“Hold on. I have something for you.” She set her bag down and tried to remember which one the damn thing was in. She took a guess and opened the blue suitcase, but that was just shoes and underwear.
“Why do you need that many shoes?”
“I need to be ready for everything. Shoes for hiking, walking, shopping, clubbing, nice dinners, flip-flops for just hanging out. And then I needed brown and blue boots because that makes a real difference in the outfit.” As she talked, she moved onto her black suitcase and found the plastic bag she was looking for. “Here we go.”
“What’s that?”
Julie carefully moved the big object from the suitcase to the desk, where she unwrapped it from the bag. “It’s your computer.”
“You bought me a computer?”
“No, you bought you a computer. I’m just delivering it to you. Since I knew it might be a while before you got a cell phone, I figured this would be good for temporary use. You can mess around on the Internet. Robert already installed email so you can message your family if you want. And, if you’re really feeling adventurous, I’ll sign you up for Facebook.”
“Please don’t.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“I don’t want to know.”
“Suit yourself.” She plugged the computer into the wall and waited for it to boot up. “When’s the last time you used a laptop?”
“Are you really asking me this question?”
“Well, I don’t know. You were rich and in prison. I know the first place you stayed at before you were transferred was pretty nice.”
“It wasn’t that nice.”
“Okay. Well, come over here.” She held out the chair for him and pointed to the lock screen. “Because you’re you, I recommend keeping your computer locked whenever you’re not around it. Right now your password is one, two, three, four, five. Probably a good idea to change that, but make sure it’s something you can remember.” He didn’t sit down, so she just bent over the desk and continued on with her mini-presentation. She entered in the password and the main screen loaded up. “Here is how you get connected to the hotel Wi-Fi.” She walked him through the steps to log on to the Internet and brought up the main search engine. “And you’re all connected. Be really careful with porn. That stuff is full of viruses. I don’t really know what your tastes are, but—” She got up to go back to her suitcase, but Logan was right behind her and her back ran into his front.
Julie gasped in shock and his hand went to her waist to steady her. She froze at the touch. He hadn’t touched her all day, and it was so unexpected. And warmer than she’d expected. Why had she expected him to be cold? Then he dropped his hand and stepped away.
Julie took a deep breath and continued to her suitcase, where she found the pre-printed list she’d made. “Here you go. I was able to get a list of some reputable—well, as reputable as they get—sites. I’m not sure what you’re into, so there’s a little description next to the site.” She handed him the paper and held her breath as she waited to hear whether he was going to be offended or grateful at her initiative.
He looked over the list and then to Julie. Then back at the list for a long second and back at Julie. “You know this is weird, right?”
“Do you have any idea the shitty spyware you can get on your computer if you just look up ‘porn’ and see what pops up? This list is your digital version of a condom. Trust me.”
He nodded before repeating, “You know this is weird, right?”
“The thought had crossed my mind. I’m just trying to help.” Change the subject. She really needed to change the subject. “Some of those sites need a credit card. The only card I have now is in my name, but it’s drawing from your funds. So it’s more than fair that you have the number, right?” Julie went around Logan and back to the desk to pull out the hotel stationary; she wrote down the sixteen-digit number, expiration date, and the security number on the back. “Here you go.” She turned around to hand it to him, but once again he was right behind her. Julie gasped and fell back against the desk. “You really have to stop doing that,” she muttered.
“Sorry,” he said, even as he didn’t back away. She was halfway to reminding him about the legs remaining closed rule before he stepped away and gave her space to breathe again.
“Oh! One more thing!” She once again went back to the suitcases and pulled out a shopping bag from the green suitcase. “This is for you.”
Logan took the bag and glanced inside. “You bought me clothes?”
“Figured you’d need some.”
“I thought we were going to buy clothes for me.”
“Yes, but there was a chance we wouldn’t, and luckily, you travel with a chronic overpacker. Besides, there isn’t exactly a great selection in there. Just some basics that will probably fit. Should get you through the night and tomorrow. Or longer, depending on your level of hygiene.”
Logan nodded as he took the bag from her. “You thought of everything, didn’t you?”
“Trust me. I’m just waiting to figure out what I forgot. But until then, we’re going to rough it out while we’re heading to...wherever it is we’re heading. Feel like filling me in? I might have to update my own wardrobe depending on the destination.”
He glanced at the three large suitcases. “I don’t think that will be a problem.”
“I don’t like not knowing things.”
“I noticed.”
“So why aren’t you telling me?”
“Maybe I don’t know where I’m going.”
She scoffed. “I don’t believe that for a second.” He’d been much too attentive to all the signs, and he’d paid attention to any exits that led to highways. He was going somewhere particular and he didn’t want her to know about it, so he refused to ask for directions. Or maybe he was just a stereotypical dude.
Somehow Julie didn’t think there was much stereotypical about Logan Farrell.
“I should get some rest,” he said, effectively ending the conversation.
Fine. It didn’t matter where they were going. She was going to be tagging along for the ride no matter what. “Did you want me to run through how the TV works? Maybe we can find a show for you.”
Logan glanced at the TV and then to the bed. “I should go.”
Julie nodded. “Are you sure? I know you might have questions about things and I want you to know that I’m here to answer anything, no matter how stupid you think it is.”
“I should go.”
“Okay. Oh, wait. I didn’t put any toothpaste or toothbrush in that bag, but if you call down to the front desk, they’ll—”
“I need to leave.”
“Ummm...okay.” Something must’ve set him off, but it wasn’t Julie’s place to ask what. She turned to get his computer and power cord and handed it to him. “Let me know if you need anything else. I’ll be right here.”
He nodded and turned before he stopped and looked back to her. “You want to hold onto these for me?” He juggled his stuff as he took the keys out of his pocket and held them out to her.
Julie took the car keys from him. “Get some good sleep,” she said.
“How can I sleep? I have an entire porn list to get through.”
Logan got into his room, which was a mirror image of Julie’s room. He dropped the clothes and computer on the king-sized bed before he went straight to the shower and turned on the water. He was more than happy about having the privacy to build up his porn collection, but this was what he’d really been looking forward to: a burning hot, uninterrupted shower.
As soon as the water was warmed up, he stripped off his clothes and caught a glance of himself in the mirror. Fuck, he looked rough. There were circles under his eyes, and the tattoos he’d received that made him look as if he fit in perfectly in his old home now looked so out of place in the modern bathroom. Hell, he was surprised Julie hadn’t sent him off to his room as soon as he’d stepped foot in hers.
She had
to know something wasn’t right about him. Logan turned away from the mirror and stepped under the warm spray of the water. Fuck, it felt good. He was a little too tall for the showerhead, but he bent forward so the hot water could spray on his neck and then roll down his back. He tried to keep his mind blank, just focus on the water, but he kept on remembering that Julie was right on the other side of the wall.
Without even thinking, he set his hand on that side of the wall. Maybe he should spend some time getting familiar with her porn list. And it had been comprehensive. There was a site for pretty much every ethnicity, a gay site, bondage, big breast, small breasts, and a few more he couldn’t remember. He tried to imagine Julie sitting down to research “reputable” porn sites. She might look like a girl next door, but she had an edge. Maybe he should’ve kept her as a robot in his mind. She was so much less tempting that way.
Now that he knew more about her, he just wanted to find out more. He figured plenty of guys would have sex on the mind when they got out, but somehow he’d thought he’d be different. The first year or two locked up, he’d been horny as hell, but after a while he’d sadly gotten used to the celibacy. He thought that sad fact would stay with him once he was out, but he didn’t know he’d be stuck with Julie Anne for days on end.
Fuck. What kind of name was Julie Anne anyway? It had to be fake. It sounded so...sweet. Nothing like the name of a woman who’d create a porn list for someone. Nothing like the name of a woman who’d set up a computer for a son of a bitch like him while bending over the desk. Bending over the desk and giving him a class-A view of her ass.
Damn it, she must not have realized. But why wouldn’t she realize? She had to know she was pretty as hell, and she had to know that he would want her.
He used the crappy soap that came with the room to wash off the day’s driving. Even the crappy soap was better than what he was used to. His cock was still hard once he got down his stomach and he didn’t fight it. Instead, he took the length in his soapy hand and pumped up and down. He leaned against the cool wall and tried to bring up the familiar fantasies that had kept him going all through prison.
Except instead of the normal faceless blonde with big tits, he saw Julie. She was in the shower with him; the water flattened her hair against her head and rolled down her chest, over the breasts that would fit perfectly in his hands and the pebbled nipples. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his neck. Then to his collarbone right over his tattoos. Then she kissed him lower and lower until she was on her knees and took his cock into her mouth.
He pumped himself harder and faster as he fell further into the fantasy.
Julie would take him deeper and deeper, and his hands would fist in her hair and show her exactly what he wanted. And then, right before he came, he’d pull her up and press her against the wall. His arm would wrap around her front, holding onto her breasts as he fucked her from behind.
His balls got tighter as he got closer to coming, and he saw flashes in his mind of her hands balling into fists as she moaned. Her pushing back against to meet him, thrust for thrust. And then when she came, her head would fall back against him and—
He bit back his groan as he came, the water immediately wiping away any evidence, and he stood still for a moment as he hung his head down. This was bad. He didn’t have time to develop any sort of fascination. Especially not with a girl-next-door robot.
For now, Julie would have to remain strictly in his fantasies.
Julie realized as soon as she woke up that she and Logan had never discussed a time to meet in the morning. Her natural alarm had her awake at seven a.m. and she had to assume that was early enough. It was his first morning of freedom. Would that mean he’d want to sleep in? Or would he want to hit the road early and get a head start?
She decided to get a start on her morning routine in case Logan knocked on her door and demanded they leave ASAP. Her morning routine was extensive, but she was pretty good at getting it all done in twenty minutes or less. It helped that she’d showered the night before, so all she had to do was brush her teeth, moisturize, and then put on the basic makeup requirements to make her look like a human and not the zombie she resembled when she woke up most mornings.
After she stumbled out of the bathroom, she dug through her suitcases to find some clothes that would work. She had to dress for a road trip, so she picked out leggings, tennis shoes, and a loose, white tank top and loose flannel shirt that would be comfortable to sit in for hours on end.
As soon as she was dressed, she grabbed her room key and left for the free breakfast. Namely coffee. She needed lots of coffee to get through the day.
The continental breakfast was a short walk down the hall, and there were already a few people there. Julie started with the eggs and loaded up her plate with the powdered egg product and then grabbed a banana. Once she got her coffee, she chose a table where she could see the hallway. She was only halfway through the eggs when she saw Logan come down the hall. He was in the same pants he’d worn the day before but had the navy blue T-shirt that she’d given him last night. Once he reached the breakfast area, she started to wave her hand, but he already looked in her direction and then back again.
Well, that was a little strange. But it wasn’t as if they were best friends, so if he wanted to be standoffish, that was his choice. She started to bring another bite of eggs to her mouth when she realized that the entire tone of the room had changed. Everyone had stopped eating and they all looked at Logan, from the awkwardly large man with the dark, thinning hair to the two businesswomen at the table on the other side of the eating area.
It really shouldn’t have surprised her. Logan was a commanding presence and he tended to draw attention. But it was still shocking to see how everyone stopped what they were doing and whispered among themselves. Julie frowned. They didn’t recognize him, did they? She couldn’t have someone calling the local news station to tell them that the black sheep Farrell brother was in some tiny hotel in the middle of nowhere.
She cautiously took another bite as Logan set his plate on the table and sat down. She blinked at the overflowing pile of bacon, sausage, and eggs. “You know the all-you-can-eat thing isn’t a challenge, right?”
“Hey, I see bacon and I lose all control.”
“Obviously. But as soon as you get settled in, you need to start to monitor your cholesterol. I’m worried about you.”
He smiled sarcastically at her as he put an entire piece of bacon in his mouth. She shook her head before she took another bite of her own eggs. “Did you sleep okay?”
“I can sleep anywhere,” he said, not really answering her question. “You?”
“I’m pretty used to hotels. I thought you might be sleeping in today.”
“I don’t think I can. Old habits, you know?”
“Yeah.”
They fell into silence as they both kept eating. She finished her plate, but he still had a ways to go. If they were going to be in the car for a while, maybe she should get seconds...
“I’m surprised you haven’t been talking about the family more often,” he said abruptly.
“What?”
“Robert and Alex and Nathan seemed so intent on talking to me when I was locked up. I expected them to be riding in on their white horses to bring me home.”
“I told them not to.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because you refused to talk to them while you were in prison.”
“So?”
She sighed. “If your brothers annoyed you in prison, you’d tell them to fuck off and that was that. If they annoy you now that you’re out, you can drop off the face of the earth and they’ll never see you again. So I’m working my damnedest to make sure they don’t annoy you.”
“Probably a good call.”
“Good call? Do you have any idea how many texts and calls I’ve gotten in the past twenty-four hours? Jean is practically freaking out, but that might just be her pregnancy brain.”
; “Jean...she’s the sister, right?”
“Yep. She really wants to meet you before she has the baby.”
“I didn’t realize she was pregnant.”
“File that under things you’d know if you talked to your family.”
Logan shrugged. “So tell me about her.”
Julie cautiously glanced at him, trying to get a read on his mood. “What is it you wanted to know?”
“I don’t know. What do you think I should know?”
Julie set her plastic fork down and looked at him. “Jean is smart, but she’s in a bit over her head. She’s trying to be a member of the family and get to know all the brothers better, you included. From what I gather, she didn’t grow up with a tight-knit family, so she’s trying to make up for lost time with you guys.”
“So she’s going to want to meet me.”
“Definitely. And there’s one more thing, but you’re not going to like it.”
“Great.”
“She’s seeing Colin Carter.”
Logan dropped his own plastic fork onto his plate. “Are you serious? Why? Is Robert letting her do this? He’s using her for the inheritance and—”
“Trust me, I’ve heard this already.”
Realization struck him. “Fuck. He’s not the father, is he?”
Julie tried to think of a good answer, but she knew nothing she could say would make Logan happy. “I guess that after she found out who her father was, Colin was instrumental in helping her through the transition.”
Logan shook his head. “I’m starting to think that she isn’t nearly as smart as you seem to think. Are you ready to go yet?”
His plate was still half full, and this was the first time Julie hadn’t seen Logan finish a meal. Interesting. Maybe he cared more about this sister he’d never met than he wanted to let on. “I’m ready. I’ll need a few minutes to finish packing up and then we can leave.”
“Good. I’ll meet you in the lobby in ten minutes.”
Remorseless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series Book 3) Page 3