Chapter Nine
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The following morning dawned cold with an iron-gray sky overhead.
“I don’t like the look of those clouds,” Brian remarked when Logan joined him on the back porch. As they walked down to the building site, their breath shone white in the air. Champ, Isobel and Max had tried to join them, but Brian had ordered all the dogs back to the house, and Cass had taken charge of them.
“We’ll get ’er done,” Logan said, but he wasn’t as sure as his words made out. If they didn’t, the horses would have to board elsewhere over the winter. It wouldn’t be the end of the world, but he knew Lena would feel like she’d failed. He knew the rebuilt stables stood for more than a roof over their horses’ heads. It stood for standing strong against the people who had set themselves against Two Willows.
“I mean it. We’ll get ’er done,” he said again when Lena frowned.
“I’m with you,” Brian said. Soon they were back at work, tackling the usual morning chores and then following Lena’s commands to set up their materials for the day.
Once again, trucks rolled in as soon as the sun came up. This time the volunteers wore more layers, and the women carried more dishes up to the house. Heartier fare, Logan expected.
They’d need it.
There was less joking today as everyone broke into teams and got to work, and soon sheets of plywood were being handed up to the roof and screwed into place. The twins were back, he noticed, and he had to work hard not to resent it. While Ray looked out of sorts, grumpy as a wolverine anytime anyone came near, Harley was doing everything he could to stay close to Lena, and she seemed to enjoy his company—laughing even now at something he’d said.
“Lena?” he called.
“Yeah?”
He racked his brain for a response that wouldn’t give his real motive away. As usual, he’d acted first without thinking. “Need a hand over here.”
When she joined him near a pile of shingles, he knew he should come up with a reason to mask his jealousy. Instead, he found himself saying, “I don’t think you should encourage that ass.”
“We’ve been over this before,” she reminded him.
“I don’t like him.”
“Don’t like him? Or don’t like me talking to him?”
“Is there a difference? Look, we know nothing about him—or his brother. And he’s the idiot who nearly got you killed.”
“He dropped a tool—”
“And nearly ended up tipping you on your head. It’s my job to keep you safe—”
“Actually, it isn’t,” she shot back. “It’s your job to get to work and get a roof on my stables. It’s going to snow any minute, so stop wasting time.”
Lena wasn’t the only one whose temper grew short as the morning advanced, and she knew a real leader would do something to ease the tension. She wasn’t sure what to do, though. Ray was the worst of the lot, snapping at anyone who spoke to him. The contrast between his behavior and Harley’s made her wonder if Logan was right and the twins had fought over her. She didn’t normally think of herself as the femme fatale type, but it was clear something had happened. The looks Ray kept sending Harley made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Men got like that when their desires were frustrated. She shivered a little. Once she might have been attracted to a man like Ray with his reckless male energy. Not anymore. She wished he’d go home and take his brother with him.
Worse, the roof was progressing more slowly than she’d hoped, people’s dexterity hampered by the cold weather. Although they had many hands, more didn’t necessarily mean faster where a roof was concerned. Things needed to be done in a certain order. They couldn’t all climb up at the same time.
They were making progress, though, and by noon they were nearly done. Which was good, since the clouds had lowered ominously.
“Lunch break,” she called out, expecting the crowd to make a dash for the house to warm up.
“Lena, no disrespect,” Luke Matheson called from the roof. “But I think we’d better keep going.” He pointed to the sky, just as a lazy flake of snow drifted down and touched her cheek.
“Okay,” she decided quickly. “You’re right; let’s get it done.” She pulled out her phone and called Cass. “Hey, we’re pushing through, so no one’s coming up for lunch yet. Is there any way you can get some hot coffee out here—and something everyone can eat on the go?”
“I’m on it.” Cass hung up.
Ten minutes later, a string of figures came out the back door of the house and trudged down the track toward them. Luckily, the snow had only continued to fall a flake at a time, but Lena knew they were pushing it. Even such a slight amount of precipitation would leave things wet and slippery in no time.
She blessed Cass when the women arrived with thermoses of piping hot coffee and easy-to-eat sandwiches. The men were back to work in no time, warmed and ready to go.
Still, the job crawled on. The shingles were hard to work with in the cold, and Lena’s fingers moved like metal gears left to rust for far too long when she tried to shift one into place.
“At least it’s not a metal roof,” Logan mumbled the next time they came close.
He was right. The metal would be slick and dangerous by now. They were already pushing it being up here in the snow.
The light waned, even though it was barely past noon.
And the snow began to fall for real.
“Damn it.” Lena bent to work harder, nailing a shingle in place and reaching for the next one. All around her the sound of hammers redoubled.
“Let’s go, boys. Let’s move,” Brian called out. “We can finish in a half hour if we put our backs into it.”
“Someone get a broom up here. We need to keep the snow off this roof,” Logan added.
Lena looked up, wishing she’d thought to suggest that.
Harley scrambled past her. “I’ll get it. Where do I look?”
Lena told him, impressed by his willingness to keep helping under these conditions. He’d been cocky the first time she’d met him, but she was quickly learning he wasn’t the jerk his brother was.
She straightened and caught Logan’s dark frown. When she made a face at him, he leaned closer. “I can’t help it,” he growled at her. “He’s such a kiss-ass when it comes to you.”
“Maybe you should try that once in a while.”
His dark look changed to something far more dangerous. “Any time, baby girl.”
“Oh, my god. You are incorrigible. Do you ever think of anything besides sex?”
“Rarely.”
She got back to work with a smile, despite the difficult situation. A moment later, Harley returned, and he made it his job to keep sweeping the snow off the roof in between helping with the shingling. The unshingled area was growing smaller by the minute.
Lena’s heart lifted. “I think we’re actually going to get this done.”
She could have eaten her words when the wind whipped up a moment later, sending billows of snowflakes sideways into their faces.
“Jesus,” Logan said. “Okay—everyone not actively shingling, get off this roof. We don’t want anyone to fall. Brian? Get those last bundles up here. Let’s finish off this job.”
One by one the men climbed down, leaving just a handful of figures huddled up on the high roof. Brian humped the remaining bundles of shingles up the ladder. Lena kept hammering. So did Logan, Connor and Harley—and Ray, to her surprise. Now that the chips were down, Lena had to admit she appreciated their presence. Both twins had worked hard all day despite Harley’s propensity for chatter and Ray’s baleful looks.
Lena, on her knees, had bent to tack down a shingle near the edge of the roof when Connor, working higher up, swore and lurched forward. A hammer zipped past her, and Ray, near the ridge of the roof, cursed. “Damn it, Harley! Look what you did.”
Lena lunged for it, too, just as Connor slid down the wet surface and knocked her over. He scrambled on all fours and caught himself from sliding farther. Lena fought to do the same, but her momentum carried her forward and she tumbled, coming face to face with the ground twenty feet below her—
Just as a strong hand clamped around her bicep and kept her from falling off the roof.
For a long moment she hung there, legs and torso splayed on the roof, head and shoulders hanging over, staring at the ground far below, where the hammer lay in the newly fallen snow.
“Someone brace me,” Logan finally yelled. “If I move, we’re both going to fall.”
Lena kept as still as possible, aware the slightest movement could unbalance her—and pull Logan down, too.
Someone moved to grip her feet. She felt another presence behind Logan. A moment later, Logan shifted back and pulled her with him. Slowly, he eased her away from the edge of the roof.
When she could push up into a sitting position, Lena finally let out the breath she’d been holding. Stars danced before her eyes, and she had to bend down and put her head between her legs. The world dipped and spun. She put a hand on the roof to brace herself, unable to get her balance back. Connor was holding on to Logan. Harley had been the one to grip her feet.
She felt Logan’s hand on her back.
“It’s okay. Just breathe,” he told her.
Humiliation washed over her as she realized what had nearly happened. A man wouldn’t have been bowled over—he’d have had the strength to stop himself. She had fallen because she was too light to keep her footing.
She was always at a disadvantage. Just because she’d been born a woman.
She worked as hard as anyone else. Tried as hard, but she always came up short.
Lena tried to move. She needed to get back to work. Prove to all of them she was as good as they were. But somehow the more time went by, the worse she felt.
She didn’t know how long they stayed that way before she allowed Logan to help her over to the ladder, where he climbed down before her, one hand on her waist as she took it rung by rung. Each step down felt like a defeat. Back on solid ground, she sagged against him, hating her own weakness but unable to fight it.
She’d nearly died.
As a rancher, she’d messed up a few times. Had a couple of close calls to danger. And hell, she’d been in a shoot-out just weeks ago—
But she’d never faced death so baldly. Not like she had on the roof. As soon as she’d started to slide, she’d been helpless to stop herself.
She hated feeling helpless.
“It’s okay,” Logan said again.
Behind him she heard arguing, and she was dimly aware Harley and Ray had climbed down, too, and now were fighting. Other men circled around them, trying to break them up.
Connor, pale as a ghost, came to stand beside Lena. “I’m sorry, lass. Christ, what a stupid mistake to go after that hammer.”
“What made you drop it?” Logan asked him, craning his neck to see the argument playing out behind him.
“It wasn’t mine. I saw it go past and lunged for it. Should’ve called a warning and let it go. Nearly got you both killed.”
Logan clapped him on the shoulder. “Honest mistake. It was slippery as fuck up there. Any of us could have lost our footing.”
“I don’t know about honest,” Connor leaned in to say. He sent a look over his shoulder at Harley and Ray, who appeared to have noticed the crowd of onlookers. They weren’t arguing anymore, but the animosity between them was clear. “That boy’s got butterfingers,” Connor went on. “That’s twice he’s dropped a tool. He’s got no place on a construction site.”
“Harley dropped it?” Logan asked.
Harley turned at the sound of his name. “It wasn’t me,” he said. “It was—”
Ray grabbed his arm and hustled him away up the track. “I didn’t do nothing,” he snarled back at Logan.
“Like hell! Lena? It wasn’t me,” Harley called back as his brother kept hustling him along.
“You think she gives a damn about you?” Ray said loudly enough for all of them to hear.
Harley ducked his head, shoved his brother away and kept going.
“Good riddance,” Logan said as the brothers stalked off toward their truck, but Lena was horrified. Had Harley dropped the hammer? Or had Ray? Was it an accident, or—?
“Forget about them. You two had better get up to the house and get warm,” Connor said.
“We’ll be right there,” Logan said. When Connor was gone, he added, “He’s right. It’s cold, and you’re in shock. We need to get you back to the house.”
“Chores,” Lena managed through teeth that had begun to chatter. She’d think about Harley and Ray another time. When she was warm, and her brain was working right.
“Brian’s got it covered already.” Logan nodded at a cluster of men heading toward the barn. She realized they’d already put the tools away.
“Okay.” Her whole body had begun to shake, and a moment later when Logan picked her up, she couldn’t even find the strength to protest.
Back at the house, Logan kicked off his boots, pulled Lena’s off, too, and carried her straight upstairs to her room. She’d sagged against him as he’d carried her up the hill and didn’t seem aware of their location until he began to undress her.
“Hey,” she protested when he’d gotten off her coat and gloves and began to work on tugging her thick sweater up and over her head. “Hey!”
She batted his hand away and tried to sit up. “What are you doing?”
“Putting you to bed—after I get this wet stuff off. You’re soaked through. Still in shock.”
“I can get myself to bed.” Her color was coming back. A knock sounded on the door, and Cass poked her head in.
“I’ve got hot coffee and some stew. Lena, you okay?”
“I’m fine. Logan’s making too much of this.” But she gratefully took the mug of coffee Cass handed her, blew on it and took a sip.
“I’ll get her into bed,” Cass told him. “You can come back as soon as she’s tucked in,” she added with a knowing grin.
“Fine.” Logan left the room, frustrated. It wasn’t that he wanted to hit on Lena in her condition. He simply didn’t want to let her out of his sight. He’d nearly lost her over a stupid mistake this afternoon, and he couldn’t help but feel responsible. There’d only been a few feet left to shingle. He should have sent everyone else inside, including Lena, no matter how she protested.
He had to stifle a grin at the thought of how that would have gone. They’d have gotten into a wrestling match up there and probably both would have fallen off the roof.
He sobered again at the realization they’d come pretty damn close. He’d caught Lena at the last possible moment, and only luck had left him in a position to keep her from sliding over and pulling him with her. That had been a long, awful minute before Connor had shuffled close behind him and helped pull them both back. He was going to make damn sure neither Harley nor Ray got anywhere near her again.
Voices floated up from the kitchen, where people had congregated to eat now that the work was done. He’d make sure to thank everyone for their help—later. First he needed to make sure Lena was okay.
When Cass came out of the room, she held up a hand before he could even ask a question. “Lena’s fine. She ate some food, drank her coffee. She’s already going to sleep.” She gave him a good long look. “If you’re going in there, you behave.”
“I promise.”
“Should I believe you?” She tilted her head as if considering the matter and sighed. “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”
“I just want to be close. In case she needs anything.”
Cass softened. “All right.”
When he opened the bedroom door, he found Lena curled on her side beneath a pile of blankets. Her eyes were closed but they fluttered open when he came in. He’d never seen her so unguarded, and a warm, painful sensation filled his chest. He wanted to keep this woman safe—forever. He wanted to find a way to break through the walls she’d built so high when it came to men. St. Michael’s sword would come in handy right about now.
“What’re you doing here?” Lena mumbled.
Logan began to peel off his own clothes.
“Climbing in there with you. To keep you warm.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she said half-heartedly but didn’t protest as he stripped down to his skivvies, circled the bed and climbed in the other side. Nor did she do more than grumble when he moved close to her and circled her waist with one arm.
This was where Lena belonged—right next to him, where he knew nothing could hurt her.
As long as they stayed in this bed, everything would be okay.
Lena woke the next morning to the sound of snoring and stiffened, instantly on high alert, until she remembered Logan climbing into bed.
She hadn’t stopped him.
Why hadn’t she stopped him?
Then she remembered everything else: losing her balance, rolling to the edge of the roof.
Looking over at the ground below, held in place by Logan’s grip on her arm.
He’d saved her life.
And now the Marine was snoring in her bed.
Could she climb out without waking him? She was—not naked, thank goodness—she realized when she peeked down and saw she wore a cami and panties. But she was as close to it as she could get. She wasn’t ready for this kind of encounter with Logan. She shifted away from him—
His arm tightened around her waist, and he hauled her back in against his chest.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he rumbled softly in her ear.
“I’m getting up. It’s morning. There’s work to do.” She hadn’t even thanked the men and women who’d come to help yesterday, she realized with a flush of shame. She’d have to make a passel of phone calls to make up for it—although she was sure her sisters had filled in for her.
“It’s early. Plenty of time for another snooze.”
She lifted her head to see the alarm clock. “Time to get up in twenty minutes. That’s not long enough for a snooze.”
He pushed up on one elbow, his other arm still holding her tight to his body. “Plenty long enough for all kinds of things.”
Heat suffused her, and Lena stifled a curse. She hadn’t meant to react to him that way. But with his broad, muscular chest pressed against her back, his hand dangerously close to her breasts and her bottom snuggled against his crotch, she supposed it was only natural to feel… something.
Lust. That’s what it was called.
Her body simply craved what she’d denied it for far too long. She was in the prime of her youth. In bed with a hot Marine. Of course she was turned on.
That didn’t mean she’d do anything about it—
Lena sucked in a breath when Logan’s mouth found her neck and he began kissing her softly, moving up to nibble on her earlobe, his breath tickling her ear.
Sharp shocks of need lanced through her, and Lena braced herself, not wanting to move. His hand moved to her hip, held her in place, and she imagined a closer connection. Him sliding into her.
She must have made a sound.
Logan turned her over, and Lena swallowed as her breasts pushed up against his chest and his fingers tightened over her hip.
“You were amazing yesterday.”
Lena was lost. What was he talking about?
“I wasn’t sure we’d get the job done, but you kept the men going, kept them organized—”
“I nearly fell off the roof.”
“That could have happened to anyone.” He kissed her.
She couldn’t seem to form an answer. She didn’t want to think about the roof. Didn’t want to think about anything other than Logan’s fingers. His hand still perched on her hip, but he was moving it ever so slowly, his fingers curving over her ass.
Her whole body ached for him to pull her close. She wanted to feel him—all of him—pressed against her.
“You weren’t so bad up there yourself, you know?” She cursed the waver in her voice. Did he realize what he was doing to her?
“Really?”
Was he fishing for compliments?
“Really. Thank you. For everything,” she said honestly. Like it or not, she owed this man her life, and right now she’d have a hard time denying she liked Logan.
Still, she shouldn’t let him know that.
Which made it hard to understand why she found herself edging closer, tilting her head and giving him a kiss.
When Lena’s mouth brushed his, Logan’s world contracted to the size of the bed. Heat throbbed hard between his legs, and his hand curved around her ass, tucking her tighter against him. He didn’t care if she felt his arousal. Hell, he wanted her to. Wanted her to know exactly what he wanted.
“This isn’t happening between us.”
Logan stiffened at Lena’s words. It damn sure felt like it was about to happen, but if she was having second thoughts, he’d stop—even if it killed him.
He was pretty sure it would kill him, though.
“I’m not marrying you.”
Logan held his breath. Did that mean she still wanted to—
Oh, God.
Lena’s hand slipping down between them to curl around the length of him would have brought him to his knees if he wasn’t already lying down.
“Why won’t you marry me?”
What a stupid thing to say. First make love. Then ask the hard questions. He let his hand begin to explore her body. As his palm moved over her ass again, he snagged his thumb in the waistline of her panties and tugged them down. He wanted to feel skin. As his fingers slid underneath the cotton, she shifted closer to him.
She wanted this, too.
“For one thing, the General sent you. I won’t give him the satisfaction.”
He took a chance and slipped a hand between her legs. “How about giving yourself some satisfaction?”
When Lena parted for him, he knew he had her—at least for now.
Who knew what would happen afterward. But if he was only going to get one shot to be with her, he’d make the most of it.
If his body let him.
He was so hard, and her light touch, stroking him up and down through the fabric of his boxer briefs, was driving him wild.
Logan shifted and rolled her over, straddled her quickly and, with a single tug, pulled the thin, surprisingly feminine tank top she wore up and over her head.
She didn’t fight him, and when she lay back again, her breasts on display, Logan lost what little restraint he’d managed to hold on to.
He framed her shoulders with his hands, bent down and captured her mouth with his, delighted when she answered with equal passion. Still, her breasts beckoned, and when he’d kissed his fill, he slid down to explore them with his mouth, tracing kisses over her soft skin as his hardness bobbed between them, until her hands found him again and her caresses elicited a groan deep in his throat.
This wouldn’t be his most expert lovemaking. He was far too gone already, and as luscious as her breasts were, he needed something more—fast. When Lena tugged his boxer briefs down, he took that as a sign she wanted more, too.
He pushed up, kicked off the briefs, settled himself between her legs and nudged against her. He couldn’t help himself. She deserved so much more than this crude, fast fuck, but—
Lena palmed his ass with her hands, dug her fingers in and pulled him close.
Logan didn’t need any more invitation than that.
He stroked inside her, rewarded by her tight, wet heat. Lena was sweet—so sweet. Crushing her with his weight, feeling her softness part around him, Logan knew there wasn’t anywhere he’d rather be. He wanted Lena to feel the same way, and when he pulled out and stroked in again, she sighed beneath him and arched into his touch.
A thought occurred. “Protection? I don’t have a condom. And I’m not going to last—”
“I’m on the Pill.”
Still, Logan grit his teeth and held still. “You sure about this?” He had to know. He couldn’t make a mistake.
“Don’t I look sure?”
Her last sentence contained so much frustration, Logan decided to take it on face value.
She gasped as he plunged into her again, her fingers digging into his hips. “Oh—”
His own unintelligible groan mingled with hers as they began to move together. Lena was so hot, so ready for him, her movements nearly undid him right then. Logan gathered her close, wanting to feel all of her as they made love. He wanted to do this with more finesse—wanted to give her everything, but he was locked into a rhythm with her he didn’t think he could change.
He didn’t want to.
Moving inside of Lena felt better than anything he’d experienced before. She fit him perfectly, and he loved the feel of her skin under his hands. He wanted to touch her everywhere, but all he could do was brace him and move faster within her—bringing them both to the brink.
“Logan—”
His name on her lips brought him crashing over into an orgasm, and she cried out, too, pulsing against him as ecstasy overtook her. Wave after wave of sensation washed through Logan, until he thought his climax would never end.
Eventually it did, of course. As their breathing slowed and Lena relaxed beneath him, hope and—love—filled Logan’s heart.
This was where he was meant to be.
Holding Lena.
Loving her.
Forever.
They lay together a long time, Logan above her—
Inside her.
When he finally shifted to one side and slid out of her, Lena almost groaned. She didn’t want to face this part.
Thinking about what she’d done.
She wanted to stay where she’d been only moments before—moving with a man—crying out with him.
Feeling—
Good.
But now she had to face the music, because Logan wasn’t just any man. He was the man her father had sent to marry her.
And she couldn’t pretend he hadn’t just moved her world.
Hell, he was good. Or maybe he didn’t have to be good; he was simply himself. He fit inside her. Filled her in the perfect way. Made her—
Want him again.
Lena rolled away from him to stare at the wall.
She’d let the Marine make love to her. Let him stroke inside her until she’d cried out his name and ridden a wave of sensation that left her tingling all over. She’d made herself vulnerable to him.
And he’d made her come with such force she felt brand new inside.
And now she wanted him again. Craved him.
But their twenty minutes was up. It was time to get up. Shower.
Shower…
Lena got out of bed in one graceful maneuver, stood for a moment to let Logan enjoy the view, and when she heard him shifting behind her, she walked away slowly. “Time to clean up.” He’d either get the invitation or he wouldn’t.
She heard his feet hit the floor, and she snagged her robe off the hook behind her door. They’d have to be quiet. This was an old house; no en suite bathrooms here. Just the shared one down the hall.
At least it had a lock.
Cass would already be down in the kitchen. Alice and Sadie both slept in a little later to let the others clear out before they took their turns. The coast should be clear.
Logan had slipped his briefs back on when she turned back and pressed a finger to her lips. They both made their way down the hall as quietly as they could. Once inside the small bathroom, Lena locked the door and got the shower running.
“If we take too long, someone will pound on the door,” she warned him.
“I can be quick.”
Judging by the state of him in those briefs, he was right.
Lena smiled. She could be quick, too. When he peeled off her robe—and skimmed off his briefs—they stepped into the shower together.
Making love in the old-fashioned shower would be tricky—possibly dangerous—so Lena soaped up her hands, ran them all over his body and then sank to her knees. He was thick and hard, and when she took him into her mouth, he groaned.
“Lena—”
“Shh,” she said, pulling back. “Just go with it.” She couldn’t help herself; he was so damn sexy, and she wanted to taste every bit of him.
Wet, he pushed in and out of her mouth with ease, and she relished the knowledge of how big he was, remembering how he’d felt pushing inside her. She teased him with her tongue, loving how she could make him lose control, and when he finally did, tangling his hands in her hair, moving in and out of her mouth and pulsing with his release, she gripped his hips and swallowed, reveling in the incredible intimacy of the moment.
“Lena,” he said again when he was done and he’d lifted her to her feet. The look in his eyes nearly unnerved her. There was something different about him. About the way he touched her.
She didn’t want to think about it.
Knew she’d have to soon.
The water was running cooler, and she shushed him, finished cleaning up, giving her hair the quickest wash in history, and then led him to her room, both of them wrapped in towels. It was late. They should be out in the barn already.
The other men would wonder—
Or maybe they wouldn’t.
Lena gave in. The way Logan was looking at her—the way her whole body flamed with need—there was no way they’d go anywhere before Logan made love to her again.
She let her towel drop. Let him turn her toward him. And when he sat on the edge of the bed, she straddled him without being asked.
He was ready again. Lena had the feeling he would always be ready for her, and strange as it was after all that had happened to her—and as much as she hated the fact her father had sent him to Two Willows—she had the feeling she’d always be ready for him, too.
Knowing how he’d made her feel earlier made it easy to be ready. As she lowered her hips and felt him press against her, opening her up to him, she buzzed with longing. Only being with Logan could sate that feeling. If it meant sharing the deepest parts of her with him—
So be it.
Logan slid his hands up and palmed her breasts. Lena arched back, settling lower still—taking him deep inside.
She clung to him as he teased her, already so close to losing control, she didn’t know how she could last much longer. When he put his hands on her hips and began to move her against him, Lena gave up and settled in for whatever ride he wanted to take her on.
She wasn’t disappointed. She clutched at him as he thrust inside her. Flung her head back and opened her mouth in a silent cry when he brought her to another orgasm. He grunted against her, crushing her to him as he came, too, then fell back on the bed, her on top of him, utterly spent.
They lay tangled like that until Lena’s stomach rumbled.
“Time to get up. For real this time.”
“Hold that thought. I’ll be back in a minute.” He slid out of her again, and a few moments later left the room, boxer briefs back on, his jeans in his hands. A trip to the bathroom again—Lena heard the shower running—then his steps went the other way and down the stairs. Some minutes later, he reappeared, carrying plates piled high with leftovers from the dishes everyone had brought the day before.
Lena scrambled to sit up. “What are you doing?” She never ate breakfast in bed. Certainly not that kind of breakfast.
“I explained to Cass you were sleeping late. She agreed that was prudent.”
“You… what?”
“Lena, just for once, take it easy and have a little fun.”
She opened her mouth. Closed it again.
What the hell.
She took a plate from him, grabbed a chicken leg and took a bite as her stomach rumbled again. “Mmm, this is heaven.” She scrambled back to lean against the headboard and tugged the blankets up around her.
Logan joined her. “Baby girl, you haven’t seen anything yet.”