High-Sided: An Armed & Dangerous Novel (19 page)

Chuckling, he put his arm around me. “He’ll get over it.”

I surely hoped so. “How did it go working with him today? You two getting along better?”

He nodded. “Somewhat. We’ve been working with the guys on their techniques. They’re looking so much better. Miller’s an amazing rider though. He could seriously take my place and win. I hate having to compete against him.”

I hated it too, but more because I was afraid he’d get hurt. I wouldn’t be able to go through that again. “I thought winning the big race was what you wanted?” I murmured.

Logan glanced off at the mountains and sighed. “It is, but things are different now. I have a new purpose in life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to have a second chance, but I think I enjoy helping others more. I see myself in Miller, just like I did with Levi.”

I leaned into him. “You have no idea how grateful I am that you’re here. You’ve been the best thing that ever happened to Bennett Racing.”

Tilting my chin up with his fingers, he kissed me, his tongue slowly caressing my own. “And
you’re
the best thing that ever happened to me.” He placed his lips on my neck and gently nipped me, making chills fan out across my skin. “Maybe I’ll show you how much you mean to me tonight when your sister leaves?”

I bit my lip and moaned. “Deal. It’s a good thing she has a date.”

Logan and I were sitting on the front porch eating pizza, when Madison pulled up. She bolted out of her car and jumped in his arms. It was all smiles and hugs, until they got inside and pulled out the deck of cards.

“I so won that game,” Madison demanded.

Grinning from ear to ear, I poured myself a glass of wine. Even though Logan had been gone for eight years, they still fought like brother and sister. I loved it when Logan beat her at card games, because for the life of me, I never could. She was the oldest and always the best at everything.

Logan sat back in his chair and held out his arms. “Still a sore loser, huh?”

Madison crossed her arms over her chest. “Keep talking, Chandler. You forget, I’m the one who told Kass to give you another chance. I’m starting to believe I made a mistake.”

Taking a huge gulp of my wine, I sat down at the table. “All right, you two. Play nice.”

They both laughed and Madison dealt up another hand of speed, while I sat and watched. It was like nothing had ever changed. We did the exact same thing many years ago, only now we were missing Levi. He’d always had a crush on Madison, but she refused to date anyone younger than her. It didn’t dissuade him though. He still tried to get her to date him.

The game moved pretty fast, and of course, Logan won
again.
“So what are we going to do this weekend?” Madison asked.

Logan lifted his brows at me. “We could take her riding through Deals Gap?” He turned and smirked to my sister. “Last I heard, you were afraid to do it.”

She glared at me. “You told him?”

I shrugged. “Hey, I can’t help it you’re scared. At least there’s
one
thing I can do that you can’t.” She didn’t like not having control. Riding on the back with someone else made her give that up. Even our own father didn’t know she had a fear of motorcycles. He just thought she wanted to pursue a different path in life.

Her lips pursed and she jutted out her chin. “Fine, I’ll do it. Maybe then you’ll stop giving me grief.”

Madison was never scared of anything, except riding on motorcycles. That was why she didn’t want to help take over Bennett Racing. My father was a little disappointed, but there was nothing he could do. His dream was to have a son take over the business—he got me instead. But I was just as savvy as a man, if not better.

“Will I be riding with you?” she asked, looking at me. “I know you’re not wild on the bike.”

I burst out laughing and so did Logan. “You obviously haven’t been around much,” Logan said. “I chased her down the other day. It was hard enough for me to keep up.”

She huffed. “Great. Then I guess I’ll be riding with you?”

Logan winked. “I won’t let anything happen to you. If you just get over your fear, you might actually like riding.”

“I doubt it,” she said, rubbing her stomach. “All this talk about motorcycles is making my stomach hurt. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared down the hall.

“I tried getting her to learn how to ride with me, but she refused,” I whispered. “My mother wasn’t fond of motorcycles either.”

Logan nodded, his gaze sad. “I remember. My parents were pissed when I decided to ride again. They thought the accident would be a wake-up call.”

I leaned over and kissed him. “It’s in your blood, just like it’s in mine. There was a time you didn’t want me on them, if I remember correctly.”

He looked down at my hands and reached for them. “I didn’t want you to get hurt. At least riding with me, I knew you were safe.”

His warm hands closed over mine and I squeezed them tight. “And I felt safe with you, just like I do now.”

“Good. Because whatever’s going on with your dad, you know I’ll protect you.”

“Have you found anything else out?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

He moved closer and glanced quickly over his shoulder at the hallway. Madison was still in the bathroom. “My partner’s going to be at the Hendrix party this weekend. They’re supposed to talk one on one. He’ll be wired, so we’ll get to listen to the entire conversation.”

I gasped. “I can listen too?”

“As long as you don’t mind spending the night at my place. I don’t know what time they plan on meeting.” He bit his lip and my whole body trembled.

“I think I can manage that.”

He kissed me again and I heard Madison groan. “All right you two. We don’t have time for that. I have to win at least one game before I leave.” She sat down at the table and Logan dealt out the cards. They were about to start playing when a car door slammed out front.

I walked over to the window to see Sean walking up to the front door, his face a stony mask. “It’s Sean,” I said, glancing at them both.

Logan leaned his elbows on the table, his gaze fixed on the door. Sean knocked and I opened it, smiling as innocently as I could. He looked past me and nodded once at Logan before focusing on Madison. “Glad to see you made it off the side of the road okay.”

Her brows furrowed and I glared at her, knowing full well she’d just given me away. When she realized what was going on, she stood and glanced down at her phone. “Yeah, me too.” She pushed in her chair and held up her phone. “I hate to run, but I have a date,” she said, waving at us all. When she got up to Sean, she hugged him. “It’s good to see you, Sean. We’ll catch up later.”

She hurried off, leaving me alone in the doorway. Sean nodded toward the porch. “Can we talk?” His gaze shifted to Logan, then back to me. “Alone.”

Clearing my throat, I peered at Logan over my shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

His jaw tensed, but he nodded. I shut the door behind me and walked down to Sean’s parked car. I didn’t know if I wanted Logan to hear whatever he was going to say, especially since I couldn’t tell if he was angry or not. The last thing I wanted was for them to get in a brawling match in my front yard.

“Why did you lie?” he asked. I could see his reflection in his car window.

I turned around and peered into his caramel colored eyes. “I didn’t know what else to do. You and Janie needed time alone. How else were you two going to get to know each other?” He stared at me for the longest time, his gaze searching mine. “Did everything go okay?” I asked nervously.

He lowered his head, lips pulling back in a smirk. “Actually, it went pretty well. We both kind of figured out what you were doing.”

“So you’re not mad?”

He shook his head and chuckled. “No. We had a good time. In fact, it was her idea to give you this.” Opening his car door, he pulled out a box and handed it to me. “She didn’t want you not to have your cake.”

It was a huge piece of my favorite chocolate cake. “See? I told you she was the best. Now do you see why I was friends with her in school?”

He nodded. “I do. We have plans to go out this Saturday. I thought maybe you and Logan could join us.”

“I wish we could, but we already have plans. Maybe we can do it one day next week?”

His arms snaked around me and I held him tight. “Are you sure this is what you want? I won’t ask again.”

“Yes,” I murmured, “this is what I want. You need to find happiness too.”

He let me go and stepped back. “Then that’s it. But I meant what I said, when I told him I’d kick his ass if he hurt you. He better not fuck up again.”

“He won’t, I promise. Besides, I can handle myself.”

“I know, Kass. The threat still stands though.” A small smile spread across his lips as he got into his car and left. The tension between us was gone; it was a good feeling.

I watched him turn onto the street and disappear down the road, before going back inside. I thought Logan would still be at the table, but he wasn’t there. “Logan?” I called. I searched everywhere for him and couldn’t find him, until I saw him through one of my windows, laying in the hammock and looking up at the night sky.

I walked out the door and climbed in beside him. The moon and stars were so bright, they almost lit up the whole sky. That was what I loved about living away from the big cities. You could see shooting stars and on some nights, the other planets.

Beside my hot tub on the other end of my deck stood my telescope; I pointed at it. “When I was in college, Levi and I used to stay out here all night sometimes to look at the stars.” The wind picked up, swaying us back and forth.

“Did you and Sean do the same thing?” he asked, his voice low.

I glanced over at him. “Why are you asking that? You know there’s nothing going on between us.”

He shrugged. “I know, but it doesn’t change the fact he was there when I should’ve been. I’ve missed so much of your life.”

I placed my hand on his cheek, gently turning him to face me. “I missed a lot of your life too. I hate knowing you’ve done things with other women.”

Holding his hand over mine, he leaned in close. “They were nothing compared to you.” His lips closed over mine and I opened myself up to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I need you . . . need to taste you.” In a surprising move, he put his hands on my legs and pulled them to either side of his body. Yanking me upward, he scooted down, my knees soon straddling his head.

I held my dress up so I could look down at him. He was focused between my legs, as he gently pushed my underwear to the side and groaned. Gaze flickering to mine as he bit his lip, he lifted his head to my center and ran his tongue along my slit. I shuddered and dropped my dress over his face as I threw my head back. “Oh shit, Logan, what are you doing to me?”

Grabbing hold of my thighs, he pulled me down and fucked me with his tongue, his nose rubbing my clit with each thrust. Soon, I was riding his face, and squeezing his head between my thighs in complete rapture. Stomach quaking with my orgasm, I suddenly worried about suffocating the poor man. Sliding back onto his chest, I pulled my dress back up to find a smiling Logan, mouth pink from being used and abused.

“I need to be in you,” he said, reaching down to rub the bulge in his jeans.

I giggled. “We’ll break my hammock if we do this here.”

His deep chuckle made my body tighten. “Then let’s move somewhere else.”

Rolling off the hammock, I helped him out as well. We went over to the hot tub and Logan pulled the cover off. It was ready to go. I watched him take off his clothes, the muscles in his arms and abs clenching with the movement. I couldn’t take my eyes off him, especially the hardness he was slowly stroking between his legs. He approached me slowly, his eyes burning with heat. My heart raced and I stood there, anxiously waiting for him to touch me.

“It’s your turn now,” he murmured, his voice gruff with need.

He lifted my dress and lowered my underwear to the floor. I’d never been naked outside before and it felt amazing. The wind blew against my skin, making my nipples pucker. Logan licked his lips and pulled me to him, bending me back so he could suck them into his mouth.