8. Tess
Tess
I'm being a little childish. I know that. But I just had a gun in my face—Logan won't let me forget it—and I am wrecked.
No sleep plus a near-death experience does not make for a happy Tess.
I hate this. I trusted someone, and he betrayed me. My work, the thing I love more than anything, is in danger.
I'm in danger.
Everything feels like it's crumbling, and having some buff ex-military bodyguard get in my face about it, like he has any idea how hard this is for me, isn't helping.
"No. It's not understood, you jerk. I'm paying you to do this, and I hate to be a 'Karen,' but I can find another bodyguard.
" My voice cracks, and I hate that it does.
"Do you have any idea what this has been like for me?
I'm terrified and alone in this. It's not like I have someone I can talk to about being in witness protection. "
My throat burns. I hate crying in front of him. It makes me feel weak, like I'm not the tough reporter I think I am.
"I know it was a risk, but—"
"A huge risk, Tess. What if I hadn't gotten there in time?"
The worry in Logan's eyes is the only thing keeping me from snapping at him. I drop my head and suck in a shaky breath.
"Fine. A huge risk. But I refuse to hide in a corner like everyone else. Cilento's family has done awful things. They have to be held accountable. For everyone he's hurt. For every woman he silenced before me—violently, and for good."
Logan steps forward, catching my hand when I try to pull away. "Why does it have to be you?"
"Do you see anyone else lining up for the job?" I almost laugh.
"Fair point. But you have to be more careful. Please, talk to me before you do something like this. I have the training. I know how to spot a liar."
I roll my eyes. "Like you're a human lie detector. Please. I work with people every day. Andrew was a fluke. He spent years earning my trust."
"That's exactly my point, Tess. I'm objective. My judgment isn't clouded by history with someone."
"You sure you don't just get off on babysitting?" I lift a brow, too tired to hold back.
"No." His eyes narrow. "I don't want to babysit you. I want you to listen. I want you to try trusting me."
"Logan, I do trust you. I hired you, didn't I? I just knew you'd say no, and I needed to know what Andrew had."
"The information that turned out to be nothing? That information?"
I throw up my hands, breaking his hold on my arm. "Oh, come on. You wouldn't have known it was fake either."
"You may be the investigator, sweetheart." My stomach flips at the word. "But I'm the trained profiler. Reading people is my job."
I want to fire back, but something in his stare stops me cold. He's close now. Too close. And that word is still hanging in the air between us.
Sweetheart.
Why does he do this to me? Why do I let him? The air goes thick, charged, and when Logan steps in again, I don't know what he's about to do.
Except I do know. And I don't stop him.
"You drive me insane, Tess." His hand slides to the back of my head. "And you will listen to me."
Before I can argue, his mouth is on mine. My no-nonsense bodyguard, kissing me the same night I almost died.
And I can't get enough of it.
He tastes like heat and want, and the kiss turns hungry fast, all that tension between us finally snapping loose.
His tongue sweeps mine as he lifts me, and my legs wrap around his hips on instinct.
Fuuuck, he's hard as a rock.
My head is spinning. Is this smart? We've fooled around before, but this feels different. Bigger.
Still, I can't deny the pull. Every time we get close like this, I go straight to him, no hesitation.
He carries me up the stairs like I weigh nothing, and I'm flat on the bed before I can catch my breath.
My very protective bodyguard strips me bare in seconds, and I'm just as quick pulling at his clothes.
My pulse is a drum in my ears when I finally look up and realize we're both naked.
"Are... are we really doing this?"
The question lands harder than I expect. Panic flares. "I want to! I do! I just... I haven't..."
"What?" His voice sharpens, like he already knows where I'm going.
"I've never had sex before." His mouth actually falls open, and I almost laugh. "Oh, come on. It's not that weird."
"Tess, you're gorgeous. You could have anyone. Yeah, it's a little strange."
"I never wanted anyone." I shrug, trying to hide how exposed that makes me feel.
"No one?" I shake my head. "I'm the only person you've ever wanted?"
I nod. The silence stretches, and then he leans over me, brushing his lips against mine.
"I'll say this," he kisses me again, slow and deep, "I'm flattered. And I'm going to take very good care of you, sweetheart."
Heat rushes to my cheeks, and I bite back a smile. "Good."
He grins and shoves the clothes and blankets off the bed, clearing the space between us like it's the only thing that matters.
He covers my neck, my chest, my skin, in kisses until his mouth finds my nipple. A small, sharp sound leaves me as his lips close around it.
"Oh..."
The room feels warm, and I can feel the tension coiled tight in every muscle of his body.
I've never been touched like this before, but I know need when I feel it. And I want whatever he's about to give me.
His teeth graze my nipple, just enough sting to make me gasp, and it goes straight to the ache building low in my belly.
I'm soaked already. I didn't think that was possible this fast.
"That's right, sweetheart." His thumb sweeps back and forth over the peak. "I love how you move for me. How you sing."
I arch into his mouth as he sucks again, and his fingers trail down my stomach. I already know what they can do, and just the anticipation has me dripping.
He slides two fingers inside me and starts to move. A moan tears out of me, loud in this too-quiet house.
He finds the spot that makes my whole body jolt and works it in slow, deliberate circles.
"Holy fuck." I have nothing to compare this to, and it doesn't matter. It's still the best thing I've ever felt.
I writhe under him, his mouth still working my nipple, my hand fisting in his hair to hold him there.
"Greedy little thing, aren't you?"
I nod, fast and desperate, as his thumb finds my clit and I cry out.
"That's it. Such pretty sounds. You want more, sweetheart? You want to listen to me?"
I'm right on the edge, and all I can do is nod. "Yes. Please."
Then he stops.
"No," I whine, my whole body aching from being denied. "I'll listen, I swear!"
He laughs low in his throat and kisses his way down—my ribs, my hip bones, the curve of my stomach.
I squirm under his mouth, aching for more as he moves in and out of me, slow and unhurried.
He looks up at me from between my thighs, and that wicked glint in his eyes wrecks me completely.
"Just how badly do you need to come, hmm?"
I don't know why this drives me so crazy. But it's the same as the closet, the same as the kitchen. I love it when he takes control.
"Please," I beg. "I'll return the favor, I swear."
My voice comes out small, but I mean it. I've only done this once before, in college, and hated it. With him, I can't wait to try again.
He grins and dives in, licking through me like I'm the best thing he's ever tasted.
He works me with his tongue and his fingers until I'm right back at the edge—then he slows again.
My legs shake as he pushes deeper, and this time he doesn't stop. I come apart around him, hard, my whole body shuddering.
Before I can catch my breath, he pulls me up onto my knees, right in front of his cock.
He's big everywhere. I should have known.
Precum beads at the tip as he lines himself up with my mouth. My hands tremble, but it's not fear. It's want.
I take him slow, remembering the motion, and soon he's deep in my throat, groaning above me.
"Fuck, sweetheart. You're so good. Taking my cock like a good girl."
His hips pick up speed, and every filthy word he says lights something new in me. I lick along his length, reaching down to touch myself.
Just need a little—
His palm cracks against my ass, and I yelp, staring up at him in shock.
"Who said you could do that, hmm?"
My face burns. "I... please, Logan, I'm so close."
"You'll listen to me. Right?"
I know it's punishment, but I don't care. "Yes."
He lays me back and pushes my knees wide, settling between them. His cock drags over me, and I nearly lose my mind waiting.
He pushes inside, slow and deliberate, and the sharp burn of it only makes the pleasure sweeter.
"Come for me. Come, good girl. Listen to your handler."
I shatter around him almost instantly.
For a second, the world outside this bed disappears. There's only him, claiming me inch by inch.
I belong to myself. I always will. But right now, in this bed, I'm his.
My climax rolls on and on as he moves faster, and I can't believe how deep he reaches, how right it feels.
"Logan. Oh god. Please—"
"Damn, sweetheart. Squeeze around my cock."
My body listens before my brain can catch up, and I scream his name as he drives into me, pushing me past every limit I thought I had.
Then he swells inside me.
Oh. Oh, he's about to—
I meet him thrust for thrust, wanting to give him everything he's given me. He groans, then growls, and we come apart together.
Warmth floods through me, and I melt into it.
It seems to last forever, this loop of pleasure and closeness I never want to end. Then we go still, side by side.
He pulls me against his chest, holding me from behind, and my mind spins slowly to a stop.
Everything between us has changed. I hate change—in my life, in my routine, in anything.
But this? This, I can live with.