by Krista Lakes
“I'll take that as a challenge,” he said, his breath tickling my hair. He smelled amazing; like soap and testosterone goodness. My stomach tightened as heat surged through me. I was so mad at him, but my body craved his like a drug. Dear Lord, I had forgotten just how good he smelled. It wasn't fair that he could twist my mind and body up so easily just by standing close to me. “Someday, you'll look forward to seeing me again.”
“It will be a cold day in hell,” I replied sweetly, stepping back and away from his intoxicating scent. I was torn between hot lust and cold fury. He had deceived me and almost ruined my company. I had every reason to hate his stinking guts. But I found myself wanting to touch him and forgive him for everything.
His brown eyes flashed with self-assured optimism. With a polite nod to Maddy, he turned and walked down a green path toward the dance floor with the bride and groom. I stared after him, trying and failing not to check out his butt, until he disappeared into the mass of guests below.
I felt like a deflated balloon. I was still so angry and hurt by what he'd done, but for whatever reason, as soon as he got close my body forgot everything except the way he felt. It was like he had cast a spell that would cause my body to find him sexually attractive no matter what my mind thought. I understood that a ruling from his father would be difficult to break, but I had thought we had shared a connection. It couldn't have been that hard to make a single phone call? To write an email?
I chugged the last bit of my champagne. I could hear laughter coming from the wedding, but instead of feeling happy, I was jealous and bitter. I had never thought that Logan and I were going to get married or grow old together, but that night we had together was special. I had thought it was at least going to go somewhere. I never expected to be left hanging without so much as a phone call. I certainly hadn't expected it to hurt so much.
“You okay? You want mine?” Maddy asked, offering me her glass. I glanced down at my empty one and nodded. She switched glasses with me, and I chugged down the bubbly liquid.
“I hate him,” I said softly, looking into the empty glass.
“No you don't,” Maddy gently contradicted me. “You want to hate him. You should hate him. But, you hate that you don't hate him.”
“You're drunk.” I watched as she wobbled slightly on her designer heels.
“Doesn't mean I'm not right,” she said with an all-too-knowing smile. “If you hated him, you wouldn't follow him on Twitter. You wouldn't know his social events, and you wouldn't blush every time someone says his name.”
“I only follow him to know how to make sure I don't get caught in his web again,” I explained. The champagne was finally starting to go to my head. I needed another glass. Maybe seven.
“And the blushing?” Maddy asked, eyebrows raised. It was very obvious she didn't believe me.
“He embarrassed me.” I sighed and put my hand on my hip. “And I do not blush at his name.”
Maddy held me in her gaze for a full beat before slowly shaking her head. “You've got some sort of torch for that man. Given the delightful way he fills out that suit, I can imagine part of it, but there's something else there.” She frowned, her eyes trying to focus through the alcohol. “But you need to be careful. That man hurt you once, and I saw the aftermath of just one night with him. You can't let him do that to you again. I don't know if you'd survive a storm like Logan again.”
“I have no intention of ever spending another night with that man,” I said solemnly. “He may drive me crazy, but I won't let him destroy what I've worked for.”
“Good.” Maddy nodded emphatically. “Now, we need some more champagne. Tyler's with his grandma, neither one of us needs to drive, and there is more free booze than we can drink. Let's get our party on and get that boy out of your head!”
I glanced toward the wedding party, wondering if Logan was down there. He was in my head. He had sneaked in there with his charm and warm brown eyes the night I met him and, unfortunately, hadn't found his way out. I needed to forget the way his hands felt on my skin and the way he made my heart skip. It had only been one night. I should be able to forget him and move on.
A dark blue suit stepped out into an open space on the dance floor below us and I felt my heart flutter, as I recognized Logan's shape. The bride stepped into his arms with a smile and he danced with her as her husband watched, spinning her in flawless circles. She laughed and kissed his cheek as the song ended. A stab of envy hit my stomach. She had it all.
“I really need another drink,” I mumbled. I wanted to forget Logan Hayes and his brown eyes and soft laugh entirely. I wanted to prove him wrong, that I would never look forward to seeing him, but I already knew I had failed.
Chapter 18
Present Day
I woke up to the sound of rain pounding against the building. There were square-shaped indentations on my cheek from having fallen asleep on my keyboard. At least I hadn't drooled, or my laptop would have been ruined. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and groaned. Technically, I still had another five minutes before I had to get up and catch my flight, but there was no way I was going to get it. I knew I was going to want those five minutes of sleep later today. It had been a long night and was shaping up to be an even longer day.
I had been up most of the night with worry. I could feel my business and my future teetering as though on the edge of a knife. I was furious that Logan had been able to hamstring my company in four, well-paid moves. I had called each of my former employees; three had been smart enough not to pick up and the fourth apologized and promptly had an emergency to attend to.
After punching a pillow several times and threatening to stomp on my phone, I started trying to fix what I could. I posted ads for new consultants and had made some inquiries into potential applicants. I had also called my lawyer, several times. There was no way that what Travel, Inc. was doing was anywhere close to legal, but as far as getting my business on the rocks, it was effective. Mounting a legal defense would take weeks, and while Travel, Inc. would lose, the impact on my business would be big enough to force me to sell to them.
Just thinking about it was making my blood pressure rise. This was my business, and I had worked far too hard to just let them take it. I loved this company too much to give up on it now. Logan Hayes wasn't going to defeat me that easily. He may have thought his good-boy act would fool me into trusting him again, but I wasn't falling for it this time.
I slammed my laptop shut and grabbed my suitcases. I was already dressed, so one last look around the room was all it took for me to be ready. I was on my way to the lobby to get on a plane to go save my business before the light was even off.
I set my bags down in front of the check-out desk when I heard Maddy calling my name. She was hurrying toward me as fast as she could on her ankle.
“Olivia! Don't check out yet!” Maddy's cast made a hollow thunking noise as she limped over.
A ray of hope lifted my spirits. “Did the girls change their minds?” I asked with anticipation. Maybe they had come to their senses and realized what they were doing.
“No,” Maddy said with a grimace. “The flight's been canceled. The tropical storm upgraded and turned South last night. We're going to have to wait out the hurricane.”
Her words entered my ears, but I didn't comprehend them. I had to get home. “What?”
Maddy put a hand on my shoulder. “The island is about to be hit by a hurricane. All flights are grounded until further notice,” she explained. Her brown eyes were full of sympathy as she waited for me to understand.
“But, Maddy, I have to get back-” I started but she shook her head.
“I'm sorry, Livia,” she said, stopping me from saying more. “I called all the pilots I could find this morning, even the one the locals said might be crazy enough to fly through the storm. No one will do it. I'm really sorry.”
My shoulders slumped as I looked from her to the big glass doors of the lobby. I had been in such a rush that I hadn't noticed
that a hotel employee was busy boarding them up with plywood. The last window was blurry with rain as the final board fit into place. The empty grand entrance dimmed and echoed with muffled rain.
“What am I going to do, Maddy?” I asked as desperation settled around me. I sat on my suitcase and tried to come up with a positive solution, but all I could see was the gray gloom of disaster.
“Nothing,” she said softly, kneeling to meet my eyes. “There isn't anything you can do right now except go back up to your room and get some sleep. You look terrible.”
I glared at her. She didn't look so hot herself.
“Well, it's true,” she said in response to my angry look. “Go rest. Things won't look so bad when you're not exhausted. You've done all you can for now.”
“What time is it in Chicago?” I asked, planning not to follow her advice and make more phone calls.
“Time to rest,” she replied. I darkened my glare. She shrugged it off. “Your lawyer called me to ask you to stop phoning him, especially at three in the morning. He'll get back to us once he has more information.”
I sighed and looked at the blockaded doors. “I just...” I whispered, losing my words to frustration.
“I know,” Maddy comforted, hugging me close to her. I held onto her like a drowning person to a life-preserver.
“What are we going to do?” I whispered, feeling a tear trickle down my cheek.
“We'll come back stronger,” she whispered into my ear. “This isn't the end of the world. We've faced worse and come out better because of it. Now, go rest.”
She leaned back, and I nodded dejectedly. I felt like an empty balloon as I dragged my suitcases back to the elevator. I looked back at Maddy one last time before stepping through the silver doors. She gave me a weak smile and motioned me to get on.
***
The ride up was uneventful. I dropped my bags in my doorway and sank into the bed. I lay there in the dark gloom of the storm, listening to the howling of the wind and rain against the protected building. Sleep was far away and not getting any closer. There was too much to do and no way to do it. Frustration and fury writhed in my stomach like a mass of angry snakes.
I sat up. I needed to move, to vent my energy. I was up and out the door, walking the hallways before I had even made the decision to move.
The halls were dark despite the fact that it was morning. All the windows were boarded and secure, hiding most of the thin gray light from view. I wandered aimlessly from hallway to hallway, looking for a glimpse out at the storm.
The doors leading out to the garden were locked. The big window overlooking the ocean from the reception area was boarded and covered with a heavy velvet curtain. Every place I thought I might be able to look outside was boarded or locked. The sound of the wind outside was unceasing and unnerving. There was no escape. Everywhere I turned I was reminded that I was trapped here by the hurricane.
After finding yet another locked door, I growled with frustration. I couldn't even see outside, let alone change anything outside of this stupid hotel. I kicked the door and turned around in time to see Logan walk across the room at the end of the hallway. He was grinning, his hand on his bodyguard’s shoulder as he laughed at something the other man said.
Rage flared red at the edges of my vision. The man who was about to ruin me was laughing. Laughing. Probably about me. My fingernails dug into my palms to the point of pain, but my fists just continued to tighten. The walls were closing in on me. I needed to get out. I needed to escape this nightmare.
I wrenched the doorknob of the door behind me, throwing all my weight into it. I needed to break out of the confines of the hotel. I could feel the walls pressing down on me from the weight of the wind. Logan took too much space and I needed to get as far away from him as possible. The door creaked and surprisingly gave way. It must have just been sticky, not locked.
I charged through the door and out onto the patio. The strength of the wind took me by surprise as raindrops pelted me like tiny rocks. I had seen enough reporters braving hurricanes, but that still hadn't prepared me for the raw strength of the storm. Gray waves ripped at the shoreline with furious fists of white foam while the sky churned with a dark livid power. I could suddenly understand now why no pilot had been willing to risk a flight.
I battled my way out further into the storm. The wind whipped my hair into my eyes and pulled my clothes in every direction as if to rip them from me. I could only stand in awe of the power of the storm, especially knowing that this was only the beginning. Nature could throw more at me than this. This was just her warmup act.
I closed my eyes and let the storm surround me. I was small and insignificant in comparison to this. My problems were nothing; this wind could blow them all away with one tiny gust. In one hundred years, the elements of this storm would still exist, while my business and I would be long gone. I reached out my hands and felt the tempest inside of me raging along with the hurricane. My rage bled into the storm and released me from it.
A strong hand clamped down on my arm and forcefully spun me away from the beach.
“What are you doing?” Logan screamed at me. I stared at him for a moment in complete surprise. No one, not even me, was supposed to be out here. There was worry in his brown eyes and he was doing his best to use his broad shoulders to shield me from the wind. His hair whipped wildly around his head as his shirt darkened with rain.
“None of your business,” I snapped, wrenching my arm from his grip. He was the exact person I didn't want to see. “Leave me alone!”
I took a step away from him and toward the beach. A blast of wind caught me as I left the relative safety of the patio, and I stumbled. Part of a tree whizzed down the beach, spraying pieces of leaves as it bounced like a child's ball across the sand.
Suddenly, I was up and over Logan's shoulder. He carried me as if I weighed nothing, pushing through the wind, rain, and my thrashing with ease. His shoulder was hard and warm under my stomach as his arm pinned me to him. I was furious. Furious that he was rescuing me when I didn’t need saving. What I needed was to be saved from him.
I kicked and punched Logan, screaming into the storm for him to put me down. I hated that he thought he was helping me when all I wanted to do was forget about him and the trouble he was causing me. I hated him. He opened the door to the hotel and stumbled inside. The danger of the hurricane diminished as he carried me inside the safety of the door, but my emotional fury was just getting started. He was a dead man.
Chapter 19
Logan set me down carefully in the hallway, dodging a well-aimed smack from me. He leaned against the door, his broad shoulders heaving as he caught his breath. I stood on shaky legs, fury pouring from every atom of my being.
“What the hell did you do that for?” I shrieked at him. I would have run back out into the storm, but he was effectively blocking the door.
“What the hell did I do that for?” he repeated, his voice incredulous. His white t-shirt was soaked with rain and clung to him like a second skin. I could see every muscle of his torso outlined in wet gray. There was what looked like grass tangled in his honey curls. He was a hot mess. A hot mess that I needed to avoid. “You were out in a fucking hurricane! Did you not see the tree hurtling down the beach?”
I glared fire at him and crossed my arms. “I was fine! I didn't need you to come rescue me!”
Logan straightened from the door, coming to his full height. Every muscle popped out of his shirt at me, and his eyes held a dangerous darkness I had never seen before. I hadn’t realized just how big he was, how strong and intimidating he could be, until that very moment.
“You ran out into a hurricane,” he enunciated carefully. There was power and danger in his tone that gave me goosebumps. “That's how people die in these storms. What the hell were you doing out there?”
“That doesn't give you the right to pick me up like a child and carry me inside!” My voice shook with uncontrolled rage. He was close enough now that
I could feel the heat radiating off his wet skin. My own hair was dripping water down my spine.
He loomed over me. There was something beautiful and dark in his eyes that held me captive and kept me from running. “Damn it, Olivia!” Logan growled. Frustration reverberated off every syllable. “I was worried about you!”
“Why?” I asked with a sneer. “If I got killed out there, you would get my company for a song. No more Olivia problem. You already have most of my employees anyway.”
“I had nothing to do with that!” he shouted, anger making his voice break. “I haven't done jack shit to your company!”
“Liar,” I hissed, narrowing my eyes. He stepped back as if I had struck him. He took a deep breath, visibly trying to calm himself.
“Everything you hate was done by my father. I don't want your company.” His brown eyes were flames, and my soul was the moth. I couldn't have escaped from his gaze if I had been blinded. He moved close enough that those eyes were all I could see. “I want you.”
I blinked twice. That was not what I was expecting. His words startled and excited me, but before my brain could analyze and process them, his hand was around the back of my neck and his lips were on mine.
His mouth was hot and insistent as he pressed it against mine. I fought for a moment, but his grip was too strong and his kiss too sweet. It was a kiss I had craved for two years and had tried to convince myself I could do without. I wanted to give in to him completely, but I was still too angry to budge even an inch. Instead, I just stood there like a statue as he kissed me. I was furious and turned on beyond anything I could imagine. After a moment, he pulled back and searched my face.
“What was that for?” I surprised myself with the amount of venom in my voice. His kiss had sent want scorching down into the very marrow of my bones, but I needed someone to be angry with, and he was the closest person. He had hurt me. His eyebrows came together above those beautiful eyes. Hope fell as he saw something in my expression that disappointed him.