Closing the gap between them, Logan got almost in her face. Their height difference caused her to look up at him, but he didn’t back away.
“It isn’t what you think.” He lowered his voice, letting the excessive energy drain from his body.
“It doesn’t matter what I think it is, Logan. I learned a valuable lesson today. I learned that I am not strong enough to endure a relationship with you.”
She could have just slapped him, her words having the same effect. Retaliating with words wasn’t going to get him anywhere, yet Logan wasn’t going down without a fight.
Gently tilting her chin up, Logan forced her to look at him. He leaned in, bringing their faces closer together, needing to make his point. “You’re the strongest woman I have ever met. Trusting me wasn’t easy for you, but you did trust me, Sam. I need you to keep trusting me.”
When she would have argued, he stopped her by interrupting. “What I feel for you isn’t superficial. Heather would never be able to distract me from you.”
He’d captured her attention, making her think about his meaning. Logan could see her confusion, knew he’d inserted doubt in her mind. When tears welled up in her eyes, Logan cupped her face. “God, Sam. You really don’t get it, do you?”
He brushed a kiss over her lips, still cupping her face so she couldn’t back away. “I didn’t go to California to have dinner with Heather. She set me up.” Logan explained, feeling Sam’s body tense. “I would have never gone to California if I had known what I was walking into. There wasn’t an issue with At Last’s contract. Heather manipulated the entire thing. Then, to top it off, when I told her that I had actually met someone, she did some digging and she found out about you.”
Sam pulled back quickly, his hands slipping from her cheeks. She was definitely listening now. Logan didn’t want her to have a chance to think about how lousy things could be, so he continued. “Xavier called me into his office this afternoon. He knows about us.”
“Oh God, Logan, I’m so sorry.” Sam turned and started pacing the floor.
What? What the hell was she sorry about? Logan hadn’t expected the sudden turn, so he just stared at her, his eyes tracking her every movement as she wore a path in the carpet.
“Maybe I can go back to San Antonio. I didn’t mean for this to happen anyway. Yes, it would be better for me to go back.”
Sam would have rambled more, except Logan grabbed her arm, stopping her back and forth momentum, pulling her flush against him. Gripping her arms, he held her back just enough to see her face. “I’m not letting you walk out of my life, so you can forget about San Antonio. We’ll work out any issues. Xavier understands what’s going on.”
“But, what if they think –”
“Trust me, Sam.” Logan gripped her chin more forcefully than before.
Sam’s palms were pressed against his chest, her face inches from his, and he knew she felt the way his heart thundered. She relaxed against him, and her body shuddered, making him pull her against him, his chin resting on the top of her head.
“I do trust you, Logan. That’s what the problem is. I trust you and I know that I can’t compete with anyone or anything for your attention.”
Holding her close, Logan inhaled the sweet citrus scent of her hair, felt the soft skin of her arms beneath his fingertips. At least they were making progress, but he didn’t expect this to be easy. Nothing worth fighting for ever was.
“We owe it to each other and to whatever this is between us to discuss this further.”
She nodded her head against his chest, her hands sliding around to his back, sending a frisson of heat coursing through him. When Sam touched him, his world slowed, and nothing mattered except the feel of her hands on him.
“This hurts Logan. The pain in my chest is almost unbearable. The worst part of it is I don’t want this to be over, but I know I’m no longer in control.”
She controlled more than she would ever know where he was concerned.
Feeling the need to explain, while she was giving him the chance, Logan started talking, still holding her close. “I didn’t even know Heather worked for At Last. I haven’t talked to her or seen her in eight years. Seeing her there caught me off guard, but the only thing I could think about was you.”
“You never even called. I waited for you to call and you didn’t. What was I supposed to think when I hear you telling Deanna that you had dinner with Heather?”
She was right. He hadn’t called. Trying to come up with a backup plan while preparing to discuss the extent of the negotiations At Last called him there for, Logan managed to stay busy. That’s what he tried to tell himself anyway.
If he was honest with himself, and Sam, Logan had avoided calling her so he could contemplate the feelings he had for her. They hit him unexpectedly and being the reasonable business man that he is, he had spent time trying to think about the pros and cons of how he felt about her.
This was one of the cons. He didn’t want to fight with her. He didn’t want to hurt her. And he didn’t want to get hurt. But, the reasonable side of him knew if he didn’t take the chance and risk all of those things, then he would miss out on what was probably the best thing to ever happen to him.
“You’re right. I didn’t call. I should have. It isn’t because I didn’t think about you, because I did.” Logan pulled back, gripping her shoulders in his hands as he looked her in the eye. “You have to realize that the things going through your mind are the same things going through mine. I’m trying to get my head around this situation, as well. It happened so fast, and sometimes I wonder if it’s real.”
Chapter Twenty Three
~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~
To think, Logan McCoy was actually human.
What had she expected?
Sam felt lower than ever, realizing throughout this entire ordeal, she’d given no thought to Logan or his feelings. She’d been selfish, believing she was the only one who could be hurt. She had been so wrapped up in protecting herself and being prepared for the worst that she didn’t even stop to think about how he felt.
“I’m sorry.” She whispered, once again pressing her face against the fabric of his shirt. He smelled terrific. Like fabric softener and some sort of spicy musk.
“I don’t want you to be sorry. The real lesson, that we both need to learn, is we’ve both been burned, so it’s alright to be cautious, but we have to give each other a chance.”
Looking up into his hazel eyes, seeing the furrow in his brow, Sam contemplated the wisdom of his words. He was right, though she didn’t want to admit it. Holding on to the fear, even the anger, was so much easier than giving herself over unconditionally to this man. “Now what?”
“If you’ll let me, I’d like to explain exactly what happened this weekend.”
With minimal reluctance, all of the fight officially drained out of her, Sam agreed to hear him out. Logan talked, answering her questions when she had them, and not only did he tell her the logistics, he admitted to the way he felt.
As the conversation wound down, Sam couldn’t stifle her yawn. Despite her earlier nap, she was exhausted, wanting nothing more than to curl up in Logan’s arms and sleep for hours. Maybe days.
When he glanced at his watch, Sam knew they were about to call it a night. She was torn between how it might end.
“I need to go. I’ve kept you up long enough, and you need some sleep.”
“I don’t want you to go.”
Logan smiled, gifting Sam with a peek of his sexy dimple. “Does that mean you want me to stay?”
No more beating around the bush. It was after midnight, and Sam didn’t want to waste another minute. “Yes. I want you to stay.”
“Then I’ll stay.”
Taking his hand in hers, Sam led him to her bedroom, suddenly revived and no longer anxious for sleep. As they neared the bed, he turned to face her, pulling her against him, their bodies aligning like they were made for one another.
Sam loved the way she
fit against him, his sheer size making her feel small. And compared to him, she was small, but when his arms wrapped around her, she fit perfectly inside of them, but more importantly, his mouth seemed made for hers.
When he brushed his lips over hers, the soft warmth sent tingles down her arms. As he pursued her tongue, a sweet, sensual mating ensued, and a desperate hunger took flight inside of her.
She loved kissing this man, her body eager to feel more of him. When he leaned her over, slowly lowering her to the mattress, Sam kept her mouth crushed to his. As his body came down to cover hers, she groaned at the sweet pressure between her thighs. She wanted more, and she wanted it now.
She spread her legs further, allowing him to ease between them, the steel hard edge of his erection aligning exactly where she wanted him. Trying to pull him closer, she wrapped one leg around behind him, pressing intimately against his thigh, letting the friction ignite a sensual firestorm between her legs.
“That’s it, baby.” Logan’s voice thundered, sending heat reverberating through her.
Momentarily, the heat left her as Logan quickly shed both of their clothes, but when he pressed down into her once more, skin to skin, Sam knew it had been worth the wait. Every nerve ending lit up like the 4th of July, as she tried to get closer.
“Make love to me, Logan.” She was begging, sliding her hands over his smooth back, down to his ass so she could pull him closer, despite the fact that he didn’t seem to budge. “I need you now.”
Before Sam knew what happened, she was astride Logan, slowly lowering herself down on him, feeling the velvety length of his cock as he slid inside of her.
“Damn that’s good. So fucking good.” Logan groaned, and his erotic words spurred her on, increasing her pace as she continued to take him deeper, then reversing her movement until he was nearly all the way out.
“Baby, I won’t last long if you keep that up.”
Sam smiled a greedy smile. She didn’t want Logan to last long. She wanted him to lose control the way she was.
White hot flames licked at her body as his hands firmly gripped her waist, trying to control the pace. She continued to slide up and down his shaft, the friction pushing her closer and closer to the edge.
“I love watching you ride my cock.”
Sam sat up further, her eyes locked on the place where they were joined as he assisted by lifting and lowering her while she watched his thick, hard cock fill her completely. Then he gripped her hips tighter, holding her just above him as he began thrusting upward, harder, faster, inside of her.
“Take all of me, Sam.” Logan grunted, ramming into her.
She hovered just on the edge, holding out as the glorious friction, the pounding of his cock inside of her, threatened to send her into another realm where only ecstasy existed. When he raked his thumb over her clit, Sam screamed his name, her orgasm ripping through her as her eyes locked with his in time to see him follow her over.
If she hadn’t known before, Sam knew now. She was irrevocably in love with this man, and there was nothing anyone could do to change that.
When Logan eased out of bed a few minutes later, Sam was too tired to move. She was also too tired to sleep, her brain flooded with thoughts. While she heard the shower water run, she knew he’d disappeared to give her a few minutes to herself. Not that she needed them this time.
What just happened between them confirmed the fact that this, whatever it was, was so much more than just sex. So much more than anything she had ever known. The question was, what did she do about it?
Should she tell Logan how she felt about him? Put her heart on the line, risk finding out he cared for her, but he wasn’t looking for love?
A few minutes ago, when they were in the throes of a spectacular orgasm, she’d choked on the words, wanting to tell him how she felt, but fearing she’d ruin what they had just repaired. Instead, she’d just made a mental connection with him, sending all of her feelings at him, praying he could understand just by looking in her eyes.
Lying in her bed alone, even if he would be back shortly, was the most lonesome she’d been since she met him. Having just had him buried deep inside of her, looking at her as though she could somehow make everything right in the world, had been both exquisite and unnerving at the same time.
He was right about what he said earlier, they’d both been burned, and they had a lot to learn when it came to love. Logan wanted her unconditional trust, and Sam wanted to give it to him. He’d carried her to new heights, pushed her to limits she hadn’t known she could reach, and in turn, she wanted to do the same for him.
The shower water turned off, and Sam knew he’d be back any second, so she turned onto her side, staring at the wall, hoping he’d slide up under the covers and cuddle with her. She needed to feel his warmth, his strength, at least through tonight. Tomorrow she’d have to worry about the rest.
~*~*~
Logan showered, letting his mind reel from what just happened. Whatever it was, he didn’t want the feeling to ever end. They’d made love with a ferocity that rivaled his darkest desires.
After the night when he and Luke shared her, being only the two of them tonight, Logan expected the sex to be good, but honestly, he hadn’t expected phenomenal.
Logan admitted his desires, those things that pushed his sexuality and extended his pleasure. He accepted them.
Then, tonight, with Sam, Logan realized he didn’t have to have those things. Sex had always been sex, and without a third, or some other carnal activity, Logan struggled. Not tonight. Not in Sam’s arms. She alone brought out a tender side of him he hadn’t known existed.
Sam was salacious, seductive, even when she wasn’t trying, and Logan found he couldn’t keep his hands off of her. Even after the cold shower, standing in the middle of her bathroom, drying his body, Logan’s dick was hard again. He wanted to be inside of her, hell, he wanted to stay inside of her.
They’d made love, but when she’d come, there had been a connection so strong, so forceful, he’d been lost in the throes of an orgasm so powerful, he didn’t think he’d survive. And yet, here he was, alone in the bathroom, while she probably slept in the very next room.
He needed a moment to get his head on straight. This was foreign to him, and until tonight, Logan had known his feelings for her were deep, even bordered on love. But now, there was no border. He was, beyond any doubt, in love with her. She owned him. And that scared the living hell out of him.
Realizing he truly did have a lot to learn when it came to love, he decided to table his thoughts for another day. Right now he was missing out on being with Sam. Grabbing a washcloth from the small shelf by the sink, Logan let the water get warm. Hanging his towel back on the hook on the door, he flipped off the light and went back to the bedroom.
Seeing the beautiful woman lying peacefully on the bed, nearly waylaid him. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing softly, sleeping soundly. He’d wanted her to fall asleep on top of him after they’d made love, but he had wanted to give her a moment of space, and take one of his own.
Cleaning her gently with the washcloth, Logan let his eyes travel the length of her, gliding over her soft, supple curves. After tossing the washcloth back in the bathroom, he slid into bed beside her, pulling the blankets up over them both. Once she was up against him, her body tucked warmly against his, he was able to close his eyes.
This was exactly where he wanted to be. Next to the woman he loved. It wasn’t a revelation because he knew he had fallen for her and though he had some concerns over how they would move forward, what exactly that meant, he wasn’t scared. He just had to convince her she didn’t need to be scared either.
That was going to be the hard part.
~*~*~
The next three weeks went by without incident… well mostly.
Sam either spent the night with Logan, or he spent the night with her, with the exception of the weekend her parents came down. That weekend had been a long one, though Logan enjoy
ed himself.
He offered to take the three of them out on the boat and not surprisingly, her father was the first one to jump at the opportunity. He picked up on Sam’s reluctance to spend the day with both him and her parents, but the end of the day, they were getting along easily.
Since the night of their argument, Logan offered Sam little time to brood, or dwell on her thoughts. He made sure to see her every day, even convincing her to go to lunch at least three times a week. Now, he just wondered what the next step in the relationship was. Taking things one day at a time was much easier said than done, and Logan never considered himself an impatient man.
He half expected some of the newness to wear off of the relationship. So far, it hadn’t. Each morning when he woke up, Sam beside him, his body still hardened at the mere sight of her.
When he heard her voice outside of his office door, usually speaking to Deanna, he couldn’t help but smile, or try to sneak a glance. There was an easiness to the way they were when they were together, though still intense.
Oh, and the sex was still off the charts.
Realizing the time, Logan opened his IM, so he could check in with her to see what time she’d be finished.
[McCoy, Logan – 4:43pm] What are your plans for tonight?
[Kielty, Samantha – 4:43pm] At this point, I don’t have any. Why, what’s up?
[McCoy, Logan – 4:43pm] I was thinking dinner and a movie. After all, our last movie date was ruined.
[Kielty, Samantha – 4:44pm] Sounds good. What time? I only have a few more things to finish up and I’ll be ready to go.
Logan had driven them to the office that morning since Sam had stayed the night. For the last couple of weekends, they hadn’t made any plans; they simply spent the time together and did whatever came to mind.
[McCoy, Logan – 4:44pm] Give me about thirty minutes and I’ll be ready.
[Kielty, Samantha – 4:45pm] Ok, just let me know.
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