Chapter 4
Sparks Reignite
Logan’s POV
I’ve always been a patient man—calm, controlled, measured.
But Julia?
She’s the one person who obliterates my self-control.
And right now, she’s testing every damn ounce of it.
I lean against my patrol SUV, arms crossed, watching as she moves around inside her dance studio. Avoiding me.
Typical.
She’s always been good at running—from problems, consequences, me.
But she’s not getting away this time.
My jaw tightens as I replay our conversation from earlier. The way she lied to my face. The way she pretended everything was fine when I can see clear as day that it’s not.
Someone is targeting her. And she refuses to let me help.
Stubborn woman.
I push off my SUV and cross the street, shoving open the studio door without knocking.
She startles, spinning around, one hand clutching her chest.
“Jesus, Logan,” she snaps. “Ever heard of knocking?”
I don’t answer. Just let the door swing shut behind me, my boots echoing in the empty studio.
She glares at me, hands on her hips, looking every bit as infuriatingly beautiful as I remember.
“What do you want?” she asks, exasperation thick in her voice.
I step closer, keeping my tone even, but firm. “You’re going to tell me the truth, Julia.”
Her eyes flicker with something—guilt, hesitation. But then she shields it, crossing her arms in defiance.
“I already did,” she says. “There’s nothing to tell.”
Lie.
I exhale sharply, fighting the urge to drag my hands through my hair. “You really expect me to believe that? After everything that’s happened?”
She lifts her chin, brazen, unshaken. “Yes.”
I grit my teeth. “Dammit, Julia—”
“I don’t need you to play the overprotective sheriff,” she cuts in, voice sharp. “I don’t need you to act like you still—”
She stops short, her throat working as she swallows hard.
I step closer, closing the distance between us. Her breath hitches, her pulse fluttering in the hollow of her throat.
The air thickens, charged with something dangerous, something we both know is still there.
“Like I still what?” I murmur, voice low.
She won’t say it.
Won’t admit that what we had never really ended.
Her lips part, but nothing comes out.
And that’s all the answer I need.
Without thinking—without stopping—I do the one thing I shouldn’t.
I kiss her.
Hard.
Desperate.
Years of anger, longing, and buried emotion crash into that kiss.
And for a moment—just a moment—she kisses me back.
Her hands fist in my shirt, pulling me closer instead of pushing me away. Her body melts into mine, soft and warm, a perfect fit.
Damn her.
Damn me.
I deepen the kiss, hungry, demanding. She gasps against my lips, that soft, breathy sound nearly wrecking me, and I pin her against the mirrored wall. My hands grip her waist, fingers digging in, pulling her flush against my body.
She feels the same. Tastes the same.
My tongue slides against hers, teasing, taking, and her nails scrape through my hair, tugging me impossibly closer. She’s fire and defiance, sweet and infuriating all at once.
Her body arches into mine, and I groan against her lips. Every part of me is hard, aching, desperate.
“Logan,” she breathes, her voice breaking between kisses.
I don’t stop.
I can’t stop.
My hands roam lower, fingers splaying over her ass, pulling her hips tight against me. She moans when she feels how hard I am, her body trembling slightly against mine.
She wants this too.
I tear my mouth from hers, my breath ragged, my control hanging by a thread. “Tell me to stop,” I growl, my lips ghosting over her jaw, her throat.
She doesn’t.
Instead, she tilts her head back, giving me full access to the delicate column of her neck.
Fuck.
I drag my tongue along her pulse point, feeling the way it pounds beneath my lips. Fast. Wild. Just like mine.
“I hate you,” she whispers, her voice barely there, but her hands are still on me —gripping my shoulders, sliding down my chest.
I chuckle darkly. “No, you don’t.”
She sucks in a sharp breath as I bite the sensitive skin just beneath her ear, my teeth scraping, my tongue soothing over the spot a second later. Her entire body shudders.
I slide my hands beneath her thighs, lifting her easily, pinning her between my body and the mirrored wall. She lets out a gasp, her legs instinctively wrapping around my waist.
Fuck, I need to feel her.
My hands find the hem of her dress, sliding it up, higher, exposing smooth skin and soft curves.
“Logan,” she pants, her fingers threading through my hair, tugging hard. “We can’t—”
“Tell me to stop.”
She doesn’t.
Her silence is an invitation.
I rip her panties down her thighs, dragging them off one leg, shoving them into my pocket because fuck if I’m letting her put them back on.
She’s drenched.
Soaked.
And when my fingers brush over her, I groan.
“Jesus, Julia,” I growl, pressing my forehead against hers. “You’re dripping for me.”
She bites her lip, but she’s already rolling her hips, grinding against my fingers.
I slide two fingers inside her, and she gasps, her nails sinking into my shoulders. Tight. Hot. Fucking perfect.
Her walls clench around my fingers as I thrust them deep, curling them, hitting the spot I know will make her come undone.
She whimpers, her head falling back against the glass, her body writhing against mine.
I watch her, mesmerized.
The way her lips part. The way her cheeks flush. The way her thighs tremble around my waist as I stroke her.
I need to be inside her.
I free myself with one hand, my cock straining, desperate for her heat.
Her eyes fly open when she feels me pressing against her entrance. Thick. Hard. Bare.
She gasps, her breath shuddering. “Logan…”
I thrust inside her in one deep stroke, burying myself to the hilt.
We both groan, the sound tangled between us.
Tight. Hot. Home.
Her nails rake down my back as I start moving, slow at first, deep and controlled, stretching her, making her feel every inch of me.
She’s gasping now, her legs tightening around my waist, her body meeting every thrust.
“Faster,” she moans.
I obey.
I slam into her, hard, relentless, the sound of our bodies colliding mixing with our ragged breaths, the mirror behind her fogging up with the heat between us.
She’s trembling. Falling apart. Her body clenching around me like a fucking vice.
I grip her ass, lifting her higher, driving deeper.
Her moans turn to cries, breathless and desperate.
And then she shatters.
She clenches so tight around me I almost lose it. Almost.
Her orgasm rips through her, her entire body shaking as she gasps my name, her fingers digging into my arms.
“Fuck,” I growl, barely holding on, chasing my own release.
A few more thrusts, deep and rough, and I lose it.
I come hard, spilling inside her, my body locking up as pleasure crashes through me.
We stay like that for a moment, breathing hard, tangled together, the storm outside raging just as fiercely as the one between us.
Her forehead rests against mine, her body still quivering from the aftershocks.
I don’t move.
I don’t want to.
But then, reality slams into us like a cold fucking wave.
She tenses in my arms.
“Logan,” she whispers, her voice shaking now for a different reason.
I already know what she’s going to say.
This changes nothing.
But she’s wrong.
It changes everything.
And it’s too much.
Too much history. Too much heat.
I should stop.
I need to stop.
But then she makes this soft, needy sound—the one that used to drive me insane.
And I’m gone.
I tilt her head back, taking the kiss deeper, my hands exploring the curves I’ve never been able to forget.
She shudders against me, her body arching, craving more.
And that’s when she pulls away.
Too fast.
Too soon.
She presses her palms against my chest, breathless, wide-eyed.
“Logan, we—” she shakes her head, stepping back, putting space between us. “We can’t.”
My jaw tightens, chest heaving.
The loss of her warmth is a slap in the face.
I rake a hand through my hair, trying to breathe, trying to think.
“You sure about that?” I rasp, voice rough.
She closes her eyes, her hands still trembling.
“Yes,” she whispers. “This changes nothing.”
I let out a harsh, bitter laugh. “Right. Keep telling yourself that, Jules.”
Her gaze snaps to mine, hurt flickering beneath the defiance.
She turns away, arms wrapping around herself. “I can handle this on my own.”
Bullshit.
“Yeah?” I step back, nodding slowly. “Then why do you look so damn scared?”
She stiffens, but doesn’t answer.
And I know I’ve hit a nerve.
She’s afraid.
She just won’t let herself trust me enough to admit it.
I inhale sharply, forcing myself to step away. “You want to play tough? Fine. But I’m not backing down, Julia.”
She turns back to me, eyes flashing. “You don’t get to decide that.”
“The hell I don’t.” My voice is low, deadly serious.
Her lips part, but I don’t give her a chance to argue.
I turn on my heel and walk out.
But not before I make a decision.
I may have let her go once.
But this time?
I’m keeping my damn eyes on her.
Whether she likes it or not.Julia’s body is still tangled with mine, her breathing shallow, her skin flushed and damp from our release.
For a moment, neither of us speaks.
Reality slams into me like a cold wave.
This was reckless. Raw. Primal. It wasn’t just about lust—it was years of pain, longing, and frustration exploding between us.
She shifts in my arms, and I feel her body tense. That wall of hers, the one I managed to shatter just minutes ago, is already rebuilding itself.
“Logan,” she whispers, her voice shaky, hesitant.
I pull back slightly, my hands still gripping her thighs, still holding her up against the mirrored wall of her dance studio. I don’t want to let go. Not yet.
But she does.
Her hands press against my chest, gently at first, then firmer. She pushes, trying to create space between us.
I grit my teeth and set her down, letting her legs slide down my body until her feet touch the floor. But I don’t step away.
She doesn’t meet my eyes as she reaches for her dress, smoothing it down over her thighs, trying to compose herself. The air between us is thick, charged with something too dangerous to name.
“We shouldn’t have done that,” she says finally, her voice barely above a whisper.
My jaw clenches. “Bullshit.”
Her head jerks up, her blue eyes burning into mine. “Logan—”
“No. Don’t do that,” I growl, my voice raw. “Don’t act like that meant nothing. Don’t pretend you weren’t right there with me, clawing at me, begging for more.”
Her lips part, but she says nothing.
I step closer, my chest nearly brushing hers. “Tell me you didn’t want that, Julia. Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t still feel this.”
She sucks in a sharp breath, her fingers trembling at her sides.
But she doesn’t say it.
She can’t.
Because it would be a damn lie.
Instead, she squares her shoulders and looks away. “It doesn’t change anything,” she mutters.
There it is. The fucking dagger to the chest.
I exhale roughly, raking a hand through my hair. “Right. So, what? We just pretend this didn’t happen?”
She nods. “Yes.”
My jaw tightens. This woman is going to be the death of me.
“You and I both know that’s not how this works,” I say, my voice dark. “You can lie to yourself all you want, sweetheart, but I know the truth. You still want me.”
She inhales sharply, like my words physically cut her.
I should walk away. I should leave before I do something stupid—like kiss her again, pull her back into my arms, remind her exactly how I can make her fall apart.
But then she steps back. Not out of fear. Not out of anger.
But out of self-preservation.
She doesn’t trust herself.
And that kills me.
“This can’t happen again,” she says, more to herself than to me.
I let out a humorless laugh. “You say that like you have a choice.”
She glares at me. “I do have a choice, Logan.”
I cross my arms, cocking a brow. “Do you?”
Her lips press into a thin line, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her fists clenching at her sides. She’s pissed. Not at me—at herself.
Good.
Because I’m pissed too.
She turns away and grabs her bag, her movements stiff, her breathing uneven. She’s running.
Same as she always does.
And I let her.
For now.
But not for long.
She’s barely at the door when I speak again.
“You’re in danger, Julia.”
She freezes.
My voice is calm, but my words are heavy with warning. Because I know something she doesn’t.
She turns slowly, her blue eyes filled with suspicion. “What are you talking about?”
I hold her gaze. “Someone’s targeting you.”
She blinks, her lips parting, but no words come out.
I step forward, keeping my voice low. Controlled. “I got a letter at the station tonight. Anonymous. No return address.”
Her throat bobs as she swallows. “What did it say?”
I hesitate, watching her carefully. “It had your name on it.”
Her breath stutters.
My jaw clenches. “And it wasn’t friendly.”
She grips the strap of her bag tighter, her knuckles white. “This… this is a joke, right?”
I shake my head. “No joke, sweetheart.”
Silence.
For the first time since she walked back into this town, I see something real in her eyes.
Not just anger. Not just frustration.
Fear.
She exhales shakily, shifting on her feet. “You don’t think…” She trails off, her voice breaking.
I step closer, lowering my voice. “I don’t know. But I’m not taking chances.”
Her eyes dart around the room like she’s trying to figure out a way to escape.
I won’t let her.
I tilt my head. “So, you wanna tell me why someone would want to come after you, Julia?”
Her entire body goes rigid.
Bingo.
I knew she was hiding something.
Her silence tells me everything.
I take another step forward, closing the distance between us. “Who is it?” I demand. “Who the hell did you piss off?”
She shakes her head, her gaze darting away. “It’s not”
“Don’t lie to me,” I snap, my patience snapping with it.
Her chest rises and falls, her hands gripping her bag like a lifeline.
I grab her chin, forcing her to look at me. “Talk, Julia. Now.”
She flinches but doesn’t pull away.
I see the moment she considers telling me the truth. It’s right there, hovering on her lips.
But then she does what she’s always done.
She shuts down.
She jerks her chin free from my grip, her blue eyes flashing with stubborn defiance. “I don’t know anything,” she lies.
I don’t believe her for a damn second.
I exhale sharply, my patience running out. “Fine. You don’t want to tell me? That’s your call.”
Her brows knit together, confused by my sudden change in tone.
I smirk, but there’s no humor in it.
“But you’d better get used to seeing my face, sweetheart.”
Her lips part. “Logan—”
I step around her, pulling open the door. “Because like it or not, I’m not going anywhere.”
I resolve to keep an eye on Julia, steeling myself against rekindled feelings—but now with the added complication of keeping her safe from an unknown threat.