Page 19 of Winter’s Fire

“I never thought for one moment you did. I do think you need company, though, and as I said, I can’t sleep.”

“You won’t be able to keep up with me.”

“Care to bet on it? Give me a minute to get changed.”

In defiance of his brain, his mouth agreed—the bloody thing was clearly in league with his dick. His imagination muscled in on the act as well, clothing her in a revealing, spray-painted running outfit that clung to her body like a second skin.

Christ, he was in a shitty mood tonight.

While she was gone, Logan took the opportunity to marshal his resolve. He could do this. Lucy might have legs that went on for miles, but he was the one with the training. If she thought he’d moderate his pace to suit her, she’d get a rude awakening—the sooner she gave up the better, because then he could carry on alone and hunt down the tranquillity he craved.

When she returned, that tranquillity seemed further away than ever. In spite of his imagination’s best efforts, he was ill prepared for skin-tight leggings and a t-shirt bonded to her curves. She was carrying a lightweight casual jacket. Certainly looked the part from the professional-looking running shoes up, he admitted grudgingly. Didn’t mean she’d be any good, his inner bastard countered. “Come on, then.”

“How far are you planning to go?”

“Five miles, maybe more.” Definitely more, because she’d have thrown in the towel long before he reached five pitiful little miles.

“A stroll in the park, then.”

What the hell…? Logan’s eyes narrowed. She was winding him up, deliberately goading him. Had to be.

“Well, are we going, or are you backing out because you think I’ll beat you?”

Brat. He’d show her.

The route was one Logan had taken many times since moving to the apartment, and he knew the landmarks at each mile by heart. When he reached the third he stopped, expecting to see Lucy a long way behind, winded, and barely able to remain upright.

The sight that greeted him was a kick in the balls that almost rendered him speechless.

Her pace was slowing to a jog, a walk, and then a standstill, right there in front of him, and by the look of it, she wasn’t even remotely out of breath. It certainly didn’t impede her ability to start a conversation.

“What have we stopped for? Something wrong?”

“Not a thing.”

“Is this the best you can do, then?” She folded her arms and cocked a hip, her stance full of impudence and challenge.

There was more to the brat than met the eye. A sense of unease whispered at the back of Logan’s mind, giving voice to the suspicion that he might have underestimated her.

That made her dangerous enough, but what gave him even greater cause for concern was the way she was attacking his defences with such apparent ease. He’d long since locked the door on the kind of interest in a woman now jolting to unsteady life because of her. Locked it, thrown the bolt across it, nailed it shut and turned his back on it, yet ever since he’d met her, in spite of his best efforts to the contrary, he’d been thinking things he had no right to think… feeling things he had no right to feel.

“How about if we find out the best you can do?”

And with that, he turned and sprinted away, as if every beast from the depths of hell were hunting his immortal soul.

They returned to the apartment after almost an hour of pounding the streets. Logan unlocked the door and pushed it open, standing back to allow Lucy to enter first.

“So how come you run like a pro?”

He wanted to be annoyed by the fact that she looked as if she’d done nothing more strenuous than take an easy jog around the park or done a light workout in the gym, but he could find only admiration for her level of fitness and the dedication required not only to achieve it, but maintain it. The only sign of exertion was her slightly elevated respiration, her glistening face, and the few wisps of hair that had escaped from her ponytail and clung to her glowing skin.

In spite of himself, Logan couldn’t help but find it refreshing that she wasn’t fussing over her appearance, either. He’d spent way too much time around women who were preoccupied with the way they looked, and who didn’t listen. Lucy listened, and had proved it by preceding him into the apartment.

“Just because I work behind a desk, it doesn’t mean I live behind one. I was brought up on a farm, and spent most of my childhood outdoors, not in front of a computer. I still go home whenever I can, because the city drives me nuts occasionally. Thing is, my brother Adam’s in the Army, and he’s taught me a thing or two when it comes to physical fitness.”

Logan wondered exactly what “a thing or two” encompassed. Her level of fitness clearly exceeded the average, and as she shrugged out of her jacket, he took a renewed interest in assessing her overall muscle tone.

From an objective point of view, it was good to know she took care of herself, in case they needed to move anywhere fast.