For the first couple miles, the feel of Grace’s warm body wrapped around him was heaven. His blood had pumped faster, awareness shooting through his limbs like an electric volt.
But now, every minute that passed became more unbearable. The soft breaths against his neck had his skin heating intensely. And the feel of her breasts pressed to his back, rubbing against him with each step…it was nothing short of torture.
He quickened his pace, all the while being careful not to jostle her too much. That was more for his benefit than hers though. More movement made everything worse.
When he finally saw the finish line coming up, he almost groaned in relief.
“I can jog the last bit if you want?”
Had he actually groaned out loud? “I’m fine.” Damn if his voice wasn’t gruffer than he’d intended.
“No, really, I’ll jog.” When she started wriggling in an attempt to shuffle down his body, he almost swore under his breath before crouching and helping her to her feet.
The woman was going to be the death of him.
She grabbed her shoes from his shoulder, jogging with them in her hand. He jogged alongside her, matching his pace to hers. Without her shoes on, the height discrepancy between them was even greater. Christ, he just about towered over her.
“Sure your feet are okay?”
“Yep. Without the shoes on, I could almost forget I have blisters. Lucky we’re running on grass now.” She shot a quick look up at him. “It still astounds me how fit you are. You can run ten miles, five with me on your back, and you’re not even short of breath.”
He probably could have run another ten carrying double her weight. “I’m not used to it, either. I’ve always been fit, especially after training as a special operations soldier, but this…” He shook his head. “It’s different.”
He could feel her eyes on him. “I’m sorry about what happened to you.”
“Thank you.” He lifted a shoulder. “It could have been worse. We were held on a huge property bordered by electrical fencing, but the house was large and comfortable. We weren’t caged and were fed well.”
“But you were still prisoners.”
Every damn day. “As long as we went along with what they wanted—the training, the drug schedule—we were treated well and our families were safe. We definitely learned the art of patience. Biding our time until we were strong enough to fight back. It took two years. We attacked the guards, and I made it out. Then I met the guys in Marble Falls and, in the end, my team was freed.”
“You risked everything for a chance at freedom.”
There was something in the way she said those words, an undertone of heaviness, that had him looking her way. Her head was down so he couldn’t see her face, but damn, he wished he could.
Had she escaped a similar kind of hell? The woman had been through something. Her fear of being touched by men pointed to a past trauma.
The idea had his hands clenching into fists and anger creasing his brow.
As they approached the finish line, both Logan and Grace pulled their bandannas over their faces. The cool colored powder hit his face before he tugged the bandanna down to sit around his neck.
Grace’s light chuckle had him looking her way. Her eyes sparkled in the sun and there was the slightest hint of dimples in her cheeks. Man, she was beautiful. The urge to tug her body into his was strong. So strong it almost caused him physical pain not to.
He gave himself a mental shake. What the hell was wrong with him? He barely knew the woman.
“Can’t say I’ve ever been this colorful before,” she said, scanning her body.
They headed toward the party area. Huge swarms of people congregated throughout the park, but he spotted his team, along with Courtney, immediately.
“It looks good on you,” he said, trying and failing not to let his gaze linger.
“Yeah, I’ll pretend I believe you.”
And he’d pretend the mere sight of her hadn’t been making him hard all over for days.
They’d almost reached his friends when a soft touch on his arm stopped him. He looked at Grace to see the smile was wiped clean from her lips. “Thank you. I know you have this superstrength and endurance thing going on, but you could have kept going with your friends. Thank you for helping me finish.”
Unable to stop himself, Logan stepped closer, hand going to her upper arm, grazing the soft skin. “Happy to help.”
Her blush wasn’t subtle, pink touching her cheeks, a similar color to the powder they’d just been doused with.
Logan was almost sad when he had to drop his hand and head toward their friends.
“You made it!” Courtney said, studying Grace’s feet. “How are the blisters?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Without shoes on, completely fine. Logan was my knight in shining armor and carried me on his back the rest of the race.”
“He carried you?” Courtney seemed to melt on the spot a little bit, her gaze shooting between them. “That’s so sweet. Maybe next year I’ll wear shoes that give me blisters.” She nudged her shoulder against Aidan’s, making everyone laugh.
Logan scanned the area. “I could use some water.”
“Well, you’re in luck.” Courtney pointed toward the drink trucks. “They serve PG drinks for the next hour. Then the kids get kicked out and the adult drinks begin.”
“Alcohol?” Jason asked. “After a ten-mile race?”
Aidan lifted a shoulder. “Alcohol can be hydrating.”
Courtney nodded. “Especially vodka. Maybe I’ll get a margarita.”
Grace shook her head. “Margaritas are tequila, not vodka.”
Courtney frowned. “Oh. Mojito then?”
“No, that’s rum.” She chuckled. “If you want vodka, you could get a cosmopolitan? Or a martini. Or a Moscow mule.”
“Ooh, Moscow mule, that sounds fancy.”
Logan tilted his head. “You know your drinks.”
She flinched. It was so subtle, he barely caught it. “I, um, worked in a bar. It was a long time ago. Like a lifetime ago. But you never forget what goes into a drink.”
Was it just him or had there been a slight hitch in her voice? And if there was…why?
Before he could say anything, Jason groaned loudly. “Six o’clock, journalist incoming.”
A few of them turned their heads. Logan didn’t bother. He knew who it was. Most of the reporters had left town now, chasing other stories after hitting brick walls with them. But there were still a few around—and one who seemed to be here for good. And she was annoying as hell.
Aidan straightened, a smile curving his lips. “I’ll handle this. I get a kick out of her frustration when I talk her in circles.”
“She’s all yours.” Jason took a step away. “I’ll grab everyone some water.”
“I’ll join you,” Logan said, moving away with his friend.
The next couple hours passed quickly and involved a lot of trying to drag his eyes off Grace. Trying and failing. The woman was living in his house, and he still couldn’t get enough of her. After what she’d done to his team, he should’ve been able to keep his distance.
The sun was just setting when Aidan joined him at a table, giving him an odd smile that said he’d caught Logan staring at the women. She and Courtney had been dancing for a while. And he’d been watching for almost as long.
He’d noticed a couple of things during his observations. For starters, she was careful to stick to the edges of the crowd. Any time Courtney attempted to move them into the throng, Grace shook her head.
She’d also had a couple of drinks, which had loosened her up. Helped her move more freely. The rigidity that she often carried in her spine was gone.
“Uh-oh.”
Logan frowned at Aidan. “What?”
“What’s that look on your face?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He did, but Aidan didn’t need to know that.
“You like her.”
Actually, it was starting to feel more like an obsession. “Yeah. But I think someone hurt her. A man. And I think maybe they’re still out there somewhere.” Why else would she be so skittish?
The smile left Aidan’s lips. His teammates were the same as him. Protectors first, everything else second. And the idea of a man hurting a woman was as abhorrent to them as it was to Logan.
“Have you asked her about it?”
“No.” He’d been tempted. A few times. “I think it’s connected to whatever the reporter threatened her with.” In fact, he was almost certain.
“If you want to get closer to the woman, I think you need to know her past.”
Did he? Want to get closer to her? “She’s leaving town soon.”
“And the fact that she spoke to the reporter in Texas is stopping you.”
Logan frowned at his friend. How was the guy so damn perceptive? “It would be easier if I knew exactly what had transpired between them.”
Aidan nodded. “I agree. Unless you plan to force the words out of her, though, I guess it’s up to her whether she’s willing to share.”
It was. The ball was in her court.
When Logan turned his attention back to Grace, he saw she’d stopped dancing in favor of scanning the crowd around her. She’d done that a couple of times already.
Had she seen something? Someone?
He studied the crowd, not noticing anyone looking her way. When he glanced back, she gave a small shake of her head before dancing again.
That’s when the guy behind her caught Logan’s attention. He seemed to be inching closer as he danced. He also wasn’t so steady on his feet. Drunk.
When he suddenly stumbled sideways, falling right into Grace, the two of them went down. The guy didn’t even attempt to stop himself from crushing her into the grass.
Logan was already moving. Fear flashed across Grace’s face as the guy pushed up onto his elbows.
Grabbing the guy from behind, Logan lifted him off, throwing him to the side. Crouching beside Grace, he spoke softly. “Hey, you okay?”
She sat up quickly, her breaths moving in and out of her chest in quick succession. Her heart, which he could vaguely hear beneath the music, beat much too quickly in her chest.
The drunk guy returned, reaching to touch her shoulder. “Christ, lady, I’m sorry!”
Standing, Logan shoved him hard. “Don’t touch her.”
The guy squinted. “Hey, are you—”
“Someone you don’t want to piss off? Yes. Now go. Away.”
The drunk guy lifted his hands, walking backward and stumbling as he went.
Turning back to Grace, he knelt, trying to catch her attention. Her gaze darted around the lawn, never focusing on one thing for too long. He touched her cheek, feeling her jolt immediately. Then she met his gaze.
“There you are. You’re safe, honey.”
She nodded too quickly.
“What do you need?” If it was for Logan to turn around and punch the asshole in the face, he would happily do it. Hell, if it was for him to clear the whole damn lawn, he’d get his team right on it.
Her arms wrapped around her waist. “Can you take me home?”
“Absolutely.”
Gently taking her elbows, he helped her up before wrapping an arm around her waist and leading her toward his truck.
On the drive home, Logan cranked the heater, turning the radio on low. It wasn’t until they were almost to his house that color finally started to come back to her face.
“I’m sorry,” she said, breaking the silence.
“You don’t need to apologize. That guy was all over you.” Asshole. It was still making Logan rage.
She lifted a shoulder. “For the average person, how I responded would be considered an overreaction.”
He paused. Interesting phrasing. “Are you not an average person?”
“I’m a constant work in progress.”
Not really an answer, honey. “Aren’t we all?”
She gave a small smile. “Yeah. But some of us have more work to do than others. More trauma to muddle our way through.”
He was careful not to react to the use of the word “trauma”. He’d suspected as much, but at the same time, his insides rebelled. They rebelled at the idea of any harm coming to any woman…but especially Grace. “I’m a great listener if you ever want to talk about it.”
“Thank you.”
God, but he wished the woman would trust him. “I want to help you.”
He felt her eyes on him as he turned the corner onto his street. “You are.”
When they reached his house, he pulled into the garage. He didn’t get out of the car straight away. Neither did she. The dim lights of the instrument panel were all they had in the darkness.
She looked down at her hands. “You probably think I’m the biggest phony. Not only do I sell out my patients, I’m also a therapist who can’t get over her own past.”
“Then you know the challenges your patients go through. That healing takes time.”
She nodded. “That’s very true.” When she looked up, her eyes were wide and vulnerable. “I meant what I said though. You are helping me. I don’t know what it is about you, but you take away some of the fear that I’ve never been able to shake.” When her eyes traveled down to his lips, awareness wandered through parts of his body that it shouldn’t. “I wonder…”
When she stopped, eyes still on his mouth, a shot of need hardened him. “What do you wonder, Grace?”
“What it would feel like if I kissed you.”
Fire, hot and heavy, burned through his veins.
He didn’t make a move, somehow knowing that it was important for her to call the shots. “I wouldn’t object.”
Her eyes widened. Just slightly. For a moment, she remained still. Then, so slowly it almost killed him, she climbed over the middle console right onto his lap. Her legs straddled him, her heat pressing into his hardness.
Fuck, but he was already dying a slow death.
Then, her head lowered, and her lips touched his.
The first touch was akin to agony. Everything in him screamed for Logan to grab her head and make love to those soft lips. He didn’t. He went as slow as her. Returning the gentle touch. Allowing every move to be determined by Grace. When she tentatively swiped her lips across his once more, his hands lightly touched her hips, unable to remain by his sides.
It was when her tongue slipped through his lips, though, that a soft growl tore from his chest. His hand went to the back of her head and he leaned in, tasting her sweetness.
A slow burn began in his chest, moving through his limbs.
He didn’t know how long they sat there like that, exploring each other. He was sure the seconds had turned into several minutes. Still, when the kiss ended, it felt too soon. But then, hours would probably feel too soon.
Her lips were red and eyes half-closed as she eased back. “Thank you.”
