“Logan.” His bark makes me jump. “You call me by my fucking name, Remi. Especially if this is the part where you’re dumping me.”
“I can’t stay here,” I whisper. “I don’t fit.”
He’s already shaking his head, moving closer to snatch my hands into his. “Baby, you’re wrong. Everyone fits here. That’s the beauty of this place.”
“I’m trouble, Logan. Sooner or later, you’ll get tired of me.”
“I won’t. Don’t write us off just because no man’s ever stuck around for you before,” he snaps.
“This morning—” I start, but he cuts me off with another groan.
“Fuck this morning. Fuck Sasha.”
“But that’s the point,” I cry, frustration spilling over. “She’s always gonna be a problem. I’m not like the others here. I can’t swallow my temper like Lexi or Rue. Sooner or later—”
“You’ll see youdofit,” he insists, his forehead pressing to mine. “This could be your home. We could be your family.” His voice cracks, the weight of it pressing into me. “Please don’t walk away.”
“I have to,” I whisper. “Before you do.”
“I won’t,” he says fiercely. “I swear it. Fuck, Remi, I’ll marry you right now to prove it.”
A shaky laugh slips out. “You’re crazy.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes. You want your stepdad gone? Done. You want Sasha to apologise? I’ll make her. You want me on my knees?” He slides to the floor, gripping my hands. My breath catches as I stare down at him in disbelief. “Then I’m begging. Please . . . don’t leave me.”
Tears sting my eyes. I slide down too, folding onto the floor with him. “Don’t,” I whisper as he cups my face, tilting it towards him.
“You think you’re not worthy,” he says, his voice low, urgent, “but you are. I see you, all of you, and you’re exactly what I’ve been waiting for. I’ve never felt like this before. Ever.”
He presses the lightest kiss to the tip of my nose, and I close my eyes, letting myself believe him for one fragile moment. His lips trail across my cheek, down the line of my neck.
“Stay,” he breathes against my skin.
Chapter Seventeen
Remi
His lips skim down my neck, his breath hot, his words sinking into every raw place inside me.Stay.
For a second, I fight it. The guilt, the fear, the money burning a hole in my conscience, it all suffocates me. But then his mouth brushes lower, and I can’t hold the wall up anymore.
I grab his face between my palms, dragging his mouth back to mine. The kiss is rough, desperate, tasting of salt from the tears I haven’t managed to wipe away. He groans into me, hands sliding down my back, pulling me flush against him.
I climb onto his lap, straddling him on the floor, needing more, needing him to drown out the storm in my head. His hands grip my hips, hard enough to bruise, grinding me against him until I gasp.
“Remi,” he rasps against my lips, like my name alone is breaking him apart.
I kiss him harder, biting, tugging, pouring everything I can’t say into the press of my mouth. My fingers fist in his hair as his hands slide up under my shirt, rough palms scorching my skin.
The ache between my thighs is unbearable, the need sharp and consuming. I rock against him, desperate, reckless. “Please,” I whisper, the word escaping before I can stop it. “I need you.”
His eyes darken, a storm rolling through them as he lifts me effortlessly, standing without breaking the kiss. My legs wrap around his waist as he carries me to the bed, laying me down like I’m something precious, then climbing over me like I’m something he owns.
“Stay,” he growls again, pinning me with his body, his forehead pressing to mine. “And I’ll give you everything.”
My answer is another kiss, deeper, hungrier, because right now, in this moment, I can’t imagine saying no.
His weight presses me into the mattress, his hands braced either side of my head. The look in his eyes makes my stomach flip, dark, hungry, like he’s been holding back for too long.
