Chapter Twenty-Two – Logan #3
All reasonable worries, especially with how I treated her in the past. Really, I’m such a fuckup, I don’t deserve to be in her presence, to even look at her. I royally fucked up, but if she’ll let me, I’ll put in the work. I’ll work on myself. I’ll be better. I’m nothing without her.
I can no longer keep my hands to myself.
I lift them to her face, cupping her cheeks and causing her hair to fall back as I angle her head.
“She doesn’t have to worry about that. I—” My heart pounds so fast I can hear it in my ears.
It’s so loud I don’t hear anything else in the bar, not the other people, not the person on stage. Only that thing in my chest.
Fuck it. There’s no point dancing around the subject.
“I love her,” I murmur, and then I realize I’m still talking in third-person when it comes to her, so I correct myself and say, “I love you. I love you so goddamn much. I’ve been a wreck without you.
I need you. I’m not a begging man, Wren, but if I need to, I’ll get on my hands and knees for you.
I’ll beg. I’ll plead. I’ll even stop swearing if that’s what you want. I’ll do anything.”
The smile that pulls at her lips is one that spreads slowly, and seeing the accompanying twinkle in her eyes fills me with all different kinds of joy.
“You’ll give up swearing? Wow. Never thought I’d see the day.
But, you know, as much as your mouth can get you into trouble, sometimes it’s… ” She bites her bottom lip. “Nice.”
It’s because I’m cupping her cheeks that I feel the heat rushing to them. She’s blushing, even after everything. It’s impossible for me not to take that as a good sign.
“Well?” Wren asks sweetly. “Are you going to kiss me or just keep talking?”
That’s my answer. I’ll fucking take it.
My entire body is humming by the time I lower my face to hers and claim those soft, luscious lips.
I kiss her slowly at first, as if a part of me is still worried she’ll change her mind and pull back, but as the seconds go on, the kiss turns harder, fiercer, the kind of desire I’m used to.
Both of us needy, both of us so damn desperate.
Kissing her is like coming home. It’s all I’ve wanted for so long. Hell, it’s enough to make me forget where we are, that I shouldn’t let my lower half get too excited. Fucking impossible to wrangle my cock in check when I need this girl so fucking badly.
We are measured in pulling away from each other, although I don’t let my hands drop from her face until I hear a low cough next to us, and as I pull my hands off Wren, I turn to look at the owner of said cough.
My brother. He carries the empty guitar case over his shoulder. Right now, he only has eyes for Wren, and if he was anyone else in the world, I might get a little upset that we were interrupted so unceremoniously. Feels like I was waiting for that kiss for years, and it was over far too soon.
“You must be the girl,” he says.
“Wren,” she tells him, and then she flicks her gaze between us, only landing it on him when she says what she says next. “Deacon, right?”
My brother nearly chokes on air, and when he looks at me, questioning how she knows that, all I do is shrug and say, “She figured it out on her own. I didn’t tell her, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
She grins at my brother. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise. Your secret is safe with me.”
I move to take the guitar case from Deacon, and once I have it, I work on putting the guitar away. Only when it’s buckled shut do I sling the strap of the case back over my shoulder. “As much as I would love for us to stay and chat—”
Thankfully, Deacon gets the hint. “I should go, anyway. Got a long drive back. The others are blowing up my phone as it is. I didn’t tell them where I was going. Wasn’t sure if they’d offer to come with, or if you would’ve wanted them here.”
Maybe someday it’d be nice to see everyone again, but tonight is definitely not that night. I’m glad my brother was the only one who came. Seeing everyone else when I’m so focused on Wren would have been a disaster.
“I’ll see you,” my brother says to me, and then he looks at Wren. “It was good to meet you. Don’t be afraid to kick my brother’s ass. Sometimes he deserves it.” He smirks softly at that while I roll my eyes at his comment. With that, he leaves.
After a few moments, Wren turns her full attention back to me. “It was sweet you invited your brother.”
“Technically I didn’t invite him. I just told him I planned on doing this tonight. He showed up all on his own.”
“Awe, that’s even sweeter.”
I have to stop myself from gagging. Sweet doesn’t describe my brother or me, or our relationship, but if that’s what she wants to think, who am I to stop her? I step closer to her and wrap one of my arms around her lower back, holding her against me.
“Enough about my brother,” I whisper. “Why don’t you and I get out of here?”
She tilts her head up at me as she bites her lower lip. “Anywhere in mind?”
“Anywhere that’s not here.”
Wren says, “Let’s go to your place. You can play me the song from the beginning. I missed the beginning.” Though she talks about the song, the way she looks up at me tells me she has other things on her mind—as do I.
She doesn’t have to say it twice. My place it is.
Fucking finally.