Deadly Surrender

by Reus, Katie

  “Thanks for this.” She blew on it gently. “And yes, mainly because I don’t want to close my eyes. Is that pathetic?”

  “I think it’s pretty damn normal.” And she was an even more incredible woman than he’d already thought. “Do you want me to pop some popcorn?”

  She grinned. “Sure. I’ll go pick out a movie. Superhero movies only.”

  “I think I can live with that.” Yep, the circumstances were definitely less than ideal but he still loved being with Grace. And he was going to be her shadow until they figured out what was going on. He would never let anything happen to her. Not on his watch.

  He wanted to push her a little on what kind of future they might have but knew tonight wasn’t right for that. She needed to feel safe, to have no pressure. But that didn’t mean he’d given up on making her his. After seeing her with his family last night he’d realized even more how real he wanted this fake relationship to be.

  * * *

  Grace stepped into her kitchen, surprised to find Logan there—shirtless—cooking breakfast for her. This was definitely a fantasy come to life, but she’d tossed and turned all night and was too tired to fully appreciate it.

  Yawning, she headed straight for the coffee maker. “You made pancakes?”

  “I’m a man of many talents,” he said, more than a hint of wicked in his tone.

  She couldn’t even snort out a laugh because yes, he was. During the movie last night, she’d started dozing so he’d gotten her up to her bed and she’d crashed hard—alone, unfortunately. But it hadn’t been a great sleep. She’d thought about asking him to stay with her, but had held back, not wanting to do something they would regret. “You certainly have a healthy ego.” She inhaled the rich scent of her French roast. Perfection.

  “It’s called confidence, baby,” he said as he flipped a pancake.

  Baby? She kinda liked that, but she ignored the little flutter in her belly. “If those pancakes are as good as they look, then I’ll go with confidence instead of ego.”

  He laughed, the deep rumble coming out of him absolutely delicious. Good God, everything about him was delicious. “So…any news?” She pulled out her creamer and started doctoring her coffee.

  “Nothing from the police. But some of the guys from work installed some new cameras around my property. In the front and backyard.”

  Frowning, she sat at her center island. “You already have cameras.” She’d seen them. Considering he was in security it made sense he had them. Heck, a lot of her neighbors did too, to make sure no one stole their deliveries.

  “Yeah, just directly around the house. But these new ones are an extra precaution. They put them up in areas where they’re hidden. I’m going to stay away from my place and see if anyone comes back. At this point, it’s possible it was just a random gang initiation thing, but I still want to be smart.”

  She shuddered slightly. She was glad he wasn’t going back there anytime soon even though she hated the entire situation. “You can stay with me,” she blurted out. He could easily stay with his brother or even at the Serafina. She had a feeling his boss or someone there would comp a room for a while.

  “Thank you. I was hoping you’d say that.”

  She blinked. “Really?”

  “I don’t like that you were with me when it happened. I can’t imagine that you were the target, but still, I want to be with you, to keep you safe.” There was a protective note in his tone.

  Warmth settled inside her, spreading outward in a soothing, all-consuming wave. “Well thank you. I hope my guest bed was okay.”

  He slid another pancake onto a growing stack of them, then opened a carton of blueberries. “I could always stay in your bed,” he said, tossing a grin at her over his shoulder.

  That was the Logan she knew. Sweet, teasing, flirty. As much as she liked the idea of him staying in her bed… “That’s not a good idea and you know it.”

  “I don’t know any such thing. The last time we were in bed together we both enjoyed it.” His voice dropped again, with a completely different tone.

  Oh, she wasn’t touching that with a ten-foot pole. She was feeling far too weak where he was concerned. And the casual way he talked about their time together only drove home the point that it had meant more to her than him. “So what’s on our agenda for today? I know you said you wanted to meet up with your parents. Is that still on?”

  He paused. “I’m going to let you drop the subject of sleeping arrangements for now, but we’re going to revisit them again.”

  She simply buried her face in her coffee as he continued. Noooo, they would not be revisiting anything.

  “And to answer your question, Taylor wants to go to a skating rink today, of all things. I’ve never been but apparently she loves it so we’re all meeting up there, including my parents.”

  “That actually sounds like a lot of fun.” And it was so close to Christmas.

  “Better bring your A game. Taylor and Roman are competitive, so we’re going to have to skate circles around them.”

  She laughed. “Well I hate to disappoint you but I’m not competitive about ice skating. In fact, I think the last time I skated I was maybe fourteen. You’re going to be sorely disappointed if you think we’re going to skate laps around anyone.”

  “That’s okay, you can just hold on tight to me.” His voice dropped an octave, that hint of wicked back in his tone and his expression. “I’m a good enough skater for the both of us.”

  “Yep, confidence. You have far too much of it.”

  “Can you blame me? When Roman and I were born, I got all the awesome. Clearly.” He slid a blueberry pancake onto a separate plate and her mouth practically watered at the sight of it.

  “If that pancake is for me, then absolutely, we’ll go with confidence.”

  “And?”

  “And you got all the awesome.”

  He simply grinned at her and pulled out a can of whipped cream from the fridge. As he squirted a little dollop on it, she flashed back on a memory of the night in that hotel suite. She had no idea where the whipped cream that night had even come from. But the one thing she remembered oh so clearly was him squirting it down the length of her naked body before he licked it up.

  She wondered if him bringing out a can of it now was intentional. Feeling her cheeks heat up as she remembered how he’d so easily brought her to orgasm that night—so, so many of them—she avoided his gaze as she stood to grab the syrup. Right about now she was going to drown herself in calories and sugar and completely avoid thinking about the raw, hot sex she’d been fantasizing about for the last four weeks. It was more than just sex, however. It was that Logan was everything she wanted in a partner.

  When she looked over at him, thankfully his back was to her again as he continued to clean off the stove.

  She just hoped she could get through today. It was getting harder and harder to keep her heart guarded. And who was she kidding? She’d fallen for him.

  First she got left at the altar and now she’d fallen for one of her best friends—a sexy, sweet player who was never going to settle down.

  Super smart, Grace. Suuuper smart.

  Chapter 9

  Grace felt like she was one second away from falling over as she slowly made her way toward the ice rink in her rented skates. Logan and Roman’s parents were already on the ice and might as well be pros compared to her. Taylor skated by and did a spin, clearly showing off before winking at Grace.

  She spotted Logan through the crowd of people skating around, his green skullcap a beacon. He’d wanted to wait for her, but she’d insisted he head out there and get some good skating in before she attached herself to him.

  Her skates slipped as she neared the entrance to the ice. She was definitely in over her head. At least there were some kids out here who seemed to have no idea what they were doing. So she wouldn’t be the only one who couldn’t skate. Probably the only one over the age of twenty though.

  As she stepped out
onto the rink, her legs wobbled but at least she didn’t fall. Score one.

  “Glad you finally made it,” Logan said as he zoomed in next to her, executing a perfect stop. He had on a zip-up hoodie that matched his dark eyes and his ever-present wicked grin firmly in place.

  “We’ll see how long I last.”

  He gently took her arm as she stepped out farther onto the ice. Her legs still trembled, but he held her steady and she liked the closeness. She swayed once, but thankfully managed to stay on her feet. Okay, she could do this. It might have been a while but maybe it was like riding a bike.

  “You weren’t kidding,” he said, laughing as she took a few tentative steps forward, getting her bearings.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Or maybe I’m just lulling you all into a false sense of security before I show off and start doing triple axels.”

  He lifted an eyebrow.

  “Okay, I’m kidding. I’m pretty terrible. I might end up sitting out and drinking hot cocoa. Which actually sounds kind of amazing.” She wouldn’t have to worry about breaking any bones and she’d get chocolate. Win-win.

  “At least do a few laps with me.” He took her hand in his, and though she’d seen him loop around the place a few times with an impressive grace while she was still getting her skates on, he adjusted his pace to her snail-like one with ease.

  “You really can go ahead.” He shouldn’t have to get stuck babysitting her.

  He snorted. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I left my girlfriend stranded while I went off and skated all day? Hell, what kind of friend would I be?”

  Her heart stuttered for a moment at the word boyfriend, even though she knew it was all part of the role he was playing. “Okay, point made. So have you heard anything from your friends at work about the shooting?” He hadn’t seemed concerned about them coming here today, though he had been mindful about the route they took, taking an extra-long one to make sure they weren’t followed. Which made her feel good and bad because there was potentially still a threat out there. But she knew he would never put her or his family in danger. She just kept hoping he’d gotten word that the person or persons had been arrested.

  “Nothing concrete. Still digging.” He lifted a shoulder. “They’ll get a lead. They’ve got bullets and a partial license plate.” Leaning closer, he was looking as if he might kiss her when Roman suddenly skated by.

  “Come on!” Roman was skating backward, looking just a bit smug and like a big kid. She’d never seen Logan’s more serious twin looking so relaxed.

  Grace nearly jumped when Taylor hooked her arm through hers.

  “I’ll race you,” Roman said to Logan.

  Logan started to shake his head but Grace smiled. “Go ahead. I’ve got Taylor with me and you’ll probably lap us.” He hesitated, but she waved him off. “You better not let me go,” she said to Taylor.

  “Never. I thought maybe you were exaggerating about being a terrible skater.” Taylor snickered as a group of ten-year-olds flew past them.

  “Hey,” Grace said, nudging her.

  Taylor just laughed. “I’m kidding. You’re definitely not that bad. I thought you might have to use those ice walkers that all the kids use.”

  “I looked into it and they were too short for me.” Plus they’d all been taken by kids.

  Taylor stared for a moment then burst out laughing as a cluster of teenagers smoothly skated past them.

  “I’m not kidding.” Grace wished she was.

  “I know, that’s why I’m laughing.”

  She started to feel more at ease as she stretched her legs, taking longer and longer strides, though she knew Taylor was basically moving in slow motion for her. She’d tried to keep track of Logan and Roman, but they’d disappeared into the crowd of people and she wasn’t going to risk turning around and seeing when they would be coming up behind them.

  “It feels kind of weird to be pretending to be his girlfriend,” she said quietly when she was sure his parents weren’t anywhere nearby. She’d seen his mom with her bright red cap skate by not too long ago.

  Taylor raised her eyebrows. “I’m pretty sure Logan isn’t pretending.”

  Grace frowned. “Whatever. We had a good time the other night but that’s it.” She wasn’t going to put more into what happened than was there. That was a recipe for heartbreak. Of all people, she knew what it was to give her heart to someone and then have it crushed. She’d also experienced that with her mom early on.

  “Okay. Just saying, I don’t think he’s pretending.” She gave Grace a meaningful look.

  It made no sense, but Taylor appeared to be serious. “What? Look, he’s a total player. I adore him and have a great time with him, but…he’s not looking for a relationship.” And Grace had gotten burned so damn badly she was afraid to risk her heart again anyway. Because then she would lose Logan as a friend too, and the thought of that? Ugh. No. He was such an important part of her life.

  Taylor started to respond, then both men skated past them in a blur. Logan pivoted, skating backward and very clearly showing off right before he tripped and fell on his butt.

  A group of teenage girls giggled as they skated by and two younger kids on ice walkers easily moved around him.

  Grace laughed only when she realized he was definitely okay. “Go on without me. I’ve got him,” she said to Taylor. She slowly skated toward Logan, the blades slicing over the scuffed-up ice. She was going so slow it wasn’t hard to stop herself. Before she could attempt to help him up, he popped to his feet with incredible ease, considering how slick the ice was.

  “I won. Did you see me?” His grin was unrepentant.

  Laughing, she took his outstretched hand. “I’m pretty sure everyone saw you. And they definitely all saw you fall.”

  He tugged her close as they skated over to the edge of the outer rink where it wasn’t crowded. “You seem to be getting better at this.” He kept his pace slow until they neared the side and stopped completely.

  “It’s a little easier than I remember, but I certainly won’t be going backward or doing tricks.” Or racing anyone.

  Logan’s gaze fell to her mouth and suddenly his expression was pure heat and hunger.

  It took her off guard with its intensity. Heat blossomed inside her and she nearly jerked back in surprise when he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. The kiss was far too fleeting, his lips grazing hers and leaving her burning up inside and wanting more as he pulled back. The place was completely inappropriate—she didn’t want to get run over by skaters—but she still wanted more.

  She stared at him in surprise, nearly losing her balance. But he took her arm and they pushed off again. “Were your parents watching?” she murmured, wondering at the show of affection.

  “No. You looked adorable and I wanted to kiss you.” He said it so matter-of-fact, as if of course that was why he’d done it.

  Her cheeks heated up and she didn’t know how to respond at all, so she looked away, focusing on the ice in front of her and not falling. It was difficult when she felt as if he’d imprinted her with that simple kiss. They’d done a whole lot more than that a month ago, but that kiss had felt…so intimate. As if there had been a shift in their relationship. Or maybe that was just her wanting more. She’d let Taylor’s words get stuck in her head.

  “Nothing to say to that?” He slid his fingers through hers, holding tight. Even with her thin mittens on she felt the warmth of him and wanted a whole lot more.

  “You’re maddening,” she muttered. What was he getting at right now? They’d decided to be friends, so why did he want to go and mess it up?

  “I get that a lot.”

  She snorted. “Oh, I bet.”

  He laughed in that carefree way of his she absolutely loved. Even though she got to spend time with him, this whole charade was starting to make her ache for more.

  * * *

  “Well I’m glad my son finally asked you out. And I’m glad we finally got to meet you,” L
ogan’s mom said as she slid into the seat across the booth from Grace.

  She smiled, her fingers wrapped around her warm cup of cocoa. “Me too,” she said, mainly because she wasn’t sure what else to say. She’d given the rink a few laps but now she was done and was enjoying watching all the other skaters while she got her chocolate fix and fun eighties music blasted from the speakers. The rink had a few booths set up where non-skaters could relax and stock up on the fried food and hot cocoa.

  “He’s been talking about you, so I figured it was just a matter of time before he finally asked you out.”

  Wait…what? “I didn’t know he’d talked about me.” Her gaze strayed over to the rink where Logan, Roman and their father were acting like twelve-year-olds. Taylor was really no better. But Logan was definitely the ringleader of the group, doing spins and challenging everyone to do better. The sight made her smile, especially since Roman never acted this goofy. Logan just seemed to bring out the best in everyone, in her opinion. She included herself in that as well.

  “Oh, yes. ‘Grace is so smart and accomplished.’ ‘Grace said the funniest thing the other day.’” His mom’s smile was so open and welcoming, and everything about her was so at odds with Grace’s own mother, right down to the silly Christmas sweater she had on. “He thinks quite a lot of you.”

  Grace felt her cheeks flush. “I think a lot of him too.” He’d been in the Marines, though he rarely talked about it, and he was one of the bravest, sweetest people she knew. But she didn’t want to talk about her and Logan, since there really wasn’t a them. “Logan tells me you guys are talking about moving to Vegas.”

  A smile spread across the other woman’s face. “Yes. It seems as if both our boys will be staying put, and we’re both retired now. Since we want to be closer to them, it’s a very real possibility.”