Page 27

Chapter 27

Logan

Selena goes on to talk about other players and the hopes she has for us. Dinner ends with the silent charity auction. Everyone grabs a drink and ambles through tables full of donated pieces of art, charity organizations set ups, and other prizes designed to make every guest spend money. Whenever Evie gets distracted by someone excited to see her at the gala, I handle it by putting her name and my billing number together on a donation, so it appears under her name but I pay for it. I don't know if and when she might realize, but it's fine.

Evie stands a couple of tables away from me. I gaze at her, who grins at someone I'm pretty sure is in the front office as well. My heart skips a beat— again. She looks delectable in this dress, just like I knew she would, and I can't stop thinking of the way she smiled at me when Selena praised my work.

I've known for a while that I want more with Evie, even when I couldn't define what that was. That's not a problem anymore. While the owner highlighted how close I was to achieving everything I wanted out of this season and promised even more, an insistent thought tolled in my head until I couldn't think of anything else .

I am close to getting everything I want, but I want Evie more than anything.

I study her, with her graceful, open movements just a few steps away from me. She laughs, and the sight catches in my chest.

"I give it a month." Saint shows up next to me, his eyes on Evie as well.

I raise an eyebrow at him. "A month to… what?"

"Until you two start dating."

"We're not together." I shake my head. "Neither of us is looking to date."

A frown gets added for good measure. Even if I'm having trouble remembering why I said I wasn't interested in dating at the moment.

"In fact," he continues as if I hadn't said anything, "I'm considering putting it on the Hypersquared board."

"Don't you dare." The words come out through my teeth. "Not that."

"Fine." He shrugs good-naturedly. "I won't. But be good to her, okay? I think she would be good to you, too."

"You have no idea what's between us." I keep my tone stern but even. "Or how good we could really be to each other."

"I know she has a generous heart, though protected. I can see you care about her, too." He puts a hand on my shoulder. "All I'm saying is I'd be happy to see you both happy."

"Why are you telling me this now? I thought the intervention already happened."

"Because if you haven't seen it yet, there's a new video in the group chat. Nat was recording the hall when you arrived, and ended up filming you and Evie and— well. It shows a lot of what's going on. Just like the way you keep seeking each other out tells me a lot."

I bite on the inside of my lip and gaze at Evie. She casts her eyes at me. The connection grips me by the guts. Her features soften. I have to take a long, deep breath to keep myself in check.

Fuck. I want a lot with Evie. Everyone seems to see it .

Saint sighs next to me. "Not all of us get a chance to pursue who we really want, Logan. Play this right, and you might get the biggest prize of all."

I wrap up a conversation with some of the guests at the gala, and make my way to Evie. I find her near the center fountain chatting with Bear and Saint.

She laughs at something Bear says. It illuminates the room, and a few of the light rays spear through my organs.

I step close to her and I can't help it, I put a hand on her lower back. The dress is soft and soothing under my hand, and I need the connection.

She gazes up at me, the million fairy lights in the room reflecting in her eyes.

I'm so gone.

"Logan." She grins. "These two bandits here tell me there's a video you have to show me."

"Mmh." I frown. "I've heard about the video, but I haven't watched it."

"It's only fair if you two watch it." Bear's smile whitens the scar on his top lip. "That was the council's decision— if we watched it, so should you both."

Evie raises both eyebrows. "Should I be worried?"

"I don't think so." Saint's dimples show, even though his smile is minimal. "But text me if you want to brainstorm what it means."

"That sounds like a trap." My eyes narrow.

Saint raises a cheeky eyebrow. "Hey, some of us are jealous because we've tried for years to get Evie to spend time with us and we couldn't."

"Jealous?" Evie laughs as if it's a joke.

I know it isn't.

"Everyone is happy to spend more time with you," I say.

"But as much as I want more time with Evie, I should get going." Bear checks the expensive watch on his wrist, which doesn't do much to hide the tattoos peeking out of his shirt sleeve and crawling to his hand. "I should get going. "

"I'll go out with you. Bye, guys," Saint says to Evie and I. "I hope you two have a wonderful night."

I narrow my eyes at him but say nothing.

"Can I give you a hug, Evie?" Saint asks. "It feels wrong to say goodbye and walk away, just like that. It's okay to say no, of course."

"Aw, you're sweet." Evie steps away from me and walks into Saint's arms for a quick hug.

Bear opens his arms too, and she walks into them with a laugh. He squeezes her until she groans.

"Wow, Leon! That's what I call a hug."

The big bearded man grins. "I reserve it only for cool people, so obviously you get one."

I frown. I'm not jealous per se— the guys are not trying to seduce Evie— not that I am either— or not the way Saint keeps suggesting— as of now, anyway. Bets are off for what might happen later tonight.

The point is, they hug her in ways I haven't gotten to hug her yet, and there's something about it that scratches at my brain.

I nod my goodbyes to Leon and Saint, and they walk away.

Evie turns to me. "So, the video? Are we watching it?"

I study her. No traces of the past few days show on her face.

"We haven't had much of a chance to talk today," I say.

She cocks her head and gazes at me with humor in her eyes. "You want to chat?"

"Among other things."

"Like what other things?"

"Watching the video."

"What else?"

"Did you see there's a terrace behind those vines?" I point with a gesture of my head. "It's a nice set up to film some extra content."

"Will you do anything to get me alone, Logan King? "

Her smile is definitely flirty. It does things to my lower belly, and to the flow of my blood.

I raise an eyebrow. "I don't know. Have you decided what you want from me?"

She stares at me for a few seconds. "Quality social media content is a good start."

I cock my head toward the vines obscuring the large glass doors. "After you."

She starts filming the moment we step outside. It's a classic set up, like one might see in an old stately home in Europe. The terrace is built in white stone, bound by ornamental columns and barriers at waist level. They open into a short staircase leading to a manicured garden, big enough for an outdoor party in warmer temperatures. Large terracotta pots hold plants and flowers spilling down from wide mouths, and hedges of deep green delineate the solid structures.

With hands deep in my pockets, I stroll toward the stairs and gaze down to the garden. She comes close and circles me, recording me from different angles. Whenever she crosses in front of me, I track her with my eyes but don't move.

"You look handsome," she says. "They'll eat it up."

Her attention is my kryptonite. I take off my jacket and, hooked from my fingers, I let it hang around my shoulder.

I don't look at the camera. I look at her, and the way she licks her lips.

She stands still, phone still pointed in my direction, like she wants to see what I'll do next.

I walk to her.

"How would you like me?" I ask.

"Loosen your tie."

Heat sparks to life in my belly. I bring my hand to my neck, pull at my tie, and open the button behind it. All the while, my eyes remain on her.

"Go all the way," she says.

I take a step closer to her. Her lips part. With my free hand, I loosen the knot further and pull again, until the strip of silk falls from my shoulders. I make a show of dropping it on the floor, before I run my fingers through my hair .

I take another step and gaze at her. "Do you like to see me following your instructions?"

She takes a deep breath and doesn't respond directly.

"Undo a couple of shirt buttons." She bites her lip.

I drop my jacket to the floor and do as told. A smattering of goosebumps appear on her skin.

It's winter, and she should be getting really cold outside in only her dress. If she's feeling anything like me, she doesn't notice the temperature, because heat builds quick inside.

I want her to feel like me.

"How do you want me?" I ask again. My voice comes out deep and roughened up.

I'm getting hard. All because she's looking at me with ardent eyes, and using the camera as a shield.

"How far will you go?" she asks.

"As far as you like… as long as you let me take control back."

"I meant with the game."

I arch an eyebrow. "The one you and I play?"

"The season. Playoffs. Fuck." She straightens and drops the hand holding the phone to her side. "I can't use that on social media."

"Is that really what we're doing here?"

I come close enough that she has to dip her head back to keep her eyes on me. I'm not sure if she's still recording, but I don't mind either way.

"Tell me how you want me, Evie."

"Logan…"

"Tell me you want me."

"Of course I want you!" she finally admits. "But whatever incredible sex we might indulge in again, it can't get in the way of— of—"

"It doesn't have to get in the way of anything. We can feel good and make this whatever we want it to be. Including friendship at the end. "

"You can't offer me that and be all nice to me in your own ways, to then take it away, Logan. That would be cruel."

"I don't intend to. I'm a greedy man. I want it all. To do the things I'm craving to do to you and when we're done, let it change to something different. Something good. I never make promises I won't keep. If you want me to promise, I will."

"Logan—"

"Have I ever given you a reason to think you can't trust me?"

She doesn't answer, but her head moves from side to side. Her pull back is enough to trigger something in me. Emotions rush like a tidal wave in my chest, and only fierce determination can tighten my muscles and turn them into a sea wall.

"Dammit, Evie. I'm here shaking with the need to kiss you, fisting my hands so I don't grab you and say, 'fuck it. I need you'. I'm holding back because, as much as I want you, I want you to say yes to me even more. But only if you mean it. So I can't push. I can only wait, and it's killing me."

Her chest works faster. The neckline of her dress digs into her breasts, and all I can think is that I want my hands on her again, all over, all night.

"Evie." I groan. "Tell me what you want."

She gulps. Her lips press close together. I'm about to break.

"Say— 'fuck it'." She takes a step closer, and now we're a breath apart. "Say 'fuck it', Logan. I need you to push. I want you to."

I narrow my eyes and search her face for signs. All I see is determination that mirrors my own. A want that echoes what I feel.

"Fuck," I say. "Do you mean that?"

"Say 'fuck it' and kiss me. Break for me."

Resolve shines in her eyes.

I break.

"Fuck it," I say.

I pull her close. The world disappears. I kiss her .

I'm lost in her. All at once, adrift. Her lips on mine again are all I know. Her arms entwine around me, and there's nothing shy about the way I grab her ass and crush her against me. She moans— I do too.

It's a kiss six years in the making. It erases the moment I woke up and she was gone. It repairs the kisses I wanted to give her and couldn't. Her tongue drives me wild, like it did in that bar all that time ago. Both moments exist at once… us back in that small dorm room, and us today in fancy clothes as the gala dwindles.

"Promise me, Logan," she pants. "Tell me this isn't a mistake."

"It's not a mistake. I won't let it be."

She kisses me again. I'm hard against her, and she leans on me like she's one second away from climbing me.

"Take me home," she says, and I take her away by the hand, leaving my suit jacket and tie forgotten behind.