by Anne Conley
Not all things friends would do together. But it had seemed so damned natural for Logan, like he’d just slipped into something he was familiar with—a comfortable skin he wore.
And it had given Katie such a sense of relief to not be fighting her urges with him anymore.
“What are your plans after work today?” Vivian always asked this. It used to be because she seemed to live vicariously through Katie’s single lifestyle, but lately, she and Joey had actually gone with Katie to Mo’s a time or two. It was nice to have her friend come out of her shell.
“I’m doing that firefighter training course with Walter and his buddies. I’m hoping we can bond some this way. He’s getting so grown up.”
“And Logan will be there?” Vivian asked pointedly with a smile.
“Maybe. I’m pretty sure he will.”
Why did everything seem brighter knowing that? She’d get to see him in his work environment today, someplace she didn’t see him often. Butterflies swarmed in her belly at the thought of him, and she clutched her stomach absently.
“But this is Walter’s thing. He’s thinking about becoming a first responder of some sort, and for some reason, I’d rather see him fighting fires than joining the police force.” She stifled a shudder and shut her eyes against the thought of some drunk asshole with a gun shooting her brother.
“Well, it sounds like fun. I’ll totally go cheer you on at the competition at the end. Carly would love to see it, I’m sure.”
“Are you gone for the day?”
“Yeah. I got off at lunch and Joey met me at The Beestro. He’s gone to his class, and I’m headed home. I was just stopping by for a chat.”
“Well, I have to close up and hurry to make it to class on time.”
“Do you need help?” It was sweet of Vivian to offer, especially when Katie knew her life revolved around her daughter. This was her last year before she started full-day school, and Vivian was trying to spend as much time with her as she could.
“No, go pick up Carly and do your thing. I’m cool.”
“See you later. I love you, woman.”
“Love you too.”
Katie had a shit-ton of work to get through in the next two hours, but then she could ogle Logan for the afternoon, and that was definitely something to look forward to.
God, he’s beautiful.
Katie was sitting on the ground next to Walter and his friends, watching Logan in front of the class as he went over the different pieces of equipment firefighters used. They were all set up outside in the shade with a folding table in the front full of gear.
There were six groups, and somehow, Katie had lucked out to be in Logan’s group. She tried to listen to him speak but was completely distracted by his corded forearms as he lifted different things, his biceps as he stretched the items overhead to show everyone, and his back and shoulders when he turned around to put said items back. His golden skin, tanned by the sun, shone as he picked up and demonstrated while he spoke about the objects on the table. She watched as he demonstrated how to put on the suit, shamefully covering all the muscles, leaving her to gaze at his strong jawline, his dark, tousled hair, and his glittering green eyes as he looked at everyone in his “class.”
When those emerald orbs landed on her, she jerked back to reality.
“Katie? Come here. You try it.”
Without protest, she got to her feet and marched to the front of the small group, hoping enough information had been absorbed for her to not look like a fool.
She was wrong.
Logan held up a stopwatch. “You have two minutes. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
His raised eyebrow told her the time had started, so she looked down at the pile of clothes. First things first. She stuck her feet in the boots and pulled up the suspenders. The pants had already been stuffed inside the boots, so she was now almost fully clothed.
“Everything’s laid out for you in order. I said that already.” His voice was calm, instructor-like, and made parts of her tingle that shouldn’t be tingling while her little brother was watching. She looked over to Walter, who mouthed, “Hood.” He was gesturing to his head and neck, so she looked at what was in her pile.
A small piece of whitish fabric. That could be something important. She remembered seeing Logan use it to cover up his hair, so she grabbed that. Jeez. These pants are heavy. As she bent down, she almost fell over, tripping on the huge boots.
“Okay, so it’s not your size, but we’ll be doing the best we can with the equipment we have.” Logan’s voice was reassuring as he got closer, but she was trying to not let it affect her as she managed to do something with this hood thing Walter had hinted to.
She grabbed the coat next and put it on, zipping it up.
“Don’t forget the Velcro fastening. That’s what’s going to help keep the flames out of your suit.” Well, he was just full of fascinating little instructions.
She’d done this class to get closer to Logan, that much was obvious. But Walter needed something to do with her too. It was as much for him as it was for her. They’d grown apart over the last year or so, and she was desperate to have some semblance of their old relationship back.
She looked to Walter again, and he grinned, giving her a thumbs-up.
A low chuckle came from behind her, then fingers on her neck had her squealing.
“I’ll help you.” Logan reached into the coat she’d just put on and tugged at the hood. Her eyes fell closed as his fingers deftly stretched the hood up and over her head and then let it fall back temporarily. “The hood helps protect your ears and neck and any hair you have showing under the hat. It needs to be tucked down into the jacket well, which is why we put it on first, but it also needs to stretch over the mask, which goes on next.” He put his hands inside her coat, smoothing the hood down on her back, then into her front, smoothing it over her chest, dangerously close to her breasts. Was Logan trying to cop a feel in front of everyone? Katie locked her eyes on her brother, who watched them with a huge grin on his face.
He pointed to the mask thing, so she reached for it next with shaky fingers. The strap was too long. She had no clue what she was supposed to do with it, so she just held it, helplessly, wishing she’d paid more attention instead of drooling over Logan while he was demonstrating.
He took it from her hand and put it around her neck, the long strap dangling. Then he pulled the hood up and over her hair and mask, explaining his actions as he worked. Katie was trying to listen to him, but she could only think to herself how grateful she was to have a mask on her face now. She was sure she was blushing bright-red.
Walter shouted out, “The hat’s next!” His buddies, Ryder and Brant, laughed out loud, and she made a mental note to not give them any of Vivian’s cookies next time she got any.
Katie bent over to get the hat, and with the coat on, she really did almost fall. Everything was massively huge on her, and she did remember Logan saying all this gear would weigh sixty pounds. Luckily, before she landed on her head—which wasn’t yet protected by the damn hat she was reaching for—Logan wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her from falling.
Shoving it on her head, she managed to affix the strap under her chin and Velcro the strap. There were only two things left: the tank for her breathing stuff and the gloves. It only made sense the gloves would be last, so she reached for the tank. She remembered seeing Logan flip the tank over his head instead of putting one strap on and chasing the other, so she tried to do that. Logan had been graceful. Katie knocked off her hat, coughing out a choke when the Velcro strap seemed to tighten around her throat.
“And that’s why we do the hat before the tank.” His voice was gentle and not as mocking as she probably deserved. But he was right. If she hadn’t been wearing the hat already, she would’ve knocked herself out with twenty poun
ds of metal-encased air. “This part takes practice. No worries.”
Logan reached around Katie and demonstrated to the class how to tighten the air pack before she bent to pick up the gloves, her last remaining item to put on. Of course, with the air pack and all the other bunker gear weighing her down, her center of balance was way off and she started to topple again. Another chuckle from Logan accompanied his reassuring hand as he grabbed her straps and held her up while she retrieved the gloves.
She couldn’t stop the fire from burning her face but was thankful the entire class couldn’t see her embarrassment. Logan’s chuckles, while they made her insides all sorts of warm and melty, still made her feel like he was laughing at her. It stung.
“Four minutes and thirty-eight seconds.” He clicked the stopwatch and turned to the rest of the group. “Buddy up and practice this. The obstacle course at the end of the class in six weeks will start with suiting up. I’ll be walking around to help if you guys need it. Let’s report back here in twenty minutes, all suited, so I can check to make sure you’re doing it right.”
Ten minutes later, she was watching her little brother while he was the sudden expert on all things firefighting and bunker gear. He had managed to get his time down to three minutes and explain how to put stuff on at the same time. Katie watched him, an indulgent smile on her face, as he dressed himself.
It was a lot like space camp when he was eight. That was the beginning of Katie’s official guardianship, and she had been determined he wouldn’t lie around all summer doing nothing. Space camp had brought this same light to his eyes. All the talk about the stars, galaxies, and rocket ships had been an endless source of joy for him.
Now that he was older, this excited her almost as much since he was supposed to be deciding on career options. She could totally get behind Walter doing firefighting. It was a noble profession and one that would utilize Walter’s skills, like his innate attention to detail.
It was awesome watching him in this element, and all sorts of possibilities flared to life in Katie’s mind.
“Good job, Walter,” Logan said as he came up behind them. Katie stiffened, hoping he wasn’t going to stand there watching when it was her turn, but he kept talking. “Any plans for tonight? It is Friday, after all.”
Walter shook his head as he worked his gloves on. His voice was distorted but understandable behind the mask. “I’m going to Ryder’s tonight. Elliot makes the best breakfasts out of all my friends’ parents, even if he is an uncle.”
“Tell Elliot I said hi and we need to get together for a beer sometime.” Logan’s voice was closer.
Katie stopped the stopwatch. “Three minutes, four seconds. Good job. Take it off and let me do it now.” Katie tried to ignore the presence of the hulk behind her, even if she felt his heat.
Walter was distracted with taking off his gear and placing it on the ground in the order she would need to put it on, which was why he had no idea his sister was suddenly molested by hot breath on the shell of her ear.
“So you can come over tonight? I owe you something.”
She nodded, her tongue thick in her suddenly-dry mouth.
“I need the words.”
“Yes, Sir.” God, they sounded funny. She cleared her throat. “Yes, Sir.”
Logan turned her around to look at him. “You weren’t listening to me today, were you?”
Katie looked at his feet, enormous next to her size-seven tennis shoes. “No, I was distracted, Sir.” She couldn’t get her voice above a whisper.
“I thought so. We’ll just tack that on.”
Katie’s eyes snapped back up to his, and the mischievous look in them took her breath away. She’d never seen that gleam in his eyes, and it was wreaking havoc on her insides. He was going to punish her for not listening today.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. On one hand, she didn’t belong to him to just punish willy-nilly. On the other, it would mean Logan’s hands would be on her longer. Katie was a bit ashamed to admit she needed the attention, even if it was punishment.
“Yes, Sir.” Her eyes went back to the ground between them.
“Eight o’clock. Plan to stay over.”
Her stomach flew up to her throat. Stay? She nodded, and he left.
“Your turn. Think you can beat me?” Walter’s voice rang out, breaking through any lurid thoughts she had about tonight.
“Probably not, but let’s see if I can make under three minutes thirty?”
Chapter Eight
Logan was nervous and knew exactly why. This was a first for him. He’d never brought a woman back to his apartment, choosing instead to go to hotel rooms, her place, or Jude’s cabin. Sure, he had all sorts of stuff here, but it was all to sell. As he looked around his room—not his bedroom, his toy room—he fingered the leatherette panties she’d worn during their first scene. At one point, he’d had a collection of panties from his subs, but some sense of misplaced maturity had made him throw them away, deeming it creepy or some sign of becoming mentally unhinged. However, he’d never been able to bring himself to get rid of hers.
It was sick, he knew.
With a heavy sigh, he stuffed them back in the dresser drawer he’d pulled them out of.
He had no idea why he was doing this with Katie here. Again. This whole “friends” thing was rocking him to his core. He was admitting things to himself he hadn’t felt like even acknowledging.
Somehow, he’d gone from not talking to her, to friends with her, to this … whatever this was. But he couldn’t let her continue putting herself in danger. A friend wouldn’t let her do that. That’s what he told himself anyway. They were friends, at her insistence, and since she obviously wasn’t going anywhere, he had to do this.
Besides, he wanted her so badly he ached.
Logan had thought that was it. Just her proximity, her availability. Surely, that’s why he couldn’t get her out of his mind. The fact he’d kept her panties and still used them to relive the first scene with her had nothing to do with anything.
And never mind that he’d been thinking of her when he built the ladder, subconsciously building it to Katherine’s specifications. He hadn’t realized it until it was finished, but her build, her curves, her hair dangling down, her everything would fit it perfectly. He’d built it months ago and hadn’t had the nerve to actually sell it because some part of him hoped tonight would happen. That’s why he didn’t even have to plan the evening for her. He already knew what he would do to her.
It sat in the corner looking every bit like a decoration. It was a wide, wooden ladder, sanded smooth, with the rungs spaced slightly further apart in some places, closer together in others. The stable base had been specifically designed with casters to allow it to roll. Katherine’s safety was paramount.
After rescuing her from Bonner’s fucking ridiculous pretend-Dom shit, he hadn’t been able to stop wondering how many other dangerous situations she’d put herself in. The only way to stop it was to become her Dom—her only Dom—but Logan knew he wasn’t mentally available enough for that. Punishing her enough she’d never forget it would have to suffice.
And that was fucked up. Even he knew that.
With one last look of longing at the ladder, he turned to leave the room, stifling the groan that surfaced as he imagined, yet again, Katherine’s lithe body dangling from the chains he had ready to loop over the rungs.
Christ, he was in trouble with this woman.
When the quick knock sounded on his door, Logan pounced on it, opening it to find her hand still raised. He stood back from the door to let her in, watching her carefully.
She was excited. Her cheeks flushed, she bounced on her toes, her hands glued to her sides as if she’d smoothed down her skirt and they’d taken root.
“Have you eaten?”
“Yes, Sir
.” Her excitement was palpable, and she flashed him a blinding smile that very nearly undid him. He’d been hard all damn afternoon while watching her in his class, and now she was here, smiling at him, her scent wafting closer to his nostrils.
“Okay. Right now, we’re not Dom/sub. Will that help calm you down a minute?” Logan didn’t mean to sound so gruff, but he needed her to not look so damn good right now, or he would lose his shit. He swallowed, willing his voice to soften. “I want to ask you some questions and have a conversation first.” He stood next to her, urging her with his proximity to listen. Relax. “I’m not going to immediately start flogging you, Katie.”
“Okay.” She practically fluttered, her body humming. He couldn’t see it humming, clearly, but something about her presence, her aura, was vibrating, singing, calling to him.
“Sit.”
She did, smoothing her short denim skirt as she folded her smooth legs underneath her.
“Do you want a drink?”
“Yes, please.” She quickly added, “Sir.”
“No Sirs. Not yet. This is a preliminary session. I want you to be comfortable with me.” He walked into the kitchen to make her a mug of tea, snipping a sprig of mint from the pot on the kitchen window before returning to her.
“I’m not used to this side of you.” She looked him square in the eyes as she spoke, and he liked that, even if it wasn’t the least bit submissive.
“What side?”
“I don’t know. You’re keeping me on my toes with this sudden change of heart, and I have no idea why this is terrifying me. Like maybe when you opened the door, you’d suddenly changed your mind about tonight. But when you hadn’t, I don’t know … something inside me snapped.”
“Fair enough. But patience is something you’ll need to learn quickly.”