CHAPTER ONE – LILY #3
Logan’s always had an extremely structured life plan.
Military. Business. Bonding. Family. I think it comes from his mom sending him to stay with his uncle for a summer– and then never coming back to get him.
Certainties are important to him, and I can see the shadows in his eyes as he asks, “Or have I left it too long, and you don’t want me anymore? ”
Ugh. That tremor of hurt in his voice is like a bolt to my heart.
“Of course, I do.” There’s no point denying it when my entire body is humming at his nearness. “But loving you and trusting that you know what you want are two different things.”
He gives a slow nod, but the disappointment in his eyes hardens into a familiar determination. Logan has never met a challenge that he didn’t immediately set out to conquer. “I want this more than anything. And I wouldn’t have bought the gym if I wasn’t staying, LeeLee.”
“I know you believe that.” I press my hand to his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin under the flannel.
It doesn’t matter if it’s dead winter and he’s just got out of a cold shower, Logan always radiates the most tantalizing heat.
Throw in a square jaw, midnight eyes, and a hard body covered in ink and is it any wonder I can’t keep my hands off him?
“Logically, I know that you’re committed to us. I just…”
“Have a hard time believing it’ll last.” He sighs and rubs a hand over his chin, making the bristles rasp. “That’s my fault, sweetheart, and I’m sorry I hurt you by leaving.”
I nod, but it’s not fair for him to take all the blame.
It was hard being the one left behind, but it’s not like I haven’t had my own issues to work through.
Even a decade on, I’m still wondering why my scent matches didn’t fight harder to keep me, and why I wasn’t enough to keep them.
That’s baggage worthy of a five-star hotel in Hollywood, and I’m still not sure I’ve unpacked it all.
“I know you’re trying,” I tell him, lifting my hand to cup his neck, right over the tendrils of black ink that curl up from his collar.
I’m careful not to touch his scent gland, but the way his throat bobs, it’s obvious he’s very aware of my proximity.
“I want to be with you, Logan. I just need to make sure it’s the right decision for everyone. ”
I don’t have to spell it out more than that. Logan might not be Leo’s biological dad, but his name is on his birth certificate, and according to everyone in town, he’s his father in every way that counts.
But fathers stick. And Logan has been gone for a lot of Leo’s life.
“I’ll try to never hurt you again,” Logan says in a low voice, his hand scraping over the short bristles on his head. “From now on it’s you, me, and Leo, first and forever.”
He’s told me that a lot in the last year, but this is the first time I’ve let myself believe it. Maybe I should hold out for more assurances, but the truth is, my heart has always been set on Logan. I just need my head to get on board, and there’s no denying the sincerity in his eyes. “Okay.”
“Okay?” His thick brows lift, the corner of his mouth turning up. “Really?”
“Really.” I smirk, squeezing that tempting tattoo on his neck. “But there’s going to be more words. And actual, detailed conversations about our future. I don’t care how much you think you can just move things around to please yourself.”
I squirm on the benchtop, and his eyes darken, his tattoo flexing under my fingers. “Hey, you’re sitting up there so I can please you, sweetheart.”
“What?”
I’m still staring at him in confusion when he pops the button on my jeans, drawing the worn denim down my legs like he’s been rehearsing the move all day.
I squawk as the cold granite kisses my butt cheeks, but he just smiles as he peels my panties off.
I gulp, his scent swirling around me as he nudges my thighs wider.
“I’m gonna give you a whole lot of words, Lily Percy, but right now I’m more interested in sweet-talking your pussy. ”
As he drops to his knees, I grip his shoulders, staring at him in red-cheeked shock. “Logan!”
“What?” He spares a glance over his shoulder. “Are there little ears listening in?”
“No. Leo’s at Cody’s.”
“Then there’s nothing stopping me from doing this…”
I gasp at the first touch of his mouth against my thigh, and he draws back to check my face.
My cheeks feel hot enough to fry an egg, but whatever he sees in my eyes has a hungry growl rattling in his chest. “Been waiting a long time for this, so don’t be thinking about closing these sweet thighs until you’ve come in my mouth, okay? ”
I don’t know if I nod or moan, but another growl breaks free as he leans in and kisses my folds.
The slick pressure of his mouth sends a quiver of sensation through me, and my head falls back as he licks along my slit.
I squirm, and his hands flex on my thighs, but it’s not like I’m trying to get away.
In fact, every atom of my body is focused on the way his tongue is pressing inside me, long, lazy licks that are teasing my nerves into a frenzy.
I haven’t felt this good in… forever.
I mean, I have toys, and despite what I’ve told Kaysie about romance, I have a healthy library of erotica on my Kindle. I’ve had sex with a couple of the guys I’ve dated, but my heart has never really been into it. Or, at least, they’ve never consumed me like I’m a dying man’s last meal.
But Logan can’t seem to get enough of me, and as he starts lashing my clit with his tongue, I grab his neck.
That sends a jolt through him, and as he tilts my hips, I draw teasing circles on his scent gland with my thumb.
He’s told me how sensitive it is, and just the sight of my hand wrapped around his tattooed throat is enough to make me gush.
I’m drowning in pleasure, but it only gets more intense when he slides a thick finger inside me.
His tongue is still toying with my clit, but now he’s stroking my walls, and I feel my toes curl in bliss. “Logan…”
“Baby…” He pants as he pulls back, his finger still sliding in and out of my wet heat. “We should get bonded.”
I grip the counter and pry my heavy lids open. “What?”
“When the summer’s over, I want us to get bonded. Will you think about it?”
I am thinking about it. Or, at least, the last few functioning synapses of my brain are trying to translate it into something sensible, while he keeps pumping his finger inside me. “Can we… talk about this after?”
I mean, I’m all for discussing our future in more detail, but I was thinking we’d do it over coffee at Kaysie’s, not during cataclysmic orgasms on my kitchen counter.
I shudder as Logan blows cool air over my throbbing flesh, his dark eyes boring into mine. “Just take a breath and tell me you want to be mine.”
Take a breath? I can barely suck in enough air to moan.
“Logan…”
“I love the way you pant my name, baby,” he purrs as he strums my clit. “But don’t hold back. Scream yes, Logan! Yes, I’ll bond you!”
I shout a bunch of garbled words – maybe not exactly to his script, but something close - and my fingers squeeze his neck as the pleasure explodes from my core and rolls over me in endless waves.
“So sweet. So beautiful,” he murmurs as he nuzzles his way up my trembling thighs. When I manage to reclaim my senses, I realize I’m plastered on the counter, and Logan’s eyes glow with satisfaction as he looks down at me, spread out and quivering. “Damn, but I want to see you like this every day.”
I’m not about to argue, but the crunch of car tires on gravel makes me lurch up and scramble for my clothes. When I glance at the clock next to the oven, I yelp, because Marion, my farm manager, is right on time for our weekly management meeting.
“I’m not done here,” Logan says in a throaty growl as I quickly drag my jeans over my tender bits.
“I noticed.” I look pointedly at his groin, the denim straining so hard I’m surprised his zipper hasn’t exploded. “And so will Marion if you don’t slip out the back way.”
He grins as he adjusts himself, then pulls his ballcap from his back pocket and shoves it on his head. He hustles to the door, but when he gets there, he tips the brim so I’m staring into his midnight eyes. “I mean it, Lily. First and forever.”