Jess and Declan had already flown back to Greece, but Jess had promised to get in touch when they finally returned to the UK. She said they needed to show a united front against the McCabe men. It was nice to think she had an ally of sorts. Tamara, she guessed, was waiting to make judgment.
She’d heard nothing from Logan since Saturday, though she had been busy working long night shifts. This was the last. After tonight she had a couple of days off, and she needed them. She wasn’t sleeping well. Her nights were filled with dreams of Logan, which left her restless and on edge. After his comments at the party, she’d expected him to contact her, to try to persuade her into a few more of those fantasies. She was ashamed to admit it, but she had a real curiosity about those kinkier ones he’d mentioned, and she hadn’t been able to look at her handcuffs without a vivid image of Logan flashing in her mind. Very inconvenient.
Now, after four days and nothing from him, she suspected that part of her problem was disappointment and frustration.
She was one sad specimen.
She’d also been avoiding Jack. They’d had a good date last week, and he’d made it clear he would like to repeat the event. But she’d been putting him off. It didn’t seem right, dating one man while lusting after another.
Logan had taken Jenny and her friends out after school again today. She’d phoned home and learned everyone had gotten back safely and found Jenny already in bed. Probably exhausted from all the excitement. Had Logan been disappointed she wasn’t there?
Probably not. He’d obviously lost interest.
She exhaled loudly. It had been a quiet night. She’d caught up on paperwork and worked on the schedules for next week. After a week doing desk work, she was back on the emergency call team and out patrolling the streets starting Saturday. It was her favorite job and would no doubt take her mind off things.
Half an hour to go. Glancing up from the desk, she felt her breath catch in her throat, her heart stuttering as Logan came through the door. She glanced around to see if anyone else was watching, but they had the reception area to themselves. He’d gone into all out seduction mode. Black leather pants molded his long legs and hips. A black leather jacket gave him an air of menace.
“How long until you finish?” he asked.
“Half an hour.” As the words came out, it occurred to her that she should have maybe put him off, asked him what he was doing here, rather than obediently answering him. But he’d taken her by surprise, and her mind had turned to mush.
“I’ll be back.”
And then he was gone, and she was left staring at the door.
The last half hour of her shift dragged. Finally she handed the desk over to her replacement and headed to the locker room. She showered quickly and dressed in navy trousers, a blue sweater, and boots. She didn’t want Logan coming inside again. She wasn’t ashamed of him, but she didn’t see the point of a long, convoluted explanation as to who he was and how he fit in to her life. This might be a police station, but it was no different than any other workplace when it came to gossip. But Logan was nowhere in sight when she came into the reception area. Her chest tightened. Maybe he’d changed his mind. She waved at her replacement duty sergeant and headed out the door. Outside, Logan leaned against the wall, a lazy smile on his face, and the tightness melted inside her.
“Come on,” he said, and she followed him around to the parking area at the side of the building. Dawn was close, though the sky was still dark.
“Oh no,” she muttered as he approached the gleaming black Harley. No way was she going on that thing.
He turned to her with a grin. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
She held back.
“Actually,” he said, “Jenny asked for a ride. I told her I had to clear it with you first. So I’m here to show you how safe I can be.”
No way was Jenny going on that monster. But butterflies were fluttering in her belly, little tingles of excitement zipping up and down her nerves. How long was it since she did something wild? No, best not to go there. It all led back to Logan.
He held out a helmet to her. “Come on, sarge, you know you want to.”
Tentatively, she inched a step closer, reached out, and took the helmet from him. Before she could change her mind and tell herself that this was a really bad idea, she pulled it over her head. He considered her for a moment then slipped out of the leather jacket and handed it to her. “It can get cold.”
“What about you?”
“Oh, I’ll be warm enough.”
She pulled on the jacket, still heated from his body, and hugged it close, breathing in the scent of leather and spice and warm man.