have a lunch thing, or I’d make you get some food with me. I never did get those tacos last night.”

As I moved past him, he gave me one firm little swat on the butt, then fell in line beside me. The door shut, and his arm came around my shoulders. We walked down to the main floor like that, and I liked how it made me feel, like I was his.

At that thought, my veins filled with ice.

His
.

No, no, no. That was wrong. What was I doing? His arm fell from my shoulders as we reached the front door, and he told me to wait a minute for him. He went to the kitchen, and I heard him talking to someone. I didn’t want to go in there, especially after I heard Sam respond. She would take one look and instantly know.

A lump the size of a baseball formed at the bottom of my throat.

I had feelings for Logan. What was I going to do about them?

He came back out, his eyes meeting mine, and a genuine smile appeared. He liked me. I could see it in his eyes, but that was known. He’d told me that. Sam had told me that. Even Claire had mentioned it, but this was Logan Sex Machine Kade.

“
He’s all about sex, fighting, and having his brother’s back
.” Jason’s words filtered through my haze. He’d warned me about Logan. Hell, I’d warned myself, but it was too late now. This must be about Eric, I reasoned. Logan brought up emotions in me that were really about Eric. But even so, as Logan came toward me, I felt a flutter in my stomach.

I was falling for Logan Sex Machine Kade.

“You okay?” He frowned, his eyes on mine as he reached for the front door. “You look a little pale.”

I caught movement in the kitchen from the corner of my eye. I knew it was Sam. I could almost feel her judgment—or worse, her pity. I didn’t look. I didn’t want to see that look. I’d dealt with enough of those looks in the last nine months, so I nodded to Logan and said, “I’m fine.” And before anything else could happen, I stepped outside and hurried to his car.

Logan stopped once on the drive. He bought coffee for both of us, and it still seemed like the trip to my car went way too fast. He pulled up next to it and left the engine running. I glanced over as I undid my seatbelt. Last night had been…I was assaulted by images of us in bed, my legs around his waist as he went deep into me.

I let out a small cough. “Well, that was—”

Logan laughed, his head falling back to rest against his seat. “Save your words, Bruce. You and me, we’re going Night 2.0 in a few.”

My hand let go of the seatbelt. My heart moved up into my throat at that promise.

He leaned over, his body brushing against mine as he opened the door for me. Before he moved back, his head turned and planted a kiss on my lips. It was quick, but firm and authoritative. “Stop thinking about it,” he whispered, his lips still on mine. “I’m not ready to let you go yet.”

His words pounded through me. Feeling dazed by everything, I nodded, my lips brushing over his. “Just fun,” I whispered.

His eyes darkened. “Hell, yeah.”

Yeah. Fun. That was what it was, but his words still lodged in me. He wasn’t ready to let me go, and I wasn’t ready to let go of him yet either. Still, I pressed my lips to his and slid from the car. My knees were unsteady as I shut the door and turned toward my vehicle. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that Logan was waiting for me. Once I started the engine, he lifted his hand in a wave and drove off.

I slumped forward, resting my forehead on the steering wheel. Good God. Logan Kade was going to be the death of me.

But you’re alive
, a voice that sounded a lot like my mother’s said in my head.

I took a deep breath, feeling my pulse thumping and tingling sensations sizzling all through me. The voice was right. No matter the ending, Logan Kade would be worth it.

I was alive.

I was nervous when I met Claire for lunch. I hadn’t been a virgin yesterday, but I was different now. There was an extra glow to my face. I was the one wearing it, but even I could see it. I could practically feel my eyes sparkling, but she didn’t seem to notice. I was relieved, then bored as I sat back and spent an entire hour hearing about Ben. Apparently, Claire had been right, and Malia did have a thing for him too. Anytime he and Claire had been alone on the patio, she kept intruding. She was drunk, and all she could do was hang all over him. That had pissed Claire off, but the end of the night made up for everything.

He kissed her. Again.

And it hadn’t stopped there. They had a full make-out session when he walked her to her apartment door—even though Malia and another guy were waiting in the car. After a little while, Ben had said
screw it
. He’d gone inside the apartment with her and texted their friends to leave without him. He stayed the night, and today Claire was falling all over herself, giddy and giggling.

I couldn’t remember her this happy since…was it high school? Since… I could feel the glow drain from my face. Since before my mother died and Eric left. Claire started to describe Ben’s girth, and I focused on numbing the feeling away. Only it wouldn’t go.

Logan.

I remembered how his hand had skimmed up my back. I remembered how his lips had grazed over mine, how he’d cupped the side of my face as he slid inside. I remembered arching my back, feeling his lips trail down my throat. I remembered the way he’d held me through the night, how he’d cradled my face to his chest and brushed his fingers through my hair, rubbing the back of my neck.

I remembered how he’d called himself Logan Sex Machine Kade this morning.

“What’s funny?”

“Huh?”

I looked up. Claire had stopped talking and the corners of her lips were pinched; she looked in pain. She pointed at me with a fork. “You were smiling.”

“Oh.” I cleared my throat. “Just hearing you talk about Ben, it—uh—reminded me of high school. I was thinking about the last time I saw you this happy.”

Her frown disappeared. She seemed to melt, her shoulders relaxing dramatically. “Oh, Taylor.” She blinked and pressed a hand to her chest. “You’re right. I haven’t been this happy in a long time. I mean, last year was—” She froze. She reached for her glass of water, but even her eyes stopped. They were trained on a spot on the table.

I didn’t want the mood to shift, so I asked, “Does Jason know Ben?”

That launched her on a whole other discussion. When they should meet? But, wait, she didn’t know if there was even a reason for Jason to be introduced. Were they a couple or not? She didn’t know, and over the next half hour, Claire questioned every comment Ben had ever made. When we finished lunch, she was still glowing, but the light had dimmed a little bit, and an anxious look formed in her eyes. She gripped her phone tightly as we walked out of the campus café together. I was about to ask her about her weekend plans when she threw a distracted “see you later” over her shoulder to me and headed off.

Well. Okay, then.

#LOGANSDICK

LOGAN

Last night was the best sex I’d ever had, and we continued to have great sex the next night, and the night after. The week after. The week after that, too. In fact, we had great sex for an entire fucking month, and I was in a glorious mood. The only thing not glorious had been my time spent away from the family. I’d been selfish, keeping Taylor to myself. We did the parties, but we spent a lot of those nights in either my bedroom or hers, and standing in front of the refrigerator, I couldn’t stop thinking about the upcoming weekend. Mason’s game was away and we were going to road trip to it, and by ‘we’, I meant the family. I owed them that time, but there’d been no mention of Taylor coming along. I knew that hadn’t happened by accident.

I wanted her to come. Shit. I think I was starting to need her to come, but then Sam snuffed that idea out.

“You’re going to hurt her,” she said, coming to stand behind me.

I was reaching for the juice, but I stopped and straightened up. She was in the kitchen doorway. Her eyes were troubled, and she crossed her arms over her chest.

I shook my head, letting the fridge door shut. “Don’t, Sam.”

“I didn’t like Kris in the beginning, and I know you really cared for her…” She trailed off, frowning, and looking at the floor.

I cared, but I hadn’t loved Kris. That was where Sam was going. I knew she’d started to care about Kris at the end. Was that what this was about? Sam didn’t want to start liking another girl and hurt for her when things ended with me? I propped a shoulder against the wall by the fridge and folded my arms over my chest as well. “Where are you coming from with this?”

She shook her head, but didn’t look up. “I don’t know,” she murmured. She uncrossed her arms, and her hands clasped together at her waist. “I like Taylor.”

“So do I.”

Sam looked up. I saw the surprise. This would’ve been the perfect time for a smart-ass remark, but this was serious. I narrowed my eyes. “I didn’t get the feeling you really liked her the first night.”

“That’s not true. I just—” She bit her lip and looked away.

“Sam.” I waited till her eyes met mine, and then waited another beat. I didn’t want her to look away. “You’ve never warned me off of a girl before.”

“You’re going to hurt her,” she repeated.

I frowned. Sam looked away again, and I got the sense she wasn’t talking about Taylor at all. “Okay. Well… Noted.” I kept frowning at her, but she was lost in her thoughts. “I disagree, and I’m still going to hang out with her.”

She let out a breath. “Don’t invite her this weekend, okay?”

I shook my head. “What the hell? You’re not like this.”

“I know. I just—it’s too soon. If you don’t want to fuck things up, like you say, go slow. You’re just sleeping together, right?” Her eyes met mine again, finally.

My head jerked back. I hadn’t been prepared for the haunted expression on her face. What was going on with her? I gentled my voice. “You okay, Sam?”

She nodded. “Yeah.” Her voice was equally soft. “I just...don’t want to see
her
hurt. That’s all.”

Bullshit
. I wanted to say that, to interrogate her, but I held back. She wasn’t talking about Taylor. “You’re not talking about Taylor at all, are you?”