“I’m still not sure it’s a good idea,” she whispered.
I took her delicate, fine-boned face in my hand. She looked bedraggled and seconds away from collapse. Her lips parted with an eager breath when I angled my face toward hers. The body knew better than the mind at this point, it seemed.
“Let me take care of you,” I coaxed, brushing my lips over hers as I spoke.
She shivered beneath my touch. “I don’t want to go home,” she hedged. “Take me to your place, please?”
The quiet request brought me up short. “Why my home?”
“I want you to sleep beside me,” she admitted. “And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see Katherine. It’s been so long since we’ve talked.”
If all had gone as planned, Katherine and Phoebe would still be in South Padre, sipping cocktails on the beach and wearing ridiculously little. And I couldn’t bring myself to say no. Not when Mina was still so badly shaken.
“Alright. I’ll take you to my place. Once you’re rested, I’ll take you back to your place.” I paused, considering before adding, “But we’ll need to be careful about being seen together. Your blackmailer may be gone, but mine is still at large. I don’t want to jeopardize anything until I know the extent of what Owen has on me.”
“Are you ashamed of me?” she asked, her voice growing noticeably sharper when she pulled away. “Afraid my reputation is going to precede me?”
I grimaced, sensing a fight brewing. Couldn’t we go a minute without sniping at each other? If we were going to get into a screaming match, we probably shouldn’t do it in the middle of a crowded airport terminal. The last thing we needed was to end up in some shitty tabloid spread.
We navigated our way out to the parking lot before I answered. “Of course I’m not ashamed of you,” I snapped. “I’m just asking you to keep a low profile. Certain demands are being made of me and I can’t appear to be going against them. It’s not just my neck on the line, you know. If the company topples, that’s thousands of people out of a job, millions invested that go to waste, and a multi-generational empire gone.”
I seized her by the shoulders and pressed her back against my silver Escalade. I couldn’t let her get in the car without hammering the point home.
“I want to be with you, Mina. There’s nothing I’d like more than to show you off. If it were just a matter of my own safety, I’d take you out in a heartbeat and fuck what anyone else thinks. But it’s not just me. So I have to be careful. I’m just asking for a little patience and understanding, alright?”
If I could get to the bottom of this blackmail, I could get Owen off my back and start living my life again. Mina and I could finally be something again. That was, if she could stand to be around me after all the shit we’d gone through.
Mina chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. It was distracting as hell, watching her pull the full, pink lip between her teeth. If she didn’t stop, I was going to have to fuck her before we returned home. I wasn’t sure she was up to that level of exertion.
“I suppose you deserve that,” she murmured. “After all the shit I pulled on you. I’ll play along for now. But don’t hide me forever, okay?”
She toyed nervously with one of the diamonds on the rose des vents necklace, rubbing her finger over the stone as if it were some sort of crystalline stress ball. She’d staunchly refused to remove it, even while sleeping. If it made her feel safer, who the hell was I to judge?
I pressed a searing kiss to her forehead. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Content silence fell over us and I stayed where I was, pressed against her. We ought to have been on the road, but I wanted to savor the small moment. The eye in the middle of the storm. I had no illusions our grappling with each other was over, but at least for now, we were at peace.
“I’ll get you in contact with Tuck,” she said finally.
“Tuck?” I asked, suspicion creeping into my tone. “Who’s Tuck?”
She smacked my bicep lightly. “Don’t go all caveman on me, Logan. Tuck is a hacktivist. He’s really good at his job and he’s worked with me for years. He’s erased every copy of the tape that made it onto the internet.”
It took a second to realize what tape she meant. And when my sluggish brain put the pieces together, approval sponged away my earlier jealousy.
“Good. I’ll look forward to hearing from him.”
Maybe with some expert help, I could finally tell Owen Mason to take his demands and shove them right up his ass.
Mina toyed idly with one of the buttons on my suit jacket. “So…you really didn’t release that tape?”
“No,” I said shortly. “And you’re insane if you think I did. You think I want anyone else seeing this?” I slid my hands down her body for emphasis, settling them on her slim hips.
She bucked into me almost on instinct. One heeled ankle snagged the back of my calf and she pulled herself closer, so that I could practically feel the heat of her arousal.
“This is mine,” I growled. “You are mine.”
“All yours,” she murmured against my mouth, one hand scrabbling to open the door pressed against her back.
Once it was open, she seized me by the tie and pulled me in the back, effectively silencing my reply.
Thank God I’d thought to install tinted windows.
The backseat of the Escalade was roomy but Mina climbed astride me. Her pencil skirt ripped when she tried to nestle herself on either side of my thighs.
“Shit,” she muttered. “I liked this one.”
“I’ll buy you a dozen,” I promised, dragging my lips along her jaw as I undid my belt.
Mina scrambled to assist me, pulling it free of its loops quickly. It let out a discordant rattle when it hit the far door. She dragged down my zipper and thrust her hand inside, palming my erection.
A hiss came out through my teeth when she stroked my length languidly, a vulpine smile playing on her lips.
“Someone’s eager.”
“With you? The damn thing never shuts up.”
She let out a throaty chuckle that sent my pulse into overdrive. If I wasn’t inside of her soon, I’d combust.
Seizing the hem of her skirt, I pulled, ripping it further as I yanked it up to her waist. Mina’s breathless exclamation only made me harden, and when I found her bare beneath the skirt, I let out a soft growl.
Her fingers worked on my shirt buttons, spreading my shirt open and tracing my tattoo that read My angel always with me with her fingers.
“Who’s your angel?” she whispered.
I gripped her hips and pressed her down on my cock. “You, Mina. Always you.”
She let out a tiny whimper and melted into me, pressing her lips to mine. I took the kiss deeper. God, I wanted her. Had to have her. Now.
It took agonizing seconds to free myself from the constraints of my pants. When I sprang free, Mina gripped me again, guiding me toward her slick entrance.
“Wait,” I said, cursing myself and wondering where I’d stashed the condoms.
“Fuck it,” she said, taking the tip inside her.
Moans escaped us both as I slid deep. This was the closest I’d been to happiness in years, and I couldn’t help but throw my usual caution to the side.
She rolled her hips against me, her walls squeezing me tight, and not another word was said. She leaned back, bracing her hands on my knees, and began to move in a lithe, sinuous motion, forgetting any aches left over from her ordeal. With her hair rumpled, her clothes torn, and the nearby lights haloing her hair, she looked like a fucking goddess. She moved against me desperately, nails raking down my front in a swipe that was almost painful. I loved it.
She came fast and hard only a few minutes later, taking me with her. I pulled her earlobe between my teeth and continued to pound up into her, growling into her ear as I emptied into her.
After I caught my breath and we were trying to right our clothes, I pulled her back for a kiss. “We’re not finished. Not by a long
shot. I am going to fuck you into the middle of next week.”
She grinned wickedly down at me, all mussed perfection. “I’ll see if I can clear my schedule.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Mina
“About that...love thing,” I began slowly, forcing the words out of my mouth before I could lose my nerve.
My passionate exclamation on the plane had been hanging between us like a hundred-pound weight. It had to be addressed before it could fall and crush one of us. “You know I didn’t mean that, right?” The lie tasted sour in my mouth, but I was grateful that I’d managed to say it.
Logan had made it pretty clear that we couldn’t be seen in public together for a while. I couldn’t just sit in the shadows for months on end, pining for him. I still had a job to do and girls to look after. And yes, I’d been mulling over his words—an oversight of mine could have gotten all my girls killed. Maybe it was time to start integrating them into the acting industry. I had friends now. I could probably find niches for all of them.
But ending the Hustlers felt like a betrayal. I’d have an easier time lopping off my right arm than ending the project I’d worked years to cultivate.
Logan stopped at a red light and tucked two fingers beneath my chin, tilting my head up so he could get a better look at my face. His eyes bored into mine in the shadowy interior of the car, the aquamarine appearing almost black.
I tried to avert my eyes before his searching gaze could ferret out my lie.
“Is that really true, Mina?”
My breath caught in my throat and I couldn’t form the lie I needed to tell. The light turned green and I was off the hook.
“Because if not, I want to see where things go. There was a point at which I thought I was going to marry you, you know. I’m not going to let you slip out of my grasp again.” He raised a brow at me. “Unless you find me totally repulsive.”
I let out a watery chuckle, blinking my eyes discreetly so he couldn’t see the tears that had begun to form there. “Yes, I proved exactly how repulsive I find you in the back seat.”
The ghost of a smirk traced the edges of his mouth before vanishing. “You’ll give it a try?”
“I will try, if you answer me one question.”
“And that is?”
I scrutinized his face, trying to read it. “If you didn’t release the tape, who did?”
Logan’s face went curiously blank and he took a few minutes to answer. “I can’t be entirely sure, which is why I haven’t gone after anyone yet. Rest assured, if I had the name of the scumbag, I’d tell you.”
“But you have suspects,” I accused as we pulled into the drive of his home. For a second, I was completely sidetracked by the splendor of his house.
It was almost entirely constructed from white stone. A wide, sweeping staircase led up to heavy oak front doors. The staircase was flanked by a pair of palms and a wild assortment of flowers in their beds, their color offsetting the white. Curved bay windows glittered from many points on the house. The walk and flowerbeds were lit by little amber lanterns.
“I do,” he said slowly.
“Who then?”
He took a deep breath. “I was living with three friends at the time. You remember?”
“Scott Flemming, Brenton Harvey, and...” I stuttered to a stop over the final name and things seemed to click into place. My hands balled into fists at my sides. Oh God, how could I have been so stupid? The answer had been staring me in the face for years and I’d been too stubborn to acknowledge it.
“Keenan,” I growled. “Of course, it was Keenan.”
Logan shrugged one massive shoulder. “I can’t be sure, Mina. Any one of them could have had a reason to do it.”
I knew better. Keenan hated me. At first, he’d resented my mother and I, for intruding into his perfectly organized life. When his baby stepsister had begun to outperform him, his dislike had escalated to screaming matches and threats. He’d frozen me out of his life completely when he’d realized his best friend and I were dating seriously.
Releasing the tape was perfectly in keeping with what I knew of my stepbrother. And it had resulted in the added bonus of ensuring his stardom when my father funded his rise to the A-list circuit.
Once Logan’s blackmail was settled, I was going to be paying my stepbrother a visit and giving him a lesson he’d never forget.
Logan reached the end of the paved drive and came to an abrupt halt, tires squealing in protest when we jolted to a stop. Logan’s face had gone rigid, his mouth bunched into a thin, disgusted line.
I scanned the drive, trying to locate what had changed his mood so much. From the strength of his reaction, I half-expected to find an assassin poking a rifle out of the bushes or a knife-wielding crazy making a beeline for the car.
The only thing out of the ordinary appeared to be a white Porsche parked just to the right of the sweeping staircase. Probably Katherine’s, if the model was any indication. Katherine had bought one Porsche a year since she turned eighteen, selling the last year’s model and giving the money to a charity of her choice.
“We need to go,” Logan gritted out between clenched teeth. “I’ll take you home.”
I reached for my door handle, ignoring the worry in his tone. I was swimming in fatigue and if I didn’t get into a bed soon, I was going to collapse.
“Come on, Logan. We’re already here. Please, just take me inside. I want to get some sleep.”
Logan jammed his thumb down on the lock button, but it was too late. I pushed the door open and scrambled out, drinking in the sweetly scented evening air with a staggering sense of relief. For the first time in a while, I was completely free. My only worry was locating a bed.
“Mina,” he said, pushing open his own door. “Get back in the car. We shouldn’t do this now.”
“Do what? Logan, please just take me to bed.”
His eyes darkened with desire at the last word, and despite my exhaustion and aches, I felt a trickle of the same. There was a substantial part of me that wanted to drag him up the stairs and sequester us both in a bedroom for the foreseeable future.
I rubbed my forehead. My God, what was wrong with me? Battered and bruised, and he still managed to distract me despite it all. I didn’t want to contemplate what that meant.
“I’m tired and I’m sore. I would really appreciate a bath and a bed right now. I don’t want to spend more time in traffic.”
It was the addition that undid him. He pulled in a great, shuddering breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose to ward off the headache I was surely giving him.
“Fine,” he spat, rounding the car. He took my elbow gently and guided me up the stairs toward the front doors. “But it won’t end well.”
“I’ll be on my best behavior,” I promised.
“Katherine isn’t alone,” he informed me. “When you meet her friend, introduce yourself with your real name. It will make things a little easier.”
“I will,” I promised. “And Logan, before we go in there’s something I want to say.”
He glanced down at me, consternation twisting his handsome features into a mask that was unfamiliar to me. “What?”
“I do, you know,” I whispered. I was holding my heart out on a platter, a peace offering to him. The aching vulnerability it caused hurt more than my throbbing bruises.
“You do, what?”
“Love you,” I croaked. “God help me, but I do.”
Agony rippled across his face before he had a chance to stop it.
I couldn’t make sense of his mood. What had gotten into him?
“God help us both,” he muttered before he opened the door.
I blinked in the bright light of the foyer. To the right was a living room, and at first, I couldn’t make sense of the long tables that had been set up in the center. They were littered with an assortment of flowers, tablecloths, and assorted dishes.
Logan’s sister stood near one, ticking off a list. A petite blonde sat a
t her elbow, peering at the list with an anxious twist to her cute bow lips. Her perfect Shirley Temple curls ended at her mid-back and bounced anxiously.
The white wrap dress she wore, her perfect pout, and the curls, put me in mind of an overeager poodle. But a pretty one.
In fact, everything on the table seemed to be white. The napkins, candles, poufs, and even the roses were glaringly devoid of color.
“Did the Buttercup silver set arrive?” the blonde chirped into Katherine’s ear.
Katherine’s slightly wavy, long dark hair would brush her backside but it was currently twisted into a French braid to keep it out of her face. “Right there on table three,” Katherine assured her. “Don’t worry. Everything will be perfect. Stop stressing. You still have until August.”
“But everything has to be perfect,” the blonde woman stressed, hands twisting at the hem of her dress like she might wring it out.
The pair paused in their conversation when we entered.
To my dismay, Katherine’s eyes narrowed, zeroing in on my hand placed casually in the crook of Logan’s arm. I removed it hastily, recalling his instruction to keep a low profile. After our messy breakup, it made sense that Katherine might be less than thrilled to see me with her brother.
“Logan!” The perky blonde jumped up then frowned, eyeing me with the frosty, intense stare of a Husky. “Who is this?” Her head-to-toe sweep took my measure.
This must be Katherine’s best friend, Phoebe.
I stepped forward and extended a hand, Logan’s reminder still ringing in my ears. My smile mangled on my lips. Something was very wrong here, though I couldn’t put my finger on what.
“Hi, I’m Mina Blakely. I’m a…friend of Logan’s.”
Phoebe didn’t relax her stance, even as she extended a hand to me. A diamond ring the size of a freaking baseball glittered on her left hand.
“I’m Phoebe Mason,” she enthused, exuding false sweetness from every pore. “I’m Logan’s fiancée.”
To punctuate the words, she went to him, wrapped her arms around Logan, and pressed her lips to his in a hard, possessive kiss.
Burned Page 15