Page 15 of Puck’N Enemy (Thunder Knights #2)

Dylan

The small room smells like old library books, melon rinds, and Logan’s scent. I lie curled up against Logan, our bare chests rising and falling in sync. The air between us is still heavy with so many things unspoken, but right now, I just want to enjoy the peace and warmth of the moment.

Logan’s arm wraps around me, holding me against him. His skin is so warm, I feel like I’m lying beside a radiator.

Shifting slightly, I turn my face against the crook of Logan’s neck.

His hand instinctively moves to my hair, his fingers combing through the strands gently, like muscle memory. He still remembers the way he used to hold me in the dark like this.

A sudden, painful lump chokes me. “I thought I’d forgotten what this feels like,” I whisper.

“This is natural for us,” he whispers, his thumb brushing over my earlobe. “It’ll always feel good for us.”

An ache goes through me. I want Logan more than anything else in the world but I don’t know if I can stop him from slipping through my fingers again.

“I didn’t think you’d ever want to touch me again,” I murmur.

“What’re you talking about?”

“I hurt you, Logan,” I say in a cracked voice. “I didn’t just break your heart. I broke your body too.” My fingers caress an old scar on his chest. It could be the remnant of a hockey injury but it could’ve also been caused by me.

Leaning in, I kiss the faint mark.

A soft groan escapes him as he tightens his arms around me. “I never cared about what you did to my body,” he says with a sigh. “Bones mend, you know. What I couldn’t accept was the fact that you left without an explanation. I hated being abandoned by you.”

I pull back just enough to look into his dark brown eyes.

“I didn’t have a choice back then. It was the only way I could protect you.

Your mom saw me in the hospital while you were unconscious.

She wanted to know why you were hurt and I told her it was my fault.

But instead of hating me, she blamed herself for letting you get involved with a troubled kid like me. ”

“Mom said that?”

“It wasn’t her fault, Logan,” I say in a firm voice. “I hurt you so badly, you’d lost all consciousness. Your mom loves you. She was very upset to see you covered in bruises and lying in the emergency room.”

A wave of guilt washes over me.

“I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing,” I say in a low, anxious voice. “You’re in a good place right now. You’re the captain of your team and your fans love you. I don’t want to be the reason everything gets messed up again.”

A soft, grieving expression spreads on Logan’s face. He gently caresses my cheek.

“I need you to remember something, Dylan,” he croons. “I don’t need saving from you . You’ve always tried to protect me without caring about yourself. I need you to stop doing that now.”

“I can’t let anything happen to you, Logan.”

“Don’t you think I feel the same about you?

” he asks, his eyes burning with pain. “Every achievement felt hollow without you at my side. You were supposed to be there each time I won a game. We were even supposed to be playing for the same team. Have you forgotten all the promises we made to each other?”

I shake my head. “No. But I’m the one who broke them by hurting you.” My throat clenches with another painful sob.

For a moment, I have to look away as tears sting my eyes.

“Dylan, what’s wrong?” Logan asks, noticing the shift in my emotions.

“It’s just...just that I don’t know how to feel wanted anymore,” I admit in a low, barely audible voice. “Not without expecting it all to be taken away.”

Logan pulls me closer and presses his lips to my forehead.

“You won’t lose me this time because I refuse to allow you to run,” he says in a firm voice. “And don’t you worry about forgetting what it feels like to be wanted by me. I’ll remind you every single day.”

Suddenly, I feel him squeeze my bare ass cheek.

A surprised gasp escapes me as I stare at him with wide eyes.

“Did you just...”

His eyes shine with mischief. “This ass belongs to me,” he says, squeezing it again. “Both literally and figuratively.”

A strange sound, something between a scoff and a laugh, escapes me. “You’re such a dumb romantic.”

He presses his lips to my cheek. “Why do you have to keep pretending like you don’t love it?”

My lips twitch. It’s amazing how this guy can make me laugh right when I feel like my heart is breaking all over again.

“I do love it,” I confess, the words slipping free with surprising ease. “I always did. You’ve been the only thing in my life that’s ever made any sense to me.”

He kisses my lips and proceeds to nibble the shell of my ear.

“I always thought I was broken,” I continue, “but when I’m with you, it feels like...the pieces stop cutting me from the inside.”

“You’re not broken, Dylan,” Logan growls against my ear. “You’re just scarred. Like me. But it doesn’t matter. It never mattered when we were together.”

I bite down on my wobbling lip to stop the sob choking my throat.

“Okay,” I whisper a moment later. “I’ll trust you. I won’t run away this time.”

Logan presses his lips to mine. He’s gentle at first but soon, he’s kissing me like he’s starved of my taste.

“You’re done running from me, Dylan,” he growls against my lips. “I won’t let you go this time.”

Silent tears stream down my face as I kiss Logan back. For the first time in years, I don’t feel like I’m fighting my fate alone.

My eyes fall close as the day’s exhaustion finally overcomes me.