Bulletproof Weeks

by Taryn Elliott

  When Logan had explained his plan to their fair mayor, Sharon had been more than willing to be part of it. Now, he just had to put the last finishing touches on the surprise.

  Our bed is lonely. Delegate faster, woman.

  Logan grinned. She was probably going to beat the crap out of his arm for this one. The woman had one helluva punch. He gave a thumbs up to the pilot and hopped down onto the grass. His helipad had gotten more use in the last five months than it had in five years.

  He rushed into the kitchen, pulled out a bottle of red wine from his stash, and found some fruit and cheese in the fridge thanks to his housekeeper. An impromptu picnic lunch would give them a chance to talk alone. He snagged the pair of ugly plastic goblets they’d gotten at a flea market the month before. Izzy liked to troll them for books.

  Watching her pick through piles with her long, elegant fingers and efficient grid-pattern style was truly an education. She didn’t meander. In fact, she was finished browsing before he could get through one of the music memorabilia tents.

  They’d come home with another bin of records for him as well as a vintage Elvis Presley lunch box that he added to his collection down in the studio. They’d amassed a lot of amazing memories within the last five months. It almost negated the five and a half months of misery.

  He hoped this afternoon would dust the rest. He brought the basket out to his truck, tucking it between the two huge quilts he’d stashed there earlier. On impulse, he ran back inside and grabbed four huge pillows to add to the truck bed. A hard rain had come in the night before and where he was taking her would still be damp beneath the canopy of trees.

  The day was sunny and warm and he was tired of the stale air. He rolled his windows down and made his way down the access road into town.

  Main Street was alive with the afternoon shoppers milling around. Camp buses were dropping off kids in front of the park, leaving a lot more foot traffic than usual. Logan pulled up across the street from Between the Lines and parked in front of the pharmacy.

  He leaned against the back quarter panel of the truck, put his sunglasses on, and dug out his phone.

  Hungry?

  The little icon that showed she was writing back fluttered across his screen.

  I think freedom is in sight. What did you have in mind? Want me to bring something home so we can stay naked for the remainder of the day?

  He crossed his legs at the ankle. Now that was a good idea.

  I like how you think. You should check the pharmacy.

  Her answer was instantaneous.

  Is that right? Do we need enhancements already?

  He laughed. Oh, she’d never allow a boring moment in their lives, that was for sure. His fingers flew across the phone.

  Izzy, bring that cute butt outside, will ya?

  The bell from her door jangled loud enough that he heard it over the din of the busy street. He smiled and shoved his phone back in his front pocket. Christ, she was beautiful. Her dark hair was pulled up in deference to the heat, but little pieces curled around her temples and cheeks. She was wearing one of her dozens of colorful sundresses. This one was a sunny daisy print that tied at her neck, accentuated her curves, and flirted around her knees as she flew out the door.

  Sky-high red shoes that somehow didn’t have a heel made her legs look like they went on forever. Some guys didn’t understand a woman’s love for shoes. He did. They wore them to make men insane.

  And it worked.

  God, it always fucking worked.

  She got closer and he saw that she’d slicked on a dark gloss of red on her lips just to kick him fully in the teeth.

  She knew what she did to him.

  He knew that knowledge would always be his undoing. And he was more than okay with that.

  The sway of her hips and the way she threw her shoulders back with each step arrowed right to his cock. Was there anything more amazing than a confident woman? He couldn’t think of a damn thing and lost the ability to put words together as she threw herself into his arms.

  Finally he moved. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the steaming pavement. No words were necessary. Not right then. A street full of people were his witnesses. He kissed her like she was the very air he needed because she was. She was the wild freedom to the cage he’d been living in for so long.

  She laughed into his mouth. “You do realize we’re on Main Street, right?”

  “Is that where we are?”

  She scraped her teeth over her lower lip, her smile lighting up her face. “You’re okay with this?”

  “Time to stop hiding, babe. You were right.”

  “So, I get to kiss my guy in public now?”

  “Definitely.”

  “I really like that idea.”

  He laced his fingers at the small of her back. “Then get to kissing.”

  She tasted like sun tea and happiness. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a few people stop on the street, but for the most part people just didn’t care.

  She slipped away from him and peeked into the bed of the truck. “Whatcha got there?”

  “A picnic.”

  “Oh? Where are we headed?”

  “The falls.”

  “That sounds great. No hiking though.” She popped her foot to show off her fire-engine-red shoes.

  “Nope. Just a drive. I know the perfect spot.”

  ∞ ♦ ∞

  Bella climbed into Logan’s truck and scooted over to the passenger side. She could have strangled Sharon for calling the emergency meeting of the town council for the festival. She couldn’t wait until the usual meeting that Friday to go over the list of artists and vendors?

  She pushed the random acts of violence out of her head. She was too happy to let Sharon ruin the day. Having Logan pick her up at the height of rush hour—well, Winchester Falls rush hour—was beyond exciting. Maybe he really had been listening.

  Being with him shouldn’t come with a cloak weighted in shame. It was supposed to make her want to fly. When he touched her, kissed her, loved her…that was exactly how she felt. And now she didn’t have to hide it.

  At least here in their hometown.

  This is where it counted anyway.

  “Did you get some rest at least?”

  Logan smiled. “I don’t sleep great without you, but I got a few hours in.”

  “Me neither. When you get home, I don’t get sleep for a whole different reason.”

  He turned off the access road. “Well, if I didn’t have an insatiable girlfriend, then maybe we could.”

  “Right. I’m the insatiable one.”

  His eyebrow lifted and that smirk that always ruined her went on max. “Totally you. I have to take vitamins just to keep up with you.”

  “That’s because you’re old.”

  “You wound me.”

  Instead of taking the right that they usually did to go home, he took a hard left and slowly made his way down to the springs. She grabbed onto the holy shit handle as the wheels dipped and bounced over the sun-baked mud trails. Finally they hit the clearing and she leaned forward.

  “I haven’t been down here yet this summer.”

  “Me neither. I usually come down here every weekend when I’m off, but I’ve been a little distracted.”

  Taking his smile to mean a good distraction, not because of their least favorite topic, she grinned back at him. “Is that right?”

  “There’s this girl…no, woman. There’s this woman that has me going crazy. I can’t work, can’t eat, can’t sleep if she’s not near me.”

  “Sounds like a helluva important woman.”

  He made a three-point-turn and backed up the vista so the truck bed looked down on the springs. He threw the truck into Park and leaned across to her. “The single most important person in my life.”

  She met him halfway. Her heart full to bursting. She feathered the backs of her fingers over his cheeks. He’d shaved the rest of his face so he was smooth save for a night�
��s worth of shadow. His lips were soft, and the kiss light.

  When she opened her eyes, he was smiling at her. “You are in a good mood today. Especially since I had to leave you for most of the day.”

  “I have to leave you for much longer than that.”

  “This is true. I totally win on that score.”

  “That you do.” He opened his door. “Now, how about we take advantage of this gorgeous day with some wine and a picnic?”

  “Look at you all prepared.”

  “I had help. My housekeeper rocks.”

  She laughed and slid out on her side. She wandered to the edge of the vista and her breath caught at the sight. He’d certainly found the perfect spot for them. The difference between living there for his fifteen years and her less than two was one spectacular view.

  A canopy of trees kept the worst of the sun off of the bed of the truck. Logan went to the back and unhitched the tailgate. He climbed in and snapped out a thin piece of foam.

  “I didn’t take you for the camping type, Logan.”

  “No. My idea of camping is my cabin.” She laughed as he settled the liner over the truck bed then tossed a quilt over it. He spread out pillows and set the picnic basket down toward the end. “Voila.”

  She walked back to him. “Aren’t you pleased with yourself?”

  He held his hand out. “The view’s even better from up here.”

  She climbed onto the tailgate and squeaked out a breathless laugh when he lifted her up with ease. “Oh, wow.”

  He stood behind her, his hands lightly resting on her hips as they looked out on the springs. Mossy fingers crawled over rocks that enclosed the whole area. The light mist from the falls left the air fresh and cool.

  “Logan, this is gorgeous.”

  “One of the reasons I come back to Winchester Falls time and time again. I’ve seen some beautiful things, but nothing like having this in your backyard.”

  She pulled his arms around her waist. “Not at all.”

  “Now I have even more reason to come back here.”

  “Yeah?” She rested her head against his chest and peered up at him. “I definitely didn’t think I’d find someone like you here when I moved to town with Nic and Adam.”

  She’d imagined a far different path with someone that ran a small store like hers, or maybe worked in one of the surrounding cities but made the little town their home. After Logan, how could anyone compare? Even with the secrets and security, there was just no way she could imagine her life with anyone else.

  “I think there’s a lifetime of reasons.” He turned her around. “I think we should make that life together.”

  Her breath stalled in her lungs. “What?”

  He cupped her face. “I know this is the worst time to ask you, but this trip has shown me there’s never going to be a good time. We can’t put our lives on hold. Not for Aimee, not for our careers, not for anything.”

  Her knees went to water and she swayed forward into him, gripping his wrists.

  He blew out a breath. “Jesus. I had this all planned out but I saw you here in this space and I just can’t.” He dug into his pocket and went down on one knee. “Marry me, Iz. I’m a better man with you, because of you. We fit together. We make sense together.” He flipped open a black velvet box.

  She followed him down. Mostly because she couldn’t feel her feet or her knees. She couldn’t even see the ring through the wash of tears. Marry him? She’d simply wanted to be able to tell people that she loved him, but this?

  She gripped his arms and laughed—a hiccuping, watery laugh. She dashed away the worst of the tears. Words were jumbled in her head, but only one was the important one.

  “Put me out of my misery here.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes. God, you crazy person. Yes.”

  Salty kisses mixed with laughter and tears pushed back the worst of the sobs that strangled her. When she met his gaze, her waterworks intensified at his bloodshot eyes and shaking fingers. He took her left hand and pulled the ring free from the box, flinging it over her shoulder to the front of the truck bed.

  She finally got a good look at the ring and her heart stalled. Simple, and mercy, did it sparkle. A princess cut diamond with two topaz colored stones flanking it winked in the late day sun. She covered her mouth as he slid it over her knuckle.

  “I’m going to fuck up. I know I am.” He gave a nervous chuckle of his own. “But I promise you’ll always be my priority. Always. I love you, babe. More than I ever thought was possible.”

  She took a shaky breath. “I love you, too.” She brought her hands up to frame his face, her thumbs stroking over the soft freckle-shot skin of his cheekbones down to the raspy shadowed jaw. She knew every freckle and line of his face. This man that was always going to be hers.

  Bella covered his mouth with her own. The kiss was fiery as they were, sealing in all the passion they’d never be able to express with words. She pressed light kisses along his jaw to his ear. “So, you thought I was going to be a sure thing?”

  “I fucking hoped so.”

  She pushed him back into the pillows. “Do you have any idea what you’re in for, Mr. King?”

  “I’m ready for whatever you got.”

  She showed him under a canopy of leaves with dappled sunlight kissing their skin. In a secluded cove, she covered him with her body, offered him her heart, and accepted that she might not know exactly what was coming next.

  This man that she’d never dreamed would be a part of her life had changed her on a fundamental level. She didn’t have to be alone any longer. She took him inside her body and loved him as completely as she knew how.

  He rose to meet her, his mouth dragging over belly to ribs, breast to neck. He held her tight and surged inside of her, his hardness to her softness until her cries broke over the spring. She held tight, her arms around his neck and strong shoulders, his to her waist and a slow trail of fingers up her back.

  As the sweat cooled and her heart stopped racing, she fell back into the quilted softness of their makeshift bed. He stretched out beside her until they were a tangle of legs and arms and she was settled against his chest.

  “Wow.”

  He laughed. “Definitely wow.”

  She propped her chin on her hand and drew random designs along his chest from freckle to freckle, the flash of her ring luring her into repeating the pattern. “This ridiculously gorgeous ring means there’s no way we can keep this a secret, you know?”

  “No. I’m tired of secrets.” He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “What do you think about making an announcement at the festival?”

  “You’re not messing around.”

  He shook his head. “This way we have the power over the info. It will probably be leaked before that. There always seems to be someone that’s willing to call in an anonymous tip to the press.”

  “And you’re really okay with this?”

  “The real question is, are you? Once this is out, the press is going to go nuts. Mostly good, but they’re definitely ruthless when it comes to the social media hamster wheel.”

  She inched up his chest until she could get to his mouth. “How handy, I’m completely ready for this.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “Coming through. Watch out. What part of pave the way do you people not get?”

  Bella laughed and waved. “Over here.”

  Nic had her arms up with a frosty glass of beer in each hand. “Holy crap, girl. This place is even more packed than last year.”

  Bella took the beer from her and gave her a quick hug, then Adam who came up the rear. “Thanks. I couldn’t get away.”

  “No problem. I can see why.”

  The Barn, which it had been officially christened, was wall-to-wall people. Zeke and Logan were pulling double duty tonight with a final set there, and then again in two hours with the full band on the main stage in the park. It was the last night of the festival and everything had been…unev
entful.

  She hated to even think the word, let alone say it out loud. She and Logan had tiptoed through each pre-show event, and concert, waiting for even an Aimee sighting. Nothing so far.

  She glanced back at Sarah who was diligently scanning faces and pretending to work the room. As usual, she was there for Bella’s sake only. But even Sarah seemed more restless and short-tempered.

  They’d informed Roth Defense that Logan was going to make an announcement about their engagement. The news had gotten out to a few of the music papers, but nothing huge. After tonight, that would all change.

  Oddly enough, Roth was all for the public announcement. The investigation had come to a halt. Aimee Collen had gone off-grid, supposedly spending the summer in Paris.

  According to the reports Logan got, Aimee had been spotted at a few exclusive parties, but for the most part, she’d been keeping a low profile. There were rumors that she’d hooked up with a Russian hockey player.

  Bella hoped to God that was true. She didn’t want to push their problems off on anyone else, but when it came to someone as unbalanced as Aimee, it was inevitable. Either their news would be met with silence, or she would come at them with a vengeance.

  For once in her life, silence sounded like bliss.

  She took a long swallow from her beer and forced herself to enjoy the music. Logan was strutting across the stage in a snug pair of jeans and a lust-inducing vintage Journey t-shirt. They had a few new guest stars this year and they fit right in with the crowd-thumping cover songs that were becoming a staple at The Barn shows.

  Deacon McCoy and Nick Crandall from Oblivion were shoulder-to-shoulder on stage ripping their way through “Back in Black” with Zeke shredding the vocals.

  Logan climbed up on the drum riser and had his arms up, inviting the crowd to sing along at a decibel that would make Madison Square Garden proud. With the people fully stirred up, they slid into, “Radioactive” with its bombastic drums.

  Nick Crandall, one of Oblivion’s lead guitarists, stepped up to the microphone and his growly powerhouse of a voice shook the rafters. The drums switched up to a tribal beat with Jett Lamontagne, from Rebel Rage, out from his kit and slamming on barrel-sized drums on the side of the stage.