Page 33 of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
This secretive thing was working for her anyway. Way less pressure.
She pushed open the door to her apartment and dragged Logan inside. ‘We made it,’ she said, her breath still coming out in little gasps.
‘We did.’ Logan’s mouth tipped up at the corners.
She didn’t know if they were talking about the storm or the people or their own reasons for staying away from each other. But whichever it was, they’d made it into her home. Together. Alone with no one watching.
They were both dripping on her hardwood floors and she should really get them some towels and she should really stop staring into Logan’s blue eyes, but the rain was pounding against the windows and her chest was still heaving from their run here, and Logan had been so damn determined to save that tent for her, that something big and unstoppable was welling up in her chest and she couldn’t help herself. She didn’t want to help herself.
She wrapped her hands in Logan’s soaking wet shirt and pulled him closer, relishing the surprised ‘Oof’ that left his lips.
That was as far as she got.
Pressed chest to chest with this sweet, grumpy man, wanting so much more but now afraid to go for it. This wasn’t part of the plan. Was it? Was this New Jeanie? Did she accost men in her entryway? This had never been Jeanie’s style in the past. The men she dated had been … fine. Just fine, perfectly nice, decent kissers, decent at everything else. But she’d never once felt the need to wrap herself up in them. She’d never wanted them to stick around very long, never really cared when things fizzled out.
But this, this was different.
This was new.
Logan’s rough palm on her cheek stalled her thoughts. Her breath stuttered. He tilted her face up to his, his touch gentle but firm, his fingers digging into the hair at the base of her scalp.
A soft whimper, a deep groan, a rumble of thunder.
And then his lips were on hers, warm and soft and insistent, like he wanted to go slow, intended to, but once they touched, he couldn’t quite manage it, couldn’t quite stop himself from pressing harder, going deeper.
Jeanie wrapped her arms around his neck, molding her body against his, and his groan tumbled through her, rough and sweet at once. She could get lost in this. She could stay here forever.
His mouth moved down her neck and the sound of her moan would have been embarrassing if he hadn’t matched it with his own. He burned a path down her damp skin with his lips and tongue and teeth.
He turned them both so that her back was against the door. He rocked into her, pressing her against the wood.
Oh, God, oh, God. He was so solid, so sturdy, so damn good at this.Every reason Jeanie had for staying away from Logan had blown out to sea with the storm, and she was about three seconds away from stripping off her wet clothes and skipping all the steps in between acquaintances and lovers, when the skies cracked, and the lights flickered out.
Shit.
‘Logan,’ she gasped as he licked the delicate skin of her neck.
‘Mmmn.’ His voice vibrated against her. His hands had wandered up her wet shirt, blazing hot against her cool skin.
‘Wait.’ She put one hand on his chest and Logan tore himself away, his hands dropping to his sides.
‘Sorry. I—’
‘No, don’t apologize. That was ... I mean, I wanted to. I just...’
Logan ran a hand through his hair, sending rain droplets scattering. ‘No need to explain. That was too much, too soon.’ His voice was still rough, thick with need. ‘I’ll get out of your hair.’
‘Wait.’ This time when she said it, she tugged him close again. ‘It’s not that. The power just went out and I feel like I should go help Norman.’
He blinked. ‘Oh.’
Jeanie smiled and waited for his mouth to hitch up in response. ‘That was really nice.’
‘Oh?’ His smile hitched higher.
‘Yeah. Really, really nice.’
Logan shifted against her, and she could feel how really nice he also found the whole situation. She reached up and brushed another soft kiss against his lips, feeling the tickle of his beard against her chin.
