Page 81 of Fast Kill

It seemed surreal, almost impossible. Yet there it was. Logan Granger was falling in love with her.

“I’m all yours for the taking, sweetheart. And just so there’s no misunderstanding, you should know that I don’t plan on ever letting you go.”

Before she could do something embarrassing like burst out crying, he tangled his fingers into her hair and tipped her head back to bring his mouth down on hers in a kiss that sent her body and heart soaring.

In that instant, it seemed like all the broken little pieces of herself knit back together. Logan wanted her, wanted a lasting and committed relationship with her. And she was ready to take that leap with him, because…

I am worthy.

Epilogue

Oh my God. Why the hell had she agreed to this insanity?

Taylor’s heart was stuck somewhere in the upper third of her esophagus as the large inflatable raft plunged down a swell in the river, headed straight for the churning rapids ahead. The biggest ones of all in this whole trip.

“I hate this!” she yelled over her shoulder at Logan, uncaring that there were seven other people in the boat, too terrified to take her eyes off the looming rapids or stop her frantic paddling for even a moment. What an asshole, for putting her in this predicament. “I hateyou!” She was going to kill him once this was over.

If she lived through it.

His deep, slightly evil chuckle rankled her nerve endings. “Hey, the best part is yet to come!”

Best part? How was any of this even remotely fun? Her idea of fun was relaxing and unwinding. This was nuts.

It was the first weekend she’d had off since the whole Dillon incident, and instead of staying home curled up all nice and warm with Nimbus and Sudoku up in her loft, she’d let Logan talk her into white water rafting. He’d been so sweet to her over the past few weeks, taking her out on quiet dates, just the two of them, being patient as she recovered from the mental and emotional aftermath of what had happened with Dillon.

Over quiet dinners, movies or sometimes just a walk or a drive together, he’d revealed a tender and romantic side she never would have guessed someone as tough as him could have. She’d convinced herself it was time to move outside of her comfort zone because Logan so clearly loved doing outdoorsy stuff and she wanted to make an effort to share them with him.

She’d never regretted a dating decision more. Now, here she was, stuck in this rubber boat for at least the next hour, soaked to the skin by all the spray and the water sloshing over the sides of the boat and trying not to throw up or scream like a little girl as they hurtled down the raging river.

The bow of the boat dipped suddenly and another wall of water crashed over her head. She gasped and sputtered, arms flailing like mad as she sportingly tried to keep paddling.

Logan laughed again. “Lower your arms. You’re paddling through nothing but air.”

Her cheeks burned and she scowled as she realized what she was doing. She was tempted to turn around and whack him over the head with her fucking paddle but she was too afraid to stop so she dipped the end lower, hit water, and pulled in a hard stroke.

The muscles in her shoulders and arms were knotted, burning, screaming for a break, and there was none in sight. Up ahead the water looked like it was boiling where the rapids swirled in the center of the river. There was no escape, nowhere to go but through them.

“Hold on tight,” he called out gleefully as they reached the rushing mass of white water.

You asshole, you did this to me!“Fu—” The blistering curse word she’d meant to snarl at him ended on a terrified intake of breath as the boat lurched upward and shot sideways.

“Keep paddling!”

Oh, fuck, they were all going to die.

Her eyes were stretched wide as she paddled for her life like a frantic woman, sputtering each time the water hit her in the face.Please don’t let the boat flip over, please don’t let the boat flip over.

Logan howled with pure glee as they bucked up and down, back and forth, like they were caught in some kind of psychotic washing machine from which there was no escape. What waswrongwith him?

She lost all sense of time or direction as they plunged further into the rapids, every sense focused on surviving this trial by fire. Then, finally, the water began to calm and smooth out.

Her arms were like lead, a rapid tremor streaking through her body. She was alive. Freezing and still dealing with the shock, but alive.

And strangely, a feeling of euphoria began to rise inside her. Probably because she’d just had another near-death experience and lived to tell about it.

A strong hand closed around her right shoulder and squeezed. She winced and moaned at the pleasure-pain of it, barely resisted the urge to throw it off.

“Good job. Put your paddle down and rest for a bit.”

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