Sin Bin

by Maureen Smith

  Logan laughed and nodded. “Sounds legit.”

  She grinned and started looking around for the remote control. Cam never put it back where it belonged.

  “Do you want kids?”

  Her eyes snapped back to Logan’s face. “Kids?”

  “Yeah.” His tone was casual. “You want any?”

  “I do.” She grinned. “Lots, actually.”

  “Really?” He looked surprised and pleased. “How many?”

  “At least six.” She waited for him to recoil in shock and call her crazy, but he just nodded vigorously.

  “That’s how many kids I’d like to have.”

  “Really? Six?” A tingling excitement raced through her. “I want three of my own—”

  “—and three adopted ones,” Logan finished.

  “Yes! Exactly!”

  They laughed and stared at each other. The moment felt weighted with importance, and from the look on Logan’s face, he felt the same way.

  Meadow was the first to break eye contact, forcing herself to look away so she could remember to breathe. Licking her dry lips, she put her hands on her hips and refocused her attention on scanning the room.

  “What’re you looking for?” Logan asked.

  “The remote control.” She got down on her hands and knees to search under the furniture.

  Finally she spotted it. It was hiding under the couch where Logan sat.

  Right between his feet.

  She gulped hard and sat back on her haunches.

  He was watching her. “Did you find it?”

  “Yeah. It’s, uh, right under you. Could you, uh, get it?”

  Logan glanced down at the floor and then back up at her. There was an unholy gleam in his eyes. Slowly he leaned back into the couch, stretching his arms across the top and spreading his legs.

  Her gaze dropped to the impressive bulge at his groin. She couldn’t help it. He was just so male and virile and big. As she stared at his crotch, she felt her lips parting, her mouth watering, the flesh between her thighs growing slick and…

  She jerked her eyes up to meet his gleaming gaze. “Can you get it for me?”

  His mouth curved in a slow, purely wicked grin. He was daring her to crawl between his legs to retrieve the remote.

  As her cheeks flushed, she folded her arms over her tingly nipples and glared at him.

  After another moment, he relented with one of those devilish laughs that rumbled up his chest and spilled from his lips like some dark, sinfully intoxicating wine.

  “God, I love messing with you, Jupe. The way you react is priceless.”

  She frowned as he reached down, pulled the remote out from under the couch and handed it to her. Their fingers brushed, flooding her with heat that pooled low in her tummy.

  “Jerk,” she muttered.

  He barked out a laugh as she got up and sat at the other end of the couch. Thankfully it was huge enough that they didn’t have to sit close to each other. Having him out of her line of sight would also make it harder to ogle the way his jeans hugged his strong thighs. Theoretically, anyway.

  As she queued up the movie they’d selected, Logan grabbed the bowl of popcorn from the coffee table and offered it to her. When she shook her head, he set it down on the cushion between them so they could both have easy access.

  The movie had just started when his phone buzzed. Shooting her an apologetic look, he pulled the phone out of his back pocket and checked the screen.

  Meadow raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you need to get that?”

  “Nah. I’m good.” He declined the call, put the phone away and returned his attention to the movie, tossing a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

  But his phone kept pinging with texts. After the fourth or fifth time, Meadow rolled her eyes in his direction. “Is that one of your puck bunnies?”

  He cocked an amused eyebrow at her. “What you know about puck bunnies?”

  “The girls told me all about them at dinner.” Meadow smirked. “They sound delightful.”

  “They can be,” he said with a dirty little grin.

  She rolled her eyes in disgust, making him laugh.

  “I’ll turn my phone off.” He made an elaborate show of powering down the device and setting it on the coffee table. “Happy now?”

  She gave a haughty sniff. “There’s a reason they make us turn off our phones at the theater. It’s annoying to hear phones ringing and chirping while you’re trying to watch a movie. The only people who don’t get that are rude jerks.”

  Logan muttered something under his breath.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Did you just insult me in Spanish?”

  “Me?” His expression was one of total innocence. “I would never.”

  “Liar.”

  He let out a deep rumble of laughter.

  Toes curling at the sound, Meadow picked up the remote and paused the movie. “Um, by the way, I need to take a rain check for dinner tomorrow night.”

  She’d barely gotten the words out before Logan started shaking his head. “No rain check. I told you I’m taking you out to celebrate your new job. It’s nonnegotiable.”

  “C’mon, Logan,” she wheedled. “Something else came up.”

  He eyed her suspiciously. “What?”

  “While I was home this week, I went online and joined the local astronomical society,” she explained. “They’re hosting a cocktail reception for new members tomorrow night. I want to go and meet everyone.”

  Logan looked insulted. “So you’re ditching me for a bunch of astronomy geeks?”

  “I’m not ditching you,” she laughingly insisted. “I’m just asking for a rain check.”

  He scowled. “I know how rain checks work, Jupiter. I use ’em all the time on chicks I don’t wanna see again.”

  She raised a disapproving eyebrow.

  He shrugged. “Just saying. I know when a woman’s trying to blow me off.” He paused, brow furrowed. “Not that it’s ever happened before.”

  She heaved an exasperated breath. “I’m not trying to blow you off, Logan. Why can’t we just go to dinner on Sunday or later in the week?”

  “Because I’m leaving on Sunday,” he reminded her irritably. “Our last three games are on the road. I won’t be back home until next Sunday.”

  “Okay, then. Let’s have dinner the night you get back,” Meadow suggested. “That’s the night before I start my new job.”

  An unhappy frown slashed deep grooves between his eyebrows. Who knew having dinner with her would matter so much to him? Jeez Louise!

  He contemplated her for a long moment, as if he were mulling over an idea. “I’ll give you a rain check on one condition.”

  She gave him a wary look. “What’s that?”

  “Come to our last game on Friday.”

  Her pulse skittered. “Your last game?”

  “Yeah. In Vegas.”

  She frowned. “I just left home, and you want me to turn around and go right back?”

  “Just for a few days.” When she still hesitated, he added cajolingly, “Nadia, Scarlett and Bianca are coming. They’re arriving on Wednesday so they can hang out a couple days before the game. I’ll buy your plane ticket and put you up in a suite at the hotel. Or you can room with the girls if they have enough space. It’ll be fun. You can get all your partying out before you start your new job.”

  “Hmm.” Meadow pursed her lips, considering his proposal. She had to admit that a weekend getaway with her new friends did sound like a lot of fun.

  Logan grinned at her. “That’s the only way I’m letting you bail on our dinner date.”

  She huffed out a breath. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.”

  “Wait.” Something suddenly clicked in her mind. “Next Friday is April eighth.”

  Logan nodded.

  Her gaze softened on his face. “That’s your birthday.”

  A muscle flinched at his jaw before he gave a tight nod.

  He
r mind flashed to an old memory of him sitting alone with his back against a wall, his arms wrapped around his legs and his tear-streaked face resting on his knees.

  She didn’t need any further convincing.

  “I’ll go,” she said softly.

  He brightened. “You’ll come to the game?”

  “Yes. I’ll come.”

  He gave her a smile that melted her heart and exploded her ovaries. In that moment, there was nothing she would deny him. Absolutely nothing at all.

  “What are the days again?”

  “Wednesday to Sunday,” he answered. “Coach Bohler’s giving us an extra day to enjoy Vegas before we come back and start gearing up for the playoffs. So we can hang out with everyone on Saturday, and maybe if there’s time, you and I can visit the children’s ranch together.”

  Meadow beamed. “I’d like that very much.”

  “So would I,” he said with a soft smile.

  “I’ll pay you back for the airfare and hotel room when I get my first paycheck,” she promised.

  His smile turned into a scowl. “I’m not taking your money, Jupiter.”

  “But—”

  “But nothing. You’re coming as my guest. I’ll take care of you.”

  She felt an odd flutter in her belly at the thought of him taking care of her in any manner. Dismissing the feeling, she picked up the remote and pressed the button to resume the movie.

  After a few minutes, Logan asked casually, “So what time does the cocktail reception start tomorrow?”

  “Seven o’clock. Why?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe I’ll go with you.”

  She stared at him in surprise. “Why would you do that?”

  “I’m not doing anything else. I mean, I had the evening carved out for dinner before somebody canceled on me.” He gave her a pointedly accusing look.

  She bit her lip guiltily. “I’m not canceling. I’m postponing.”

  “Same difference.”

  “No, it’s not. Anyway—” She paused the movie again “—you don’t wanna go to the reception.”

  “Why not?”

  “Why not?” she repeated in disbelief. “You’re not even interested in astronomy. You’d be bored out of your mind around a bunch of astronomers and hobbyists.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  “You would be. There’s no ‘maybe’ about it.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “Why do I get the feeling you don’t want me to go?”

  “Um…well…” she hedged. “I sorta don’t. Okay, not sorta. I flat-out don’t.”

  He looked offended. “What’s the matter? You embarrassed to take a dumb jock around your nerdy astronomy friends?”

  She scowled. “First of all, you’re not dumb. I saw the A’s you used to make on tests, even when you tried to hide them. Second of all, of course I’m not embarrassed to be seen with you. Who on earth would be?”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “Nothing. I just don’t want to draw too much attention to myself—”

  “You’ve always been like that,” Logan observed. “You’ve always tried to make yourself invisible to everyone.”

  She flushed, looking away to escape his too-perceptive gaze. “I don’t like being in the spotlight,” she mumbled self-consciously, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Showing up to the reception with a famous hockey player is tantamount to draping myself in flashing neon lights.”

  “Nah,” Logan scoffed. “Those astronomy people probably don’t even follow hockey. They might not even recognize me.”

  “Are you kidding?” Meadow exclaimed. “Your face is plastered everywhere around town and on that gigantic billboard coming from the airport! Of course they’ll recognize you!”

  “Nah, I don’t think so. Seriously.” His eyes twinkled. “But if it makes you feel better, I’ll wear a disguise.”

  “A disguise?”

  “Yeah. I’ll get some nerdy glasses and a pocket protector—”

  “Really, Logan?” she sputtered indignantly. “You think all astronomers wear nerdy glasses and pocket protectors?”

  “Don’t they?”

  “No!” She leaned over and gave him a playful smack in the chest. “Idiot!”

  He threw back his head and roared with laughter. The deep, rollicking sound was so infectious that she started laughing too. The more she imagined him in some absurd geek getup, the harder she laughed. She laughed so hard that tears streamed from her eyes and she started to snort.

  The snorting sent Logan into another paroxysm of laughter. Clutching his stomach, wide shoulders shaking like an earthquake, he dropped his head back on the couch and howled to the rafters. Which, of course, made her burst into fresh gales of laughter.

  She had never laughed so hard in all her life and she didn’t think she’d ever be able to stop. But eventually her laughter and snorts subsided to little giggles, and she joined Logan in collapsing back against the sofa cushions.

  “Oh shit,” he gasped, scraping tears from his eyes with his knuckles. “I never thought it was possible to die of laughter until this very moment.”

  “I know, right?” she chortled, trying to catch her breath. “I couldn’t stop. I thought I was gonna choke.”

  “Seriously.” He grinned at the ceiling. “I don’t even remember what was so damn funny.”

  “Neither do I,” she said with a big sigh. “But it felt good to laugh like that.”

  “Mmm. I was just about to say the same thing.”

  They turned their heads on the cushions and stared at each other.

  Heat curled through Meadow’s stomach as her skin broke out into goose bumps. She swallowed thickly and cleared her throat, trying to ignore the sexual awareness suddenly buzzing between them.

  “I guess we should, um, try to watch this movie.”

  He gave an almost imperceptible nod.

  She pressed the button to rewind the movie to the beginning.

  Logan stretched and then settled back comfortably against the couch. When she peeked at him, he caught her gaze and murmured, “Come here.”

  She hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip.

  He looked at her from beneath his lashes. “Please?”

  After another hesitation, she scooted over to him.

  He moved the popcorn out of the way and then pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. She snuggled against him, resting her head on his massive chest. He was all hard muscle and masculine heat, and his addictive scent flooded her senses.

  Cuddling with him was all kinds of dangerous and…Oh, who was she kidding? She wanted this. More than she wanted to. More than she probably should.

  “You never ran your errands,” she whispered.

  Logan kissed the top of her head. “Doesn’t matter.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in the smell of him. As he started nuzzling her hair, a melting warmth spread through her like a heavy blanket.

  They watched the opening scenes unfold while Logan played with her ponytail, sifting his fingers through the strands. His touch sent thrills rushing over her skin. It was hard to concentrate on anything but him.

  As the movie progressed, her eyes grew heavy, exhaustion settling over her. She yawned and snuggled deeper into the warmth of Logan’s body. Before long she drifted off to sleep.

  When she woke up, the television screen was blank and the room was quiet. Night had fallen outside the windows.

  Logan was silent beneath her, his heartbeat steady and strong. His hand was tangled in her hair, which he must have worked loose from her ponytail.

  Slowly she lifted her head from his chest to stare down at him. He was sound asleep, his head resting on the back of the couch. His long black lashes fanned out over his cheeks, and his full lips almost made him look like he was pouting. His features were relaxed in sleep, the aggression and edginess smoothed out. He was so breathtakingly beautiful that her heart ached.

  She found herself lifting her hand, one fing
er extended to trace the curve of that pouting mouth—

  Suddenly he stirred, the thick fringe of his lashes lifting.

  She quickly snatched her hand back.

  He stared at her through heavy-lidded eyes. Just like that, the boyish vulnerability was gone and he was all dangerously sexy man again.

  “Hey,” he whispered.

  “Hey,” she whispered back.

  A lazy smile lifted one corner of his mouth. “This is nice.”

  “What?”

  “Waking up to you.”

  Pleasure spiraled through her, bringing a flush to her cheeks. “I guess we were both pretty exhausted,” she said shyly. “You stayed on the phone with me all night and then went to practice in the morning. Plus you were coming off back-to-back games.”

  He nodded and glanced out the windows, then checked his watch and arched an eyebrow.

  “What time is it?” Meadow asked.

  “After one o’clock.”

  She gasped. “In the morning?”

  He nodded, lips twitching. “That was one helluva nap.”

  “Seriously.” She glanced toward the staircase. “I wonder if my aunt is back from the gala.”

  “I don’t know. I fell asleep not too long after you did.” Logan’s hand was still buried in her hair, and now his fingers were starting to massage her scalp. It felt so good she wanted to purr and stretch against him like a cat.

  She should stop him. She should pull away and send him home. But she didn’t want to.

  When he shifted on the couch, her eyes flickered down the length of his body. His abs weren’t the only part of him that were hard. When she saw the glaringly obvious bulge at his crotch, her throat locked.

  She had a sudden fierce urge to slip her hand under his waistband and wrap her fingers around his meaty shaft. She wanted to stroke him, wanted to test the limits of that mammoth erection straining the front of his jeans.

  As her sex tingled and came alive with excitement, she quickly looked up into his face.

  He was watching her. His bedroom eyes taunted her with the promise of hot, sweaty, no-holds-barred sex.

  She bit her lip, and her entire body trembled.

  The space between them suddenly felt magnetized, every molecule of air quivering with electricity. She willed herself not to be pulled into his powerful force field, but she knew it was way too late.