Page 44 of Embattled Return

Sinking back onto her heels, she pulled his hand down to the seat between them. “With you they get the best of the family back, a war hero. Someone who served the way the family expected in spite of his setbacks. Hell, you served the way the family wanted you to, and you didn’t even know the family. That right there speaks to your genetics motivating you. You were bred to serve in the military, and you did,” she said firmly, grinning.

Logan stared at her for a long minute, then looked down at their clasped hands. Marigold’s thumb had been stroking over a burn scar, but she hadn’t even noticed. The emotional hurt she saw in his eyes was more important than the physical in that moment.

“You are worth having,” she continued. “Just you. Even with the scars and the crutches and the PTS. You sell yourself short, Logan, and you need to recognize your own worth. I see it, John sees it, Shannon sees it. I have a feeling your buddy Miller did too. The family that you left behind will be overjoyed to have you. I can almost guarantee it. They’ve lost a son to a war. They’ll be happy to get a grandson back.”

“You’re fucking me up, Marigold,” he growled, voice hoarse, pulling away to swipe at his eyes.

Marigold grinned at him and pushed into his shoulder, pressing a kiss to his jaw. “I have just enough wine in me to tell you that I would love to really fuck you up.”

He barked out a laugh, turning to look at her. There was something in the look, though, that demanded explanation. “You say when and I’m there,” she breathed, her lips moving to press a kiss against his ear. It was the same thing she’d done in the bar, letting him know she was interested without being too forward, she thought. But this time, something changed. She felt his breath catch, and the subtle loosening in his shoulders. Marigold didn’t know what to think when he turned to look at her, cupped her face in his hands and took her mouth with his own.

Nerves shot through her belly as he called her bluff, his lips moving gently against hers. Marigold groaned, his taste sending a bolt of awareness down her spine and into her core. Oh, damn... angling her head, she let herself absorb everything she could about him; the scent of whatever he used in the shower, the abrasiveness of the patch of beard on the left side of his face.

Then he did something unexpected. Strong hands under her armpits, he turned her to lay across his lap, looking up at him, dazed. Marigold didn’t know what to think. She’d never expected him to manhandle her so perfectly. Grinning, she reached her hands up to cup his face.

The scars didn’t bother her in the least, but she could tell he was aware of her touching them. Rather than pull away, she touched him even more strongly there, running her hands up his cheek and into his hairline.

With a gasp he pulled back enough to look down at her. “You can’t like touching that,” he said softly.

“Am I hurting you?” she whispered.

He blinked down at her. “No.”

“Then let me touch you,” she whispered.

“Marigold,” he growled. “You have no idea what you’re getting into. I’m not...”

“Logan, look at me.”

His mouth tight, he looked at her. “You are wanted,” she said slowly. “You need to take those words inside yourself and feel them. I want you,” she said firmly, again tugging his head down to hers.

Logan resisted her touch, but only for a moment. “What have you done to me, woman?” he whispered, pulling her tight against his body. They were chest to chest, mouth to mouth, and Marigold forgot everything as she lost herself in his taste. Oh, wow... wine and tangy freshness, like he’d brushed his teeth before coming up here. And holy hell the man knew how to kiss, angling her face to diagonal his, fitting their mouths perfectly. His tongue slipped out to tangle with hers, and Marigold melted. Her body responded in a rush, harder and quicker than it ever had before. She needed to be even closer. She didn’t want to hurt him, though.

“Can I straddle your hips?”

His breath stalled, then he nodded. Marigold moved off the couch, then stepped close, planting a knee on either side of his hips. She could see the length of him behind the zipper of his jeans and she wanted to go there, but a few things needed to happen first. Sitting on his lap, she was almost at eye level with him, just a little lower, and the closeness was...startling. And stimulating. For the first time, he didn’t automatically turn his head away from her gaze, letting her look her fill. She grinned. “You’re very handsome, you know. Without the hat and looking at me this way... The burns are not as devastating as you believe them to be. I promise.”

He heaved a huge breath. “You’re the only one that’s ever told me that. I think you’re partial.”

She grinned. “Maybe,” she admitted, leaning forward to take his mouth again. She wrapped her arms around his head, enclosing them in together. She waited to feel his hands on her body, but he seemed to be trying not to touch her. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to give you an out. I’m not going to hold you against me.”

Marigold drew back, frustrated. The wine was clearing from her system and she desperately wanted to feel him wanting her. “I’m not going anywhere, Logan, so you’d damn well better grab my ass and start enjoying yourself.”

Jaw clenched, he fought himself internally, then seemed to give in. He did as she instructed, his broad hands spanning her hips, his fingers clenching. His eyes fluttered shut and she could see the arousal roll over his slackening face. When he dragged her against his groin, Marigold gasped, rocking against his hardness. Oh, damn...

“I have to...fuck, Mari, you’re going to kill me. Stop, just a minute. It’s been a while for me and I don’t think... I’m not gonna last with you grinding on me like that.”

Marigold laughed, loving the way he’d shortened her name. “Um, hello, you pushed up into me, buddy.”

Logan snorted, taking her mouth with his. Then he skimmed his hands up her ribs to her breasts, his thumbs finding and stroking over her nipples. “Oh,” she breathed, the tips pulling tight. More...

Pulling back, desperate for his touch, Marigold crossed her arms and pulled her shirt over her head, dropping it to the floor. Then she reached behind and released her bra, tossing it in the same general direction. When she looked at Logan, his gaze was fixated to her breasts. Cupping them, she split her fingers over her nipples, pinching them, and he groaned. Pushing her hands away he replaced them with his own, then pushed her torso back enough that he could lean forward and wrap his lips around the tips of her breasts.

Marigold trusted him to hold her secure as he worshipped her breasts. She just didn’t want to hurt his legs with her weight. Surely, he would tell her if she was too much...

Logan moved between both breasts, his tongue stroking strongly. Then he began to suck, and Marigold groaned, feeling her body get wetter. It was if his mouth was connected directly to her clit, and it was preparing for him. “Oh, that’s lovely,” she whispered. Then he tweaked one nipple as he suckled the other, and something about the combination sent a pre-orgasm shudder through her. If he would only stroke against her jeans...

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