All motion ceased and my breath caught, but I was still able to speak. “I love you, Logan.”
He was devastatingly beautiful when his eyes filled with love, but they clouded with concern a moment later. “You mean a lot to me, but I’m not sure I’m ready to say that back. Not just yet.”
Twelve years echoed in my mind. He was bound to be cautious with his heart. “You’ll say it when you’re ready. I’m okay with that.” I gave him a soft smile, one I hoped conveyed that I understood.
He crossed the room toward me, and I attempted to meet him in the middle, but he lifted me up and carried me backward into the closet, ducking his head under the shelf once we were inside. I hadn’t thought through dumping the pile of clothes here on my bed. Now I was on my back on top of them. We both took a moment to push them out of our way and clear space, sending pants and skirts tumbling to the floor. I had a feeling we were going to need every inch of my teenage-sized bed.
Usually I liked being undressed by him, but we both shed our clothes until I was left only in my panties and he was completely naked and on top of me. I wrapped my hands around his warm shoulders, and he pressed the length of himself against me at the same moment he pressed his lips to mine.
We were only a heartbeat away from having sex. He nudged me again, teasing my body through the thin cotton of my panties, and he slipped his tongue into my mouth. I don’t think foreplay was on the agenda, and . . . good. I wanted him terribly. I wanted to tell him I loved him while he was moving inside me. My hand drifted down and pulled my panties to the side, guiding him.
God, I loved the sensation when he entered me for the first time, and he fit so perfectly now. It made me mad that he hadn’t pursued me sooner. We’d potentially missed out on two years of this. But lord knew I couldn’t be mad at him, not when he eased in and out of me, going deep and then pulling almost all the way out, only to plunge back inside.
“I’m never going to get enough of this,” he whispered, his head burrowed in the crook of my neck. “Never going to get enough of you.”
My eyes fell closed and hot tears stung there, but I held them back. I didn’t care that the sides of the bed were scraping against the closet, or that he sent my knee banging into the wall with every thrust. Listening to him, feeling him inside me, connecting with the man I loved. That was what mattered.
I couldn’t get enough of kissing him or having my hands on him. I raked one through his hair while his lips skimmed my collarbone. Abruptly he pulled out and stepped back off the bed, and frantic hands yanked my panties down my legs. It was impressive how swiftly he could move. His weight returned to the bed, but he curled beside me, placing my leg over his legs. I was lying on my back and him on his side when he entered me again, his intense eyes watching my expression.
“Oh my god,” I whispered. At this angle, he could easily dip his head to lick my breast, which he did. I was right on the edge of an orgasm. The scent of his cologne was all around me, and his hands. . . oh god, his hands. They held me tightly to him.
“I love you.” It came from me quiet, but full of emotion.
“Then come for me,” he whispered. We’d returned to our games of asking for permission.
“Come with me,” I begged.
The weight of our feelings pressed down and hurled us together toward oblivion. For the first time he went before I did, and it triggered my orgasm. His pleasure filled me with pleasure and became mine. Lying beside him was bliss. I didn’t want to leave this perfect moment.
He seemed content to stay as he was too. That is, until his phone, still in the pocket of his pants on the floor, chirped with a text message. Lips trailed over my shoulder.
“We should put clothes on or we’re going to be late.”
“I’m always late,” I muttered. The greedy selfishness inside me whined. Couldn’t we just have a few more quiet minutes together?
“I noticed. I can help with that, you know.”
“Oh, really, boss?”
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“Yeah.” He propped himself up on an elbow, and his eyes were inky in the shadows of my dimly lit closet. “I can set all your clocks ten minutes fast, or you can start staying at my place more often. This bed isn’t good for us long-term.”
Long-term. I understood what he was implying. “I like option number two.”
After drinks with his friends, I crashed at his place, but I woke up alone. Logan had his longest run before the marathon planned for this morning, which meant he’d be gone for a while. The alarm clock had buzzed long ago, and he’d risen, moving silently to the closet to get dressed, and then out the door.
I sat up now, evaluating the room critically. I went into the meticulously organized closet with suits on the left and casual clothes on the right. My haphazard closet must have made him crazy.
After a shower, I cinched the towel tight under my arms, sat with my legs tucked beneath me on the bed, and texted Payton. She called me right back, and we discussed me throwing out the “L” word and Logan’s reaction. She was happy for me. She liked Logan.
Once the call was over, I sat on the bed, staring out the window. How were we going to keep pretending we were strangers at the office? And more importantly, why?
The front door opened and shut, followed by his labored breathing and heavy footsteps inside the kitchen. I’d lost all track of time.
My towel was abandoned on the bed when I made my way into the kitchen, stark naked, excited to see sweat rolling down his golden-tan chest. He had the fridge door open when I stepped into the room.
“Are you going to fuck me in the shower, or are you too tired?” I teased.