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  “Get used to it.” I pressed a kiss above his left nipple.

  “I plan on it.” He lifted my chin with his index finger and nipped my lips. “Now let me finish soaping you up, and then you need to rest that pretty little head of yours.”

  Rest? Not what I was thinking at all, especially with the growing hardness pressing into my side.

  With a frisky smile, I placed leisurely kisses on his neck. “I was thinking of something a little more intimate.” I turned to face him fully and straddled his lap as best I could in the tight space. My knees pressed between his thighs and the side of the cast-iron tub as I lifted myself up and sat over him, his cock situated under my ass.

  Logan closed his eyes and sucked in a tortured breath, stifling a grunt when I slid over him again, grinding down against his hardness.

  His hands landed on my hips and lifted me up quickly, but before I could land back down, he was standing and grabbing a towel.

  My lip jutted out in a pout. I felt suddenly rejected—especially considering the trials of the day.

  I stood, ripped the towel from his hands, and stepped out of the tub, wrapping the soft cotton around my body. Too hurt to speak, I’d opened the door to leave when he snatched me around the hips and tugged me back against his strong, wet body.

  “Cassandra, all I want right now is to see you sleeping peacefully. You need it.”

  As though I could ignore his rock-hard erection pressed against my stomach? My heart pounded, arousal soaring through me.

  “I know what I need.” I pressed a kiss to his neck, then down to his shoulder. Each bit of contact with his skin wiped away, albeit temporarily, the memory of Kurt. I needed more.

  “Cassandra, I think we should wait. You had a traumatic day, and—”

  “And I need you more than ever because of that. Please.” I met his wary gaze, wanting him to overwrite the bad. “Help me forget. You want me as much as I want you.” I pulled back enough to gaze down at his hardness, then peeked back up at him. “So take me.”

  “I was in a tub with a goddess, who’s now in my arms.” A sweet smile touched his lips. “You can’t expect my body not to react.”

  Heat rose to my cheeks and I murmured, “So then what’s the problem?”

  Logan released me, stepped away, and ran both his hands through his hair. He didn’t say another word, instead grabbing a second towel and wrapping it around his waist.

  I waited quietly until he looked up and stepped around me out of the small room. I could see conflicted worry lines marring his handsome face. He stood in front of my bedroom door, looking in at the blood stain and miscellaneous items scattered around from the nightstand drawer I’d dumped out.

  After following him, I leaned against his back, burying my head between his shoulder blades. I didn’t want to look in the room again.

  “We need to pack you a bag,” he said, stepping forward toward my closet. With his towel tucked around his waist, he pulled my duffle bag from the floor and took it to my dresser.

  His words penetrated something I’d kept buried deep while in the bathroom, but now it was bubbling back to the surface.

  “I can do it,” I said, defeated, taking the duffle from his hands. “Let me just get dressed first.”

  Not looking me in the eyes, his only response was “Okay” in a mere whisper before he left the room.

  There was nothing to do but stare at the bag, unsure whether I should fill it with three days’ worth of clothes or throw it at him when he returned. Why was he acting like this? I didn’t want the day to define the start of our relationship. I just wanted to suck it up and press on.

  I dropped the bag and pulled on the first pair of panties I grabbed, not even caring what they looked like, followed by a pair of sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt. I didn’t even bother with a bra. I was starting to crash already. If I couldn’t have Logan loving me the way only he could, then I wanted sleep.

  As I walked to the door, the full-sized mirror on the back of it reflected my tired, puffy eyes with the tiny bandages underneath. My hair was a mess of curls that was still dirty, since we hadn’t got around to washing it in the tub.

  I winced, closing my eyes. I looked hideous.

  “I’m ready,” I said as I walked into the living room. Logan stood fully dressed, staring darkly out the front door.

  He turned. “Where’s your bag?”

  “I’m not in the mood to pack it. I’ll come back tomorrow or something. Let’s just go.”

  With anguish displayed on his face, he didn’t speak, but finally held out his hand. I couldn’t resist; I needed to feel him close. It was the only thing that felt safe.

  The short walk over was dark, brutally cold, and filled with a viscous silence; the crunch of snow under our feet was the only sound. I noticed the lights were out at his house just before we entered. To say I was relieved was an understatement; there was no way I could face Oliver in that state. I was lost, and completely unsure what I was feeling.

  Logan led me up the stairs and down the hall before opening the door to his room. It was everything I’d imagined, with grand, large-scale furniture and a few paintings on the wall. I went straight to the bed, kicked off my boots, and climbed in.

  The bed dipped behind me a few moments later. Warm arms encased me, pulling me into their safety.

  “I love you, Cassandra.” His voice was conflicted and strained.

  Still facing away, I placed my hand on his arm, my thumb caressing his wrist. “I know. Me too.”

  There was nothing else to say. The tension was too thick, drowning us both. He didn’t know what to say and I didn’t know what I needed, so I closed my weary lids and allowed myself to drift away from it all.

  Chapter Four

  Nightmares

  My feet were painfully heavy and blisteringly cold. The bitter crunch of snow mixed with a breathless, hard panting blared around me, refueling my adrenaline. Panic swept through my veins. Was it me running out of steam in my steps, or…him?

  I raced faster, not willing to slow down, stumble, or trip, but it still wasn’t enough. Heavy hands shoved against my back, ripping the air from my lungs and sending me face down.

  I whipped around, heart racing, blood crashing in my ears. I crawled backward on my hands and feet, staring wide-eyed up at the dark figure looming over me. Panic hit hard when the figure barreled forward, and a face met mine.

  Kurt.

  I woke with a start, my head pounding, skin buzzing. Once calm enough to process my surroundings, I found Logan asleep against my back. It took everything I had to sneak out from under his arms and slide down the bed without waking him. As I stood over him, the anguish consuming me grew thicker. He looked so peaceful. I didn’t want him to lose that—didn’t want us to fall apart before we’d even had a real beginning.

  I needed to work all fragments of Kurt from my system—prove to Logan and to myself that I could move forward, and that I was still the woman I was before. No more nightmares.

  Convinced it was now or never, I threw on my coat, grabbed my boots, and tiptoed out of the room.

  Once over the threshold of Logan’s front door, no longer protected by the safety inside, I closed it all behind me quietly. Fumbling with my boots, I shoved my feet in and stared across to my dark house next door.

  What am I doing? What’s the plan—my goal?

  I didn’t have answers. The only thing I knew for sure was that Kurt was in my head and needed to get the hell out.

  I shuffled forward warily over the sugaring of snow covering Logan’s front porch. My senses were hyperaware of every noise, movement, and shadow around to mock me.

  Get it together! Nobody’s out here! I’d been alone outside in these parts my entire life, never fearing a single thing, and I wouldn’t let that change now.

  Still, when the harsh security light from Logan’s porch flashed on, my body betrayed my spirit. My spine stiffened and stomach lurched; as hard as I fought through the unwarrant
ed fear, my fingers clutched my coat against my chest, palms sweaty and hands trembling.

  I stared out at the floodlit path, cutting through the night from his yard to mine. Inhaling a rapid breath of cool winter air, I released the hold on my coat and rubbed my hands together briskly, determined it was time to tackle this beast head on. And I did, jogging down the porch stairs, my courage returning with each step until my feet crunched into that deep wicked snow on the earth—a trigger I couldn’t avoid.

  The texture under my boots was the same as in the dream. Everything in me froze as it all rushed back: the nightmare, the terror, and the anxiety, but mostly the anger. It hid deep inside my gut, building under the surface.

  My head shook. Rage boiled through my veins, but I wouldn’t let it spill out. I’d never let anyone see or know. I’d bury it in a subterranean hole behind my heart, where my pain and sorrow were locked away in a place I never had to deal with them again.

  I needed at least enough closure on Kurt to satisfy the scared, tiny girl inside that required it. His actions won’t define me. I ached to scream it so loudly that it would ricochet through the forest, letting everyone to know I wasn’t some fragile child. I was stronger than the fear, and my will was stronger than any pain Kurt could cause me.

  Prepared to storm over to my house and remove all signs of him, I felt Logan’s gentle voice jerk me back to the now.

  “Cassandra.”

  My shoulders were the only part of me that moved out of my body’s rigid state, but I didn’t look back, staring with fixed purpose at my house.

  I heard him move closer, descending the first step before standing behind me. He didn’t touch me. “Come back to bed, sweetheart.”

  I opened my mouth and a low, heated whisper crawled out. “I can’t.”

  His hand appeared beside me, folding lightly around my arm. “Okay. Tell me what I can do.”

  I didn’t know, and I hated myself for it. We’d been through so much, been pushed to the brink, and he’d proven he was there for me and cared for me again and again. I knew with every fiber of my being that he loved me. I never wanted him worrying about me again.

  I leaned backward into his chest, absorbing his scent. “Nothing. I’m fine.” An awkward bubble of a bitter chuckle leapt from my throat. Was every relationship tackled at every turn, or was it just mine?

  His hands circled my waist, and he turned me around slowly. I stared down at his black boots, unable to look into his eyes.

  Strong fingers captured my chin and lifted my head up until his penetrating gaze locked on mine. “No, you’re not. Don’t ever hide from me, Cassandra. Let me be here for you.” His voice was stern but tender. “Please.”

  Unsure what to say, I simply nodded. Together, we stood there, neither breaking the connection our eyes held.

  “I’m not a victim. I never will be,” I finally confessed, staring past him, emotions too high to control. “I don’t want to feel this.” My chest tightened, forcing myself to go deeper—to purge. “He would have won. He would have—”

  I folded my bottom lip between my teeth, unable to say it as I felt tears well up in my eyes. Logan’s hand caressed my cheek, and I drew from his strength to continue.

  “After everything the past few months, it’s like I’ve lost myself. I… I don’t know what I’ve become. This brittle girl that people look at with pity? I hate it. It was why I was so headstrong with you…” My eyes met his again. “…because you…you had that same look in the hospital when Julia and Oliver came by. You saw through me, and I couldn’t bear it.”

  He sat on the top step, taking me in his arms and setting me on his lap. His powerful gaze demanded my attention.

  “I saw a strong, powerful woman lying in a bed, covered in injuries I was responsible for,” he began. “I let you go that night—let you drive away, fully aware that you weren’t fit to be behind the wheel. I was selfish, only thinking about myself.

  “And then it hit me, the moment your taillights disappeared: the enormity of how much I fucked up something so beautiful, so pure. The look you saw on my face that day in the hospital was not pity—it was pain, guilt, and regret. But it was also love. I loved you, and more than anything I wanted to protect you…take care of you any way you’d allow.”

  His head fell and he blew out a breath.

  “I love you,” I said. “I did then, and I do now. I just want to feel like myself again.”

  “I promise you, Cassandra, I will fight with everything I have to make you happy. You’re still the same girl I watched leap over that puddle, so carefree. You’ve dealt with more than your fair share, we both know that, but I’ll make things right. And you have my word: You’ll never have to fear that monster again.” His voice hardened. “Nobody will ever hurt you again.”

  Maybe it was the protectiveness that radiated off him or the love his words cocooned me in, but in that moment I was through talking. Soothing warmth flooded my chest. There was only one thing I wanted: to be lost in him. I was safe and happy there.

  “Make love to me,” I murmured.

  He pulled back the slightest bit. Had I not been so attuned to his every move, I may not have noticed.

  “We don’t have to, Cassandra,” he said softly, his hands smoothing down my back. “We can just sit here. I’ll hold you as long as you need. I’m not going anywhere—ever. I want to love you in every way imaginable, but I want you to be ready to move on from today in your own time.”

  “Logan,” I sighed, framing his face in my hands. “I am moving on, and right now I need to be reminded of what I have—what we share. I need you not to make me forget, but to remind me that it’s over.” Unshed tears beckoned, blurring my vision. “My body needs your touch to…” My voice lowered; I was suddenly nervous. “…to remove the feel of his. I need to feel you—need for you to make me whole and safe again.”

  The pad of his thumb slid over my cheek, wiping away a traitorous tear. I sucked in a cleansing breath, ceasing further tears as I watched him swallow. Almost instantly, I was enveloped in his strong embrace: the one place I belonged. He tipped my head back, his lips massaging mine, soft and gentle.

  “How can I ever deny you? Anything you need, it’s yours. Let’s go inside. I want you warm in my bed first.”

  “No. Here.” My voice cracked, but I didn’t think. I only moved from his lap and tugged at the waistband of my sweatpants.

  He grabbed my hand, stopping me. “It’s freezing. You’ll catch a cold—”

  “Logan, please…I don’t want to be afraid out here. I want to be free—safe.” I nearly yelled it, expressing my need to the wind, then pulled on a coaxing hint of a smile to prove I was ready. “Besides, I know you’ll keep me warm.”

  Logan stood wearing only his unbuttoned dark wool coat, grey pajama pants, and unlaced boots. He regarded me with an intense stare, reading me, until his lips began curling up. His hesitance lifted into determination when I whispered the challenge.

  “I’m waiting.”

  “Come here,” he replied hoarsely, kissing me hard before taking my hand and leading me back up the steps to his front door. “Don’t move.”

  I waited as he disappeared inside. Alone outside, I felt no fear—only anticipation.

  When Logan emerged a moment later, it was with the grey throw from his living-room sofa. He placed it over the railing, then turned his attention back to me. He pulled me into his arms, his stubble warming my cheek as his lips ran over my ear.

  “I love you,” he whispered.

  There was no time to reply. I gripped his shoulders for support as he grasped the waist of my sweats and lowered them down my legs. I’d bent quickly to remove my boots when his hand grabbed mine.

  “Keep them on,” he rasped.

  “What? No!” I replied, conscious of how ridiculous they’d look. I attempted to kick them off again, but he wasn’t having it.

  “I want those cute toes of yours nice and warm.”

  He removed one pant leg ove
r the boot, then lifted my other to do the same. I didn’t fight him. His expression lightened when he glanced up, feasting on my nearly nude state, and hooked his fingers in my panties. The look wasn’t one of lust, but pure adoration. With the slowest movement I’d ever seen him make, he dragged the pants down my legs and over the boots.

  The security light flickered off, and his aqua eyes glistened in the darkness surrounding us. Ever so slowly, he unzipped my coat, pulled it down over my shoulders, and let it fall. The freezing temperatures didn’t have time to attack as he directed my arms up over my head, freeing me of my sweater before immediately wrapping the blanket around my shoulders. There I stood on his porch, in only my brown UGGs and a fleece throw.

  Logan’s hands slipped inside the blanket, encasing me as he stepped closer. Without warning, his lips collided with mine, loving and tender. I lost myself in the moment, which was over too soon when he stepped back to release me, then slowly worked his lips down my neck before dropping to his knees.

  I watched my beautiful man, staring up at me, take my ankle and place his mouth just above my boot. His lips trailed up over my leg, then paused at a small cut on my shin, where he placed a lingering open-mouthed kiss.

  “I’ll always keep you safe,” he murmured, slinking up to the next cut just above my knee. “Always.”

  My body woke with vigor, trembling as I braced myself against the front door. He placed my leg back down and took the other, repeating the movements. His hands began kneading the backs of my thighs, holding me in place as his tongue ran up over my knee. The heat of my arousal melted away the anxiety our setting had brought. My fingers weaved through his messy short hair, my body relaxing, legs widening to welcome him.

  He lifted my foot and rested my calf over his shoulder, then maneuvered his head to trace the dip below my knee with his tongue. “You’re mine. My angel.”

  A moan sang out as I moistened my bottom lip, my stomach buzzing with eagerness.

  Logan’s tongue swirled, working its way up until his nose brushed below my sex. “Every part of you. Only my hands are allowed here. I’ll kill any other man that thinks otherwise.”