Reckless Secrets (16 page)

The drive to Logan's apartment took less than ten minutes. The snow had all melted and the roads were clear. He let us into a silent apartment and flipped on the lights.

"Where are Zave and Collin?" I asked as I walked to the console table by the door. I ran my finger along their betta fish's bowl, getting Spartacus to follow my finger.

"Out." The way he said it gave me shivers of pleasure.

"Zave hasn't killed Spartacus yet. He looks pretty happy. He's making a bubble nest."

"Yeah. And he likes you." Logan nestled up behind me. "Not as much as I do, though."

I spun around, into Logan's arms. "I like you, too."

"Do you?" He kissed the tip of my nose. "Wanna show me how much?" His lips were inches from mine.

I leaned into him and sucked his lower lip, then nibbled gently until he shuddered.

"Shit, El." He swept me into his arms and carried me to his bedroom, closing the door behind us with his foot.

In front of the bed, I slid out of his arms to my feet. I knew what I wanted. And I knew what I couldn't have. But I was going to get as close as I could come. I slid my hands beneath his shirt and ran them over the hard planes of his abs and chest. I slid his shirt up his chest, slowly, as tantalizingly as I could, tracing his skin with my fingertips until I pulled the shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor. "I want to see you," I whispered.

He leaned over, flipped the covers of the bed back and flicked a lighter, lighting a candle on the desk next to his bed. It flickered to life, casting a dancing glow on the picture of Logan in his high school baseball jersey.

"How romantic. You're prepared." I laced my voice with seduction and need.

"You have no idea," he said.

I wanted to drive him crazy with desire. I wanted to make him shudder and moan and feel the way I felt. I ran my tongue down the hollow of his neck, down the chiseled line between his pecs, down his very fine abs to the top of his jeans. As I unzipped them, he grabbed me.

"Not so fast." He kicked his shoes off and reached to unzip my boots.

I fell into a sit on the bed while he pulled them off for me. Then I fell onto my back and he fell into me. I wrapped my legs around his waist. He pressed his mouth on mine and his hard crotch into my budding wet one.

I wanted him. I wanted him to make love to me so bad. But in the back of my mind, I was still calling for dad. I still had a secret that could rip us apart. Until Logan knew, until I knew he wouldn't leave me because of it, I couldn't.

He was kissing my neck, sliding his hands beneath my sweater. I held my arms over my head while he slipped it off. I wore my lace front-hook bra and matching thong panties. Yes, I was prepared, too. I arched my back, pressing my breasts toward him, letting him know what I wanted.

He unhooked the bra as deftly as if he were a well-practiced lover. My budded breasts burst into the cool air of the bedroom and into Logan's hot mouth one at time. As he sucked, he circled his tongue around them, toying with me as the ache between my legs built. He hadn't been kidding about being talented with his tongue.

I ran my hands over his biceps as he let go of my breast and traced a path of hot kisses down my abs. His tongue found my bellybutton and circled it before thrusting into it. My breathing was shallow and excited. I'd never known a bellybutton was so erogenous.

His mouth slid to the top of my jeans. I gasped as he undid the top button and slid down the zipper. He slid one finger down my lace panty and then pulled back. "I have a present for you."

"Now?"

He just grinned and reached for a small package on the desk. He held it out to me, watching as I opened it.

"A bellybutton ring." I was touched as I looked at the jeweled ring. The jewel on the knob of it sparkled in the candlelight.
 

"It's hard to see in this light. It's green, a peridot, August's birthstone, for the birth of our relationship."

"It's beautiful." I hesitated. I still had another several months to go before I could swap out my original ring. "I'll save it and wear it as soon as I can." I started to put the lid back on the box.

"You can wear it now." He grabbed my hand and took the box from me. "Don't panic. I know you can't swap it all the way out for a while." He took the ring out of the box and unscrewed the jewel on the top. "Watch this." Pressing one hand reassuringly on my abs, he unscrewed my existing jewel with the other hand and screwed the new jewel on. "A perfect fit."

I leaned up on my elbows to look, unable to speak. It was such a sweet gift. "Amazing."

"Yeah." He kissed the top of the ring and then circled my bellybutton again with his tongue and slid down to my jeans. This time he didn't stop. He pulled my jeans off and then my panties. And then he parted my legs and worked his magic between them, sucking, thrusting with his tongue, leaving me gasping with pleasure and clutching the sheets.

He circled and sucked until waves of pleasure like I'd never felt before crashed over me and I called out his name again and again. Finally, he looked up at me and grinned that sexy grin that melted my heart every time.
 

He climbed up the bed, on top of me, pulling me to him and kissing me. I slid my hands into his jeans and tried to shimmy them off.

Finally, he released me, slid off the bed and out of his jeans and underwear, long and hard and ready. I fell to my knees in front of him and took him in my mouth, licking him and sucking him, returning the favor until he came, too.

When I was done, he fell back onto the bed. I climbed naked on top of him and lay there.

"You really know how to make a guy go weak in the knees."

I kissed him lightly. "You're not the only person with a talented tongue." I slid off him and snuggled in next to him. "But you really know how to knot a cherry. I'll give you that."

He laughed, kissed me back, and pulled the covers over us. As we lay there, gently stroking each other, he grew hard again. "El." His voice was ragged as he pressed between my legs. "I want to make love to you in the worst way."

I bit my lip.

"I won't force you," he said, stroking my shoulder as I looked away from him. "What's stopping you? Don't you trust me?"

I didn't trust
me
. I didn't trust fate. I didn't trust my lies to stay hidden. "I don't want to make a mistake."

"We'll be careful. We'll use double, triple protection." He ran his fingers through my hair.

"I'm living proof that mistakes happen, Logan." I swallowed hard. "Against the greatest odds. My mom is the world's crappiest mom, but I'll always be grateful she had me. I ruined her life, though. I don't ever want to face that decision."

He kissed my hair. I felt like crying.

"It's okay." His voice was soft and soothing. "And you are not a mistake, Ellie Martin. Don't ever think that. I love you."

My heart almost broke then and there. I turned to face him. "I love you, too, Logan. I know I'm the one who still owes
you
one, but promise me no matter what happens you'll remember that."

He looked puzzled. "Yeah. Sure."

"Logan?"

"Yeah?"

"Once I make love to you once, I won't ever want to stop. I'll want to make love with you a zillion times a day, in every place possible. I'll lose myself. I'll get reckless." I paused. "That's how mistakes happen." I took a deep breath. "I'm not ready. Yet."

He nibbled my neck. "Yet?" I almost felt him smiling. "That means there's hope."

Logan made me breakfast the next morning—frozen chocolate-chip waffles he toasted in the toaster. And hazelnut coffee from his K-Cup machine with foamed milk he made in a frother. He set my coffee, a jar of peanut butter, and a bottle of real, one hundred percent maple syrup in front of me.

"What? No imitation maple syrup?" I teased. "What kind of a place is this? And what is the peanut butter for?"

"Your waffle." He grabbed his cup of coffee and plate of waffles and sat down across from me. His hair was tousled. His face had a sexy day's growth of stubble. "Try it, you'll like it." He grabbed the peanut butter and spread some on the end of my waffle, drizzled some pure maple syrup over it, cut a bite, and stuck it on my fork and held it out to me. "Open wide."

"I'm not a baby."

"Never said you were. But feeding you is kind of cute."

"I am so not sure about this." I rolled my eyes and took the bite he offered me, making a show of tasting it like celebrity chef judges on The Food Network.
 

"Well?" He handed my fork back to me.

"Very peanutty, with a nice maple kick. You're an excellent cook." I leaned over and kissed him, feeling the prickle of his stubble on my mouth. Everything about him turned me on.

"Yeah, I've worked really hard on my toasting skills. Believe it or not, it is an art."

I bumped him playfully in the shoulder, trying to think how to casually bring up the subject I had on my mind. I poured more syrup on my waffle and handed him the bottle. "How close are you and Jason?"

Logan set the syrup bottle down. "We're pretty tight. Why?"

"No reason. Except…well…"

"Spit it out, El."
 

"I was wondering, you know, how much you two talk about personal things. Now that you and I are, you know, together. I mean, he's my boss." What a big, fat liar I was. My heart beat double time. I was digging myself in too deep. When Logan found out the truth, I hoped he forgot about this conversation.

Logan laughed. "Are you afraid I'm going to tell him what I did to you with my tongue and how you liked it and begged for more?"

"Shut up, Walker! I'm serious." I paused, thinking of my dad hearing that story I blushed.

"You are so cute." He squeezed my hand. "I won't tell him our private stuff. I never have."

I tried not to look as relieved as I felt. "None of it?"

"How tight-lipped do you want me to be?" His tone was still light, but he looked a little puzzled.

"I just think we should keep our personal and professional lives separate."

"You don't want me to talk to him about you at all?" He studied me closely, like he was getting wary and wondering what I was up to.

"Only to sing my praises and tell him what a great job I'm doing."

"Right. Looking for a raise?" He picked up his coffee.
 

"Oh, yeah."

He shook his head like I was really amusing. "Okay, I'll stay away from you as a topic of conversation. Satisfied?"

I nodded. "Hey, what are your plans today? I thought we could hang out."

Logan hesitated, which was very strange. "Studying. I have a ton of crap to do—a massive lab report and a homework set that will take me all day."

"We could study together."

Once again there was that hesitation. "I'd love to, but not today. I have to meet with my lab partner. We're doing the lab report together.

I nodded. "Logan?"

He looked at me.

"You're not keeping anything from me, are you?"

"El! Come on."

I frowned, getting the definite feeling he was hiding something from me. "You're okay, right?"

"Yeah, of course I am." He flashed me that sexy smile. "Now shut up and eat your waffles."

Zave came stumbling out of his room in his boxers. "I smell waffles. Are you cooking again, Logan?"

"Zave, buddy, put some pants on. There's a lady present." Logan teasingly put his hands over my eyes.

I pulled them away.

"If there's a girl here, that's the last thing I want to do." Zave spotted me. "Hey, Ellie. Don't mind Walker. He's just afraid you'll see how a real man is hung and his assets will pale by comparison."

Logan shook his head. "In your dreams, pencil dick."

"Ha ha, needle prick. There's a magnifying glass and a pair of tweezers in the bathroom. Make yourself happy." Zave shook his head. "Men with tiny pricks are so touchy."