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Especially in Logan’s arms…

He held her for several minutes, until she stopped shaking, then got up and crossed the room. Kara looked on curiously as Logan began examining the opposite wall.

“What are you—”

“This is where she passed through, right?”

Kara shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Close enough.”

Using the rim of his thumbnail, Logan picked at the top edge of the hideous wallpaper. It came away without much of a fight. Slowly, carefully, he began peeling it backward, toward himself.

The faded image of what was once a door frame appeared beneath it.

“Damn,” Kara swore. “Good work.”

Logan smoothed away the glue and plaster, then blew away the dust. The outline became much more distinct.

“Where do you think it leads?” Kara asked.

“More like where it did lead,” he offered. “It’s blocked off now.”

He rolled the paper back up and pinned the edge beneath the molding. It still looked like shit, but could pass for undamaged at a quick glance.

“Tomorrow,” he said, dusting his hands off. “Lots of stuff gets answered.”

Kara’s eyes crawled slowly over his body. She couldn’t help it. A thin sheen of sweat lent extra definition to Logan’s arms, chest, and torso. His stomach, she was glad to see, was still flat and taut. Maybe not as tight as it had been six years ago, but his abdominals still rippled powerfully, just beneath the skin.

She watched him settle back into the loveseat. It was almost funny watching him try to cram his six-foot-two frame between the tiny couch’s ancient wooden arms.

“Okay, open that window,” said Kara. “Just a crack.”

Logan jumped back to his feet, his expression one of complete relief. His arms flexed tightly, biceps and triceps, as he undid the latch and lifted the creaky old window frame.

“And get into bed with me,” she added at last. Logan’s eyes went wide with disbelief.

“I’ll be damned if I’m sleeping alone with that ghost roaming around.”

Eight

The room cooled down quickly. Kara found herself beneath the covers, alongside Logan. At first they slept separately, back to back. But the first time he flipped over, she found herself spooning into him, seeking warmth.

This is a bad idea, the little voice in her head told her. You’re being stupid…

She kept telling herself she was still shaken. That she needed the comfort, the human contact. But it was more than that. Much more.

Kara flipped too. She was facing him now, nose to nose. His eyes were wide open.

“Why?” she asked simply.

The question lingered. It hung unanswered between them in the nighttime silence. Logan only stared back at her impassively. She studied his face, his lips…

“Why what?”

“You know what.”

He shrugged. “We were young. It was young love.”

“I was young,” she corrected him. “You took advantage.”