Page 15 of Stitch & Steel
Fifteen
BELLA
I heard the low growl of his engine before I saw him.
Scout perked up from his nap near the porch swing, tail thumping, eyes sharp.
My heart answered in kind—thudding the same way it always did now when Logan appeared.
I knew I shouldn’t have waited outside like some lovestruck teenager, but I couldn’t help it.
He hadn’t been gone more than a few hours, but it felt like days.
His boots hit the porch and then he was there, towering over me, dark eyes stormy and tired. Still, he looked like everything good I ever wanted to believe in.
“You good?” he asked, voice lower than usual.
I nodded, stepping closer. “You?”
He didn’t answer right away. Just pulled me into his chest, holding me so tight I felt the beat of his heart through his kutte. Scout gave a low, contented bark and padded back inside, giving us privacy.
Logan pulled back just enough to look at me.
“I have to go,” he said, brushing my hair behind my ear. “Out of state. Club business. Couple days max.”
My stomach knotted. “Out of state?”
“North border. Cartel contact needs cleanup.” His jaw ticked. “I wouldn’t leave if I didn’t have to, Bella. Not now.”
Something inside me cracked open.
“I know,” I whispered. “It’s just—this feels familiar.”
His brow furrowed. “Familiar how?”
“Like Gran’s story,” I said, chest tightening. “Her first love rode away and never came back. Left her hanging between memory and mystery. Don’t do that to me, Logan. Promise me… promise me this is the start, not the finish.”
His arms flexed, hauling me into him like he could physically fight the fear away. “Damn right it’s the start,” he growled. “You’re it for me, Bella Grace. I’ll ride through hellfire before I don’t come back to you.”
I buried my face in his shoulder, my fingers clutching the leather over his spine. He smelled like pine, smoke, and temptation—and I didn’t want to let go.
But Logan had a way of turning even the most serious moments into scorched-earth declarations.
Without warning, he gripped my thighs, lifted me off the porch, and I instinctively wrapped my legs around him. My back hit the cabin wall and suddenly I was pinned—flushed, breathless, aching.
“You in those gym shorts is straight-up cruel,” he murmured, grinding his hard length against the heat between my legs. “Makes me wanna mark you before I ride out.”
I whimpered, clutching his neck. “Logan…”
“Don’t tell me you took a morning after pill, baby,” he said, low and rough. “’Cause I wouldn’t give a damn if last time made more than just memories.”
His words punched breath from my lungs.
“You want that?” I whispered. “ Really ?”
“I want whatever keeps you tied to me.” He kissed the edge of my mouth, then deeper, fiercer, like we were making vows with our lips. “I want more of you. All of you. Always.”
Tears stung behind my lids—but they didn’t fall. I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat.
“I’ll trust in fate,” I said. “The way I trust you.”
He smiled against my mouth. “That’s my girl.”
And then he kissed me like I was his religion.
We barely heard the door creak open behind us.
“Oh heavens,” Gran said, fanning herself with a folded newspaper. “That’s one way to say goodbye.”
I laughed through a tearful gasp as Logan set me down gently, brushing one last kiss over my temple. “I’ll check in tonight,” he said. “Every night. Don’t open that door for anyone but our guys. And don’t worry—Bear’s crew is tight.”
I nodded.
Scout whined as Logan walked to his bike, as if he knew what goodbye sounded like.
He threw one last look over his shoulder—eyes locked on mine—before the engine roared to life. A promise on two wheels.
I stood with Gran and Scout on the porch, arms wrapped around myself, watching his taillights disappear down the mountain road… only this time, hired security replaced the familiar faces in the tree line.
And I hoped fate was still listening.