Chapter 44
Logan
Istill hadn’t let go of her hand. My thumb moved on its own, brushing slow circles into her palm—giving myself something to hold onto when everything else felt ready to slip.
“C’mon,” I said, tightening my grip just enough to guide her. “I want you to myself before I have to share you with Harper in the morning.”
She let me lead her down the hall to my bedroom, the door clicking shut behind us with a soft finality that settled deeper than it should have.
When I turned to face her, I didn’t look away this time.
Her hair fell loose around her shoulders, slightly tangled from the wind. Her eyes, usually bright and sharp, were puffy and rimmed red like she’d been crying and didn’t want me to know it.
My chest tightened.
“You came back,” I said, my voice rougher than I meant it to be.
She swallowed, her gaze lifting to meet mine, glossy and unguarded. “I tried not to,” she admitted softly. “I tried to stay away. I tried so hard.”
I nodded, because I believed her.
Because I knew what it meant to fight something that had already taken hold.
We stood for a second, a few feet apart, the ocean crashing peacefully outside. The clock ticked somewhere behind us. The world kept moving.
But everything in this room narrowed to just her.
“I missed you,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Both of you.”
I dragged a hand over my jaw, grounding myself. “Harper was worried about you,” I said, voice low. “Thought you went to Hawaii.”
A shaky laugh slipped out of her. “I’ve never even been to Hawaii.”
“She loves you,” I added, softer now. Unable to continue dancing around the emotion sitting in the room.
Dani’s throat worked as she swallowed. “I love her too.”
The words landed as raw as they were.
“And you, Logan,” she said, her voice breaking just slightly. “I love you, too.”
It took me a minute to register what she had just confessed. And when my mind finally caught up, everything in me stilled.
“I love you too,” I said. The words came easier than anything else tonight.
But the truth pressed in, sharp and unavoidable. My eyes closed briefly before I forced them open. “I can’t do that again,” I admitted, my voice lower now. “Losing someone without warning.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. That’s why I came back.”
There was no hesitation in it, no deflection, just truth.
It settled something in my chest I hadn’t realized was still tight.
“Why’d you actually leave?” I asked, softer now.
I watched as she hesitated; the way her shoulders drew in slightly, the way her fingers tightened in mine like she wasn’t sure she wanted to say it out loud.
“Because it scared me,” she admitted finally, her voice quieter, more fragile than I’d ever heard it. “How fast this started to feel like home.”
Her gaze dropped, then returned to me.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” she continued, the words spilling out now. “I’ve never been in love like this before. Not where it feels like something I could lose.”
A knot formed, but I didn’t speak or move; I just listened.
“I keep thinking I’m going to mess it up,” she said, a shaky breath leaving her. “That I’ll do something wrong or say something wrong or… I don’t know. That you’ll realize I don’t actually know how to be this for someone.”
“You don’t have to—”
She shook her head gently. “No, let me say it.”
So I did.
“I’ve spent so much of my life trying to be what people needed,” she continued.
“Being capable. Being reliable. Being the one who shows up and holds everything together. And now—” her voice wavered slightly, “—now you’re asking me to just…
be. And I don’t know how to do that without feeling like I’m going to break it. ”
My grip on her hand tightened.
“You’re not going to.”
“And what if I am?” she whispered, her voice breaking. “What if I’m… broken, Logan? What if my body fails me again? What if I can’t give you more? What if I can’t have kids? What if this is all I ever get, and I still find a way to mess it up?” She gestured between us.
The room froze before I stepped forward, closing the space between us without thinking, my hand lifting to her face, thumb brushing gently beneath her eye.
“Darlin’,” I said softly, my voice steady even when everything in me felt anything but, “that doesn’t change a damn thing for me.”
Her breath hitched.
“If all I have is Harper and you,” I continued, pressing my forehead to hers, “that’s more than I thought I’d ever get.”
Her eyes searched mine, like she didn’t quite believe it yet.
“You loving me?” I murmured, my thumb still tracing slow, grounding circles against her skin. “That’s more than enough.”
Something in her gave way then, her face crumpled with relief and surrender. Her shoulders finally dropped, tension melting off her frame, replaced by something like hope.
“Logan…” she whispered.
I didn’t give her time to pull back.
Didn’t give myself time to think.
I leaned in, kissing her slowly this time, wholeheartedly, as if I needed her to feel exactly what I meant without having to say anything else.
Her hands found my shirt, gripping tight, and I let her—let her hold on, let her anchor herself in it.
When I pulled back, I stayed close, my forehead still resting against hers.
“You scare the hell outta me,” I admitted quietly.
Her lips curved, soft but real this time. “Good,” she whispered. “You scare me, too.”
That honesty, sharp and bright, was so her I couldn’t keep myself away from her any longer.
When our lips met, it was desperate, pouring every unsaid thing into the way I held her. The grief, the want, the fear of hurting Harper, the hope I hadn’t let myself touch.
Now that my hands were on her, there was no chance I was letting go, I dragged my hands down to her waist, my thumbs pressing in like I needed proof she was still here. I felt the slight tremor in her hands as they slowly slid up my chest, before her fingers curled into my shirt.
“I’m still scared,” she whispered breathlessly.
“So am I,” I said honestly. “But I ain’t runnin’.”
She looked up at me then, eyes steady. “Me neither.”
A beat later, she whispered, “Logan.”
“Yeah?”
“I think I was halfway in love with you before I even realized it.”
“I told you, Darlin’, we don’t do halfway around here,” I replied.
Then, I picked her up without thinking, one hand holding her to me, the other sliding up to cradle the back of her neck, guiding her face to mine. She made a soft sound against my mouth as her legs locked around my waist like she was just as committed to this moment as I was.
The curve of her body fit against me in a way that felt dangerous. Familiar. Right.
I carried her the few steps to the bed. Every instinct I had told me to take my time. To make sure she was still choosing this. Still choosing me.
I lowered her onto the bed and followed, bracing myself over her without crushing her, my forearms on either side of her shoulders.
I hovered over her for a second, memorizing the way she looked like this.
Her eyes dark, lips swollen from my kiss, chest rising too fast. Then her hands found their way my hair, pulling slightly, as she looked up at me parting her lips just enough to send me over the edge.
“You okay?” I asked, trying to control the desire to take all of her in this moment.
She nodded, then reached up, thumb brushing along my jaw. “I’m perfect.”
When her hands tugged at my shirt once more, I pulled back just long enough to get it over my head, tossing it aside without looking. Her gaze tracked every movement, slow and intentional, and I caught the flicker of something in her eyes—want, yes, but also certainty.
Her hands moved over my shoulders, my chest, tracing lines like she was learning me by touch before her hands grazed my length straining against my jeans.
I shifted my weight onto one arm, allowing the other to pull off her sweatshirt and leggings, soaking in every inch of her perfect skin before allowing my lips to take over.
I kissed my way down her jaw, her throat, feeling her breath hitch beneath my lips as I trailed kisses between her breasts and down the smooth skin leading to her core.
“You look real damn good like this,” I said, granting myself another look at her body as it lay bare in front of me.
“Logan, please.” The words almost dripping off her lips.
That was all the permission I needed. I’d been waiting to taste her since the first night I had her in my bed, and I was done holding back.
My hands quickly grabbed her hips, pulling her closer to me as my tongue met her wet entrance.
I’d sit there forever if it meant I got to be this close to her, to taste her.
And I did just that until she came with my name on her lips. My movements were no longer slow and controlled. I needed to be inside her again, to feel all of her.
Once I released myself from the hold of my jeans and settled between her thighs, I allowed myself to lose control. My hips quickened pace, and I used my thumb to tease her already swollen clit.
“I can’t, again. It’s too much,” she moaned, her back arching into me as her nails dug into my biceps.
“You can. Give me one more darlin’.” I said, eager to push her over the edge. To have her just as crazy as she made me.
A second later, I could feel her spasming around me as we both met our climax.
Every small sound she made lodged itself somewhere under my ribs. I’d spent years convincing myself I didn’t need this, didn’t deserve it. That wanting meant risk. That closeness meant loss, but in this moment, I would allow myself that.
I pulled her into my chest, her head fitting under my chin like she belonged there. I lay there breathing her in as she traced lazy circles against my skin. It was right then that I noticed that my body no longer felt coiled tight.
It felt… settled.
Outside, the ocean rolled steadily, the sound filtering through the open window. Inside, everything was calm in a good way, the kind of calm that holds you instead of hollowing you out. The sheets beneath us were soft and cool, a contrast to the warmth of our entwined bodies.
“You okay?” she murmured, echoing my question back to me.
I smiled into her hair, surprising myself with how easily it came. “Yeah,” I said honestly. “I am.”