Bad Boys of Red Hook [2] You're the One (24 page)

She broke the kiss, straddled his hips, and rose to her knees to pull his shirt over his head before going for his button fly.

Logan stilled her hands.

She sat back on his lap and looked at him, really looked at him. He was still angry if the tick in his jaw was anything to go by. Something was definitely wrong. She snuck a peek at his prominent bulge, so it wasn’t an equipment malfunction. “What’s the matter?”

“I don’t need a pity fuck.” His placid expression seemed forced and his quiet, bored monotone amplified his indignation to a heart-shattering volume.

Her face flushed and stung, as if she’d just stepped
from a sauna into an ice storm. Icy needles pricked her flaming skin. Damn men and their freakin’ fragile egos. She blew out a breath, dragged in more frigid air, and blew it out again. “Well, that’s good, because this isn’t a pity fuck.” She got in his face. “Tell me something, Logan. What was it when you picked me up and threw me over your shoulder?”

Vacant eyes stared back at her, but she didn’t look away. He shrugged one shoulder and the muscles in his neck twitched like a cat’s tail before a strike. “I don’t know. I needed you.”

She wanted to touch him but drove her nails into her palms until her knuckles turned white. “So, it’s okay for you to need me, but I can’t need you?”

He looked like a kid who’d been expecting a beating and was given a lollipop instead. “You need me?”

So much it scared her. “Have you ever let anyone love you?” God, there was that look again, unsure as if searching for an angle, tentative, trepidatious.

“No one ever tried.”

She didn’t know what to say to that. A tear slid from her eye, and her throat slammed shut on all the words that raced through her mind. She leaned forward slowly and kissed his forehead. Her fingertips followed, smoothing the furrow between his brows. She kissed each eyelid as she traced his cheekbones.

His jaw clenched beneath her fingers and she ran her hands down his neck. Her tongue slid over the shell of his ear. “You need to relax. Trust me.”

He blew out a breath, wrapped his hands around her waist, and dragged her closer. His mouth came down on hers, hard, demanding. She went with it—she didn’t have much choice in the matter. His hands were everywhere
as if grasping for control. His body tensed beneath hers, shaking, shaken.

She pulled her mouth away and nipped at his lower lip to get his attention. “It’s my turn, remember?”

Her question was answered by a guttural groan as he ripped her sweatshirt over her head and dragged her pants down.

She yanked on his button fly and all the buttons popped—his erection sprang free. She slid off his lap and let him kick off his jeans before she went in for the kill and took him into her mouth.

She heard his sharp intake of breath, a muffled curse, and then his hand tangled in her hair. He didn’t move, didn’t breathe, as she slid farther down. Her hand gripped the base; her tongue traced the slit, and then swirled around the sensitive head. She squeezed her fist and drove her mouth down to meet it.

The breath he’d been holding whooshed out as she ran her other hand between his legs.

God, she loved the taste of him, the feel of power she held over him, the way he shook with his need to move. He vibrated beneath her, his dick jumped in her fist, and she took him deep until he hit the back of her throat.

He held her head in his hand, his fingers spread, but he didn’t push, he didn’t raise his hips, he didn’t move. He stilled and gave up the cloak of control he’d always worn.

Skye had never been in this position before—not like this. She’d never known that control was such a complete turn-on. She’d never felt so powerful. Every groan, every twitch of his muscles, every intake of breath, was a sign. He was so close. She wanted him to lose it, but she wanted to watch his face when he did.

She sucked hard, moving off him, and released him
with a pop before she moved up his big body. Kissing him. Determined to remain in control. She drove him on further with her mouth and sank onto him. His hands were still buried in her hair as she lifted herself off and then dropped back down on him—her breath shot out as he hit her womb. Her fingers dug into his shoulders and she held his gaze. The look in his eyes sent her right into an orgasm so powerful it took her by surprise. It rolled over her and she had no choice but to go with it. She rode it out and every move she made intensified its power. Magnified it, and had her gasping for breath.

He gripped her hips, dragging her closer with her every thrust. Going so deep she swore he touched her heart, and when his hands tightened, holding her to him, she wiggled and he bucked beneath her. She’d never felt anything like that—she’d never felt so close, so immersed, so connected to anyone before.

She’d never felt so loved.

When his gaze locked on hers, her name flew from his lips and he came apart in her arms.

She followed him over, collapsing on top of him as little earthquakes shot through her. Tears rolled down her cheeks and onto him and she hid her face as she kissed the center of his chest, his heart pounding beneath her lips.

When she looked at him, she knew she was done for. She was helplessly, totally, and probably tragically in love with Logan Blaise.

*   *   *

Logan held Skye. He hadn’t missed the tears she shed as they made love. He hadn’t missed the look in her eyes—a look he’d never seen before. And he hadn’t missed the fear that followed.

He’d have to be blind, deaf, and dumb to miss the way she dragged the sheet up over her body as if trying to protect herself from something—maybe from him.

She didn’t speak as he held her, but her silence couldn’t drown out the fight she seemed to be having with herself. Her body lay rigid against his and he did his best to soothe her, massaging tense muscles, working them one by one until they relaxed and sleep overtook her.

He watched her sleep and then rose to take Pepperoni out. He went home to grab D.O.G. and found a very sleepy Nicki wearing her Angry Birds nightgown sitting on the couch with her arm around the dog, waiting for him. “Hey, Nicki. What are you doing up so late? Your bedtime was an hour ago.”

She stood and stretched as Pepperoni jumped on her skinny legs, trying to reach her face. She bent down to pet the pup and got a lick on the lips for her effort. “I knew you’d come home to take D.O.G. out and I wanted to find out how Skye is.” She walked up to him and gave him a hug, resting her chin on his chest and looking up at him with eyes too old for her ten years. “I heard Pop on the phone with you.”

“Shit.”

“Logan, you’d better not say that in front of Bree when she gets home. She makes Pop and Storm put five dollars in the curse jar every time.” She shook her head. “Bree said at the rate they’re going, they’ll have my college paid for in no time.”

“I’m sorry.” He took Pepperoni off her leash, peeled a five off his billfold, and stuck it in the jar. At least it was going to a good cause.

Pepperoni ran rings around D.O.G., biting on his ears and tail.

“Come here, Nicki. We need to talk.”

Her eyes widened and she took a step back. “Am I in trouble?”

“No, kiddo. Nothing like that.” He led her over to Pop’s chair and sat, pulling her into his lap. “Nicki, Skye and I are dating—”

“Duh. Everyone knows that.”

She leaned against him and rested her head on his chest. At least she wasn’t scared anymore.

“Skye wasn’t comfortable with everyone at the restaurant knowing we’re seeing each other.”

“Why? That’s kinda dumb, isn’t it?”

He agreed totally, but he couldn’t very well cop to it. “We’re working together, so it complicates things.”

“How come?”

“Skye doesn’t want everyone to think the only reason I hired her was because I liked her.”

“Why would you hire someone you didn’t like?”

Maybe he should have Nicki talk to Skye. She’d be much better than he was at pleading his case. “I like Wendy and Simon and Francis, but not the way I like Skye. Do you understand?”

She straightened up and looked at him just before rolling her eyes. “You don’t just like Skye, Logan. You love her.” Nicki looked so sure about it. As if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“How’d you know?”

She shook her head as if asking the question made him too stupid to live. “’Cause you look at Skye the very same way Storm looks at Bree. And Skye looks at you the same way Bree looks at Storm. Skye tries to hide it, but she pretty much sucks at hiding stuff.”

“Nicki. ‘Sucks’ is not a nice word to use.”

“No, but it works, so I’m going with it. I’m not a baby, Logan. I know lots of things.”

When the kid was right, she was right. She was also incredibly bright and she saw and heard everything. He couldn’t very well lie about the way he felt about Skye, and he didn’t want to ever lie to Nicki. “I do love Skye.”

“And you didn’t love Payton, but that was okay, ’cause she didn’t love you either. She just liked you sometimes.”

Wow. Was she psychic? “Skye went home after the tasting and Rocki and Patrice were there with a bottle of champagne opened. Skye hadn’t eaten anything, and she’s not much bigger than you. So when she drank, the alcohol hit her hard.”

“My mom used to drink.” Nicki didn’t look at him; she just stared into space, as if she were watching a movie that only she could see. “She used to get mean whenever she drank, and she drank a lot. Sometimes she wouldn’t eat just so she could get drunk faster. Is that what Skye did? Did she get mean?”

“No, honey. God, no. Skye made a mistake. It was an accident, and I can pretty much guarantee she’ll never do it again. She’s not feeling too good right now. And Skye didn’t get mean. There’s not a mean bone in her body.”

“Really?”

“I swear.” He held up his hand in what he thought might be the Boy Scout salute, but could very well have been the
Star Trek
Vulcan salute. He’d never been a Boy Scout, and he’d often wondered whether he was as emotionless as a Vulcan—until recently, anyway. “Skye’s really embarrassed. Rocki and Patrice are both much bigger than she is, so they didn’t know how hard it would hit her.”

“They just wanted to get her to tell them all about
you. I heard them talking. They said they wanted all the gory details.”

“Great. Has anyone ever told you it’s not nice to eavesdrop on adults?”

“All the time, but if I didn’t listen, I’d never know anything.”

“Kids aren’t supposed to know everything.”

“No, but we do anyway. So we might as well know all the facts. It’s scary when everyone hides stuff. I used to be scared all the time, Logan. I don’t ever want to feel like that again.”

Just the thought of Nicki being scared had guilt stabbing at him. Damn, it was all his fault. He should have kept in touch with Marisa; he should have made sure there were no consequences to their actions. He should never have slept with her in the first place, but he couldn’t regret it. “I’m so sorry.”

Nicki shrugged. “It’s no big deal. No one knew about me and my mom. Mom just knew Pop took kids in like us, so she dumped me with him. But it’s good, because I love him and you and Storm and Bree and Skye. No one here gets drunk and mean. No one hits. No one passes out. I hated when Momma would go to sleep and I couldn’t wake her up. I thought she was dead.” She shook her head, almost as if she was trying to erase the memories. That was something he was good at. He locked all the bad stuff away so he never had to think about it. But with Nicki around, things kept popping out of the box that had been sealed shut.

“There’s always lots of food. I’m not hungry all the time anymore. And the best part is everyone here wants me around. You do too, don’t you?”

“Nicki, I’d do anything to keep you forever. I’ll always
love you and I’m always going to want you around. Same with Bree and Storm and Pop. You’re one of us. You’re my family. I’ll always be here for you. That’s a promise and I don’t make promises I can’t keep, so there’s nothing to be afraid of. We won’t let anyone or anything hurt you ever again. And if you have a problem, you come to me. I’ll take care of whatever it is.”

“Even if I did something bad?”

“Even then. We’ll solve the problem, and then we’ll deal with whatever you did. You might get punished, but you’ll always be safe; you’ll always be loved. Have you done something you need to tell me about?”

She thought about it and then smirked. “Nope, not lately. I’ve been on my best behavior so Bree and Storm will bring me a big present from New Zealand. Did you know New Zealand is on the other side of the world and their toilets flush in the opposite direction?”

“Yep. I did.”

“You’re real smart. I bet you never got into trouble when you were a kid.”

“You’re wrong there. I did a lot of stupid things when I was your age. I’m just lucky Pop set me straight.”

“Storm says we’re all really lucky. He’s pretty smart too. I miss him and Bree. I wish they’d come home already, but I don’t want you to leave.”

He was in no rush for Bree and Storm to return—not that he didn’t want them to. He just wasn’t sure what the hell he was going to do when they got back. He wouldn’t have the Crow’s Nest to run, and he wasn’t the idle sort. He had to make some plans.

She looked at him from under those dark lashes of hers, almost as if she were hiding. “Are you going to go back to California when they come home?”

“No. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me, kiddo. I might have to go back to tie up some loose ends, but I’m moving back to Red Hook for good.”

“You promise?”

“Yes. I promise.” He gave her a kiss on the forehead and a pat on the tush. “Now you need to get to bed. Have you brushed your teeth?”

“Logan, I’m not a baby.”

“I know, but you’re growing up way too fast. I’d like you to stay a little kid for a while yet. There’s no rush to grow up, you know. Now, jump into bed and I’ll tuck you in before I take the dogs for a walk. I’m going to crash at Skye’s place to make sure she’s okay, but I’ll be back in the morning to take you to school.”

“You’re going to bring D.O.G. back, though, right?”

“I sure will. He likes sleeping with you and your bear.”