THE BRAVO BOYS - SNAKE EATER [book three]

Chapter SIXTY FOUR

Shelby Quinn

My body thrums like a livewire as we tumble through the front door of my apartment, tearing off each other's soaked outer layers and kicking off our soggy shoes.

Logan has me stripped to my underwear in a matter of seconds, his hands gripping feverishly to my backside. His tongue swirls within the soft cavern of my mouth, starved with an insatiable need. Only once we have made it past the threshold and down the hall does he break away from me to look around my living room, curious bewilderment bright in his rich brown eyes.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me." Logan chortles in amusement as his gaze passes over the pastel pink wallpaper and plush sheepskin rugs before skimming over a shelf of feminine tchotchkes and glittering trinkets. "It's like Barbie's damn dream house in here!"

I bite my bottom lip, suddenly feeling oddly naked and vulnerable in a new way. I haven't ever invited a man inside my apartment, not even Slater and Cassidy have seen the soft floral patterns and delicate dusty tones that I retreat into after a tiresome day. And not only because they would tease me relentlessly about it. But because my apartment has always been my sacred space, my safe haven, where I could simply exist without anybody judging me. The place that would comfort me through the lonely life I had built before Logan pried my heart wide open.

"I like pink." I mumble admittedly, wrapping my arms protectively around myself, preparing to face his taunts and ridicule..

But it never comes..

"I can see that-" He smiles, as his attention lands on a shelf of accomplishments, polished war medals and a bejewelled tiara catching his eye. Fingering the crystals of my pageant crown, he lifts the silver headpiece, turning to face me before placing it on my head with a sexy smirk. "My Beauty Queen."

My arms fall away as he crowns me, his gaze softening upon me to wash me in a honeyed warmth. "If it weren't for this crown, you never would have agreed to help me search for Hendrix." I smile to myself, struck by how far the two of us have come. It is as though we have lived a lifetime together in a matter of months.

"That's not true." He laughs, his rich cocoa gaze narrowing in on me. "I didn't do all this on a lick and a promise, Shelby, I knew I was a goner from the moment I first saw you. It was you, Little-Miss-Hardass, who weren't so impressed by me."

"Well, if we're being completely honest-" I giggle shyly, feeling silly now for my past perceptions. "Maybe I was a little intimidated by you."

"It sure didn't seem that way." He grins, reaching out to affectionately tuck a loose strand back behind my ear.

"Oh, I know, I hide it well." I smile, reaching up to remove the heavy crown from my head. I am not that girl anymore. I will never be her again. But for the first time in a long time, I feel like myself. "The way Iris spoke about you, it was clear to me how much respect she had for you. But after all the pageants and princess gowns, I was afraid you wouldn't take me seriously."

Logan watches as I set the tiara carefully back on the shelf. "You don't ever gotta hide from me, Butterfly." He strokes my cheek with an adoring caress. "I love everything about you, rhinestones, scars, attitude and all."

"It wasn't you I was hiding from, Logan." I sigh. "I was hiding from myself, because the truth is I've been scared to let myself be happy. I always felt like I wasn't enough- or like I hadn't earned it and if I just worked harder- it's stupid."

I can't help but think of Hendrix and his constant disappointment in me, the very root of my insecurities.

How is a girl supposed to learn to love herself when her own father couldn't?