5. Brynlee
CHAPTER 5
Brynlee
O ur day was wonderful. A complete dream. Then reality came crashing in when I had to take Hunter home because he has school in the morning. I’m always left feeling a tad bereft when I take my nephew home. Chelsea isn’t a terrible mother; I have no doubt she loves him. She just loves herself more.
I know Logan can tell I’m not a fan of leaving Hunter as he comes downstairs from saying goodnight to Carter. My nerves cause me to fidget when he sits next to me on the sofa and lays a hand across my thigh.
“How do you know?” I blurt the random question I’ve been thinking about out, and I’m unsurprised when he cocks his head in confusion.
“How do I know what?”
“That you could love me?” When he said those words earlier, my heart rate spiked so high I thought I would pass out. He’d probably run the other way if he knew how much I am beginning to love him.
Biting his bottom lip, I hold back from leaning forward to do it myself. “Some things you just know. I knew it from the second I laid eyes on you.” Reaching for me, Logan pulls me into his lap, so I straddle his hips. “I knew I was going to play baseball. I knew I would give up everything to be the father Carter deserved and still be happy. And I know I’m going to love you.”
I want so badly to believe him. To give myself over and not have a second thought about it. My past experiences make it difficult, but my desire to be loved for me and not what I can do for someone is pushing back my insecurities, and I find myself nodding my agreeance.
“Good. Let’s go to bed. I’m beat.” Picking me up in his arms, Logan carries me upstairs, bypassing the room I slept in last night and heading straight for his master suite.
My nerves resurface, but I’m better at hiding them as he places me on the bed and begins to strip away his clothes. At first, I look away, too shy to watch the intimate act. But curiosity has me peeking up through my lashes when I hear his shirt land on the carpeted floor.
Unable to pull my eyes away from the impromptu strip show he’s providing me with, I cover my mouth with a hand to hold in the squeak of surprise when he drops his pants next. His belt making a loud thud. It’s what’s concealed behind his boxers that has me astonished. I’ve never seen a man naked before and realizing how large he is, is a bit intimidating.
“Cat got your tongue, Bryn?” I can hear the humor in his tone, but I can’t drag my gaze away from the man’s exquisite body.
His smug snicker doesn’t help, and when I see him beginning to walk closer to the edge of the bed, kneel, then push me back, I still don’t find my voice. Or sense. “You’ve made me stupid,” I accuse, not even meaning to say the words out loud.
“Is that right.” Logan doesn’t pose it as a question, and just like that, I know why he said his arrogance is his biggest flaw. But frankly, all I see is his right to be that way. The man is the perfect male specimen.
“How do…” I swallow the saliva filling my mouth. “I don’t…” Why can’t I get the words out? “This is…” I wave my hand between our bodies, unable to form my thoughts.
“Oh, baby, don’t you worry, we’ll be incredible together.” He’s a mind reader too. Great.
Tentatively placing my hands on his chest, I swear I could spontaneously combust from the feel of his bare skin against my palms. Falling to his side beside me, he pulls us both up the bed, even though I’m still fully clothed, and reaches back to shut the lamp off.
I’m rigid as Logan wraps an arm under my head and the other across my waist. I honestly thought he was stripping with the expectation of sex. I thought I was ready for it too. Maybe I would have been, now, I’m not sure.
But I feel bereft.
“Relax, Bryn, we’re just sleeping tonight.” He lays a chaste kiss on my neck. When I allow myself to release the tension I feel, he leans forward and murmurs in my ear, “Tomorrow might be different, though.” And I’m a wreck all over again.
This man is determined to keep me on my toes and living in a constant state of unrest.