28. Casual
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
casual
ABI
SWAN RIVER, MANITOBA
PRESENT DAY
He’s exquisite. Wild-eyes, bitten-red lips, and my slick glistening on his chin as he crawls toward me like an animal. Taut ropes of muscle flex with each of his movements, and I’m practically drooling at the sight of him.
Logan glides the tip of his nose along my jaw before tugging on my earlobe with his teeth. I shiver, warm breath scorching my already flushed skin as I press my forehead against his. He offers me a bashful smile, cheeks flushed and his nose crinkling a little, the way it does when he’s really happy.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” he whispers.
“Neither can I. I’ve wanted you since?—”
“I know.” He lets out a rush of breath. “Kiss me? Please?”
“Anything you want.”
“That’s a dangerous sentence, Shortcake.”
I know this is stupid. It undermines every boundary we’ve put in place. But I’m too overwhelmed to care about the rules right now. I guess we could say it’s something like international waters, and the rules don’t mean shit out here. I push away the fears of what’s going to change when we get home, and focus on him. On us. On this. On what we have right now.
I reach between my thighs, dipping inside my pussy and presenting my glistening fingers to him before sliding them across his plump lips.
“You want another taste?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He wraps his mouth around two fingers, sucking greedily as I close my eyes and let out a satisfied sigh. I want to see what Logan looks like when he’s completely given in to the desire I know is burning deep within him.
“That’s a good boy,” I purr, pumping them in and out of his mouth. “I think you deserve a reward.”
It’s been three years since I’ve had sex or even let another man do anything more than kiss me. Mostly, I’ve been content with vibrators, decent porn, and my imagination.
Part of me was hoping for a night like this for a while now, where I could finally throw all of my boundaries aside and fully give in to everything I’ve been denying myself. I just didn’t think for a second he felt the same way, until this little road trip.
Logan doesn’t take his eyes off me as I wrap my fingers around his cock, guiding it toward my pussy. I sink down inch by inch, letting out a moan so deep it practically vibrates the bed.
“You were already so greedy,” he growls. “And now you want more?”
“Always.”
He’s thick, and that delightful stretch and light stinging sensation makes my toes curl. I’ve always liked a little dash of pain with sex, and this is the perfect blend.
“Atta girl.” His fingers snake around my throat and he applies a bit of pressure, cutting off some of the blood flow. “Be a good little slut and take every inch.”
It makes me dizzy, and I gasp for air as Logan gives my ass a rough smack before he finally releases my throat, and lets all of the blood rush back to my head.
Before long, the room is filled with our cacophony of moans and skin slapping against skin. He grips me so tight I know I’ll have bruises tomorrow, but I don’t care. The only thing that matters in that moment is that feeling of my pleasure building, each stroke of his cock hitting my G-spot as he uses me like a toy.
Something about this entire thing is so intoxicating.
I want to see where he’s marked me up, and how much.
I want to see how long all of them will last.
I know that my memories will fade. I’ll end up missing the details, like the little flecks of gold in those eyes. Or the way being alone like this with me makes him look softer and more vulnerable than I’ve ever seen him before.
“You’re so beautiful, Abi.”
But I won’t forget the way he says my name.
Not my nickname.
My name .
Butterflies flood my stomach as his hand slides softly up the side of my neck, coming to rest on my cheek. My skin feels like it’s made out of pure electricity as I press my forehead against his, dangling right on the precipice of my climax.
I’ve needed this for so long, and he can tell.
“Come for me,” he begs, his voice breaking. “I know you want to.”
I can feel his thighs trembling beneath mine; almost hear his thundering heart.
Or is that mine?
His cheeks are rosy pink, his eyes fluttering as beads of sweat form on his forehead.
He’s so fucking pretty.
“Tell me everything you want to do to me,” I groan.
I need it now, to hear it all. Every fantasy he’s kept to himself for the last three years. Knowing Logan, he’s probably gotten quite creative.
“I’m gonna fuck you every hour, until you can’t even walk . I’m gonna eat your pussy from behind, finger your tight little asshole… God, there’s so much to do; we’ve got a lot to catch up on, don’t we?”
I forgot how much his dirty talk turns me on.
“So much for all our rules,” I moan.
Logan chuckles, nuzzling against me.
“They don’t matter here.”
I shudder violently against him, letting my climax hit me over and over again.
He keeps fucking me harder.
“You’re going to be my pretty little fuckdoll,” he moans. “I want my cum dripping down those thighs.”
I wish we didn’t have that thin layer of latex between us, but I get it. We only have a couple of weeks, and unlike me, Logan hasn’t been celibate for the last three years. Better not to ruin both of our lives over nothing.
I wrap my legs around his waist, smiling from ear to ear as he whimpers. His voice breaks and our pace becomes chaotic; the headboard slams into the wall over and over, and even wrapped up in the middle of this moment I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to pay for a new one by the time we leave. With one final slam I cry out, and he lets out a loud groan of his own, trembling beneath me as he comes.
I feel him wrap his arms around me and hold me tight, nuzzling up in the afterglow.
“I forgot how hot your dirty talk was,” I laugh.
Logan’s all bashful now, the red in his cheeks deepening by the second. It will never surprise me how fast this man goes from sweet, unassuming nerd to an absolute animal in the bedroom, and back again.
“I read a few romance books in college. Picked up some tips.”
“A few?” I laugh.
“Okay, more than a few. Romance is the most popular literature genre after all, right above fantasy and true crime!”
“Well, God bless your love of literacy.”
“It’s humanity’s greatest treasure!”
Logan grins and the two of us giggle, exchanging sweet little lovers’ kisses. I run my fingers through his hair and sigh as he gazes right back into my eyes. This kind of direct intimacy, so soft and quiet and unassuming, it makes it nearly impossible to keep my thoughts to myself. I just want to blurt it out.
This feels right.
I love you.
No. It’s just hormones. They’ll fade into the background eventually, and hopefully sooner than later if I’m going to find a way to stay sane after this trip. I climb off of him and he unrolls the condom, flinging it into the trash as I roll over and collapse next to him.
“You need help with that, Doctor?” I ask, noticing his still-hard cock standing at attention.
“Not right now,” he sighs. “I don’t think I have another one in me, even if this dude is ready for round two… the perks of being young and full of vigor, huh?”
“Well, since we’ve discovered that you’re not, in fact, as ancient as the tides… there’s always later. In the shower, on the desk, on the floor?—”
“Right up against the window, even,” he finishes with a smirk.
“Wow, you’re kind of a kinky one, aren’t you Flynn?”
“What can I say? I like to be a little possessive.” He flashes me a charming half-smile. “And maybe use a few toys here and there.”
“Oh, I remember,” I laugh.
In particular, I remember when he purred in my ear about a butt plug while I was bent over the bathroom counter in Toronto. This man is so sweet and gentle with everyone in his life, so of course he’s a freak in the sheets. I’ve learned to always watch out for the nerdy ones. They’re full of surprises.
“You need water or anything?” He asks.
“Nope. Just you.”
I snuggle up next to him, resting my head on his chest. His body tenses a bit underneath me, and I wonder if I’ve crossed a line. It just felt so natural, listening to the sound of his heart and feeling his skin against mine, especially after he gave me one of the best orgasms I’ve had in years. In fact, he’s responsible for the top two, now that he’s just dethroned himself.
To my surprise, Logan wraps his arm around me, pulling me a little closer. He turns on the TV, flipping through the channels until we find an old episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
“Ooooh, it looks like a marathon!” He coos. “You wanna order food and spend the rest of the day in bed?”
“Definitely.” I grin. “I’m glad we did this.”
“What, sex?” He asks.
“No!” I cackle. “It’s not all about sex!”
“Abi! Me and my penis are offended!”
I snicker, burying my face in his shoulder. He makes me feel like I’m a lovesick teenage girl again.
“Look, the sex is fantastic, but also the fake fiancé thing is working out pretty great. It’s still kind of crazy how smooth it’s gone.”
“It’s totally wild,” Logan laughs. “But it’s better than you being alone with that asshole who broke your heart.”
He’s smiling, but I can see the venom in his eyes. I knew Logan didn’t like Brendan because of what he did to me, but this anger is a little deeper. It’s clearly something he’s been holding in for a while.
We watch Buffy Summers kick the shit out of vampires for a while in silence, the two of us seemingly slipping back into our own little worlds, until Logan pipes up, punctuated by a particularly audacious back-flip kick to a monster’s face.
“So, tell me about where you grew up. Blackburn Falls.”
I snort.
“You know everything there is to know, it’s just a small town in Canada.”
“Sure, but I want details! You actually don’t talk about home much. I feel like Iggy and I are always yapping about New York, and it takes an hour and three drinks to get you to mention something as trivial as a street name.”
“I don’t know. It’s a small town, there’s not that much to talk about.”
“Come on, who were your friends?”
I hear my phone buzz from across the room and move for it, but Logan pulls me back.
“No, stay!” He pleads.
“Logan, I need to get that!” I giggle, half-heartedly struggling against his grip.
“Yeah, but you’re waaaarm, Abi!”
I manage to wriggle free and stumble toward my bag. I stand still for a moment, staring at the screen and trying to figure out exactly what I’m looking at. It doesn’t take long though. If the 10 missed calls and twenty-six individual text messages weren’t enough of an indicator, the most recent message, all in bold text with at least a dozen angry-face emojis, would have been the obvious giveaway.
MOM
ENGAGED?! ABIGAIL KING YOU CALL ME RIGHT NOW!
My first thought? I can’t believe I forgot to call my mom and warn her about this whole thing with Logan.
My second thought is that I know exactly who’s responsible for me getting this text, and there’s no setting the record straight on this one now. Of course he would run his mouth all over town, and of course it would get back to my mother. All people do in Blackburn is talk.
Fucking Brendan.
I swallow hard, glancing up at Logan, who quirks a brow.
“Everything good?”
“I sort of forgot to tell my mom about, um… everything?” I wince. “And I think Brendan beat me to the punch.”
Logan’s— is he fucking smiling?
“Logan, this is not funny.”
I put my hands on my hips.
“I get to fake-propose to you in a gas station, fuck your brains out, and smooth things over with your mom using my devilish charm? What are the words to O Canada? Because I’m about to start belting it out.”
Before I can retort, my phone starts to vibrate in my hand.
MOM CALLING…
“Fuck!” My heart drops all the way past my stomach, and I answer it without really knowing what I’m going to say. “Heeeeey, momma!”
“Abigail Autumn King, what the hell is going on? Engaged?! You didn’t even call ? —”
Shit. Middle-named. I might as well lay down and die.
“It just happened!” I lie. “We just got caught up in?—”
“Too caught up to tell your mother?!”
And then I realize she’s laughing.
Why is she laughing? Is it relief? Or something else? Has this finally sent her over the edge? My stomach knots as Logan sits up in bed, stretching out his hand.
“Give me the phone.”
“Absolutely not!” I hiss, partially covering it with my hand. “Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It all just happened so fast.”
“Oh my God, Abi! This is the best news! A promotion and an engagement! Is he good to you? Does he have money? Is he cute?”
The questions are being thrown at me way too fast, and I’m struggling to keep everything straight in my head. I barely have time to process any of it.
Logan continues to make grabby hands at the phone, batting those thick dark lashes of his. He’s so pretty it pisses me off sometimes. Mostly because it makes it really fucking hard to say no to him.
“Please?” He mouths, sticking out his bottom lip.
Fine , I mouth back.
Those damn puppy dog eyes really are my kryptonite.
“Mom, do you want to talk to him?”
“Hi, Mrs. King!” Logan shouts.
“Is that him? Oh, is it– Larry? Leonard? You know, the cute professor with the mismatched socks. The one you had a crush on!”
Logan’s shit-eating grin just gets bigger.
She might as well be on speakerphone because she's talking so loud.
“You had a crush on me?”
I try to cover the mouth piece with my palm.
“You just put your dick in me and you want to have this conversation?” I hiss.
“Yes? Obviously?”
“No!”
He smirks.
“Liar.”
“Abi!” My mother barks. “Are you there? Where’s this mystery man? Let me speak to him!”
I thrust the phone out toward him, rolling my eyes. Over the years, I’ve learned it’s just better to give my mom what she wants than to try and make excuses. He snatches it out of my hand with glee, leaning back against the headboard with one arm tucked behind him.
“Hi, Mrs. King. Yes, I am Abi’s fiancé! So nice to meet you over the phone!”
Of course when she’s talking to someone else she speaks like a human with her inside voice, pretty much impossible to make out as I strain to listen. Hopefully that devilish charm will smooth things over.
“I’m so sorry we didn’t tell you. It kind of happened on a whim, actually.” I can hear my mom chirping away on the phone as Logan’s smile gets wider. “Yes, well, I love Abi very much.”
Did he mean that?
My veins feel like they’re filled with ice water. Sure we’re into each other, but love? No, it’s just a bit. Obviously he’s putting on a show.
“Abi actually wanted to surprise you, but I guess she let it slip to the wrong person.”
I put my head in my hands as he chuckles, nodding along with the phone crooked against his ear. They chat for way too long, enough that I’ve climbed back into bed well before the call is over. The lies just seem to flow effortlessly from Logan’s lips, but either way things are clearly going great. According to him, he proposed to me while we were stargazing by the bay.
I glance down at my barren finger, wishing I’d bought that ring back in Banff.
This whole thing makes me wish it was real.
“Alright, Sherri. We’ll see you in a few days. Yep, I’ll let Abi know. Okay, bye now.”
He hangs up the phone and hands it to me.
“She’s very proud of you, and she’s very excited to see the ring.”
“The ring. Of course. You had to get me back for the fake fiancé thing, huh?”
“There’s nothing to get you back for, Shortcake!” He laughs. “I want to meet your mom and I want to know everything about you. You’re not mad, are you?”
“No,” I sigh, tossing my phone down. Logan wraps his arms around me and I rest my head on his chest. “I just can’t believe this is happening.”
Logan kisses the top of my head.
“It’s kind of fun to pretend,” he confesses. “It’s like we’re spies who fuck.”