Title: Escape Routes
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Veronica can't runaway from things forever. Sometimes she has
to jump off a building as well. (Veronica/Logan)
Spoilers: Up to 1.22.
Disclaimer: Sadly, none of these characters belong to me. They are the
property of the wonderful Rob Thomas and all his genius.
This was written for slodwick's Worst-Case Scenerio, Survival Handbook, Multi-Fandom Fic Challenge. Many, many thanks go to mciac and nm973 for their great advice. All remaining errors are of course, all mine.
Feedback: Always welcome. You can email me at lunasky @ gmail.com.
Veronica quickly swerved her beat-up old Datsun onto a side street and threw it into park, barely avoiding a stall. She was still learning the ins and outs of driving manual, but she’d already decided that she hated it. It didn’t let her keep a free hand. Unfortunately, it was the only thing they could afford at the moment and she knew she was lucky to have it.
She also knew that she was lucky about a lot of things, so she tried not to think about it too much. She hated to sound ungrateful.
She got out of the car and shivered. Pulling her sweater tight helped keep back the chill, but it didn’t protect her from the predatory glances of the men hanging around the lamppost. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. This wasn’t the safest part of town, and if time hadn’t been so short, she would have enlisted Wallace’s help or better yet, Weevil’s. At the very least, she wanted to kick herself for not taking Backup.
Then again, if time hadn’t been so short, she probably would have found a moment to talk herself out of this. Staying on the move was the name of the game these days.
Hearing sirens in the distance, Veronica got back on task. Knowing her father, he was probably only a few minutes behind her, along with a few squad cars of Neptune’s finest. She had no time to waste. After all, Logan couldn’t be accused of resisting arrest if they never found him in the first place.
Veronica spotted the bright yellow XTerra across the street, and then looked around at the decrepit buildings. She didn’t have time to search them all, but wagered that the one with the seedy-looking bar on the main floor was probably the one she was looking for.
She hopped off the curb and dodged a passing car before making her way across.
Opening the door to the bar, the acrid smell of tobacco blasted her in the face. She had to blink her eyes rapidly for several seconds to adjust to the dim lighting and the clouds of smoke, but eventually, she saw him. Across the room, Logan sat sprawled on a chair, playing poker with a bunch of surly, drunken guys.
Despite the urgency, she found herself frozen, and unable to move any closer. Her breathing quickened and she had to fight the hysterical urge to turn tail and run. Seeing him like this?unshaven, with bloodshot eyes, and playing cards in a sea of cigar smoke?drove a spike of fear through her body.
It was as bad as she thought and she’d been right to avoid him these last six weeks. She could hardly recognize him. His eyes were sunken in, as if too little sleep and too much booze were the norm now instead of only occasional. She could practically feel his pain radiating outwards from him and it scared the hell out of her.
Someone jarred her shoulder trying to get past, and the bar suddenly seemed even smaller. She forced herself to look down at her watch and noticed that, thankfully, only a few minutes had passed since she parked the car. Time. Time was of the essence and that was all she needed to remember.
It wouldn’t matter what he said. It wouldn’t matter if he screamed or cursed at her. She told herself that she could handle it for as long as it took to get him somewhere safe. So long as he came with her. He could hate her as much as he wanted, so long as he just kept moving. She couldn’t let him get turned over to the cops, again. She owed him that much.
As she approached the table, the smell of cigar and body odor became almost unbearable. She opened her mouth to breathe, but found that the air filled her mouth like a thick, dirty rag. She forced the bile back down her throat.
It took a moment before he looked up, but his reaction when he did was not what she expected. He just stared at her.
“Logan. Can I talk to you?” She forced the words out of her mouth.
He looked back down at his cards and discarded an eight of spades.
“It’s really important.”
“And it’s nice to see you too, sweetie,” Logan drawled, without looking at her, his sarcasm all too familiar. Then he gestured to the dealer. “Hit me.”
She took his cards and threw them down on the table. Then dragging him up by his arm, she managed to get him two steps away from the table.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Logan yelled, forcing her to stop and ripping his arm away.
Just at that moment, the door to the bar swung open and one of the deputy sheriffs walked in. She grabbed Logan’s arm again, and dragged him down so that they were hidden behind another table.
“Shhh,” she hissed, imploring him to be quiet. Surprisingly, he listened. He followed her eyes until he saw the sheriff and then she felt him stiffen up.
“Are you in trouble?” he asked, the sarcasm and anger gone from his voice.
She shook her head. “Not me, they’re looking for you.”
“Me?” Logan said incredulously.
She studied his face for a moment before sagging slightly in relief. If he really was guilty, then he wouldn’t look so surprised.
“Just trust me on this, okay? I’ll explain everything as soon as we get out of here. Look,” she said, pointing to the doors that the servers used. “There should be an exit out back that we can use.”
Veronica turned on her heel, keeping her body low. Slowly, making her way around the table, she darted for the kitchen door when the sheriff was looking the other way. As she swung it open, she felt Logan close on her heels.
Muttering excuses to the staff, she continued to push her way back until she found the exit. The cool, fresh air that hit her as she threw open the door was incredibly refreshing.
It still surprised her that she felt claustrophobic so easily these days. She fought the desire to put her head between her legs and looked around instead. Unfortunately, her head started to spin again when she noticed that they were on a small fire escape, and there was barely enough room for them both. Below, she saw that the cop had parked his car in the alleyway below. They were trapped, again.
She looked up and made the decision easily. Any way out was better than no way out. “Come on, let’s go up to the roof. It won’t take them long to figure out where we went, and we need to buy ourselves some time.”
Logan nodded, so she turned towards the ladder and climbed up to the second story. The roof was empty save for a service shed and provided them with easy access to the roof of the next building as well. They made their way over several buildings, hopping the few feet from rooftop to rooftop easily.
That is until they came to the sixth building at the end of the block. Veronica looked over the edge and down into the alleyway below. The ladder to the fire escape was missing.
“We’re gonna have to jump, I think.”
“What?” Logan asked, coming to stand beside her. He looked down. “If you just said what I think you said, you can forget it.”
“There’s a garbage dumpster over there that we can jump into.”
At that moment, two more cop cars drove down the street.
“No way in hell. Not until you start telling me what the hell is going on.” He stood firm next to the ledge and crossed his arms. “Why the hell are they looking for me?”
Veronica looked at his hard expression and knew that she had to do some talking, fast. The problem was she had no idea how he was going to take the news.
“Logan, something’s happened to your father today and they’re blaming you for it.”
He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to her. “What happened?”
“He was stabbed in the mess hall during a small riot at lunch. They rushed him to the hospital, but he lost a lot of blood. He’s in a coma right now, and they don’t know if he’s going to wake up.”
Logan closed his eyes and rocked back on his heels. For a moment, Veronica thought he was going to faint. Instead, he opened his eyes and gave her a small, alcohol-induced smile. “So? What’s the problem?”
“The problem is that they found the guy who did it, and he admitted to being paid off. Everyone knows how much you hate your father, which makes you the prime suspect. About an hour ago, I overheard my father talking on the phone and it sounded like they were looking for you. Apparently, they found some evidence and they wanted to pick you up.”
“So once again, you’re here to save the day?” A bit of the bitterness returned to his voice. “You know you really need to get a better outfit. All the cool superheroes have spandex.”
Veronica grabbed his arm and brought him towards the edge of the roof. “Look, you can hate me all you want for what happened. That’s fine. Let’s just get away from here so that I can find out what evidence they have against you.”
He gave her an odd, penetrating look and then turned away. Looking down towards the street he half mumbled to himself. “You have got to be kidding.”
“Don’t leap, just jump straight down, and aim for the center. When you’re in the air, do half a summersault so that you can land flat on your back, and you’ll be fine.”
“Funny, but I don’t see your cape,” he said, looking back at her.
“Trust me.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “How many buildings have you jumped off of?”
Veronica gave him a small shrug. “None. But they teach us this in Private Eye School. Come on.”
Without wasting time, she grabbed his hand and pulled him off the roof with her.
She was pretty sure that the scream that came out didn’t belong to her, but she couldn’t be sure. Fighting the panic and the horrible stomach dropping sensation, Veronica forced her eyes open and concentrated on following her own instructions. She tucked her head into her chest and let her momentum turn her around. Before she could even think about it, she landed with a whoosh and a thud as the wind got knocked right out of her.
Damn, but gravity always won, didn’t it?
She opened her eyes and tried to catch her breath. A surge of adrenaline was coursing through her veins and she had the feeling that if she tried to tense any of her muscles, they’d start to tremble from the strain. A groan from her right made her look there first, but she couldn’t see anything except the garbage bags that had broken her fall. Then she realized that she was still clutching Logan’s hand, so she gave it a squeeze.
“You okay?” She found her voice.
Logan groaned again and took his hand back from her. “You just pulled me off the roof of a building. What do you think?”
There was something jabbing her in the shoulder and when she turned to look, she was grateful that she hadn’t landed a few more inches to the left. She tried to roll out of the hole she’d created, but it was too difficult. The bags were slippery and kept rolling her back into the middle whenever she tried to shift around. It didn’t help that her legs were shaking so badly that she couldn’t get them to hold any weight.
“Ugh. What’s that smell?” Logan asked as she heard him move around. “And what’s…ugh. Never mind.” She looked up to see him kneeling over her.
Veronica gagged as the smells started to overpower her ability to ignore them. Logan offered her his hand, which she eagerly accepted. He hauled her up. Once she was more or less out of her hole, she noticed that he was bracing himself on some broken down boxes that had also been tossed in the dumpster.
“That would be the remains of someone’s dinner special, I think,” he said, pointing to something slimy that she was kneeling in. “I remember seeing a sign: Two-for-One, Fried Catfish Special over at the Blue Armadillo tonight.”
She tried to stand so that she could jump out of the dumpster but she slipped on the catfish special. She stumbled right into him and he caught her. For a moment, all she felt was the firm pressure of his chest against her cheek and she sagged against him. She had forgotten how strong he could be. He pushed her away gently.
“You, okay?” he whispered.
She nodded, but his arms stayed around her as they made their way to
the edge of the dumpster. Taking care not to trip on any of the junk
that was interspersed amongst the rotting food, they eventually made
it. He helped her out, jumping down after her.
She leaned over, finally taking a moment to put her head between her
legs, and let her breathing calm down. When she looked back up, she found
him looking around the corner.
“Coast is clear.”
Veronica stood up. Her legs were still shaking but at least she had her breathing under control. Besides, she couldn’t stop now. “Do you have any cash?”
Logan gave her a look that asked if she was kidding. “We can just use my card.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s probably how they tracked you to begin with. We can’t use our cars… they’ll be looking for them. I have some cash for a cab. I guess we can figure the rest out later.”
~~~
Veronica threw open the door to the motel room and breathed a sigh of relief as she flicked on the light. They had made it, although finding a cab had been trickier than she thought it would be. It was only when she offered to pay three times the fare that the cab driver willingly took them and their horrible smell.
Logan collapsed on the small chair by the TV. Looking over at him, she noticed for the first time that there were cuts on his hands and face.
“So can you start by telling me what’s going on now, or what?” Logan said, leaning forward slightly to talk to her.
She sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at her fingernails. They were broken and filthy. “I already told you most of it. Someone paid to have your dad killed while he was in jail. I was in my dad’s office when I heard him on the phone. It sounded like they were looking for you. I think they thought we were still.... Anyway, they traced the payment for the man who stabbed your father to your family account…”
“Not that. I don’t give a shit about my father, and I didn’t hire anyone to kill him either. I want to know why you’ve been avoiding me like the plague since this all went down. I want to know why you didn’t even come by to apologize for thinking that I killed Lilly.”
Veronica got up and turned away. She lifted the edge of the curtains and looked out the window. The parking lot was empty except for the old, rusty Ford that had been there when they pulled up.
She looked back over her shoulder and saw that he was still waiting for an answer. But the truth was she didn’t know what to say. She reached into her jacket to get her phone.
“I bought a disposable cell phone before coming after you; I think I know someone I can call to get a hold of the bank records. Maybe there’s some evidence to show us who set this all up…”
Logan got up angrily, and came over to her. He twisted her around so that she was facing him, his fingers digging painfully into her arm. “Are we going to talk about this, or what?”
She immediately struggled against his arms, but he didn’t let go. He just kept staring at her, as if he was trying to figure her out on his own and her world was starting to close in on her again. “I’m sorry. Does that make it all better? Now let me go.”
His silence answered her and she struggled vainly against him.
“Please,” she said, quietly begging him to let her go. His hands fell to his side, but it didn’t ease her pain. He was still staring at her, silently demanding answers that she couldn’t give him and it was suffocating her.
Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer and something broke inside. She dropped the cell phone on the table and looked at the moth-eaten curtains instead. It was easier to focus on the ugly 1970s pattern than on what had happened. If she didn’t think about it too much, and just let her mouth do the talking, maybe it wouldn’t hurt too much. “I said I’m sorry. Can you forgive me now? Can you forgive me for destroying your family, even if your father killed Lilly?”
Logan stayed close, unconvinced. “Try again. I’m not sorry for a second that you found out the truth about my father and neither are you. I loved Lilly too, you know. Can’t you just be sorry that you didn’t trust me?”
He put his hands on her arms and she started to shake again.
“No, I can’t. And that’s what makes it worse.” Suddenly, all the words started to pour out of her mouth and she couldn’t do a thing to stop them. She felt she was drowning. “I know how much you wanted me to trust you, but I couldn’t. Not after everything that’s happened. Six months ago, you were breaking my headlights and cheering when I got arrested and then all of a sudden you’re kissing me as if none of that mattered. And somewhere, in some part of my brain, I had to wonder if it could all be a ploy, some form of revenge to get me to fall for you and then brush me off like Duncan did and break my heart all over again. I was scared, but the way you looked at me…I couldn’t help myself.”
She felt her knees going weak as all the memories of the last year assaulted her and she twisted her hands into tight fists. This was why she had avoided him for so long. There was nothing easy or uncomplicated about their relationship and talking about it couldn’t possibly fix anything. All talking did was bring the pain front and center. Unfortunately, she found that she couldn’t stop herself, now.
“Then I found out about the GHB, and I hated you for it, because it hurt me so much to think that you did that to me. Then it turned out to be as much Duncan’s fault as yours and maybe mine for drinking that stupid drink. Just stupid, bad luck…and I felt guilty for hurting you again.
“But then you went and stuck up for me in front of all your friends, and in one fell swoop, you made me fall for you even more. Then the pool house ?I would have let you keep going, I wanted you to keep going that night, but you got up for a drink and I found the video camera. And then all over again, my heart was being ripped out and trashed and I couldn’t take it anymore. Because not only was it happening all over again, it was so much worse this time.”
She started to beat his chest, helplessly.
“And it wasn’t your fault I know that now. I doubt you even had a clue about the video camera, but once again, I have nothing but guilt for hurting you. And so on and on we go, but in the end, I still can’t risk trusting you. Because every time I do, it just hurts so much more when something else happens. And I can’t live with the guilt and the fear, going around in my head like this. All I’ve done is hurt you, just like everyone else in your life. How could you do anything but hurt me again?”
Her hands finally stopped their pounding as he moved closer to her.
“I would never hurt you,” he whispered, rubbing her arms until she let her fists drop to her side.
He searched her eyes for a few second and just when she didn’t think she could stand the scrutiny any longer, he leaned down and kissed her firmly on the mouth stealing the argument from her so she didn’t have to say the words. When he finally released her, he traced a finger along her cheek. “I’m a big boy, Veronica. Let me decide what hurt I can and can’t live with. I’d much rather risk getting hurt by having you with me than by you running away.”
“I’m just scared…” she trailed off trying to explain again, but he silenced her by putting his finger on her lips.
“Me too.” He gave her a smile that made her heart ache and for a moment she dared to dream that maybe she could trust herself and give in to the butterflies fluttering around in her chest. “I just wish you talked to me more.”
“Well, we’re talking now aren’t we?”
He shook his head in mocking disbelief. “She’s able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. She’s more powerful than a locomotive, but also faster than a speeding bullet when it comes to running away.”
She pulled back and tried to hide her frown. “I warned you. This is how I deal with things. I need to deal with them by myself, or I feel trapped —”
“Just so you know, I don’t think bottling them up or ignoring them constitutes dealing with your problems.” He interrupted with a light kiss. “But the good news is there’s hope. I have now discovered a way to make you talk to me more often.”
He gave her a sly grin and she raised her eyebrow in confusion. Slowly, he reached up into her hair and pulled out a piece of limp, brown lettuce. “I just have to put some rotting Truth-Speaking Vegetables into your shampoo, and you will be helpless against their effects.”
Suddenly, she felt the tension diffuse a little. Seeing him smile at her openly lifted a huge weight off of her shoulders that she hadn’t even been aware that she’d been carrying. She smiled back. “I though I felt their coercing effects.”
“Do I have anything on myself to go with the side salad?”
Leaning in to take a sniff, Veronica was suddenly aware of how much heat he radiated. She lingered unintentionally, soaking in his presence. He instinctively leaned into her a little before she realized what she was doing and pushed him gently away. “I think I detect a bit of tomato sauce on your shirt, but it’s been sterilized. You’re sweating tequila.”
Logan lifted his shirt collar away from his neck and sniffed. “Good thing too. Otherwise I would have split all my dirty, dark secrets.”
She must have winced because he leaned in and kissed her quickly on the mouth. “Kidding,” he whispered as he let her mouth go. “No more secrets, I promise.”
He grabbed his shirt by the bottom and lifted it over his head, taking it off. In the harsh light of the motel room, his body looked gaunt and battered, and she couldn’t help but feel some of her guilt and fear return. As he turned around to throw the shirt in the corner, she noticed a long gash on his side and a series of bruises that were starting to develop on his back.
“You’re bleeding,” she said, grabbing some Kleenex from the bedside table and applying pressure to his side. He contorted his neck to have a look but flinched in pain instead. She pulled the tissues back to see the wound and noticed that it wasn’t bleeding badly. It had scabbed over, probably in the car ride, and reopened a little when he pulled his shirt off.
“I’m fine,” he responded, and then stood up, obviously trying to get her to stop fussing. She followed him in to the bathroom. He wanted to have a look and she wanted to stay close to him. “See? No, problem.”
“You’re just saying that because you’re probably still drunk,” she accused, putting her hands on her hips. “Otherwise, you’d be unable to move. You’re covered in bruises.”
He pinned her to the wall by the shower and brought his face close to her ear. “And whose fault is that anyway? Next time you want a flying lesson, let me book a plane instead.”
Without letting her go, he leaned into the shower and turned on the taps. Fiddling with the knobs, he adjusted the temperature and then pulled the shower curtain shut over the spray.
Looking back at her, she fidgeted uncomfortably. His eyes were warm, and way too intense.
“Why are you forgiving me so easily?” She just had to ask.
He traced her jawline with his fingers and then caressed her cheek. “I think you know why. Don’t make me say it; you’ll just accuse me of being drunk.”
She smiled and felt a warm wave break over her heart.
He leaned forward and placed a warm kiss on her neck, making her melt into him. Then slowly, he traced her skin with his lips until she felt his breath in her ear. “We could both use a fresh start. Wash my back for me?”
Her stomach bottomed out as if she was falling off the roof again. She looked at him in the harsh lighting, felt the walks of the washroom closing in on her, and shook her head. “I can’t.”
He rocked back and raised an eyebrow at her. “Can’t or won’t?”
“I just can’t,” she replied. She wasn’t about to stand naked in front of Logan even if her heart was racing from his kisses. She just wasn’t that brave.
“Well, we both need a shower, and I can’t bend to wash my back.” He took a step back to give her more room. “What if I promise to keep my eyes closed?”
She gave him a nervous laugh. “Like you wouldn’t peek.”
Logan quickly walked over to the door, closed it halfway and then turned off the light in the bathroom. They were immediately encased in semi-darkness, the only light coming from the bedside lamp in the other room. She heard rustling and a zipper open, and realized that he was undressing the rest of the way.
After a few moments, he came up to her, naked from what she could make out in the half-light, and gave her a quick peck on the nose. “Come on,” he whispered, his voice low and hungry.
He waited a moment for her, but when she wouldn’t meet his eyes, he grabbed the complimentary shampoo, slid the shower curtain open and got in.
As she stood alone and the steam started to cling to her, she realized that she hadn’t moved at all since he’d turned off the lights. Her momentum was gone now, and she had nothing to propel her forward except the unbearable urge to touch him again.
He’d forced her to stop and take stock, and now she had no idea how to get started again. Part of her wanted nothing more than to join him in the shower, under the protection of darkness and feel how alive he was. All this time, she’d been so afraid?of him, of his hurt, of trying to sort out what a mess their relationship had become?that his promise of renewal now seemed like a hope she hadn’t dared believe was possible. But she had to trust him now. She could walk away, say she wasn’t ready for this, but that would be a lie. She’d told him as much when she admitted that she wanted him to continue that night in the pool house.
No, she wanted him. She wanted to feel his strong muscles holding her; she wanted to risk giving up her control for just a little while. Now that she’d let him back in, she realized how very lonely she’d been. She’d spent the last year trying to figure out how she lost everything: her boyfriend, her best friend, her social group, always wondering, in some part of her mind if it was something she did or didn’t do.
And though she would never admit it, some days she had wondered if everything people said about her was true, even just a little. Now here was Logan, promising her that it wasn’t.
He wanted to be with her, although she’d hurt, betrayed, and mistrusted him, although she’d put a bong in his locker all those months ago. He needed her, even if she kept running away.
In the darkness, she pulled her t-shirt off over her head and slid off her jeans, letting them crumble into a pile on the floor. She rubbed her arms and looked at the shower. He was making this completely her choice and maybe it was because of that that she didn’t feel the familiar prickling of fear. Her choice: to be there or not, to leave when she wanted or to stay forever.
No traps, no escape routes needed.
She pulled the shower curtain to the side and slid in behind him, so that he was between her and the water. He was facing away from her with his head completely immersed in the water, washing his hair vigorously. She took the moment to study his body, even if it was half hidden in shadow. He didn’t appear nearly as gaunt as she had first thought, and now that she was looking, she noticed how the muscles in his back rippled as he rubbed the soap in his hair. She forgot all the possible reasons she had for being scared of him.
He turned, bringing his body around completely and cracked an eye open for a moment to look at her, before shutting it again and giving her a grin.
“You’re a little late. I had to rub my back against the wall to get it clean.”
“Well, it works well for bears, I hear,” she replied, moving in a little closer so she could feel some water spraying on her face. The light was just as forgiving to him as it was to her, but she didn’t mind. She preferred to get these first glimpses of his body, a few at a time. She let her eyes move down and linger on his chest before daring to take a peek further down. To her surprising disappointment, she couldn’t really see anything.
He stepped out from directly underneath the water and shook his head to clear his ears. He cracked his eyes open a little, and when she didn’t protest, he opened them up all the way. He reached out and brought her closer to him, letting her step under the shower. As the jet of warm water washed away some of the grime, he wrapped his arms around her waist. She felt grounded for the first time in over a month.
Twisting around so they were both partially in the water, Logan brought his hands up to her cheek, cupped her face, and kissed her. His mouth was warm and wet, and she felt intoxicated in the steamy mist and darkness. She wanted to cry because it was only now that she realized how much she missed this.
Without ever stopping his kiss, his hands traveled slowly down to her shoulders and along her arms, making the tension melt away with the water. When he got to her hands, he gradually brought them up until he rested her hands on his face.
His stubble was rough against her palms but she couldn’t stop touching him. When she looked into his eyes, even in the spray of the water, she could see them clearly. There was so much want and tenderness and passion there that she felt her knees getting weak. She hooked her hands around his neck and brought his face to hers.
That was all the invitation he needed and he wrapped his arms around her completely. Pushing her back onto the tiled wall, he attacked her neck with his lips and slowly started to make his way down. He trailed his tongue across her collarbone and brought a hand up and gently cupped her breast.
As soon as his fingers brushed across her nipple, she couldn’t help the moan that escaped into his ear. All of a sudden, she felt a sudden rush of tension between her legs and the insatiable desire to make him keep going. He brought his lips down to her breast and flicked her nipple with his tongue. She grabbed his hair as the sensations threatened to overwhelm her. He flicked and sucked until she couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Oh god, Logan,” she moaned as he brought his lips to her other breast. “Don’t…don’t stop. Please.”
But, of course, he did just that, standing up straight and looking down at her with a smile.
“You’re so evil…” she started to complain, but he silenced her with a kiss.
“Shh,” he whispered as he picked up the soap he had dropped and started to lather his hands. Then, slowly moving her so that she was in the full stream of the water, he rubbed his soapy hands across her shoulders and down her arms. Turning her around as necessary, he washed her back and then her front, making her squirm when he refused to touch her nipples again. Then he bent down and washed her legs, starting with her feet and working his way up. When he got to the top of her thigh, he cupped her ass and brought her into an embrace again. She felt him hard against her stomach, and the realization of how much he wanted her made her want him even more.
“Can I…” he trailed off, kissing her as his hands roamed back down to her stomach and skimmed along her thighs. She nodded and relaxed her legs, bringing them open a little wider. She couldn’t imagine stopping now; she wanted nothing more than for Logan to keep touching her everywhere.
Using only the tips of his fingers, he caressed between her legs, teasing her gently. As he slowly explored, she felt the contrast of his hard fingers against her soft flesh until she couldn’t take it any longer. She needed and wanted him now. He slowly put a finger inside her and she dug her teeth into his shoulders to keep from crying out. This was so much different than she’d ever imagined, so much more intense.
“Logan…”she moaned as he brought his finger in and out and she tried desperately to chase something she didn’t know how to reach. He took his hand away and stepped back.
“You’d better finish washing yourself or I’m going to take you right here in the shower,” he said huskily, handing her the bar of soap.
She took it reluctantly. “And that would be a bad thing?” she whispered back, feeling like she was going to die if he didn’t continue.
He nodded and grabbed the bottle of shampoo. “I want to go back to the room for that, if you don’t mind. At least this time.”
She closed her eyes and let herself imagine exactly what they were going to do as he rubbed the shampoo in her hair. After she rinsed, he leaned over to shut off the taps and she took the excuse to run her hands up his back. She suddenly wanted to touch him everywhere and make sure that he was real. When the water was off, he stood up and turned around, giving her a moment to continue.
She ran her hands across chest, and down his sides, and she would have continued but he leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Let’s go to bed.”
Without wasting any time, he stepped out, held a hand out for her so she wouldn’t trip on the wet tiles and passed her a towel. It wasn’t very soft, but it was all they had and she hardly noticed anyway. The humidity was thick in the air. Logan grabbed the smaller face towel and patted himself dry. She barely had time to wrap the towel around herself before he was ushering her out to the relatively cool bedroom.
She turned and went to the bed, taking a seat on the edge of it, shivering in anticipation and from the loss of heat. She watched as he moved around, not in the least bit shy about his nakedness, and she got her first full look at his body. He wasn’t as gaunt as she’d originally thought, more lean than anything, though the last six weeks certainly hadn’t been very kind. He went back into the bathroom, returned with a pile of their clothes and then spent a few minutes looking frantically through his pants before he found his wallet and took out a small package. Dropping the condom on the bedside table, he quickly went over to the lamp to shut if off before joining her on the bed. He crawled towards her slowly, making her lie back on the bed as he positioned himself on top of her.
“Now, where were we…” His lips moved from her ear back down to her breasts before taking her nipple back into his mouth. He was so hot and his presence surrounded her completely. She arched into him and dug her nails into his arms as he flicked his tongue and then moved on to the other breast. Then looking up at her, he gave her a wicked grin as he slowly moved down her body, until he was completely between her legs. She shivered with nervousness and tension as he spread her legs a little more and gave himself more room. Leaning down, he brought his mouth down on her and started exploring her with his tongue.
Lilly had always talked so brazenly, never bothering to hush her voice, about all the incredible things she was missing by taking her time with Duncan and then gone on to amend her statement that maybe she wasn’t missing that much. He was her brother, after all. And although Lilly and Logan had had their differences, the one thing she had always bragged about was how talented Logan was with his tongue.
Veronica couldn’t do a comparison, but she didn’t need to. As Logan kissed and licked, it was obvious that Lilly had understated his talents. What had happened between her and Duncan was a cold fact, but what she and Logan were doing now, she would never forget. Her world felt like it was spinning around violently, revolving around that one sweet spot that Logan had just found and she felt herself spiraling out of control.
She tried reaching for him, desperate to find an anchor and grabbed his shoulder, digging in her nails. He didn’t complain though, he just flicked his tongue even faster. She felt him slip his finger back inside her and suddenly everything coalesced and then burst into a wave of incredible pleasure.
As she slowly came down from her peak, he slid back up her body with a satisfied grin on his face. She looked at him in amazement and leaned up to kiss him. She felt him incredibly hard against her thigh, and she reached down eagerly and took a hold of him.
He groaned and writhed against her before pulling away, giving her hardly any time to explore what he liked. Grabbing the condom package, he ripped it open and put it on before she could even offer.
“This isn’t fair,” she whispered. “I haven’t had the chance to do anything to you.”
He kissed her, leaning forward again, until he was lined up above her. “Believe me, you’ve done plenty. There’ll be lots of time to try other things later,” he said as he nudged himself at her entrance.
She nodded distractedly as he slid inside her and then quickly forgot about what they were talking about. There were just too many sensations and emotions flooding her. She felt full to the brim.
He lifted her hips up and thrust into her, taking her to new heights and sensations, all the while his eyes never left hers. Between her own waves of pleasure, she watched as his eyes drank in the sight of her and his breathing became ragged and heavy. He started moving faster and faster, pounding against her, until finally he arched his back and called out her name.
~~~
They lay together on the bed, with the towel tangled up between them, and Veronica traced her fingers along his chest. For the first time in over a year, she felt a completeness she didn’t think she’d ever feel again.
Logan was sleeping soundly beside her, oblivious to her caress.
A light from the parking lot shone across the window, and suddenly Veronica was reminded of how fleeting happiness could be. She gathered up the towel, twisting it out from under Logan’s legs and wrapped it around herself as she stood up. The cell phone that she’d left on the table caught her attention.
The sheriff’s department was still looking for Logan and their interlude hadn’t changed that fact. She turned on the phone and used it to remotely check the messages on her own cell.
“You have three new voice messages. First message. Hey honey, it’s me. Where have you gone? I was hoping I could have your help looking for Logan. Listen, if you get this message, call me back, ok?”
Veronica hit the delete button, feeling a twinge of guilt for going against her father. “Next message. Veronica. Look, I know you went to find him, but I don’t know why you left your car there. It’s important, call me back, ok?”
Veronica deleted the second message and listened to the last one.
“Veronica. It’s past midnight. If you get this message, call me right away. Logan’s in danger. We’ve been trying to find you guys all night, but you seem to have hidden yourselves pretty good. Look, Clarence Weidman’s been hacking into Logan’s personal accounts to frame him for arranging a hit on his father. We think he’s working at Jake Kane’s behest. Now that he knows we’re on to him, we think he might try a more direct approach at harming Logan. Please, call me back. We can put a stop to this, once and for all.”
Veronica hit delete and ended the call, a small smile playing across her lips. Logan stirred and poked an eye open, looking for her. When he noticed where she was, he sat up.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
She nodded and came down and sat beside him. “Everything’s fine, but I think we should go. They’re looking for you to protect you, not because they think you had anything to do with your father’s attack.”
He nodded and pushed some of her hair back behind her ear. “I told you I didn’t do it.”
“I know. I believed you, otherwise I wouldn’t have stayed. Sorry for making you jump off the roof for nothing.”
He smiled and brought her back into his arms. “It’s ok. I’m glad to be along for the ride.”
~~~
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