Max awoke suddenly in the pre-dawn hours, her heightened senses frantically trying to identify the problem. She wasn't accustomed to drifting off, especially in a strange place. From behind, she heard a murmur and a breath break on her name. The arms wrapped around her waist tightened slightly, and a head burrowed its way into the crook of her neck. Logan. The smell, the feel, the scratchy voice. She was surrounded by Logan.
There had been a time in her life when this kind of closeness would have been unwanted. Hell, just last week if someone had told her she would be sharing a bed she would have kicked their ass from Seattle to Washington D.C.
Unbidden an image from last night danced in front of her eyes. Logan undressing her, Logan kissing her, Logan looking down at her with horror in his eyes as she convulsed beneath him. A lone tear fell from her eye onto the pillow. I am a freak. My first attempt at sex in nearly three years and I forget to take my tryptophan before jumping into bed. Another image flashed before, one that made her sit straight up in the bed startling her bedmate.
"What?" Logan started awake. A tad bit grumpy because he'd been having the best dream about Max…and chocolate syrup.
"That is the magical question." Max turned to glare down at him. "What, exactly, did you give me last night, Logan?"
Shit, was the first thought that came to Logan's still sleep-fogged mind. There was no point in evading the question; the truth was going to surface eventually. But the 'eventually' Logan had been hoping for had been 'never.' But hell, he had been amazed that Zack hadn't filled her in before he assigned her.
Rubbing a hand over his sleepy eyes, he reached over and put on his glasses as he sat up in the bed beside of her. "Tryptophan," he softly said, as he kissed any dreams involving Max good-bye.
Max quizzically gazed at him, "How did you know?"
Sighing, Logan shifted so that he was leaning against the headboard, using the pillow as support. He arranged Max's the same way, and pulled her back against him, surprised that she didn't resist his touch. "Might as well get comfortable," Logan offered as an explanation.
Gathering his thoughts, he forced himself to go back to another time before his wide-eyed innocence had been washed away. "About five years ago, I was ambushed on the street in front of the courthouse. I had been safeguarding a young woman and her daughter; they were preparing to testify against a drug dealer. The fight was pretty much one sided, four of them against one of me." Logan shuddered remembering the sounds of ricocheting bullets. "Then suddenly, nothing. I looked around the edge of the van, and saw the four guys on the ground and another man standing over them."
Max felt a chill run through her body, the story sounded vaguely familiar. "Zack." It wasn't a question, it was a fact.
Logan nodded, "It took me a few days to track him down, even longer to earn his trust, which I still don't think I have sometimes. And if he finds out that I've had you in my bed, I'll be owed a very nice black eye." Giving her a slight smile and gaining none in return, he continued. "Like I said, we came to a mutual agreement. He had, and still has, uncanny instincts. He was barely getting by, moving from place to place. He said he couldn't afford to get comfortable."
"That sounds like my brother," Max said softly.
"Yeah, he hasn't changed much since I met him," Logan agreed. "But I convinced him to settle in Seattle, and set him up in business. Banks, as you know, don't like to finance any new ventures especially to drifters, and, like you read in my file, I'm very well-endowed."
A slight smile played across her face as she picked up the double entendre. Quickly, she mentally slammed the door on the sexual remark as her brain processed his real words. Max's eyes widened. Being caught off guard was definitely a new experience, and somehow Logan had managed to accomplish the feat more than a few times in the past two days. "Anson Securities."
"Logan Anson Cale, at your service," Logan said rather grimly, holding out a hand to her.
Max passed on the hand and instead trained him with what her siblings called 'The Glare.'
Logan shifted uncomfortably as he found himself trained in Max's eyesight.
"You knew I was an X5. What I am," Max hissed through clenched teeth. "You knew."
Logan hung his head in defeat, "Yes." He saw the fire flash in her eyes, and knew what was coming next. "No. No, Max," he fumbled searching for the words, "that's not what last night…"
"The hell it wasn't, Logan," she spat at him. "Is that all you wanted? Just to feel what it was like to make it with an X5?" Say no Logan, say something, she silently pleaded. "Well, let me tell you I've been there, done that and yes I have the t-shirt to prove it."
"Max."
Max jumped out of the bed as if the covers were on fire. "I will complete this assignment," Max told him refusing to meet his eyes. "I have a responsibility to the company and to you."
Finding a soft gray t-shirt on the floor, she hastily pulled it on, hiding her naked chest. "No matter what happened or what didn't happen, you will be protected." Max stumbled in the dark room, her keen eyesight failing her due to the falling tears. How the hell did she get so attached to this man so quickly? The intensity of the attraction was astounding.
Logan caught her arm in a tight grip as she stumbled and pulled her roughly against him. Cupping her head in his free hand, he forced her to meet his eyes, "Last night wasn't about sex, Max."
Loosening his grip, he slowly trailed his hand down the side of her arm trying to calm her. "Whatever you choose to believe about me, believe that." The lines in his face deepened as Logan realized exactly what Max had been thinking. "I would never use you to satisfy some adolescent curiosity."
Max hung her head, silently berating herself for allowing Logan to play her. And play her he had. He knew exactly who she was, and it hadn't meant a damn to him.
"That's right, Max," Logan said softly.
Max's eyes widened, not realizing that she had been thinking out loud.
"I don't give a damn about your genetic code. I want you." Gently he picked up her hand and guided it to his heart. "My brain has been telling me all day to get as far away as possible. Have Zack assign someone different to me. My heart," he accentuated by pressing down on her hand softly, "is telling me not to screw this up."
Max studied his face, watching the swirl of emotions play across the blue irises. "I want to believe you," she whispered.
Lowering his head, he stopped a breath from her lips. "Then take the leap," he said softly before fusing his mouth to hers.
Max automatically responded to the kiss. The soft touch of Logan's mouth on her own set off a series of explosions within her body, her nerve endings positively sizzled. Against her will, Max found herself pushing Logan away.
There was an audible pop as Logan's mouth left her lips. Powerless, Logan could do nothing but stare questioningly at Max.
Shaking her head sadly, her eyes fluttered shut briefly. She felt him take a step towards her and she put a hand out to stop him. "I'm sorry, Logan. I'm just not ready to jump yet."
Her heart raged as she saw Logan's crestfallen expression, but her pride would not allow her to comfort him. "I'm so sorry," she said as she walked out of the bedroom, shutting it firmly behind her.
For countless minutes, Logan simply stared at the closed door.
Max slid down the door, burying her face in her hands. She heard Logan take a step toward the entry, only to pause and walk into his bathroom and slam the door.
She really needed to run, but seeing as how her clothing was in Logan's bedroom and she really couldn't face him right now she was out of luck. Not that it mattered really, she couldn't leave Logan unattended and there was no way he was going to join her.
There was only one word to describe her emotions at the moment…scared. Max Guevara was afraid.
Not of Logan, not really. She still carried the emotional scars inflicted upon her three years ago by the cold, heartless bastard that had deemed her unworthy. Max shivered, seeing the disgust in his eyes as he took her. She shook her head in a feeble attempt to rid herself of the unwanted memory. Her mind latched onto a better image, Logan from last night. There was no look of disgust in his eyes when gazed into her eyes. If anything, there had been amazement. Her heart wanted to believe that Logan was different, but her mind would not allow her to fall again.
Standing, Max slowly made her way into the guest room to retrieve the bag she had left hidden in the closet.
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