“Right away, sir,” a voice responded.
“I thought you were a mirage yesterday,” he mumbled into my hair, holding me tight.
“So, you did see me?” My insides were turning to mush with his words.
“Of course I saw you, Kitten, I just thought I was imagining it. I’ve been thinking about nothing but you for days. I thought I was having a mental break.” He kissed my neck.
The rest of the drive was spent lost in each other, both eager to reacquaint ourselves with each other’s body.
Logan whisked me out of the car as soon as it stopped and we raced through the lobby to the elevator. He must have pushed the floor button a zillion times, willing the elevator to go faster. His keys were out in his hand and he practically dragged me down the hall to the door.
“Too many clothes, Grace, I need to feel your skin against mine,” he said, tearing at the buttons on his shirt. “Are you still on the pill?”
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
I didn’t want fast, though, I wanted to enjoy this. Being with him, again, was like drinking a cold glass of water after wandering in the desert for months. I wanted to savor it, to savor him. I untied the belt on my coat and slipped it off.
Logan watched my every movement, a carnivorous look on his face. I smirked at him as I slid the tight red dress off my shoulders. Soon, I was standing in just panties, a matching bra, and heels.
“Come here.”
I obeyed and walked to him, the lust in his eyes making me feel brazen. “Tell me what you want, Logan,” I whispered into his ear, once he had me firmly in his arms. It was the same question he had asked me, all those months ago. Those words had resonated in my soul and played over and over in my head as I held onto his memory.
“You, Grace; I need you. All of you.” His voice was thick with need.
“Then, take me.”
That was all the direction Logan needed, because he practically threw me on his bed. He got his pants and socks off in record time and descended on my body, pressing his lips to any part of me he could get at as he undressed me the rest of the way.
“Baby, I can’t wait, it’s been too long.” He panted as he rose above me.
I couldn't wait, either. I needed him.
The feeling of him inside me was almost more than I could bear; he was made for me. There was nothing quick about this reunion. He moved achingly slow, each pivot of his hips was ecstasy.
“Is this what you need?” His lips were at my neck, kissing and biting.
“Always,” I breathed, surrendering myself to the pleasure.
WE WERE LYING TOGETHER IN my bed a while later, and she asked the question I had been dreading.
“Why didn’t you come back for me? Why didn’t you ask me to stay?” Her brown eyes were wide and vulnerable.
I sat up and raked my hand through my hair. “I knew you were going to ask me that. I always knew where you were, Grace, just like I know your last name is DeLeo and that you have three sisters—Faith, Hope, and Charity.” I stopped and looked down at her, rubbing my hand along her arm. “My feelings for you scared me. I should have stopped you from leaving that morning. I regret that I didn’t.”
Her face fell, the happiness that was there before was replaced with hurt.
I could tell she was crushed, and I didn’t know how to talk my way out of this.
“Logan, I’m at a loss, here.” She sat up, too. “You've known where to find me this whole time, but you never came for me?”
“Baby, I needed you to find me. I needed to know that you felt it, too.” I took her in my arms, smoothing her hair as I hugged her.
“We spent months apart because you were insecure?” The expression on her face tore at my heart.
“Not insecure, Grace. I’m used to women falling at my feet once they know my last name. It was so refreshing to be with you and have you like the real me, not just who I am and what goes along with it. I was terrified that things would change if you discovered who I really was, that you would be different.” I dropped my head.
“I understand fear; I get that, completely. I was so nervous you would turn me away or not remember me.”
“How could I not remember you? Grace, you were the best part of my life—even if it was only for one night.” I kissed her softly.
“So, now that you know how I really feel. What now?” Uncertainty colored her words.
“What now? Now, I’m never going to let you go.” I tipped her chin up and kissed her.
“How will we make this work, Logan? You live and work here; and my home is in Chicago.”
“Grace, we’ll make it work, I promise. I need you.”
“I’ve needed you every day of the past few months. I want to believe you and risk my heart on this, but I need something from you.”
“Anything.”
“I only want honesty from you, no secrets or lies. I need to protect my heart.”
“I promise you I won’t lie to you. I’m all in on this, Kitten.” I wanted to take her in my arms, but she stopped me.
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“You can hold anything you want against me.” I grinned, trying to lighten the mood.
“Logan, be serious here.”
“Okay, sorry. Keep going, what else is on your mind?” I kissed her.
“How is this going to work, you’ll come see me, and I’ll come out here sometimes?” she asked.
“I have a private plane honey, I can come to you as often as I like. Or send it for you to come out here. Long distance doesn’t have to be hard. Eventually, I would like you to move here with me.”
“Move here?” She arched a brow. “My whole life is in Chicago. My work, my sisters.”
“I know that, and I’m not asking you to give everything up, Grace.” I kissed her gently. “I’m saying in the future. You own your own business, you can move it to New York. Hell, I’ll give you a floor in the McFadden building.”
“I don’t need charity from you. I’m capable of making it on my own. I’ve done well enough on my own so far.” There was a bite to her words.
“I’m not offering you something I wouldn’t offer anyone else. I want you here with me, and I think you would do well. There are many different businesses that I don’t own that rent space in my buildings. Having you a few floors below me would be wonderful.” I paused and kissed her arm. “Think about it. We could have lunch together every day.” I kissed her shoulder. “And ride to work together in the mornings.” I kissed her neck. “I’m not the devil, and I’m not asking you to sell your soul to me.” I kissed her ear.
“I’ll think about it.” She looked uncertain. “We’re just starting this, I don’t want to make future plans in case it doesn’t work out.”
“Don’t think that it won’t. When I want something bad enough, I get it. And I want you.” I nipped at her earlobe. “Can we stop discussing business now? I think I have other things I’d rather be doing with you.”
IT WAS LATE, TOO LATE for me to still be awake. But I couldn’t stop staring at the angel currently in my arms. Grace. She had found me. She had come back to me. My phone buzzed on the nightstand next to me. A quick glance showed a text from Smith.
Smith: What the heck, man? You’ve been MIA all day. Where the hell are you?
Me: Something came up.
Smith: What exactly would that be? Or should I say whom?
Me: Don’t be a dick.
Smith: Stop being evasive. I’m calling you.
Before I could respond the phone in my hand started ringing. Grace shot up to a sitting position rubbing her eyes.
“Logan?”
“Go back to bed. I have to take this call.” I kissed her softly and waited until she was lying on her side before exiting the room and heading out to the patio.
“Seriously, what the hell is going on with you?” Smith’s irritated voice came through loud and clear.
“She found me.” I drummed my fingers on the railin
g.
“Who found you?”
“Grace. She showed up at my office.”
“Well, then.”
“Exactly.” He knew how huge this was for me.
“What are you doing about it?” he asked.
“What I should have done before. I don’t plan on letting her get away this time. Shai was right, you were right. She’s what I need.”
Laughter rolled through the line. “I never thought I would see the day when you would want to settle down with one person.”
“Me neither, man. This is new territory for me.” I smiled as I said the words.
“When can I meet her?”
“Not for a bit, I don’t want to scare her off.”
“Are you saying you think I’m scary?” Smith laughed.
“No, you’re just a lot to take in. Plus I know how you are around beautiful women, and I want Grace all to myself for as long as I can have her.”
“You sound happy.”
“You know, I think I am.” I chuckled. This is what happy felt like.
“Okay, call me sometime so I don’t think you’ve died from lack of electrolytes or something.”
“You’re such a dick. Yeah, I’ll call you when I call you.” I pushed end and stood against the railing, watching the cars speed by on the street below.
Grace walked out, wearing one of my shirts and a sleepy look on her face. “Everything okay?” She wrapped herself around me.
“Yeah, totally good. Just a friend.”
“How are you feeling about this. Now that that sexual haze has lifted.” She looked up at me, the nervous expression on her face tore me to shreds.
“If you think I’ve changed my mind, you’re mistaken. Now that I have you, I’m never letting you go. We tried it apart, and it didn’t work. We were both miserable. I know I owe it to myself to see where this goes. I’m not going to say I love you, because we are very much not at that point. I will say I’m in lust with you. I can’t stop thinking about you. The smell of your hair, the taste of your lips, the little sounds you make in the heat of pleasure—I want to know where this goes. I’ve never wanted that before.”
“I’m scared of all of this. But I want it all the same. I tried to tell myself that it wasn’t real, that what I felt for you was all in my head. I even went on a few dates, but no one compared to you. I agree, we do owe it to ourselves to see this through. Even if it ends horribly, we’d know we gave it an honest shot.”
I tipped her lips up to mine, her vulnerability somehow made her even sexier. I had never liked that in the past, always steered clear of emotional attachment.
“How long are you here for?” I wrapped my arms around her, wanting her to say forever.
“A few more days. Faith is with me.”
I arched a brow.
“Moral support and all that.” She smiled. “I wasn’t at all sure I could have gotten on the plane without her.”
“Then it seems I owe her dinner.” I kissed her again. I could never get sick of those pouty lips.
“I’ll call her in the morning. I can't wait for you to meet all of my sisters. They are probably dying right now in anticipation.” She laughed.
“Talked about me a lot did you?” I grinned.
“Just a bit. I’m sure you talked to your friends about me, didn't you?” She pouted.
“I’m more private, but yes, your name came up in a few conversations.”
“As long as it came up, we’re all good. I would hate to have been the only one pining away.” She extracted herself from my arms and walked back to the sliding door, letting the button up shirt she was wearing fall to the floor as she stepped inside.
“Oh no, Kitten, you were not alone in the pining department,” I said in a low growl as I stepped through the door after her.
“And now? Are you still wanting me?” She bit her lower lip.
“What do you think?” I slid the pajama pants off my hips and had her pressed against the wall in two seconds flat.
She arched her back and ground her hips into me. I bent down and nipped at her neck, wanting to mark her, to claim her as mine.
“Mine now. All mine,” I whispered in her ear. I wanted her to know it, deep in her soul. To know without a doubt that she belonged to me now.
“Yes.” Her voice was breathy, barely a whisper. “All yours.”
I hitched her legs up around my hips, not wanting to wait for a bed. God, she was perfect. Every part of her was made for me. Her eyes were closed, totally lost to everything but what I was currently making her feel. I could get used to this.
“Logan.” She sighed and her head fell against my chest. The feeling of her tightening all around me was too much.
I had to move or my legs were going to give out. I ran as quickly as I could to the bed and tossed her on her back. She giggled and threw a pillow at me.
I flopped down on my side and pulled her against me, wrapping my arms around her.
“I’m glad you came Grace.” I kissed her ear.
“I am, too,” she whispered. “This feels like a dream. The dream I had for three months straight.”
“I’m sorry,” I said lamely. I didn’t normally do apologies. The words felt foreign on my tongue.
“For what?” She wiggled out of my arms and turned to face me.
“For letting you leave. For not coming back for you. For all of it.”
“It all worked out, right?”
“Yeah, it did. But the time we could have been together was wasted because I was too stupid and too proud to come to you. I can promise I’ll never let you slip away again, Kitten.”
“Promise you’ll always fight for us?” She grinned.
“I promise. Now come back here, I liked you all wrapped up in my arms.”
She complied and snuggled up against me, my arms wrapped around her. We spent the rest of the night talking about the future and what we wanted. As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t help feeling like the luckiest man on earth to have her with me. I knew I would move heaven and earth to keep her, for as long as she would have me.
WHEN I FIRST OPENED MY eyes, I couldn’t tell where I was. I didn’t recognize anything in the room. Then I felt the arm around me and the warm body pressed firmly against my back and it all came flooding back. He wanted me. Logan McFadden wanted me in his life!
“Morning Kitten.” I could feel the rumble of his voice through my back.
“Morning.” I slid out of his embrace and stood up. “Um, bathroom?”
He flipped onto his back and pointed off to the left, a grin on his face as he watched me walk away.
I couldn’t stop smiling. The countless orgasms probably attributed to it, but the fact that he wanted me and didn’t turn me away was huge. I knew I needed to call Faith and let her know I was still breathing, but I didn’t want the real world to come crashing in on us yet.
“You coming out, or am I coming in?” his voice called from just outside the door.
“They both sound like good options.” I opened the door and let him into the huge bathroom.
“I think we should shower and then go out for breakfast. How does that sound?” He kissed my neck.
“Sounds good. I need to call Faith and stop by the hotel to pick some stuff up anyway. I didn’t even bring a toothbrush or a change of clothes with me.”
“I have the toothbrush covered.” He opened a drawer and it was filled with unopened toothbrushes.
I frowned slightly, the reality of just how many women had spent the night in this apartment came crashing in on me.
“What?” He caught my look.
“Nothing.” I hastily grabbed one and tore it open.
“Grace, I wasn’t a monk before I met you. I had sex and a lot of it. I’m sorry if that puts you off, but it’s true and I’m not going to be ashamed of it.” A defiant look crossed his face, almost as if he were daring me to say something.
“I know you weren’t, it just surprised me for a moment. It’s totally
fine.” I forced a smile.
“Is it?” He caught my chin in his hand before I could look away. “Don’t let this come between us. I can’t change who I was.”
“I’m fine with it, Logan. I really am.” I knew he was right, he couldn’t change the past. I didn’t need to punish him for my own insecurities.
“I should have been more sensitive to how you might take it, I apologize for that. Now, let’s go get showered off and I can drive you to your hotel to get changed.”
The shower was anything but quick. We took our time making sure every inch of the other’s body was squeaky clean.
Logan threw me a pair of sweats and a t-shirt to wear in the car. I had expected us to use the limo we had come in, but he led me to a sleek BMW sedan.
“No driver today?”
“No, I gave him the day off. I want you all to myself.” He held my hand to his lips and brushed a light kiss across my knuckles.
“Do you always say the right thing?”
“No, pretty often I say the wrong thing. You'll see.” He winked, and we took off for my hotel.
Faith was sitting cross-legged on her bed watching TV when I came in. Logan had waited outside so I could go in and change and make sure Faith was decent.
“So, here you are, then. No phone call?” She mock frowned.
“Sorry, but I’m not sorry.” I grinned and rifled through my bag for a fresh bra and panties and something to wear.
“I take it the reunion went well?”
“Very. He’s so perfect, Faith. Better than I remembered.” I pressed a hand to my heart, caught up in all the girly emotions of it.
“God, you are way too sugary this morning. I may get a cavity just listening to you.” She made a gagging motion.
“Shut up. This is what you wanted remember. You made me come here.” I dressed in a hurry.
“Where is lover boy, anyway?”
“In the hall.” I cut my eyes to the door quickly and ran into the bathroom to throw some makeup on. “Do you want to meet him before we leave?”
“Damn straight I do,” she called from the other room.
“Do you need to get dressed before I let him in?” I eyed her sweats and piled up hair.
Never Let Me Go: Part 1 Page 5