The tuxedo furball rises, stretches her back, and pivots, leaping off the bed.
“I guess she’s seen enough,” I remark, still grinning. “But she did look proud of you, I have to say.”
He preens. “Goals.” Then he plants a kiss on my shoulder. “Let’s clean you up.”
After we straighten up in the bathroom, Logan brings me against him, sweeps my hair over my shoulder, and peppers kisses all across my neck. “Thank you,” he whispers, and there’s that sweet, tender man again.
I laugh, furrowing my brow as I swivel around. “What are you thanking me for? Sex?”
He takes my hand, pulls me back to bed, and hooks my leg around his hip. He faces me as we settle down into the pillows and covers. “Not sex, per se. But sex like that.”
I raise a hand as if I’m in class. “I’m still confused. Why are you thanking me for sex? I wanted to have it.”
He nuzzles my neck, dusting soft kisses there, then he pulls back to meet my eyes. “Because . . . you want it the same way I do.”
“Well, yeah. We sort of established that on the first night.”
Running a hand down my side, he nods. “I know. But you need to understand something.” He licks his lips, drawing a deep breath. “It’s like a fucking revelation with you. The sex.”
He sounds relieved and thrilled all at once, and I flashback to what he said before in his office, that our first night together was the most epic date and most epic sex. I want to understand him more, to explore the apparent truth in his words, then and now, so I ask, “You’ve always wanted it a little dominant and never had it that way?”
“Not until you.”
“And what do you think about it now?” I ask, my skin tingling, my body heating up again.
“It’s fucking amazing with you. It’s like—” He mimes an explosion.
“Mind-blowing?” I ask, unable to mask a wicked grin.
“Completely mind-blowing.”
I prop my head in my hand, still processing what he’s saying, the freshness of it. “So this is truly new to you?”
His eyes flash with vulnerability. “I’ve fantasized about it. Wanted it like this. But haven’t had it this way.”
For a moment, worry grips my chest. “Do you only want to date me because I like it when you shove my face in the pillows?”
His eyes widen, and he scoffs. “What? No. No fucking way.”
I press a hand to his chest. “Are you sure?”
He inches closer to me, threading a hand through my hair. “I’m positive, Bryn. I like you so much. I like all of you.” He runs a finger across my top lip. “I like your mouth.” Then he taps my temple. “And your mind.” He moves his fingers down to my chest. “And your big heart, and the fact that you looked into classes for my kid. That was amazing.” He takes a beat. “And I also feel alive in a whole new way with you. I feel connected to you on all those levels. Maybe you think that’s crazy.”
“It’s not crazy.” My heart lurches toward him, my throat tightening with vulnerable emotions. I want to get closer to him, want to know what it’s like to be wrapped in this kind of intimacy: body, heart, and mind. “I feel that way too.”
“So you know it’s not just sexual?”
“It’s not,” I say softly. “But I wanted to make sure. Once bitten, twice shy.”
“Same here. That’s why I said thank you. I could never talk about sex openly with my ex. She didn’t want to. But with you,” he says, running a hand over my hip, “I feel like I’ve been able to be open with you from the start. I think that’s why it’s so good between us.”
“Because we can talk about sex and everything else,” I agree. He’s put his cards on the table, so I do the same, even if it’s a little scary. Because we can tell each other what we want. “I spend all day making decisions, and I love that when I’m in bed with you, I don’t have to.”
“All day, I think about compromises and negotiations, and in bed with you, I don’t have to. I can decide.”
I snuggle closer to him. “I like when you tell me what to do. When you put me on my knees. When you push me down. It felt even more intense this time. Did you feel that way?”
“I did.” His voice is soft as he brushes the hair off my cheek. “And I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m falling for you, Bryn. I’ve been shut down for so long, and it’s incredible to feel the opposite at last. And I don’t want to stop feeling this way.”
My eyes flutter closed as his words sink in, as they weave through me, making me feel so damn good.
When I open my eyes, I say, “I’m falling for you too.”
We kiss for a long, long time.
So long that I lose track of the hours and miss my hula-hooping class, but I don’t care, because soon he fastens my hands to the headboard with a tie, buries his face between my legs, and makes me come again.
And it feels like we’re the only ones in the world.
27LOGAN
That afternoon, we grab lunch then walk through Central Park. “What was your favorite road trip with your mom?”
“It’s impossible to choose.”
“Try.”
“There were so many good ones,” she says, bright flickers of happiness in her eyes. She hums thoughtfully, setting her finger on her lips like she’s recalling memories. “I loved going to California, seeing the gold rush towns at the foot of Yosemite.”
