Friction. Part 9

"Yes...yes.... Oh..."

He was kneeling back now, hoisting her up by the hips, holding her firmly as he increased his pace, urging her to come, reaching down to press with his finger along the wildly sensitive flesh of her s.e.x as he asked, one final time, "Here?"

"Yes!" Sarah screamed the word as the pleasure finally released and raged through her, throbbing through her limbs and out to her fingertips, nothing existing but Logan, who was still thrusting in a quick, steady rhythm. Gathering herself as much as she could, wanting to see him lose control, she saw his jaw set, knew he was close.

"You...tell me, Logan. What are your secrets?" She reached up, scoring her nails over him lightly, watching his eyes flash, then blur, with pleasure.

Leaning down over her he whispered his hot wishes in her ear as he groaned out a release that sounded as powerful as hers had been. She listened closely to his secrets, none of which could be done at the moment-but they had a lot of time ahead of them, and not much else to do. As he collapsed over her she smiled, looking forward to keeping busy.

7.

SARAH ROLLED OVER, disoriented and tangled in sheets, but she didn't get far before a strong, warm arm hauled her back against a very manly body. Logan.

She could hardly believe it; they'd slept right through lunch. She rarely slept like this, let alone with someone. She looked at the clock; it read half past one.

"I'm starving." Logan growled against her shoulder, pressing against her, and she laughed, falling back.

"You can't be serious. Again?"

It was his turn to chuckle. "I meant literally starving. For food. I never had breakfast, remember? You stalked in here and seduced me, and now I'm faint from hunger and exertion."

She wound her arm down under the covers, wrapping her fingers around his erection.

"Yeah, I can see you're about to pa.s.s out. And for the record, you seduced me."

"I meant the second time."

"Oh. Yeah, that was my fault."

"I might have a little energy left, but then I'll really need food."

She took pity on him, rolling over to kiss him, offering a final, promising squeeze and then sliding out of bed, extending her hand to him.

"C'mon. Shower, then a late lunch."

"But...." He looked shamelessly down at his jutting c.o.c.k and then smiled at her.

She walked toward the shower, sending him a sly look. "Maybe we can take care of that in the shower."

He raised his eyebrows, looking interested. "You think so?"

She just smiled and disappeared behind the door, hearing his footsteps seconds behind her.

"LINE OR NET?"

"Net. There's no way I'm touching that stuff."

Logan took the plastic container of chicken necks and salted eel. "It won't bite you, but the crabs might."

"I'll risk it. That stuff stinks."

"Just chicken and fish parts. Don't be such a girl."

She stuck her tongue out, testing the weight of the long-handled net in her hands. The inn was having a bring-your-own crab dinner. They had arranged local licenses, rented equipment and given everyone maps and instructions. Whatever you brought back, they'd cook and provide the side dishes. Sarah had her doubts, but Logan seemed to think it would be fun. So here they stood on a dock, Logan attaching a slimy piece of bait to a hand line while she waited with her net.

"We aren't going to have to eat them whole, are we?"

"You don't like softsh.e.l.ls?" He sounded shocked. She wrinkled her face, thinking of the time she'd gone out to dinner with Ian, E.J. and Sage, all raving about soft-sh.e.l.l crab like it was the nirvana of food. Far from it, in her opinion.

"They look like fried spiders. I hate the way the legs hang out over the edges of the bun."

"That's the best part! You can bite them off before eating the rest."

She shuddered, wondering if they'd let her order a hamburger for dinner. Logan dropped the line into the murky wetland water.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they can come up with something else. Probably crab cakes."

"Now you're talking. I love those."

"This is the place for them-of course, Maryland is really the crab cake capital of the world, but I won't be too picky about state lines."

"Should we really be eating these? Aren't they overfished?"

Logan nodded. "It's a problem. The entire center of the Bay is protected water-no one can take blue crab out of water deeper than thirty-five feet, since the sp.a.w.ning crabs travelling from the north end of the Bay need to be protected. Some people think there needs to be more protection on the rivers and places like this, but there's also the financial draw, the support for places like the inn and local restaurants." He looked out over the Bay. "It's a balance between protecting the crabs and making a living. We won't take anywhere near as many as the license allows us to. If we manage to find any. Might be burgers tonight after all."

He winked at her, and she forgot about the crabs and wondered how long this would take. She wanted to get him back to the room. But before her thoughts could wander any further, he yelled in delight, lifting his line carefully.

"I guess my fears were unfounded. Let's see what we have here."

He pulled the line up very slowly, making sure not to dislodge the creature hanging from the end. Sarah brought the net down underneath as soon as she could reach, capturing the small, wriggling creature.

"It's so small."

Logan fished it out of the net. Avoiding the small claws, he turned it over and inspected it. Sarah watched it move, entranced by the pretty, soft blue sh.e.l.l. He held it up so she could see better.

"Meet Callinectes sapidus, Callinectes sapidus, the blue crab. The Latin translates to 'savory beautiful swimmer.' This one is probably too small. She'd make a decent sandwich maybe, but the law says she gets put back to go grow up and make more little crabs someday." the blue crab. The Latin translates to 'savory beautiful swimmer.' This one is probably too small. She'd make a decent sandwich maybe, but the law says she gets put back to go grow up and make more little crabs someday."

Sarah frowned, looking closely. "How do you know it's a girl crab?"

"See this triangular section? It's called the ap.r.o.n-indicates we have a female. When she's mature, it will be rounder, bluer, more defined, with a little point at the top. She's got a ways to go yet."

Sarah watched him toss the crab back into the water.

"So you've done this a lot? You know a lot about crabs."

He nodded. "My parents took us out all the time when we were kids."

"You have siblings?"

Sadness permeated his features, and she stayed silent. The mood had shifted in that moment, and she'd apparently stumbled onto something painful for him. Rebaiting the line and dropping it back into the water, his voice was low.

"I had a sister."

Past tense. Sarah put a hand on his shoulder. She respected pain, and privacy.

"You don't have to get into it."

He was quiet for another few minutes, turning his face to kiss her hand lightly. "It was a long time ago. Her name was Mary. She drove me crazy."

"Younger?"

"Yeah. I was thirteen, she was ten, and it was her mission in life to drive me out of my mind."

"I imagine you did the same to her."

He smiled slightly, remembering. "Yeah. We excelled at aggravating each other." He sat back, sighing, waiting for another pull on the line, but none came. "She and my mother were killed in a car accident. Drunk driver. They died at the scene. My dad was a state cop, and by some cruel twist of fate he was the first car to arrive at the accident."

"Jesus."

"Yeah. I've stopped wondering what she would have grown up to look like, how life would have been different if none of it had happened. There's no point, I suppose, in wondering. That doesn't stop you, though."

Sarah lined up behind him, warming him with a hug from behind, unsure what to say. There weren't words to deal with that kind of hurt, that kind of loss. He wrapped his hands up around hers.

"Dad lost it after that. The guy who killed them did a year and was back on the road. Dad started drinking, lost his job. Before I hit college, he pa.s.sed on, too. I think he just gave up."

Sarah felt a chill run down the length of her body. Logan had essentially been left alone at thirteen. Lost everyone who meant anything to him before he was even close to being an adult.

"You lived through it. You survived."

"It's a blur. I don't remember the years after Mom and Mary died too closely. I tried to help him, tried to-" He cut himself off, shaking the memories off like water. "It was hard, but I got through. There were some family members who came around, who tried to help, but there was only so much anyone could do."

Sarah sat, honored that he'd told her but unsure what to say. They'd been physically close, but this brought them to an entirely new level. And she didn't know how comfortable she was with that. This was supposed to be a fling, but with just a few words, Logan had taken them somewhere she wasn't sure she wanted to be.

Not that she had a choice, it seemed. She squeezed him in her arms, feeling for the grief he must have suffered, and understanding some of it, though in a different way. She supposed in cases like this it was normal to share something back, but she wasn't going to do that. She couldn't. Another tug on the line saved her from having to worry about it as he turned his attention back to the line, and pulled it up again.

"Get the net-this is a good one, I can feel it."

She picked up the net, at the ready, glad to have the solemn mood broken. She looked down-he was indeed pulling up the largest, bluest crab she'd ever seen. She reached down with the net, securing it, and pulled it up on the dock. Logan put his hand on her arm, cautioning.

"Be careful with the big ones-those claws can grab hold and not let go."

Raising her eyebrows, she took a step back. The large crab had a lot of s.p.u.n.k, facing off and clicking his claws like mad. He didn't care that he was a lot smaller-he had more arms, and he was ready to use them. Sarah smiled, respecting the crustacean's att.i.tude.

"Hey, tough guy."

"Uh-oh." Logan's voice interrupted her, sounding ominous.

"What?"

He sighed. "I know that sound, that tone of voice. You won't want to make crab cakes out of him, will you? You like him. You think he's cute."

Sarah blew him off, making a loud raspberry at the crab.

"Nope, he looks like dinner to me." She looked up. "Will we need more? He's pretty huge. And you know it's a he?" She was still confounded by how someone could tell the s.e.x of a crab, but hey, Logan did seem to know his biology.

"Yeah. So you don't want to throw him back?"

She shook her head resolutely. "No, since he's a he, we can definitely cook him."

"Ouch. I say that for all mankind, crustaceans included."

She grinned. "Sorry. But I do like crab cakes, and I won't feel too bad if we're only taking this one."

"That's the spirit." Logan put on a pair of heavy gloves and approached the crab from behind, picking him up carefully and tossing him into a deep pail.

"Let's head back."

THEIRS WAS the biggest crab, though others taking part in the picnic had caught more than they could eat, so there was plenty of crab for everyone, and many funny stories to go around. Sarah polished off her third crab cake, and turned to catch Logan watching her, an odd light in his eyes. A warmth that created an answering heat in her. She spooned up the last bite of crab and dipped it in mustard sauce, offering it to him. the biggest crab, though others taking part in the picnic had caught more than they could eat, so there was plenty of crab for everyone, and many funny stories to go around. Sarah polished off her third crab cake, and turned to catch Logan watching her, an odd light in his eyes. A warmth that created an answering heat in her. She spooned up the last bite of crab and dipped it in mustard sauce, offering it to him.

"You think you can lure me with that bait?"

"I stand a fair chance. It's not everyone I would let have the last bite."

"I must be special."

The words floated between them, and she decided to neither confirm nor deny.

It was dark outside; the backyard of the inn had been transformed into a fairyland lit with Chinese lanterns, flowers and trees budding everywhere around them, the spicy aroma of crab and other a.s.sorted foods in the air. Everyone laughed, talked and ate-including Sarah and Logan-until it neared ten, and she felt him start to pull away.

Deciding to face the issue head-on, she looked him in the eye and called a spade a spade. "Are you a vampire or something?"

He looked at her blankly, obviously confused. "What?"

"Well, you always start to tense up when it gets late, you become distracted, distant...the party is just getting started here, and the night is young, but I can feel you pulling yourself away." She took a deep breath, not losing eye contact, forcing herself to say the words. "Are you married, Logan?"