“I get a headache every time I walk in here,” Logan muttered in her ear. Jade chuckled.
“This one, Daddy.” Bella shook a book from her outstretched hand.
“The Princess Knight, I never would've guessed,” Logan teased.
“Daddy lays here,” Bella pointed to one side of her bed. “Fiji here. You bewong here, Jade.”
Jade’s heart lurched at the innocent words. She would give about anything to really belong. She blinked back tears and positioned herself as Bella directed. The three of them proceeded to read the story about Violetta the Princess three times. Logan read first, then Bella insisted Jade read before it was Logan’s turn again. Bella drifted off during the third reading. Logan tucked the covers around her small body and arranged her teddy bear in her arms. Fiji settled in beside her. Logan brushed a curl from her forehead and bent to kiss her cheek. Everything inside Jade melted.
Logan grabbed what looked to be a small walkie-talkie and turned on a monitor. He glanced up and caught Jade gazing at him, no telling what kind of look she had on her face. He smiled again and her stomach somersaulted. This man fascinated her too much.
She followed him out of the room and they both turned to glance at Bella one more time before he switched out the light and pulled the door closed.
“I’ll walk you back to your place,” he offered as they descended the stairs.
“You don’t have to do that, Logan. It’s right next door.”
He gave her a look that said “humor me” and dropped the baby monitor in the front pocket of his black shirt.
They maneuvered from his house to the back of her rental. She spun when they reached the sliding glass door. “I never did get the chance to thank you for rescuing me from the storm. I had no idea it would be such a big one.” They both scanned the area. Several branches were scattered around the yard and a tree in the woods behind the house took a hit, but otherwise, the neighborhood survived relatively unscathed.
A slight breeze kicked up, carrying the scent of freshly mowed grass and a touch of honeysuckle. Logan’s gaze moved from her cheeks to her chin to her forehead, as if he were studying her face. When he reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, Jade inhaled sharply. Her body strained closer to his warm, masculine one.
“You’re welcome,” he murmured, his voice husky and deep. “Thanks for helping with Bella.” His hand was still touching her, tracing a line from one collarbone to the other.
It'd been so long since she'd felt this way, since she actually wanted a man this badly. Although she usually played sexy, confident women in the movies, she'd never felt that way in real life. She'd never been the aggressor. But Jade couldn’t take it any longer.
She threw her arms around Logan’s neck and sealed her lips to his.
Logan grabbed her waist and took a step backwards, obviously startled by her bold move. It took him less than two seconds to recover. He growled deeply and slanted his mouth over hers to devour her. He crushed her to him and slid his tongue deep into her mouth. She met his passion eagerly, tangling her tongue with his. This was no sweet, soft kiss. It was pure, raw sex. She'd been kissing men, famous men, sexy men, international men, talented men on screen for years.
She'd never been kissed like this.
Jade’s legs buckled and she dug her nails into his rock hard shoulders to anchor herself. He growled again and reached down to cup her bottom and lift her higher against him so their bodies aligned. He lunged forward and pinned her against the glass door. She felt him like steel against her stomach, and wrapped her legs around his waist. It was like wrapping herself around a solid brick wall. He was so tall and strong and thick. Every feminine instinct inside her jumped for joy. When he ground against her, Jade was mortified and excited all at once to realize she was about to explode from this alone.
He tore his mouth from hers and they both panted wildly. He trailed a line of kisses down her throat and stopped to nibble the spot where neck and shoulder met. She tugged the shirt from the waistband of his shorts, desperate to feel naked skin.
“You are so hot…taste so sweet.” He licked the spot where her heartbeat pounded madly and nipped the tendon running along her neck. Jade gasped, her hips jerking in response. She couldn’t have spoken if her life depended on it. She was so close. Just a second more and…
“Yo, Logan.”
“Dammit.” Logan pulled her off him and deposited her on the patio. He stepped back, his chest heaving. He scrubbed his hands over his face and then forked one through his shortly cropped hair. He appeared dazed when he faced her again, his lips shiny and red.
“That shouldn’t have happened—” His eyes narrowed and he felt his chin. His voice softened and he took a step forward. “Ah, hell.” Fingertips traced her cheeks, her chin and down her neck. “I’m sorry, honey.”
“Hey, bro, where are you?”
Both heads jerked around at the sound of the voice growing closer and closer. “That’s my brother. I’ve got to go.” He stared at her a few moments more, his hand still caressing the whisker burn on her face. With a tender smile he turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Jade’s hand covered the spot his just deserted. She could feel the heat of his touch branded into her skin. Grabbing the handle for the door, she caught her reflection in the glass. Her lips were moist and swollen from his mouth, her cheeks pink from his dark stubble.
Jade decided she was a very good actress. She was acting like a woman in love.
#
Logan grabbed the top of the iron fence and vaulted over to his yard.
“Hey bro, where the heck were you,” Dan asked coming up beside him.
“Walking the new neighbor home.”
“New neighbor, eh? I didn’t know we had a new neighbor.” Dan craned his neck to peer at the house next door. “Female?”
Logan grabbed his shoulders and shoved him forward. “Why the hell would I walk a guy home?”
“Why are you walking a girl home, mister self-proclaimed monk? And what was she doing here so late, young man?” Dan asked with mock sternness.
“Never in my life have I proclaimed to be a monk, smart ass. And not that it's any of your business, but she, along with Mrs. Harper, waited out the storm in the basement with Bella and me.”
“So let me get this straight.” Dan pretended to make mental calculations. “The storm was hours ago, Mrs. Harper is probably six hours into sleep and our new neighbor is just now leaving?”
Logan clinched his jaw. “Bella likes her. She asked her to stay and help get her ready for bed. End of story.”
“Ah, so you are using the old ‘Bella likes her’ defense.”
“It’s not a defense, it’s the truth, asshole.”
They stopped at the edge of the pool and Logan removed the monitor from his pocket and placed it on a table where he could hear it. Grabbing the back of his shirt, he yanked it over his head. He didn’t need to pull it from his jeans, Jade had done that already. He toed off his shoes and unbuttoned his pants.
“Either she's a dog and you have no interest in her, or she's gorgeous and you still have no interest in her because you never let yourself get interested in any woman after Celeste.”
“No interest, don’t be mentioning Celeste’s name again and don’t you be getting any ideas about the neighbor.”
“Ah,” Dan nodded knowingly. “Already staked a claim, did ya?”
“No, smartass.”
“Wow, I went from a dumb ass to an asshole to a smartass in less than five minutes. I’m pretty impressed with my ass.”
“You should be, you are a big one,” Logan muttered. “And for your information, she'll only be staying here a couple of months.”
Dan waved his hand in a dismissive motion. “Plenty of time for her to get to know and love me.”
Logan paused in the act of stripping off his jeans. “She’s not your type…she looks nothing like Kaitlyn.”
“You sonofa—” Dan barreled forward
and slammed into Logan, lofting them both into the water. “I have no interest in Kaitlyn Colton,” he sputtered with they both surfaced. He dunked Logan once more for good measure before stroking away and pulling himself out of the water. Logan’s wide smile as he tread water made Dan glare with malice. He grabbed Bella’s monitor off the table.
“For someone not interested in the girl next door, that looks an awful lot like claw marks to me, big brother,” he taunted.
Logan’s smile died as Dan stomped away. He tried to peer over his shoulder but couldn’t see any scratches. Had Jade marked him? If she did, he hadn’t felt it.
He felt nothing but the powerful need pumping through his body.
He peeled his now soaking-wet pants the rest of the way off and tossed them to the side. They landed with a wet splat. Good thing he removed his wallet before helping with Bella’s bath. He learned that lesson the hard way.
Though he'd thought about it enough, fantasized about doing it, he certainly hadn’t expected to kiss Jade tonight. But then she surprised him by initiating contact. It took only a second before the raging hunger took over and he tried to devour her. No woman had ever pushed him to the edge so fast. Heck, if Dan hadn’t appeared, he would have taken her right there, up against the sliding glass door.
Pushing off from the wall, Logan stoked through the water. He needed to get a grip, reign in his hormones. He didn’t want to get involved with any woman, especially one as beautiful and temporary as the lovely Ms. LaRossa.
In fact, he'd better steer clear of her until she left. He didn’t need Bella getting too close to her and then getting crushed when she left. Bella had had enough disappointment and desertion in her young life. He’d be damned if he would let it happen again.
Chapter Thirteen
Jade spent the next day shopping and reacquainting herself with Bloomington and all the wonderful amenities it offered. After a productive afternoon resulting in a back seat full of bags, she decided to treat herself to a nice dinner. She parked in front of the house and carried her bounty inside. Logan was backing out of his garage when she returned to her car. A flush spread along her body remembering the last time she saw him. She couldn’t read his expression through the tinted windows so she waved.
The black SUV pulled up next to her and the passenger side window rolled down.
“Jade, Jade,” Isabella sang out from the back seat.
“Hello Isabella, Logan.” Her cheeks filled with heat as she met his gaze. Judging from the fire burning in his coffee-colored eyes, he was remembering the same thing.
“Evening, Ms. LaRossa,” he drawled. “Headed out for the evening?”
“I was just going to grab something for dinner.”
“Daddy is taking me to eat, too. Wanna come with us?”
“Oh, I don’t want to intrude…”
“Pweese,” Bella begged.
She looked at Logan for his reaction. He shrugged. “My kid is a carnivore, so as long as you aren’t some kind of vegetarian, tofu-soy-sprout freak, hop on in. And before you say she needs vegetables, a French fry is a potato, hence a vegetable.” He smiled at his convoluted logic and Jade’s heart skipped a beat. If she didn’t watch out, she could really fall for this man.
“I do eat tofu and soy and sprouts, but I also love a good burger.” She climbed inside and fastened her seat belt. She'd chosen a sleeveless light blue top with khaki shorts and sandals to wear, and she slid a peek at Logan, relieved to discover she was appropriately dressed. He wore faded blue jeans and a black T-shirt that accentuated his thickly-muscled torso. The arms stretched tight over his rock hard biceps and Jade had to tear her gaze away.
Once they arrived at the restaurant, she realized how they must look to everyone else—like a family. Dad, mom and daughter going out for a nice dinner. It surprised her to realize how much she enjoyed the feeling.
The hostess gave Logan an appreciative smile and directed her questions to him. If they really were a family, she would have a few choice words for the brunette with the too-tight shorts. Jade noticed several female heads turning to watch him when he wandered by. He had that effect on women.
She couldn’t go out to eat often in California for fear of being recognized or hounded by the paparazzi. She loved her fans and didn’t mind signing autographs, but sometimes people became rude and pushy and refused to allow her to enjoy a quiet meal. She knew it was the price of fame and she wasn’t complaining, but being left alone was a rare commodity.
She hadn’t been to a restaurant like this in a long time. The atmosphere was festive and family friendly, children’s laughter mingled with the din of conversation and loud music, the hamburgers were thick and juicy and the fries were salty and delicious. They talked about Isabella’s friends and superficial things like the town and how much it changed over the years. She couldn’t remember the last time she had this much fun.
If not for the waitress who managed to touch Logan every chance she got—not that he seemed to mind—the dinner would have been perfect. Who did she look like, the nanny?
Bella wanted to play Putt-Putt golf after dinner and Jade happily agreed. The last time she played miniature golf, she'd been eight and her dad took her when they went on a camping trip. She had a blast then, and she did now, too. She wasn’t very good but that didn’t matter. Bella had more fun knocking her balls against the hazards instead of in the little hole. Logan patiently explained the rules and she finally understood, not that she could make the ball go in the hole after all his tutoring, but she tried. Logan, of course, was an excellent shot. Was there nothing this man couldn’t do? He even missed some on purpose so she and Bella wouldn’t feel so bad.
It was dark by the time they left the Putt-Putt course to head home. Jade couldn’t wipe the smile from her face. Carefree and happy weren’t usually words used to describe her, yet tonight they fit. She turned to smile at Bella before facing forward.
“Logan, look out!”
“I see it.” He slammed on the brakes and pulled over as far as he could to the side of the two-lane road.
Dual pin pricks of light were weaving ahead in their lane, headed right for them. His headlights illuminated the interior of the other car as it approached. Two teenage girls were laughing, not paying any attention to the road. Logan laid on the horn. Both heads whipped up and mouths formed identical “O”’s before the driver braked with a squeal and jerked the steering wheel hard to the right, avoiding a collision.
Jade watched in horror as the girl lost control, went careening over an embankment and plunged into a water retention pond behind an apartment complex.
Logan flipped on his flashers and jumped out of the SUV. “Wait here with Bella,” he ordered, taking off at a dead run for the pond.
Yeah, right. Jade unfastened a whimpering Isabella from her child safety seat and sprinted after him. Logan left a trail of shirt and shoes, and made a running dive for the rapidly disappearing auto.
Bella started wailing.
People from the apartment complex poured outside to check out the commotion. Someone shouted that they had already called 911. The car was now completely submerged beneath the dark brown depths. Another man jumped in to help Logan rescue the girls.
After what seemed like forever, Logan surfaced with one girl in tow. She was coughing and crying and hanging on to him for dear life. He handed her over to some bystanders and went back under. The girl fought to get loose, crying for her friend still trapped in the sunken car.
“Daadddyy!” Isabella screamed.
“It’s okay, honey,” Jade soothed, rubbing her tiny back. “He's helping the two girls. He's saving them.”
Her hands gripped Jade tightly, her sobs turned to whimpers, her eyes glued to the water, waiting for her dad to reappear.
Jade felt like she was watching a movie shoot. Car plunges into the water, hero dives in and saves two frightened teenagers, director yells “Cut”. But this was no movie, there was no director, and no guaranteed happy endin
g. This was real life and two young girls, now just one thanks to Logan, were in grave danger of losing theirs.
The other man’s head popped above the surface and he sucked in a deep breath before going back down. Logan hadn’t surfaced once for air.
Sirens approached and people were toting out blankets to wrap around the girls. The seconds were tense and finally Logan emerged again with the second girl. The other man was right behind him as Logan stroked to the bank and placed the unconscious girl on the ground. He moved people back and breathed air into her lungs. It took several attempts, but when she started to stir, he propped her on her side and helped her purge the water from her body.
A cheer went up when everyone realized she was alive and breathing. People rushed to congratulate Logan. In true hero fashion, he shook off their praise as if it were nothing, pointed to the other man who also jumped in to help and used his easy charm to cast a spell over every female in the vicinity. And some males.
One overly-friendly woman draped a towel over his shoulders. Bella hung around his neck, refusing to let go, even as he spoke to the cops.
Jade had never been more proud of anyone in her life.
The sixteen-year old girls confessed they had been drinking and were horrified to find out they would be taken to the police station to face their parents. The one driving would probably lose her license at the very least.
Personally, Jade thought they got off easy, compared to what could've happened.
A reporter from the local paper showed up and interviewed a very reluctant Logan, who would barely give more than his name. Someone had taped the entire event with their cell phone and then boasted that he had already uploaded it to Youtube and was going to send a copy of the video to CNN.
By the time they arrived home, it was past midnight, Isabella was sound asleep and Jade was falling hard for the man beside her. He possessed a calm, capable strength that wrapped around her, making her feel safe and protected.
He walked her to her house with his daughter asleep against his shoulder. When she reached her door, she turned to face him. “Are all your dates this exciting,” she joked.
The Fan Page 8
