Chapter 17
“Come on, you son of a bitch, show me what you’ve got.
” Logan changed the resolution parameters on the computer program.
He’d scanned in the photo of the license plate from the truck outside Gemma’s apartment, and was trying to get his computer to sharpen the image by making smart choices about the next pixel in line.
So far, all he’d gotten was fuzzy gibberish.
Without that plate number, he had no way of learning who was watching Gemma.
She was sleeping in the guest room after an especially quiet drive over to his apartment, and he was doing his damnedest not to think about her.
Why did it bother him so much that she didn’t want to date him? He already had her attention in bed. Did he really need her to say she wanted more from him?
The problem isn’t sex. The problem is you want to hold her while she’s sleeping almost a much as you want to fuck her senseless.
He sighed loudly.
He was pathetic.
With fast fingers he copied the image layer and tweaked the algorithm again, as if solving the license plate problem was as good as solving the problem of Gemma.
Lots of women liked younger men, but she seemed to think his age was a liability. His eyes went to the guest room door which had been closed for the better part of an hour and a half.
Clearly, she wasn’t coming back out to tell him she’d changed her mind, and could she please sleep next to him tonight. He pulled his eyes back to his computer screen and made more minor adjustments, copied more image layers.
He stayed awake until his eyes were crossed just staring at the screen, because that way he could put off making a decision about Gemma tonight.
He stood and put his hands on his hips, staring at the guest room door for a long moment. “Fuck it.” He took off his glasses, plugged in the computer so it would keep working, and pulled his shirt over his head.
He rapped lightly on her door.
No response.
He tried the handle, pleased to find it open, and crawled in bed behind her. He put his arm around her midsection, the smell of her freshly-washed hair surrounding his face.
He could tell the moment she woke up, her body stiffening. “If you want me to leave, just say so.”
She threaded her fingers through his, her body relaxing once more, her breath deepening until he thought she was asleep.
“It’s too easy to like you,” she said quietly.
He nuzzled her back, inhaling her scent through his T-shirt. “It’s too hard to stay away from you.”
“I meant what I said, Logan. I can’t deal with a relationship right now.”
He reached around her middle and cupped one breast. “You said it was just sex.”
She hummed lightly and arched her back, her ass pressing against his pelvis. “Yes, but you disagreed.”
“I was wrong.” He kissed her neck. “I take it all back.”
She giggled and rolled onto her back, looking up at him. “Isn’t that convenient.”
He shifted, moving his leg between hers. “It is.” He kissed her lips and hugged her body, her skin toasty warm from sleep. Her hands touched his chest and moved up to his arms, kneading his muscles.
She lifted her face to his and kissed him. “Just for tonight.”
He nodded. “Whatever you say.”
She was soft in all the right places and he sunk into her flesh with his mouth and hands. When his body joined with hers the world seem to still, and he knew there was no way one night with this woman could satisfy his need for her.
She was fierce. She was strong. She was gentle and weak, and he would do anything in his power to keep her by his side.