Lacy didn’t possess blinders when it came to Logan. She had watched him far too closely her entire life. She’d seen him kiss other girls, seen the way he cupped their faces, pulled them close and took control. Hell, she’d seen him do a lot more than kiss them, though she certainly wasn’t going to tell him about that.
He didn’t do any of that with her. The kiss was sweet, gentle, and excruciatingly boring. His tongue touched hers only once, a brief stroke, and then he pushed away.
Then he practically dared her to complain with serious eyes that said she wouldn’t get anything else from him tonight. Her heart refused to add the word “ever” to that thought.
Logan didn’t think she was ready for him. But one day, he would change his mind about that. She’d make sure he did.
Chapter Three
“You look like shit, man.”
Logan glanced up from the paperwork on his desk to find Evan leaning against the doorjamb in his police uniform. He’d been sitting in his office for the past three hours and he’d managed to accomplish nothing.
Instead, he replayed the scene with Lacy from Saturday night over and over, torn between whether he should kick his own ass for kissing her or for driving away without fucking her. Now it was Friday and he was no closer to putting her out of his mind than he had been when he’d climbed into bed that night. He’d been sporting an almost constant erection; his dick pissed at him for denying it the treat of sliding into Lacy’s hot, tight?—
He shoved the fantasy away as Evan frowned.
He should not be thinking about fucking Lacy while her brother was there. Shit, he shouldn’t be thinking of fucking her, period.
“I didn’t think you were all that torn up over Jane leaving.”
Mercifully, his friend had misinterpreted his expression. God help him if Evan ever found out what he was really thinking about.
“You should have taken my advice,” Evan continued. “Found yourself a pretty girl and gotten laid Saturday.”
“I’m not ready.”
“Jesus, man. It’s been a year.” Evan leaned forward. “You know there’s a woman out there for you, right? One who is better suited to you than Jane was. She fucked you up, man. Made you think things that aren’t true. There’s nothing wrong with liking your sex rough. Even Annie and I have been known to do some kinky role playing.” Evan wiggled the handcuffs that were hanging from his belt. “These aren’t just for bad guys.”
Logan shrugged. “Spare me the details about your unnaturally happy marriage. You found a good one. And yeah, I know that old adage there’s someone for everyone, so I don’t need the clichés. I’m not pining over Jane. I’m simply being a realist. The chances of me finding that woman in Maris is…”
Logan’s words drifted away as he struggled to finish a sentence that no longer felt true. So much of his thoughts this week had been consumed by the idea that Lacy actually might be exactly what he was looking for. He shut the idea down when he recalled the look in her eyes as she’d climbed out of his truck.
“You’ll find her,” Evan reassured him. “But hiding in your office isn’t going to help. You haven’t met me for lunch or happy hour once this week.”
He hadn’t met Evan because both of those weekly events took place at Sparks Barbeque. Logan wasn’t ready to see Lacy yet. And he was sure as shit she didn’t want to see him.
“I’m not hiding. I’m just…busy. I’ve got a lot of work piling up. I guess the stress is getting to me.”
Evan accepted the excuse easily. “Busy is a good problem to have. Means money. You’ll come through. You always do.”
“Yeah. Thanks. Hey, did you need something in particular or did you just stop by to nag me?”
He expected Evan to laugh. Instead, the man stepped into the office and plopped down in the chair opposite his, the desk between them. “Actually, I’m on patrol. Thought I’d take a second to stop in and thank you for taking Lacy home the other night.”
Logan swallowed heavily, forcing a casual tone to his voice. “No problem.”
“Did she seem okay to you after the party?”
Logan wasn’t sure how to respond. Did Evan know something? Lacy sure as hell wouldn’t have talked to her brother about what had happened. Had one of her neighbors seen them?
“Yeah. Why?”
Evan shrugged. “She’s been really quiet since then. I thought maybe she was getting sick, but it’s going on too long. She’s got dark circles under her eyes and Macie said she’s been snapping at them at work. You know as well as I do Mary Sunshine is never in a bad mood, so I’m worried. Wondered if she said something to you, if something happened at the bar that pissed her off or if someone bothered her.”
Logan shook his head. “She didn’t say anything. I’m not sure what could have happened,” he lied. He knew what was ailing Lacy. It was the same thing that was making him irritable as fuck.
“Yeah, okay. I might talk to Tyson, see if he can talk her into going in for a checkup. Maybe she does just have a touch of something.”