Chapter 24 #2
Logan breaks away and swears, leaving me bereft of his mouth as he turns to address our audience.
Whimpering, I pull him back, and he dives back in with renewed efforts, prompting me to arch into him and try to get closer.
But then another yowl cuts through the air, and Logan groans, pressing his forehead to mine and drawing in labored breaths.
“Menace needs to make up his mind.” Wrapping his large hands around my waist, he growls, “Do you want us to be together or not, mate?”
Beef chirps in reply.
“Maybe we shouldn’t leave that up to the cat,” I say breathlessly.
I’m almost glad for the reprieve, though I’ll only need a few deep breaths before I’m ready for more.
I grip the hair at the back of Logan’s head and press my other hand to his firm chest, holding myself steady as I breathe. “You really want to be together?”
With another curse, Logan finally pulls his head back, and I open my eyes to look at him. He’s completely perplexed, his eyebrows drawn low over impossibly dark eyes. “I kiss you like that, and you think I don’t want to be with you?”
Heat billows through me. If he kisses me like that for much longer, I won’t remember my own name, let alone have any capacity for rational thinking. “Can’t blame a girl for asking,” I mutter.
“Yes.” His hands tighten around my waist, somehow still gentle despite the possessiveness of his hold.
“I want to be with you. I’m properly head over boots for you, and I…
” He pauses when there’s a thud next to us, and we both turn to see Beef Wellington sitting on the counter with eyes full of judgment as he looks from Logan to me. Logan growls in his throat.
Beef growls back.
No, Beef purrs back. Rumbling like a diesel, he steps forward and head butts Logan’s elbow, rubbing his cheek along his arm until he reaches my shoulder and keeps rubbing. Marking us both.
Logan rolls his eyes but moves one hand to pet my ridiculous cat.
The other stays pressed against my waist. “This is all your fault,” he says in a low tone—talking to Beef, I assume.
Then his thumb starts running along one of my ribs, making me shiver.
I swear I’m going to fall apart if he keeps doing that.
I take hold of Logan’s hand, catching his attention. A spark of worry flashes in his eyes as he looks at the spot he was touching, but I’m not about to move his hand, something he seems to realize when the spark ignites into an eager flame.
He leans in, then groans and leans back again before our lips connect. “No. Before I let you go and bungle it again, we need to clear the air.”
“How did I bungle things?” I complain. I try to tug him back so I can kiss him again, but he’s stronger than me.
“You interrupted me with all…this.” He gestures to our bodies.
I can’t hold back my smirk. “Mm, I like all this.”
Swearing, he takes a full step back. “Sav, stop being so frustrating and let me be honorable here.”
I slump my shoulders and sigh. “I can’t pretend I don’t want that.” That’s not to say I’m loath to see if we can top that kiss if we try again, but actually having clear and open communication is a good idea. “You’re willing to leave Australia behind? For me?”
Though he nods, there’s plenty of hesitation in Logan’s expression. “I won’t lie and say it’s a smart career move. I’ll be giving up a spot on one of the world’s best teams to earn pennies.”
Well that’s a great way to kill the mood. I run a hand through my hair as guilt settles heavy in my gut. “That’s kind of awful. But it’s not like you can play rugby forever, right?”
He grimaces. “If I can avoid injuries, I’ve got another five solid years in me.”
Five years. Can I take that away from him? He has a team here, but even I know rugby in the US is nothing like what he plays back home. And he misses his old team. He won’t say it, but he’s been keeping up on their matches and always gets a sort of lost look in his eyes when he watches highlights.
A look I’ve been trying to ignore.
“Logan.”
“The Thunder will keep me,” he says with a sharp look, like he knows what’s running through my head. “Rugby is rugby.”
“You know that’s not true,” I argue.
“It’s true enough.”
Beef nudges his head into my arm, spurring me into motion. I slip from the counter and take a strong stance in front of Logan despite feeling anything but strong as reality sinks in. “Logan, I’m not going to be the reason you give up your entire life.”
His eyes narrow. “I’m not giving up anything for you.”
“Of course you are!”
“Did you listen to what I said?”
“Logan, you need to be rational here.”
“I love you, Sav. I’m not losing anything if I get to be with you.”
As sweet as those words are, he’s not thinking straight. “I’ll come with you,” I say, though I don’t quite have the confidence I wish I did. My mouth is dry, and the words seem to claw their way up my throat, but I mean them.
Logan’s jaw slips open. “What?”
Swallowing, I fold my arms. “I’ll come to Australia with you. Not just for Christmas, but for all of it.”
Whatever I expected his response to be, it wasn’t anger. “Are you out of your right mind?”
I scowl. “I’m only as crazy as you, apparently.”
“You can’t drop everything and move to Sydney, love.”
“If it means I get to be with you, then—”
“I already made up my mind!” he growls. “I’m staying here.”
Throwing my arms down in frustration, I step forward and glower up at him. “You’re not leaving your team and your home and your parents just because of me!”
“You’re not quitting on True Fuel to follow me across the globe like a groupie,” he snarls back.
“True Fuel is nothing compared to you playing on one of the world’s best rugby teams!”
“To hell with rugby! All I care about is you!”
I stand on my toes to be closer to his level. “And I love you too much to let you throw your life away for me!”
“Are we arguing about who loves who more?”
“Apparently!”
He grabs me by the arms and slams his mouth into mine in a bruising and surprisingly fantastic kiss. He guides me back until I hit the counter, then teases my mouth open and dives deeper.
I’m not sure how long it takes before we come up for air, and it’s only because Beef gets his claws stuck in my hair doing who knows what. Seriously, does he want us to be together or not? After multiple attempts to trip us into each other, you’d think this was what he wanted.
Gasping, Logan drops his head to my shoulder.
One of his hands is on my back, the other on my neck.
“I know exactly what I’m giving up,” he says into my collarbone.
“I have spent my whole life pretending I don’t need connections or relationships.
Pretending I was happy battering my body to rise to the top instead of spending time with my parents while I have them.
“Then you came along.” He lifts his head to look into my eyes, and I’m stunned to see tears pooling in his. “You and that proper beast you call a cat.”
Beef chirps and headbutts Logan’s arm.
Sighing, Logan presses a soft kiss to my forehead and moves his hand to my hair, smoothing it down.
“I had every plan to keep on running from real life until you waltzed right up and tripped me with that sassy, spitfire mouth of yours.” He brushes my mouth with his, the barest of kisses.
“Let me make this choice, Sav. Let me massacre your potatoes and carry your heavy loads and keep your mental cat from getting depressed.”
“I don’t want you to resent me when you wake up one day and realize what you’ve missed,” I say weakly, overwhelmed by his words. “You only get so many years to play.”
“I could never resent choosing you. Rugby is temporary. You and Beef are forever.”
My heart is so full it might explode, and I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling myself in for a hug.
He wraps me up tight, just like I hope, and I take a moment to imagine this being my future.
Warm, solid hugs that hold me together. Passionate arguments that end in kisses so sweet that we forget why we were frustrated.
A giant, many-toed cat who is a little too good at interrupting us right as we’re about to burn.
What more do I need?
“Logan?”
“Yeah, love?”
“Don’t be stupid.”
Tensing, Logan slowly releases me and meets my gaze. I can practically see his thoughts, and I don’t miss the bit of hope peeking out from behind his stubbornness.
I shake my head. “You need to go back to Australia. To your parents, and your team, and the life you’ve built for yourself.”
“But—”
Pressing my fingers over his mouth, I narrow my eyes and do my best to glare at him.
It isn’t easy, with a growing excitement building inside me.
“Listen. You came here to talk to Lola, and you did that. You wanted to be able to tell your parents that you won’t be alone when they’re gone, and you can do that now.
Because I plan on being at your side, no matter where that is. ”
His shoulders sink, and he looks around my tiny apartment. “You’d be giving up your home. Your family.”
“This place is terrible, Logan. And if my family can’t bother to visit me when I’m only a few states away, it’s not going to make a difference if I’m on the other side of the world.”
He sighs. “What about Beef?”
I snort as Beef chirps at the sound of his name. “Have you seen my cat? He’d fit right in in Australia.”
“True Fuel,” Logan whispers, like he knows his arguments aren’t going to do anything. That hope in his eyes is shining bright now, and his hands grip my waist tightly. Waiting.
I grin. “I started it once. I can start it again. Besides, with a client like Liam Connolly on my docket, I doubt it’ll be hard to find someone to manage things here while I take Sydney by storm.”
“Sav,” he moans.
“You’re stubborn,” I warn him. “But I’m worse.”
Growling, he lifts me up so I’m at eye level with him. “I love you,” he says, pressing his forehead to mine. “If at any point you change your mind, then we’ll come back to—”
I wrap my arms around his neck and cut him off with a kiss no less potent than the last, tucking my legs around his waist to give his hands the freedom to roam.
But then something sparks to memory, and I pull away with a frown.
“This means you’re losing the bet.” For a couple of seconds, my attention shifts to the feel of his strong arm supporting my back and the warmth of his body, but then I will myself to focus and finish what I was saying.
“You still have to be nice to your teammates until the end of the season, and they’re not going to take it easy on you if you’re the first one out. ”
He grins and winds his fingers into my hair, and when I realize he’s getting a firm grip, my whole body turns to jelly again. “Never been so happy to lose, love. But let’s not tell the lads yet. I want to make them sweat a little and remember who the real pro is.”
“You’re insufferable.”
“You love me anyway.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Then he pulls me in and kisses me in a show of command that I am oh so okay with. He’s arrogant and ill-tempered and entirely too full of himself, but no one can deny the man has skill.
He’s earned that ego of his, and I love him for it.