by Reus, Katie
Her eyes widened slightly but she didn’t pull back. Instead she leaned into him, and when he slanted his mouth over hers, he hoped that this was more than just a show for her.
Because it was real to him. The taste of champagne on her lips made him go lightheaded as she leaned into him, holding on to his shoulders as she teased her tongue against his. He clutched onto her hips, savoring the feel of her curves pressed against him.
He hadn’t had sex in forever, not since he’d met Grace. Hell, since before then. He’d been tired of the dating scene long before he met her. But he had a reputation and everybody assumed he was this giant player. He had been once upon a time, but that phase hadn’t lasted long. He’d gotten tired of one-night stands and meaningless hookups but the reputation had stuck. Probably because he was a huge flirt.
He shoved thoughts of his past and everything else away as Grace plastered her body to his, wrapping her arms around his neck.
This didn’t feel like a show; this felt totally real. So damn real he was afraid to hope for more.
And as he nibbled on her bottom lip, he realized he didn’t want anyone else seeing them making out. Her kisses and moans and everything else were just for him. And the way she was melting against him completely caught him off guard. He’d just wanted a little taste. Now? God, she couldn’t be acting. He sure as hell wasn’t.
Holding her tight, he nibbled his way along her jaw, not bothering to hide his reaction to her. And she didn’t seem to mind. “Want to get out of here?” he murmured before gently biting her earlobe.
She leaned her head back and looked into his eyes, her own wide with surprise and…heat. Undeniable heat. Her dark gaze searched his for a moment, but then she nodded, her eyes going heavy-lidded. “I just need to grab my purse.”
This was it. He’d made his move and it was time to make her his.
Chapter 2
Grace opened her eyes, stretching her arms above her head and bathing in the warm sunshine sliding across her naked body.
And froze.
She snapped her eyes open and looked around the exquisite hotel suite as last night came rushing back in naked, sexy images. Logan’s head between her legs. Logan bringing her to orgasm over and over. Logan fisting her hair as he thrust into her from behind.
Ohhhhhhh. Oh. My. God. What had she been thinking? She hadn’t been thinking, clearly. Or she wouldn’t have indulged in a night of marathon sex with the man she’d fallen for ages ago. Why? Because he was not a commitment kind of guy. Not even close. He was in his mid-thirties and if he’d wanted to settle down, he easily could have by now. And she…she was a romantic who’d had her heart smashed to pieces nearly a year ago.
Cringing at herself, she swung her legs over the side of the empty bed. Her entire body felt not sore exactly, but she’d used muscles she hadn’t in a while. And she was definitely tender between her legs. And okay, she also felt relaxed and better than she had in ages. Mind-blowing orgasms would do that to a girl.
As she stood up, she realized the shower was running and Logan was singing in an adorably off-key way. More images flooded back as she remembered making out with Logan in front of all their friends on the dance floor last night. Oh God. Now everyone would know that they’d had a one-night stand. Which wasn’t terrible but…with him, she wanted more. And some of her friends knew that. So now she’d have to deal with their well-meaning pity.
Embarrassment and a bit of panic surged through her. She scooped up her purse from the floor. She had another flash of Logan tossing it to the ground before he shoved her dress up to her waist—and dove between her legs like a man starving.
As her cheeks heated up, she started cataloging everything from last night in bright color images. Moving here had been a way for her to start over and put her painful past behind her. She’d made so many wonderful friends, and sleeping with someone who was part of their friend group was not part of her plan. It was just stupid. She didn’t want drama or complications now. Or ever. But especially not now. Her life was getting back to normal and she felt…good most of the time.
And she could just imagine how nice Logan was going to be when he got out of the shower. Hell, he’d probably want to order breakfast and then have another round of sheet-burning sex before they went their separate ways.
Which…was just too much for her. She knew she was just another notch on his bedpost, or whatever that stupid phrase was. Logan was a giant flirt and hadn’t had a serious relationship in pretty much ever, according to everyone. He didn’t do them, apparently. She couldn’t deal with a “this was fun, let’s stay friends or hook up on occasion” type of conversation.
No, she was feeling far too raw after seeing her ex-fiancé last night and then… This. She found her dress draped across the couch in the little sitting room. Holy crap, what kind of suite were they staying in? Last night all her focus had been on Logan, and she’d been aware of the place he’d gotten but…this was incredible. It was all gleaming white and chrome and tons of natural light spilling in from the huge wall of windows.
How had he gotten such a great place so quickly? Oh God, was this where he brought his women?
Feeling nauseous, she grabbed her heels and slipped them on. Even though she knew this was Vegas, which had a very relaxed dress code no matter the time of day, she still felt vulnerable stepping out of the hotel room wearing such a skimpy, sparkly dress. Her walk of shame dress.
So she grabbed his aviator sunglasses and black suit jacket and slid them on. The jacket was big on her so she rolled up the sleeves. And she was grateful that it covered her dress.
Was she being a coward by running out without talking to him? Yep. She just didn’t care.
The only thing she knew was that she had to get out of here now. She absolutely could not face Logan.
Nope. If she did, she might confess her stupid feelings for him and that was not happening. She’d already suffered enough hurt for one lifetime.
With her heart beating an erratic tattoo in her chest, she swung the front door open and realized they were definitely in one of the expensive suites, because this was one of the top floors of the Serafina. She was such a fool. Of course he brought women here. There was no way in hell he should have been able to secure such a great room on such short notice. Maybe it was one of the perks of working for the owner? Bah.
Feeling her cheeks heat up even more, she hurried down the hallway and pressed the elevator button, frantic to get away before Logan came looking for her.
Yeah, she definitely should’ve thought about things last night, like the repercussions of sleeping with someone in their friend group. Though to be fair, they hadn’t done a lot of sleeping. God, she was best friends with his brother’s wife.
But she’d been living in the moment. Seeing her ex had brought up all those feelings of insecurity and Logan had made her feel beautiful and wanted for the first time in forever. She’d been turned on and wanting nothing more than to finally have a taste of Logan.
Well now she’d gotten a taste and knew how incredible it was. Which just made this even harder.
It didn’t take long to get to the parking garage, and she was so grateful she hadn’t valeted her car the night before. There would be no waiting. Just running.
She felt a teeny bit bad about that, but embarrassment was riding her hard right now. As she pulled out onto the main road, she used her Bluetooth to call Sierra. Normally she would have called Taylor but that felt too weird right now since Taylor was married to Roman.
“Hey girl, how are you feeling this morning?” There was laughter in Sierra’s voice.
“Embarrassed.” She was grateful for the sunglasses as she pulled out onto the bright Strip.
“Why on earth are you embarrassed?”
“Because I made out with Logan in front of everyone last night?” Wasn’t that obvious?
“So what? I nailed my man last night too. Who cares? You’re single and he’s single. You had a crappy year—that being an
understatement. It’s about damn time you indulged in some fun. Which is exactly what I’ve been telling you for the last few months! It’s beyond time that you got yours!”
A weird sense of relief slid through her. Intellectually she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong and she felt stupid for beating herself up. But some things had been drilled into her since she was young and they were hard to overcome. “Really? You don’t think I should feel embarrassed?”
“Oh my God, no! Why would you feel bad? I mean, I can only guess what you guys did when you left, so… Was it great?”
“Incredible.” That was all she was going to say about that. She kept getting flashes of the night before in her mind. Hot, naked, sweaty flashes as he kissed her entire body. God, the sexy growling sounds he’d made? Yes, please.
“You’re totally giving me details later.”
“No way.”
“Hey, I tell you everything.”
“Exactly. You give me TMI all the time.” She didn’t bite back a laugh because it was true. Sierra was so dang happy with her husband Hayden, and she told everyone.
“Whatever. So how was this morning? Was he weird?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Wait…why wouldn’t you know?” Sierra asked cautiously.
Grace bit her bottom lip. “Well, I might have snuck out of the hotel room.”
To her surprise Sierra let out a burst of laughter. “You’re adorable and ridiculous. Man, your loser ex really did a number on you.”
“True enough.” No reason to deny it. “I just couldn’t stand the thought of having that weird or awkward conversation with Logan where he told me last night was awesome and that he wanted to stay friends. Ugh, I’m such a coward. I cannot believe I ran out like that.” She paused. “I also stole his jacket and sunglasses.”
Sierra laughed even harder now. “You’ve got to stop! You’re killing me. Just call him and talk to him. You’ll feel so much better.”
“I will.” Soon enough.
“Good, because you know he’s going to be at Friendsgiving tomorrow.”
“Ah, crap,” she muttered as she pulled up to a red light. She’d forgotten about that. A whole bunch of them were spending Thanksgiving together this year. And of course Logan was going to be there. “I’ll call him, I promise.” Yeah she definitely needed to call and apologize for running out of there like a lunatic. So what if they were going to have an awkward conversation? She should have just dealt with that in the moment and talked it out with him.
Gah. She internally berated herself as she took a left turn toward her neighborhood. It was too late to change things now.
The spicy scent of his cologne wrapped around her, and she realized it must be from his jacket. She liked wearing it, liked the sensation of it wrapped around her—and kinda wished he was currently wrapped around her instead.
Damn it, she needed to stop thinking about him, but that was pretty impossible when he was imprinted on every part of her now. At that thought her cheeks flamed hot, even though there was no one else in the vehicle with her.
After more teasing from Sierra, Grace ended the call, and by the time she got home she was feeling somewhat better. She needed to call Logan though.
She just…had to work up to it.
Chapter 3
Logan grabbed his phone and hit his second speed dial. “Come on, come on,” he muttered. Water still dripped from his hair onto his bare chest as he waited for Grace to pick up. He’d come out of the shower moments ago and realized she was gone.
At first he thought she’d gone into the living room area maybe to call for room service. Then he realized her dress and shoes were gone. So was his jacket, for that matter.
“Hey,” she answered on the fourth ring, her tone tentative.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, because he needed to know that first.
She shoved out a breath. “Yeah…I’m sorry for leaving.”
Feeling as if he’d been punched, he sat on the edge of the bed, the sheets and comforter rumpled and half on the floor, half on the bed. “Why did you leave?” He simultaneously wanted and didn’t want the answer. They’d had an incredible time last night. Of that he had no doubt. Maybe this morning she’d realized he wasn’t what she wanted after all. He closed his eyes tight.
“I panicked and acted like a maniac?”
“Is that a question, or are you telling me?”
Her sigh was heavy. “I’m telling you. Look, I’m sorry. Last night was amazing but…ah…”
Oh no. He knew where this was going. She was going to let him down easy. Sonofabitch, he thought he’d played things right, that he’d waited until she was ready for more. Maybe she hadn’t been ready for anything serious. “Please don’t give me that speech.”
“Well last night was amazing. So…” She cleared her throat.
“Yeah it was amazing. More than. And it shouldn’t be a one-time thing.” Hell no. He wanted it every night. And in the mornings too.
There was another long pause. “You’ve been such a great friend, Logan. I don’t want to lose your friendship.”
Sighing, he lay back on the bed, staring at the sparkling chandelier above him. The knots in his stomach tightened as he digested what she was telling him. Last night and then this morning had been incredible. He hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her. She was even better than he’d imagined—and he’d had far too many fantasies. He’d made her come so many times and was desperate for more. To bind her to him so she never wanted to let him go. “I don’t want to lose your friendship either.”
“Okay good, then. So we’re good?”
He closed his eyes. No, they weren’t good. “Grace, I want—”
“I really value our friendship,” she whispered, the raw vulnerability in her voice cutting at him.
Ah, hell. She’d said the word friendship about a billion times now. Message received. He wanted to push so badly but it clearly wasn’t the time. Maybe it never would be. Maybe…she only saw him as a friend.
No, he needed to see her in person, to talk. “You’re not going to lose that. I promise.”
“I’ll see you at Thanksgiving tomorrow, then?” Her tone sounded almost normal now. At least she wasn’t whispering and sounding all sad and dejected. He couldn’t handle that.
“Yes. Damn it, I mean no.” He’d gotten a text from his boss, Wyatt, last night telling him he needed Logan for a job. Since he was the only single person on Wyatt’s team who hadn’t made Thanksgiving plans to travel out of town, he’d agreed. “I took a last-minute job thing. It shouldn’t take too long but I definitely won’t be there tomorrow.”
“Well, I’ll miss seeing you.”
He was going to miss her too. “I’ll text and send you inappropriate memes while I’m gone,” he said to lighten the tension pulled taut between them.
She snorted, sounding much more like the Grace he knew and cared for in that moment. Not the Grace trying to have an uncomfortable conversation with him. “I look forward to your memes.”
He could have teased her, could have said something about last night, but he got the feeling she was too raw. So he reined in the impulse to make a joke.
After they disconnected, he punched the pillow next to him, though it didn’t make him feel any better. What the hell? He never should have gotten out of bed, never should have gotten in the shower.
If he hadn’t, he would’ve been awake when she’d woken up and he could have gone down on her, convincing her that leaving was stupid. Hell, she never would have thought of leaving because he’d have been all over her.
As he sat up, he realized that his sunglasses were gone too. He shot off a quick text. You steal my sunglasses too?
She sent back an image of a fox swiping sunglasses, then followed with a picture of her wearing the aviators. Her dark hair was loose and a little rumpled around her face, and her smile was wide and inviting. And he wanted to reach through the damn screen and pull her close, kiss her sense
less.
He’d wanted to finally make her his. Instead he’d ruined everything.
Laughing even around the pain in his chest, he responded. Keep them. They look better on you anyway. Then he saved her picture as his screen saver. Yep, he was a total masochist.
And now he felt like he was back at square one. Well, not square one, because now he knew exactly what she sounded like and looked like when she came.
He wasn’t sure if that was better or worse. He just knew that he couldn’t lose Grace.
Groaning, he shoved a pillow over his face.
* * *
Grace sat back on the patio chair outside Sierra and Hayden’s home. Thanksgiving aka Friendsgiving had been a success, and even though she hated that Logan was out of town and working, a very small part of her felt a thread of relief that she hadn’t had to face him. Which made her feel like a big pile of crap. She really did hate that he had to work and be away from his friends and brother on Thanksgiving. But as part of billionaire Wyatt Christiansen’s private security, both for the Serafina and the man himself, he was on call often and ended up jetting off to random destinations around the world. She groaned to herself.
“What’s that groan for?” Taylor asked as she sat down next to her, a martini in hand.
Grace took a sip of her sparkling water. “Nothing. Just internally berating myself.”
Taylor rolled her eyes. “What is it with you and feeling guilty over things you shouldn’t feel guilty about? And don’t answer that because it’s not a question. You drive me crazy.”
“I drive myself crazy.” She always got so caught up in her head about things. It didn’t matter that she was almost thirty, she still second-guessed herself as if she was back in college and unsure of her future.
“So what’s going on with you and Logan?”
She went for what she hoped was a neutral expression and lifted a shoulder. “Nothing. Why?”
