Chapter 10
-Logan-
The second the words left her mouth, the air felt like it was trying to choke me out.
“I need to go home.”
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I froze, my hand hovering over the coffee pot. The fuck she just say? My jaw locked. I turned to face her, chest tight like at
vice.
“Uhh… No?”
She was sitting there starin‘ at me. Scarlett’s hoodie drowning her tiny frame. Blue eyes steady.
“Not like that,” she said. Her voice was soft. “I need to get my things. My sketchbooks, my laptop, my photo albums… My clothes, Logan. I have work tomorrow.”
Work.
Shit.
I didn’t think about that.
My stomach dropped. The thought of her walkin‘ out that door, going back to that house…. even going to work. Running into him. It made my fists itch.
The coffee pot beeped. It was done brewing. I wasn’t.
“You’re not goin‘ back there,” I said. It wasn’t a suggestion. It wasn’t a request. It was a fucking fact.
She didn’t flinch. “Logan. What are you gonna do? Buy me a whole new wardrobe? A new laptop? Don’t be ridiculous…” Her voice went soft again. “There are pictures of my dad in those photo albums… they’re all I have left of him.”
I ran a hand through my hair. And right then, I hated myself. If I hadn’t touched her, hadn’t dragged her up here last night into my world. Hadn’t crawled in bed with her and complicated the fuck out of everything… she’d be better off.
She deserved soft mornings, coffee in bed. Not this… not me. I wasn’t much better than him.
But still, I couldn’t help myself. I was in it deep. I couldn’t get enough of her.
Her eyes dropped, then looked back up at me. I thought about how they looked up at me last night, while she came on my dick.
The memory shot through me like a bullet. I dragged a hand down my face.
Her shoulders went stiff and her chin lifted. “I’m not asking for permission… You don’t get to decide for me. Matt works until 6 today, and I’m going… with or without you. That part is your choice.”
I stared at her, my jaw clenched so tight it hurt. She was right. But fuck if I was gonna let her walk back into a warzone without me.
“You’re not goin‘ alone,” I said, my voice hard. “You wanna get your shit? Fine. Me and the boys will take you.”
She almost smiled, and it hit me square in the gut. “I could’ve predicted every word of that response.”
I poured coffee into two mugs. The smell of it filled the dead air between us. My hands stayed steady even though my head was still a goddamn mess of her skin and her mouth and the way she’d moaned my name last night.
13:02 Mon, Dec
Chapter 10
She sat at the counter, quiet. Like she didn’t just drop a bomb on me.
And she thought I was predictable.
I slid a mug her way, and the bottle of creamer. She looked up at me, eyes still holding that challenge.
“If I’m so predictable,” I said. I closed the gap til I could feel her breath. “Did you see this coming?”
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She didn’t answer. Maybe she didn’t have time. I caught her chin, tipped her face up. Then I kissed her. Hard.
Nothing careful about it. It was all hunger. Last night clawing under my skin like aftershocks. Her hands pressed to my chest, fingers twisting in my shirt. She kissed back, heat and all.
For a second the whole damn room tilted.
When I broke it, she was breathing shallow, her cheeks red, her eyes blown wide. I pulled away like it was nothing, picked up my mug. Smirked.
“You’re comin‘ back here,” I said. Flat. No room for argument.
She blinked, shook off the daze fast. “You’re nuts,” she said. But her lips twitched like she wanted to smile.
“Yeah?” I shrugged. “I’ll show you some nuts. You wanna see ‘em?”
She smirked. “Promises, promises.”
“You walked in my door. That’s on you. You’re stuck now.”
She rolled her eyes, reached for her coffee.
“Fine,” she said, almost under her breath. “But if we’re doing this, we’re doing it my way. No breaking anything — or anyone
– unless I say.”
I cocked my brow, leaned in. “Your way? You’re gonna start giving orders now?”
She tilted her chin up, mouth twitching. “Someone’s gotta.”
I laughed. It came out rough. “You can try.”
She kept glancing toward the window, and I could see some of the shadows drop off her. She looked lighter. Like she could finally let herself breathe.
And me? I couldn’t stop thinkin‘ about how fast I’d ruin it.
“We’ll go after lunch,” I said. “I’ll call the guys in. You don’t step foot in that house alone.”
I didn’t say the rest.
Didn’t
say I still tasted her on my tongue.
Didn’t say I’d kill Matt if he breathed within ten feet of her.
Didn’t say that the thought of her walking out
that door was already splitting me in two.
13:02 Mon, Dec 22 MJ
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
