Page 29 of Her Demanding Biker
I saw the recognition on his face.
He looked up at me, his eyes filled with wonder.
It was a dizzying feeling.
I remembered that look on a clean shaven face.
One without any wrinkles.
And his hair.
Before I realized what I was doing, I reached out and caught the curling end of a lock of his hair.
"I've never seen you with so much hair before."
He tipped his head to the side, watching my fingers play with his hair. "I'm older. Not the young man I was when I met you."
It hurt to hear the tone of his voice. "I'm not exactly young, either. Willow and Maggie? The other women I saw at the party? I feel like they're a completely different generation."
"They like you."
I stared at him, my eyes wider. "How... how do you know?"
Logan leaned back against the wall and wiggled an arm under me.
Okay, so I helped a little.
I liked feeling his warmth, but I liked his touch even more.
His smile widened and I saw that he still had a chip in one of his canine teeth from a training mishap the year that I met him.
"I went out to help clean up after the party finished." He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a rough whisper. "We can get pretty messy when we have our parties. Fair warning."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not surprised. I helped clean up after the unit events the Army made my dad hold."
"He never did like the 'morale building' part of being in charge."
"That's an understatement," I laughed and felt the baby move again. "To him it was enough that he taught you boys enough to keep you alive." I could almost hear my dad's voice in my head saying the words with me. "They don't pay me to make them smile! If they want entertainment, that's what they have the USO for."
Logan laughed so hard he almost choked on it. "Damn it, Arlys. I feel like he's in the room with us."
I could feel the color drain out of my face and my breath catch in my throat. The last thing I wanted was for him to be in the room with me. Even though I'd been out of his house for almost three years, all it took was a thought or a noise behind me that reminded me of that house and I was dragged back into that hell.
"Shit."
Logan pulled me into his arms and held me securely in his embrace.
It didn't take more than a few breaths to push away the fear. My dad wasn't going to snatch me back home.
All I had to worry about was Kent deciding he wanted to make things worse for me.
He said he wanted the baby but when I told him how much a baby cost in diapers and clothes and formula and... everything, he changed his mind.
"I never should have left you."
I had to squeeze my eyes tight to keep my tears from leaking out.
"If my dad was saying he'd put you away in jail, I believe him. He might be a mean asshole," I couldn't help but cringe at the words, "but he doesn't fight battles that he won't win."
