Page 54 of One Night Seduction

I stay silent, and he nods, a look akin to hurt passing across his face, but he doesn’t let it sink in too deep.

“Felt like I was intruding if I stuck around.”

“You weren’t!” I insist.

“Hey, Ari, it’s okay,” he says calmly. “You and I, we were…you said it yourself, casual. But the way you and Logan fucked, there was nothing casual about that.”

I frown at his words, even if deep down I know it’s true. I can feel the hurt seeping out of him no matter how hard he’s trying to fight it. We were casual, we agreed, and I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t notice Ty had started developing deeper feelings, though. Maybe I did too. I don’t know. Things are just…complicated now.

When I don’t speak, Ty continues.

“You and Logan…it’s messy, but you guys will figure it out. You’re both in it too deep not to.”

“I’m not in too deep,” I defend.

A sad smile passes his face.

“Whatever you need to tell yourself, Ari.”

We’re both quiet for a few moments before I look at him again.

“So…are we okay?”

That same sad smile is on his face as he cups my cheek tenderly, similar to last night. He holds me for minutes as he stares, like he’s committing my face to memory, before he bends down, pressing his lips to mine. It’s a featherlight kiss, tentative and sweet. It also feels bitter, like it’s a goodbye, a farewell. I can’t lie, it hurts my heart a little.

“We’re okay. You and I will always be okay,” he says, his lips dragging against mine like he’s seeking one last touch.

I smile against his mouth, allowing him to be the one to pull away. When he does, he looks at me once more before releasing a heavy breath. Then, he’s pulling his arm out from under me and standing up, moving to the bathroom before the sound of the shower turns on.

Turning to look over, I see Logan is awake and staring at me. I slide out of the bed and move over to join him.

“Are you alright?” he asks.

“Yeah, I just…I think I hurt Ty,” I say with a frown.

Logan runs his fingers through my hair in a soothing way as he speaks.

“He’ll be okay.”

I lift a brow. “You’re not very sympathetic towards your brother.”

“If I’m honest, I’m still trying to find a way not to be pissed that he touched what’s mine. That he…” He trails off.

“I wasn’t yours when Ty and I were together. I mean, even now, I’m not?—”

“Arianna Marie Fulton, you better choose your next words carefully. If you were about to insinuate that you haven’t been mine since I touched you for the first time in that club and that you’re not mine now, we are going to have a fucking problem.”

“Fuck, you went all full name on me,” I tease, though my smile drops when he doesn’t smile.

I swallow roughly, shrugging.

“I don’t know what to call…this. Just because we want each other doesn’t mean it’s okay. Doesn’t mean we should.”

“I don’t give a fuck what we should or shouldn’t do. All I care about is what you think here,” he says, touching his finger to my temple. “And what you feel here,” he says, moving his hand to cover my heart.

My heart beats out of rhythm at his words.

“What about my mom? Aren’t you two like back together?” I say, the words tasting like acid on my tongue.

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