After a few more rounds of training, I called it for the day. Everyone was sweaty and tired, but the energy felt lighter, like we’d made real progress. Liam and Mal stayed back to clean up the training area, but Logan had already disappeared into the cabin.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand, grabbed my water bottle, and headed inside. The cabin was quiet except for the faint creak of the floorboards under my feet. I found Logan sitting on the couch, flipping through a worn notebook. His brow was furrowed like he was deep in thought, but when he noticed me, he snapped the book shut and leaned back casually.
“Done playing drill sergeant?” he asked, smirking.
“Done listening to you eat pancakes while the rest of us work,” I shot back, but my tone was light. I leaned against the arm of the couch, looking down at him. “What’s with the notebook?”
“Nothing important,” he said quickly, tucking it beside him. “Just notes.”
“Notes?” I raised an eyebrow. “Since when do you take notes?”
Logan shrugged, his smirk fading a little. “Sometimes it helps to keep track of things. Strategies, ideas, that kind of stuff.”
I narrowed my eyes, stepping closer. “Strategies and ideas, huh?”
Before he could react, I snatched the notebook from beside him and flipped it open. Logan sat up quickly, a mix of amusement and alarm crossing his face. “Audrey, don’t-”
“Oh, come on. What’s in here that’s so top secret?” I teased, holding the notebook out of his reach as I skimmed through the pages.
The handwriting was rough, quick, and chaotic-sketches, notes, and half-finished thoughts. One page caught my attention: a rough drawing of the training field with positions marked out and a scrawled note at the bottom that read, “Protect Audrey at all costs.”
My chest tightened slightly, but I quickly masked it with a playful smirk and flung the notebook onto the other side of the couch. Logan gave an exasperated sigh, reaching for it, but I was faster.
Sliding onto his lap, I wrapped one arm loosely around his neck, leaning close enough to feel the tension in his shoulders. “Why don’t you track something else instead?” I said softly, my voice dipping just enough to make his gaze snap to mine.
His blue eyes locked on mine, narrowing slightly as a slow, crooked smile spread across his lips. “Is that so?” he said, his voice low and challenging.
I tilted my head, giving him the best seductive look I could muster. “Mm-hmm. You’re good at keeping track of things, aren’t you?”
His hands rested lightly on my waist, his touch sending a warm shiver through me. “I could be convinced,” he murmured, his smirk deepening.
The playful tension between us thickened, the air charged with something electric. Logan’s gaze flicked to my lips for just a second before meeting my eyes again, and for a moment, it felt like the world outside the cabin didn’t exist.
But then, the sound of the door creaking open broke the moment.
“Am I interrupting something?” Liam’s voice rang out, his tone dripping with faux innocence.
I froze, glancing over my shoulder to see him standing in the doorway, an infuriatingly smug grin on his face.
Logan groaned, letting his head fall back against the couch. “Perfect timing as always, Liam.”
I scrambled off Logan’s lap, my cheeks burning. “We were just-”
“Yeah, sure,” Liam said, cutting me off with a wink. “Don’t mind me. Just grabbing some water.”
He disappeared into the kitchen, leaving behind a silence that was almost louder than his teasing.
Logan chuckled softly, leaning back on the couch and running a hand through his hair. “Well, that killed the mood.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, shaking my head as I sat on the opposite end of the couch, still feeling the heat in my face. “You owe me for that,” I muttered.
“Oh, I plan to make it up to you,” he said, his smirk returning. “Just wait.”