Logan's Leap (8 page)

“One
pair is perfect,” Logan mumbled before he realized what he was saying.

“I
think your friend is delusional CJ,” Jayna said with a smirk. “Maybe he just
wants to make your mommy feel good about her fat body.”

“You’re
not fat, you’re perfect,” Logan spat out, sitting next to her. “I mean…” He was
interrupted as her lips met his in a passionate kiss. Pulling back in shock, he
set CJ on the bed. As he turned back and opened his mouth to speak, he was met
with another kiss. He returned the sentiment without hesitation. This was something
he had avoided for years, but now, he wanted it. Vaguely, he felt her hand
moving up his leg, and the touch both excited and terrified him.

At
that moment CJ let out a cry and they broke apart in alarm. Picking up the
crying baby, Jayna’s attention became focused completely on him while Logan
silently breathed a sigh of relief. No matter how attractive he found her, he
could never have her.

“I’ll
see if I can find something to make a bed out of for the little man,” Logan
said, standing. “I know Dylan hosts families so there should be a portable crib
somewhere.”

“Thank
you,” Jayna murmured, not looking up from her son.

Logan
went first to the long closet that took up one of the side walls of the loft.
Peeking in, he saw a portable crib right inside the doorway. Spare bedding,
mattresses and furniture took up three quarters of the space. He pulled the
small crib out and pushed it over near the bed. “Your luxury accommodations,
young sir.”

Jayna
stood and put the sleeping baby in the small crib. “Logan?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m
really sorry. About the kiss. It’s just been so long since someone has made me
feel attractive.”

“It’s
okay Jayna,” he murmured. It broke his heart that the father of her son had
obviously had no real interest in her. How hard was it to tell someone you
supposedly loved that they are beautiful.

“Are
you sure?” she asked. “You don’t seem okay.”

Logan
walked over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I’m okay. You don’t
need to be sorry that it happened. It’s just…” He let go of her and busied
himself getting fresh linens out of the closet to make the bed.

“What
is it, Logan?”

“You
don’t need to be sorry that it happened, but it can’t happen again. I don’t
feel…things. I refuse to feel anything. Life is safer that way. Hell, I don’t
think I
can
feel anything anymore.”

“Everybody
can feel, Logan. If they let themselves. What happened to make you think that
way?”

Logan
shrugged. “If you let yourself feel things for others you only get hurt. I mean
look at what happened to you and Reggie.”

“Fair
enough,” she murmured. “What would you like for dinner?”

Logan
put the last pillow case on then turned back to Jayna. “I’ll worry about
dinner. You lie down here for a while. If you over do it and start bleeding
heavily, it’s a long way to a doctor.”

Jayna
knew he was right so she laid down on the bed and watched her son sleeping
through the bars of the crib.

“Is
chicken and rice okay for dinner?” he asked as he walked to the stairs.

“Yeah,”
she said with a yawn. She was asleep by the time he was halfway down the
stairs.

Logan
started to make dinner and his mind wandered back to the second kiss with
Jayna. He found the strength from deep down to push it aside. To get his mind
on other things he grabbed the prepaid phone and called Andrew.

“Hello.”

“Hey
Andrew. It’s Logan. How are our friends in the black car?”

Andrew
chuckled. “They’re eating at Vito’s right now, I believe. Then they will be
heading back to Moe’s Lodge. We suggested they stay there while they are in
town ‘visiting where their grandmother grew up.’ Don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye
on them and let you know if they make a move.”

“Wow!
‘Visiting where their grandmother grew up’ huh? Almost sounds legit, maybe I’m
just paranoid.”

“No
their story had a flaw. I asked about
Lost Valley
and they bit. They
aren’t here to sight see.”

“Thanks
Andrew. I’ll check in again soon.”

“Bye
boss.”

Logan
hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. Dinner was almost done so he would
set the table, serve it up and go get Jayna.

“Hey
Sleeping Beauty,” he said quietly, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She was
so peaceful and beautiful. He almost hated to wake her up, but she needed to
eat.

Bending
slightly closer to her, he reached out to touch her shoulder. The urge to kiss
her swept over him and threatened to paralyze him. He couldn’t do it. It
wouldn’t be right for either of them. He again reached out and shook her
shoulder. “Time for dinner, Sleeping Beauty.”

Jayna
stirred and her eyes began to open slowly. “You’re not a very good prince,
don’t you know you are supposed to kiss me awake,” she murmured.

Logan’s
mouth dropped open and he stared as she sat up and smiled at him. With no
thought to what he was doing, he reached out and pulled her close. His lips
crushed hers in a desperate kiss. They dropped to the bed, his body covering
hers. No matter what thoughts went through his mind, trying to get him to stop,
he was able to easily push them aside.

As
his mouth hungrily devoured hers, his hands roamed her upper body. Her flesh
was so soft, so pliable beneath his touch. He’d forgotten how wonderful a curvy
woman felt beneath his hands. It had been so long.

Jayna
gasped as his hand grazed her breast.

“Did
I hurt you?” he asked releasing her lips.

“No.
Just super sensitive,” she moaned, pulling him back to her. Their lips met
again.

Logan
could no longer hear his inner voice telling him to stop as his hand maneuvered
underneath her bra. The warmth and softness of her skin made him want to
scream, but instead he moaned and ran his fingertips gently over her nipple. A
single drop of moisture had him chuckling as his hand slid down her stomach
over her hip and onto her thigh.

With
the lack of skin on skin stimulation, the voices of doubt began to get
louder…until Jayna’s delicate hands pulled his shirt free of his slacks and
snaked up his abdomen to rest on his chest. He couldn’t breathe but he couldn’t
stop kissing her either.

When
Jayna’s hands buried in the hair on his chest, teasing the skin beneath, he
growled only to have it muted by another kiss. He couldn’t think straight. All
he wanted was…her, a woman. For the first time in years he allowed himself to
want a specific person in every way possible. Jayna McIntyre. His hand moved
from her stomach to her waistband and the minute his fingers breached the
barrier, she stopped him.

“No
Logan.”

It
took him a moment to realize what she’d said as her hand clamped around his
wrist.

“I
don’t think you want to go there right now,” she chuckled.

Reality
came back, crushing him. He lifted himself off of her and sat on the edge of
the bed. “What the hell was I thinking? You’ve just given birth and you belong
to someone else.”

Jayna
sat up abruptly, moving next to him. “First of all, I do
not
belong to
that monster, or anyone! I’ve hated him for years. I was just too scared to
leave him. When I got pregnant and he still came after me almost every day, I
knew I had to get out. Reginald Sanders hasn’t truly been my boyfriend in
years. And second, my just having given birth has nothing to do with anything –
except for me not being able to have sex for six weeks after!”

Logan
looked at her with a smile. She was definitely a passionate woman and she’d
just shot down two of his biggest arguments for staying away from her. “You
deserve someone who will treat you right,” he said softly. She had looked down
at her clasped hands so he lifted her chin to look into her eyes. “All I could
ever give you is the physical. I’m not capable of more. I’m sorry.”

“I
never said I want anything more from you, Logan. I’ve never had a good physical
relationship with anyone. Maybe that’s all I want too.”

Logan
stood up and pulled her to her feet. “You’d regret it,” he murmured, kissing
her forehead. “Let’s head downstairs, the food is getting cold.”

**********

CJ
slept in his car seat/carrier propped on a chair next to his mother as she and
Logan had dinner. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement that they wouldn’t
talk about what had happened earlier in the loft.

“How
long do you think we’ll be here?” Jayna asked.

“I
don’t really know. It’s going to take some time, but I have a plan to send our
goon friends on a wild goose chase across Nebraska and South Dakota.”

“And
how will you do that?” she asked.

“My
mom’s friend Maxine is headed east tomorrow. She’s going to use your debit card
along the way.”

A
smile spread over Jayna’s face. “Reggie keeps a close eye on my spending. He’ll
think we're traveling east.”

“Exactly,”
Logan grinned. “Once they are way from here, we’ll go back home and let the
authorities know where he is.”

“But
how do you know he will leave Alaska?”

“There
is no way he’ll stay put when the chase is really on. If his goons reported
that they saw you in Harper’s Rock, he probably made plans to leave on one of
Daddy Sanders’ planes as soon as it felt right.”

Jayna
let Logan’s words sink in while she finished her meal. The thought of Reginald
being in Harper’s Rock sent a chill through her, but the thought of this whole
mess ending soon thrilled her. “Logan, how will we get my debit card to your mom’s
friend?”

His
look was sheepish when he peered up at her. “She should already have it. I took
the liberty of grabbing it earlier, before we left. We just need to call her
with the pin.”

“Wow,”
Jayna murmured.

“I’m
sorry. But I saw her at the store and she said she was going on a trip and the
idea just kind of formed.”

“And
she just agreed to use a stranger’s debit card?”

“She’s
a survivor of abuse,” he said softly. “All I had to do was say that I had a
friend who was running from abuse and she was more than willing to help in any
way she could. I’m sorry if I overstepped…”

“No,
no! That’s okay. You did what you had to do to protect me and CJ, and I
appreciate that.”

“I’ll
call Maxine to give her the pin number after I clean up.”

**********

After
dinner, Logan took their personal belongings up to the loft then returned to
the first floor to make calls. Jayna wanted to pump milk for the baby so he
gave her the privacy she needed.

Just
as he hung up the phone, he heard movement upstairs.

“Logan,”
she called down. "Didn’t we bring the heating pad?”

“I
bought a new one,” he called back. “It’s down here in one of the boxes.”

“Bring
it to me please,” she called.

“Sure,
I’ll be right up,” he answered. Digging through the boxes, he found the heating
pad and took it out of its box. Once all of the packaging was discarded, he
headed up to the loft. “Why do you need this?” he asked, stopping suddenly when
she came into view. Her shirt was open and her bra was on the bed beside her.
“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,
I’m fine,” she said. “But the cramping gets really bad when I pump. I thought
maybe the heating pad would help.”

“Should
you be cramping that badly?” he asked, concerned.

Jana
chuckled. “My uterus is contracting back to its normal size. I don’t think it's
a problem if it hurts.”

Logan
smiled and smirked at her. “Smart ass.”

“I
told you.”

Logan
plugged the heating pad in beside the bed and laid it across her stomach, his
hand brushing the bottom of her breast. He pulled back quickly and looked into
her eyes. “You’re not the least bit shy are you?" What was meant as a
simple statement came out more as a sensual whisper.

She
shrugged. “You rescued me from the shower, watched me give birth and watch me
nurse my son multiple times a day. I don’t think I have anything left to hide
from you.”

“Why
do you have to know all the right things to say?”

"Because
I’m a thinker. I think things through, except when it came to Reginald Sanders
it seems.”

“Sometimes
we don’t see ourselves clearly enough to think straight, when the heart is
involved.”

“True.
Could you hand me that piece of the pump?”

Logan
handed it to her and watched as she prepared her breast. “Yeah,” he sighed.
“I’m going to get some linens and make up my bed downstairs.”

As
he gathered what he needed from the closet, he berated himself for the thoughts
he was having about a woman who was preparing to store nourishment for her
child.  His eyes should not have set on her breasts in that situation. But for
some reason he wanted to see her, to touch her. God damn it! He wanted her.
More than he’d ever wanted anyone.