Page 84 of Spilled Coffee

“No,” Logan replied, stepping closer but stopping just shy of reaching out to him. “I’m sorry.” He bit down on his bottom lip hard enough to leave an indent before continuing in a strained whisper, “I shouldn’t’ve let you go with him. I thought he’d changed. I’m so sorry.”

His gaze dropped to the floor briefly before returning to Ethan’s bruised and shaken form, a sight that would haunt him long after tonight ended. “It’s late,” he said after an uncomfortable pause stretched between them like a chasm neither seemed able to cross just yet. “I should probably go.” He took a step toward the door, but hesitated for a moment. “We’ll talk properly tomorrow.”

Ethan stood up and crossed his arms tightly over his chest like he was trying to hold himself together physically while everything inside him felt like it was unraveling piece by piece. “Wait, you’re leaving?” he called out as both confusion and frustration colored his features. “After everything that just happened, you’re just going to leave?”

Logan shook his head, but he couldn’t turn around because if he saw Ethan’s face…

“I’m sorry, I really do have to go.” He kept one hand on the door, as if letting go might undo whatever fragile resolve he’d summoned. “This…” he gestured between them. “This proves why we can’t be a thing. I’m sorry, really I am.”

Ethan stared at him for several long seconds before he finally spoke. “Logan, I want you to stay…”

CHAPTER 46

Ethan stoodshirtless by the breakfast bar.

A purple bruise was already blooming like a violent flower on his cheek, small cut on his forehead. His chest rose and fell in uneven heaves, as he clenched the edge of the counter, trying to steady himself. “So, you’re just gonna walk out?” He frowned, anger flaring wild and hot in his gut.

Across the room, Logan remained by the door. His broad shoulders seemed impossibly rigid, muscles coiled as if bracing for a fight he wasn’t sure he could win. “I can’t stay. What happened here earlier… Goddamnit, Ethan, it could’ve ended so badly.” He exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m just glad I got here in time. But staying the night… I can’t do that.”

Ethan flinched, but quickly masked it with a scowl. His fingers drummed erratically against the countertop before curling into fists at his sides. “You think Devon showing up here, losing his fucking mind, is on you? Are you listening to yourself right now?” He stepped forward. “Because yourexcan’t control himself, you think you should leave? That I’d blame you? That I wouldn’t want you?”

“I came over here to talk, but what I had to say… it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Ethan’s lips parted as if to argue, but for a moment, no sound came out. His mind raced back to moments ago when Devon’s hands were on him. The memory made him shudder.

“What doesn’t matter?” He took another step toward Logan until they were only inches apart. “You didn’t just come here to ‘talk,’” he accused. “That’s bullshit.”

Logan sighed. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter, because this…” he gestured vaguely between them without looking up, “can’t happen. I was stupid to think it ever could.”

He closed his eyes briefly and dragged a hand down his face. “I told you before… me and you, it crosses too many lines.” Each word pulled from some deep well of guilt inside him. “I put you in danger tonight, and if we take this any further... that’s what it’ll be like every day. Every spin-up, I have to put you in harm’s way. And I can’t handle that, not if we get closer, not without someone seeing how I feel about you.”

Ethan’s laugh was sharp and bitter. “I’m getting spun up whether we sleep together or not. You’re still gonna have to watch that happen, so what difference does it make?” He locked his eyes on Logan. “What… you think you won’t feel anything for me if we don’t fuck? You know that’s a lie. The only difference is we miss out on all the good stuff—the stuff that makes it worth it. We don’t get to comfort each other when shit hits the fan, and we don’t get to have great sex.”

He tilted his head, a daring smile tugging his lips as he watched for a reaction. “I know which I’d prefer.”

Logan’s resolve cracked for just an instant; his shoulders sagged before he straightened and shook his head. “Stop it,” he snapped. There was no real anger behind it, only desperation.

“No,” Ethan shot back as he reached past Logan and slammed the door shut with enough force to rattle its frame. “Who said you get to decide this?”

Logan started to say something, but Ethan cut him off. “I don’t think so.” He shoved him back against the door, hands clamping around his head. His lips crashed into Logan’s, tongue plunging deep, invading with a hunger that stole the breath from his lungs.

The kiss wasn’t careful or calculated, it was desperate, primal, a claim being staked. It burned hot, then softened as Ethan pulled back. “You still wanna leave?” He yanked the door open, stepping aside, daring him. “Then go.”

Logan froze, his mind caught somewhere between disbelief and desire, but then heat flared through him like wildfire. He gripped Ethan’s bare shoulders, fingers digging into the firm muscle beneath flushed skin.

He could feel every ridge and plane of Ethan’s chest pressing against him, separated only by his t-shirt. The heat seeped through the material, branding him, and making it impossible to think about anything else.

Logan’s heart hammered against his ribs as he stared out at the open door, his mind racing with conflicting thoughts.Leave? Stay? Fight? Run?

Something shifted, and he brushed his fingers lightly over Ethan’s bare chest, grazing the shape. Temptation roared inside him and lifting his eyes, a slow smile broke across his face. It was real, in a way that shook him to his core.

“No,” he finally said, despite the turmoil roaring inside. “I don’t wanna leave.”

Ethan exhaled audibly, relief flickering across his features before melting into something softer, something closer to hope.

“Good.” He smiled as he stepped forward. One hand reached up to cup Logan’s cheek, thumb brushing lightly over the rough stubble along his jawline. “Then stay with me.” He whispered, leaning in until their foreheads touched.

Ethan’s touch was surprisingly gentle, and it made Logan’s pulse jump all over again. This time when their lips met it wasn’t about dominance or control, it was about connection. The kiss was long and deep and filled with a promise that neither of them would dare put into words. Their tongues tangled in a dance of equal give-and-take.

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