Page 18 of All Bets are Off
CHAPTER EIGHT
Logan
One minute I was laughing at something Colt said, and the next West dragged me to the side of the house and kissed the life out of me.
Now, we stand in my room and he’s telling me he’s attracted to me and wants to move forward, whatever that means. But tension rolls off him in waves, and it hurts to watch him questioning everything he thought he knew about himself.
“Just because we both have a physical attraction to each other doesn’t mean anything has to change between us,” I say.
West’s face falls. “So, you don’t want to…uh.” He shakes his head. “I mean, now that you know—” He stops again.
“Just because we can see each other that way doesn’t mean we have to,” I try to explain. “We can move on from here just as we’ve always been.”
“That’s what you want?” he asks in a small voice.
No.
“Maybe it’s for the best. I mean, our friendship’s the most important thing, right?” I have to make it clear to him that everything doesn’t have to change if the change makes him uncomfortable. I know West. I know how important routine is to him. Retiring from the Marines has been hard enough on him, changing everything about our relationship would send him into a tailspin. I should have realized this before.
The silence between us draws out, and when I drag my eyes to meet his, the anger I see in them startles me. Grabbing me by the wrist, West swings me around, pinning me to the door so hard that the air’s knocked from my lungs.
“No, I fuckingdon’tthink it’s for the best. You think I got up the nerve to say all that just to leave it like this?”
I stare into his bright eyes, my heart hammering so hard in my ears, I miss whatever he says next and then his mouth lands on mine in a punishing kiss. Latching onto his thick, soft hair with both hands, I succumb without a fight, kissing him back with everything I’ve got, sucking, licking, moaning. My grip in West’s hair tightens, but he doesn’t seem to notice. His cock is trying to drill a hole in my hip, and I want to touch it so badly, but I’m afraid. Afraid this moment’s just a fluke—that any second now West will break away, mind clear and determined for this not to happen again.That he’ll run like the last time.
But,fuck, his soft yet unyielding lips against mine are taking me apart bit by bit. When he licks over my tongue, I begin to tremble. Never have I lost control with a lover, but I know with certainty it could happen with West. I’ve probably always known it. And seconds later, when his palm covers my erection through my pants, it happens.
“West, fuck. God. I need you.” I tug down my pants before working on his, eager to feel his skin against mine. It’s difficult to get his zipper down with his tongue still in my mouth, but I do my best. Seconds later, when his thumb brushes over the head of my cock and my fingers circle the warm girth of him, my eyes fall shut and my knees get wobbly.
A sharp knock on the door next to my left ear bring my eyes wide open to meet West’s lust-fogged gaze. I don’t think he even heard the knock, as he seeks my lips again.
“Logan?” Jase’s voice comes muffled from the other side of the door. I push West back and he stumbles, blinking.
“Fix your pants,” I hiss. His eyes go to the door before he tucks himself in and turns, walking unevenly onto the balcony.
When I have my own pants closed, I take a deep breath and open the door.
Jase’s gaze runs over me before going to the balcony where West stands with his back to us. He clears his throat. “Slade called. Some nutcase who didn’t like his open support of trans issues took a shot at him last night outside his building.”
“Is he okay?” I ask.
Jase nods. “Missed him by a couple of feet.”
“Did he admit to shooting at Logan, thinking he was Slade?” West asks, coming to stand beside us.
“No, but authorities learned the guy was only fifty miles from here the day before, so it seems likely.”
Grinning, I smack West on the arm. “Good. Now you can stop hovering over me.”
Jase wags his finger between me and West. “So, what’s going on here?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, trying hard to look innocent, but to my surprise, West blurts out, “We were making out. Mind leaving so we can get back to it?”
With a short bark of laughter, Jase shakes his head and walks away.
I close the door behind him, and before I can say anything, West yanks me into his arms again, and I’m lost in his kiss. We fall into a tangle on the bed.
“I don’t know what to do,” West says a few minutes later, face flushed and breathing uneven.