“Hey! You know I didn’t see her in the box. Honestly, Allison…I didn’t know she was there.”
Allison laughed. “Oh, that’s just awful! Poor little thing!”
“I know,” Lisa said. “I cried for hours after I did it. But the cat was fine. She was green for a few weeks, but she was fine.”
“And what about those earrings, Logan? Why on earth would you flush them down the toilet?” She took his hand under the table and he gave her a sheepish smile.
“They were supposed to be sunken treasure.”
“In the toilet?”
“I was four years old.”
She gave his hand a squeeze. “I’m sure I did some pretty stupid stuff when I was a kid too.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?” He cocked an eyebrow, daring her to join in the banter of embarrassing stories.
“Well, when I was fourteen, Tina and I decided to take my Dad’s brand new BMW for a spin around the block.”
“That’s not so bad.” Logan said.
“I drove it into a lake.”
Logan and Lisa stared at her for a few moments, as if waiting for her to tell them she was joking. But she wasn’t. Before she had control of her gifts, she swerved to miss a woman standing in the middle of the road. The woman turned out to be a ghost, and the car went off a pier and into the lake.
He narrowed his gaze. “You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
After a few more moments of stunned silence, Lisa finally spoke. “Sorry, Baby Brother. Allison wins this round.”
He laughed. “I think you’re right. Wow, Allison. You drove it into a lake? How’d you get out?”
“It was a convertible. I was grounded for about a year after that.”
“I bet.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“I had a good time tonight.” Allison took his hand as they stood in front of her apartment.
“Me, too.” He stroked her soft cheek with his fingertips and brought his mouth down to hers for a gentle kiss. God, he wanted her to invite him inside. He lingered by her mouth, her sweet breath warming his skin. When she didn’t pull away, he kissed her again, slipping his tongue out to taste her. A soft moan escaped her throat, and she leaned into him, snaking her arms around his neck.
“Do you want to come in?” Her voice was a whisper against his lips.
“Do you even have to ask?”
She slipped her key in the lock and opened the door. With a wicked grin, she pulled him inside and held him with a seductive gaze. Fire coursed through his veins, and he took a step toward her.
“Hi.” He traced his fingers along her bare arms, raising a trail of goose bumps on her skin.
“Hey.”
“Do you…” He let out a nervous laugh. What was it about this woman that had him so tongue-tied? “You know, you still make me nervous.”
She slid her hands up his chest. “I think I know how to fix that.”
“Do you?”
“Uh-huh.” She took his face in her hands and ran her thumb across his lips. His heart pounded in anticipation as her dark brown eyes held his. The way she looked at him. The way she touched him. He’d never felt so wanted in his entire life.
She pressed her soft curves against his body and coaxed his mouth open with her tongue. He shuddered at the tenderness in her kiss and held her tighter. Trailing her lips across his cheek, she nuzzled into his neck. Her teeth grazed the delicate skin, and he took in a shaky breath.
“Is that better?” She caught his earlobe between her teeth.
“Much.”
“Good.” She slipped his jacket off his shoulders and lay it on the couch. Then she untied his tie and dropped it on top of his jacket.
“Allison.”
“I want you, Logan. I want to make love to you.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He worked the beaded shrug down her arms and slipped the dress straps over her shoulders, kissing her bare skin, gliding his tongue up her neck. She shivered as he slid his hands behind her and unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the floor. Stepping back to admire her, he ran his hands along her sensuous curves, marveling at her beauty.
“Take me to bed, Logan.”
He scooped her in his arms and kissed her as he carried her to the bedroom. He’d make love to this woman every day for the rest of his life if she’d let him. Laying her in the middle of the bed, he climbed on top of her. But the mischievous look in her eyes told him she had different plans.
She pushed him onto his back and straddled him, grinding her pelvis against him as she gave him a slow, deep kiss. Fuck, he wanted her. He wanted to be inside her. To feel her wet warmth squeezing him as he pleasured her. But she was moving slowly. Torturing him with agonizing pleasure as he had done to her the night before.
She unbuttoned his shirt, kissing and nipping his skin with each opening, his insides tightening and twisting in anticipation. With his shirt untucked, she laid it open, rubbing her hands along the ridges of his muscles. He could tell she sensed his overwhelming need as she roamed her hands lower on his body. She moved just long enough to slip off his pants before she straddled him again, the thin strip of her satin panties the only thing separating them.
He watched her as she explored his body with her hands, her mouth, her tongue, finding her own pleasure in pleasing him. Her touch set fire to his soul, consuming the darkness inside him, leaving behind nothing but warm, loving light.
She took off her bra and guided his hands to her full, firm breasts. Her nipples hardened under his touch, and she moaned softly as he caressed her.
“Take me, Logan. Make love to me.”
She rolled onto her back, and he slipped her panties down her legs before rolling on a condom. He wanted her in a way so basic and primal. Possessive. She belonged to him. He took her, sheathing himself in her warmth, drowning himself in her love.
He twisted his hands in her hair and breathed into her ear, “You’re mine, Allison.”
“I know.”
* * *
She wanted to be his. To belong to him and no one else. God help her, but she was falling in love with Logan. She held on to him, her nails digging into his shoulders as he pushed her over the edge. She wrapped her legs around his waist, letting him in deeper until he found his own release.
He took a deep, shuddering breath and kissed her neck, her cheek, her mouth. “You’re amazing.” Rolling onto his side, he pulled her into his arms.
She snuggled into the protective circle of his embrace and sighed. This was it. There was no turning back now. Her feelings for Logan ran deeper than she ever thought possible, and all she could do was pray he felt the same. Maybe she was asking for heartbreak, but Logan made her forget all her fears about men.
“I’m curious.” His chest vibrated against her cheek as he spoke. “What were you and Lisa really talking about while I was on the phone?”
“Girl stuff. I could tell you. But then I’d have to kill you.”
“Oh, I see how it’s going to be.” He chuckled.
“We were talking about you, Logan. What else?”
“What about me?”
She propped her head on her hand so she could see his eyes and ran her fingers along his cheek. “She worries about you. She asked me to help you learn to control your gift.”
He raised his head to mirror her posture. “I don’t have any gifts.”
“What do you call it, then? The way you read people? You can feel their emotions, right?”
“I’m just good at reading body language. That’s all.” He rolled onto his back and folded his hands on his chest.
“Okay.” She reached for him, resting her hand on top of his. “So, tell me what it’s like. What can you pick up from reading someone’s body language?”
“Just…you know…their mood. If they’re telling the truth. It’s not like I can read their minds or anything.”
“But you can sense their emotions.”
“Yeah, I guess.” He shrugged.<
br />
“Do you have to be looking at a person to pick up on their mood? Or can you sense it if say…they’re standing behind you?”
He scrunched his eyebrows, a flicker of realization flashing in his eyes. “I guess it doesn’t matter where they’re standing. As long as they’re in the same room, I can usually pick up on it.”
“So it can’t be body language, can it? If you don’t have to be looking at them.”
He took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling. “God, Allison, why do you do this? You just lay me open like a book.”
“I don’t mean to. I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable.” Crap. What had she done? She sat up, clutching the sheets to her chest. “I’m sorry.”
“No. Don’t be sorry.” He moved to sit beside her and laced his fingers through hers. “You get me to talk about things I can’t talk about with anyone else. You know me, and I can’t begin to tell you how good it feels for someone to know me like you do. And you still stick around.”
She gazed into his deep blue eyes, tight with worry. “Why wouldn’t I stick around?”
“I feel other people’s emotions. Something’s wrong with me. With my brain.”
“Nothing’s wrong with you. You have a gift. You’re an empath, like me.”
His eyes widened. “You can feel other people’s emotions too?”
She nodded.
“How do you keep it from driving you crazy?”
“I block it out. I don’t read other people unless they ask me to.”
He looked at her in disbelief, opening and closing his mouth a few times before speaking. “You block it out? Just like that? You can turn it on and off whenever you want?”
“Sure.” She shrugged. “I couldn’t always; it took a lot of practice. But now I’m so used to doing it, I don’t even have to think about it anymore.”
He was silent, staring at her with hope radiating around him. He held his eyes wide, as if he was trying to fight back tears. “Will you teach me? Help me learn to shut it out?”
“Of course I will. It’s going to take time, though. And a lot of practice. There’s not some magic switch you can throw to turn it off.”
“I don’t care. I’ll do anything. Whatever you tell me to do, I’ll do it. When can we start?”
She put her hand on his face and stroked his cheek with her thumb. “How about tomorrow? You could come over after work.”
He smiled, flashing that adorable dimple on his left cheek. “That sounds…Oh, shit. I can’t. I have a…thing tomorrow night. For work.”
Her heart sank at the thought of not spending another evening with him. “Can you come by on your lunch break or something? If not, we can do it another time.”
“Yes. What if I pick us up some sandwiches, and I can come to your office? Would that be okay? Around noon?”
“Perfect.” The excitement and relief on his face made her smile. She couldn’t begin to imagine what it must be like for him, being constantly flooded with the emotions of others. Especially with the kind of people he dealt with every day.
“Thank you, Allison.” He brushed her lips with his, teasing them with his tongue until she let him in with a slow, tender kiss.
“You’re welcome. But you should really thank Lisa. She asked me to talk to you.”
“I’ll have to do that.”
“She loves you so much, Logan. You two have a great relationship. You’re lucky.”
“You don’t have any siblings?”
“No, I’m an only child. I don’t have any living relatives. Tina is the closest thing I have to family.”
He stroked her hair. “She’s a good friend. She loves you.”
“I know.”
“Did you and Lisa talk about anything else?”
She bit her bottom lip. “Well, she also told me how happy she is that you have a girlfriend.”
“Do I have a girlfriend?” He took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers and raising it to his lips.
Blood rushed to her cheeks. God, how she wanted to be his girlfriend. She couldn’t imagine being with anyone else, and the thought of him with another woman made her sick to her stomach. She couldn’t deny her feelings anymore.
“Do you want to have a girlfriend?” She held her breath in anticipation of his answer.
The seconds seemed to stretch into forever as he held her gaze, a tiny smile playing on his lips. A knot formed in her stomach, and she swallowed down the lump in her throat. He stroked her cheek and let his fingers glide down her arm.
“Only if it’s you, Allison. I only want you.”
“Oh, Logan. I only want you.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“No! Oh, God, Allison! No!” Logan shot up in bed, gasping for air. His vision of Allison—the two versions of Allison— felt so real, he panicked. His pulse pounded in his head as he reached out in the darkness. “Allison.”
“I’m here.”
Her sleepy voice eased his fears, but it wasn’t until she wrapped herself in his arms that he convinced himself the vision wasn’t real.
“It’s okay, Logan. It was just a dream. I’m here.” She nuzzled into his neck, stroking his bare chest with her hand. “I’m here.”
His vision left him trembling, his skin slick with sweat. The idea of losing her became more and more frightening with each dream. He took her mouth in an urgent kiss as he laid her back on the bed. She was okay. She was there in his arms, and he would never let her go. He held on to her, his hands traveling the course of her naked body, reassuring him that she was very much alive and with him.
He couldn’t seem to get close enough as he slid on top of her, pressing his body to hers. He kissed her frantically, his mouth moving down her neck, his teeth grazing her skin. Her intoxicating scent filled his senses, and he knew in that moment that he could not live without her.
She parted her legs, allowing his hips to rest between them, and held him tight.
“I need you, Allison.”
Without saying a word, she used her hand to guide him to her center, and she moaned softly as he slipped inside her.
“I can’t lose you.”
She rubbed her hands on his back, holding him close as if she sensed his need. “You won’t lose me, Logan. I’m not going anywhere.”
He buried his face in her hair, allowing himself to get lost in the moment. They were the only two people in the world. Being with her was all that mattered. She arched her back and let out a moan as she climaxed, the sensual sound of her sleepy voice sending him over the edge.
He relaxed on top of her, still resting inside her as she moved her hands up and down his back. He lay there letting her hold him and comfort him, wishing the moment could last forever.
“Oh, shit.”
She tightened her arms around him. “What’s wrong?”
“We didn’t use a condom.” His muscles tensed, the fear of an unplanned pregnancy adding fuel to the flames of his anxiety.
“It’s okay. I’m on birth control.”
He let out his breath and relaxed on top of her.
“Don’t worry, okay?”
He nodded.
“That was some nightmare.”
“You have no idea.” He held her tighter, trying to banish the vision from his thoughts. But the harder he tried to not think about it, the more insistent the thoughts became.
She stroked his hair then wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“God, Allison. I don’t know where to begin.”
“Was it your vision again?”
“Yeah.”
“Was it different this time?”
“No. Kind of. It felt so real. I don’t want to lose you.”
“We’ll figure it out. You said the women don’t have faces, right? So maybe it’s symbolic, and they aren’t women at all.”
He slid onto his side, keeping his legs entwined with hers. He had to tell her the truth. “I didn’t tell you everything before.
Since I met you, the vision has been getting clearer, and I can see their faces. They’re both you, Allison.”
She knit her brow. “I think it’s safe to say it can’t be literal, then. I’m only one person.” A slight smile curved at her lips.
“I guess so.” Her logic made sense, but he still wasn’t completely convinced.
“And I can promise you with one hundred percent certainty that I will never commit suicide.” She put her hand on his cheek and looked into his eyes. “Never.”
He held her hand to his face. “Allison…”
“You still have doubts, don’t you?” She sighed. “My dad committed suicide three years ago. I know what it does to the people who are left behind.”
“I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She shrugged. “I don’t talk about it much.”
“What happened? If you don’t mind talking about it with me.”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I guess it’s only fair, since you’ve opened up so much with me. Where do I start?” She propped her head on her hand and traced his chest with her finger.
“My dad was wealthy, and he got caught up in the lifestyle. He got greedy. Even though we had more than we needed, it was never enough for him. He started gambling, and he wasn’t very good at it. He lost most of his money. He couldn’t take care of my mom anymore, and he got really depressed. He shot himself in the head.”
He cringed. It was the very same idea that had played through his mind on so many occasions. But he wasn’t depressed; he didn’t want to die. Especially not now that he had Allison. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—do that to her.
She glanced at his eyes before focusing her gaze on his chest. “I was the one who found him; my mom was at the grocery store, and I stopped by to visit. It was awful. There was so much blood. On the walls. On the floor. I’ve never seen so much blood in my life. I went to get a sheet to cover him up before my mom got home, but she got there too soon. She saw it all.”
He wiped a tear from her cheek and pulled her into his arms. “I’m so sorry, Allison.”
She took a deep, shaky breath. “I haven’t talked about it in so long.”
To Catch a Spirit (Spirit Chasers Book 1) Page 14
