“You brought me here for this?” Logan muttered, looking at the big screen in the community center’s AV room, where a cheerful Sky was putting some shit on her face.

Apparently she was too busy and having too much fun in Paris to come visit in person, so the makeup crash course had become a YouTube tutorial she’d filmed two days ago, according to the date stamp on the video. Why that pissed him off to kingdom come, Logan didn’t know.

Well, he knew. He just didn’t want to dig into it.

Ty, however, had other plans. “I hoped this would get you out of your funk. You’ve been a bit sullen these past few weeks. Working nonstop. I’m afraid the diaper fumes have finally liquefied your brains.”

Naturally. And of course watching Sky in all but 3D was going to improve his disposition. Damn, she looked pretty. The city suited her. No oversize shirts or camo boxers or kitsch rubber boots. She was wearing a cute top with a deep neckline, her hair pulled back into a high ponytail. A cup of coffee from one of those franchise chains was at the corner of the table. He couldn’t see, but he was sure she had stilettos on her feet.

He so preferred her in his clothes, her hair snarled, no makeup, his cuffs hanging from her wrist. Too bad that wasn’t who she wanted to be.

“It’s been, what, two weeks since she left? Why hasn’t she come to visit?” Ty asked with a frown. “Paris isn’t so far away.”

“Don’t know.” And it had been three weeks, not two. He should know, because it had felt like a fucking eternity.

“Did you invite her to come?”

“Why would I?” Logan retorted, trying very hard to keep his gaze away from the screen. And failing miserably.

“Boy, are you dumb. Do you know where she’s staying in Paris?”

Logan shook his head.

“What? You didn’t drive her?”

“We would’ve had to take both cars,” Logan said, ticked off at Ty’s disapproving tone. “Waste of fuel. And I’d rather stay away from the city.”

Now it was Ty who was shaking his head. “You are really dumb.”

“Can you fucking stop repeating that?”

“I don’t know—can you stop being dumb? You had sex with her, didn’t you?”

“What makes you think that?” Logan asked, glowering. Sadly, it didn’t intimidate Ty in the least.

“Because this level of dumbness only appears when sex has totally turned one’s brain to mush.”

“I thought it was dirty diapers that did that.”

Ty just gave him the “boy, are you dumb” look again, so Logan caved in. “Yes, we had sex.”

And yes, it had utterly scrambled his brain: not only because she could get him so hard he could barely breathe, but because just a smile from her made his chest ache. When she told him she was leaving, his heart had tumbled, which had been a surprise. He’d known all along that she would leave.

He’d brushed the feeling aside. It had been easy, locked alone in the storage bunker with a big stash of condoms at their disposal, perfect for distracting himself. Until they’d gotten dressed and reality intruded.

“I’ve been through this with Vivienne, who was very similar. You know it didn’t work.”

Ty tipped his head at the YouTube tutorial, which showed Sky chopping aloe vera leaves. She laughed and pushed Arnie away as he popped into the frame, trying to lick the goo from her face. “Similar to Sky? Are you sure? Because I met Vivienne, and they don’t seem anything alike to me.”

“Sky was only here in passing.” A fluke of fate. A blip. If her sister had been wearing glasses when she filled out the internship application, Sky would never have come to Minnesota, and Logan would never have crossed paths with her.

“Maybe you should take a day off and drive to Paris. Just for a change of scenery,” Ty suggested, ignoring Logan’s caveat. “See how she’s doing. Make sure she’s settled in.”

He stole another furtive glance at the screen. What he wouldn’t give to be Cerberus right now. Perched on her lap. Feeling her arms around him, her laugh against his skin. He shook those thoughts away and concentrated on the pain-in-the-ass busybody by his side.

“You are aware that it’s the same distance from Paris to here as it is the other way around, right? She knows where to find me. I don’t have a clue where she’s staying.” The crash course would have been the perfect excuse to stop by if she’d wanted to. Obviously, she hadn’t wanted to. “When something is over, it’s over.”

“Okay, so let me get this straight. You fucked her, and when she informed you she had to leave, you walked her to the door and said, ‘See ya, sucker.’”

“Of course not. I never called her a sucker.”

Ty was wrong. Sky wasn’t shy or gullible. She’d straddled him and asked him to service her. She’d waited for him with no pants on in the bunker, for crying out loud. She’d been in it for the sex as much as he had. Sex required physical proximity, which they’d had while living together. They didn’t have proximity anymore. And she hadn’t seemed sad to see it end. On the contrary, she’d been thrilled to get to a city—even one as small as Paris.

Still. The fact that she hadn’t bothered to come back bugged the shit out of him. He’d been so looking forward meeting her again. Dying for it, actually. Watching her on the big screen, listening to her sweet voice, added fuel to the fire. She was so damn beautiful, even with her face full of goo and a monster of a dog all over her.

Paris wasn’t that big a place. He could probably find her if he— No, no, he wasn’t going to make a fool of himself. But… maybe if he just hung around the faculty mailboxes the next time he visited campus, he might catch sight of her. Or he could ask his interns. God knew they wouldn’t stop talking about her.

No. “When it’s over, it’s over,” he repeated under his breath.

Ty’s voice was exasperated. “Boy, for all your PhDs, you are mega dumb.”

“Who’s mega dumb?” Shayna asked, coming up alongside Logan.

Ty motioned to Logan, who crossed his arms. “I wasn’t the one who got shot in the ass during survival training last week.”

“She did it on purpose,” Ty said, giving Shayna a fulminating look. “I wasn’t ready for friendly fire.”

“Please, it was just a graze from an air rifle. You’re lucky I didn’t have my bow and arrows with me. Call me fat again and see how well you fare in the next drill. Ever heard of collateral damage?” She turned to Logan. “For the record, your friend here is a dick, true, but so are you.”

“Vindictive little thing,” Ty murmured when Shayna left. “And I never fucked her or dumped her at the curb. I only implied she could stand to lose a few pounds. Don’t know what’s wrong with her.”

Logan shook his head in dismay. “And I’m the dumb one here?”

* * *

Arnie pushed at her arm and barked, waking Sky up. The morning sun was streaming through the drapes, blinding her. Squinting, she checked her watch: eleven o’clock. Scratch morning, it was more like afternoon sun. She’d overslept. Good thing it was Saturday and she had a long weekend ahead.

She threw the blanket over her head and rolled over.

There were several more barks. When she didn’t react to them, something moist and cold began poking at her.

“Arnie, stop.” Sky said, trying to block him. No use. Her dog wouldn’t be denied and continued bothering her.

“Fine, fine,” she said, uncovering her face and glaring at Mr. Sleep Police. “I’m getting up now. Stop guilt-tripping me. Jesus Christ. Would it kill you to let me sleep a bit longer?”

Arnie barked again.

Apparently.

She dragged herself out of bed and made her way to the bathroom, Arnie trailing her. Spring would be kicking in soon, and she never did well in the spring. It depleted her energy. Not that she’d ever been a morning person, at least not naturally. But routine helped: getting dressed, putting on makeup, doing her hair. Going out for coffee and a walk. She just had to ride it out.

Today was no exception. By the time she walked downstairs to the street, got her coffee, and took a stroll with Arnie, she was feeling better. Now for some retail therapy and voilà, good as new. Of course, it would be more effective if she were heading for Saks Fifth Avenue or Macy’s, a thick Christmas bonus under her belt, instead of Tractor Supply, but a girl had to do what a girl had to do. Paris, Minnesota, wasn’t New York, but it wasn’t prepper land either. Besides, her chances of getting to France were slimmer than slim. She could find creative ways to spend some money and treat herself.

Prepper land. She shook that thought away. It led to Logan. Not a good turn. Why she missed that ass, she couldn’t fathom, but she did.

Thankfully, the beeping of her cell distracted her. It was a text from Lola.

“Yo, sis. How you doing at the North Pole? Has the thaw started yet?”

“Not really, but I’ve got an uninterrupted cell connection,” she wrote back. “So I’m happy to be back in civilization.”

She looked around. If Lola could see what Sky saw, she would strongly disagree.

“Not missing that town where you got stranded?”

“No,” she typed right away.

Too right away.

A row of thumbs-up came from her sister.

“Going shopping to lift my spirits.”

“Break a leg” was Lola’s response.

Most probably. She was wearing heels. After all, Google Maps was always watching. Except in NoName, of course, where those crazy preppers had surely found a way to block it.

Admonishing herself for slipping again, she vanquished that thought and put her cell away.

Sky resumed walking. She felt pressure on Arnie’s chain, so she stopped. The rascal was stalling.

“Come on, Arnie. I promise I’ll buy you some new treats. And for every single thing I get for me, we’ll walk for ten minutes afterward. I know you’re not keen on being tied up outside the store. I’d love to put you in a purse, but there aren’t any big enough. The last time I passed you off as a service dog was a bust, remember? Having to carry you upstairs was damn difficult to explain. Going shopping isn’t so bad.”

Arnie huffed. Such a classic male. If he were able to roll his eyes, he so would have.

“Hey, you could have stayed home.”

Sky could have sworn he snorted.

Several hours and coffees later, she and an extremely aggravated-looking dog walked back to their street, both her hands full of bags.

She precariously reached into her pocket and handed Arnie a treat. “Now, baby, I’m going to need you to cooperate. I can’t make it to the second floor carrying you and the bags.”

He blew a gust of hot air and gave her a long stare. It was damn clear who he thought was more important. The bags would have to wait their turn.

Sky shook her head and fed him another treat. “You are so lucky I love you.”

“And he knows it. That’s why he abuses it.”

That husky rumble. She lifted her gaze to find Logan leaning on his truck, parked in front of her place. A mere six feet from her.

Her insides somersaulted. God, he looked so handsome, even with that beard—overgrown again—and the mountain-man clothes. She squelched the smile tugging at her lips. She should be ashamed of herself. No word from him for almost a month and a half, and here she was, her stomach full of butterflies at the sight of him. Pathetic.

Arnie recognized him, because he approached, sniffing, and didn’t bark.

“You should pay more attention to where you’re going, Butterfly. Very sloppy for a New Yorker. Anyone could jump you.”

“Really?” she said flippantly. “Do you think there’s a chance someone would come at me with any intentions, malicious or otherwise, without Arnie noticing?”

“Point. You’re a difficult woman to find,” Logan added, not moving a muscle, his arms crossed over his chest.

Sure, because the ass hadn’t known she was in Paris, teaching at the same college his lab was affiliated with.

She composed herself and went for nonchalant. “Indeed. This place has more than one traffic light. A total maze by your standards. I’ve been shopping.” She raised the bags. “If you followed me on Instagram, you would have known where to find me.”

“Not big on social media.” He peeked in the bags. “Toiletry kits? Five of them?”

“One can never have too many toiletry kits. I like having cute things around. I’m a collector.”

His look was annoyingly smug. “You mean a packrat.”

She was so not going to touch that. He was the one with a diaper hoard. “What are you doing here? Or did you decide to drop by just to call me names?”

He offered her a half smile. “Being called a packrat isn’t an insult, not in my town. It’s called being prepared.”

“True.”

She didn’t elaborate further, and he seemed a bit uncomfortable. “I had to take care of some business in Paris.”

He was such a lousy liar.

“I see. Did the school give you my address? Very unprofessional. You could be a crazy stalker I’d gotten a restraining order against. The Unabomber beard should have alerted them, if nothing else.”

“Didn’t have to. I went to the first coffee shop I saw and asked about a redhead with the ugliest dog alive. Eventually someone pointed me in the right direction.”

Damn Agnes. Sky was going to have a talk with her the next time she picked up her regular.

“Well, now that you’re here, you could make yourself useful and hold my bags while I carry Arnie upstairs.” She handed the bags to Logan, but he didn’t take them.

Instead he let out a deep breath and lifted Arnie. “Lead the way.”

Sky froze, half expecting Arnie to chew a chunk out of Logan’s arm. Her baby didn’t like people taking liberties, but aside from looking stiff and offended, Arnie didn’t react.

“Right. Follow me,” she said tartly, climbing the side stairs. After rummaging in her purse for the keys, she opened the door and motioned for him to enter. “Here it is, my semiprivate unit above Mrs. Rantala’s garage.”

Logan put the dog down and looked around. “Nice.”

“Wait for it.”

Three, two, one. There it was, like clockwork. The door that connected the unit to the rest of the house, the one that was supposed to always be closed, opened.

“Hello, Mrs. Rantala. Just got home.”

The woman smiled and gave Logan a once-over. “Let’s leave the door open, shall we?”

Sky rolled her eyes when the old lady left. “As you can see, I’m back to being fifteen.” Come to think of it, he knew a thing or two about weird, invasive neighbors.

“I’m surprised the hardened New Yorker in you hasn’t slammed her with a restraining order for harassment,” he said, not even attempting to disguise his amusement.

“Chastity is making a comeback.” And her quirky landlord was willing to put up with Arnie. That trumped everything else.

“So, how have you been liking it here?” he asked, obviously scrambling for something to talk about.

“So far so good. No pandemic drills, emergency evacuations, or twenty-year-old cheese. I’m digging it.”

“And the classes?”

“Good too. Haven’t your interns told you? Some of them are my students.”

They stood in front of each other for the longest time. She was not going to try coaxing his real reasons for visiting out of him. Let him sweat it.

“Do you have any plans for the weekend?” he finally asked.

“Tons,” she lied shamelessly. “Why?”

He shrugged, his gaze straying to the floor. “Nothing in particular. I just thought that now that I happen to be in town, maybe you’d like to come back to NoName with me for the long weekend.”

Now that he happened to be in town? Please.

“Why?”

He seemed confused. “Why what?”

“Why are you really here?”

He shuffled his feet, visibly uncomfortable. “I thought you might be bored in Paris.”

“Try again.”

“The weather has been shitty. I wanted to check up on you.”

Boy, his excuses sucked. “Again.”

“I…”

She stared at him for a long second. Watching him waffle was not as satisfying as she’d thought. “Let’s make this easier and get one thing out of the way.”

“What thing?”

“This.” She wiggled her finger at him to come closer. When he did, she went on tiptoe and gave him a peck on his lips. “Out of the way. You feeling less awkward now?”

The side of his mouth quirked up. He cupped her neck and brought her flush to him, kissing her thoroughly. Proprietarily. Stealing her breath away and scattering the little mind she had left. Arnie was growling by their side, but she couldn’t bring herself to break the spell long enough to admonish him.

“That’s more like it,” he whispered against her lips. “Is that a yes? You coming up north for the weekend?”

She held his stare, her brow cocked. “What do you think?”

“I’m thinking your dog is still growling at me,” he said, a smirk breaking over his face. “If I’m going to risk getting bitten, I hope it’s for a good cause.”

She kissed him softly again. “So you know, I’m not a good cause, Alchemist. I’m a fantastic one.”

* * *

“I didn’t come to Paris on business,” he admitted once he’d gotten Sky and Arnie settled in the truck.

Sky snorted. “I know. The school is closed for the long weekend.”

Wiseass. “The truth is, Butterfly, I missed Arnie.”

She broke into laughter. “Sure.”

“May I?” he asked Arnie. The dog didn’t growl, so he went ahead, pulling Sky onto his lap and kissing her. “I missed you.”

“Finally. The real reason you’re here,” she said.

“Yeah,” he admitted, gruffly, cupping her face and brushing his thumbs over her cheeks.

He’d missed coming home to her. Missed her cooking barely edible shit and recording crazy videos for her followers. Missed her complaints about the weather and the connectivity. He’d missed her laughter and her cheeky comebacks, her kisses and her soft caresses. He’d missed it all, stupid fashion shows included. Even crazy Cerberus had grown on him.

He’d told himself ad nauseam that he had no game plan when he jumped into the truck and drove to Paris. It was just a whim. A sudden urge to drive.

Right. What a load of crap.

He’d managed to hold off for two weeks after the YouTube video. Two excruciatingly long and miserable weeks. On the verge of cracking every fucking day.

“Why didn’t you come back to town instead of putting that tutorial on YouTube?” he asked before he could order his mouth to stay shut. He tried to suppress the accusatory tone in his voice, but he wasn’t sure he’d managed it.

Thankfully, she didn’t seem to notice. “Logistical issues. You watched it?”

He nodded. Multiple times, actually. Same for her other videos. By now he knew more about beauty hacks and plucking hair than his male ego cared to admit. “What logistical issues?”

“I had to give up the rental.”

Wait. “What?”

Sky grimaced. “I had to switch apartments. I don’t know why, but everyone assumes I have a purse dog, and they freak the shit out when they see Arnie. The place the school arranged for me was too small, or so the owner claimed when she saw me—Arnie, that is. The new apartment is more expensive, so I had to give up the rental to compensate.”

“How do you get around without a car?” The college was fairly close by, but still.

“I walk. I’m developing very unfashionable calves, but I’ll survive.”

Fuck. “Why didn’t you tell me you were stranded?”

“Why should I have? I didn’t know you cared.”

He leaned his forehead against hers, guilt weighing heavily on him. “Sorry, Butterfly. Of course I care. I should have driven you here and ensured you were settled in.” The fact that she had had to go alone, move her stuff, and then move again because the landlord got scared of Arnie, didn’t sit well with him. Total dick move on his part.

“Don’t sweat it. I would have turned you down if you’d offered. We independent women don’t go for clingy, overprotective men. Now that we’re on the subject, though, why didn’t you come to see me earlier?” She stared at him, her beautiful dark eyes scrutinizing. “Oh, wait. You were offended I didn’t come back for the makeup course, so you were giving me the cold shoulder. Am I right?”

He nodded, embarrassed. “Yeah. And I was trying very hard to convince myself I didn’t miss you. I failed miserably, obviously.”

“Obviously,” she repeated, caressing his face. “If it’s any consolation, I missed you too. Now let’s go, Alchemist, before I change my mind and remember the crazy shit going on in that tiny town of yours.” She squirmed out of his lap and strapped herself in next to Arnie. “So how are things in… still NoName?”

“Still NoName, I’m afraid. It’s all good, nothing out of the ordinary. Dirty diapers, mushrooms, and drills.” That had been his life. And missing her like crazy. “Oh, and Shayna shot Ty in the ass during a survival training some weeks ago.”

“I know.”

Logan threw a questioning glance her way.

She shrugged, unapologetically. “Shayna has an uninterrupted cell connection, remember? Unlike some people I could mention, she follows me on social media.”

As they hit the highway, she scrunched her nose. “Crap. I suggest you open your window,” she said, rolling hers down too.

It was still chilly, and they were driving pretty fast. “Why?”

“You’ll find out in a sec,” she replied, fanning herself. “I gave Arnie a new treat. I shouldn’t have. He has a sensitive stomach.”

Then the smell hit him. The dog was farting. “Jesus fucking Christ, Cerberus. You want to kill us?”

Sky was laughing, her head all but out the window. “You got your bug-out bag? We’re going to need the gas masks.”

No shit.

“Give it a couple of seconds. You’ll either pass out or stop noticing.”

Pass out it would be. He was sure of it.

By the time they arrived in NoName, Arnie’s stomach had calmed down, and thank God for it, because they’d spent most of the drive with the windows open wide, and he wasn’t doing that in his house. He was almost positive his ears had fallen off—he couldn’t feel them anymore. Sky’s nose was red, but she hadn’t complained even once.

Ty was right. Sky was nothing like Vivienne.

“What’s the plan for the weekend?” she asked as they pulled in the driveway.

He stopped the truck. “I reserved a table for this evening at the only restaurant in town.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Pretty confident I’d come back with you, huh?”

Wishful thinking, mostly, but he wasn’t telling her that. He forged ahead. “Tomorrow, Shayna is offering combat training and target shooting for women. I thought you’d like taking part. Any sane woman living in Minnesota needs to know how to shoot. Last time you missed the survival exercises on account of being locked in the bunker.”

She smirked. “Ah, I see. Your real intention is to get me in the bunker again.”

“Not that I would mind, but Shayna’s class isn’t being held at the compound.” He realized how that sounded, so he added, “I’m not implying in any way that you and I have to—”

“You don’t want to?”

“Fuck yeah, I want to,” he exclaimed before his filter engaged. “But you spending the weekend is not contingent upon you letting me fuck you. I’m not expecting—”

“I am,” she interrupted, that mischievous smile of hers making his cock grow even harder.

She straddled him, took his face between her hands, and brushed her lips against his. First soft, barely there kisses, then more demanding. Her short skirt didn’t allow for much movement, so it rode over her thigh-high stockings.

“Let’s get inside,” he said, trying to rein in his raging hard-on. He was not taking her in his truck.

“In that house? Are you kidding? That place is jinxed. It’s virtually impossible to have sex there.”

He chuckled at her chagrined expression. “In spite of what you think, it’s not. I was married when I moved here. I’ve managed that feat a time or two.”

She looked around. “How far does this seat go back? I bet it goes all the way. We have plenty of space. The windows are tinted. We can hide in plain sight.”

The blood supply to his brain might have ceased, because her words were making a lot of sense. His interns were back in the campus dorms. He and Sky were alone on the property.

He shook his head, trying to clear it. “Not fucking you in my truck, Butterfly. Never mind how tempting it is. I want you naked, and I need space to do all the things I want to do to you. Besides, remember the farting dog? His stomach might start acting up. As much as I want you, I’d rather avoid dying in the process. Let’s go in.” He opened the door and stepped down with her in his arms. Arnie jumped out behind them.

She wrapped herself around him, her sweet pussy pressing against his fly. “I was okay with the truck.”

“I assure you, you’ll be more okay when you’re spread-eagled on top of the dining room table, screaming while I fuck you.”

Sky shivered, her legs squeezing even tighter around him.

Without unlocking their mouths, he managed to open the front door. As he went to close it, he heard a whimper.

Shit. Cerberus.

“I’ll get him,” Sky offered.

No way. Holding her tight in one arm, he ran back, grabbed the beast around the barrel with the other, and lunged inside, closing the front door with a kick. He dropped the dog. Several more steps and he had Sky sitting on his table. He settled between her thighs and pulled her jacket off, trailing desperate kisses down her throat.

He wasn’t sure where Arnie was, or if Arnie’s growls were meant for him, but he couldn’t have cared less. Cerberus was welcome to take a bite out of him. As long as it wasn’t his dick, Logan wouldn’t even notice. He’d deal with the mess afterward. Now he had more important things to worry about than bleeding to death.

“Can’t wait to have you.” He sucked at her hard nipples through the blouse, while he gripped her hips and brought her flush to him.

Fuck. Her panties were damp. She was ready. He didn’t have the time nor the inclination to pull them off her, so he yanked at the side string, ripping it.

“Lean back, babe. I want to taste you,” he growled against her lips.

Sky obliged him, propping her elbows on the table’s wooden surface, staring at him with a dare in her eyes. “Do your worst, Alchemist.”

Jesus Christ, such a turn-on.

“Logan?”

Fuck, he must be losing his ever-loving mind, because he was hearing Vivienne.

Arnie’s growls were coming loud and clear now through the sex-induced fog, and Logan wasn’t hurting anywhere. Well, his cock was. It was about to explode from the need to fuck Sky, but it was still safely tucked inside his zipper.

“Logan!”

He turned toward the kitchen. Vivienne was there, backed into a corner, and terrified by the looks of it. Arnie was standing in front of her, growling and showing his teeth.

Sky screamed, trying to close her legs.

The good news was he was not losing his mind. The bad news was that his ex was in the house.

Sky was right; there was no way to have sex in this damn place.