“You’re an asshole, Logan.”
“Baby—”
“Stop calling me that!”
I unlocked my legs and shoved against his chest, not caring if he dropped me on my ass. I couldn’t take another second of being in his arms. As soon as my feet touched the floor I wrenched out of his reach.
“You know,” I whispered. “You know and still you followed me in here. You know and you still kissed me. You fucking know, you asshole. Why can’t you leave me alone?”
“I know what?”
God, why’d he have to sound so curious? Why couldn’t he grunt and growl and snarl like he normally did? Why now? Why when I was finally, mostly—okay, only slightly—over him did he act like he cared?
“You know everything. You know how I felt about you. You made it clear you didn’t feel the same. I tried to move on and you knew that wasn’t working. And you know how that relationship ended. You know he fucked around on me with a hooker because I wouldn’t fuck him because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.
“So what, now that I acknowledge that love and relationships aren’t for me, you thought I’d be up for what, being your fuck toy?”
There wasn’t enough time for the humiliation from admitting the reason why I’d never had sex with Guy to set in. Logan had my back against the wall and both of his hands threaded in my hair, tugging it back so my head was tilted and we were eye-to-eye.
“My fuck toy?” There was the snarly Logan I knew. “Listen real closely, Lauren. I’m gonna toy with every inch of your body. I’m gonna fuck you with my tongue, my fingers, my cock, and, baby, I’m gonna do that until neither of us can walk.” He leaned in closer so when he spoke again his words fanned across my cheek. “And after all of that you still won’t be my fuck toy, you’ll just plain be mine.”
I shivered at his proximity, then I shivered again when his hand slid out of my hair and he let me go. Logan was at the door when he craned his neck and looked at me over his shoulder.
“I’ll be at your house in thirty minutes.”
And with that threat, he walked out of the bathroom, leaving me alone in my shame.
What just happened?
How did that happen?
But the bigger question was—would I open the door when Logan showed up at my house?
My heart screamed no! My body shouted yes!
5
“You’re an ass,” Luke mumbled when I got back to the pool table.
His assessment was spot-on; I was an ass. I was also the motherfucker who was going to take what he wanted, damn the consequences.
Lauren was smart, she knew there was no future with me. Besides, she needed this as much as I did. The tension between us needed to be eased. We’d fuck, get our fill, then in a week, a month, however long it took, we could move on. Lauren could find a nice guy, get married like she’d said she wanted, have some kids, live the white-picket-fence dream and I could go back to my life alone. There would be no wife or kids in my future. I wasn’t safe. The bastard’s beast lived inside of me and I’d never take the chance of it roaring to life.
“Oh, hell,” Matt put in from across the table, his gaze on something behind me.
I didn’t have to turn to know he was looking at Lauren. Yet, I did turn to look, for no other reason than to see her.
Lauren was a naturally pretty woman. It didn’t matter what color she dyed or bleached her hair, if she was wearing her work clothes, workout gear, or jeans and a tee. What little makeup she wore to work was unnecessary—she was prettier without it. Some days she had her nails painted, others she didn’t. Heels, tennis shoes, sandals, it didn’t matter.
Tonight in the bathroom, with her legs wrapped around me, grinding on my dick, she wasn’t pretty—she was sexy as hell. And when she came apart she’d never looked more beautiful. Face flushed, eyes glossy and hazy, no barrier between us. No mask. No bullshit. No lies.
Now, though, Lauren strutting her tight ass across the room, face still flushed, eyes blazing with fire, hair messy, she looked hot as fuck. And knowing her hair was no longer perfectly in place because my hands had fisted it, and the blush on her cheeks was from an orgasm I gave her ratcheted up the sexy, hot look she was sporting and took her straight to stunning.
Lauren leaned down and whispered something to Quinn. Then without saying anything to the rest of her friends she marched to the bar and my gut tightened when Lauren put her hand on the guy’s shoulder she’d been playing pool with.
What the fuck?
“Don’t even think about it,” Matt rumbled.
Too late; jealousy had sparked my temper and I was thinking about ripping the dude’s eyeballs from his head the longer he stared at Lauren.
A better man would sit Lauren down, calmly explain all the reasons why we’d never work out, why I couldn’t be trusted with a woman. Then step aside and let the untarnished, nice guy at the bar who was clearly interested in Lauren have his shot. Unfortunately for Lauren, I wasn’t a better man. I was a selfish son-of-a-bastard.
“What’d you do to her?” Luke asked.
I kissed her, then she rubbed herself to orgasm, damn near taking me with her. Then I told her I would fuck her until neither of us could walk. Which reminds me, I need to leave so I can pick up a box of condoms before I hit Lauren’s.
I could have said that, but instead what came out was, “I don’t remember meddling in your relationship, how about you don’t meddle in mine?”
“Relationship?”
Well, fuck me running.
“Mind your business.”
“Kinda hard to when I know you and I know her. Which means I know the two of you don’t mix. You wanna dip your dick—”
“Don’t finish that.”
Luke’s eyes narrowed and he leaned in closer. Too damn close. “She’s looking for something you refuse to give a woman.”
“Lauren’s smart. She knows the score.”
“Does she really? How sure are you about that? Because not even six months ago she was so hung up on you she couldn’t hide it. Now suddenly she’s okay with being fuck buddies with you? No feelings. No attachments. No promises. That’s not Lauren and you damn well know it.”
Luke was right, that wasn’t Lauren. She was looking for love. But that was before Guy fucked her over. She said it herself; love was bullshit.
But it isn’t bullshit, is it? Luke’s found it with Shiloh.
This was where the better man would’ve conceded and disregarded his plans to take what he wanted.
My daddy didn’t raise a man, he raised an asshole.
“You don’t need to worry about Lauren—”
“Actually,” Luke cut me off. “I’m worried about you.”
“Me?”
“This is gonna get messy.”
Yeah, it was going to get plenty messy as soon I got Lauren naked and on a bed.
I glanced back at the bar and caught sight of Lauren walking to the exit.
Time to leave.
“Catch you Monday.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Logan.”
I knew exactly what I was doing. Further, I knew it was wrong. I was tangling myself with a woman who deserved better than I could ever give. But fuck if I could deny the pull of her. Just once in my miserable life, I wanted a taste of something good and clean and right.