Page 44 of Meet Me in the Valley (Oakwood Valley #2)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

LOGAN

No more gaunt-faced lady. No more slanted rain pelting me in the face. And finally, my feet aren’t dragging through soaked grass as I chase a mirage who reaches for me like I’m the only thing keeping her alive.

Now, it’s silky hair. Soft skin and supple curves. Luscious lips and a warm body that fits perfectly against mine.

But I still wake to the soothing sounds of waves crashing from my phone, along with Tia’s even breathing in my ear and her leg slung over my hips.

She remembered.

My eyes open slowly, taking in the early morning sunlight filtering through the window. The calm that blankets the room comforts me. It’s busy and chaotic outside these walls, but when we’re here, just us two, there’s peace.

We’re naked, having no reason to clothe ourselves after our night of endless love-making.

Bed sex. Shower sex. Against the window sex. We defiled every inch of our hotel room in a marathon session that went on for hours on end, wringing each other’s bodies dry until we had absolutely nothing left in us. I’ve never slept better in my life.

My fingers absentmindedly trace the length of her spine, starting from the dimples right above her ass and up to the slender slope of her neck.

I’ve spent the better part of this weekend memorizing every curve and detail of Tia’s body, burning it into my mind so that even when I close my eyes, I can see her. All of her.

Pressing my lips to her forehead, Tia stirs, stretching her naked limbs against me as her eyes lazily open.

“Hi,” she hums, kissing the space below my ear. Just that small touch sends goosebumps trailing down my skin. Reaching over, I turn off the ocean sounds playing from my phone.

“Hey.” I roll on top of her, pinning her beneath me with my hips as her arms loop around the back of my neck.

It feels perfect like this. The warmth of our bodies from sleep radiates between us. Skin on skin, my heart to hers. When our mouths seek each other, it’s slow and unhurried. Here in this room, we’re free to get lost in each other where time has no concept.

This weekend unfolded like a slow dance of give and take, rich with taste, touch, and unfiltered exploration.

At times I have to stop myself and catch my breath when I’m hit with the sensation of falling.

Literally falling—like I’ve taken a step off the edge of Mount Everest as my stomach plummets and flips and my heart beats hard in my chest. It feels as if it’s going to break my ribs.

Our bodies impatiently roll against each other, creating hot friction as our breaths grow heavier and the beast of desire takes over.

“Mm, Lo?” Tia breathes against my lips, not breaking our heated kiss.

“Yeah, baby?” I leave her mouth to taste her neck, licking and sucking a wet path down from the column of her throat, across her collarbone, and onto her peaked nipples.

An unbidden whimper leaves her as my mouth seals over the metal bar of her piercing, selfishly tasting and claiming what’s mine.

She grips my hair as I work over her nipples, arching her back in a contortion of desire.

After a few delicious moments, she moves her hands to my face and angles me to meet her gaze.

Her hazel eyes glow with unadulterated lust, holding me hostage to them as she runs her fingers through my bed hair.

“Why’d you make me stop?”

“Me and you? Tell me it’s real,” she whispers.

Suddenly desire shifts to doubt swimming in her eyes, and I’m thinking of all the ways I can make her believe what we have is real.

Do I tell her it’s so real for me, I’m imagining building my house with her in mind? Do I tell her she’s the only one I see at the end of the aisle? That I want to see her barefoot and pregnant in my kitchen?

Tia, if nothing else, is the very definition of real to me. The kind of real that doesn’t fade, even when everything else does.

But doubt stares me straight in the face. And with it comes guilt, crashing over me in relentless waves.

The guilt I’ve been carrying since that night.

It’s easy to forget the bad when I’m holding something this good.

Too easy to turn a blind eye to Nora. To my mom.

To what happened with Krista.

Tia and I have fallen trap to the newness of us, uncaring about anything and anyone who tries to break down the perfectly protected walls we’ve surrounded ourselves with. Where no one is allowed, and nothing bad can touch us there.

Those three words are right there, dancing on the tip of my tongue. And the terrifying part is—I actually fucking mean it.

I love her. Wholly. Devastatingly. Maddeningly in love with Tia Young.

Even through the doubt and the crippling guilt, I love her.

But I can’t fully give her everything until I rid myself of this guilt. The love I have means jack shit if we harbor secrets, and I can’t avoid it any longer. We’ve never kept secrets from each other.

I came to Vegas to prove not only to Tia, but to myself that I can be a man deserving of real love.

The easiest decision I could ever make was to give up the life I lived before this weekend with her.

Every one-night stand, every random faceless woman, every bad decision—I give it all up to be a man deserving.

And Tia has to know my truth before I can fully give her what she deserves— my whole fucking heart and soul.

My hands gently cradle her face, holding my entire world in my palms. I tremble above her, breath stuttering and heart thrashing. Tia sees my hesitance, and I can imagine she’s thinking it’s not real for me when, in fact, it’s the complete opposite.

She tries to soothe me, running her soft hands over my shoulders, then resting them right on top of my heart that no doubt belongs to her.

“Your heart is beating so fast, Lo.”

I know.

“I want to give you everything, T. I’ve never been in a relationship before.

Not a real one, anyway. You know me better than I know myself.

You know how I operate, my motives, my routines.

God, I look at you now like I’ve looked at you a million times before, but I see you now.

I know I’ll get it wrong from time to time because, fuck, I don’t know what I’m doing.

But I’ll do it for you. Whatever you want, I’ll do it. ”

The words come out in a rush, like one held breath into a long exhale. The corner of her lips curve into a small smile as she brushes her fingers softly over my lips. I capture the pads of her fingers, kissing each one.

I fight the urge to devour her mouth again, wishing that was the end of what I had to say. Her hazel eyes regard me with adoration, and time suspends between us, hanging like the heavy truth I need to speak.

“I don’t want there to be any secrets between us.”

Her face flickers with doubt at the same time her chest rises in quick, uneven bursts like fear is tightening its grip around us.

“Of course. What is it, Lo? You’re scaring me.”

Please don’t hate me.

“I slept with Krista.”

Inside my head, I’m crouched down in a ball, covering my ears to wait for the explosion that’ll burn the hairs off my face. I wait, and I wait, but it never comes.

The trepidation in her gaze leaves, wiped clean without a word. What’s left in her eyes isn’t rage or heartbreak. It’s colder than that.

Disappointed. Detached. Final.

Like she’s already done with me.

“You’re lying.” Her hands move down to her sides, and I’m already wishing they were back on me, soothing me and keeping me connected to her.

My stomach twists as the thought of losing her hits.

I shake my head hard, trying to knock loose the right words, but the only thing I can muster up is an empty silence.

“You’re lying,” she repeats, squirming out from beneath me to sit higher on the bed. I lean back on my haunches, running one hand through my hair and gripping the sheet with the other to keep from reaching out to pull her against me.

“T, I’m?—”

“Tell me you’re lying.” Her voice is hollow, almost no emotion lacing it at all.

A defeated sigh leaves me. Tia clutches the bedsheet higher to cover herself. She’s doing it to shield herself from me. The realization stings.

“I wish I was,” I admit. The confession does nothing to erase the look of anguish on her face. “It meant nothing to me.”

“When?” is all she says, barely above a harsh whisper.

“Um … well …” I hesitate, already fucking hating myself.

“Just say it, Logan.”

“The night before I got here.”

The shock on Tia’s face might as well be a backhand across my cheek. She moves to leave the bed, pulling the sheet with her to cover herself. Desperation fills me as I watch her toss clothes from piles on the floor in the air, slipping on her bra and underwear at lightning speed.

“Tia, please. Let me explain.”

She unzips her suitcase, digging out a pair of fresh leggings and a t-shirt. She ignores me completely, dressing herself and simultaneously shoving discarded clothes from the floor into her luggage.

She’s packing.

“Tia, stop. Please let me explain.”

“Why her?” she shouts, finally letting the dam of emotions break. “Out of all the women you could have in your bed, why her?” Her stare could cut glass. Being on the receiving end of her ire is like being stabbed in the gut, and I’m the one wielding the knife.

No explanation could justify my actions that night.

I know no matter what I say, the damage is done.

But I’ll do my best to rectify my mistakes because I’m desperately in love with this woman.

I find my briefs on the floor next to the bed, slipping them on quickly as the sharp edge of her gaze cuts me deep.

“You told me you felt nothing for me. I asked you, remember? At the airport. You denied me, and I fucking spiraled. I’m not using that as an excuse for my actions, but it fucked me up more than I expected. I didn’t realize then that I had already fallen for you.”