Quadruple Duty

“Tomorrow,” he said, dusting his hands off. “Lots of stuff gets answered.”

Kara’s eyes crawled slowly over his body. She couldn’t help it. A thin sheen of sweat lent extra definition to Logan’s arms, chest, and torso. His stomach, she was glad to see, was still flat and taut. Maybe not as tight as it had been six years ago, but his abdominals still rippled powerfully, just beneath the skin.

She watched him settle back into the loveseat. It was almost funny watching him try to cram his six-foot-two frame between the tiny couch’s ancient wooden arms.

“Okay, open that window,” said Kara. “Just a crack.”

Logan jumped back to his feet, his expression one of complete relief. His arms flexed tightly, biceps and triceps, as he undid the latch and lifted the creaky old window frame.

“And get into bed with me,” she added at last. Logan’s eyes went wide with disbelief.

“I’ll be damned if I’m sleeping alone with that ghost roaming around.”

Eight

The room cooled down quickly. Kara found herself beneath the covers, alongside Logan. At first they slept separately, back to back. But the first time he flipped over, she found herself spooning into him, seeking warmth.

This is a bad idea, the little voice in her head told her. You’re being stupid…

She kept telling herself she was still shaken. That she needed the comfort, the human contact. But it was more than that. Much more.

Kara flipped too. She was facing him now, nose to nose. His eyes were wide open.

“Why?” she asked simply.

The question lingered. It hung unanswered between them in the nighttime silence. Logan only stared back at her impassively. She studied his face, his lips…

“Why what?”

“You know what.”

He shrugged. “We were young. It was young love.”

“I was young,” she corrected him. “You took advantage.”

“You weren’t doing any complaining,” said Logan. “And if I recall, you always pushed harder than me.”

“I was nineteen. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing.”

He laughed. “Think any of us do?”

They were even closer now. Somehow during the conversation, one or both of them had snuggled in.

“Alright, maybe I understand why,” she admitted, dropping her gaze. “But the way it ended—”

He leaned in and kissed her. It was quick. Bold. But not entirely unexpected.

Kara’s mind spun, dizzily. She was lost between places. Between choices.

“I—I just—”

His lips pressed hard, churning insistently against her own. She could smell him, taste him. She could remember him. And then suddenly… suddenly Kara was kissing him back. She did it hungrily. Thirstily. Without reservation.

Dumb dumb dumb!

She pushed — no shoved aside the voice in her head. The voice no longer mattered. All that mattered was Logan’s two strong arms, sliding around her. Keeping her safe in the warmth and security of the world beneath their blankets.

Her lips parted slightly, and his tongue entered her mouth. It slid sexily against her own. Kara allowed her body to relax, her brain flooding with the pure, familiar pleasure of being crushed against her former lover. Everything came rushing back, all at once. The memories of being together. Of Logan on top of her. In her…