I sent the message with the snapshot included.
Kate: Sure. Sounds good.
A minute passed. I shoved my phone into my back pocket and went back to my cart. I found a nice ivy in a red pot and grabbed it. Plants were great for a house.
Still no response. I bit my lip as I walked through the aisles.
There was a nice jade plant that was in good condition that I also loaded up and decided that would do for now. If he didn’t like them I would take them with me when I left.
My phone beeped.
Logan: Naughty Kate. And distracting. I want to see more. You can have your strawberries for a not so nice kiss.
I grinned. He was incorrigible.
Kate: I’m at the hardware store. I’ll just buy fruit on the way home.
Logan: Have you ever orgasmed with someone helping?
Wow, talk about getting personal.
Kate: No. Why?
Logan: Come home.
Was he offering? I blinked several times.
I was next in line at the checkout. The man behind the counter smiled at me. My face was burning and I was positive he could tell I was embarrassed by something. It was probably written all over my features.
My phone beeped again.
I hurried to my car, got everything in, and opened it.
It was another picture from Logan.
When I opened it, I gasped and let out a long breath.
He was still shirtless and was now laying on a black blanket. It looked similar to the one I had on my bed in the basement. He had taken a shot of the lower part of his stomach with his jeans undone. One of his hands was shoved into his boxers.
Tingles shot down my body. He was insane.
Kate: Is that my bedroom?
Logan: Yes...little hard to chat right now. Come home. Now.
I laid my head on the steering wheel. Oh, how I wanted to.
My body was in desperate need of release at this point. It felt like it was on fire and I was definitely wet with pent up lust. I wasn’t sure if I should though. If we took this any further it might completely break me if he got bored and moved on later. Which he probably would. I wasn’t anything like the women he had been with over recent months. They all seemed so polished. I was just me.
Given his repeated rejection over the last few months, I was positive that this was just some bored streak on his part. It wasn’t because he wanted anything more.
Did I at this point?
I couldn’t think. Normally I was very sensible. Happy with the little things. This man was changing things into a zone that would leave me feeling devastated if he suddenly walked away.
Logan: Where are you?
I ignored him and texted Andi.
Kate: Drinks, food?
Andi: Yeah, where?
Kate: I’m not dressed for Muse. Want to go to that Irish pub place?
Andi: That’ll work.
Chapter Eight
I drove toward the pub at a fairly quick pace. It wasn’t especially nice. It also wasn’t in the best neighborhood but the drinks were cheap and they had good appetizers. It was run by a local family that were always very friendly. I liked it mainly because they were always smiling and cracking jokes with customers.
Andi and I had been there a few times. We accidentally discovered it when my car got a flat tire and I had to call her to come pick me up. We had wandered in and we had loved it. It had the traditional neon beer advertisements but it also had a lot of Irish emblems on the walls.
I had gotten to know two of the waitresses one night during a particularly distressing pool game with Andi, in which, I had popped two balls off the table and hit one of them in the leg. She had been extremely nice about it and had even shown me some basic moves.
My phone started ringing. Logan calling. A picture of him smiling into the camera flashed on my screen.
I pulled in the parking lot of the pub and answered.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Where are you Kaitlyn?” he asked, sounding both amused and curious.
I didn’t want him to think I was running from whatever situation he was wanting to explore. I wasn’t. I just needed to get my head clear before I waded into this whole thing with him. I needed to know if it made any sense.
“I’m meeting Andi for a bit. She wanted to grab a drink and talk. Bad day at work,” I lied.
I grimaced, hoping he bought it.
There was a pause on the other end of the phone.
“Hmm. Don’t drink. You should get your cat afterward and bring her back too. What place are you going to?”
I debated telling him and decided against it.
I evaded the question. “One drink won’t kill me Logan. Bells will be okay over there for a little while but I might stop by to visit her. I miss her.”
He growled. “Kate, don’t drink. Did I embarrass you? Where are you?”
I laughed. “No. Maybe. It was very distracting to use your word.”
He chuckled. “Good. I like distracting you. I like hearing you laugh too. You still haven’t answered the question though.”
“I’m at a strip club. Totally my thing.”
“Oh? Which one? Maybe you can give me a lap dance later. Or we can just watch together. Have you ever watched a porn?”
My mouth dropped open. I pulled the phone back and looked at the photo of him on my contacts. Smiling Logan. I wondered if he had an evil twin because that was clearly the Logan I was dealing with today.
I laughed. “You are insane. And no, I haven’t watched one.”
“Yeah, but I’m very friendly. Guess that strawberries and whipped cream fantasy of mine will have to wait.”
“Uhm, what fantasy?”
“The one where your mouth and my mouth are eating them both. Possibly off body parts in a friendly game of exploration.”
Oh my gawd!
I squeaked. “Logan I’m hanging up!”
He laughed darkly.
“Where are you Kaitlyn?” he asked softly.
“A pub off Hoover. I’m waiting on Andi to show up.”
“Fuck no! You leave right now! That area is rough,” he barked.
“It’s fine Logan. I’ll be home in a while. Andi and I have been here before. It’s a local dive but the owners are really nice.”
“Kaitlyn!”
“I’m good! I’ll see you soon and we can talk about getting help for your strawberry obsession.”
I hung up.
Bossy! Friendly Logan was good, kind of, but this new element of trying to tell me what to do was a little annoying. It was also extremely confusing and we had spent less than forty-eight hours together. I wasn’t sure I would last another day, much less another week while I got things together for my trip.
I shook my head. This was why I needed drinks and my friend.
Andi pulled up next to me so I exited my car. She waved and came over to give me a huge hug.
“Hey girl. You look like you’ve just seen an alien spacecraft land in the alley. What’s up?”
“Uhg, drinks first.”
My phone beep and I grimaced. She noticed the expression on my face and her eyebrow arched.
I shook my head.
We entered the bar and immediately four voices shouted a greeting. The family that owned the place did it to everyone entering the bar. They consisted of a father and three gorgeous sisters, all with green eyes.
There were a few patrons sitting at the long polished wooden bar to our right. Several standalone high-top tables along the left side were full except one. We snagged it and put in our orders. Our drinks were at the table in minutes.
Andi eyed me with curiosity. “So, how are you? How is living with Logan?”
I took a large drink of my margarita and gave her a look.
She laughed. “That good?”
My phone beeped again.
I held up my finger and checked it.
Logan: Kaitlyn I’m concerned about this naughty stre
ak of yours. First, it’s pictures and now its hanging up on people.
The second message was a picture.
He still had his shirt off and was leaning up against the kitchen island again. The most interesting thing were his eyes. They looked like they were going to pierce me through the phone. There was a serious and hungry feeling about them.
I flipped the phone around and showed Andi very briefly what was on my screen.
She was taking a drink and sputtered on it.
Her mouth hung open. “What the fuck? When did this start? It’s nice, I mean, he’s good looking. Jesus Kate. Are you going to text him back?”
“No. He can sit and home and be half naked by himself. It’s not even the worst one!”
She smirked and looked at me devilishly. “Can I see the worst one?”
“No! Absolutely not!” I snapped.
She chuckled. “Hmm, keeping it to yourself. Interesting.”
I set my phone down on the table, trying to have some patience. I explained most of the day to her without being too explicit about what was in the pictures.
I finished my drink when I was done.
She just blinked at me. “Wow. I mean this is good, right? He’s showing a lot of interest. Maybe a little too much interest, but it’s fun, right?”
I considered it for a moment.
“Is it? I have no idea. I mean first he ignores me and acts like I’ve burned him every time I get near him for months. Then he’s nice. Then he goes back to acting like I’m offending him. Then he tells me he’s no good for me. Then he spends one night talking to me while I’m unpacking and suddenly goes into friendly but flirty! Then there are all the pictures. Now he’s being bossy. I’m losing my mind. I’ve got a lot of shit on my plate. He’s confusing me to no end! What is he doing? I feel like I’ve stepped into some parallel universe where I’m dealing with his evil twin.”
Andi looked surprised. “You just cussed.”
“Well, damnit, I feel like cussing. Everyone has their breaking point. He’s been like bad luck for ages for me. My bush died, my car died, my house is gone. And I’ll have you note that those incidents happened after each time he touched me. Now there’s this. Yeah, I’ve liked him for a long time but I have no idea what I’m doing. I just hung up on him, Andi. I never hang up on anyone. In twenty-four years, not once. What the hell is a strawberry fantasy with whipped cream anyway?”
She waved at the waitress. “Yeah, we’re going to need two more drinks.”
When the waitress returned, I was feeling pretty good from my first one and ordered some cheese fries. Andi skipped the fries and ordered a burger.
I sipped on my second drink. “Am I just making too much of this?”
Andi sighed. “I know it sounds confusing but I think you should just see where it goes. Look, men, and I’m not talking about the guys you’ve previously dated, don’t leave flowers and breakfast for you unless they’re interested. Hell, half the men I know don’t do that and this one does. He says he’s being friendly. Okay, let him. There’s no harm in having a little fun with this.”
“But what about this bossy crap? Doesn’t that seem a little over the top?”
She pursed her lips. “Some guys are just that way. He told you not to drink. When we were at Muse he said that he was concerned about people hitting on you. Maybe read it in light of that information and assume he’s concerned about the same thing happening here. I wouldn’t analyze it too much but maybe it’s just him being slightly protective in his own weird way.”
I rubbed my right temple and huffed. “What’s that saying? It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt, right?”
She shrugged. “Have some fun. Or don’t. If you feel like it’s going to hurt later then maybe it’s not worth the risk. You should talk to Julia. She and Holden apparently went back and forth with each other a lot before they got together.”
“They still go back and forth with each other,” I mumbled.
Our food arrived and I took a few bites but mainly played with mine. I downed the remainder of my drink.
Andi had a huge bite in her mouth when she started bugging out her eyes and grunting.
I tilted my head to look at her. “What?”
I heard the familiar family greeting that the family yelled for a new customer and looked over my shoulder to see who had walked in.
Logan and Brock filled the doorway. Both were looking around like they were assessing each and every customer. Brock looked predatory and Logan looked angry. They moved in sync as they walked past the long bar to our table.
They were getting serious looks from most of the women and grimaced at by half of the men. Logan was wearing a black, long-sleeve shirt and jeans. Brock was in pants and a dress shirt that was rolled up to his elbows.
Brock’s eyes landed on Andi for a long serious look. Then he smiled at both of us and looked around like he was just here to hang out. “Ladies.”
Andi rolled her eyes at him. “Brock.”
Logan on the other hand, had taken position behind my chair. When I glanced back again over my shoulder he leaned in and put his mouth to my ear.
“Hello, Kaitlyn. How many have you had?”
I scrunched up my face. “Two.”
“Is that all you’re having to eat?”
I shrugged. “I’m not that hungry. What are you doing here?”
Brock answered. “Oh, the good doctor here called me and asked if I wanted to grab a beer. So, we just came over to the first place that came to mind.”
“Sure you did,” Andi mumbled.
Brock’s mouth curved up on one side but he didn’t reply.
Andi had a point. Brock was notorious for tracking down just about anything and anyone he wanted to. According to Liv and Julia, he used their phones to find them several times. When Logan couldn’t find me, he probably called Brock for a search.
Logan moved his hand to the middle of my back and gestured to the waitress. He and Brock ordered a beer but when she asked if I would have another he ordered a water for me.
I didn’t need another at this point anyway, but it was the high-handed nature of what he was doing that irritated me. We weren’t dating. Even if we were, I probably wouldn’t let him behave the way he was. Possibly.
Andi ordered another and Brock frowned. I wasn’t sure what was going on with them and right now I didn’t care. All I kept concentrating on was Logan’s hand on my back. It was sending small tingles up my spine.
I shivered.
I slid out of the chair and ignored Logan when he asked me where I was going. The waitress was at the bar and I ordered a shot of tequila.
“What are you doing?” Logan asked behind me. I could feel his hand as it snaked around my waist. “You don’t need another drink. I’m taking you home.”
The bartender put the shot in front of me and I reached for it. Logan’s other hand came around me and snagged it.
“Hey!”
I looked behind me to see him drinking it and grimacing.
“Terrible without a chaser.”
I picked up the slice of lemon that was laying on the napkin and turned around to hand it to him.
He smiled. “You first. I’m not particularly fond of lemon.”
Fine!
I narrowed my eyes at him and bit into it. I puckered my lips from the invasion of sour citrus in my mouth.
Logan grabbed the back of my neck suddenly and his mouth came down on mine. His tongue swept my lips and they involuntarily opened. He plunged in and pressed closer to me. He tasted like alcohol but he smelled like musky soap. The stubble on his chin brushed against mine. He pulled back and sucked at my lips.
“Mmm, best chaser I’ve ever had.”
I scowled and pushed at him. “Thought you didn’t like lemon.”
He looked thoughtful for a minute. “Did I say that? I don’t like cantaloupe, not sure where you got lemon from.”
I growled. “Why did you come here? I was fine with And
i.”
His eyes swept over my face and his hand at my neck tensed.
“Just making sure you were okay. There was a stabbing down in this neighborhood last week. It was on the news. You and Andi aren’t exactly armed and dangerous. I doubt either one of you have been to self-defense classes. I called Brock and he wanted to find both of you as well, so we’re here. And now you and I are leaving.”
I huffed and looked over at the table. Andi was pointing her finger at Brock for some reason while he smiled at her.
“I need to use the restroom, Logan.”
His grip loosened on my waist fractionally. “Alright, where are your keys?”
“On the table,” I said as I moved back toward Andi and Brock.
They both smiled when we returned, like they hadn’t been in any serious discussion.
I handed my keys to Logan and turned to Andi. “We’re going to go. I need the restroom first.”
She stood up and pushed her way past Brock. “Me too.”
I gave Logan a sideways glance. He was watching me intently so I frowned at him.
When we got home I was going to have to lay out my own boundaries if this was going to work. No more confusion over things. He needed to state his intent.
I was a little light-headed as we made our way around the corner toward the bathrooms.
There was a grizzled looking man using the telephone and he eyed us as we walked into the hallway. He hung up the phone and took a couple of steps toward us.
“Hey, do you girls have jumper cables? My car died.”
Andi hooked her arm around mine. “Nope, sure don’t.”
He leered at us. “What are you drinking? Maybe I can buy you a round.”
I gulped. “We’re leaving in a minute.”
He got closer and grabbed my arm, then tried to hook a hand around Andi.
“Maybe we can just chat then.”
Andi started pushing at his hand. “No thanks. We’re not interested.”
His hand squeezed me painfully and he moved in close to my face.
Andi let out a yelp. “Oh!”
He smirked. “Are you—”
I felt Logan before I saw him. He grabbed the man’s hand and twisted his wrist up at an odd angle while pushing Andi and I against the wall.
Break (Lakefield Book 3) Page 8
