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Down.
My eyes home in on the very obvious bulge protruding from his light gray sweats. My mouth dries so suddenly that my tongue actually gets stuck to the roof of my mouth. My eyes are wide as saucers, and my pussy lets out a flutter of acknowledgment, waking up from her slumber.
“Sleep well?” he asks, his voice laced with amusement as he notices me staring. I nod but still can’t speak.
This morning, I woke up more refreshed than I have in a long time. I rolled out of bed, stumbled into a beautiful en suite that I hadn’t even looked at before passing out yesterday, and took the longest shower of my life. My muscles are relaxed, my hair smells like my delicious vanilla sugar shampoo, but my stomach is empty. A fact that it loudly makes known immediately following his question.
“Sit,” he grunts, pulling out a tall barstool.
“I slept like the dead,” I respond, finally finding my voice as I close the distance between us. Stopping in front of him, I do my best not to gawk at his half-naked body as I continue. “I’m so sorry I slept the day away. I didn’t realize I was so tired.”
Logan ignores my apology as he effortlessly bends down and hefts me onto the stool. I let out a squeak of protest, my arms windmilling for balance. “Don’t apologize. You needed it. I’m glad you slept. Just sorry it wasn’t in my bed.”
A blush fills my cheeks, leaving them burning under the weight of his words. At one point last night I had woken up. Thoughts of Logan filled my dreams all night long and one, in particular, had me shooting up in bed, searching for him. I’d almost gone to his room. It took almost an hour of restlessness and second-guessing before I fell back to sleep. Though I did sleep well, something inside of me instinctively knew I’d sleep so much better next to him.
As if on cue, his words from yesterday replay in my mind for the thousandth time.
If you step foot in my room, you better be prepared to stay forever.
My stomach clenches, and it’s not from hunger. Fuck, I’m in so damn deep with this man.
“Eat, Shiloh.” He pushes the plate closer to me as he speaks before returning to the other side of the island. My eyes watch his back, never losing sight of him, even as I dig into my food. There are a few visible scars on his back, and one large one across his arm, beneath a tattoo of a symbol I recognize as belonging to the United States Army. Next to it is a beginning and end date, with the words,Rest in Peace, Brother.
He lost someone.
“You were in the military.” Things from the last few days click into place, and suddenly, it all makes sense. His panic attack yesterday. The PTSD response. His comment about being in a gunfight. His overall cagey, rough behavior. Though, that could just be him. “Did you lose someone?” I cringe as soon as the words leave my mouth, knowing not everyone likes to talk about their time in the military, especially those they lost. I know my father hates it.
Logan tenses, his hands gripping the edge of the sink as he pauses in his quiet, methodical dishwashing. His head drops, and he releases a heavy, weighted sigh.
Shit, shit, shit.
I hop down from the stool, leaving my half-eaten plate abandoned as I follow my instincts, which are screaming that he needs me. My mind and heart begin to race, worried I’ve brought up something too painful for him, or worse, triggered another attack. Stepping into his periphery, I make sure to stay in his line of sight, and as much as it kills me, I keep my hands to myself.For now.
“Fuck, Logan, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up, especially not like that. That was careless of me.” My fists tense at my sides, squeezing so hard my nails bite into my skin. Logan shakes his head, showing the first sign of awareness in minutes.
Slowly, he turns toward me. His face is guarded, his brows pinched together tightly. His bright green eyes look darker now, almost completely taken over by the pupils. He looks so….broken.I can’t take it.
“Oh, baby,” I breathe, my eyes burning with emotion. I take a step forward, closing the distance between us, and wrap my arms around his waist, squeezing him tightly. Logan doesn’t move, but his heaving breaths slow the longer I hold him. “Come back to me,” I whisper.
Seconds later, his body shudders against mine. His arms instantly band around me, one gripping my low back, the other palming my head. He presses our bodies tightly together and leans in, inhaling deeply. “Cupcakes,” he grunts. I swallow down a choked laugh, but it still comes out in a small giggle. “Beautiful.My Shiloh.”
I don’t know why I utter what I do next, but right now, in this perfect house built for a family, wrapped in this broken, incredible man’s embrace….
It feels right.
“Yours,” I agree.
Logan stills, his muscles tensing. His heart picks up its heavy pounding beat beneath my cheek once more, and for a second, I worry that I’m losing him again. He pushes me away, peeling my body from his, and my stomach bottoms out. What did I do?
But then, Logan’s hands are on my face, his eyes wide as he stares down at me. “Say it again,” he demands, his voice rougher than I’ve ever heard him sound before. It takes me a moment for his words to click, but when they do, I smile.
My heart races, and this time, it’s in excitement. I’m not nervous about what this could mean. I’m not worried about the future. I’m just…happy.
“I’m yours.”
Then, his lips are on mine. Logan palms my cheeks softly, even as his mouth dominates mine. He controls our kiss completely, and I let him. I go weak, allowing him to give and take, opening when he wants, giving him access when he demands. He pushes my body backward, and I stumble, grasping his hips for balance. He presses me into the island, locking me in place, his mouth never leaving mine.
Logan’s mouth is electric. It’s live wires and lighting bolts in the middle of a hot summer storm. Electricity crackles between us, burning me alive. My nerve endings tingle beneath my skin, from head to toe, even as my brain short circuits. My stomach is full of butterflies, fluttering around with massive wings, scraping against my ribcage. Or, maybe that’s my heart, trying to escape my chest.
