“Are you attracted to me, Logan?” She pressed her fingers against my arm, and I turned to look at her quickly. She was giving me a sultry look, and I almost did a double take. What was going on here?
“Where do you live, Maddie?”
“I don’t want to go home,” she said softly.
“Where do you want to go?”
“To your place.”
“I don’t have my own place.”
“Where do you live?” she asked.
“With my dad and two brothers.”
“Do you have your own room?”
“Yeah,” I replied.
“So let’s go.”
“Why?”
“Do I have to tell you why?” She laughed. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“How old are you, Maddie?”
“Twenty.”
“Let me take you home.” I gritted my teeth and ignored the stirrings of lust in my pants. It would not be a good idea to take Maddie home. She was trouble, I could sense it in my bones. They didn’t come any crazier than Maddie. Yes, she was beautiful, and yes, she was fearless, but she was not someone I needed in my life.
“Come on, Logan Martelli, take me home.”
My breath caught as she said my whole name and I looked at her with suspicion. Had she known who I was the whole time? “How did you know who I was?”
“Who doesn’t know the Martelli family in River Valley?” She spoke matter-of-factly. “I mean, I only just figured it out a few minutes ago. You don’t look like I pictured.”
“How did you picture me? Like the big, bad wolf?”
“Something like that.” She nodded. “You’re younger than I thought. How old are you?”
“Twenty-five.” I paused. “So, what’s your address so I can take you home?”
“I don’t know if I should give you my address. What if you come back to steal from my house?”
“I wouldn’t—” My face flushed as I responded to her angrily.
“I’m joking, Log.” She touched my arm again. “Can I call you Log?”
“No.”
“I’m joking. I want to go home with you.” She shifted in her seat and moved even closer to me. “Please.”
“No.” My voice was resolute, and I was saying that “no” to her and myself.
“Please.”
“You don’t even know me.” I shook my head. “You shouldn’t go home with strange guys.”
“You shouldn’t let strange girls into your car.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“So can I. Please.” Her voice broke. “I don’t want to go home tonight. I don’t want to answer any questions.”
“I can’t take you back to my place.” I shook my head. There was no way I was taking this girl back to my house. Not only would my dad and brothers wonder what was going on, it would go against my own rules. I never brought women back to our place. It was something I had never done. And I wasn’t about to start with her.
“You think I’m pitiful, don’t you?” Her voice cracked and I could barely hear her as her face was pressed against the window. “You think I’m just this beautiful girl, with nothing better to do than just steal cars for fun. And now I’m practically begging you to be with me, and you’re disgusted with me. Do you think I’m crazy?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t believe you said that.” She turned towards me, laughing. “I guess the pity act doesn’t work on you, does it?”
“What do you want, Maddie?” I turned to look at her again. “I’m tired and…”
“Shhh.” She leaned over to me and kissed my cheek. Her hand reached up to my face. She twisted my face towards hers and I felt her lips press down on mine. Her lips were soft and firm as she kissed me, and I felt a warm surge of electricity run through me. She pulled back after a few seconds, and I sat there immobile. She sat back in her seat and smiled to herself. “I live on Manor Road. You can take me there, or we can go somewhere else. Your choice.”
I stared ahead and didn’t answer her. My mind was spinning with questions. She lived on Manor Road? That meant she was rich, really rich. The sort of rich that made the Forbes’ Richest People in the World list. What was she doing trying to steal a cop car? And what was she doing with the likes of me? And how brazen was she to kiss me? I grinned to myself as I thought about the kiss; I could still taste her on my lips. She was trouble, plain and simple. The only possible outcome to this evening was to take her home. Take her home and never see her again. I’d warn her that a life of crime wasn’t the way to get attention from her rich parents. Obviously, she was crying out for attention. Maybe her daddy worked too many hours and her mom was too busy servicing the pool boy and getting her hair done. Maddie was lost and crying out for help. I couldn’t do anything to help her. Not a damn thing. She didn’t need to get messed up with a Martelli.
I stared straight ahead and pressed my foot on the gas, ignoring the thumping of my heart and the heat in my face and pants. Maddie was not the girl for me. I wanted nothing to do with some rich girl who was looking for a joy ride. I could sense the exact moment the grin spread on Maddie’s face. As I passed Manor Road and kept driving, I wondered what I was doing. But I ignored the niggling thoughts in my mind. I’d worry about everything tomorrow. Tonight was special, it was crazy, it was beautiful, it was full of wonder. Tonight, I was going to just be with Maddie, and tomorrow, I’d worry about all the other shit.
Chapter 2
Logan
“I can take you back home if you want.” I looked at Maddie as we walked across the grass. “It won’t be comfortable.”
“I see a blanket in your hand. Where did you even get a blanket from?” She laughed and pointed at the Disney Princess blanket in my hand. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.” She paused and said casually, “Do you bring a lot of girls here then?”
“No, and I got the blanket from the backseat.” I shook my head and turned away from her. The truth was, I had never brought another girl here. It was my special place, the place I came to when I wanted to think and be away from my brothers and my dad.
“The stars look so close,” she whispered in hushed tones. “I didn’t think the sky could look any prettier than it does down by the pier, but it is gorgeous here.”
“I think we’re closer to the sky.” I nodded in agreement.
“Really?” She looked surprised. “I didn’t think the altitude was any higher here.”
“I don’t know if that’s a fact, scientifically or anything,” I increased my pace. “I just think we’re closer.”
“You may be right.” She reached out and linked her arm through mine. “It’s pretty here. Where are we going?”
“There’s an old shack further down this path.” I pointed in front of us.
She giggled. “Oh, it looks grand.”
“You can see it?” I frowned. It was extremely dark, and while the stars and moon illuminated the field we were walking through, it wasn’t so bright that I could see the shack.
“No, silly.” She leaned her head into my arm and I tensed up. “I was joking.”
“Oh.”
“I’m glad you decided not to take me home.”
“I figured you may as well continue your night of crime and debauchery.” I tried to make a joke, but my voice sounded too serious.
“We’re a regular Bonnie and Clyde, aren’t we?”
“No, no, we’re not. I had nothing to do with you and the cop car.”
“I’m joking, Logan.” Her voice was suddenly serious. “I’m sorry if you think I forced you to bring me here tonight. You can take me home, if you’re scared I’m going to get you in trouble.”
The irony of the situation hit me once again. She was worried she was going to get me in trouble? “Let’s not talk about our crimes of the evening,” I said lightly.
“Sounds good to me.” She stumbled and I grabbed hold of her to make sure she didn’t fall. My hands slid around her waist, and I brought her in close to me to steady her. She looked up at me in thanks, and I was overcome with an emotion that I was unfamiliar with.
“Be careful,” I spoke gruffly as I let go of her. “I don’t want you to get a twisted ankle.”
“I’ll be okay.” She spoke lightly and ran ahead slightly. I felt slightly disappointed that she was no longer holding on to my arm. I missed the feel of her hand on my body.
“Where are you running to?”
“The shack.”
“But you don’t know where it is.”
“I’m sure you’ll tell me when to stop.” She started running faster, and I watched as her long legs sprinted in front of me, and her hair flew behind her. Her strides were long and she had perfect form as she ran; I realized that she must have run track at some point in her life.
“Hold on.” I ran behind her and tried to catch up. She paused for a second and looked back at me. I saw the same twinkle in her eye that I had seen earlier that evening.
“Catch me if you can!” She laughed and started running again. She increased her pace and I doubled up my efforts to catch her. It took about a minute of running for me to finally catch up with her. I grabbed hold of her waist and we both went crashing down to the ground, as I couldn’t stop my momentum.
“Ow,” she laughed into my face as we rolled around in the grass. “That hurt.”
“Sure it did.” I laughed into her face, panting. “You can sure run fast.”
“Thank God! The police would have caught me if I wasn’t as fast as a rocket.”
“As fast as a rocket, huh?”
“That’s what my dad says.” She smiled into my face, and she rolled over on top of me. “You really do look like James Dean.”
“Is that why you wanted to spend the night with me?” I said, only half joking. A part of me was sad at the thought.
“Nah.” She leaned down, her hair framing her face and brushing against the sides of my cheeks.
“So then why?”
“Because you taste like sin.” She winked at me and pressed her lips against mine softly. I reached up and pulled her head down and crushed her lips against mine. I rolled her over onto her back and straddled her, pushing my tongue into her mouth as I pinned her arms back so she couldn’t move. Her eyes widened at the pressure of me against her I grinned against her lips. She had no idea who she was dealing with. My tongue explored her mouth as she wiggled beneath me, and I kissed her harder, sucking on her tongue as she struggled to move her arms. I winked at her and finally released them, and she ran her fingers through my hair and down my back, allowing her fingernails to dig into my skin.
I ran my hand through her hair and down the side of her face, before removing my tongue from her mouth and licking down her chin to her neck. I allowed my tongue to trail down her neck to her chest and she stilled beneath me as my fingers ran up her stomach and settled on her right breast. I paused and moved my mouth over to her left breast. I bit down on her hard nipple through her tank top as my fingers played with her other breast. I could hear her panting beneath me, and she moved underneath me. I ran my fingers down from her breast to her stomach and then to her thighs. Running them lightly up her inner thigh, I then stopped and sat up.
I looked down at her, panting in the grass, staring up at me with eyes full of lust, and it took everything I had in me to not rip her jeans off and take her then and there.
I jumped up and reached down and pulled her up to join me.
“What just happened?” She looked at me with dazed and innocent eyes. “Why did you stop?”
“I’m not going to take you in the grass, in the middle of some field. And I don’t have protection.”
“Oh.” She nibbled on her lower lip. “I would have thought someone like you would have protection at all times.”
“Someone like me?” My heart beat rapidly at her words. I tried to ignore the hurt that coursed through my veins.
“Yeah, I figured a guy as hot as you would have hundreds of women throwing themselves at him.”
“Oh.” I laughed, trying not to fall under the spell her eyes were casting up at me. “I don’t generally get many girls throwing themselves at me.”
“I’m the only one who has wanted you?”
“You’re the only girl I know who has told me to take her in a field.”
“Then you should do it,” she grinned at me impishly. “I’m on the pill.”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head, ignoring the urge to pull her towards me and take her then and there. She was one of the sexiest and most confident girls I had ever met and I was having a hard time resisting her. And it was about more than the hot lust I felt for her, there was something about her smile that was tugging on my heartstrings. And frankly, it was that emotion that had me scared and holding back.
“Why not?” She pouted.
“You don’t even know me.” I shook my head. “You’re not very smart, are you?”
“I want to have sex with you.”
“Me, or any guy?” I stared at her pointedly. As much as I wanted to take her, I knew that I couldn’t. She didn’t seem like the sort of girl who knew the score. And as much as I didn’t care if she got hurt, I just couldn’t go forward. I didn’t bother asking myself why; I didn’t want to know.