by Janie Marie
“Thank you, Logan.” She smiled, genuinely happy. “I love it.”
“Hood.”
Kylie giggled and covered her face as she dragged her feet back to where he sat. “I suck.”
“Oh, I know you suck, baby.” He winked, standing up. “I just thought that was for me.”
“Shut up.” She laughed as he tried to pull her to him for a kiss.
They were at a bowling alley that happened to be only ten minutes from the gallery they had just left. It was three o’clock, and Logan had happily announced after putting her wrapped drawing in the trunk and saying goodbye to Cale that they were back on schedule.
Bowling, however, wasn’t something Kylie was good at.
It was their second to last frame, and she had only managed to knock down ten pins, five of which were singles. Logan had been encouraging, and he was patient as he gave her the chance to learn on her own.
“Well, I guess you’ll have to let me teach you next time.” He picked up his ball and walked to the line before bowling his eighth strike. “I’ve enjoyed watching your cute little ass bend over this whole time though,” he added as he walked back to wait for his ball. They were on the last frame, so he had two more tries.
She gasped at his smirk.
“What? It’s cute.” He chuckled and dropped a quick kiss to her stunned lips. “I’ll just have to make sure I get my fair share of squeezes in when I teach you.”
“Logan Grimm.” She smacked his shoulder.
“Baby, save screaming my name till I’ve got my head between your thighs, please. You’re no good to me hoarse. I actually want to hear your beautiful voice when you come for me.”
Her face was so hot, and she couldn’t even respond under his heated look.
“So beautiful when you blush, baby.” He kissed her cheek and stood with a strained exhale to go bowl his final set.
He bowled two more strikes; he really was good at everything he tried. A smug grin stayed on his face as he walked back to help her up. “Do you want me to help you with this last one?”
She nodded at his smile and let him pull her toward their lane.
“I’ll get your ball,” he said.
She fanned her face when he turned away, only to blush again when the old couple beside them smiled at her. “Oh, God,” she mumbled, looking away.
“It looks like you have a keeper.”
Kylie looked up to see the old man walking up to his lane.
He nodded at Logan before gesturing to Kylie. “I knew I had myself a keeper when she was terrible at bowling.”
Logan chuckled as the old man’s wife scolded him.
The old man went on, “She never asked for help till I offered it on the final frame. The other girls, they all loved me. All of them begged me to teach them.” He did a little up and down motion to himself. “They couldn’t resist this.”
They laughed together as the old lady said, “Oh, dear, here he goes again. It was fifty years ago, and he still thinks ‘this’ is doing it.”
“It does.” The old man hitched his thumb back at her. “She might not have begged for my help then, but she was begging for it last night.”
Kylie choked on her giggle as Logan laughed.
The little man didn’t stop. “Make sure you always tell her how much you like her ass, young man. They love knowing we look—especially if they act like they hate it.”
A smack was delivered to her butt after Logan handed her the ball. She yelped and glared at him.
“That won’t be a problem for me. I always tell her how much I love looking at her.”
“Logan,” she hissed as he settled his hands on her waist and gently pushed her into position.
“Scream it for me later, Hood.”
The towering evergreens were a blur of pretty color as they drove. “We have one more stop after this.”
She looked away from the window and smiled as he pulled off the road and onto a gravel parking area.
“Are you up for a walk?”
She looked at their surroundings. “A hike?”
“Yep,” he said as he opened the door. “A hike and picnic, Hood. Get your cute ass out of this car. But grab the sandwiches. I’ll carry the heavy shit.”
After getting everything out and locking up the car, they took off. Maybe thirty minutes had passed when Logan said, “I hope I’m not wearing you out.”
“You’re not.” She was totally worn out. “I mean I’m a little tired, but I’m having fun.”
He grinned over at her. “Of course you are, baby. You’re with me.”
She rolled her eyes and kept trudging along the trail with his hand gripping hers tightly.
“Are we almost there though?”
He laughed. “Yeah, it’s just up ahead. Do you hear it?”
She listened, finally realizing there had been a steady hum of noise growing louder the more they walked. “A river?”
“Baby, I’m Logan Grimm,” he said, pulling her to his side. “I can do a little better than just a picnic by the river.” The hum became a low roar, and he squeezed her hand as he pulled her through the tree line.
A huge smile stretched over her lips. “A waterfall.”
“You’re amazing.”
Logan smirked as he swallowed a bite of his sandwich. “Baby, I wasn’t expecting you to say that till I had you naked and shaking under me.”
Her face burned as he laughed again.
A few small groups of people were also at the waterfall now, and after a family with kids showed up, Logan decided they should eat their dinner because it would get dark soon. They would need to head back to their car before then.
“Logan,” she whispered as the mother of one of the kids walked by them, “don’t say things like that.”
He shrugged. “I’m sure that mom thinks I’m amazing in bed, too.” He grinned at her glare. “Kidding, Hood.”
“I’m going to stop complimenting you,” she said as she started to put away her trash.
“Then we won’t talk very often.”
She rolled her eyes but smiled as he reached over to pull her to him.
He gave her the sweetest look. “I love you.”
“You’re going to use that anytime I get upset with you, aren’t you?”
His eyes lit up. “Is it going to work?”
She nodded, shivering as his hand slid up her back. “I like hearing you say it.”
He grinned, then brought his mouth to hers for a slow kiss. She felt herself anticipating more and more from him. The reminder that she was legal for him was never far from her thoughts—especially when his hungry gaze fell over her from time to time.
“We need to go,” he said, not pulling his lips too far. “One more stop, then we’ll go home.”
Home.
She smiled as he brushed his lips back and forth over hers. “Logan, you know I don’t expect you to put me up, right?”
He moved his head back, frowning. “What?”
She touched his cheek and tried to soften the hardness in his face. “I just mean you don’t have to. I’ll be fine without you.” This was going against her plan of getting him far away from everyone and alone with her, but she knew he needed to get closure with his whole Janie situation.
He was quiet as he studied her face. “Do you not want to stay with me?”
Oh, no. “It’s not that I don’t. I would love to. It’s just—”
“Then it’s settled.” The conversation was over. “Let’s go.” He made sure he gave her a quick kiss, but she knew he was upset.
Kylie stayed quiet on their walk, staring at the ground instead of enjoying her surroundings.
“We’ll talk about it later, Kylie.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I’m not angry. Let’s just finish your day before we worry, okay?”
“Okay.”
Kylie looked out the window and frowned. “Logan.”
He squeezed her thigh. “I know.” He rubbed his hand up and down in that soothing care
ss he’d given her when they first met. “If it’s too much, we can leave.”
Her eyes watered when he parked and she glanced up at the sign: Wolf Creek Cemetery.
“I,” she stopped and lifted her hand to her mouth. “Are we really here?”
Logan rubbed her leg. “Is this okay?”
She couldn’t look away from the entrance.
“Eighteen is a big deal,” he went on. “I thought you’d like to spend part of it with them.” His fingers slid around her hand to pull it from her mouth. “Baby, talk to me. Is this okay?”
“Mhm.” She let him rub her tear away. “I just haven’t been allowed over here. I haven’t been back since my dad’s funeral.”
He leaned forward to kiss her cheek. “Well, I hope they like me. Let me get your door.”
She rubbed her tears as he exited the car. When he opened her door, she was surprised to see two bouquets and a box he was trying to keep from view.
“I asked Cale to have these made for us.” He looked at the two bouquets of Calla Lilies and smiled. “I always put this kind on my mom’s tombstone. She thought they were pretty.” He lifted his gaze to hers. “Is this okay?”
Kylie nodded and took his free hand to let him pull her up. His hand dropped to her waist as he pulled her to him for a one-armed hug.
“Thank you so much, Logan.” She kissed his chest as he kissed the top of her head.
“You’re welcome, baby. Let’s go see your mom and dad.”
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
SCARLET K. HOOD
Sleep Well, Sweet Mother And Wife,
YOUR MEMORY AND LOVE WILL REMAIN WITH US, ALWAYS
✦
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
OLIVER B. HOOD
Sleep Well, Doting Father and Husband,
OUR HEARTS WILL NEVER FORGET THEIR LOVE FOR YOU
Kylie blinked again, wishing somehow that sitting here was a bad dream she would wake from. Yet, as she let out a quiet sob and felt the arm around her back pull her tight, she knew there was no dream.
Logan placed a kiss to her hair and handed her a bouquet. She looked down as a tear fell on the delicate white petals and let out a slow breath.
“Why don’t you give that one to your mom.”
“Okay.” She lowered herself to place the flowers in front of her mother’s headstone. She couldn’t stop herself from lifting her fingers to trace her mother’s name.
She knew so very little about her mom. Lorelei took up most of her memories of a mother.
“She loved you very much, baby.” Logan crouched down behind her, and with one hand on her back to steady them, he leaned forward to touch her mom’s name, too.
“Hello, Scarlet,” he said, surprising her. “It’s an honor to meet you.”
Kylie smiled and pulled her hand away as he hugged her to him.
“I’m Logan—Kylie’s boyfriend. Um, I know you already know it’s Kylie’s birthday today. And I know you would have done a much better job at celebrating it than I have.”
Kylie shook her head, but she couldn’t speak.
“I just want you to know I love your daughter—more than she realizes.”
Her tears fell on the bouquet he held against her.
“I promise I’ll always do my best to keep her safe for you—and that I’ll try my damnedest to make sure her heart never breaks again.” He hugged her tight and kissed her wet cheek as he lifted the next bouquet. “Here, baby.”
She nodded and cried as he kissed her cheek again before he moved them a little to the next headstone.
Kylie broke then, as she stared at her father’s name. So many emotions, so many questions engulfed her as she dropped her head to her hands and sobbed. “Why, Daddy?” Her body shook as she let out heart-wrenching sobs. That was a question she’d never get an answer to. A single question with so many meanings. She let the flowers fall from her hands as she continued to cry, not aware that Logan had placed them in front of her father’s grave, or that he had pulled her onto his lap after settling them between the two graves.
She couldn’t look up as Logan started talking. Her mind crashed with sorrow, anger, betrayal, and hate.
“Dr. Hood.” Logan rocked her back and forth as his fingers found hers. “I’m pretty sure you don’t like me.”
Kylie quieted her cries and listened.
“If I had a daughter, and she told me a man like me was the one she loved, I’d probably kill him. Well, at least give him a beating he wouldn’t forget.” He kissed her hair. “I’ve done a lot of bad things in my life that I’m not proud of, but meeting your daughter has opened my eyes. She makes me want to be a better man, and I love her for that.
“I know I’m a jerk. I know I’m not good enough for her, and”—he chuckled nervously—“I’ve been a complete asshole trying to win her heart. But she’s mine, and I’m hers.”
Kylie stopped crying and opened her eyes to stare at her father’s name as Logan kept going.
“I don’t know the truth about you, your life or your death—neither of us does—and even though I know you must have loved Kylie and your wife deeply, you let them down. I promise you, though, I won’t.”
They sat in silence until she felt Logan shift and put the box she’d forgotten about on her lap. She stared down at it, and before she could ask, he moved to open it.
“Chocolate or vanilla?” he asked.
Tears fell down her cheeks as she looked at the two gourmet cupcakes inside.
“Hood?”
“Chocolate,” she whispered and rubbed her cheek as he placed a single candle in one of the cupcakes and lit it.
He wrapped his arms around her and lowered his lips to her ear, where he whispered, “Happy birthday to my little hood.”
He kissed her neck, then lifted the box closer. “Make a wish, Hood.”
Kylie knew she wouldn’t be able to say a word. She rubbed her cheeks once more and closed her eyes, making her wish: I wish for Logan to be free of his past.
She blew out her candle, then opened her eyes.
“Did you make a good wish?”
She smiled and nodded. “I hope so.”
He kissed her cheek and pulled her cupcake free. “Well, I won’t bug you to tell me then. That way it’ll come true.”
She turned to kiss him and almost cried again because it felt like so much more than a simple kiss between them. They didn’t even deepen it, but it was magical.
Logan was the one to pull back. “I knew you’d want the chocolate one,” he said with a light laugh.
“Thank you, Logan.”
He gave her another kiss. “You’re welcome, baby. Eat your cupcake so we can go before it gets too dark.”
She took her cupcake and they ate in silence. Once finished, she leaned forward to kiss her mother’s headstone and then her father’s. Then they got back in their car and left.
Her body felt drained, but at the same time, she felt renewed—awakened. Her heart felt full of love, and though she felt sorrow, light shined brightly in the darkness that had for so long blanketed her existence.
Even with the light, though, she drifted in her thoughts and didn’t notice when they’d returned to his father’s house. She didn’t remember Logan helping her out of the car or taking her up to his room.
Yet, as she felt the softness of his bed at her back while Logan switched off the lights and mentioned that it had been a long day, her mind snapped back to the present. She reached up to his face as he leaned down to give her a kiss good night.
“Happy birthday, Kylie.” His lips—his perfect lips—pressed against hers, and her heart beat a little faster as he whispered, “I love you.”
She slid her fingers over his cheek and down his strong jaw as he began to pull away. “Logan.”
He stopped and waited for her to speak, so she did before he could ask what she wanted.
“Make love to me.”
Twenty-One
Dirty & Beautiful
“No.”
Kylie blinked twice as she stared ahead and tried to make sense of what Logan was saying.
“I can’t,” he said with a harsher edge to his words as she reached up to rub her eyes. He was quiet for a few seconds and when he spoke again, his words were softer. “I told Ryder about Trevor.”
The dreamy blanket around Kylie’s mind started to shift away. Part of her desperately tried to focus on Logan, whose outline she could barely make out from where he sat at the edge of the bed facing away from her, and who he must be talking to—but the still semi-conscious side demanded she remain trapped in her memories, because this was finally something she didn’t mind remembering.
“Damn, Hood,” he had growled, “you’re so fucking tight.”
“Oh, God,” she’d cried as he moved in and out of her.
Kylie blinked, quieting her mind of her breathy moans and Logan’s raw voice as he demanded she scream his name louder.
Her heartbeat sped up and her stomach tightened as the low murmur of his current conversation was drowned beneath the memory of every dirty word he’d growled in her ear throughout the night.
She hadn’t been able to escape him. His kiss, his bites to her heated skin, his caresses that constantly changed from teasing, loving, to controlling and possessive.
Oh, how she loved when his touch turned just a bit more aggressive. The way he squeezed her hips, digging his fingers so hard into her soft skin she wondered if she might bruise. She knew he’d never really hurt her, but he wasn’t one to hide his strength, and she didn’t mind. Especially when his grip on her ass tightened and he helped rock her body with his.
He looked into her eyes, then. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to describe properly the intensity of Logan Grimm’s gaze. Those dark eyes of his could hold her captive for days if he wished. When they finally released her from their hold to drift over her body though—oh, she never wanted him to look away.
So much stimulation from only a look—she’d never felt more breathless in her entire life. She could only whimper when they gleamed whenever he saw something he liked or paused for just a moment longer when he found a part of her he couldn’t wait to taste. God, he’d already licked every bit of her tingling flesh. But that mouth and tongue had a ravenous hunger for her. He never seemed to have enough.