Page 3 of Logan
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Logan
“There you are!” Dax slaps me on the shoulder and pulls me to him. “I wasn’t sure if you’d make it!”
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” I say. “Who’d of thought it? Dax Carlton settling down? Putting on the old ball and chain… what is the world coming to?”
“It’s no ball and chain, brother,” he smiles at me, squeezing my shoulder between his vice-like fingers. “I’ve never been so happy.”
“Good,” I tell him, “if anyone deserves to be happy, it’s you.”
I look around the room and my eyes automatically land on Jane.
I tried to convince her she needs to see a doctor, but she wouldn’t hear a word of it. All I could do was give her a routine check. Just like we’d been taught in the army.
I guess there really isn’t much difference between treating someone who’s been blown up by an IED or a car. But I’ve never been much of a medic, and I can’t help but worry that maybe Jane’s more hurt than she’s letting on.
Dax catches my line of vision and smiles at me. “Why don’t you go over there?” he says. “Ask her to dance.”
“You must be kidding?” I scoff. “Have you ever seen me dance? I’m the proverbial two left-footed man, Dax.”
“I’ve seen you run into heavy fire with nothing but a radio and a k-bar, and here you are scared of a woman.” He takes a couple of glasses of champagne from a passing server. Smiling the whole time, as he knows he’s pushing all the right buttons.
I down the glass of bubbly and wipe my hand across my chin. I know Dax is just trying to wind me up, but the truth of the matter is, I do want to speak to Jane.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her since the moment I picked her up on the side of the road.
The memory of her skin beneath my fingers is permanently etched on my mind.
“I probably should ask her how she’s feeling,” I say, not wanting to let Dax have his victory. “She might be in shock. Internal bleeding. Maybe her burns need some ointment.”
“Ointment,” Dax grins. “Is that what you’re calling it nowadays?”
“Don’t be so vulgar.” The image of me rubbing oil over her bare breasts flashes through my mind. My cock thickens in my trousers. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and I need her to be mine. But the kind of life I live, always on call to the special forces, always flying off all over the world. Let’s just say it doesn’t mix well with long-term relationships.
I can’t even count the number of times I thought I met the one, and then got deployed to butt-fuck-nowhere for a month, came back, and found out the woman I’d been dreaming about decided she doesn’t much like the idea of being a military wife.
I can’t blame them. It’s a tough life. But there’s only a certain amount of times it can happen before you end up jaded. Cynical. Unable to open up and let someone in.
But that’s exactly what I want to do with Jane. There’s something about her. Something different.
I can’t quite put my finger on it, not yet, but I know, deep down in my heart, that I won’t be able to forgive myself if I let this opportunity pass.
Maybe I’m just getting old. Maybe it’s seeing Dax so happy. Settling down and in love. It’s enough to make a man take stock of his life.
I’ve had nearly twenty years of loyal service to both my countries; being half English, half American. But apart from that, I don’t have much. A few scars. Some good memories. A chest full of medals, a healthy-looking bank account, and an empty bed at the end of that day, which often reminds me how lonely my life can be.
“Okay,” I say, finally deciding that dancing in front of a room full of people is a small price to pay to feel Jane’s luscious curves beneath my fingers. “Wish me luck.”
I walk across the room, my eyes locked on her the whole way.
Her back’s turned to me as I close in. It’s only at the last second, when she catches the glances from the friend she’s talking to, that she turns around and sees me.
A smile spreads across her face. My heart fills with desire.
“There you are,” she says. “My hero.”
“You really should see a doctor,” I start to say, but she just waves me off.
