Our Darkest Maze

by Sarah Bailey

  “Then take me upstairs and show me… though we’ll have to kick Shadow off the bed.”

  Logan grinned and gathered me up in his arms.

  “Or maybe we can recreate the first time I brought you here when I fucked you on the kitchen island.”

  I laughed as he led me back into the house and shoved me up against the counter, his hands working at my clothes to pull them off me.

  “Don’t want to upset our babies?”

  “He’ll be in a mood with me for the rest of the night if we kick him off the bed to fuck.”

  “You spoil those cats.”

  He had my top off and his fingers were in my knickers.

  “And? So do you.”

  I did. They ran circles around us, but I loved them. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about our cats. Logan was busy pulling my underwear down, leaving me bare before he sat me on the counter. He ran his fingers up my inner thighs, making me squirm. I reached out, gripping the bottom of his t-shirt and pulling it upwards. Logan raised his arms to let me tug it off him. My hands were on the taut muscle beneath seconds after I chucked it away from us. He’d never stopped working out. Admittedly, I liked to watch on occasion since the man was too hot not to want to stare at.

  My fingers were at his trousers, tugging open the buttons and pulling them off his hips. When I had him naked too, my eyes roamed across the man I was going to marry. Every inch of Logan was attractive to my eyes. From his dark, messy hair to his lean physique. My favourite part of him was his ice-blue eyes. They were so expressive. The only part of him I could always read. Logan couldn’t hide his emotions from me. Not when I knew him so well.

  My hands went to his waist, pulling him between my legs. His hands banded around my thighs, spreading them further. He leant closer, capturing my mouth and kissing me as his hardening cock settled against my pussy. I rubbed myself against him whilst he kissed his way down my jaw, along my chest, and captured one of my nipples in his mouth. His teeth grazed over it, making me moan.

  Our chemistry had never dulled, even though we’d been together for years. Whilst we might not have sex as much as when we first got together with our busy schedules, we always made time for each other. Logan gave me everything I’d ever wanted. Security, love and affection. A partner to share my life with.

  My fingers tangled his hair, encouraging him to keep teasing my nipples with his tongue and teeth. He knew all the ways to play my body and make me melt for him.

  “Logan, please,” I whimpered, desperate for his cock.

  “What do you want?” he murmured against my skin.

  “Fuck me.”

  His low chuckle sent shivers down my spine. Raising himself up to his full height, he placed a palm on my breastbone and pushed me down on the counter, pinning my back to the cold, granite surface. With his other hand, he rubbed the head of his cock along my folds and knocking it against my clit. My body bucked of its own accord.

  “Please.”

  My left hand closed over the top of his on my chest, the ring glinting under the lights. His smile when his eyes landed on it set my heart on fire. I didn’t get a chance to say anything. He slid up inside me, making me moan. His cock always felt so fucking good. I clenched around him, which made him grunt and shunt his hips forward, impaling me further.

  “Fuck,” he groaned. “Do that again.”

  I obliged, loving the sounds erupting from his lips. Loving the way he pulled back and thrust inside me again. The way he pushed me higher whilst still keeping me pinned to the counter. His blue eyes were intent on me, taking in all my reactions to his pounding. The sheer amount of love radiating off him battered me with its intensity. Logan was like fucking magic to me.

  His hand moved from my chest to my neck, circling it loosely whilst he leant over me. His lips traced mine, making me want more.

  “My little masochist, always so eager.”

  I squirmed. His nickname always made me wetter. Every time he said it, he set my body on fire.

  “Logan,” I breathed.

  “I’m yours. All yours.”

  He kissed me, his tongue delving between my lips and driving me to distraction. My fingers curled around the lip of the counter, anchoring myself as he gave it to me harder. My other hand slid between us, finding my sweet spot and circling it. I could feel his heart pounding against my chest in time with mine. He was close. So was I. And when he hit just the right place, I cried out in his mouth, coming apart at the seams.

  “Fuck, Rora.”

  His body shuddered above mine whilst his cock pulsed inside me. The sheer bliss of this moment had me never wanting it to end.

  He all but collapsed on me, his fingers stroking down my neck with his face buried in my shoulder. I stroked a hand down his back, wanting to prolong our time locked together. I didn’t want Logan leaving my body when he belonged next to me. Kissing his hair, I let out a contented sigh.

  “I went to see your parents earlier,” he murmured.

  “Why? Wait, is that why they all told me they were working from home today?”

  “Mmm, yes. And I went to ask for their blessing… I left with four out of five of them being happy for us. I think we can count it as a win.”

  I’d not thought anything of them working from home as they all did quite often.

  “Let me guess, Dad was the one who refused.”

  “Bingo.”

  “Great. That’s going to be a fucking problem.”

  Logan raised his head and grinned.

  “When has your father ever not been a problem?”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “You have a point there, but what was his objection this time?”

  “Me taking too long to ask you. Apparently, it means I haven’t been putting you first.”

  I was silent for a moment before laughter bubbled up inside me. My dad was being ridiculous. The real reason had everything to do with him still not approving of Logan. He didn’t like how I’d been thrust into the limelight because of my relationship with Logan either. I attended all the events Logan had to go to with his charity and because of Bensons. Everyone knew I was his girlfriend. And no doubt when they found out we were getting married, we’d be hounded for details. It was something we’d have to deal with at a later date. I didn’t want to think about it right then.

  “That’s his excuse? Well, don’t you worry, I’ll set the record straight with him even though he is already aware I was the one who told you to go after your dreams.”

  “I think he’d use any reason to complain about me remaining by your side.”

  I stroked Logan’s hair, adoring this man so fucking much.

  “Lucky for you, I don’t take orders from him.”

  “You don’t take orders from anyone.”

  I grinned.

  “Oh, we both know that’s not true. You’re always ordering me around in the bedroom.”

  He leant closer, his eyes twinkling.

  “You like that.”

  “I suppose I do.”

  I let Logan kiss me, feeling as though I was on cloud nine.

  We were getting married.

  And I couldn’t wait to become Logan’s wife.

  Chapter Forty Five

  Aurora and I lay in bed together later that night with Pumpkin and Shadow sleeping on the end. She was curled up on her side, her body pressed to mine and her fingers tracing lines over my chest.

  The two of us had shared a takeaway after fucking in the kitchen and had spent the rest of the night on the sofa cuddled up together in front of the TV. Perhaps it might appear to be a rather boring way to spend the evening we’d got engaged, but Aurora and I were like any other couple. I took her to dinner or the cinema a few times a month, but otherwise, we preferred to spend time at home. Of course, there were galas and dinners to attend for the charity and events they held at the Syndicate, but those weren’t too often, thankfully.

  “Now we’r
e getting married, should we talk about the other thing we’ve been putting off?” Aurora murmured, looking up at me.

  I frowned, wondering what she was referring to.

  “What other thing?”

  “You know… kids.”

  I stared down at her for a moment. We’d had a few conversations about the subject over the years but Aurora and I had both agreed we weren’t ready. Not with everything going on in our lives. For a long time, I had thought little about becoming a father. Being with Aurora had changed many things for me. I wanted a family with her, but not right now.

  “We can talk about it, if you want.”

  “I just want to make sure we’re still on the same page about it, especially now we’re getting married.”

  I let out a sigh and fiddled with the covers.

  “What exactly do you want to know?”

  “Two things… do you still want them?”

  I gave her a smile.

  “Yes. What’s the second thing?”

  She laid her hand flat on my heart.

  “Are you ready for them?”

  “No. We might be getting married, Rora, but we both have very busy lives. I want to be in a position where we can raise them together. Right now, it’s not the right time.”

  The relief in her expression made me cock an eyebrow.

  “Thank fuck. Mum has been asking questions, but I kept telling her we’re not there yet.”

  “You’re not ready either?”

  She smiled wide.

  “No, not at all. The Syndicate needs me, plus being a stay-at-home mother isn’t what I want. I need to work.”

  It wasn’t selfish of Aurora to put her career first. I’d never seen it that way. We both put our careers first. It’s why we’d waited to get married until the charity was fully established. And it would be the same with kids. We wanted to achieve our goals before we introduced a new element into our lives.

  “Mmm, I know. When we’re ready, we can work it out. Besides, I work from home. It’s not like you’d have to give up work. I would never expect you to do so.”

  She shifted higher and kissed me.

  “You are the best.”

  “I do try.”

  Aurora lay back down, resting her head on my chest as her fingers resumed their exploration of my chest.

  “Duke and Kira aren’t ready for kids yet. Raphi wants them too. He told me if he gets to apologise to Jonah and they get back together, he wants to have a family with him.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Mmm, I just hope he does, you know. He’s worked so hard with the help of Marvin. I don’t think I can thank you enough for talking to Jensen for us. Raphi needed someone who understands and could help him.”

  One of my hands left her back and tangled in the strands of her hair.

  “You’re welcome. He was happy to help. After all, it’s not the first time he’s helped your family.”

  She smiled even though her eyes were full of sadness.

  “I had no idea until Dad told me. Rory doesn’t like to talk about having therapy or the past very much.”

  It wasn’t common knowledge, but my Uncle Jensen had been Rory’s therapist all those years ago to help him deal with his childhood trauma. I didn’t know until I asked Jensen to help with Raphi’s depression diagnosis. He told me he was glad Rory had found peace in his life and had a family because he deserved it. Aurora had never told me exactly what Rory had been through. She merely said he’d grown up in foster care and they were abusive. I didn’t push for more. Somehow, I knew what happened was darker than I could ever imagine but given what my family had gone through with my grandfather, I could also empathise with the situation.

  “I can imagine those memories aren’t particularly pleasant to re-live.”

  “No. He said it was Mum who helped him understand he deserved love after everything he’d been through. My mum is kind of amazing.”

  Ash was something else, especially dealing with her partners the way she did. You couldn’t help but respect her for the woman and mother she was to her family and their business.

  “Yeah, she is. She made you, after all.”

  Aurora rolled her eyes but she was smiling.

  “Such a flatterer.”

  “What? Am I not allowed to give you compliments now?”

  “You are. I mean, you just gave me the biggest compliment in the world by telling me you want to marry me.”

  I bit my lip.

  “It is a pretty big compliment.”

  She shifted closer and brushed her lips over mine.

  “You should count yourself lucky I agreed.”

  I fought a grin.

  “Is that so?”

  “Mmm, I’ve been told I’m very eligible what with being the heir to the Syndicate.”

  “Too bad for those all those other guys who missed out then, because you’re very much mine, little masochist. I won’t let anyone else have you.”

  I captured her mouth before she could respond, fisting her hair. She was made very aware of exactly who she belonged to. It’s not as if I’d ever been outwardly possessive of her. I trusted Aurora. She would never betray me. And my heart only beat for her. It had been that way since we met. She took up all the space in my mind with her beautiful dark hair and brown eyes. She was the fire to my ice.

  “I’ve only ever had eyes for you,” she told me when she pulled away. “You kind of made it hard for anyone else to compete.”

  “Is it because of my good looks?”

  She gripped my chin with her fingers, her eyes darkening with lust.

  “Partially.”

  “What other reason could there be? You certainly didn’t like me for my personality in the beginning.”

  “Okay, fine, I thought you were hot in a ‘he’s seriously attractive but a bit of a dick kind of way’.”

  Given the way I’d behaved towards her, her calling me a dick was entirely valid. I had been to her. I could blame her for riling me up the wrong way, but we were both responsible for our actions towards each other.

  “So, it was like hate-lust?”

  “Is that a thing?”

  “I’m making it a thing.”

  “Okay fine, I was in hate-lust with you, but you were with me too so the feeling was mutual. We both wanted to fuck each other.”

  I snorted, running my fingers through her dark hair.

  “Oh, I definitely wanted to fuck you, but I hated myself for it. I didn’t want to want you. You drove me insane.”

  Her tongue darted out, sliding along her bottom lip.

  “I was too busy hating what you said to me to realise how much I wanted you. It was only that night at the hotel when we called each other out… that’s when I knew. I hated wanting you as well. Wanting someone I hated felt wrong somehow.”

  “Trust me, I understand.”

  Resisting wanting each other had been utterly futile. We’d ended up together anyway like some cosmic force was pulling us. Aurora was the first and only girl I’d fallen for. First loves seem to hit the hardest. I couldn’t forget her. And she couldn’t forget me.

  “Crazy to think we went from hating each other to getting married.”

  “Are you happy?”

  “To be marrying you?”

  I winked.

  “Who else?”

  She rolled her eyes before shoving me with her hand.

  “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, you’re going to be my husband. What more can I ask for?” She leant closer again, smiling at me with so much affection in her eyes. “Don’t get cocky when I say this… you’re the love of my life, Logan. No one else will do.”

  I kissed her, loving the way she moulded to me.

  “No one else will do for me either,” I murmured against her lips.

  I let her go and she lay back against the covers, staring up at the ceiling. A moment later, Shadow woke up, stretched and walked up t
he bed, climbing on top of my chest and curling up in a ball.

  “I swear he has a radar or something,” she said after a moment, reaching over to stroke his head.

  “He just wants his dad.”

  “Daddy’s boy.”

  I laughed, which made Shadow give me an evil look.

  “So, you’re perfectly happy with our fur babies for now then?”

  Aurora turned her head to look at me.

  “Yeah, I am.”

  “Then we’ll wait until we’re ready. Just like the marriage thing.”

  She nodded, her eyes turning soft.

  “You’re a little bit perfect.”

  “So are you.”

  I took her hand and kissed it before entwining our fingers together on my chest next to Shadow. I had no worries about Aurora saying no to my proposal. This girl and I were it for each other. Now, we just had to convince her father of the same thing.

  Chapter Forty Six

  “Babe! Let’s get this fucking show on the road,” Colleen all but screeched as I opened the door to her.

  She had two bottles of wine in her hand and a shopping bag full of god knows what else. I rolled my eyes, stepping back to let her in. Behind her was Regan, her dark eyes shining and her wild mane of curly hair bouncing around her shoulders. Deacon Vance had introduced me to his daughter a couple of years after I’d started working at the Syndicate. The two of us had become fast friends along with Colleen.

  “I swear she doesn’t have an off-switch,” Regan said as she walked in, waving a hand at Colleen.

  “I’ve tried looking for it,” I said, giving her a smile before shutting the door.

  We found Colleen in the living room, setting the booze down on the coffee table where I’d already set out glasses and nibbles. She picked up the corkscrew and started opening up the wine.

  “Babe, come here and show me the damn ring. Your boyfriend better have done you a solid.”

  I sighed and walked over, putting my hand out for her. She set the bottle down, grabbing it and looking the ring over.

  “Fuck me, that’s stunning.”

  Not bothering to fight the smile on my face, I took my hand back and stared down at my engagement ring. She was right. It was stunning.