Perusing the glass cabinets as I entered the store, my eyes honed in on the display of sparkling diamond rings. Without thought, I paused and stared. In my mind, I saw one of them shimmering on her slender finger.
“Would you like me to pull something out for you to look closer at?” Startled out of my trance, I had to think about how many drinks I’d had with lunch. Then I questioned if I’d taken anything after dropping her off. Because I was either high or losing my fucking mind.
“Umm, no thank you. I was actually looking for a gift for a friend.” The last word tasted sour on my tongue.
“Ah, well in that case, perhaps one of our bracelets?” Moving silently on the plush carpet, he moved to an adjacent case and unlocked the sliding door. Pulling out a thick, heavy toggle bracelet with a heart tag dangling from it, he laid it on the open velvet pad.
Sliding the heavy chain through my fingers, I appreciated the weight and smooth metal in my hand. “I like this. Do you have earrings to match?”
The pleased smile on his face preceded his, “Excellent choice, sir.”
Next he presented heart-shaped earrings that matched the tag on the bracelet. They were perfect. Stella wasn’t a diamonds and pearls kind of girl, even though she’d look great in them. She deserved them too, and I hoped one day a man would drown her in them.
As quickly as that thought popped in my head, I frowned. Because the thought of another man buying her gifts and touching her skin as he placed the jewelry on her had my hackles rising.
“Did you change your mind, sir? Perhaps something a bit more sparkling?” His hand moved toward a pair of diamond-encrusted earrings.
“No. The first ones were good.” Swallowing hard, I tried to gain control of my wayward emotions.
“Very good, sir. Shall I package them for you now, or did you want to look around a little longer?” Fighting the urge to buy her one of everything, I gave a tight smile.
“No, that will be perfect. Thank you. Oh, could you gift wrap them, please?” With a single nod, he quietly packaged my purchases, and I handed him my credit card. Maybe I should have asked how much they were, but I didn’t care. Like I said, I’d have bought her one of everything given the chance.
With the small turquoise bag in hand, I exited the store to be swept up in the cold once again. Knowing she still had a couple of hours before she got off, I debated killing time somewhere and going home with her.
Except I wanted to surprise her, so instead, I made one more stop and caught the train back to her place.
Letting myself into her apartment, I set the keys on the counter and brought the bags to the living room. First, I unpackaged the small pre-lit tree I’d picked up, set it up on the end table, and plugged it in.
I’d been upset when I saw she had no Christmas decorations up. Not only was she going to be alone, she had nothing in her place to bring her any fucking Christmas cheer.
I’d decided to fix that.
After I got everything done, I brought the bags over by the tree. One by one, I pulled out the wrapped packages and set them on the end table under the little tree. Pleased with my work, I threw away all the bags and checked the time.
She should be here any minute. Deciding I’d walk down to the subway stop, I grabbed the keys again and left the building. Damn, I was getting tired of going out in the cold. But I was anxious to see her.
Time was on my side, and I got there right as she was stepping up the last few stairs. Lost in thought, she didn’t see me until I snaked my hand around her wrist as she passed me.
“Oh!” Startled eyes jumped to mine. Recognition dawned, and a soft curl of her lips was my reward. “Logan,” she breathed.
My name on her lips combined with the beauty of her smile was enough to wake my fucking dick up again. Telling myself that was a problem didn’t help. Instead of stepping back, though, I entwined my fingers with hers.
“Hey, beautiful. Did you want to grab something to eat before we get to your place? Or do want me to cook for you?”
Laughter had her eyes sparkling like the water I saw in Florida once. Bright, blue, and clear, they held me captive.
“You cook?”
“Don’t sound so astonished. Of course I cook. Our mom made sure all us boys knew how to cook.” The thought of my brothers sobered me for a moment. Lucas had been the worst student in the kitchen. Fuck, I miss him.
It’d been nearly three years since the accident that stole him from us, and yet it seemed like yesterday. “Logan?”
From the look on her face, she must’ve been talking to me for a while. Shaking off the melancholy memories, I made the decision to enjoy my time with her and not think about the past. “Sorry, got lost in thought.”
“I noticed. I said we could stop at the little seafood restaurant by my place if you want.” That stunning smile of hers took my breath away.
“That sounds perfect. I’ll cook for you on Christmas. How’s that sound?”
“Good.”
Over dinner, she told me about her brother and how he was going to school for engineering. As usual, she skated around her parents. It was obviously a touchy subject.
We’d had a few drinks with dinner, and we were both a little tipsy. My tolerance was pretty high, but I’d caved and dry swallowed a couple of Oxys in the bathroom before we left the restaurant.
I’d made myself a promise that my New Year’s resolution would be to quit. Because I knew I was fucking up. My plan was to talk to Tracey and check myself into rehab after New Year’s.
We were laughing about a story I’d been telling as we stumbled through the door of her apartment. Everything was floaty and so fucking good. When she fell into me, I wasn’t thinking clearly, and my arms wrapped around her.
I’d only intended on steadying her. But like I said, I wasn’t thinking clearly, and obviously neither was she. Because my hands slid along her back until one held her ass and the other was tangled in her hair.
Her chest heaved against mine as we stood there drowning in each other’s eyes. Drawn closer and closer, before I knew it I had dipped my head and our lips were a hairbreadth apart. “This is a bad idea.” Sanity was trying to prevail, but I knew I was too far gone.
“I know.” Her whispered words landed on my lips, and I caved.
She tasted of the hard cider she’d consumed with dinner and pure heaven. I assaulted her lips with mine. When hers immediately parted and a soft moan vibrated through her body, I invaded her mouth and our tongues clashed.
The silken strands of her hair spilled through my fingers as I clenched it tighter and tipped her head to a more advantageous angle for my deep kiss. Mirroring my movements, her small hands grasped my hair and neck.
Losing all control, I reluctantly let go of her hair and lifted her in my arms. Toned legs wrapped around my waist, and I wasted no time in heading to her bedroom. Not bothering with the door since we were there alone, I pressed her back to the wall and pushed my painfully hard cock against her clit, seeking any form of relief.
Whimpering, she ground against me, seeking her release. Breathless, I broke away and attacked her neck and shoulders. She tasted so fucking good, and I needed access to more of her tender skin.
Holding her to the wall at our hips, I continued to lick, suck, and bite her neck as I unbuttoned her shirt then shoved it over her shoulders and down her arms. After it fell to the floor, she grasped my biceps and tilted her head back to give me better access.
Rapidly losing control, I forced myself to stop long enough to set her down, undress her, and lay her on the bed. Jerking my shirt off, I threw it to the floor and reveled in her rapid intake of breath.
Never before her had I been so lust-driven with a woman. She made me crazy and desperate. Unhinged. Wanting to pull out my dick and shove it deep into her waiting heat.
The need to fuck her rattled through me, nearly tearing me apart at the goddamn seams. It was like I had no control over my actions, and that was unacceptable.
I’d gotten as far as unbuttoning my pants when I saw her hands skating along her stomach and toward where I wanted to be in the worst way. I froze. “No.” Immediately, she paused. “Any pleasure you get will be from me and only me.”
Breathing so hard I could barely get the words out, I climbed on the bed. My eyes caressed every curve of her body before my hands followed. “So soft. So perfect.”
The words were spoken to myself but caused her to moan softly. The hand that remained immobile where I’d told her to stop, twitched. The black lace that encased her breasts stretched taut with each breath.
Then I saw the glint of her piercings through the lace and I groaned.
A weak voice in my subconscious said I should give her a chance to stop what was about to happen. She’d been tipsy and I worried she wasn’t thinking clearly. Wordless, my eyes begged her to stop me. Deep inside I knew I didn’t deserve her. Didn’t deserve to touch her. Didn’t deserve to corrupt her with my brand of fucked-up.
But then she whispered, “Please.”
Rationality was gone. All the reasons why what we were doing was wrong vanished. Lust drove me. Need ruled the day.
Roughly, I pulled on her bra until the lace gave way, tearing down the center. Fuck it, I’d buy her a new one. Hell, I’d buy her a hundred new ones.
Baring the perfect swell of her tits, I lowered myself until I could pull first one, then the other into my mouth. The clink of metal against my teeth had my cock leaking precome all over myself. I wanted her so fucking bad I trembled.
Instead, I tasted her as I trailed my tongue, teeth, and lips down her body. She was intoxicating, and in that brief moment I knew she was about to become my worst addiction to date.
Before I could second guess my actions, I slid my arms under her body and around to cup her breasts as I pulled her to me. The motion pushed her thighs over my shoulders and lifted her ass from the bed.
“Logan! Stop, what are you doing?” Panic laced her words, and her hands frantically grabbed at my hair.
Undeterred, I bit at her inner thigh. “Relax, baby.” I soothed the bite with a soft kiss.
“But….” She tried to argue again, and again I grabbed her tender skin with my teeth.
“No buts…, I’ve got you.” There was no way I was not tasting her. Not when I was this close and her scent was bombarding my senses.
Once she’d relaxed back onto the bed, I made my way up her thigh until my tongue traced her lips, then dipped into her sweet center.
The taste of her desire was even more than I’d anticipated. It was a deadly combination of flavors that sent my heart racing and had my cock pulsing with its need to be inside her. Except for once in my life, I was worried about her pleasure first.
Needing to feel her fall apart in my arms, I devoured her beautiful pussy like it was my last meal on earth. Circling her clit with the tip of my tongue, I traced up and down and around her lips. Pushing it in her tight sheath, I lapped at the proof of her passion.
Watching as her hands tugged and clutched at the bed cover, I was relentless, pushing her until she arched her back and panted. Nearly over the edge, she tried to pull away, but I locked down my arms and held her in place.
“Logan….” She gasped my name and it spurred me onward. I wanted—no, needed to taste her release. I needed to fucking own the rewards of my work.
Finally, her every muscle tensed in preparation for the explosion. Curling in on itself, her body was nearly seizing. When the trembling began, I knew she was so goddamn close.
“Logan!” she screamed as her pussy pulsed, inside and out. The sound of my name as she came was music to my ears. Better than anything I’d ever composed. Better than anything I’d ever played.
I didn’t stop until she lay limp and desperate for breath. Then I worked my way up her body, planting soft kisses along my path until I reached her mouth. Delving into her warmth, I made her taste herself.
My cock hated me, but I pulled her limp form until she spooned into me. Brushing her hair up over the pillow, I kissed her exposed skin. Bit gently where her shoulder met the arch of her neck, and then placed a soothing kiss over it.
“What about you? Don’t you need….” She trailed off.
“Don’t worry about me.” This wasn’t anything I’d planned. Thankfully, while I’d been ensuring her pleasure, I’d had a moment of lucidity and remembered I had no condoms with me. But crazily enough, I was okay with that. She was more important than anything, and that thought scared the fucking hell out of me.
Comfortable silence enveloped us as I lost myself in the aftermath of the storm.
Holding her close, I relished in her touch, her scent, and the soothing sound of her breathing. When I thought she was asleep, I pressed one last kiss to her shoulder and whispered, “This changes everything.”
“What’s This Life For”—Creed
As I stretched, I experienced an unnerving sense of déjà vu. Because once again, Logan’s hand was cupped around my breast, but this time I was buck naked. Immediately, I reached back and felt around to see if I was imagining the denim against my ass or if he was actually naked too.
Pocket. Nope, definitely in jeans.
“If you want to grope me, I can take the jeans off.” With his sleep gruff words, last night’s activities flooded my brain with a vengeance.
I’d drunk way more than I normally would and I’d turned into a brazen hussy. My heart cracked at the thought of our friendship being compromised, and regret filled me.
“I’m so sorry. Logan, I hope you don’t think I was trying to get you drunk so that could happen. Please tell me we didn’t fuck up.” My words were barely above a whisper. Inside, I trembled in trepidation.
“Well, I’d say we could be friends with benefits, but I’m really not interested in that.”
And my heart was finished off. Deflated, I tried to roll away with the sheet he’d covered us with at some point.
“Where do you think you’re going?” The arm around my waist tightened, holding me immobile.
“To get dressed. I assume you’ll be leaving soon.” Resignation was heavy in my chest, causing it to physically ache.
“You’re kicking me out?” He sounded surprised, which confused me. I rolled over to face him.
“Of course I’m not kicking you out.” His eyes softened. “Why would I kick you out? I figured you’d be pissed because I ruined our friendship.”
The chuckle that escaped him had me even more confused. “Stella… you didn’t ruin anything. Hell, if anyone did anything wrong, it was me. I was worried you’d feel I got you drunk and took advantage of you. And I was teasing you… what I was trying to say was that last night changed things for me, but I wasn’t sure what your feelings were on it.”
“I know it changed things. That’s what I figured you’d be pissed about. God, what were we thinking?”
“Pissed? Are you serious? You let me in your bed. You let me watch you come apart—which was absolutely incredible, by the way. Why in the fuck would I be pissed? I’m fucking honored that you allowed that. And yeah, it changes things. Because now I want to be more than friends with you. I think I’ve wanted it for a while, but I was too afraid you wouldn’t be with me. Except I don’t want you thinking sex is all I want from you.”
Sex. My face went up in flames, and I buried my face in his chest.
His chest that still smelled of his intoxicating cologne and sent shivers through me straight to my vajayjay.
“Logan, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. First of all, I don’t think I could handle being your Boston booty call.” He fought a smile. “Second, you’re so far out of my league it’s not even funny—what if it ruins everything and then I don’t even have you as a friend? It would be awful. I’d rather forget last night ever happened so we can continue to be friends. Because the thought of not having you in my life at all makes me sick to my stomach.”
Gently clasping my shoulders in his calloused hands, he pushed me bac
k. When I tried to dip my head down, his fingers pressed softly under my chin to raise my face. “Look at me, Stella, baby.”
Hesitantly, I raised my gaze from his chest to his moss-green eyes. Thick, dark lashes fringed the mesmerizing green pools. He was so beautiful, it almost hurt to look at him. Because the need in me was so great, I ached to touch him. Instead, I dug my nails into my palms.
“To clarify, it’s you who are out of my league. You’re better than me on so many levels.” Screwing his eyes shut, he almost looked as if he was in pain. “How about if we leave sex out of it for a while? What if we keep things the way they were, with the exception that we agree to see where this goes? Because I can honestly say I could see you becoming my everything. Already, I think about you nonstop. My mind constantly tries to come up with ways to make you smile, or better yet, laugh. Making you happy and hearing your laughter makes me happier than I’ve ever been. I don’t think you understand the impact you’ve made on my life. You make me want to be a better person—a man you’d be proud to be seen with.”
The husky depth of his voice sent chills down my spine. My head spun. I found myself torn between wanting to hyperventilate and being afraid I was dreaming. This had been my dream so many times over the years.
Having Logan MacKenzie want to be in a relationship with me was more than insane. It was fairy tale material. It left me reeling and unsure of how to proceed.
Slowing things down was what my head knew was right but definitely wasn’t what my body wanted. The fangirl with a crush the size of Alaska wanted to strip him of his jeans and let him own me.
Opting to maintain my cool and keep things light, I teased him.
“Can I still kiss you?” I asked with a mockingly sly grin.
With a groan, he rolled me to my back and nestled his jean-clad hips between my thighs. Resting his elbows along my sides and sliding his hands under my back, he cradled my head. “You can kiss me anytime you want.”
No Treble Allowed: A Straight Wicked Novel Page 9