by Lilly Atlas
But he was a biker. And he would always be a reminder of the hell she endured. How could she possibly love him?
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHLOE SAT MIDWAY up the stairs, her forearms resting on bent knees with her phone between her hands. Despite the fact it’d been a warm day, Chloe had felt chilled since she woke up. The fire crackling away in the great room helped warm the lower level of the house.
Every so often she switched her gaze from the blank phone screen to the closed front door, willing the phone to light or the door to open. She’d been at this back and forth game for upward of an hour. Far longer than necessary since Logan wasn’t expected for at least another fifteen minutes.
The few hours he was home that morning, long before the sun came up, seemed almost a dream at this point. She’d barely gotten to hold him or kiss him before he was out the door again with the woman and child he’d risked his life to save. The only communication she’d received since he drove off was a text an hour ago reporting him and Screw seventy miles out.
God, she missed him these past couple weeks. In a relatively short period of time, he’d come to mean more to her than anything or anyone else in her life. She ached to wake next to him each morning and hardly slept at night alone in his giant bed. More than once, she’d tried to sleep on a couch or in a guest bed, but those attempts were even less successful than the master. At least in Logan’s bed she could smell him and fool her subconscious into thinking he was there in her dreams.
The lock on the door clicked and Chloe shot to her feet as though she were a marathoner and the starting gun had just blasted the race into action. “Logan!” she cried as he came into view and dropped his pack to the ground.
Much as he had in the early hours of day, he appeared battered and bruised. His handsome face actually seemed worse than when she’d last seen him, because he hadn’t slept and had heavy fatigue circles under his eyes.
“Are you really here? For good?” As deeply as she wanted him in her arms, the sight of him seemed to have rendered her immobile. “It’s over? Please tell me I’m not dreaming?”
He stood frozen midway between the door and staircase, his gaze soaking her in the same way hers was him.
“I’m here, baby. It’s over.”
Her eyes fell closed as she breathed out a prayer of thanks. “Stacy and Rose are settled?”
A smile tipped his lips giving his tired face a less severe look, but it disappeared as fast as it came. “They’re in good hands.”
“Good,” she said, disgusted to find herself wringing her hands together. Shit, she wasn’t this nervous the first time she had cuffed him to the motel bed. But everything was different now. She’d been living with him because of a danger that no longer existed. Esposito was out of the picture and Lefty would soon be the devil’s problem. So where did that leave her? Where did that leave them?
“Chloe,” Logan started.
“Wait.” Still rooted to the step, she held up a hand. “Can I say something first?”
Logan nodded.
She fisted the hem of his T-shirt in her hands. Something to keep here from gnawing her nails to the cuticle. “I think you’re amazing, Logan Carrera.”
His eyes widened and he took a step forward.
“No, wait,” she said, hand still out like a stop sign. “I know you have a lot of conflicting feelings about what you have and haven’t done in the past, but the man I see standing before me, the man I know today, is a good man. He’s a man who took an enormous risk to save an innocent woman and child. And don’t try to tell me anyone would have done the same thing because that is complete and utter bullshit. Not only did you prevent them from being killed, you set them up with a new and safe life. You amaze me and I—”
“Can I say something now?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.
She let her hand fall. “Sorry, yes, of course. I’m rambling. I just wanted you to know—”
“I love you, Chloe,” he said, and she almost choked on what she was going to say next.
“Y-you do?” She gaped at him, completely unable to do anything but blink in shock.
“I do.” He wasn’t smiling. In fact, his severe expression seemed even harsher than usual which was a feat in and of itself. A small laugh bubbled up, and she covered her mouth to keep it inside. Of course, Logan would declare his love with a scowl on his face.
“One more time,” she whispered as her eyes drifted shut.
“I love you, Chloe.”
She kept her eyes closed, savoring the incredible feeling of warmth blooming in her chest and spreading throughout her body. “Logan?” she said as she opened her eyes.
He tilted his head. “I love you too. I love everything. All of you. So much.” Her voice caught on the last word.
As though a spark leapt straight from the fire and into the space between them, heat filled his eyes. A small, strangled sound tore from Chloe’s lips, and in the next instant she was flying down the stairs toward him.
The sight of her in motion kicked his ass into gear as well. He shot forward, closing the distance with his longer legs pumping faster than hers. An all-consuming need to touch him, feel skin on skin burned her more than the fire ever could.
Chloe launched herself straight at him. They met at the second step, colliding against each other like two runaway trains. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and clung like a spider monkey.
“I forgot you’re hurt!” she cried as he tried to hide a subtle flinch.
“It’s fine. Can’t feel a damn thing but the need to touch every part of you right now,” he said right before he slammed his lips on hers.
She moaned. Normally, she went pliant in his arms, melting into him. Not tonight. Tonight, she fought for control of the kiss. Battled him for dominance. Their mouths dueled in a fierce lip battle full of nips, hard sucks, and plunging tongues.
“Skin,” Chloe said as she ripped her mouth away. His lips were swollen and a thick bulge behind his zipper pressed right into her core. She couldn’t help but rock against him, eliciting a harsh groan from both of them. With his hands on her ass and her legs wrapped around him, she was stable enough to use her hands. And, boy, did she use them. In a frenzy, she yanked his T-shirt up and off his body, scoring his skin with her nails as she went. Hers was next, tossed over her head without care.
His focus immediately went to her tits. With his hungry gaze on her, Chloe felt strong, powerful. He hefted her higher and closed his mouth around one stiff peak.
Shit, that felt so damn good.
Chloe cried out, clutching at his head for support as lightning shot from her nipple to her clit. She ground against him, humping at his abs, wild for some kind of friction to ease the ache.
“Shit, Logan, I need your cock.” She was soaked, the thin panties not doing a damn thing to contain the flood of arousal leaking from her body into him.
“Fuck yes,” he said as he released her panty-covered ass to undo his cargo pants. The moment he let go, she almost crashed to the ground.
Chloe yelped and clung to him tighter while he tried to remain on his feet. All they managed to accomplish was another press of her drenched pussy against his abdomen which had him groaning and losing his balance entirely. There was no time to cushion her fall or for him to brace to keep from squashing her. They crashed to the steps, landing in a heap of tangled arms and legs.
Chloe grunted as her back made contact with the carpeted steps. The coarse fibers dragged across her skin in a burning trail that would certainly leave a mark. Her small grunt was the only indication either of them had even noticed the incident. Logan’s gaze held a crazed hunger as she locked in with single minded focus on her target.
His belt.
She attacked it with a ferocity she hadn’t thought herself capable of. In record time, his belt was undone, zipper down, and cock firmly in her hand. She stroked, loving the way his entire body bowed into her. “Fuck me, Logan. Now. You have no idea how bad I need you.”
> The second her hand stroked down his throbbing length, he fucking lost his shit. “No idea?” he growled near her ear. “I spent the last sixteen nights fucking dreaming of you with a dick so hard it hurt. Swear to Christ, woman, I’ve never wanted anything like I want to fuck you right now.”
He was going to make her come with his words alone. “So stop talking and do it,” she said, throwing as much sass into the command as possible.
Rocket grabbed her hand in a rough grip, ripped it off his cock, and pinned it to the step near her head. He aligned himself with her drenched opening, and without any finesse, powered into her.
“Shit, you’re so fucking tight and hot.” She was so wet he had no problem sinking to his balls on the first stroke. When he bottomed out, Chloe emitted a sharp cry. Her back arched off the steps, tits like an offering he didn’t ignore. He scraped his teeth over one nipple.
“God, yes! Fuck me hard, Logan. So, so hard.”
Hooking one of her legs over his shoulder, he hiked it high, opening her for an even deeper penetration. Their combined groans caused their gazes to meet.
Then it was game on.
Logan fucked her like an animal, without any thought to technique. With short, choppy, wild strokes, he slammed into her again and again, never pulling out more than an inch or two as though he couldn’t bear to be anything but balls deep inside her.
It was the most exquisite experience of her life. Every choppy thrust brought his pelvis in direct contact with her clit, and since his strokes were so fast and hard, the nub took a pounding like never before.
Chloe clung to him as best she could as the bull rode her. Her nails dug into his back and her body absorbed every erratic push, coiling tighter and tighter until…
Kaboom!
Pressure exploded out of every pore in her body, replaced by a pleasure so sharp it was almost too much to tolerate. Chloe’s spine bowed, her nails raked across Logan’s back and she keened out a wail as a monster orgasm overtook her.
Rocket followed immediately. With one last brutal thrust, he planted himself deep and roared out his climax. It took several minutes for Chloe’s head to stop spinning and her eyes to focus. Her arms and legs tingled with the aftereffects of coming so hard. The room had a hazy glow to it due more to her sated state than the glimmering fire.
She shifted. Logan’s heavy weight crushed her into the stairs making her aware for the first time, that their positioning wasn’t the most comfortable. She wiggled experimentally. Yeah, there was some serious rug burn on her back. Probably on Logan’s elbows as well.
That reunion almost, almost made up for the weeks of agony and loneliness.
As Chloe sighed with the simple pleasure of having Logan’s weight pinning her down, her eyes flew open. Holy shit. Logan was pinning her down. Pinning her. As in his entire weight was on top of her and had been while he fucked her stupid.
A grin so huge it hurt her cheeks spread across her face. “Logan,” she whispered, tears of joy clogging her throat. “Logan, you’re on top of me.”
He stiffened for a split-second, then shot off her like she was covered in fire ants.
“Fuck! Chloe I’m so sorry. Shit.” He raked his hand through his sex-mussed hair. Guilt and despair were scribbled all over his face. She needed to put an end to it before he beat the hell out of himself misunderstanding her meaning.
Of course, that meant she had to move and her body was so limp and sated she wasn’t quite sure that was possible. She lay, sprawled on her back, legs splayed, and painting quite the wanton picture.
“Christ, how far did I set you back? Did I hurt you?” His gaze roamed her as though looking for signs of distress or wounds. “Fucking hell,” he grumbled before stalking to the kitchen.
Chloe frowned and struggled to sit and then stand. She walked on wobbly legs to the kitchen without bothering to cover up. Hopefully, the sight of her naked would help sway things her way.
“Logan,” she said to his just as naked back as he poured himself a glass of Jack. A long, jagged wound on the back of his right calf caught her attention. It’d been stitched closed, and recently. Chloe swallowed and forced her gaze higher. He’d be answering her many questions later. For now, she had a pressing issue to deal with.
He spun around, softened cock resting against his thigh. It glistened from her wetness and the sight of it turned her on all over again. Something that didn’t escape his notice if the way he stared at her breasts was any indication.
When he didn’t speak, she stepped closer, until she was able to reach his glass. After stealing a long sip, she handed it back to him.
His poor face was a mess of bruises, and self-loathing.
“I fucked up.” He ran a hand through his hair. The strands already stuck out every which way, and his restless hands only made it worse. “Was too fucking rough. Shit, I didn’t even think about freaking you out. I was so fucking gone I’m not sure I’d have realized if you were panicking.” Chloe closed the short distance until their bodies were flush. She reached, despite the way he stiffened against her, and not in the good way. With a soft chuckle, she smoothed his hair back in place.
“Well, I don’t believe that last part for a second. As for the rest of it…” She shrugged. “I took one look at you and all I could think was ‘Thank God he’s home,’ followed by ‘holy shit he said he loves me,’ and then ‘he better fuck me until I’m screaming.’ You were just giving me exactly what I wanted.”
“Chloe—”
She held her palm over his mouth as she shook her head. “No. I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but don’t speak. Just listen.”
When he nodded, she removed her hand. “I didn’t have a single moment, not even a flicker of panic or unease or discomfort.” She grimaced. “Well except for this rug burn that’s now screaming at me.”
Logan scowled and spun her around. “Shit,” he muttered. “I’ve got something you can put on that to take the sting out.” His lips landed on the sore skin, making her shiver.
“Logan, listen to me, please. This is important.” She turned back to him and placed her hands on his bare chest. “I trust you. Completely. One hundred percent. You and your club. I’ve been shown over and over these past weeks how much they love you and how far they are willing to go to keep your woman safe, happy, and well fed.” She gave him a lopsided smile.
“I admit I had some reservations about your club. But they’re gone. Any lingering doubt was completely obliterated when you and your brothers worked to give Stacy and Rose a second chance at life. I told you I love you, and I mean it. I wanted everything that just happened. In fact, I’m pretty damn proud of myself. Not once did I think about what Lefty did to me. I was just a normal woman who wanted her man desperately. You should be celebrating, not beating yourself up.”
He huffed out a small laugh then hauled her against him for a bone-crushing hug. “Hi, baby,” he said.
Chloe giggled. “Hi. I missed you so much.”
He grunted which she took to mean he missed her just as much.
“Logan?”
Another grunt.
“Are you really okay? You look like shit.”
Silent seconds ticked by. So many, Chloe assumed he wasn’t going to give her more details, but then he said, “Got a little roughed up. Nothing serious.”
Nothing serious. Just a giant gash on his calf.
“You must be exhausted.”
His cheek came down to rest on her head. Chloe reveled in the closeness for a few minutes before pulling away. She refilled his glass then took it and one of his hands. “Come on, Logan. Let’s go to your bed.” She gave him a sheepish smile. “I haven’t been able to sleep in it without you.”
Renewed desire flared in his eyes, and his cock was now semi-hard. He kissed her then squeezed her ass. “Meet you there. Gonna deal with the fire.”
Five minutes later, Logan slipped under the covers next to her. She handed him the Jack Daniels. After swallowing the entir
e contents in two gulps, he placed the empty glass on the night stand.
They lay facing each other, just absorbing the pleasure of being in the same space. Chloe traced the ink on his chest, and he ran his callused hands over her arms, her back, her ass. The urgency of earlier was gone. Now they were just exploring, reconnecting, and loving.
“Logan?”
A grunt.
“Thank you for keeping your promise. Even though I knew you’d do everything in your power to come back to me, I was so worried about you.”
“I can see that.”
Uh oh. He didn’t sound pleased.
“Uh, what do you mean?”
He traced what had to be a spectacular circle under her eye with the coarse pad of his finger. “When is the last time you slept more than a few hours?”
“Um…” Damn the man for being so observant. “It’s been a few days?”
“Yeah? How many?”
“Uh, sixteen?”
“Shit, Chloe. And have you lost fucking weight?”
Oh boy. “About ten pounds,” she mumbled against his chest.
Logan stilled. “I’m sorry,” he said into her hair.
Well that wasn’t what she’d expected. She peered up at him. “Logan, you have nothing to be sorry for. You had to do this. We already had this discussion.”
He grunted, causing her to smile. They’d probably revisit this a number of times over the next few days. Underneath the quiet growly exterior was a man who protected and cared more deeply than most. He was just cautious with revealing that side of himself.
They fell silent, the steady rise and fall of his chest lulling her into a near sleep state. Just as she was drifting out, Logan’s rumbly voice spoke next to her ear. “Night, baby. Love you, Clo.”
He could tell her that twenty times a day for the rest of her life and she’d never get tired of hearing it. Never grow weary of the surge of ecstasy the phrase created.
