Chapter Seven
Logan stirred as a roar of thunder pierced the quiet of the evening. He and Lacy had been dozing in bed for nearly an hour, both of them physically exhausted.
Then he recalled the thunder. “Damn.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I left the windows rolled down on my truck.”
“I don’t understand why you drove here. You only live a few blocks away.”
He reluctantly disentangled from her embrace. “Made a furniture delivery, and then came straight here.”
“In a hurry to see me?” she teased.
Logan tickled her, enjoying her giggle. “Yeah. I held out as long as I could, and then realized I was being a first-class tool. Turned the truck toward your place and decided it was time to set things right.”
He reached for his jeans and tugged them on.
The two of them still needed to have a serious talk. Logan had spent the past five days trying to come to grips with everything that had happened. Lacy had come into his life—and his bedroom—and she’d saved him.
He had let Jane mess with his head, let her convince him that his needs were wrong if he wanted a long-lasting, normal relationship. Which he had finally been able to admit to himself that he wanted this morning. He wanted what Evan and Annie had. A loving, kinky, forever relationship. And there wasn’t a doubt in Logan’s mind he was going to find that—and more—with Lacy. She was perfect for him.
He’d accused her of pretending to please him. He owed her an apology for that. Lacy didn’t lie. She was the most genuine, honest person he’d ever known, yet he’d foolishly let his insecurities cast her into shadows that simply weren’t there. There wasn’t an insincere bone in her body.
“Tell you what. Why don’t you order a pizza while I run out to take care of the windows?”
“Sounds good,” she said, lazily stretching. The sheet drifted lower, giving him a perfect view of her breasts.
“Do me a favor and get dressed before I get back. You and I need to talk, but there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell of accomplishing that with you looking so sexy.”
A glimmer of nervousness crept onto her face. He hated that he’d left her so uncertain. She’d just given him the best—and worst—three weeks of his life. When he was with her, everything felt right, but spending the past five days without her had been brutal. Jane had left after a three-year relationship and he’d gone to work the next day as if she’d never been there. For the last five days, he hadn’t been able to work, eat, or sleep. He had been miserable.
“Hey,” he said, grabbing her hand and tugging her to her knees at the edge of the mattress. “It’s nothing bad. Okay?”
She smiled, though he could read the doubt in her expression. He had a lot to make up for.
Logan gave her a quick kiss. “Won’t be a minute.”
He didn’t bother with a shirt as he walked out of her front door and downstairs. There were three floors in the building and each one contained two apartments. It was unlikely he’d run into any of her neighbors, but the more time he spent with her, the less he gave a shit who saw them. It was a dangerous mindset to have until he came clean to her brother, but he was currently too happy, too sexually sated to give it much more than a passing care.
He was halfway to his truck when he realized Evan was standing next to it. His best friend’s gaze drifted from him to the truck and back again, his expression going as dark as the cloud-ridden sky as he took in Logan’s half-dressed state.
“What are you doing here?” Logan asked.
“Thought I’d swing by, see if I could figure out who Lacy’s new boyfriend is.”
“Boyfriend?”
It was the absolute worst thing he could have said, but Evan’s comment caught him off guard. Had Lacy told her brother she had a boyfriend?
Evan was in front of him after three long strides, which he followed with a hard right to the face.
Logan stumbled at the impact of the punch and it took him a couple of seconds to shake off the pain, and then regain his vision. When he did, he stood there with fists clenched, ready to defend himself if Evan came at him again.
“The first one is free. I probably had it coming. But you hit me again and I’m going to punch back.”
“You probably had it coming? You’re questioning that?” Evan shouted.
“Alright. I definitely had it coming, but you’re not much better than me. I know about you and Rachel.”
“How?”
“So you did make out with my sister.”
Evan looked slightly chagrined, but it was clear any guilt he felt was struggling to outweigh his anger at finding out Logan was sleeping with Lacy. “How did—”
“Lacy saw you.”
Evan dismissed the accusation as insignificant—which it really was. “Who gives a shit? We were teenagers and all we did was make out one time. Is that all you’re doing with Lacy?”
He shook his head.
Evan’s fists were still clenched. “That goddamn bro code thing was your idea.”
Logan shrugged. “I know. We were just kids, Evan.”
Evan ran his hand through his hair as Logan braced himself for another blow. Instead, his friend hit him with something much harder to deflect. “I don’t give a shit about the stupid vow. Never did. I thought you weren’t doing vanilla again.”
Logan didn’t reply. What the hell could he say? He’d fucked Evan’s sister six ways to Sunday, introduced her to bondage, clamps, butt plugs and spankings.
Evan’s jaw clenched as the silence lingered too long. “She’s my fucking sister, Logan!”
“And she’s a grown woman,” Lacy said, rushing out of her apartment.
She was barefoot, but at least she’d had the good sense to throw on a t-shirt and jeans. Evan really would have beaten him to a pulp if she’d come outside in just a robe or something. It was one thing to know your best friend was fucking your little sister and another to have it slammed in your face.
Lacy stepped between them, clearly concerned the fistfight was going to continue. “My sex life is none of your business.”
“Dammit, Lacy. I’m always going to worry about you. You can’t ask me to stop that.”
“Then worry about shit that matters. How Logan and I have sex doesn’t qualify.”
Evan winced, but he rallied quicker than Logan would have. “Please don’t say the word sex to me. I prefer to think of you as my sweet, innocent sister. Pure as freshly fallen snow.”
Lacy rolled her eyes and snorted. “Yeah. That snow was plowed a decade ago.”
Evan groaned and shook his head. “You’re killing me.”
“Serves you right for hitting Logan.”
“He had that coming, and he knows it. So what is this? A relationship? Are you two dating?”
Lacy looked at Logan and shrugged, taking her time to reply. “I don’t…”
Evan’s face turned murderous. “Don’t say you don’t know. I swear to God, if this is just a hookup, if you’re just using her to get your rocks off, I’ll fucking kill you.”
Raindrops began to fall. Logan looked at Lacy, even as he spoke to Evan. “I’m in love with her.”
Lacy’s eyes widened. “You’re in love with me?”
“Of course I am. How could I not be? You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”
“Took you long enough to figure that out,” she teased.
He pulled her into his arms. “I mean it, Lacy. You’re perfect for me.”
“Then why did you leave last time?”
The rain started to come down harder. He hadn’t intended to have the conversation with her outside, in front of her brother and—he glanced around—the seven people who’d opened their front doors in hopes of catching a fistfight.
“Looks like the two of you have a few things to discuss.” Evan was giving them a chance to escape back inside.
Logan nodded. “Evan—”
“Later, man. We’ll talk it out later. Make things right with her first.”
“Okay.”
Evan sighed. “And do me a favor. Never, under any circumstances, talk to me about your sex life again. Promise?”
“New bro code?”
Evan’s eyebrows lifted as he considered that question. “If you fix things the way I hope, maybe the ‘bro’ part of that code could become a legal, binding, official thing.”
Lacy interjected. “Dear God. It’s only been three weeks, Evan. Go away before you screw everything up.”
Logan wrapped his arm more tightly around her shoulder. None of them bothered to seek shelter from the steadily pouring rain. “Technically, it’s been three weeks, plus a lifetime.”
She twisted out of his arms and narrowed her eyes. “This better not be a proposal, Logan. I haven’t even had a chance to yell at you properly for breaking my heart.”
“You broke her heart?” Evan asked, his scowl returning.
Lacy threw her hands up in exasperation. “Go home, Evan. Turn that annoying overprotective nonsense of yours on Eryn. Poor girl.”
Evan glanced at Logan, hesitant to leave.
Logan reached out to put his hand on Evan’s shoulder. “I won’t hurt her.”
Evan’s expression cleared. “Yeah. I know you won’t.” And with that, he walked back to his patrol car and climbed in.
Lacy turned to look at him. “You told Evan you loved me before you told me.”
He grinned. “He forced my hand. Guy packs one hell of a punch.”
His words sent Lacy’s gaze to his left cheek. “I think you’re going to have a black eye.”
“Great,” he said with a grimace.
“Why did you leave last time?”
He looked up at the dark sky. “It’s raining, Lace. Do we have to do this here?” They were both drenched.
“Come on.” She accepted the hand he proffered and the two of them returned to her apartment. Once they were inside, Lacy went to the bathroom to grab them a couple of towels. He wiped off his chest as she used hers to dry her hair.
“Here. You’ll catch a cold if you don’t get out of those wet things.” Logan drew her wet t-shirt over her head, forcing himself to keep his eyes on her face. Her breasts were his kryptonite, and they needed to talk before they continued with anything else.
She peeled off her jeans as he did the same. They threw their wet clothing in a heap on the floor of her laundry room, and then returned to the living room.
Lacy grabbed a fleece blanket and tossed it to him before getting a second one for herself. They curled under them on the couch. Lacy didn’t resist when he tugged her legs over his thighs so he could rub her feet.
“Jane did a number on me.”
She nodded slowly. “Yeah, I figured that much out. It’s just…you said you weren’t brokenhearted about her leaving.”
“I’m not. That’s not what I mean. When we first started dating, I thought the two of us were compatible lovers. She seemed to enjoy my rough edge, although I’ll admit I didn’t…” He paused, trying to find the right words.
“Unleash the Full Monty?” she supplied helpfully.
Logan laughed. “Something like that. I didn’t want to scare her right out of the gate, so I took things slowly. However, the more I tried to introduce BDSM into our sexual relationship, the more she resisted. I was in love with her, Lace. So I held back.”
“I’m not afraid of what we do, Logan.”
“I know.”
“Have you been holding back with me?”
He shook his head and chuckled. “No. Not at all.”
“Phew.” She pretended to wipe her brow. “That’s a relief. I’d hate to have to deal with twenty or thirty more orgasms every time we crawled between the sheets.”
He playfully messed up her hair. “Smartass. You realize that’s just daring me.”
“Good. That was my intention.”
Logan took a deep breath and said what had been keeping him from her, though even as he said the words, he knew exactly how stupid he’d been. “I can’t do vanilla. It’s not in my nature.”
“It’s not in mine either. Not anymore. Maybe not ever. You ruined me when I was seventeen.”
“Do me a favor, Lace. Don’t tell your brother about that peeping Tom escapade of yours. He’ll punch me again.”
She leaned closer and pressed a kiss against his cheek. “I love you too, Logan. I didn’t get a chance to say that outside.” She blushed and he wondered what she was thinking. “Of course, I probably didn’t need to say it. I haven’t exactly hidden my feelings from you all these years.”
“I know it’s only been three weeks, but when I look at you, Lacy, I see a very long future.”
“Forever?”
He nodded. “I hope so.”
“I’d like that, but I’m going to need a promise from you.”
“In addition to the ‘I Do’ one?”
She rose from the couch and grasped his hand, pulling him to his feet as well. “Yep. I want you to promise me that nothing…and I mean nothing…is ever off-limits between us again.”
He laughed, shook her hand. “Deal.”
Twenty years earlier…
Logan looked over and caught sight of Lacy sitting in the stands with one of her little friends playing with dolls. Her hair was pulled up in pigtails and she gave him a toothless grin. She waved, so he waved back.
“See that boy over there?” Lacy pointed to a fifteen-year-old Logan, currently standing on first base.
Justine Matthews laid her Barbie doll on the bleachers and looked. “Yeah.”
“His name is Logan Grady, and I’m going to marry him one day.”