by Sara Summers
I pulled harder, and when that didn’t work, I yanked.
It barely even budged.
Glaring at the floor, I contorted my body and tried again to rip the dress off. Much to my dismay, the clothing was stronger than I was.
“Will you let me help you now?” he asked.
Elouise had to do all the work to get me into the dress, so I shouldn’t have been surprised that I couldn’t get it off by myself. Still, it was hard to accept defeat.
“Fine.” Surrender tasted sour in my mouth.
Logan pushed the back shoulder of the dress toward my arm, his hand brushing against my bare skin. I shivered at the touch, and he paused with his hand barely pressed up against me.
“Is that okay?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
“You’re trying to make me want you.” I snapped, though I was whispering too.
“Is that okay?” he repeated the question, but I knew this time he was asking something completely different.
I wasn’t sure how to answer his question. Was it okay? Was I okay with him trying to make me want him? Was I okay with him touching my skin, making me shiver? With him making me feel that way while I also felt frustrated and out of place?
“Emma?”
My name sounded so good from his lips.
He was my soulmate, and I wanted him even when he wasn’t trying to make me want him. How could I say no when this was the only effort he was putting forward?
“It’s okay.” I said softly.
“Good.” His voice tickled the back of my neck, and I felt the goosebumps erupt on my arms.
Logan’s hands were strong and warm, pressed up against me as he tugged and guided the left shoulder of the dress down my arm. I pulled my arm out of it, and he did the same on the other shoulder. His hand brushed against my back again, and I couldn’t stop another shiver.
I wanted him like I wanted to run through the forest; I wanted him like he was a part of me.
I guess that might be because he was a part of me. He was the other half of my soul, my missing piece, my soulmate. Logan was the person designed for me.
“I really wish we weren’t in this hotel right now.” I said softly.
“Me too.” His growly whisper was ridiculously sexy.
His hands roamed the skin on my back even though the dress was mostly off.
“You have to stop touching me if I’m going to get dressed.”
“I’m not ready yet.” He gave me a seductive smile, and I just shook my head at him.
“Too bad.” I stepped away and started trying to get the rest of the dress off. It was a battle, one I doubted I would win for a few seconds. That dress was tighter than I knew a piece of clothing could be.
“Finally.” I smiled, proud of myself when I finally kicked that sucker away. Logan grinned, but I knew he wasn’t grinning because he was proud of me. He was grinning at the eyeful of push-up bra and lacy underwear that made up the entirety of the undergarments in my new wardrobe.
“You’re sexy.” He remarked, leaning against the wall and taking in my body.
“Thanks.” I said dryly, pulling on the black housekeeper’s uniform. “How about now?” I put my hands on my hips and gave him a sultry look. Those outfits weren’t exactly up to par with the slutty-maid ones sold at Halloween stores, considering that the housekeeping outfits covered way more skin than they showed.
“Just as sexy.” Logan shrugged, grabbing my hips and pulling my body against his. He gave me a quick but lingering kiss. “Ready to go?” he murmured.
“Yep. Let’s get out of here.” I grabbed the dress off the ground, figuring his mom would be ticked if I didn’t bring it back with me.
We took the elevator down without getting any suspicious looks, but when we got to the lobby, there were paparazzi lined up outside.
“Crap.” Logan grimaced, turning so his back was facing the wall of windows and blocking me from view.
“Mr. Lush?” the front desk man called out. A few other people in the lobby turned to look at us, one lady whipping out her phone.
“Yeah?” Logan looked warily at the front desk guy,
“My manager wanted me to tell you that your car is waiting for you in the parking garage. I can take you there now if you’re ready.” He offered.
Logan nodded, and I could tell he was relieved.
“That would be great. Thanks.”
“It’s no problem. Follow me.” The man led us down a flight of stairs and toward a car with a driver that Logan recognized. We were off toward his house without another problem.
Fifteen
When we got up to Logan’s room, I collapsed on the bed with a sigh.
“My face feels like it’s covered in concrete.” I moaned, rolling to my side. Logan laughed and collapsed next to me, draping an arm over my waist. “Would you be horribly offended if we just went to sleep?”
“Not at all. It’s been a long day.” He promised. “I think there’s something to get your makeup off in the bag of stuff my mom left for you.”
“Okay.” I yawned and didn’t get up.
Logan pressed a kiss to the back of my neck before walking to the bathroom. He dug through a bag for a few minutes, coming back with a wet wipe in his hand. I think I fell asleep for a second while he was gone.
“Makeup remover wipe.” He said, handing it to me.
“Thanks.” I smiled sleepily and accepted the wipe, starting on my face. It took a few minutes and another makeup remover wipe, but I got everything off. My eyelashes still felt heavy from the extensions, but other than that, my face was back to normal.
I yawned, leaving the second makeup remover wipe on the bedside table next to the first.
“Are we still going to spend the whole day together tomorrow?” I buried my legs under the blankets and settled on the bed on my side. My eyes closed, too heavy to keep holding open.
“Of course. I told you we would.” Logan pulled off his shirt and pants, climbing into the bed in his boxers. I didn’t bother taking off my clothes. The housekeeping uniform was comfortable enough, and I was way too tired to put that much effort forward.
“Good. Goodnight.” I smiled sleepily at him before cuddling against his chest. I think I fell asleep the second my nose reached his shoulder.
Sixteen
The next morning, I woke up in bed alone. A glance at the clock told me it was noon.
My eyebrows lifted into my forehead. I’d never slept in until noon in my entire life.
When I remembered that New York was three hours ahead of Washington, I could breathe again.
I slipped out of bed and walked into the closet, which was full of new, fancy clothes that Logan’s mom had bought me. I grimaced and started going through them, looking for anything that looked even slightly comfortable.
The only casual thing I found was a pair of tight, dark blue jeans and a white off-the-shoulder top. It took a few minutes and some jumping to get into the jeans, but I managed. Despite how tight they were, the jeans were comfy. The top was surprisingly comfortable too. It was something I would actually wear back at home, with shorts of course.
I went into the bathroom and was surprised again; I looked nice. The outfit wasn’t slutty or flashy, and I actually really liked it. My hair looked nice even after sleeping on it, too. Before I even noticed my hair, though, I noticed the way my eyes looked bigger and prettier than they ever had before.
The eyelash extensions were to blame for that, I guessed.
I ran my fingers through my hair, but they got caught on what I thought was a massive knot.
“Ouch!” I complained, trying to comb out the knot with my fingers. When I did that, I felt the clips that belonged to my hair extensions.
I frowned, my nose wrinkling as I reached in and tried to figure out how to get them out. It took a few minutes, but I got all eight clips out of my hair.
My hair didn’t look so good without the extensions in, so I dug around the bathroom for a hair-tie. I d
idn’t find anything, but then I noticed the bag of stuff on the counter. There was fruit-smelling lotion and perfume in there, both of which I ignored, along with shampoo and conditioner in girly bottles that couldn’t have been for Logan.
I found deodorant and put that on—good thing I’d found it in the bag, or I totally would’ve forgotten.
Finally, at the bottom of the bag, I found a pack of hair-ties that looked like black ribbons with a knot in them. Still, the package said they were hair-ties so I figured they were just the rich people version of the cheap brown rubber bands we had back in the Cage.
I pulled my hair up in a ponytail on top of my head and headed downstairs. Logan had told me that while the kitchen was on the first floor, he and his mom usually ate their meals in the dining room on the second floor.
From the top of the stairs, I could hear noise coming from a TV.
“This is bad. This is really bad.” Logan groaned, as I made my way down two flights of stairs.
“Play it again, Kyle.” Laren instructed.
Hearing the butler’s name reminded me that I needed to call my dad and tell him not to come visit me because I wasn’t there.
The thought disappeared when I heard Logan moan in what sounded like pleasure.
I hurried, making it to the dining room in time to see Logan on the screen, making out with another woman under a blanket. It looked like both of them were naked.
I gaped.
“What the—“
“Emma.” Logan stood up, holding up his hand. “This is from the movie trilogy I told you about. It was a long time before—“
I went back up the stairs before he could finish speaking, nausea rising in the back of my throat.
Hurrying into the bathroom, I dropped to my knees in front of the toilet and covered my mouth with my hands, hoping it would somehow stop me from throwing up.
“Em,” Logan knelt next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist.
“Don’t touch me.” I glared at him, scooting away until my back hit the shower doors.
“We talked about this, Emma.” He pleaded, placing his hands on my knees. “That was before I knew you existed. The people who made that video used that scene to show who I used to be, okay? The next thing they showed was you and me in the airport and then at our elopement party. They’re debating the possibility of you being a shifter and turning me into one too.”
“Do you think that makes it better? That image is never going to leave my mind.” I protested, though I didn’t push his hands off my knees.
“I’m sorry you had to see it.” Logan took my face in his hands. “It wasn’t real, though. Nothing happened between us. That actress was dating someone who had nothing to do with the movie. The whole thing was fake.”
“It looked real.” My glare wasn’t going anywhere.
“I know. That’s my job.” He admitted, gently sliding his hand from my cheek to the cotie on my neck. When his feelings surged into mine, I felt his guilt and the way he cared about me. I was the only girl for him, that much felt true as our emotions intertwined.
“Alright, alright.” I pushed his hand off my cotie so I could feel for myself again. “What are you going to do? Deny the whole thing?” I folded my arms.
“No, that would hurt you.” He took my hands. “I’m not going to say anything. I’ll just let people debate and wonder while I spend my time with you.”
He said it like he wouldn’t even consider doing anything else.
“Logan.” His mom stopped in the doorway of our room, and he let go of my hands.
I watched him walk out of the bathroom and didn’t bother following, knowing that what she had to say was more important to him than me.
The thought made me sad.
“The movie is threatening to drop you if you don’t make a statement denying what Emma said. They want her to apologize too.” She explained.
Logan didn’t speak for a moment, and I figured he was looking backward to check the expression on my face. When he didn’t see me, he spoke anyway.
“Emma isn’t going to apologize or deny being a shifter. I can make a statement, but she won’t.” he admitted.
I felt frustration begin to build inside me as he chose his mother and his world over me again, after promising me he wouldn’t say anything to confirm or deny what I’d said.
“Alright, I’ll call around to some of the talk shows. Plan to be busy all day today and tomorrow.” His mom warned. I heard her footsteps walk away, and I shook my head at the joke that was mine and Logan’s relationship.
We were hot and then we were cold, we were making out and then we were fighting.
He cared about me, and then he didn’t.
He waited a few seconds, and I knew he was trying to figure out what he would say to me. I wasn’t going to make it easier on him by pretending to be okay with him flat-out lying to me.
Logan walked slowly into the doorway of the bathroom and reached up to run his hand over the perfectly-trimmed stubble on his face.
“So much for caring about whether you hurt me or not.” I stood up and folded my arms.
“I’m sorry, Emma.”
I could see the shame on his face.
“Apologies are empty when your actions continue not to match your words. I take it we’re not spending today together.” I waited for him to answer, though I was at the point where the words he said barely mattered to me at all.
“The day after tomorrow, we have all the time in the world.” He promised.
I think he knew it was weak, too.
“So I only get to be around you if I pretend to be a good little human girl and do everything your mom wants.” I shook my head. “You’re ridiculous.”
“You’re the one who made this mess, Em. If I want to fix it, I have to spend today and tomorrow at the talk shows. Just try to understand.” He pleaded.
“You want me to try to understand that my being a shifter is a big mess for you? I think you’re forgetting that the only reason we’re together right now is because of what I am. We never would’ve met if I wasn’t a wolf.”
I walked into the room and grabbed the purse and phone Logan had given me yesterday. Slipping into the sandals that luckily had been hiding behind the bed when Laren came to throw out my “old” clothes, I tightened the ponytail on top of my head and walked toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Logan asked, though I could tell he wasn’t willing to put up a fight if the answer was something he didn’t like.
“I have to find something to keep me from going bored in this ridiculously large house. I’m pretty sure there’s a beach somewhere around here, maybe I’ll go find a new ‘husband’,” I put air-quotes around the word with my fingers, “who will actually care about what I want.”
He sighed.
“Emma.” He protested weakly. “I care about what you want. I just…” he didn’t know how to finish the sentence, and that wasn’t surprising seeing as it was obvious that he didn’t care.
“You just don’t care enough to actually stand up for me. Don’t bother pretending I’m wrong, or that I’m important to you.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head as I walked past him.
“There’s a credit card and some cash in the wallet in your bag. Buy whatever you want, don’t worry about what it costs.” He sounded tired.
I couldn’t blame him for being tired. It would tire me out too, trying to convince myself that I was making a good choice by treating my soulmate like their opinion didn’t matter.
“Em,” he spoke again, and I paused. Some silly, childish part of me hoped that he would apologize and say he was going to keep his promise to spend the day with me, that he would choose me.
I turned around; the hope was too strong to ignore.
“You should wear your hair down to hide your mate mark.” He grimaced.
I studied him for a second, waiting to see if he was joking or guilty. While I could see a little guilt in his expression
, he wasn’t taking it back.
Obviously he hadn’t heard me right when I told him that I wasn’t okay with being told that the night before.
So I walked back toward him, stopping just before my chest hit his.
I looked up into his eyes and spoke to him with a low voice.
“Say that to me one more time and you’ll never see me again. Understand?” I didn’t say it like a threat, and I didn’t try to challenge his wolf. I said it like a fact because it was.
If Logan tried to tell me to hide who I was again, I wouldn’t stay with him.
Logan swallowed, and then nodded once.
“I understand.” He said quietly.
“Good.” I walked away from him, heading down all three stories of stairs. There was a car waiting for me outside when I left the front door, and I slipped into the back seat.
“Where do you want to go, miss?” the guy in the front seat asked. It wasn’t the butler I recognized, but the way he said “miss,” I figured he worked for Logan’s family too.
“Call me Emma,” I told him, leaning back against the seat. “Take me to the beach, please.”
“Any preferences as to which beach?” the guy asked.
“Whichever one has the least rich people.”
“No problem. Buckle up, please.” He said.
“No need for the please. I’m not really a Lush, I’m just soulmates with one.” I looked out the window as the car pulled away from the house.
“It’s true that you’re a shifter, then?”
“Yep, and I have the cotie to prove it.” I smiled and reached up to touch the marking under my ear. Shifter culture would have me think of it as Logan’s mark, but to me, it was the outside symbol of who I was within.
I was a shifter through and through, and I was proud of that.
No way would I cover my cotie, not for Laren and not for Logan.
Seventeen
We stopped at the beach’s boardwalk, and I got out of the car. The driver put his number in my phone and told me to text him if I needed anything. Luckily I already knew how to text, that would’ve been a weird thing to ask him to teach me.