by Evelyn Glass
I laughed. “I met you on that bike, practically. I’m not asking you to change who you are, Logan. I just want us to make it through.”
He laughed, too, and it sounded like he was relieved. He kissed me again, and this time he pushed his body up against mine. He was ready for sex, I could feel it in his muscles, in the hardness in his pants, the way he was kissing me. I was ready to celebrate our engagement.
It turned from happy and gentle and loving to urgent and heated and sexy. His hands were all over my body, over my clothes and then under it. He massaged my breasts, tweaked my nipples, grinded his hips against mine until I was wet and hungry, a hot mess. I wanted him. I wanted all of him and I wanted it right now.
I was still reeling with the decision I’d made, with the choice to spend the rest of my life with him. He was the perfect man – a bad boy who could be nice just for me, someone who could treat me like a princess and still make my life feel like it was a dangerous adventure. I had taken a bit of time – admittedly, not a lot – to think about the prospect of marrying him, and I had found there was absolutely no reason to say no.
Nothing at all.
Logan lifted himself off me and I felt his absence acutely. I moaned in protest. He took my hand and pulled me up. We were going to the bedroom. He led me to the front door, instead. On the little porch he grabbed the two beach towels we’d been using whenever we swam in the lake and walked toward the water, leading me. I followed him, letting me take me. I trusted him no matter what.
On the deck that reached into the water, he started undressing me. The night was dark, with a half-moon hanging silver in the sky, reflection on the water that was almost completely quiet, a sea of glass. He pulled my shirt over my head, undid my bra and let it fall onto the wooden deck. He bent down and took each nipple into his mouth, one after the other, sucking me until I was writhing with sexual anticipation.
He pulled my pants down, rubbing his hands down my legs in the process and he kissed my ankles one by one when I lifted them.
When he straightened up he pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it. He pulled his pants down and his erection was clear in the moonlight. He was as eager as I was. He looked at me and flashed a devilish smile. Then he dove into the water.
I watched him go under for a moment and then reappear, hair slick against his head, his head only a profile against the dark water. I dove in, too, unwilling to be naked on the deck without him.
The cold water was a shock on my system and I squirmed before I reached the surface. When I came up for air I was gasping. “This is freezing.”
He swam to me, laughing, and wrapped his arms around me. His body was hot, the contrast great in the cold water. He moved the both of us toward the deck so one of the beams was behind my back and pressed his body against mine. His body heat flooded me, bringing back the urge for sex. The cold water had done nothing to his raging erection. He was as hard and eager as he had been before jumping in.
He kissed me. His tongue was warm even though his lips were cold and he tasted like lake water and Logan – a taste that belonged only to him. His hand was on my face, sliding down to my neck, my chest, and he massaged my breast under the water. My nipples were tight from the cold and the idea of sex and he pulled and tugged on them, driving me crazy.
I lifted my legs, wrapping them around his hips. I pulled him closer to me and his erection was against my thigh and then on my core, searing hot. I moved myself against him for a while, rubbing him up and down with my sex, making him want it. His one hand braced against the deck’s support beam, the other was on the small of my back, pushing me against him. His head was in my neck, sucking and nibbling on the delicate skin.
When he started groaning I knew it was enough playing around. He wanted me and I was well past wanting him inside of me. I lifted slightly and pulled myself down on him, gasping as he pushed into me. No matter how many times we had sex, it would never change, never be something I got used to. Every time we did it, it felt like the first time.
Logan helped me and we used each other and the support beam to move against each other, to pump in and out, to have sex. It was thrilling doing this here, in the lake, naked. The contrast between the cold water and our warm bodies, the hot sex, was erotic. I wasn’t cold at all anymore.
Logan had his hand on my breast again and he rubbed my nipple in circles with his thumb. The sensation was delicious and before long I orgasmed. I jerked against him and grabbed onto him, legs and arms around his body, trusting him to keep me up, my head above water. The water moved away from us in little ripples, created by our movements.
Logan didn’t stop moving when I orgasmed. He slowed down and before I was done he picked up pace again, drawing the orgasm out. It was the best sex we’d had so far, but every time we did it, it felt like that.
He didn’t take much longer before he came. He released inside of me and it was hot. When he was done he slipped out of me and kissed me. I felt our fluids in the water around us, warm.
“Let’s get back to the cabin, dry up and then we’ll see what happens when we get to the bedroom.”
His voice was deep and guttural, the way it got when we had sex, and I loved it. The idea of more of this was thrilling. I nodded and he got out of the water first, now limp, and pulled me out. We toweled off and with the towels wrapped around our bodies, clothes bundled in our arms, we ran back to the cabin.
I frowned. The light was on inside. We had left it off. Logan was ahead of me. I was relieved he would be the first to run into whoever was there. He would protect me; he would stop at nothing.
There were bikes in front of the cabin. His gang members were here, two, by the looks of it. Logan opened the door and stepped inside with the authority of a real leader despite the fact that he was only wearing a towel. There was no question about who was in charge. I stepped in behind him. Two pairs of eyes fell on me, took in my clothes, or lack thereof, and I felt uncomfortable. They were serious, though, and turned their attention back to Logan immediately.
I walked past them into the bedroom to get dressed.
They were talking in the small lounge. I could hear their voices, urgent, serious, but not what they were saying. Something was wrong, I could feel it in the air. They’d come here to fetch him. He was going to go back with them.
He’d already said he wanted to do that in the morning. He’d already wanted to go. Maybe it was something he’d already known about. I never asked when it came down to his gang and the business with them. I figured he would tell me if there was something I needed to know, and so far, nothing had come up.
I trusted Logan to do the right thing, to stop it from coming between us. I trusted him with my life. I hadn’t known him for very long and I felt like I was safe with him no matter what, safer than I’d ever felt with some other people. The only problem I had with him was that I didn’t trust him with his own life. I was aware he would sacrifice himself for any of his men if it came down to it and I didn’t want to have to live without him, especially not now since I’d decided I wanted to marry him. I didn’t want to be a widow. I didn’t want Logan to die. After everything he’d told me about his parents and his brother, I wanted to be sure something like that would never happen with him.
Still, I would never ask him to give up that part of himself. That was up to him to lay down if he felt like it was important.
I rubbed my hair with a towel and put on a bit of makeup so I didn’t feel so naked. The door flew open and Logan stormed in, yanking clothes on in a hurry.
“Is everything all right?”
He looked worried, anxious. “No.” He didn’t say more and I knew better than to ask. He was in his clothes in less than a minute and stormed out of the room again.
I followed, hanging back, trying to stay out of the fray. The other two were upset as well, visibly so. I wondered if it had to do with Logan and how upset he was or the reason he was so upset in the first place. I knew better than to ask. I didn’t get involved. I had to tru
st he would fill me in.
They looked at each other like something passed between them, communication without words.
“I need to get back,” he said before turning to me. “I need you to ride back with Mitchell.”
The guy I assumed was Mitchell nodded. “I’ll take her in the car.”
“You come with me,” he pointed to the other guy. He turned to me, kissed me on the mouth and ran out the door.
The other biker followed suit and then I was left with Mitchell. He was about my height but he seemed a hell of a lot bigger with his muscles and his character filling up the room, making me feel small and insignificant. The sounds of the bikes starting up filled the night and then they were off with a roar. Logan had taken Mitchell’s bike and we were going back in the car.
I looked at the door, feeling empty and forgotten. What if this was the last time I would ever see Logan and that was the last goodbye?
“He’ll be back for you,” Mitchell said as if he knew what I was thinking. “He’s a tough one and he cares for you. He won’t leave you hanging.”
I swallowed hard and nodded.
“Do you want to pack your stuff?” Mitchell asked. He was using a gentle voice on me, like someone who was trying to soothe a scared animal.
I nodded again and walked back to the room. I packed my bag on autopilot, putting everything in because that was what I was supposed to do. My stomach was a tight knot of nerves. I was scared for Logan. I didn’t know what was wrong, but considering everything that had been happening I was scared it was a lot bigger than Logan was making it seem. If Mitchell had to take me home, it meant I wasn’t safe here, either.
When I was done packing I brought the bag to the front and Mitchell took it from me. A gentleman. All these bikers were, apparently.
“What about Logan’s stuff?”
Mitchell shook his head. “He’ll be back for them. He just wants me to make sure you’re home safe.”
I nodded. This was terrifying. If home had been so unsafe I had to hide out here, what could have happened that even the lake wasn’t safe for me anymore?
“Are you going to stay with me?” I asked.
Mitchell nodded. “Logan asked me to watch over you.”
It was a relief that I would be safe but I struggled with the fact that it had come to this, that Logan might be in a lot more danger than I’d thought.
Chapter 23
Logan
They had Saul. He was the one person that was a part of my real family, he’d taken the role of Elijah after they’d killed him. And now he was taken hostage. Not them, I was wrong. Her. May. I wasn’t sure how she’d managed, if anyone was street smart it was Saul. He’d taught me everything I knew, and now she had him. She really must have done her homework. It wasn’t easy getting a hold of any of the bikers without creating an immediate, full on war.
I was sick with dread. What if she hurt him? What if she killed him? She knew what it would do to me if I lost Saul, too. She knew it would kill me. It would be more satisfying to her to see me suffer through another loss like that than just to kill me.
I had to get back home and find him. We drove through the night to get back. I was frantic, my mind running through every option and possibility. When they’d come to tell me something was wrong with Saul, I should have known what it was. I should have known by the looks on their faces the moment I’d walked into the room.
I was scared for Selena, too. May was getting her claws in every person I cared for, everyone in my life who meant something to me. I’d asked Mitchell to look after her because I didn’t trust she would be safe anywhere without a flesh and blood bodyguard who knew how to fight and how to smell danger, who knew what he was doing.
And I needed them close so I could reach them if something went wrong. So I wouldn’t be too far for her and it would be too late. If I lost Saul or Selena, I might as well be dead.
May knew all the heads of all the gangs who were against us. We’d worked our asses off to start over but there were those who couldn’t drop a grudge and there were those who said our trying to sort things out for ourselves made us cowards. They could call me whatever the hell they wanted as long as they left my people alone. They wanted a war – they got one. Saul was my man and he was not going to die at their hands. Not unless I died, too, and if I died I was going to take them all with me.
I was going to go in there yippee-ki-yay style.
I’d just proposed to Selena, dammit. I’d just offered her a life where I wanted to be done with all this, where I could live in peace without worrying about everyone and everything. I had been yanked back into this so quickly it was impossible to think how I would be able to make a life for her that was worth living. This needed to end once and for all so I could give her the life she deserved, so I could settle down and relax for a change.
So I could get to a point where I forgot about my path and the people in it, where I could stop letting it define who I had become and dictate my actions. I needed to get away from all this shit.
By the time we finally reached the clubhouse I had a plan of action. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, how I was going to approach this. First, I needed to make sure Selena was still okay. I phoned her.
“Are you all right?”
They were still in the car; they’d left a lot later than I had and they were driving slower, Mitchell sticking to the speed limit.
“I’m okay. I’m going to see you again, right?” Her voice was riddled with fear.
“I’m going to fix this, baby, and then it’ll just be me and you, forever.”
“Promise me you’ll come back to me.”
Those words broke my heart. I knew what she was thinking about. About Elijah and my parents. I knew how scared she was. I wasn’t going to admit I was scared, too. “I’ll come back to you. I promise. And then we’ll run away and make a life together.
“I love you.”
The words were filled with emotion, but not the kind I’d wanted. I didn’t want her to say I love you and make it sound like goodbye. “I’m coming back, Selena.” I needed her to know how serious this was.
When I hung up, I walked to the closet in the office at the club and unlocked it. We hadn’t opened it in years, but desperate times called for desperate measures. The back of the closet was lined with guns, all sorts of semi-automatics, a terrorist’s wet dream. There were grenades, dynamite, handguns and packets of bullets. I looked at the ammo for a while, and then started strapping up.
I’d promised Selena I would be safe and I didn’t want to lie to her, but this was bigger than me. This was about more than just my life, and if it came down to Saul’s life or mine, it would be mine. I wanted him to live. I couldn’t carry on without him. I didn’t want to.
But that wasn’t all I was going to do. This wasn’t a suicide mission. I made a call to some contacts who knew what they were doing, asking them to get a hold of certain people. After that I phoned my personal banker. She was up all hours of the night for me sometimes, but I paid her for it. If May wanted a war, she was going to get one.
Chapter 24
Selena
The drive was awkward. The car was small and the darkness made it seem cozy but we were strangers and the space was too tight. We were two people trapped in a version of intimacy that didn’t suit us, but there was nothing that could be done. I had to get home and Logan trusted Mitchell with my life, which meant, logically, I trusted him, too.
“Are you allowed to tell me what this is all about?” I asked. My voice was thin in the darkness between us and Mitchell hesitated before he answered.
“I wasn’t told not to tell you.”
It wasn’t much of an answer but I went with it. “I’m really worried. I can’t just sit here and not go mad, my thoughts are driving me crazy.”
He nodded, his face only a profile against the passing scenery.
“You and Logan are close, aren’t you?” When Mitchell didn’t tell me anything, the way
I needed him to, I cleared my throat. “Here’s the deal. I will tell you the big news about me and Logan if you tell me what’s going on. Does that seem fair?”
He glanced at me. “There’s big news to tell about you and Logan? Logan doesn’t do big news with women.”
I shrugged. “You don’t have to believe me.” I was hoping he would take the bait, let curiosity get the better of him. I needed him to want this information so I could have mine.
He sighed. “You drive a hard bargain.” I shrugged in response. “I can see what Logan sees in you.” He thought for a moment longer. “May took Saul.”
I froze. “Saul, the guy he sees as his brother?”
Mitchell nodded. “So you know about that.”
“I do. He told me how serious Saul is to him, that he’s like a brother to him, that he took Elijah’s place.”
The mood in the car dipped, becoming morbid. Elijah’s death was personal to a lot more people than just Logan.
“Elijah was a good guy. He knew how to keep Logan on the straight and narrow even though Logan was spinning out of control. When he died, everyone thought we would lose Logan, too. I had been part of the Thorns when Elijah was alive but when he died I left for a while. I needed to clear my head, revise what I was doing with my life. When Logan turned the whole gang around I joined them again, ready to start fresh. Logan has been in inspiration, getting over all the loss in his life. It’s thanks to Saul that he made it at all.”
I swallowed, an unexpected lump in my throat. “What will May do to Saul?”
Mitchell took a deep breath. “She threatened that if Logan doesn’t surrender the Fallen Thorns to her, along with all the assets, she’s going to kill him. She wants Logan to leave town.”
“But the Thorns belong to Logan. He inherited it.”
Mitchell chuckled without emotion. “You haven’t met May and her wrath. She won’t rest until she owns the Thorns. Sometimes I think that was the only reason she dated Logan in the first place. There’s only one person that woman cares about, and that’s herself. She tricked everyone into thinking she had a heart but that’s a big fat lie. All she has is a lifetime of greed.”
