My mouth drops as I turn to Logan. “You failed to mention a hike,” I scold.
“Don’t look at me,” he says in surrender but the grin on his face tells a different story. “I had no idea.”
Liar.
Oh well, I may as well make the best of this. At least Logan was right about wearing my sneakers rather than my flip flops, so I’ll have to give him credit for that.
The whole group gets a move on and I have to admit, it’s really not that bad. The only annoying part is having the eyes of Max constantly on my back. I mean, what’s his deal? I’m pretty sure I made it clear I’m not interested and Logan kind of won that pissing contest, not that there was anything to win.
Half an hour later, we make it to the campsite and I look around at our massive patch of grass, surrounded by trees which is when I realise there’s no bathroom, nowhere to shower, nowhere to give me any sort of privacy but what I do notice is the truck parked by the dirt road that leads in and out of here.
You’re kidding me. The hike was part of the damn bonding exercise.
I know management wanted us to bond as a team by throwing us into this situation but they would have gotten the same results had they locked us in the arena for a few days. At least that way there would have been bathrooms, food, and air-conditioning.
Once the whole group makes it into the clearing, they all scatter as they find the best spot to set up their tents. With nothing to set up, I consider heading into the trees and searching out a log or a big-ass rock to use as a seat but instead, I head over and help Logan and Jax with their tents but as I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing, I get put on pole duty.
As I stand and hand the guys their poles, I find myself in awe. They find these tasks so impossibly easy while something like this is an absolute nightmare to me, I mean, there’s a reason I don’t go camping, apart from the fact I have no one to go with. Jaz would laugh in my face and it would be way too hard with Brendan.
“What are you staring at?” Jax asks, breaking me out of my inner thoughts.
“I just don’t get how something so big fit into that little thing,” I say as I point out the bag that the tent had just come out of.
Logan let’s out a scoff from the opposite side of his tent before calling out for us to hear, “Babe, big things were meant to fit into tight spaces.”
Oh geez. “Stop calling me that,” I call back but I struggle to keep the laughter out of my voice.
“I would if you didn’t like it so much,” he quips.
I let out a huff because let’s face it. I do like it.
From here on out, I ignore Logan as best I can. “How’d you learn to do all this?” I ask Jax as he finishes up his tent.
“That guy,” he says nodding his head in Logan’s direction. “The triplets we’re like my big brothers growing up but I was closest with Logan. He taught me how to skate.”
“Really?” I ask in complete and utter interest. “So, you know him pretty well?”
“Yep,” he says lowering his voice and taking a step in my direction, “That’s how I know he likes you.” I look to Jax with a question deep in my eyes, urging him to continue. “Look, I can’t begin to understand what goes through Logan’s mind but it’s perfectly clear that, to him, there’s something different about you.”
“What makes you so sure?” I question, quietly.
He looks at me intently, begging me to figure it out. “He has never chased a girl before, yet here he is, stalking you at clubs and acting as your personal chauffeur. He’s used to women coming to him but you keep cutting him down and the fact he keeps coming back for more, it’s clear he wants you.”
I think it over but Jax isn’t finished just yet. “Logan is an amazing guy and I think you’d be an idiot if you turned him down before you got to know him. He’s not the dumb-ass jock people expect him to be.”
“I know,” I say with a nod. Anyone who has spent any time with the guy would be able to see he isn’t a dumb-ass jock and I’m not blind, I can tell he likes me and I have no idea why but what worries me is that he’ll take me out a few times before he realises that I’m nothing special, just a messed-up girl with an even messed-up past.
“What’s going on over here?” Logan asks as he struts over looking like sex on legs.
“Jax and I have fallen madly in love, we were planning on running away together and would have made it if you didn’t interrupt us,” I tease.
“I would have believed that a year ago,” Logan grunts.
I turn to Jax with a raised eyebrow, sensing a story that needs to be told but from the tone of Logan’s voice, it could be a touchy subject.
“Come on,” Logan says as he nods his head in the direction of the truck. I do as I’m told and together we head over to the truck.
“I can’t believe they made us walk when there was a road that leads right in,” I murmur.
“Yeah, they’re dickheads like that,” he chuckles as we reach the truck. He reaches into the back and pulls out two fold-up chairs and a freaking axe.
“I knew it. You’re too good to be true. You’re going to kill me in my sleep, aren’t you?” I ask as he passes me one of the chairs and throws the axe over his shoulder like some kind of lumberjack.
“Too good to be true, huh?” he smirks. “But no. If I was going to kill you in your sleep, I would have done it the night you stashed me on your couch.”
“Ha. Ha. Very funny. Besides, you can’t kill me, Louie needs me too much.”
“What Louie needs is a good speaking to,” he laughs.
“Leave Louie alone,” I grin as I roll my eyes but it’s true, Louie is one hell of a bad birdy. “What’s the axe for?”
“You and I are on firewood duty,” he says proudly.
“Bullshit,” I grunt.
“It’s true,” he says. “Tony made up a roster if you’d like to see it.”
I let out a groan. “This isn’t going to be one of those things where they make you do those stupid games like the three-legged race and that one where you have catch eggs?”
“No,” he laughs, “but I’m sure if you suggested it to Tony, he’ll find somewhere to add it in.”
“Noted. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
We take our chairs and place them down in front of the tent before heading out into the trees to find some wood… and not the good kind.
I get started on our task and pick up as many sticks as can fit in my hands. “Babe,” comes that deep voice from behind me. “What are you planning on doing with those twigs?”
“Huh?” I ask. “What do you mean? I’m getting firewood which is a hell of a lot more than what you’re doing right now. You haven’t got any wood.”
He gives me that annoying ‘I know best’ grin that drives me insane but with the axe over his shoulder and the tight-fitting shirt and denim jeans… makes me want to jump him.
He steps up to me and forces me back into a tree with his strong body pressed firmly up against mine. “Trust me, babe, I’ve got all the wood you need.”
My breath catches as the sticks in my hands clatter to the ground. He places the axe down beside us and cages me against the tree with his arm. His eyes grow intense as he brings his face closer.
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
“I can’t wait any longer,” he replies before closing the gap. His lips come down on mine and it’s like pure heaven. My willpower crumbles and I kiss him back, giving everything I’ve got. Every reason why I shouldn’t be doing this instantly fades away as we come together as one.
His hands leave the tree and come down on my body as my own come to his chest before roaming up his pecs and behind his neck. I moan into him and he takes it as his cue to continue. Those strong hands come down and grab my ass before hoisting me up. I wrap my legs around his waist and hold on for dear life as he kisses me like I’ve never been kissed before.
In this very moment, I know with one hundred percent certainty, that no man will ever amou
nt to the one before me. That every time I meet a guy, he will always be compared to Logan. I will never be kissed like this again, never have a man caress my body like this, never feel like I’m floating on air, not unless it’s with Logan.
I just need to be prepared for him to pull away the second this moment is over, that when he realises I’m just like every other inexperienced, messed-up girl out there, that it’s all going to be over and just like I had always known, he’s going to break my heart.
Chapter 11
Logan
Night has fallen and we sit around the campfire as Coach Robinson does his best to keep the flames alive. After all, Elle and I didn’t really do such a great job at collecting firewood as I was too busy with my tongue down her throat but I wouldn’t change it for anything.
For weeks I’ve been craving that moment with her and now that I’ve had a taste, I want more. I need more and I won’t stop until I get it.
I have to admit, I was surprised she let me get that close. She sucked in a breath and asked me what I was doing but the second she dropped those damn twigs, I knew I had her. She’s mine just as much as I am hers.
Then my lips touched her and at the risk of sounding like a damn pussy, it was fucking magical. I didn’t want to stop. If I had my way, I’d still be in those trees with those perfectly toned legs wrapped around me as she moaned for more.
The majority of the team sit around a massive circle with the fire in the centre. There’s a light breeze but so far, the chill has managed to stay out of the air but I know, come a few hours, it’s going to be freezing.
So far, I’ve caught Max’s curious eyes on Elle at least a hundred times. He got up from his chair at least three times and started beelining for her when she got up to grab a drink, lucky for me his eyes landed on mine before he got there and decided to change his course of action. She doesn’t need him in her life and if she’s going to have a hockey player in it, it’s going to be me, not a twat like Max.
I’ll have to have a quiet word with him when I get a chance.
Elle sits next to me and I want nothing more than to pull her into my lap and tangle my fingers into that silky blonde hair. She laughs as she listens intently to all the stories being told around us when a bag of marshmallows comes around the circle. Her face lightens up as she leans as far back in her chair as possible to grab a stick off the ground. I have to latch onto the side of her chair to stop her from toppling over.
“Thanks,” she laughs with absolute joy in her eyes as she starts to squish the marshmallow onto the end of the stick. “I’ve always wanted to do this?”
“What? Roast marshmallows?” I question.
“Yeah,” she giggles.
“You never did this growing up?”
No,” she says averting her eyes. “There were a lot of things I missed out on.”
A sadness comes over her and I desperately want to poke and prod until I have all the answers I need but now isn’t the time. It makes me wonder if this is maybe what Cassie was talking about when she said that Elle’s had a rough life.
She thrusts her marshmallow into the fire and watches as it roasts before pulling it back and blowing on it to cool down. She peels the sticky pink goo off the end and pops it into her mouth before licking her fingers and making me positively hard.
I adjust myself as she turns to Jax with that same curiosity in which she looked at him earlier in the day. “So, what’s your story, Jax?” she asks.
“It’s one I’m glad has almost come to its happy ending,” he grunts.
“How so?”
“Well, a few years ago, Cass and I broke up and she moved to New York for a while. Things got a bit rough after that, then after their parents died, the triplets went and brought her back and the rest is history, I’m marrying her in a few months.”
She nods her head slowly and gives him a smile that doesn’t meet her eyes making it clear she’s deep in thought. She turns to me with sorrow shining through her eyes. “Your parents are gone?” she asks quietly.
“Yeah, babe,” I say. A tear falls from her eye and I reach across to wipe it away. I always hate talking about it but maybe if I open up, it might encourage her to do the same. “It’s ok. Mum was a few years ago from breast cancer. She fought for as long as she could but in the end, she couldn’t hold on. Dad went with a heart attack nearly two years ago.”
“I’m sorry,” she murmurs as her eyes fall back to her lap.
She silently sticks another marshmallow onto her stick and places it over the flames. She sits in silence, just watching the fire.
It must be at least midnight when her yawns are coming every two minutes. I get up and start heading over to the truck only I hear light footfalls rushing to catch up. I turn to find Elle right behind me. “Where are you going?”
“Come and see,” I say.
She falls in beside me and I wrap my arm over her shoulder. Being away from the fire, the cold night’s air is suddenly a lot more obvious, especially now that the sound of her teeth chattering is all I can hear. “You ok?” I ask through the silence.
She nods her head but I know something is still heavy on her mind. I let it go as we reach the truck. I open the back door and pull out one of the many air mattresses that lay on the back seat.
“Seriously?” she asks.
“What? You think management is going to let a shitload of professional athlete’s sleep on the ground?”
“No, I guess not,” she chuckles. “But at least my job would be safe for a while.”
“Stop stressing about your job so much. The fact that Tony even considered you for the senior position means you’ll be around for as long as you want to be.”
“You think?” she questions.
“I know.”
We head down to the tents and I see that most of the guys have already called it a night. Elle practically goes flying into the tent and dives for her bag before pulling on as many jumpers, socks, and pants as possible.
She turns to me, looking like a snowman in all her clothes. I have to turn away to avoid laughing at her but the sound of her yawn gets me moving. I pull out the air mattress and get it set up.
She instantly collapses down on to the bed and I grab a blanket before throwing it over her. She snuggles down into it before looking up at me. “Where are you sleeping?” she questions.
“Move over,” I tell her.
She shakes her head. “Nu-uh. That is so not a good idea.”
She couldn’t be more wrong. “I’ll be the perfect gentleman,” I tell her.
“Fine,” she huffs, “but you better stay on your own side.”
Unlikely.
I climb in beside her and make myself comfortable. She lays on her side with her arm squished under her pillow, propping her head up. Seeing her like this, gives me a glimpse of my future, that this very sight is what I’ll be coming home to every night and I want it more than I know.
“What’s on your mind?” I question after she remains quiet for way too long.
She lets out a breath as her eyes meet mine. “I…,” she starts before hesitating and looking away. Her eyes grow watery and I reach out to take her hand in mine. I rub my thumb back and forward over her small hand, hoping I’m helping to soothe whatever emotion is running through her.
“It’s ok, you don’t need to say anything,” I tell her.
“I want to,” she murmurs, “It’s just… Apart from Jaz, I’ve never told anyone this.”
“Come here,” I say as I pull her into me. She scoots across the bed and instantly folds into my arms, right where she belongs. She nuzzles her face into my chest and I hold her a little tighter but the fact that she’s done it without commenting about it being wrong or that we shouldn’t be doing it, tells me that whatever she’s about to say is a lot bigger than us.
“Eight years ago, it was the night before my seventeenth birthday, my parents had taken us out to dinner because I insisted that I spend my actual birthday with my frien
ds. I remember mum had been upset because she thought I was growing up too quickly but I shrugged it off, saying she was being silly,” she says as her voice begins to crack.
Elle takes a deep breath before slowly letting it out. “Anyway, my whole family had gone to dinner, which for my parents, was a big deal as we weren’t particularly well off but they insisted that as I was getting older, there would only be so many times left where we would all go out together.”
“So, it was the middle of winter and it had been raining for the past couple of days which really pissed off my little sister because she’d been hoping for snow rather than rain. Dad would keep telling her ‘just a few weeks more,’ and she absolutely hated it. She’d get this little crease between her eyebrows every time but she never said anything, she was too sweet.”
A sinking feeling comes over me as I take in her last comment and how she referred to her sister in past tense. I realise before she has finished her story that she has suffered great loss and I start to understand why she asked about my parents earlier.
I realise that me talking about my parents is probably what has given her the courage to open up about her sister and I’m glad that I did as every time I talk about them, I heal a bit more even though it’s one of the hardest things to do, so I hope it has the same effect for her as it’s damn clear she doesn’t talk about it often.
“That night, after dinner, we all piled into the car. It was super late as we stayed to have second and third helpings of dessert. It was pouring and with how cold it had been, the roads were practically ice. We were just about home when some stupid animal darted out onto the road. It could have been a possum or a cat, I have no idea but my Dad swerved to avoid hitting it and lost control of the car.”
Elle stops there as she brings her hand up to rub her eyes and a take a breath. “It happened so fast. I remember screaming and looking at Sammy while Brendan tried to force me back into my seat and then I blacked out.”
“I must have only been out for a minute or two but the first thing I saw was Brendan. He was sitting next to me, he was unconscious but he was fine. Next was my parents. Mum wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and was sent out the windscreen while Dad hit his head against the steering wheel. Both of them died instantly,” she says on a sniffle.
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