Eventually they ended up back near Logan's hotel. They stood outside the entrance and Logan knew this was the moment. The point where they said goodnight or took this somewhere else. He wasn't ready for it to end. Wasn't ready to let go of her hand or stop hearing her laugh or go back to communicating through screens instead of being in the same space.
"I had a really good time tonight," he said.
"Me too."
"Better than I expected, honestly. Which is saying something because I had pretty high expectations." Logan stepped closer, his hand coming up to cup her face. Her skin was soft under his palm and he could feel her pulse jumping in her throat. "I'm really glad we decided to do this."
"Me too," Mara said, and Logan noticed her voice had gone quieter. Breathier.
He kissed her again. But this time it wasn't chaste or brief or testing the waters. This time it was intense and thorough and made Logan forget they were standing on a public street. His hand tangled in her hair. Her fingers gripped his jacket. The world narrowed to just this moment, just them, just the feeling of finally being close to someone who understood what it cost to do what they did.
When they broke apart, both of them were breathing hard.
"So," Logan said, his voice rough in a way that had nothing to do with his injuries. "About that week in New Orleans."
"Yeah?"
"I'm thinking we should make the most of it. See the sights. Eat all the food. Listen to all the music." His thumb traced her bottom lip and he watched her eyes darken. "Spend as much time together as possible."
Mara smiled. "I can work with that."
"Good. Because I'm not ready to say goodnight yet."
"Neither am I."
"Tomorrow we do the full tourist thing? Beignets and jazz and whatever else you think I need to experience?"
"Tomorrow," Mara agreed. "But tonight, right now, I think we should do this some more."
She pulled him back down and kissed him again. And again. Until the hotel doorman politely cleared his throat and suggested they might want to take it inside or at least move away from the entrance where they were blocking traffic.
They laughed and separated but Logan kept her hand in his. "I should let you go. Let you get home safe."
"Probably."
"But I don't want to."
"I don't want you to either." Mara squeezed his hand. "But I'll see you tomorrow. Early. We have a lot to cover."
"It's a date."
"It's a week of dates."
Logan grinned. "Even better."
He kissed her one more time, soft and sweet and full of promise. Then he watched as she walked to her car. Mara looked back twice before she got in and both times Logan was still standing there with his hands in his pockets and that smile on his face that he couldn't suppress even if he wanted to.
The drive back to L'Abri Sûr felt longer than the drive in had. Mara sat behind the wheel with the playlist Logan had sent her weeks ago filling the car and a smile she couldn't suppress on herface. Her phone sat in the cupholder, and she forced herself not to look at it until she pulled into the compound parking lot just after one in the morning. She grabbed it immediately and typed out a message."Made it back safe. Can't stop thinking about tonight."
His response came immediately."Same. Can't wait for tomorrow."
"Get some sleep. You're going to need your energy."
"Is that a promise?"
"It's a guarantee."
The team was waiting in the common room when she walked in, exactly as she'd known they would be. Quinn had her tablet out. Nadia was drinking tea. Winter and Kira were playing cards but looked up immediately when the door opened.
