17. Crew

17

Crew

I can't stop staring at her as we ride back to the ranch. The taste of peanut butter and banana… and her still on my tongue and yet it's not nearly enough. Her hips swing back and forth and she rides in front of me on Copper like some sort of hypnotic trick to make me fall harder for her than I already have.

It didn't take long to notice she tried for me. Logan won't admit it and I'm not going to press it either. I'd rather take advantage of those shorts if she'll let me. It's the idea of her waking up with a purpose, a light that didn't seem to be there before, that sends flutters through my chest. Seeing her enjoy life again feels addictive and dangerous. I want to make her happy and that's scary.

"You're drooling, Huckleberry."

She stares at me over her shoulder, long hair swirling around in the breeze and the sun highlighting her from the back. She smiles at me and I grip tighter to my reins, turning my head away from her with a smirk forming on my lips as I fight the blush that threatens to give me away.

"It's really hard to be a gentleman around you, pretty girl," I say, battling with all the other words that wanted out. I want you, I need you, you're it for me.

Too early for any of those feelings.

Not early enough.

It feels like I had wasted my entire life waiting for her and now I'm tripping over my own damn feet just trying to catch up; just begging her to slow down, always out of reach.

"If you think any harder you might break something," she says as we round the hill to the Ranch. "You keep going somewhere." She tilts her head to the side as Copper slows to walk beside Juniper.

"Daydreaming," I answer.

"The good kind or the bad kind?" She asks.

"Only good around you, darlin'," I sigh, and even though the dream is terrifying, it's the truth.

The sun is starting to set over the hill and paints everything in a hazy orange as we come to the barn. I hop down off of Juniper and hold my hands out to Logan, guiding her to the ground by her hips. Her head is turned to look out the barn doors and looking down over her beautiful face, that fluttery feeling returns and it's hard to ignore.

"You are radiant, Logan Shepard." I kiss her temple through a blanket of hair and nuzzle my nose against her. "Thank you for today."

"Oh, it's not over, grizzly." She leans into my touch and I tighten my grip on her hips as her lips brush against my jaw. "Come on," she giggles.

I let her lead me up through the barn toward the rickety loft stairs.

"The hayloft?" I raise an eyebrow at her.

"It's got the best view of the sunset," she coos at me and I can feel myself leaning into the sound. "What, are you scared of heights, Crew Cassidy?" Her eyebrows pinch together as she teases me.

"I'm not scared of anything, Shepard." Reaching around her I give the ladder a shake to make sure it's sturdy and have zero confidence in it to hold my weight. "Ladies first."

"Oh yeah," she laughs with her hands on her hips. "Send the woman up the old ladder first. How civil."

"This is your idea, pretty girl."

Her cheeks blush and she turns her chin toward me allowing me to steal a tiny kiss before she starts up the ladder, pausing when the rungs creak beneath her.

"I'll catch you if you fall," I say, aware of the implications that come with the statement.

Logan is too because when I say it her body tenses for a split second before she continues to climb. I follow her up as quickly as I can, not trusting the old wooden ladder to hold. The hayloft runs the expanse of the barn, stocked with hay and kept dark except for the window on the south end that looks out over the ranch. I don't remember the last time I was up here.

"How did you know about the view from up here?" I ask as she sits down against one of the hay bales set in front of the window.

"Bode." She laughs.

I roll my eyes and make a silent note to throw him in the mud later but she grabs the hem of my shirt to pull me close to her, laughter in her voice and says, "not for that, you brute."

Lowering myself on the bale next to her, I kiss her jawline as I settle my arms around her waist and hold her there for a second. The feeling of hope vibrates off her and she stares out the small barn window with optimism in her doe eyes.

Logan's lips twitch, curling into a soft smile as the sky turns every shade of purple and watching her I forget every bad moment in my life up until this point. Nothing can destroy the bliss I feel when she relaxes against my arms and that tiny content sigh drops from her lips.

"It's beautiful," she says, not taking her eyes off the sky.

"For once, Logan, we agree on something," I respond, not taking my eyes off her.

"You're supposed to be admiring the view." She nudges me.

"I am."

Logan turns her head to look at me finally, softness flooding those eyes when she stares up at me. The wind kicks up her hair and her cheeks turn the softest shade of pink as her tongue darts out over that permanently grouchy pout. She's the sunset I've been waiting for, all the rest fade to grey.

"Make a move, Huckleberry," she whispers .

Arguing that we're likely to get caught is pointless because my will power shatters when she sheds her shirt. Lifting it over her arms and throwing it to the side.

"Is that new?" I ask her, cupping the plum colored lace bra that pushes her breasts up and she nods with a smile.

"It's pretty, Crew, but it's in the way," she says, frustrated and whiny.

The sound makes me needy. I snake my hand around her back feeling the way her body reacts to my touch and pop the hooks on the bra. I slip it off her body as she lays back into the hay looking up at me with darkened eyes. Storm clouds rage in them but this time for a completely different reason. I might be the dumbest man alive to head straight for the storm that is Logan Shepard but with her hair fanned out around her and her hands running down my chest, I'd run into it a thousand times more.

She tugs at the hem of my shirt and runs her hands against the soft ridges of my stomach sending a chill straight through me while I settle over her. That adorable pout spreads over her kiss-bitten lips making me chuckle. I slide my shirt up and over my head, dipping down to pull her bottom lip between my own and kissing her like a man starved.

Logan writhes beneath me. My dog tags sway between our bodies, brushing up against her as they swing. Pushing her hips towards mine, silently asking for more friction between the two of us. A smirk tugs at the corners of my lips as I pull back to look at her.

"What do you want Logan?" I ask, my voice raspy and strained as I try to keep my control in check.

"You know what I want," she breathes, her chest heaving while her fingers work at the buckle of my belt.

"I want to hear you say it," I mutter against her skin, finding that soft spot just under her ear that elicits those sweet sounds I love hearing so much.

She lets out a low growl and flicks open the button of my jeans, running her fingertips around my waist and over my ass.

"I want you to fuck me, Crew," she says, nipping at my bicep as my hand slides between us against her stomach.

I shake my head. We both knew we were past just fucking. This was more whether Logan was brave enough to admit it or not.

"Try again."

I slide my hand down far enough to tease her through her shorts, waiting for her to give me an answer. Tugging her shorts open my fingers find home on her clit, moving in torturously slow circles that pull a soft moan from her.

" Pretty girl ," I coo kissing her jaw, "I'll do this all night."

The warning is empty. My control is barely hanging on by a thread and my cock is pressed painfully against my jeans. I don't think I could wait. But her lips part and a breathless moan falls from her as those stormy eyes find mine.

"Make love to me, Huckleberry," she breathes and any semblance of resolve I had snaps. My lips crash into hers. The kiss is full of teeth and heavy breaths as we fight to get the rest of our clothes off.

She lifts her hips for me to roll those tiny shorts down her thighs. Her eyes slide close as my lips wrap around her pebbled nipple. I relish in the way my name falls from her lips as I kick off my own jeans and settle between her thighs. My tongue drags across her skin to her other nipple as my fingers work her core. Sliding one and then a second finger into her. Logan's hips buck upwards grinding against my palm.

" God ," Logan moans, tangling her fingers into the short hair atop my head and tugs.

It makes me laugh against her skin which earns me the most pathetic attempt at a frown she's ever given me. I kiss her again, melting away the soft lines on her face and slide my hand out of her.

For the first time in days I sink into her slowly. My back and arms are tense as I try to keep it together but she feels like a fucking summer day the further I go.

Her lips part again as her head falls back into the hay. I want to convince myself it's the sexiest thing I've ever seen her do but Logan is sexy even when she's not trying. My hips move on their own, at a pace that I'm having a hard time controlling. I need her more than I've needed anything in a long time. Her smiles, her nights and her days.

"Logan," I moan, burying my face into the crook of her neck. My muscles tighten in my lower back and my stomach coils with pressure that I don't think I can hold off for very much longer.

"I'm here," she whispers with her lips against my temple before she drags them down my cheek and peppers my face with featherlight kisses.

Logan's arms wrap around my shoulders as I struggle to keep myself propped up on my elbows. Our bodies are so close the heat of the barn is almost overwhelming but I can't stop. I won't stop.

"I'm close, Crew," she moans, matching my thrusts one for one.

"Come for me, pretty girl," I say, dragging my mouth to hers and swallowing every moan as she clenches around me.

Her core flutters around my cock and that's all it takes for me to fall over the edge with her. My hips stutter as I fill her full of myself with a groan.

It's escaped me until this point that we didn't use protection. I lift my head to look at her. She smiles at me even though my body is tense. "I—uh." I can feel my own cheeks turn red. "We didn't…"

"I'm on birth control, Crew." She says it so softly that my brows furrow. "I was so nervous last time I didn't think to mention it."

My fingers trace her hairline as I stare down at her. The sun has dipped below the horizon now and the moonlight shining through the window gives her a glow I'll never forget.

"It's okay," I whisper, kissing her softly.

"I trust you," she says to me after a moment, in a voice so soft that I'm not sure I would have heard it if I hadn't been laying on top of her.

I smile again, pride filling my chest that she's given up the key to that inner circle of hers. I know I have to tread carefully here. On a good day, she's as skittish as a newborn foal. Today? Today has been a really good day and I don't want to risk scaring her off. So before I can find the words to ruin it, I kiss her again and whisper against her lips.

"Thank you."