And that wasn’t all.
Using the stolen moment to her advantage, she lifted her gaze to his handsome face. Even in sleep, his features seemed tense, and yet there was an almost youthfulness there she’d never seen.
She let her focus travel lower, taking in every tiny detail she could on her way down.
Thick, masculine neck. Broad shoulders that seemed to carry the weight of the world. A chest so powerful, so perfectly sculpted, it could have been made from the most precious of chiseled stones.
And then there was Logan’s impressive abs.
Tanned, bare curves and crevices perfectly aligned and spaced, divided evenly down the center by a long, shadowed line. Natalie’s lips curved when she got her first glimpse of Logan’s bellybutton. It wasn’t exactly an innie, but it also wasn’t a full on outtie, either.
For some reason, this made her smile grow.
She’d never thought about Logan’s belly button before. Other parts of him, sure. But never his belly button. Now that she’d seen it, however, she couldn’t help but think it made him seem more…real.
More human.
Moremale.
Her gaze lowered to the leather belt clasped neatly at his waist. To the curved zipper below. And then she started thinking about what was hiddenbeneaththat zipper. What she’d like to do to what was hidden beneath it.
To.
With.
Natalie’s lips parted, her lower belly tingling and her body aching with a need she hadn’t felt in a long, long time. So long, it took her a moment to even realize what it was…
Hunger.
Not the hunger that had brought her out here. No, this was a different kind of craving. One that left her breaths shallow, and her panties wet with need.
Natalie wasn’t sure how long she stood there, ogling her half-naked best friend’s crotch. Nor did she know how long he’d been awake andwatchingher ogle his crotch.
What she did know was how utterly mortified she was when that familiar rumble of his asked…
“You okay?”
Her entire body jerked with a start, her eyes flying up to his. Their gazes met, his dark and shadowed, yet the hunger there was clear as day to see.
He wants me, too.
“Can’t sleep?”
Natalie blinked, realizing he’d now asked her two different questions, and she had yet to answer either one. The slow shake of her head was an honest answer to both.
Swinging his legs around, Logan pushed himself into a seated position. “Come here.” He patted the cushion to his left.
With a nervous lick of her lips, she slowly made her way around the end of the couch and over to where he sat waiting. Lowering herself down next to him, Natalie felt uncharacteristically stiff.
The completeoppositeof how she normally felt around him.
Typically when she was with Logan, she felt totally at ease and could just be herself. No pretense of being happy all the time, or pressure to entertain. No need to have perfect hair or a face full of makeup.
With him, it had always been easy. With Logan, it had always been simple. And after two years of tears, heartache, and healing, Natalie was finally beginning to realize with Logan, things were exactly…
Right.
Her muscles relaxed, and she scooted herself back against the cushion. Eyes the color of the ocean studied her closely, concern mixing with the heat she’d seen moments ago.