Logan's Leap (9 page)

Until
two years ago, if he had a physical need, his friend Julia had been more than
happy to oblige him. But he’d been with no one since she moved away. That must
be why Jayna appealed to him so much. But she’s the one person he couldn’t
have. In his mind, she should be off limits. “I’m going to take a shower and
make up a bed in the first room. I’ll take the baby monitor receiver so if you
need something tonight you can just holler.” His eyes stayed purposefully away
from the working end of the pump. Truthfully while that thing was working he
was kind of afraid. It looked uncomfortable and painful.

“Okay.
Thank you,” she said softly. “I think I’ll take a shower after you. If you’ll
watch CJ for me.”

“Of
course I will,” he answered with a smile. “I’ll let you know when I’m done with
the bathroom.” Hurrying down the stairs, he tossed the linens on the first bunk
and rushed into the bathroom.

Spending
so much time with Jayna was going to drive him up a wall. If he didn’t take
some of the pressure off, he would most definitely explode.

Every
time he’d closed his eyes that day he saw her face after their first brief kiss
– serene, beautiful and perfect.

And
now he wouldn’t be able to get the feeling of her lips, her hands, her soft
fragile body, out of his mind. It didn’t take long for the familiar sensations
to wrack him, making his knees go weak. He caught himself on the shower wall.
Whether this release would help or not remained to be seen. He somehow doubted
it would.

A
knock sounded on the door just as he was about to turn the water off. Jayna
burst into the room with a screeching CJ in her arms. Panic was front and
center on her face.

“Logan!
Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, turning away from the sight of his toned, glorious
body.

“What’s
wrong?” he asked, concerned. “Hand me that towel will you?”

Jayna
grabbed it and tossed it to him. He secured it around his waist and took CJ
from her.

“What’s
wrong little man?” he bounced him gently up and down trying to calm him. “How
long has he been like this?”

“Since
you left the loft pretty much. I think he’s in pain.”

“Yeah
sounds like it,” he murmured as he ran his hand over the baby’s body. “Do you
have a tummy ache, CJ? His tummy is really hard.”

“He
hasn’t had a dirty diaper all day,” she acknowledged. “Let’s get him into a hot
bath. That always worked with Deb’s kids.”

“Okay,
I’ll be right back. I saw a baby tub in the closet in the loft.” He handed CJ
over to Jayna and hurried up the stairs. When he came back, he was in
possession of a brand new, unopened baby bathtub.

“Your
brother doesn’t have kids, does he?” she asked as she took the small device and
filled it with warm water.

Logan
laughed. “Not that anyone knows of at least.” He moved the baby bath from the
tub to the counter then took CJ again.

The
baby screamed the whole time his diaper was being removed, but when Logan
lowered him into the water he became quiet. “You like that?  It must make your
tummy feel better.”

“If
I didn’t know better, I’d think you had experience with babies,” Jayna said as
she watched him interact expertly with her tiny son.

He
turned to her and smiled. “I’ve never really dealt with babies. But I figure as
long as they are small enough to fit in my arms and not talk back, I can
overpower them.”

Jayna
laughed. “Wait until he starts walking and talking. You’ll be out numbered…”
her words died. They both knew Logan would never know CJ at that point in his
development.

“He’s
starting to grunt a little. Should we let him go in here or put him in a
diaper?”

“I
vote for diaper,” Jayna said handing him a towel. "I don’t want to have to
clean him and the tub.”

Logan
wrapped the little one in the towel and carried him to the couch. Jayna
followed with a small stack of diapers.

“I’ll
change him. Why don’t you go take your shower now?”

“Mommy
will be right back,” she cooed to CJ as she kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t
give Uncle Logan a hard time.”

Their
eyes met and Logan nodded an okay to the nickname. Jayna smiled and hurried upstairs
to get the stuff she needed for her shower. Twenty minutes later, when she
finally came out of the steam filled bathroom, she was in her most comfy
pajamas and one of the tanks Logan had purchased for her. He was lying on the
couch still wrapped in the towel, with CJ cuddled on his chest. They seemed to
be having a conversation.

“It’s
going to be strange not having you in my room tonight. I might actually get
some sleep.”

CJ
started to squirm and cry.

"Okay,
okay, I’m sorry. Do you want me to sleep in there with you and Mommy?”

CJ
immediately calmed down.

Logan
sighed and closed his eyes. “I’ll do it for you, but I won’t enjoy it. Your
mama is too pretty for her own good, and mine.”

“Hey
guys, what are you two up to?’ she asked, walking into the room.

“We’re
just having some guy talk. Isn’t that right, little man?”

“Sounds
fun,” she said with a smile. “How is our little problem?”

“Apparently
cured. He’s got a second fresh diaper on and is acting hungry."

“Let
me have him. I’ll feed him while you get dressed.” She sat in the easy chair
and Logan handed him over.

“I’ll
be back and we can watch a movie if you want. I’m sure Dylan has something
other than porn.”

“I
wouldn’t count on it,” Jayna said. “How about we take it up stairs.”

“Good
idea. I’ll see you there when little man has his fill.”

**********

Jayna
walked around locking doors and turning lights off as she burped the baby.
Logan was standing near the bed when she finally made it up stairs. His
well-worn pajama bottoms hung low on his hips and he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

“Did
you find a movie?”

“We
have a choice of three classic kids' movies,” he said, pointing to the TV
stand. “Go ahead and chose one if you want. I’ll dress CJ for you.”

“So,
your brother watches porn and kids' movies?” she asked with a chuckle.

“I…don’t
even know. He probably has other movies stashed downstairs for guests, but I
don’t feel like searching for them.”

“That’s
okay. There's one here that I love and haven’t seen in years. We’ll watch it.”
She put the disk in the player and crawled into bed.

Logan
sat down on the opposite side, with CJ in his arms. He absently caressed the
baby’s soft little head. Jayna looked on and smiled. He may not want her, but
he sure was getting attached to her son. She couldn’t help but wonder how hard
it would be for all of them when this mess was over and she left.

CJ
started to fuss and Logan began singing a lullaby in his deep baritone. Jayna
watched in awe as her fussy little baby calmed down and fell fast asleep
against Logan’s chest.

Soon,
he put CJ in the crib then sat back to enjoy the movie. He was shoulder to
shoulder with Jayna. His whole arm burned with the need to wrap around her
shoulders. But if he did that she might read too much into it. He wasn’t
prepared to take that risk.

Jayna
started to laugh at the movie and Logan joined in. He knew why Dylan had this
one. It had been a Harper family favorite.

“Hey,
shh,” Logan murmured as he turned the volume down with the remote. “What’s that
sound?”

“I
didn’t hear anything,” Jayna said quietly. “Wait, there it is. What the hell is
that?”

Logan
got out of bed and pulled the nightstand drawer open. He retrieved the 9mm and
handed it to Jayna. "Stay here," he ordered.  "I’ll be right
back." Slipping his shoes on, he grabbed a hoodie and headed down the
stairs.

Jayna
heard him loading a shotgun and then the door slammed. How could they have been
found already? It just wasn’t possible was it?

The
baby stirred in the crib and she said a silent prayer that he would stay
asleep. Ten long, excruciating minutes later, she heard the door open
downstairs.

“It’s
me,” Logan called up to her. “It’s all clear.”

Jayna
breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed against the headboard. When Logan
appeared in the doorway, she was shaking and the gun was on the bed beside her.
“You might want to put that away. I’m shaking so bad that if I touch it I’d
probably shoot my foot off.”

Logan
grabbed the pistol and quickly stored it back in the nightstand. He sat down
next to Jayna and gathered her in his arms. "It’s okay, you’re safe.”

“What
the hell was it?” she asked in a whisper.

“Probably
just an animal.”

“Probably?”

“By
the time I got out there, whatever it was, was gone. One of the fence posts was
knocked over but nothing else was out of place. An old moose probably thought
the post was his girlfriend."

The
thought amused Jayna and she relaxed a bit. “I hate being so paranoid.”

“I
know. Maybe you should try to sleep.”

“Okay,”
she said, pulling out of his arms. "Are you still going to sleep
downstairs?”

“No.
I’d feel better up here with you and CJ. That’s okay with you, right?”

“Yeah,
I think I’d feel better too.”

***********

Jayna
woke up to a quiet house. It was still dark outside so she rolled to her other
side to go back to sleep. Logan was gone. Her first thought was that something
was wrong. When had she become such a worry wart?  But she knew that it was
ever since Reginald had decided that she was his property and didn’t want to
share her with their child.

Getting
out of bed, she grabbed the baby monitor and headed downstairs. When she
stepped into the living room, he was pacing and mumbling. “Logan are you okay?”

He
stopped moving and put his hands, palm down, on the counter. “Other than going
out of my damn mind, I’m good,” he murmured.

Jayna
walked over to him and put her hand on his bare shoulder. “Please tell me
what’s wrong?”

Logan
flinched and sucked a breath in through his own teeth. "Please don’t touch
me,” he whispered. “You have no idea what being so close to you does to me.”

“I’m
so sorry,” she murmured, letting her hand drop and stepping away.

“It’s
okay,” he choked out. Although he wasn’t sure how it could be. Surviving the
next couple of weeks would be one of the hardest things he had to do.

Jayna
closed her eyes and moved up to him again. “There’s something I want to do for
you.” It came out as a hoarse whisper.

“Please
Jayna…”

“Logan,”
she said softly, resting her hand on his strong back. “I haven’t felt this
alive in years. Please indulge me.”

“I…”

Jayna
wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her body against his. “Please
come to the living room with me,” she whispered.

His
hands fell from the counter top allowing her to grab one and pull him to the
other room. “This is wrong, Sleeping Beauty. I don’t want to be your boyfriend.
I’m sorry, I just can’t.”

“I
know, Logan. That’s not what I want from you right now.”

“Then
why?”

“Look
what I do to you,” she said, reaching out to run her hand up the hard length
beneath his pajama pants. “The least I can do is take care of you.”

Logan
gasped at her touch and pulled back slightly. “There’s more to it than that,”
he suggested, his voice deep and gruff. “What’s going on?”

“Reginald,”
she groaned. “He never let me do anything for him. He always had to be in
control. I have this need to do everything he ever denied me.”

“But
I’m not allowed to do anything for you and God knows I want to.”

“I
know you do,” she murmured, stepping forward. “Kiss me Logan, please.”

That
one simple request, he couldn’t find it in himself to deny her. Their lips met,
tentatively at first, until Logan grabbed her waist and pulled her as close as
he could. Jayna took advantage of the closeness and started walking him back to
the couch. She pulled away and pushed him down, “Don’t move.”

Logan
was too stunned to do anything so he sat and watched Jayna as she set the baby
monitor on the nearby end table then walked back to kneel in front of him.

“This
is so wrong,” Logan warned with a quiet, serious voice.

“Give
me a minute and it will feel so right,” she murmured before freeing him. “God
you’re perfect.”

“Jayna…”

"Please
Logan,” she asked softly as she stroked his length.

He
didn’t answer, his head just fell back against the couch and he sighed. Jayna
continued stroking as he pulsed beneath her hand and grew harder.