-Logan-
The first thing I felt when I came to was the pain. My leg screamed, raw and throbbing. I locked my jaw, tried not to shift, but it didn’t matter. It had its claws in me and wasn’t letting go.
Next thing was a weight on my chest. Hailey.
Her head was on me. Hair flung everywhere, wild and tangled. Her arm draped across my stomach, fingers grazing my skin.
She was dead asleep. And hot. Like a damn furnace. No wonder my leg was on fire.
For a minute, I just stared at the ceiling, sorting through the mess.
Pain chewing at my leg.
Her weight, her heat. The way she filled the fuckin room up just by being in it. It was too much… too real.
Permanent in a way that scared the hell out of me.
Last night didn’t fix anything. If anything, it made it worse, ‘cause now I knew what it was like to have her here. Accepting my fuckery. Choosing* to be here. With me, in my bed, settled deep into my space.
And I knew how empty it’d feel if she ever left again.
But she didn’t bolt. No storming out, no screaming, no drama. She’d just stayed. Quiet and sure, like it was nothing. Like she belonged here.
And I’ll admit it, that shook me way more than getting shot ever did.
I was cracked open. All those walls I’d built up, gone. She saw everything inside
the
parts I’d tried to keep locked down.
I felt like she was staring straight through me even while she slept. Seeing all the ugly. All the weak spots. I was trapped with her, stuck in this cage of my own
But hell, maybe I didn’t want a way
It was different before. Before, it
Now? She’d picked me… eyes
was easy
I didn’t have a clue wh…Vide
to make her stay.
open.
shut her out. Tell myself she’d be safer without me, and that was reason enough.
meant I was on the hook, for real this time.
Which
4 supposed t
But screwing this up wasn’t an wasn’t sure I had that in me.
do
next. How to be enough. How to keep her safe. How to make her happy. How
option. She deserved more than that. She deserved honesty. She deserved everything. And I
I shifted a little, hoping the ache in my leg would ease up. Hailey moved with me. Her hand dragged down to my hip and a low sound rumbled in her throat. Her breath was hot on my skin and she melted right back onto me.
My cock twitched.
God damn it. Down, boy. Trying to have an existential crisis here
I let my eyes fall shut, breathed out slow. Leg still burned, but it was nothing compared to everything tangled up in my chest. She was here. Still here, I had no idea what the hell to do out that
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Chapter 73
I didn’t feel healed. Didn’t feel settled. Just raw. Like I’d been stripped down to the bone and left to bleed.
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But at the same time, there was a weird kind of comfort in it. Like maybe I wasn’t completely alone in this mess.
I reached up and brushed some hair out of her face. She shifted, and her nose wrinkled. But she didn’t wake up. She just held me tighter, breathing soft and even.
Stayed like that awhile, hand on her back, feeling each rise and fall. Morning sliced through the blinds in streaks, lighting up the walls. Everything was waking up, but I wasn’t ready. Not yet.
For now, I wanted to hold onto this. Me and her, right here. Even if I didn’t deserve it. Even if it terrified me. Even if I had no clue what came next. For now, this was enough.
-Hailey-
I woke up slowly. The warmth of Logan’s chest was pressed against my cheek, and his steady heartbeat pulsed in my ear.
My body felt heavy, still clinging to sleep. But I stretched anyway, arching my back and letting out a soft sigh. My leg shifted, and I accidentally bumped his thigh.
He grunted, low and sharp, and my eyes snapped open. “Shit, sorry,” I mumbled, pushing myself up a little. I rubbed the crusty drool from my chin, then sheepishly swiped some off his chest with the edge of my hand.
He laughed, and the sound rumbled through me. Man, I could’ve gotten drunk on that laugh.
“How long have you been awake?” I asked, still in a haze.
“A while,” he murmured, his voice gravelly.
“What? You should’ve woken me up. I had you trapped.”
He chuckled. “Yeah… Just been… thinkin“.”
I tilted my head to look at him. His green eyes were softer this morning. Less guarded than usual. But there was something heavy in them too. He still had walls up.
“Thinking about what?” I asked, brushing a stray curl off his forehead. His hair was a mess, wild and untamed, and I loved it.
He hesitated, his gaze drifting to the ceiling. “You,” he said finally “Me. This.”
I propped myself up on my elbow, studying him. “What about us?”
He exhaled slowly, his chest rising and falling under my hand. “Just… I don’t know. You’re here, and I…” He trailed off, his jaw flexing like he was fighting something inside himself.
“And you what?” I prompted, my fingers tracing the edge of his beard. He didn’t pull away, but his eyes stayed fixed on the ceiling.
“I’m not… I’m not built for this. For you.”
“Bullshit,” I shot back, way sharper than I intended. “You’re not built for love? For happiness? That’s crap, Logan, and you
know it.”
He didn’t respond, just stared at me like I was some kind of puzzle he couldn’t figure out. And maybe I was. Maybe we both
were.
“Logan,” I said softly, my thumb brushing over his cheek. “You don’t have to have all the answers. We’ll figure it out together.
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Chapter 73
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-V
That’s what this is us. Together.”
He exhaled hard again, and I thought he might pull away. But then he leaned into my touch. “You’re gonna make me soft,” he murmured, his voice rough.
I smiled, pressing my lips against his. “Already have.”
He groaned, pulling me closer, his hands sliding down to my hips. “You’re killin‘ me, Ace.”
“Oh,” I said, grinning against his mouth. “But what a way to go.”
He chuckled, low and deep, and kissed me again. This time, it wasn’t desperate or hungry actually enjoying the taste of my gross morning breath.
–
it was soft, lingering, like he was
When we finally pulled apart, he rested his forehead against mine, his breathing uneven. “I really don’t deserve you,” he whispered.
“Too bad,” I said, running a finger down the center of his chest. “You’re stuck with me.”
A tiny smile tugged at his lips. “The concept is startin‘ to grow on me.”
I kissed him again. And for the first time in days, I felt like maybe, just maybe, we’d be okay.
曲
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.
