Page 51 of Snared Rider

His tongue runs along his bottom lip, leaving a trail of wet in its wake and my gaze follows that pink tip, even as my heart pounds.

“No, baby, I don’t want you to change.” He pulls back the duvet on my side of the bed. “Get in.”

Carefully, I slip under the covers, not wanting to uncover him.

Don’t think about the fact he might be naked under there.

“Good night,” I say quietly.

“Night, B.”

I think he will turn the light off, as the switch is on his side but he doesn’t. Not knowing why (and too much of a wimp to find out), I turn my back on him, putting some distance between us and whatever this moment is.

I realise this is a pointless exercise because having him inches from me (potentially naked) is torture. No way in hell am I getting any sleep tonight.

“Fuck,” he mutters again, and I have no idea why he keeps saying it.

“Logan, are you all right?”

“Yeah, darlin’.” He sounds anything but all right, but he clears his throat and says, “Tell me about Ryan?”

“There’s not much to tell. He’s a guy I’ve been seeing, I guess.” Not any longer. He is so unbelievably dumped.

“You never mentioned you were dating.”

I snort and turn over. He’s lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling like it holds all the answers to the universe. “Would you? Between Dad, Grandad, Dean, you and Jem it would have been more hassle than it was worth.”

“Probably,” he concedes. Then he slices his eyes towards me. “What you did today, you know that was stupid, right?”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, Logan, I know it was stupid, but Dad wouldn’t have let me come without an entourage, so it was easier to tell a little white lie. I didn’t expect this to happen.” I sigh. “I just wanted to be normal for a weekend.”

“This life we live, it’s not easy, Beth. It’s dangerous and we do everything we can to protect those affiliated with the Club. You think you’re nineteen and your dad doesn’t understand you’re an adult? It’s bollocks. If my mum wanted to come to London we’d put protection in place for her, if Dorothy wanted to travel it’d be the same.”

“Yeah, but they can go where they want and do what they want. Dad still treats me like a kid. It pisses me off.”

“You are a kid.” I baulk at his words, but he holds up a hand. “I don’t mean you’re young, Beth. I mean you are a kid; you’re his kid. His only fucking kid and Jack’s going to do whatever Jack needs to do in order to keep you safe and healthy and alive. He’s probably going to do that when you’re twenty, thirty—Christ, fifty. He’ll do it until the day he breathes his last and you’re never going to change that about him.”

I let his words settle into my brain and, annoyingly, I can’t help but think he’s making good points. But I’m not ready to back down or concede. Sooner or later Dad will have to let go of the reins.

“He can’t wrap me up in cotton wool forever.”

“No, he can’t, but he’ll try,” Logan returns. “We’ll all try, because sweetheart, you’re too important to risk losing.”

I’m important… to him? I don’t know if he means that or if he means in general, but I’m finding it difficult to concentrate on anything but his words.

“Nothing is going to happen to me, Logan.”

“I hope that’s the case, but the world outside Kingsley isn’t filled with roses and sunshine, babe. You have to let the Club do what it needs to in order to keep you whole.”

“Logan—”

“No, Beth. You travelled miles, without telling a soul where you were going. What if something happened to you? How the fuck would we ever know? You getting hurt isn’t an option.”

“I just… I just wanted to do something normal for once.”

Trying to justify my actions is pointless because his words make me realise I have been incredibly selfish.

“If this concert meant that much to you I would have brought you.”

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