Chapter 3
The vulnerable, scared feeling left as soon as she straddled her Ninja and sped off into the night. By the time Max got to the penthouse, she was brimming with energy and excitement at seeing Logan. She crept in on silent feet, knowing he�d be at his computer. To his credit, he didn�t jump when she leaned against the doorframe, crossed her arms, cocked her head and said "hey" in a casual voice. He swiveled around in his chair and gave her an enormous grin that lit up his eyes and made her heart melt.
"Welcome back."
"Thanks for the welcoming committee," Max said, holding up the hand with the ring on it. "If I go away for a month you think you can scrounge up some motor oil?"
"I�ll check my sources. What made you stop by?"
"Oh, just came to see if you needed any help with your rehab."
"Bling�s got that under control."
"I meant� motivationally," Max said, slowly looking him up and down. He returned the favor and his grin got downright goofy.
Max thought about what Herbal had said about their conversations being mostly foreplay and had to agree with him. In the twenty seconds she�d been in Logan�s presence she�d fantasized about ripping his clothes off four times, with variations on the sex that came after. Those thoughts were squelched when she remembered why she came over in the first place.
"You were right about Jondy," Max said, staying in the doorway. "She was running a shelter for runaways in Portland. We got to talk a little�I think she thought I lived in Portland too the way she kept talking about streets like I knew them."
"She�s not here," Logan stated the obvious.
"More men than I could fight�I�m assuming Lydecker�s goons�cornered her in the youth center and dragged her away screaming at the top of her lungs. We both knew it was tactical suicide for me to reveal myself so I stayed with the kids and tried to rein in the chaos. Followed the van for a while, but lost it at the border. So I�m back."
"Max, I�m so sorry."
"Why? It was a good lead. At least I know she�s alive and well. Or, she was until they got her. So, you wanna run a check on the van�s plates?"
"Maybe later," Logan said, concerned at her lack of emotion. "Max, are you okay?"
"Yeah," she lied.
Logan stood up and reached for his arm braces. The crutches helped him take three slow but sure steps over to where Max stood, and then he leaned them up against the wall so he�d have his arms free to hug her. She wasn�t looking him in the eye, though, and he was afraid she�d bolt if he touched her. Something had to break down her defenses before she became completely unreachable. He reached out a hand and brushed some of her dark, silken curls behind her ear. His fingers remained on her neck, softly stroking the sensitive skin below her ear as his thumb brushed over her full lips. He felt the shudder go through her an instant before she leaned forward and rested her head on his shoulder.
Logan was taller than Max, but no so much that her head didn�t fit perfectly in the soft space between his neck and shoulder. Her arms came around him a second after he embraced her, reveling in the feel of being able to hold her full length against him. They�d made out once with Max on his lap in the wheelchair, but it was uncomfortable in more ways than one. This way, his hands were free to roam all the way down her back and he took advantage of that, lightly skimming the seat of her pants to see if she�d object.
Max didn�t object. She felt like she was in heat, which she knew wouldn�t happen until the following week. Her nerve endings stood up and danced a tango when he touched her, surprising since he hadn�t even kissed her. He was just holding her, running his hands over her hair, her back, the backs of his fingers along the side of her face so tenderly she wanted to weep. Maybe that�s what she needed to do. Just let go of some of that emotional energy she couldn�t sleep off. See if Eyes Only could handle a full-on hysterical female chimera.
Logan chose that moment to brush his lips over her temple. Max eagerly picked her face up to be kissed, but he was just content to look at her, roving his eyes around her created features like he�d just invented the wheel.
"I don�t wanna go slow," she choked out, reading his mind. "I just want you."
"Ah," Logan stammered, and actually blushed. "Slight resource problem in the defense department."
"Eyes Only, man who defies the black market to get oranges and real china, can�t get condoms?" Max teased lightly.
"I had a stash," he confessed, the blush leaving his handsome face. "But I bribed Kendra with them to let me into your room. Kind of ironic, now that I think about it."
Max smiled, pleased that Kendra had put up a fight for her and also that Logan had just admitted his mind was moving in the same direction as hers. She ran her fingertips over his face, scratching the hair on his cheek with her nails. God, he was beautiful.
"No big dealio," she said casually. "There are other things we can do� if you shave, that is."
"Max," Logan said in exultation, pressing a hard kiss to her mouth. She gasped a little at the force of pleasure that jolted her entire body, opening her mouth to make the kiss hotter, faster, combustible. The man could kiss. Seriously. Max pulled away for air several long minutes later, surprised to see his shirt unbuttoned and her shirt completely missing. She looked down at her bra, both glad she�d worn the pretty black one and wondering when she�d lost her shirt.
"Damn, Logan, you sure can distract a girl," she grinned, reaching for his belt with a �take no prisoners� look in her eye. Logan laughed and covered her hands with his, gently stopping her.
"Want me to lose the scruff, right?" he said, and reached for his braces. Max proudly watched him slip his arms down the metal and grasp hold of the bars, knowing he was making a remarkable recovery. She was still in shock at seeing him upright, but walking was making her mind spin. He moved slowly towards the bathroom and promised to be out shortly.
Max didn�t know how long he�d take, and used the time to slip out of her clothes and into his bed. The sheets were cool against her skin and smelled like Logan. When Logan emerged from the bathroom wearing his boxer shorts, Max scooted up and propped her head up on her hand.
"Nice," she appraised him coolly. "I liked the scruffy, dangerous look, but, y�know."
"I know," Logan told her, patiently moving towards the bed. It was pleasant shock to reach his hand out and find nothing but Max beneath the sheets, though in the back of his head was a thought that he�d have to undress her inch by inch the next time.
Next time.
"Max," he began, trailing his fingers up and down the curve of her arm, "I know I�m going to say this wrong, but I have to try."
"Don�t tell me not everything�s been fixed in rehab," she teased him gently.
"That was never a problem," Logan said evenly. "I just want you to know that I care for you very deeply and I want things to work out between us. Our relationship."
"Writing love notes and making up when we fight instead of hauling ass out of town, right? Sharing our innermost secrets? Word on the street is that Max Guevara is on the icy side of the Pacific."
Logan mourned the hurt in her voice, bitterness left over from her last boyfriend. He obviously couldn�t have been a great evolutional specimen.
"You don�t feel cold to me," he told her, moving his hand lower and watching her eyes grow dark with desire. "I�m saying I like your heart and I want to see more of it and I�m not going to push you. I just want you to�"
"To love you back," Max finished his sentence. "You can say the word, Logan, I�m not gonna bolt. I know there�s something between us other than a fling. I get practically non-verbal before we get together for dinner�I actually try on more than one outfit. And sometimes when you page me, I get so nervous I feel sick. Kendra says I might be suffering from the whole love thing. I told her it�s a suffering I don�t mind, as long as you�re in it with me. Are you�?"
"One hundred percent," Logan promised. "We�ll figure it out."
"Together."
