Page 26 of Shattered
I needed more.
Careful not to consume her, I ran my tongue across the seam of her lips. Another little sigh escaped her as she allowed me entry. I wasted no time in coiling our tongues together. Beer, spice, and Harper assaulted my taste buds, driving me crazy.
Everything about that moment swallowed me whole. Nothing but me, Harper, and that kiss mattered. The small sounds coming from the back of her throat was like music to my ears and I'd do just about anything to keep hearing it.
Breaking the kiss took all the strength I could muster, but I knew if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to stop. When I pulled back her lips were swollen, and they glistened in the moonlight, her eyes were big, wide and dark.
Beautiful!
My hands were still cradling her face and for the life of me, I couldn't find the strength to remove them. Her tongue—a tongue I craved even though I'd just tasted it—darted out and slid along her bottom lip.
"Logan." My name came out as a breathy whisper, but I swear it felt like she'd shouted it from the rooftops. Any other man would have probably apologized for grabbing her and kissing her silly.
Not me.
I wasn't sorry for tasting her and I wasn't about to lie to her either. But whatever happened next was one hundred percent up to her. I had no idea how I managed to do what I did next.
My hands dropped from her face and I took a step back. Instantly her brows dipped into a frown. With inexplicable strength, I took another step back.
Confusion flooded me as I watched Logan take one more step away from me. It was a very unwelcome feeling seeing as a few seconds ago I felt anything but. Giving into Logan's kiss was the scariest but also the most freeing thing I'd done in a very long time.
With one kiss he'd managed to make me feel wanted, and now he was retreating from me. A cold shiver ran down my spine when I realized that he could be moving away from me because he regretted that we shared the intimate moment.
"Where are you going?" I didn't even know how I managed to croak out that sentence without sounding utterly pathetic.
Logan gave me a shrug while his lips—sinfully delicious lips—curled into a half-smile. "We still have an unfinished game in there." He jerked his head toward Joe's entrance. "Unless you're ready to call it a night, I suggest we get back to it."
What freaking game was he playing? I covered the distance between us in a few steps. With my hands on my hips, I glared at him. "Are we going to talk about what just happened?"
"Nothing else needs sayin, Sugar. I thought I made it pretty clear where I stand." His head dipped slightly as he captured my gaze with his narrowed eyes. "Maybe you don't quite get it and I need to show you again?"
I shook my head because I was afraid if I opened my mouth it'd be to kiss him. The smile never left his lips as he brought his hand up and ran his thumb over my bottom lip. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down in a deep swallow before he spoke.
"Where we go from here is up to you." His raspy voice was more hoarse. "You wanna explore this explosive chemistry between us? I'm game. But if you tell me now not to ever touch you again, I won't." His fingers slid into my hair and the tips pressed into my scalp. "It'll be the hardest thing I'll ever have to do, but you have my word that I won't."
It was my turn to swallow down the lump stuck in my throat. As much as I needed to be careful, something inside me had woken up and going back to the way things used to be, would be impossible.
"I don't want to walk away," I took a deep breath. "But I can't put a label on this yet. It's just-"
The rest of what I had to say disappeared when Logan pressed his lips to mine again. He didn't kiss me slow and deep, it was just a simple kiss but it didn't have any less of an effect on me.
"Shh," he murmured against my lips. "We'll go as slow as you need us to go."
It wasn't enough that he'd already crawled beneath my skin, now he was breaking down my walls brick by brick. The funny thing was that I wasn't all that sad to see them crumble to the ground. I just hoped that this risk I was taking wouldn't come back and bite me in the ass.
Absolutely unforgettable, that's what that kiss was. Even when we went back inside and finished our game and a few sodas - Logan was driving and I didn't want to drink alone—I couldn't stop thinking about it. I also couldn't stop wishing for a repeat performance.
Unfortunately, by the time I was climbing into his truck, Logan hadn't even attempted to touch me, let alone kiss me. I couldn't decide if it was a good thing or not. I understood I was the one who wanted to go slow, I just didn't realize that after one kiss I'd be hooked.
Soft, bluesy music filled the silence in the cab of the truck as we made our way to Chase's house to pick up Flynn. As I watched the darkened landscape roll past the window, it hit me that I didn't want the night to end. And it wasn't about sex.
Sure, I wanted to sleep with Logan but more than anything I wanted to keep feeling the way I felt when I was with him.
Like I mattered.
Like I wasn't damaged.
Turning my gaze to him, I sneaked a peek at the man who had so spectacularly broken down some of my walls. It always amazed me how comfortable he looked in his colorful skin. And tonight was no different. With one arm resting on the door panel, the other loosely gripping the steering wheel and his dark strands spilling over his forehead, he looked as carefree as I longed to feel.
