by Mae Martini
Logan leaned against the wall, at the entrance to the room, and just watched with a grin on his face at how she was shaking her ass.
Melanie and Heath spun around as per the instructions and Melanie got a glimpse of Logan and gave him a huge smile that reached her eyes.
When the song was over, Heath had the higher score.
“I won, I won,” he shouted and Melanie gave him a high five.
“Good job, Heath,” she said as she caught her breath. She looked to Logan then back to Heath. “Dinner’s ready. You guys hungry?”
“Yeah!” shouted Heath as he ran to his seat at the table in the kitchen.
Logan waited for Melanie and as they walked toward the kitchen together, he whispered in her ear, “Watching you bounce around got me hard.”
Melanie looked at his eyes, then automatically her eyes went to the bulge between his legs, and, yep, he wasn’t lying, he was hard. She lifted her eyes back to his and licked her lips, then without waiting for his reaction, she walked faster to the kitchen. She did hear him growl.
Dinner was great. Heath ate two helpings of meatloaf. Clearly he was a meat lover but being a rancher’s son, she didn’t doubt it.
Every so often she caught Heath staring at her nail polish. Knowing he named his horse Wysteria, she knew he liked the color on her nails. She smiled to herself.
They made small talk. Heath told them how happy he was school was over for the summer and looking forward to going to camp.
Logan explained that his mom always puts him in camp for the month of July, saying it was good for him. Logan didn’t relay it, but he felt she put him in camp so she could be free to do her own thing.
The one thing that Logan couldn’t help but think about throughout dinner was how good it would be for Heath to have a constant stability like this in his life. He knew from Heath himself that when he was home at his mom’s, he’d usually eat alone and more times than not it was a grilled cheese sandwich or boxed macaroni and cheese. So when he was here with him, Logan made it a point to always have a proper meal with him.
Again, he thought about the money he gave Linda for him and wondered why his son couldn’t get a decent, wholesome meal or why Linda couldn’t just sit down and eat dinner with him. Why did she not have that maternal instinct? She was a selfish bitch. Logan sighed and threw his napkin down after he wiped his mouth.
“Logan?”
“Dad?”
Logan picked up his head and looked from Melanie to Heath.
“What?”
“Mellalee asked you if we could play Zombie Monster after dinner. Could we, dad, could we, please?”
Logan looked back to Melanie.
“Too gory?” she asked tentatively. She looked back to Heath. “You know, maybe we shouldn’t-”
“No. It’s okay.” He turned back to his son, “Why don’t you go wash up, then set up the game while I help Melanie clean up in here.
Heath had a big grin on his face and he looked from his father to Melanie as he got up from the table and ran to the living room.
Logan rose to clear the dishes.
“I’m sorry. I’m not really good with young kids. I didn’t think it would be inappropriate to play that game. I should have known better.”
Logan put the plates back down on the table and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lips while he crushed her to him. The kiss, to Melanie’s liking, was long and heady. Man, he knew how to kiss.
“Mellalee, it’s all set up. Come on!” Heath yelled from the living room.
Logan and she broke the kiss and Melanie looked into his eyes. She recognized that raw emotion in them and knew he wanted her. She was amazed that she could tell when he was turned on just by a look.
“Go, play. I’ll clean up here.”
“No, Logan, I want to help.”
“You already have. Thank you. Now go.” And he turned her around and playfully slapped her ass and as soon as she made the move to go to the living room, he reached for her arm with one hand and the other hand he placed on her ass and slowly moved it around, dipping his middle finger and pressing in-between the two round globes of her cheeks so she’d feel it through her clothes. He groaned and she turned to see his dimpled smile as she felt a heat zing from the core of her and move out to the rest of her body.
“Mellalee, you coming?”
They broke apart and Melanie went to play the video game.
Logan didn’t mind cleaning up. Melanie cooked and set the table and still managed to keep his son engaged. Again, he thought about how this little scenario would play out every night and he got a warm feeling inside him that he hadn’t felt in a long, long time.
“Dad, we’re beating the Zombies. Look at our score,” Heath said all excited as Logan came in to sit with them after cleaning the dishes.
Melanie convinced Heath to team up with her rather than play one on one. She could be very competitive when it came to these games and she didn’t want Heath to feel bad if he lost.
Melanie looked over to Logan and they held their gazes a little longer than she meant to.
“Mellalee, watch out!”
The next thing she knew, she lost a life.
Logan chuckled at her disappointment.
“Stop distracting me with those gorgeous eyes.” She laughed, shaking her head and then turned her attention back to the TV.
Heath, who was concentrating on the game with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth, shot his eyes to his father’s. Logan looked to him and gave him a silly grin.
Heath smiled, then went back to concentrating on the game.
Heath was excited by the high score they received by the time the game was over.
“Okay, Heath. It’s way past your bedtime, buddy. Say goodnight to Melanie and head on in to bed. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Awww, Daddddd.”
“Let’s go,” Logan said, a little more sternly.
“Okay.” Heath got up and went over to Melanie, walking so slowly and leaning from side to side like a Zombie would. Only, Logan knew he was just prolonging having to go to bed. He rolled his eyes and Melanie smiled.
“Goodnight, Mellalee.” Then he kissed her cheek.
Melanie just wanted to grab him and hug the crap out of him. She really liked Logan’s son. She had a lot of fun with him that day and he was easy to talk to. Melanie attributed that to Logan. She felt the same about him. But she didn’t hug him for fear he would pull away.
“Goodnight, sweetheart. Sleep tight,” she said and as he turned away and started walking to the bedroom in that same Zombie like motion, she added. “Rest up, we have more Zombies to kill.”
He turned around and gave her that beautiful grin with the dimples not unlike his father’s and continued on to his room.
Logan looked at Melanie, who was still smiling in the direction of Heath’s bedroom. He placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him.
She turned to see his face right there and he kissed her, his warm wet tongue snaking in her mouth to seek hers.
He moved on top of her and brought her down on the couch so that her whole upper body was lying flat and her feet were on the floor.
She felt his hard cock press against her pelvis and she sucked in his moan. All too soon, he broke the kiss.
“Don’t move,” he growled, and he got up and went to go tuck in Heath.
Melanie was left breathless. She placed her index and middle finger along her lips and slid them back and forth. She, also, simultaneously saw the time on the cable box and jumped up.
When Logan came back out, he looked at an empty couch. He looked around and saw she stood near the front door with her purse in her hand.
“Where you going?” he asked, sounding disappointed.
“I have to get home.”
“Don’t go. It’s dark out. I’d hate to have you drive home alone. Stay with me tonight.”
“I can’t. I didn’t get much work done t
hese past few days. I have some deadlines to meet.”
He sighed.
“Logan, what if he wakes up in the middle of the night,” she pointed to Heath’s room, “and wants to come into your room?”
Logan reluctantly nodded his head. “Okay,” he said.
She really didn’t want to leave, but felt it was the best choice. Logan walked her out to her car.
“Thank you,” he said, his mouth close to hers as he pushed her against the car and kissed her, pressing his body into hers. He broke the kiss and brought his lips to her ear and whispered, “I want you.”
Melanie felt a tingle throughout her body. She wanted him, too. She turned her head and found his lips again and kissed him. Now it was she who sought out his tongue with her own and moaned while grinding into him.
Not sure who broke the kiss, but Logan nuzzled her nose with his as he said, “Heath likes you.”
“Yeah? I like him too. He’s got that Leitner charm thing going on like his daddy and great grandfather.”
“Yeah?” He chuckled.
“Yeah.”
He opened the car door for her and when she got in, he told her to take out her cell phone. He had her punch in his number and told her to call him from there when she got home and he’d store her number. With another kiss goodbye, Melanie pulled out.
Logan lingered, sitting on the steps, reliving the day. It felt right, he thought to himself. It was light and easy. No stress. Every time he and Linda were together with Heath, things felt forced.
****
After driving the dark road awhile, Melanie realized there was a car behind her. She wasn’t driving fast and there was plenty of opportunity to pass her but the car never did. She tried to remember at what point he got behind her. She really couldn’t remember because from the moment she pulled out, her thoughts were on Logan and the day they shared with his son. She thoroughly enjoyed herself.
Melanie grew nervous, her thoughts turned to Michael. She really didn’t think about him the past week or so and her sister hadn’t called her with an update on him.
She took a little detour and the car still stayed behind her. When she finally got to her block and turned, the car kept going straight. With a sigh, she smiled and thought how ridiculous she was.
Once inside, she called Logan. He asked her how the ride home was. She told him good. She didn’t tell him about the car she thought was following her because she thought she was just being paranoid.
“I forgot to ask you earlier. Richie is having a thing at his house Saturday night. He does it every year. Whole bunch of people. A barbeque. He’s got this big ass pool. Will you go with me?”
Melanie didn’t really care for Richie but knew that he and Logan were close. “Sure. Sounds like fun.”
“Great. I’ll pick you up about 4:00 pm. Wear a bathing suit. Bring a change of clothes if you want.”
“Okay.”
“Mel?”
“Yeah?”
“I know I said it before, but thank you again for tonight. When I tucked Heath in, he said ‘I had fun tonight with Mellalee’. I don’t remember the last time he was this excited when he wasn’t with his friends.”
“No need to thank me, Logan. I had fun too. He’s a great kid and I so love the way he says my name.” She giggled, he chuckled.
“Thanks, sweetheart. He is a good kid.”
There was silence. Then she heard Logan sigh.
“Wish you didn’t have to leave.”
“Me too.”
Again, more silence.
“Goodnight, Melanie.”
“Goodnight.”
They hung up and Melanie went right to bed, but had trouble sleeping thinking about the car behind her that night. Then her thoughts turned to Logan and she settled down.
Logan, even though he was already in bed, didn’t sleep for a while either. He stored Melanie’s number in his phone and then his thoughts were of what to do with Linda and the rehab and custody thing. Then his thoughts turned to Melanie and he settled down.
Chapter 20
The first thing Melanie did when she woke up the next morning was call her sister.
“Have you or Joey heard from Michael lately?”
“No, why?”
“No reason. I was just curious. It’s been a while.” She didn’t tell her sister that she thought she was being followed the night before. No need to make her worry. It was probably her imagination running wild anyway.
“It has been a while. Maybe he’s moved on.”
“Yeah. Maybe.” But Melanie didn’t believe that. Again she was reminded of the words he said to her as the elevator doors closed. ‘It ain’t over till I say it’s over’.
After hanging up with her sister, she called her parents in Florida.
Satisfied Michael hadn’t bothered them, she told them she loved them and would visit soon and hung up.
For the next few days Melanie and Logan didn’t see each other. He was busy helping his brother and running the stables and she was busy with her own work.
She hit the gym every morning, meeting Cody there.
It got to be routine that whenever she passed the guy who danced with her, whose name she found out was Kurt, he would ask what song she was listening to. She’d start to sing and he would chime in with her and they’d do a little dance. She’d try to stump him, but he always knew the song and she had an eclectic mix on her music device.
She knew everyone who worked out in the mornings, if not by name then by recognition. Donna, the girlfriend of Doug, the couple she and Logan played a game of pool with, worked out in the mornings too. She liked her. They talked a lot and Donna introduced her to a lot of people at the gym.
One morning, Kurt spun her around and out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone watching them. He had a baseball hat on and it was low in the front making it hard to see his face. What struck her was that as soon as they made eye contact, he quickly turned away and raised the dumbbells he had in his hand and started doing overhead presses.
Yeah, he could be a newcomer to the gym. In fact, that was probably it, but something was nagging her about him.
She walked over to where he was working out, but as she got closer, he put the dumbbells down and strode to the other side of the gym.
“Mel!” Cody called, “You ready!”
“Yes, on my way.” And she went over to meet Cody by the boxing bag.
****
Logan, for the next few days, kept busy. He helped his brother move some cattle to market and bought a horse he started to break in. Most of the time, he had Heath with him. One day, Laura took him and Austin with her to San Antonio where her parents lived. They were sleeping there and Logan had a strong urge to ask Melanie to come over. In fact, Logan always had a strong urge to see Melanie.
He went to pick up the phone to call her, but a call came in. It was Linda asking to see him. He sighed, put on his cowboy hat and went out the door to Linda’s house.
Linda called him there to discuss her problem. She assured him she had it under control and she seemed stable. She saw the error of her ways, she told him, and from now on she’d be more conscious of her actions, especially when it came to their son.
She was being sweet. It reminded him of when they first started their relationship. She had asked him to stay the night, but his thoughts had quickly turned to Melanie and he had refused her.
With a promise from her that she was going to stock up the pantry with healthy food for Heath and cook it, he said he’d return Heath the next day to her.
When he walked in his house, it was late. He was pissed because he really would have wanted Melanie in his bed that night.
Chapter 21
Logan helped Melanie out of the truck when they got to Richie’s house. He usually took his bike, but he thought Melanie wouldn’t want to scrunch up her hair in a helmet and he thought right when he saw how shiny and straight it was, and she had a big pair of Chanel sun glasses on top, holding her hai
r back off her face. She wore a pair of crystal hanging earrings and a white, sleeveless beach cover up with a hood on back and a zipper in the front. The zipper was just at where the curves of her breast started and she was showing some hot cleavage.
Yeah, going to Richie’s house was the furthest thing from his mind, but nevertheless, that’s where they went.
On the way there, Logan filled her in on Richie a little more. Richie was rich. A trust fund baby. His family owns a chain of hotels dating back to the 1850’s.
The door was unlocked and Logan guided her into the house. Melanie was floored with the opulence in and around Richie’s home. He lived alone in a large ultra modern two story house with floor to ceiling windows throughout. Strategically placed were pedestals with glass sculptures on them. They walked through the kitchen which was a chef’s delight. Logan told her Richie didn’t cook.
Luke Bryan’s, ‘Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye’ was playing in the background as they made their way through the large French doors leading out to the yard.
The yard was like being in a resort, complete with a large infinity pool with a vista of a body of water, which Logan told her was the Blanco River, and dense green trees and lush grass that went on as far as the eye could see. Lounge chairs and umbrellas were set up around three sides of the pool.
A large kitchen with granite countertops was under a hut style roof, with bar stools on the outside and a couple of large grills and a smoker in back. It was set up on another tier of the yard, just left of the pool.
There were quite a few people there. Some were in the pool, some were in the adjacent Jacuzzi, some were by the outdoor kitchen, and some were just lazing on the lounge chairs.
Richie came up to them with his hand out. “Hey, man, how’s it going?”
He and Logan shook hands and he reached in and kissed Melanie. “Hello, beautiful.”
“Hi.”