Page 17

I swallow. “Yes,” I whisper, staring at the man who is lightly dabbing and cleaning my wounds ever so kindly. I look at his blood-stained knuckles and don’t miss the way he slightly winces every time he dips them into the water.

“We should call the police.” He wrings out the washcloth, then lightly cares for another scratch. This one stings at first, but then it’s soothing. He stops and waits for me to give the approval to keep going. I nod and then he continues.

“No. No police.”

He pauses with the washcloth hovering over my scrape, locking eyes with mine. “Sora—”

“Please. Just let it go,” I beg him. The police can’t get involved. There’d be too many questions. A report will be filed, and it gives Jason another way to find me.

He doesn’t push nor ask why and I am grateful for that.

As he tends to my wounds, the attack replays in my mind, a sense of terror twisting and squeezing me like a boa constrictor.

“Are you okay?” He drops my leg and picks up the other. I don’t miss the way his fingers graze my skin, causing goosebumps to rise.

I let out a weird chuckle. It’s not sincere. This moment is far from funny, but either I laugh, or I cry.

Logan studies my unique outburst, dropping his gaze back down to my leg.

“My flowers…” I snort. “They’re ruined, and they’ll probably die now, which is really sad.”

“Hate to break it to you, dove. But your flowers were already dead.”

Did he just call me dove?

“Of course they were.” I roll my eyes, hissing when I throw myself back onto the couch.

“What’s wrong with your back?” He places the washcloth down inside the water.

“Nothing.”

“Let me see.”

“No.”

“No?”

“I have a dress on.”

“So?”

“So… I don’t need you seeing my goodies.” Though when I think about it, the idea is not that appalling.

He raises his brow and stands. “Your goodies?”

“Yeah. You know. Ass. Tits. Those things.”

He blinks. “I’ve seen those things before.”

The knowledge of him having seen other women naked sends a green swirl of envy for them in my stomach.

“Yes. That part is obvious. Look at you.” I wave a hand over him, but he doesn’t so much as blink.

“That being said, you’ve never seen me naked.

” Though I recall the day of the hose incident.

I wasn’t naked, but damn close. He just blinks with the same unamused expression.

“Ugh. Fine.” I slowly rise, turning so my back is facing him.

I then drop the straps to my dress, flashing him a sight of side boobs.

My body slightly jerks when his fingers brush the skin on my back. I close my eyes because it feels pleasant, and it’s not like he can see my reaction. It’s tempting to lean back into his touch, soaking in the warmth that is Logan... Logan something . I don’t even know his last name.

“I should have killed him,” he mutters under his breath, barely audible, but I heard the harsh yet satisfying words that cause my heart to flutter.

“Thank you. For stopping him. For this. I don’t know what I would have done if…” I stop myself, not wanting to imagine or say the words.

He sighs. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there sooner,” he says in a regretful tone, cleaning the scrapes on my back.

We fall into a comfortable silence, the heat of his body warming mine. Am I meant for this town? It makes me wonder if I can survive without Jason. Without the walls of his mansion trapping me inside.

“Always in trouble, aren’t you, dove?”

There’s that name again.

“Honestly, at this rate, you should open a tab for always having to save me.” I turn my head slightly, witnessing him applying ointment to an applicator. He’s educated on how to tend to wounds.

“I don’t mind.” The baritone in his voice is smooth, rocking me senseless and heat forms on my cheeks. Damn, he is always doing that to me.

After he patches up my back with gauze pads, he slides the straps up my shoulders, one by one, ever so carefully, and I shudder. It’s an instant reaction, not at all a bad one, but this man’s touch is paralyzing.

“Thank you,” I tell him, standing there before him, his gaze penetrating me. “I’m going to head back over. I don’t want to overstay my welcome after all you’ve done for me.”

He opens his mouth to speak, but I stalk off toward the door, not giving him the chance. I’m not sure why. Maybe I’m afraid of the response.

When I open his front door, I nervously scan the area outside, clutching the doorframe.

Great. Now I’m the target of two men.

Logan’s arm shoots up right behind me, his hand gripping the doorframe just above mine, careful not to startle me. “I’ll walk you,” he says sympathetically into my ear. It’s not a question.

“That’s dumb. It’s literally ten feet away. I’ll be fine.” But I’m not fine because I can’t seem to pry my hand from the wooden frame.

Logan touches my shoulder, sending what feels like a jolt of electricity through me. “Let's go.” He brushes past, taking the lead.

I take a deep breath, leave the comfort of his doorway, and follow closely until I’m standing in front of Lana’s door. “Thank you for everything.”

The intensity of his ocean eyes lock onto mine. There’s a hint of worry behind them as they soften. “Will you be all right?” he asks.

I form the best smile I can muster up. “Eventually.”

Logan's eyes hold a strange gloom as he disappears behind the closing door.