Latoya Alonso, CPKW 97.4's radio host announced that it was Saints and Sinners hour as the track changed over the old radio in the girls locker room to play Julia Michaels -Heaven as Veronica let out a happy moan and sang along as the hot water began to steam from the shower communal in the girls changing room and she stood enjoying the pressure as the water sluiced over her body.
God it felt so good… so much better than the crap lukewarm one she had at home…
She squeezed some of the shampoo that May had given her into her palm and her senses were bombarded by the scent of pineapples and coconuts as she lathered her hair into a soapy tangle.
This could take a while… the hot water felt like luxurious kisses over her skin... goodbye internal monologue… hello bliss…
The shower felt like paradise as muscles she hadn't even realized she'd been tensing all day began to ease and those little grey cells finally stopped their little game of tug-o-war with the conflicting little snippets of information that she'd been gathering. She had always known after Lilly's death that she had fallen into his line of sight, he'd become completely enthralled with her.
Should she be signing up for a restraining order against Logan?
Now she was battling with her instincts… mainly the ones that kept fighting with her to accept her father's threats to send her off to a Nunnery if it meant that she could escape her potential stalker because the thought that he had some kind of hidden agenda and wasn't really the man she'd fallen for… the man her body craved like an addiction… had her stomach in knots.
The man who she thought she loved could turn out to be sexy as hell but also borderline psychotic? Surely some truths needed left locked up? Some secrets belonged there.. because once she knew for sure if his sharp mind was plotting something… she'd have to find away to break free from him…
Was she going to have to start checking under her bed and in her closet for him? The thought sounded ridiculous... but now she wasn't sure. Those recordings were making her doubt everything she thought she knew about him.
She buried her face under the jet stream of hot water and allowed the sensations of the water trickling over her body to calm her nerves. The world had gone topsy turvy and right now she just wanted to drown it all out.
It was a miracle she had any shred of sanity left…
Logan Echolls ventured eagerly down the halls of Neptune High School, glad that he was free, and finally didn't have to face the cameras and play happy families with Trina pulling her usual 'perfect doting daughter' crap at his Dad's latest excuse for a media circus, one of Forbes magazine's most successful men in America and now budding philanthropist.
"Acting has always been an island of calm in a sea of chaos" his father, movie star Aaron Echolls had declared as he'd opened up his latest foundation to help returning war vets through the use of the Art Therapies. It would all be better when he could locate his target.
Where the hell was Veronica? She was supposed to wait for him here…
Her car was still parked outside but he couldn't find her yet.
"Logan?" Ms Dent asked as she locked up the office to the Neptune High Journalism classroom.
"Hey…" he smiled awkwardly as she looked over his suit and tie. He obviously looked like he was more dressed for a school formal than for the school extracurricular activities she had been supervising this evening.
"Can I help you with something?" she asked giving him a puzzled expression.
"I'm just waiting for someone…" he explained.
"Anyone in particular? The Navigator finished up earlier than usual today" she enquired, her brown eyes looking towards the hall where the drama club had been earlier but it was also empty. The only one's left in the building were the two teachers' aids in the library and the janitor.
"Veronica Mars" he replied as he tucked his hands into his coat pockets.
"Ah… she's in the girls locker room… there was an incident earlier… but she shouldn't be too long" Ms Dent smiled.
"Incident? What kind of incident?" Logan asked in alarm.
"A PVA glue and sparkles incident… but she's fine…" she replied distracted as they turned at the sound of the door at the opposite end of the corridor opening.
"Charity, honey, you ready to go?" Ms Dent's boyfriend Terence called from down the hallway and the teacher gave him a conflicted glance as she looked towards the girl's locker room.
"It's fine… I'll wait here" Logan promised at her hesitation as he pointed at the small seating area opposite the trophy case. He flashed his teacher the Echolls Oscar Winning grin and gave her his best wide innocent eyes and took up his seat.
Among the faculty of Neptune High he was known as a light-hearted teenager. He was always cracking jokes in class, he was charming and easy-going, but he had some abandonment issues that were focused on his parents. The general consensus was Logan Echolls was a trustworthy kid who could do no wrong. If you asked most of the girls in those classes he was hilarious with his tongue in cheek quips, one liners and constant flirting made them laugh, giggle, and blush … all the way down to the damn right adorable way he got them to drop their panties when he was a shameless playboy.
"Darling, if we don't leave now we are going to hit traffic, and you know how your dad gets" the older man encouraged. "He said he's fine…"
"Okay…" she sighed finally. "Georgios is locking up the building in the next hour, I expect you both out before then"
"You can count on it" Logan nodded, smiling his best Yes-Mam smile. Seemingly satisfied with his mock Boy Scout impression, Ms Dent and her partner left. He waited until he heard the distinct sound of the car starting up outside before he ventured into the girls locker room. The steam was the first thing he noticed, followed by the sound of running water and a contented feminine moan.
"Veronica?" he called as he removed his tie, shoving it into his pocket and eyeing the small green gym bag sitting beside the discarded clothes that she had been wearing earlier. Worry curled around his stomach like butterflies, frowning he wandered closer to the sound of the running water and stopped short at the mouth-watering sight of the petite blonde with her eyes closed, head tilted upwards into the stream, her back to him as she stood drenched in the water, rivulets trailing down her slender stomach and over the soft curve of her ass, her hands slowly trailing along her skin in teasing massaging strokes against her naked flesh, oblivious to his presence. Her blond hair shimmered like a galaxy of twinkling stars and bubbles.
Holy Fucking God…
Those butterflies turned into an entire storm, ripping straight through to his groin with all the subtly of a chainsaw.
Want.
It was the only coherent thought in his head as he looked at the delicate goddess in front of him and he felt sickly jealous at every soapy bubble that was touching her skin where he wanted his fingers, his hands and his lips to be. Of all the labels he'd given himself over the years… a voyeur had not been one of them. He was so hard, he thought he'd break, so aroused he couldn't breathe, so captivated all he could do was hold still and watch.
"Logan.." she gulped in surprise and he groaned involuntarily as she turned, giving him full view of those perfect mounds with their hard nipples, her molten blue eyes locked their gaze with his, he swallowed against his throat that was suddenly, far too dry. She met his hungry brown eyes feeling equal parts vulnerable and brave. They took on a focus as they lingered over her body, a hard edged gleam. Almost predatory and her body responded with reckless disregard for what was right or decent, her skin flushed and her cheeks reddened, the desire in her eyes, a sultry invitation to stay... even if she hadn't been aware of it.
The temptation was too irresistible, and Logan found himself removing his jacket and reaching for his shirt buttons. Sexual boundaries hadn't been something they had discussed before. It was a beautiful slow strip tease, it was selfish… it was heavenly…
Hell… they hadn't talked about sex much at all since she'd been given the all clear… but right now he was starving for her and she was about to get fucked right up against the damned wall.
He heard her breath catch in her throat as each passing minute coiled up with heavy sexual tension as he slowly removed his shirt and left it on the floor just outside the entrance to the wet tiled floor, those Ceylon sapphire blue eyes roamed freely over his chiselled abs and broad shoulders, he was lithe and supple, his body honed with latent energy that oozed from every pore whispering promises of sex and pleasure, she felt a traitorous shiver of need run straight to her core at the memory of how he knew exactly to deliver on each and every one of those promises.
He looked like every filthy thought she'd ever had made flesh… bless me father for I have sinned…
He hadn't even touched her yet but everywhere his gaze wandered over her body felt heat scorching like he had just licked and caressed her. She didn't know exactly what the hell she should be doing because his charisma and devil-may-care attitude were currently undressing the shit out of themselves right in front of her and her mind had decided that it yet again that this was the opportune time to take another vacation as she stood there speechless gaping at him with her mouth open drooling.
What the hell were they doing? They'd already been intimate together… not since the full recovery of her memories… but this felt new… she'd never really took the time to dissect his body like this… to drink him in like she'd been dying of thirst…
Evidently her mistrust hadn't reached the primal parts of her brain because her eyes locked with his in mutual wonderment as he finally removed his pants and stepped naked sauntering into the shower with her like he owned it. Skimming his fingertips below her breastbone down to her belly button he held her gaze with a slow teasing smile.
Christ just looking at him naked was enough to make her need a cigarette…
She also couldn't help but notice the intimidating erection currently resting at her stomach as his familiar comforting frame towered above her.
Was it lust or cardiac arrest? Her heart was pounding so hard it was almost drowning out the sounds of the radio as the track changed to Nerv – Bad Habits. How she had never succumbed to his charms before now was something she couldn't fathom as her body trembled in anticipation of his touch. Logan exuded that bad boy vibe, and embodied everything she'd never wanted but she was mesmerized by the way he moved with a fluid like grace, his actions were slow as he stepped forwards, their breaths moving in and out as they sized each other up like some kind of erotic adversaries.
He was so close she could smell the cologne on his skin…he smelled like trouble… and her heart ached for trouble…
He intended to reintroduce her to the pleasures of a flesh-and-bone man. In all his numerous sexcapades during bachelor playboy status… he'd never once invaded the girls' locker room but he knew the moment he'd seen her behind those rolling clouds of steam…. when her lust-drunk gaze almost challenged him to make a move… that he wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon. This fire unfurling inside him was the strangest sensation, like an inferno rolling through him seeking her out to consume them both.
"Need a little help washing out all that fairy dust?" he quipped giving her an amused smirk as he played with a strand of her blond glitter covered hair.
He wasn't sure how she was going to react to his little self-assured invasion, he was focusing on her expression, looking for any signs he was pushing her too far as the water beat down on her toned shoulders.
None came.
Veronica was a force to be reckoned with, determined, stubborn and didn't know the meaning of backing down and he'd been watching her wrestle with her needs and desires for the last few days as she'd recalled more of their history together. He knew she was aware that he loved the chase, challenge and that he would eventually get the girl. He wore that smug knowing smile like a loaded gun.
He'd been patient…
Fate had thrown her in his path 5 years ago that day he'd been hanging out at Duncan's house and since the first feel of her lips on his; he knew he'd be lying in bed every night just replaying the taste of her.
It's been too damn long… his adolescent fantasies about their night together had been driving him crazy without holding her…all he could think about was the memories of her spread out on his bed, of her underneath him as he made love to her…
"Y—you're in the shower" Veronica stammered as she gazed up at him, her eyes wide and full of want.
"And soon I'm going to be inside you" he whispered, his voice was thick with arousal and need, all she could do was nod in agreement, unable to create words with her tangled tongue. It was then that Veronica realized she was just like that proverbial boiling frog… the danger of situation had crept up in little unnoticed increments until he had her bare ass pressed against the cold tiles and he was cupping her face claiming her mouth with his.
His tongue sought hers, tasting, touching and his touch spread through her body, melting her bones and her inhibitions like butter. Emotions flared between them as passion ignited an intense heat that made them spark off each other like flint against steel and she whimpered, needing to feel more of him.
"Call me a bad bad man… I just can't help myself" he murmured against her ear as he cupped her breast and buried his other hand in her hair.
"God… Logan…" she rasped as she dimly registered the feel of the water pouring over the two of them.
Logan Echolls was the sexual equivalent to running with scissors…
"Do you know how much I thought about this?" He confessed as his hands gripped her slender waist and pulled her against his body, crushing her to him and the close physical proximity to him made her feel like she was being stripped of all her defences. She couldn't respond, on the sound of her soft breaths could be heard whispering in and out as he reached down and lifted her legs, her arms reaching up around his neck to hold herself up as he pressed her back against the wall. He studied her silken blond hair, her beautiful face with its elfin features and wide mouth, lips swollen from his kisses and the little freckles of glitter on her cheeks.
She looked like a fuckable pixie, and he was going to do just that.
Then suddenly he was everywhere, her legs encircling his waist as he pushed himself forwards, those strong arms locking her in place, burying himself deeply inside her as she stretched and gripped his long thick length earning a throaty moan in response. The exquisite side effects of friction as she felt that fullness, that sense of completion. His espresso-brown gaze never left hers as he slammed into her body, again and again hungrily, deeper and harder, more intensely with every thrust. She was all woman… all welcome as her petite body clung to his, taking him while her hands gripped at his shoulders and fisted his hair.
She was like a wild cat in his arms, untamed and unleashed…
"Logan.." she cried out as he gripped her ass and kissed her neck, she felt exposed, her body was a creature of pleasure, lost to powerful thrusts as the water ran down his body in rivulets over his muscled torso and abdomen. He was relentless, delving into her as her body clenched in response, aching, needing, wanting until his body jerked and he grunted as he fought to keep control. Her body convulsed in a series of deep contractions as the tensions left her body in juddering jolts, his musculature long limbs kept her pinned against the wall as the less enlightened part of him claimed his mate in an explosive surge of possessiveness that threw her over the edge until she reached that point like the sun was exploding and something inside her was going to break apart.
Frantic need, fierce untameable need… she wanted… desperately wanted…
Words locked in her throat and she didn't recognise the intense cries of pleasure as her own until he swallowed them with his mouth, a dance of tongue and teeth as the world erupted into a firestorm of heat and colour, until she was limp, boneless, clinched around him so tightly that the sensation of being impaled on his cock was her only anchor.
"You are so beautiful when you come…" the husky timbre of his voice did X-rated things to her body and she was lost to the sensations of him pounding into her, filling her while her legs gripped his waist like a boa constrictor.
He had unravelled her so easily…
Hot colour suffused her cheeks as she looked at his shoulders where her nails had left harsh scratches… had she broken the skin? If she had, he didn't seem to notice as he continued to drive into the hot, sweet release of her tiny body.
Her pulse raced and she felt the sensations beginning to build again, he wanted to make her melt into his embrace, to feel their connection again as she came completely unhinged, no inhibitions, no restraint… His…
He drove into her like he needed it, like being inside of her was more important than anything, and she craved more of it as he let out an intense growl. His eyes locked on hers, one hand squeezing her ass and the other at her throat, holding her to meet his gaze and she was filled with a cell deep awareness that her soul recognized his… their demons… whatever they were… danced together. She tried to pull herself back, to remember her reservations from before… putting together a mental litany of all the past crimes he was guilty of… but none of it mattered when she gazed at his gorgeous masculine face, those sculpted cheekbones, straight nose and that sensual mouth that compelling her to devour him again and again.
"Logan…" she whispered. "I've never wanted anyone the way I want you."
She would choose this truth over any pretty lie she might have convinced herself of before to give her an excuse to run back to her cold rigid control… The man has fucked her in every sense of the word… She'd never want anyone the way she wanted him…
"Trust me. I know the feeling." He admitted as his body spasmed and he buried his head against the hollow of her collarbone to muffle the sound as her pussy tightened around him in that terrible wonderful ache that gripped him when she was close, pulling the release from his body as they both came simultaneously." But if you want words.. I love you, Veronica. I'm not sure I'll ever know how to stop loving you. You always had a piece of me. Always." He told her, those liquid intuitive brown eyes seared into hers as he withdrew from her and helped her stand on shaky legs.
Those words should have terrified her… they were only 17 for Gods sakes… but they didn't…
She was a slim slip of a girl and he was looking down at her, eyes studying her with a fierce concentration, he was like a stalking tiger and as he picked up the bottle of shampoo sitting at their feet and coaxed her into the warm inviting water, she shivered. He moved with such beguiling animalistic grace and he talked to her with that hypnotic rumble of his voice.
Loving Logan was effortless… like breathing…. She felt safe…
"I think you missed a perfect opportunity to say something about getting you out of those dry clothes" she mused, looking at his discarded suit sitting by the entrance to the communal showers and he chuckled.
Trusting him was another matter. He confused her, he set her at war within herself when he was near her… but he fucking owned her far too easily whenever he touched her. She came apart in waves of pure pleasure for him almost on command and the sexy smile on the scoundrels face told her he'd just figured that part out too.
Logan mentally scolded himself for behaving like an ape overdosed on testosterone but any regrets had disappeared after she had melted into him, submitted to him and the half-formed apology vanished. Part of it had been lust… but another part had been something primal… a need to mark her as his until she remembered who she belonged with… and perhaps a little jealousy…
Not Weevil… Not Dick… Not Duncan Fucking Kane… Him and no one else…
He knew that she fought to corral her thoughts, to remain practical, logical and pragmatic. They had bigger issues to be dealing with right now and she was probably fatigued from all the myriad of tugs he'd made at that the wall around her heart. He watched her silently brood as he slowly massaged and lathered up the bubbles in her hair and kissed her forehead.
"I'm never going to be able to have a shower in here again without thinking about this…" she pouted, sliding back into her clothes as she tossed her ruined shirt into the trashcan beside them, her blond hair was still a little damp and tangled, and her eyes shimmered with the afterglow of sex.
"How do you think I feel about my bedroom?" Logan countered, raising an eyebrow and she blushed again as he made a leisurely inspection of her body, mourning the loss of her nakedness. He watched her like he was expecting her to vanish or have some kind of post coital seizure, but none came. She tucked a strand of her glitter free blond hair behind her ear and the sexual tension in the air crackled like an electrical storm as her mind weighed the ramifications of this. Logan Echolls was no slouch in the looks department and he only had eyes for her.
Pregnancy wasn't an issue because after her last visit to the hospital she had asked for a birth control injection. It didn't matter to her anymore that half of their classmates thought he was obsessed with her… friends didn't set each other alight like this and as he drew her close again and plundered her mouth… she knew the love between them was mutual.
For now, she was going to let any niggling suspicions that his pretty face was hiding all kinds of lies and stop being so damn difficult by trying to ruin her own happiness.
(A/N what are your favorite elements of this story so far?)