Chapter 28
28
LOGAN
“I feel different.”
Katrina’s voice pulls me from that perfect, weightless space between dreaming and waking. Everything here is warm. Safe. Just her and me tangled in the sheets, no outside world creeping in. Yet.
“Different?” My mind is groggy, but I shift toward her, drawn to her voice like a magnet. She’s sprawled half on top of me, her face smushed against my chest, our limbs knotted beneath the covers.
“Yeah,” she murmurs, her breath warm against my skin. “You know how in books and movies, the virgin finally does it, but afterward they say they don’t feel any different? I expected that. But… I do feel different.”
I drag a lazy hand down her back, noting the shiver that runs through her, the way she hums softly in response. “Do you feel better?” I ask. “Or worse than before?”
“Not better. Not worse, either. Just… different . But also the same? Kind of? Like I was always meant to…” She cracks up. “Wow. I must sound like an idiot right now.”
I chuckle, drawing slow circles over her skin. “Not at all. I’m sure it’s common.”
Katrina tilts her head, resting her chin against my chest so she can look up at me. “What was your first time like?”
I cringe instantly. “Not like this.”
“Really?”
“Not even close.”
Her brows lift in intrigue. “Did you feel better after? Or worse?”
“Worse,” I deadpan. “Much worse.”
She gasps in mock horror. “It was that bad?”
“Not bad, exactly.” I thread my fingers through her hair, relishing how natural this feels. How easy. “It felt so important. Afterward, I wondered why I’d been in such a rush to do it.”
“You didn’t care about them?”
“I did,” I say. “She didn’t care much for me, though.”
Katrina frowns. “Damn.”
I smirk. “No feeling sorry for me, kitty. Don’t forget.” I trace my thumb along her jaw, drawing her closer. “Sometimes, I enjoy being used.”
She laughs, shifting up just enough to brush her lips against mine. “I’ll have to remember that.”
“Oh, please do.”
I kiss her deeper, letting her melt into me again, letting the moment stretch, slow and wonderful, like we have forever in this dreamy place. But I’m wide awake now. The sun has crept through the blinds, painting strips of gold over us, highlighting all the parts of me I’d rather keep hidden.
“Katrina,” I say.
She hums lazily in response.
“The morning of the wedding. You woke up in my bed.”
Her body tenses slightly. “Yeah.”
“What did you think happened, exactly?”
She shifts, propping up on one elbow, brow furrowing in thought. “What do you mean?”
“You told me you didn’t remember. So… what did you think happened?”
Katrina hesitates, her breath held tight in her chest. “I thought… maybe you and I… I mean, I was naked. Mostly.”
“Mostly,” I echo.
“And you were there. Alone with me. Also naked. In the shower, but still. So, I guess I thought… I thought I was so sad and drunk and stupid that I let you do whatever you wanted to me.”
Bile burns the back of my throat. “Then, you thought I was that type of guy?” I ask. “The kind who would take whatever he wanted from a girl who was blacked out in his bed?”
“No!” She bolts upright beside me. “No, I didn’t—I didn’t know what happened. I didn’t know you. But I do now.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.” Katrina reaches for my hand, and after a second, I let her take it. Let her fingers thread through mine, warm and grounding. “I know you’re sweet. And kind.” She smiles faintly. “A gentleman.”
“A gentleman?” I repeat, scoffing. “That’s a new one.”
Her expression doesn’t change. “I know your sharp edges are just for show. You care so much about the people close to you. You’d do anything for them.” She locks eyes with me, her gaze steady and sure. “I trust you, Logan. I know you’d never do anything to hurt me.”
Her words hit me straight in the chest—then twist like a knife.
I pull my hand free and sit up, staring at the floor as I drag in a slow, uneven breath.
“Sorry,” Katrina whispers behind me. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, kitty,” I say. “You said exactly what you should have said.”
I’m the one who’s wrong.
I feel her shift closer, hesitating before she drapes her arms around my shoulders from behind, pressing her body against my back. She kisses my neck—soft, slow, like she’s trying to soothe me.
It would work if I wasn’t so goddamn wrong .
“Logan,” Katrina says, something fragile in her voice. “I?—”
“Honey, we’re home!” Goldie’s voice rings from the foyer.
“And we brought doughnuts!” Tesla chimes in, punctuating it with the slam of the door.
Katrina goes rigid. “Oh, dear.”
“You need to cover up,” I say, already reaching for the sheet. I toss it at her. “Now.”
She barely has time to grab it before the bedroom door flies open.
Tesla and Goldie burst inside, both still wearing last night’s carnival outfits, hands dramatically covering their eyes.
“Are y’all naked?” Tesla asks.
“Yes,” I answer flatly. “Get out.”
Goldie giggles. “Did we interrupt your love-making?”
Katrina groans and buries her face in the sheet.
I grab the nearest pillow and hurl it at them. “Get. Out.”
“Okay, okay!” Tesla snickers, retreating. “We’ll save you some doughnuts.”
“Do you prefer glazed?” Goldie teases, barely suppressing her laughter. “Or creme-filled?”
“OUT!”
Their laughter echoes down the hall as the door finally closes behind them.
“Sorry about that,” I say. “Just them being…”
“Unsubtle?” Katrina says from behind the sheet.
“Intrusive and annoying.” I reach for the sheet, peeling it down enough to see her face. Her cheeks are beet red with embarrassment, but she cracks a smile. “Are you okay?”
She nods, exhaling. “I wasn’t expecting them…”
“We have practice this morning.”
Her expression dims. “So do I.”
I see the nerves creep into her eyes. Something tells me Criminal Records won’t be giggling over doughnuts this morning.
There may be no going back from this.
Paul Monroe is about to have a very good day.
“Do you want me to go with you?” I ask.
She looks at me, hesitates, then shakes her head. “No. I’ll go alone. It’ll…” A hard nod. “It’ll be fine.”
She doesn’t believe that.
Neither do I.