Page 52 of Keeping Kasey (Love and Blood #3)

CHAPTER FORTY

Logan

It’s long after my toes have gone numb that I finally lead Kasey to my car.

Her sobs have slowed to shaky breaths, which is the only reason I’m willing to unwrap my arms from around her.

I help her into my car, and she lets me buckle her seatbelt and kiss her cheek before I climb behind the wheel. The hot air blasting from the vents is the only sound in the car, but that’s okay.

Enough has been said for now.

When we get to the hotel, Kasey waits in her seat long enough for me to open the door and offer her my hand. She accepts it, letting me lead her inside.

I unlock the door to my room and pull her in with me, unwilling to let her go now that the walls between us have crumbled.

Right now, I need Kasey, and I think she needs me, too.

I only release her hand to step into the bathroom and start a hot shower. Despite the heat blasting in the car, her clothes are still damp, and she hasn’t fully stopped shivering.

“I’ll get something for you to wear,” I tell her and press a light kiss to her forehead before stepping out.

I ignore the fact that her room—full of her clothes—is right next door and take one of my shirts and a pair of boxers to the vanity. While she showers, I take off my own damp clothes and put on a pair of shorts before sitting on the bed.

Minutes later, Kasey walks toward me, looking like every dream I’ve had since meeting her. Her hair falls in wet strands down her back, and her cheeks are bright red—likely from windburn. My T-shirt reaches her mid-thigh, and I can barely see the hem of the boxers peeking out beneath them.

It doesn’t matter how many times I see her. It doesn’t matter what she says or does. It doesn’t matter if she is my strongest ally or my most vicious foe.

Kasey will always be the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.

I pull her onto the bed beside me and tug the covers over us, satisfied beyond words when Kasey curls into my side. With our legs intertwined, her hands resting against my chest, and her head lying on my shoulder, I can’t believe I went a single day without her.

How had I survived going from sharing her bed to sleeping alone? Because I am not convinced I could do it again.

Holding Kasey is so much better than I remembered.

The feel of her soft body molding into mine is one I never thought I’d feel again, and I won’t take it for granted. I inhale her floral scent, committing each breath to memory.

Soon, memories are all I’ll have left.

If confessions could fix what’s broken, I would’ve told Kasey all of this already, but they can’t. The wounds we’ve inflicted, the complete lack of trust, my impending engagement, and whatever happened to Kasey while she was gone—the chasm between us isn’t getting any smaller.

“I lied earlier,” Kasey says.

I was starting to wonder if she’d fallen asleep, so hearing her low, alluring voice is music to my ears.

“Oh?”

“I didn’t lose my appetite.”

I feel her smile against my shoulder as I breathe a laugh.

“I’ll order room service,” I tell her. “What do you want?”

“Tacos.”

I text the hotel manager before turning my phone off. I don’t want any distractions. Just for tonight, I don’t want to be the Consoli boss .

I want to be Kasey’s.

“Did you tell them to remove the—”

“Sour cream? Yeah, I told them,” I assure her.

I imagine she hadn’t expected me to remember that little fact, but I remember everything about Kasey.

“Do you think there was ever a possibility of things working out between us?” she asks softly.

I don’t need to think long about my answer—I’ve been asking myself the same question for months.

“I think our version of working out was always going to be unconventional.”

“So base-wide viruses and burning motels are just a form of affection,” she muses, and I can hear the smile in her voice.

But I don’t laugh.

“I knew you weren’t inside that motel.”

She lifts her head to meet my gaze. “What?”

I roll over so our heads are on the pillow, and I don’t have to strain to look at her. Our legs stay intertwined, and my hand grips her waist.

“When I got the call that an associate recognized you, I didn’t even tell James where I was going. I just got on a plane and flew to see for myself, but by the time I got there, the room was empty—and I was so relieved.”

“Relieved that I wasn’t there?”

I kiss the lines furrowing her brow. After everything else I’ve told her tonight, sharing this truth doesn’t seem so difficult.

“I wasn’t convinced I could follow through on a single one of my threats,” I admit. “Seeing that empty motel room, I realized I had no idea what I would’ve done if you’d been there. But I couldn’t do nothing , so I burned it down. It was my way of putting everything behind me.”

Kasey looks at me with a mix of wonder and amusement, and I memorize the sight. I’ve seen too many glares and blank expressions from her lately, and the gleam in her eyes right now is stunning.

“Did it work?”

I tug her body to mine, and the sound of her soft gasp is like injecting the world’s most addictive drug directly into my bloodstream. With our lips only an inch apart, I tell her the screwed-up truth.

“I could burn the entire world to the ground, and it still wouldn’t be enough to get over you.”

She moves first, closing the distance between us and molding her lips to mine.

For a heartbeat, I don’t even kiss her back. I just soak in every detail—her skin, her taste, her scent.

Everything that makes Kasey who she is.

And then I do kiss her back, and I’m not sure I’ll ever stop.

I roll on top of her, bracing my arms on either side of her head. Kasey’s nails drag up my back, digging into my skin and pinning me to her. It’s a possessive hold that stirs the beast inside me, and I’m struck with the overwhelming need to claim her.

I take her bottom lip between my teeth and tug hard before diving back in. My tongue sweeps across hers, eliciting a whimper that sends a thrill through me as my hand gently brushes the skin beneath Kasey’s delicate neck.

I’d almost forgotten how fragile she feels, like a porcelain doll just begging to be broken.

“I missed you,” she murmurs against my lips.

“That’s because you were never meant to leave.”

Kasey swallows, and when she pulls back to meet my gaze, I can already read the message in hers.

“But you’re going to,” I say.

“I can’t stay here.”

“Why not?”

She places her hands on either side of my face, and I can’t help but lean into her gentle touch.

“Because nothing has changed.”

“Then we’ll change it.”

“So you’re ready to trust me?” she asks. “You’re ready to go back to the manor and let me stay here alone? To have Ford stop monitoring everything I do? To have Damon stop tracking my every move and trying to get me to confide in him?”

I open my mouth, but no words come out.

“That’s what I thought.”

“A lot has happened, and there’s nothing wrong with taking things slow,” I remind her.

“That isn’t taking things slow, Logan. It’s a complete lack of trust.”

“I’ll fix it.”

“It’s not just yours to fix,” she admits, guilt tinging her eyes.

With a deep breath, she pushes to sit with her back against the headboard. I sit up too, giving her the space she needs, even as I itch to keep her close.

“I should’ve told you everything from the start.

Maybe if I had, things would’ve turned out differently, but I was afraid.

Then my worst fears came true, and I spent months thinking I’d made the right choice.

Realizing now that it wasn’t—that I should’ve trusted you…

It’s not as easy as flipping a switch.” Her eyes drop to her hands, and she whispers, “I’m tired, Logan.

And I’m not sure how much more I can handle. ”

“What happened while you were gone?” I ask, unable to stop myself.

Maybe if she tells me, I’ll know how to fix this.

How to keep her.

A sad smile touches her lips. “You know I’m not going to talk about it.”

“Then at least tell me why you won’t talk about it.”

“Please, Logan,” she breathes, looking up at me through thick lashes. “Don’t ask me. I don’t want to deny you, but I can’t talk about it. So, please, don’t ask.”

I pull her to me, press my forehead to hers, and kiss her nose.

“I won’t ask tonight,” I tell her.

I will make no such promises for the future.

A knock at the door signals that our food has arrived. I get it from the hotel staff and take the tray to the bed.

We eat our tacos in the serene silence that has filled much of our night. It’s a state of being that I’m content to spend the rest of my life in.

Still, it’s nothing compared to hearing Kasey’s voice, so when we finish eating, I ask, “Why did you only give away fourteen of my cars?”

“Would you rather I’d given away all sixteen?”

“I’d rather you left them the hell alone, but since you didn’t, I’m curious to know why.”

She fights back a smile. “Losing all the cars would’ve been like ripping off a Band-Aid.

Painful, but quick.” She bites her bottom lip and grimaces before admitting, “I was hoping to inflict something more like… well, glass being picked out of an open wound and getting stitched up with nothing to numb the pain. I figured forcing you to pick which cars were most important would accomplish that.”

For a moment, all I can do is stare at her, watching a red hue creep up her cheeks—at least she has the good grace to look guilty.

“You’re despicable .”

She laughs. “I don’t think you want to start comparing sins.”

No, I do not.

Being forced to choose which cars to keep was cruel, but not necessarily difficult.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom Black was the first car in my collection—a present from my father when I was officially named his heir.

It’s a limited-edition model, one of only twenty-five made, and I wouldn’t part with it for anything.

The bright red Ford GT Carbon Series wasn’t a favorite of mine until recently, when my nephew decided it reminded him of Lightning McQueen .

It’s his favorite part of coming to Chicago, and he’d never forgive me for giving it away.

“I’d apologize, but I have a feeling you’ll enjoy rebuilding the collection,” she says with a half-shrug. “And you deserved it.”

“You can keep your apology. I’ll take knowing what you did while you were gone.” I lift a hand when she shoots me a warning glare and tell her, “You can share the details of your pastimes.”

“You ask like I went off on some self-improvement retreat.” She crosses her arms over her chest, but there’s no real defiance there.

I lift one eyebrow.

Kasey sighs. “Flea markets. I went every Saturday in Payson and stopped at a few others along the way.”

“Why?”

“They’re chaotic,” she says with a shrug. “Busy enough that I could blend in, but not too busy that I felt like anyone would recognize me. The booths are almost as interesting as the people-watching. It was easy to get lost for a while.”

“They helped you forget,” I say rather than ask.

Her smile is tinged with sadness. “Not all of us had motels to torch.”

“Just as well. It didn’t work.”

Her laugh is a soft, breathy sound that drives me to wrap my arms around her waist and pull her onto my lap. The lack of argument is a welcome change, and I revel in how freely she lets me hold her.

I take Kasey’s lips in a desperate kiss. With one hand gripping her waist and the other tangled in her curls, I hold her to me like an oxygen mask.

Kissing Kasey feels a lot more important than breathing.

Her body melts to mine, legs locking around my waist as her nails rake down my back, leaving scratches on the brink of breaking skin. Her lips part, and I accept the invitation with my tongue.

The animalistic, downright-violent passion is addictive. It’s a tsunami calling us to drown in its destruction, and we’re running to it like blind fools without a care in the world.

I fall onto the bed and roll over, so I’m holding myself over Kasey, our lips never breaking contact. My hand moves up her body, savoring the feel of her soft skin.

Feeling Kasey, tasting her, breathing her—it’s everything to me.

She is everything to me.

“Logan,” she pants, shaking her head in small movements, “I can’t.”

I cradle her face between my hands. “Are you okay?”

Her blue eyes shine with unshed tears, even as she nods.

“I just—I can’t.”

I kiss her temple and simply hold her. If I could, I’d spend the rest of my life right here.

But Kasey has other ideas.

She closes her eyes with a contented sigh, but when she opens them, she pushes herself to the edge of the bed.

“Where are you going?” I ask, hoping I haven’t completely screwed up the limited progress we’ve made tonight.

She grabs her clothes from where they lie in a pile on the floor. “It’s late, and we’ve had a long day. I should get to bed.”

“Kasey…”

She stops, studying me with something that looks a lot like hope. After a charged moment, where I could swear she has the ability to read my mind, Kasey gives me a small, almost imperceptible nod.

“Will you stay?” I whisper.

With a breathtaking—albeit tentative—smile, she nods.

She climbs back into the bed, curling into me like we were made for it, and I get the best sleep I’ve had in months, lying next to the only woman I’ve ever loved.