“You wouldn’t believe my night, Louie,” I say as I pour the boiling water into my mug and begin to stir before holding the mug in my cool hands.
The sound of the lounge creaking has my back stiffening in fear. What the fuck was that? There’s no way Louie is heavy enough to make that noise come out of my lounge like that. I turn as quickly as I can and side step so I can get a good view of the front of the lounge.
“Holy shit,” I murmur as I stare on in shock at the massive man who’s taking over my lounge.
What the fuck is Logan Waters doing here? And why is he asleep on my lounge?
I take a moment to take him in and study his impressive body before reality hits me. Maybe we did have sex. That completely sums up why he’s here and why I’m in his shirt but I thought I’d be sore after the first time.
Disappointment takes over me as I really wanted the first time to be special, something I could remember.
Before I have a chance to stop him, Louie flies off the edge of the lounge and lands square in the centre of the strongest chest I’ve ever seen. He lets out an almighty squawk before doing what he does best. “Fucker, little fucker,” he says before repeating it a few more times.
Oh crap.
Logan’s eyes spring open and lands on Louie. A look of absolute astonishment comes over his handsome face as he takes in the foul-mouthed bird on his chest. “Well… hi there,” he says to Louie with a deep confusion lacing his sleepy voice, probably wondering what the fuck is going on.
I clear my voice to gain his attention and those dark eyes instantly swivel my way. I feel an intense heaviness land on me the second his eyes do and I know it’s just the weight of his gaze but damn, it’s powerful. “What the hell are you doing on my lounge?” I question as I cross my arms over my chest.
He rubs a hand over his face before running it through his dark hair. As he slowly sits up, Louie walks up his chest and perches on his shoulder. “Good morning, to you, too,” he says in a husky voice that makes my insides quiver.
His eyes roam up and down my body, making me feel incredibly hot while I curse myself for not changing out of his damn shirt. “Logan. My lounge. Why?”
He smirks my way before getting up off the lounge and walking over to me. I freeze as he leans in, presses a kiss to my forehead and steals the coffee mug right out of my hand. “Thanks for this,” he says. “That couch is not very comfortable, I’ll have to get you a new one.”
“You’re not getting me a new lounge. Why are you here?” I ask once again.
He takes a sip of my coffee before looking me over again. “You look ravishing,” he murmurs in my ear before finally stepping back and allowing me my personal space.
“Ravishing,” Louie repeats in his little bird voice making Logan grin in approval.
I give him a look that suggest he better get talking and I’m pleased when he finally gives in. “You don’t remember?” he questions.
“If I remembered, I would have gone to much greater lengths to make sure I didn’t come out here in your shirt.”
“Mmm,” he groans as he looks me over with hooded eyes. “That would have been a tragedy.”
“Logan,” I demand. “Concentrate.”
He lets out a sigh. “I drove you and Jaz home after I detached her from a sleaze-ball, then I walked you to your door like a gentleman and you nailed me in the balls when I tried to kiss you.”
A grin rips over my face. “Seriously?”
“Yup. Then you started crying because you felt bad about it and was worried you caused more damage, so you insisted on trying to fix it before attempting to strip me.”
“Oh, Jesus,” I groan.
“Don’t stress, it was very endearing,” he teases.
“I’m never drinking again,” I say, “So, we didn’t… um…?”
“No,” he laughs. “Not for lack of trying on your part, but I’m not really into taking advantage of a woman who can’t walk in a straight line.”
“Oh, thank God,” I breathe in relief. I should be surprised by that, but I’m not. After spending more and more time with him, I’m starting to realise that maybe he isn’t as bad as I thought he was.
“Geez,” he scoffs. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. It wouldn’t have been that bad, in fact, I’m sure you would have enjoyed yourself immensely.
“Oh, sorry. It’s not that, it’s just….nothing,” I say, having to stop myself from blabbing about my virginity. “That doesn’t explain why you slept on my lounge though?” I question.
“Well,” he says leaning back against the counter with a smirk that just doesn’t seem to be disappearing. “After you mauled me, I could hardly walk so you insisted I come in for a bit and then you wouldn’t let me out of your apartment.”
“How so?”
“You sat on me,” he states bluntly.
My whole world comes crashing down around me as embarrassment and mortification practically kill me. “I’m so sorry,” I tell him with a cringe.
“I enjoyed it,” he says with a wink. “Anyway, you fell asleep on me so I took you to bed but I couldn’t work out where you keep your pyjamas… so, yeah,” he says indicating to the shirt.
My mouth drops open in shock. “You dressed me?” I shriek.
“Yup,” he says proudly.
“You didn’t look, did you?”
“Are you serious?” he questions. “Of course, I did.”
I can’t help but laugh. I should have known better. “Well… thanks for mostly being a gentleman. You didn’t have to do all that. You could have just dumped me at the door like most men would have.”
He steps forward and reaches towards me. Once again, I find myself frozen on the spot. His fingers trail down the side of my face, making me catch my breath. “I wouldn’t do that. Not to you.”
I stand like as statue as I try to make sense of his words. “I don’t understand you, Logan.”
“You will, baby,” he says. “Just give it time.”
“I’m not your baby,” I tell him.
“Oh, but you are,” he says as I catch sight of his watch.
I grab his wrist and take a better look at the time. My eyes widen in shock as I realise I’m supposed to be somewhere. “Shit, I’m late,” I shriek. “You gotta go.”
“Where are you going?” he asks.
“I’m supposed to be meeting my brother,” I tell him as I try to push him out the door.
“Cool, I’ll come along,” he says.
“Ha,” I scoff, imagining how that would go down with Brendan. “No chance in hell.”
He lets out a laugh as I finally get him to the door. “Yeah, I thought that was a long shot,” he says as he turns in the doorway to look at me. “You going to give me my shirt back?” he questions.
I look down at myself before looking down the collar of the shirt and realising I have no bra on. “You expect me to just take it off right here?”
“That would be nice,” he says with that signature grin.
“No,” I say, “I’d rather keep it.”
He watches me for a short moment. “I’ll see you around, Elle,” he says before turning and heading down the hallway, leaving me an absolute mess of emotions.
Crap. What just happened?
I don’t have time to think it over as I race through a shower and put Louie back in his cage. Before I know it, I’m in my beat-up old car, rushing down the highway, trying my hardest not to break any road rules in the process.
I pull up at my brother’s rehab facility and give myself a moment to breathe. Coming here is always so hard as it reminds me of everything we have lost, but then, it’s a place where we try to get a little bit of ourselves back, well, for Brendan that is.
His spinal cord was damaged during the car crash that killed the rest of our family and he has been in a wheelchair ever since. But six months ago, while we were having breakfast, his big toe moved. He didn’t feel it, so we’re damn lucky Louie had shit on the floor and I was on my ha
nds and knees scrubbing it while it happened.
So here he is, in a rehab facility, draining any and all spare funds that I have while he works on regaining some movement in his legs. It’s hard financially but it’s so worth it. Though, the new job is certainly going to help with that which is a major part of the reason I can’t risk losing it.
I rush on inside and down the hallway until I come to Brendan’s room. “Hey, little brother. How are you?”
“You’re late,” he says with narrowed eyes. “You’re never late. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I say defensively. “I over-slept.”
“You were with a guy, weren’t you? I bet it’s that Logan guy. The Captain,” he accuses. “I told you not to go there. He has a reputation.”
“Chill out, dude,” I say. “Nothing’s going on between me and Logan. I went out to a club with Jaz last night,” I tell him, not wanting to worry him.
“Liar.”
“I’m not lying.”
“So, how come you blush every time I mention his name?” he questions.
“Shut up. There’s nothing going on.”
“Fine,” he says with a grin, knowing that he’s right.
“How are you feeling? Has the doctor been around today?”
“No, not yet, he usually comes around eleven on a Sunday, so you haven’t missed him yet.”
“Oh, awesome,” I smile. I mean, Brendan is more than capable of telling me how his progress is going but there’s something soothing about hearing it from the doctor, himself.
“How’d your therapy go yesterday?” I ask.
“Good,” he grins before rolling out past the bed on his wheelchair. “Watch this.”
I do as I’m told and watch as a look of concentration comes over my brother’s face. He practically breaks out in a sweat and I’m about to tell him to cool it when his whole right foot moves. “Holy crap,” I yell as I jump out of my seat. “That’s amazing.”
“I know,” he grins. “I’m actually getting somewhere, this time.”
“You sure are, kid,” I grin as I recall the time three years ago when we were in this exact position. He was able to get his toes moving then but nothing further. When I took him home, he was so down on himself that he stopped his exercises and all progress was shattered but this time is different. He’s in a better place mentally, and I know if he just asserts himself, he will be able to achieve greatness. “I’m so proud of you.”
“I know,” he laughs. “I’m pretty damn amazing.”
We spend the next hour discussing my new job and how it’s all going, though I strategically manage to leave all talk of Logan out of it. I tell him about Dave and what kind of guy he is and I laugh as Brendan goes into detail about how he is going to kick his ass when he can walk again, that is, if he actually does something creepy to me, so for now, we’re good.
At eleven, the doctor comes in and I sit up a little straighter and listen like a good girl should while enjoying just how good the man looks in his white coat. “Ah, Elle. It’s lovely to see you again,” he says pleasantly.
“You too, Doctor Ellis. How’s our special little guy going?”
“Ugh,” Brendan groans. “You got to stop calling me that. I’m like twice the size of you now.”
“Sorry, Kid,” I laugh. “Can’t help it.”
Doctor Ellis steps up to Brendan and does his usual prodding and poking while giving us the latest verdict. “Brendan has actually been doing incredibly well. We have high hopes for him. His tests and labs have all come back with positive results, so it’s all up to him now. He needs to stay focused, continue his therapy and exercises, and by the rate of his progress, he should have no issues getting up on his feet within the next few months. That’s with assistance, of course, but if that goes well, we should be walking within twelve months.”
“Are you serious?” I shriek as I jump up and throw my arms around the doctor before pulling myself back in embarrassment.
“Yes,” he laughs. “Just keep him in high spirits and don’t let him do too much, otherwise, he could do more bad than good,” he explains before turning to Brendan. “Have you been sticking to the therapist’s program?”
“Sticking like a fly on shit,” Brendan comments.
“Bren,” I scold before turning to the Doctor. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” he says. “If using sayings like that is going to keep him in high spirits, then, by all means, have at it.”
“This is why I put up with you, Doctor Ellis,” Brendan says.
“Oh, geez,” I murmur to myself.
The doctor heads out and I’m left with a grinning Brendan. “Wow,” I say. “You could be walking in a year.”
“Yeah,” he smirks. “Then I can kick Logan’s ass as well.”
“You are such as ass face.”
“I know,” Brendan laughs. “You love it.”
“I sure do.”
–––-
I walk into work on Monday morning on cloud nine. Everything is going amazing for me, well apart from the whole Logan thing. I have no idea what’s going on there but I’m sure once he realises he isn’t going to break me, he will move on to his next victim, though, I can’t stop thinking about how good it felt when he called me ‘baby’.
I make it through the front door of the arena and am greeted by Tony, one of the many guys who make up management. I give him a smile and go to walk on by but he falls in step with me. “How’s things going, Elle? Are you enjoying your work?”
“Oh, yes. I am very much. It’s like a dream come true,” I tell him honestly.
“Excellent. How do you feel about the workload?” he questions.
Oh shit. I hope this conversation is going somewhere good.
“Good,” I tell him. “I’m handling everything so far and nothing has been out of my depth.”
He nods as he takes it all in and he seems to be deep in thought. “I’ll cut to the chase here,” he says as we stop outside the physiotherapy rooms. “Dave is going to be taking a little time off and I need to know if you’re capable of taking on the workload without him? If not, I’ll hire a casual to fill in but it would mean extended hours which you’ll be compensated for, of course.”
Woah. That’s a surprise but at the same time, a little nerve-wracking. It means I’m not going to have Dave there to act as a buffer between me and Logan but at the same time, I won’t have to deal with his creepy vibes.
“Oh, I didn’t know he was taking time off,” I muse. “But yeah, I can handle it. I’ll just have to shuffle a few appointments around so there are no double up’s.”
“The workload wouldn’t be too much?” he questions.
“No, I don’t think so,” I tell him. “Since the season hasn’t started yet, the guys have been cautious with their training, so apart from Logan, there are no major injuries. Mainly just the usual after training aches and pains.”
“Cool. How’s Logan’s progress coming?”
“Good, actually,” I say feeling strange about discussing a patient’s progress but in a team like this, when it comes to an injured player, especially one who happens to be the Captain, there is no privacy. Management require to know every detail of his progress. “It’s only been a week but he has already regained some movement and the muscle has begun to loosen, so as long as he keeps up with his appointments and exercises, he should be up and running in no time.”
“Excellent, that’s what I like to hear. You won’t have any problems with Logan, he’s very serious about his career, so he’ll do anything to make sure he gets back on his feet. As for the other guys… don’t be intimidated by their personalities. Most of them are single and tend to enjoy female attention, but they’re harmless,” he warns.
“I can handle them,” I laugh.
“Good. Now, I’ve got to run but let me know if you’re in over your head and I’ll find someone to help you out.”
“I will,” I say with a nod before he turns and walks away.<
br />
I step into what’s now my office and promptly freak out.
Holy shit. This is awesome. I have free reign of the place, well until Dave gets back. Any other junior might be intimidated by the task but I know what I’m doing. I trust my instincts and I know I’ll kick ass.
I just wish I knew that Dave was planning on taking leave so I wasn’t so blindsided by it. I could have used my Sunday afternoon to go through the notes of the players I’ll be tending to this morning but otherwise, I’m absolutely thrilled. It’s the perfect opportunity to see what I’m made of.
Chapter 9
Logan
It’s been three weeks since my injury when the whole team is called into a mandatory meeting. Just great. I knew a meeting would be coming as we have one towards the start of each season but why does it have to be today? The one day where I’m finally able to get up and feel safe enough to get back on the ice.
I stand out the back of my house, on my man-made ice rink, after talking Jax and Carter into smoothing the ice out for me. I’ve spent the last hour shooting puck after puck into the goal and am pleased to find the movement is only causing a little discomfort but not so much that I have to stop, which just tells me that Elle’s hands are magic.
Finally being able to get back on the ice and actually do some form of proper training is like breathing again. I’ve felt lost the past few weeks and if I didn’t have Elle occupying my mind, I surely would have gone crazy.
But… if I was to race around the ice like I used to, like I desperately want to, I’d be fucked. I still have a long way to go but at least I’m on my way. I just hope it’s completely healed before the start of the season as being benched for that first game would suck. Really bad.
I pocket my phone and head down to the goal with a bucket to collect the pucks. I consider just leaving them but knowing my luck, the bastards would be frozen to the ice by the time I get around to picking them up.
I have to get down on my hands and knees to actually be able to pick them up but I eventually succeed and make my way off the ice. I rip off my skates and hurry as best I can back up to the house before flying out the front door.
Logan_Denver Royalty [Book 1] Page 7
