LOGAN

I wake up with a cold nose rubbing against my cheek and a kink in my neck. Peeling an eye open, I see Herman directly in front of me, wagging his tail, obviously eager to go outside. He nudges me with his nose again, and once I manage to peel myself off the couch, I slip my jeans on and lead Herman to the door.

He follows me out, and I stretch as I wait for him to finish his business. The air is hot and humid already, the California sun blaring down at me as I try and massage the knot out of my shoulder.

Despite sleeping on the couch, I slept quite well. For the first time in weeks.

“That’s a good boy,” I kneel and praise him as he runs back to me. I pat his head and ruffle his fur along his face. “Let’s get you some breakfast.”

After refilling his food and water dishes, I grab my cell and call my supervisor. I tell him there’s been a family emergency, and I need to take a personal day. He gives me his usual shit, but lets me take the day off. Relieved to know I’ll have time to work on Kayla’s door and install a better lock and security cameras, I walk into the bathroom and turn on the shower.

Knowing Kayla is sleeping in my bed right now gets me worked up. I try to keep the images away, but the harder I try, the more I fail at censoring my thoughts.

I know her feelings for me aren’t one-sided, but I can’t validate the way I feel for her. At least not right now. Skylar is my number one priority, and I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I didn’t focus all my time on her right now. I can’t afford to lose sight of giving Skylar a better life here. Her mother has already been fighting me at every possible angle, and I can’t let myself get distracted. Because Kayla Sinclair is one hell of a distraction.

Stepping inside the shower, I adjust the water and stand in the stream as I let her occupy my mind. My cock starts getting hard at just the thought of her. The way her long brown hair falls in loose waves down her back and looks flawless every time I see her. She makes it seem effortless the way she donates her time to charities and others, without expecting anything in return. She’s not just the ideal woman—she’s the perfect woman. Equal parts sweet and sassy, she definitely gives me a run for my money. I can’t keep my shit together around her, and every time she gives me the opportunity, I either hold back or completely lose the willpower to stay away from her.

It never seems to fail, though, whenever I see her with someone else, I lose all control. I’ve always had eyes for Kayla, but that doesn’t mean I can put my guard down. Dating has never come easy for me, especially since Maggie and being sent overseas. No matter how hard I fight it—my feelings for Kayla, my desire to feel her lips against mine, my fear that I’d end up fucking it all up—I can’t deny the way my body responds to hers.

I can’t get my cock to calm down. Thinking about her drives me insane and knowing she’s sleeping in my bed right now is making me have wildly inappropriate thoughts. I palm my cock to ease the pressure, but with visions of her surfacing in my mind, nothing is going to help unless I release it myself.

Giving into the desire, I pump my cock and close my eyes as I allow myself this one guilty pleasure. She’s a temptation I fear I’ll no longer be able to deny the closer we get. Having her help with Skylar’s room was one way to keep her around me, but now that her house was broken into, I want her around all the time. Hearing the way her voice cracked on the phone when she told me the news nearly broke me. I wanted to comfort her in more ways than just a friend should.

I release hard and fast into my hand, groaning out loudly before I remind myself I have company in the next room. Sinking my teeth into my lower lip to quiet myself, I pump myself again until I’m completely spent.

“Fuck,” I mumble under my breath, shaking my head. I need to get a grip on reality.

I’ve pushed Kayla away every time she’s hinted at wanting more, and, inevitably, I pushed her right into Dr. Perfect’s arms. I can’t deny that he’d be the better fit for her, but I also can’t deny the jealousy that surfaces every time I know she’s with another guy. I know it’s my fault, that I’ve taken a bite of the apple and kissed her when she wasn’t mine to kiss, but I don’t know how to back away anymore. The willpower diminishes every time I’m with her.

Once I’m out of the shower and dried off, I wrap the towel around my waist and finish getting ready for the day. Now that I’m not going into work, I can wear jeans and a regular T-shirt. However, I’m worried I’ll wake Kayla and her tribe of dogs if I go into my room to grab clothes out of my dresser.

The concern immediately vanishes as I open the door and run smack into Kayla. She’s taken off guard, nearly falling on her ass. I quickly wrap my arm around her and pull her to my chest.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” I look over her disgruntled look, smiling. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She blinks a couple times as she clings to me. “It’s not every morning I walk straight into a wet, bare chest.”

That’s somehow reassuring. I smile.

The dogs race down the hall past us and I can soon hear them playing in the living room with Herman.

“I was lost in thought, I guess. But had you fallen head first, that mask would’ve cushioned your fall.” I chuckle, not releasing her just yet.

“Hey, no dissing the mask before breakfast,” she teases. “I usually remember to take it off once I’ve had my coffee.”

We stand still, our bodies pressed against another, neither of us letting go.

The air is thick between us, and I know I should make the first move. Gently, I slide my arm out from around her and take a step back, putting some space between us.

“So, I guess breakfast?” I suggest, motioning to the kitchen.

“Yeah, as soon as I let the dogs out.”

Things just got really awkward for some reason. Then I remember I’m still standing here in only a towel.

“Right. I’m going to get dressed, then we’ll talk about the rest of the day.” I take a step to the side to walk around her, but she moves at the same time and ends up getting her finger caught in my towel. I don’t realize it until the towel slides down my legs and pools to my feet.

“Oh my God!” Shrieking, she covers her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I hadn’t meant to do that.”

My head falls back and a hearty roaring laugh escapes my lips. I can’t help it. The way she immediately turns beat red and closes her eyes is completely humorous.

“Why are you laughing?” she demands.

“Because you’re adorable.” I smile, reaching down and grabbing my towel.

“Can you please just cover yourself so I can open my eyes and walk away with some dignity left.” She squeezes her eyes tighter, her cheeks reddening.

I knot my towel and take a step toward her, closing the gap between us.

“Here, let me help.” I wrap my fingers around the elastic band of her sleeping mask and pull it down over her eyes.

She crosses her arms, clearly not amused. “This does nothing to help.” She then laughs, and it’s the sweetest sounding sound in the entire world. “Can you walk away now?”

“If that’s what you want.” I smirk, even though she can’t see me. “However, most would say you’re an angel for not wanting to peek just a little.”

She snorts. “Stop gloating.”

I chuckle, shaking my head and take a step down the hallway.

“And I’m not an angel.”

I turn around and face her again.

“No?” I ask.

“I did peek,” she admits. “I just didn’t want you to know.”

I can’t stop the smile from forming on my face as she confesses as if she’s a child and got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

“Well, for what it’s worth, you’re still an angel to me,” I tell her before turning around and walking toward my room. I look down and see my cock getting excited again, and it’s a good fucking thing she still had that mask on.

––––––––

KAYLA

Oh my God.

I’m completely humiliated, and I still have to face him when I return from walking the dogs. Maybe he’ll bleach the last twenty minutes out of his brain and he won’t remember a thing? If only.

Logan Knight makes me act like a fucking moron. The signals, the vibes, the tension—I feel them the minute I’m near him—and it’s as if I can’t get my brain to function normally. I suddenly turn into a spaz.

I shouldn’t be having thoughts about Logan anymore. I’m dating Christian—sort of—and I need to focus on that. On him. He’s the full package and more. He’s actually available. But, that doesn’t stop the thoughts of Logan roaming in my mind. It might be the warm morning air talking, but I’m almost positive Logan was being a bit more friendly than usual. One moment he’s kissing me and then apologizing and saying it never should’ve happened, and the next he’s pushing me up against his body to act as a shield. The man is infuriating at times!

Either way, I need to cleanse the image of his half-naked, wet body out of my mind and remember that we’re just friends. In fact, he’s been more like a best friend as of late. I know I can call him whenever I need him and he’ll always be right there for me. He took Herman in as his own, knowing it’d make me happy. He listened to me and made me feel comfortable when I told him about my upbringing and all the memories I try to push away. I know I can rely on him and he’s yet to let me down on that front. I know he’s keeping secrets from me, but I can only assume they’re to protect me, not hurt me. Logan Knight would never intentionally hurt me; that, I know for a fact.

The boys and I have a different route since we’re in Logan’s neighborhood. I miss going to Donny’s and wonder if he’ll be worried about us. I make a mental note to stop in there on my way to work.

Shit. Work.

I haven’t planned that far out but now I’m worried what I’m going to do with the dogs while I wait to get my door fixed. As soon as we come back to the house, I start writing out a text to Viola to see if the dogs can stay with her just for the day.

“Oh good. You’re back,” I hear Logan say from behind me. I look up and nod.

“Yeah, I was just going to see if Viola could watch my dogs while I’m at work today since my door needs to be fixed. Oh, that reminds me. I need to call a locksmith or something.”

I exit out of the text message without hitting send and click to search the internet for local recommendations.

“Kayla...” he says, grabbing my attention. His eyes are fixated on mine as I look up at him. “I’m going to do that for you. I’m putting on a touch keypad deadbolt lock and security cameras that’ll link right to your phone.”

“No, Logan.  You have to work. I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“You didn’t ask me. I’m offering. And I took the day off. You should, too, after what happened.”

“I like the distraction of work, but I wouldn’t feel right you taking off work because of me and installing all that gadgety stuff.”

“It’s too late. I’ve already called in. You should too. Stay home with the dogs and relax for once.”

“Who says I don’t relax?” I ask almost offended.

“You mean in between your full-time job, hours of volunteering, and dog-stealing hours you actually find time to relax?” he asks with a knowing smirk.

“Fine,” I groan, rolling my eyes at him. “I will call in, but not because you told me to.”

Smirking, he pinches his lips together and looks away. “Whatever you say, Angel.”

Logan heads out while I stay at his house and watch the dogs. I’m not used to all this downtime, so after an hour of vegging out on the couch, I get up and start cleaning. I don’t know why, I just need to keep myself busy. I’ve already eaten breakfast and cleaned my dishes, but if I don’t keep my mind occupied, I’m going to drive myself insane.

The dogs lounge on the couch while I vacuum, dust, clean up the kitchen and start the dishwasher, put a load of dirty towels in the wash, clean the bathroom, and tidy up his bedroom. Once I’m finished, I look around and realize what I’ve done.

“Shit,” I mutter to myself. “He’s going to think I’m a crazy person.”

Adam barks, grabbing my attention to where he’s lying on the couch. He rolls to his back, showing off his big belly and begging for belly scratches.

“You can’t just make yourself at home here, you know?” I tell him, laughing at the irony.

Logan walks in less than five minutes later and his shirt is drenched in sweat. It’s humid and nearing ninety degrees out, which makes me feel even worse that he did that for me.

“There’s no way anyone is breaking in through that door now. I attached five cameras around the outside of the house. I’ve already downloaded the app to test it out and you can see everything in real time. It’s motion sensored, so any movement will set it off.”

“Wow...I have a feeling the girl scouts aren’t going to be coming around this year,” I quip, feeling nervous around him. “They’ll be too intimidated.”

“They will if they want to sell cookies,” he teases.

“True. I am a sucker for those damn thin mints. So addicting.”

“I wouldn’t know. Never had them.”

“What!” I screech. “How’s that even humanly possible?”

He shrugs. “Guess I was never home when they came by.”

“Okay, well it’s settled. I’m baking you my famous mint truffles. They taste just like a thin mint cookie,” I tell him matter-of-factly. “There’s no way you can go on living without knowing what a thin mint tastes like.”

He chuckles. “I can’t deny baked goods.”

He starts walking toward the hall when he stops frozen in his tracks and looks around. He scrunches up his nose as if he’s smelling the air. He cocks his head and narrows his eyes at me. “Did you clean?”

My heart races in my chest and I know he’s going to think I’m a total nut job for cleaning his house.

“I tidied up a little. I felt bad you were at my house working and needed to keep busy,” I explain, my voice sounding obviously nervous.

He bows his head, shakes it and laughs at me. “You really don’t know how to relax, do you?”

My shoulders drop in relief. “Shut up!” I laugh at the way he’s laughing at me. “I tried, okay? I sat on the couch for an hour.”

“We need to work on your taking-it-easy skills. But first, I need to shower and change.” He starts walking but I stop him.

“If it’s safe for me to go home now, I think the dogs and I should head back. I need to shower and change.” I lower my eyes to the clothes I came over in last night.

“Uh, yeah. I’ll text you the app so you can download it to your phone.”

We stare at one another, both unsure of what to do or say now.

“Will you come over tonight?” I blurt out without thinking. He furrows his brows, silently questioning me. “Let me make you dinner. To say thank you. It’s the least I can do. Please.”

I feel pathetic begging him, but I need more time with him. I know he feels what I do, and even though it’s risky, I’m taking the leap. He has feelings for me and I’m going to crack him until he admits he wants me just as much as I want him.

“Oh, and we can go over Skylar’s bedroom design. I have a plan drawn up for you to look at.”

“Sure, I can do dinner. That sounds good.” He flashes a boyish grin, and I nearly melt against him like the sweat that’s coating his body.

“Perfect! Seven?”

“Sounds good. I’ll be there.”