by Elise Noble
“Which means Sloane needs security for the time being. Either a team, or—”
“I’ll do it,” Logan said.
Black grinned for a brief second. “Thought you might.”
Yeah, they were definitely running a pool.
CHAPTER 20 - SLOANE
ALL THOSE PICTURES of me on the internet. All those men, and I hadn’t even realised. Why hadn’t alarm bells rung louder on that strange date with Desmond? I’d thought it was a simple case of mistaken identity because, let’s be honest, I did tend to attract weirdos, but the reality was far, far worse.
And now people I cared about had been dragged into the mess too. Logan’s knuckles were practically black, and Mack had been up all night judging by the dark circles under her eyes.
“Are you okay?” Leah asked as I slumped into my chair.
“No.”
“I heard what happened, and I’m so, so sorry about putting you on that dating site.”
“In a way, it was a good thing,” Logan said from behind me. “If it hadn’t blown up now, whoever stole Sloane’s identity could have carried on for months, and the pressure would have kept building.”
“What are you gonna do?” Leah asked.
My brain was barely functioning at the moment. It was as much as I could do to get dressed this morning.
“I guess I’d better sort out my emails. Then check Emmy’s and Black’s travel schedules, and I promised I’d help Bradley sort out a hotel in Milan, and there’s a report to type up for Hoffman Leisure, and—”
Logan held up a hand. “Stop. Just stop. You’re gonna do the bare essentials, and then I’m taking you out for lunch, remember?”
“Lunch?”
“We discussed this earlier. Claude’s? You agreed to it.”
I screwed my eyes shut, trying to remember what I’d said. “I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“Too late. Claude’s expecting us at twelve thirty. Leah, you can do the rest of Sloane’s work today, can’t you?”
“No problem.”
“We leave at twelve. Don’t be late.”
The butterflies started at eleven thirty, battering my belly with their wings. Logan had disappeared to do his own “bare essentials,” as he put it, and the dirty part of me imagined him naked in the locker room downstairs as I stared at my computer screen.
I’d tried backing away from him yesterday, and look where that had got us. We’d both ended up hurt, he’d taken care of me, and now I wanted him more than ever. He’d spent the night wrapped around me in bed, for goodness’ sake! Or rather on the bed, but even with both of us fully clothed, my heart had been beating so hard I’d feared I’d have a coronary.
And now he was walking in my direction, hair still damp from the shower, wearing not his usual jeans and T-shirt but a button-down shirt, flannel slacks, and a smile that would melt a chastity belt.
“Ready to go?”
I’d flung on the first thing that came to hand this morning, a navy-blue wrap dress that left me feeling woefully underdressed, at least on the outside. The comfortable underwear I wore day-to-day had all been in the laundry basket, so I’d worn one of the fancy lace sets Kenneth had bought me at the beginning of our relationship, and now it was starting to itch.
“Can we stop at my house? I should change into something nicer. And I need to sort out my hair, and do my make-up, and…”
“No time. You’re beautiful as you are.”
Beautiful? Did Logan Barnes just call me beautiful? Leah fanned herself with her notepad, and when I didn’t get up, she shoved me out of my chair.
“Go! I’ll look after things here.”
I’d taken two steps when she hauled me back by my purse strap.
“Wait! You might need this.”
“Did you just shove a condom into my bag?” I hissed.
She shrugged, unrepentant. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. And I want all the details!”
Logan’s smirk said he’d caught that whole exchange, and I wanted to die. Not in the way Jerry Olson might have intended last night, more of a graceful collapse into a pile of ash that would scatter into the wind along with my embarrassment.
But that didn’t happen, so I trailed Logan to the parking lot instead, withering under the weight of everybody’s stares. Did they all know what had happened yesterday? I hated my private life becoming public gossip.
“Smile,” Logan said as he opened his truck door for me. “We’ll sort the problems out. Today, your only job is to enjoy lunch.”
I thought that would be impossible, but when we got to the restaurant, Claude showed us to a quiet table for two at the back, hidden from prying eyes by a screen of plants. I’d eaten there half a dozen times with Kenneth and once or twice with Emmy, who visited so many times she ran a tab, and I suspected she’d pulled some strings to get us seated in that particular spot. I really did have the best boss. Unorthodox, maybe, but I never wanted to work for anyone else.
“I’ll make you a special lunch,” Claude said. “Not something from the menu. Are there any foods you don’t like to eat?”
Logan shook his head, and Claude looked at me.
“I’ll eat anything.”
“Good to know,” Logan murmured as Claude walked away.
“I heard that.”
I pretended to be grumpy, but secretly, I liked Logan’s dirty side. For a few blissful seconds, I wondered what it would be like to have him whispering filthy words in my ear, arms around me as we—
“Sloane?”
Darn it, I had to stop daydreaming. “I’m fine. Just wondering what Claude’s going to cook.”
“That’s a relief. For a moment, I thought you were imagining what you’d like to do to me naked.”
“I wasn’t… I didn’t…” My cheeks burned up, and I was tempted to press my glass of chilled water against them.
“You’re cute when you try to deny things, kitten.”
“Can we just talk about something else?”
“Sure. What do you want to talk about?”
“You. Let’s talk about you.” We’d worked together for years, but I knew so little about him. Just snippets I’d overheard and the basics from his company profile. Logan had always been a very private man.
“I’m not all that interesting.”
“Well, I think you are. Tell me about Logan Barnes. Did you grow up in Richmond?”
“Partly. I was born in Anaheim, but we moved to Richmond when I was thirteen because my dad got a new job.”
“Your sister went back to California?” I recalled the birthday gift I’d sent to his niece.
“All three sisters, and my folks too, but I joined the army instead of going with them.”
“Why?”
“Originally, it was gonna be me and Christian, but then he ended up with Sienna instead. I offered to stick around, but he told me I was an asshole and I needed a bigger asshole to kick some discipline into me.” Logan snorted a laugh. “He’s not right about much, but I have to give him that one.”
“So you enlisted on your own?”
“Yeah. Did the training, got deployed to Iraq, then Afghanistan, drank beer, went on patrols, shot stuff, avoided dying, then my captain suggested I apply to join the Rangers. Fuck. I always thought I was tough, but the training nearly killed me.”
“I’d have collapsed on the first day. Probably before breakfast.”
“Nah, you wouldn’t have. Breakfast was at five a.m.”
“Getting into the Rangers must have been worth the pain, huh?”
“Yes and no. I enjoyed the operations, but I hated the politics. Certain people wanted to fast-track me to Delta Force, and one of the commanding officers didn’t like that idea so he made my life hell.”
“Why?”
“A power trip. Jealousy. Racism. Take your pick.”
“Racism?”
“My mother’s Syrian. That was why they wanted to fast-track me in the first place. Because I grew up speaking Ara
bic and I know a lot about the region.”
“I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
“I’m not. If it hadn’t been for him, I’d probably still be in the army instead of working for Blackwood.”
“You quit because of him?”
“Not exactly. One day, I snapped and punched him, and I was drowning my sorrows in beer and women the week before my court martial when I met Black and Nate. The rest, as they say, is history.”
“Black fixed things?”
“The officer got court-martialled for shooting at a civilian in Afghanistan, and I got a job in Black and Nate’s old unit. Joined Blackwood when I got out.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” I said softly.
“Me too.”
Claude brought our appetisers, delicious mini cheese balls that had a fancy name I totally missed because I was too busy staring at Logan. I bet he tasted better than the food. This was the first time I’d been taken out to an upmarket restaurant where I cared more about the man I was with than the ambience or what I was eating.
At least, until the couple at the next table began speaking after the main course, and when I say “speaking,” I mean arguing. Logan put a finger to his lips as their voices grew louder through the screen of greenery.
“I need another drink,” the woman slurred. “You never let me have any fun.”
“You’re drunk, Janice.”
“I’m not drunk. I’m celebrating.”
“Celebrating what?”
“Martina Harden’s country-club membership got revoked. That bitch always hated me.”
“What did she do?”
“Tried to set fire to her husband’s girlfriend’s tennis dress.”
“I’d have thought she’d have got off with a warning.”
“The girl was wearing it at the time. The tennis coach she was screwing threw her into the swimming pool to put the flames out. Now gimme another drink.”
The man sighed. “One more glass of champagne, and then we’re done.”
Logan grinned at me and dropped his voice to a whisper. “This place has more drama than a Netflix original.” He reached out to trace my lips with a finger. “That’s better—you’re smiling.”
Because I was with Logan. And possibly, just possibly because the waiter had just slid a perfectly caramelised crème brûlée in front of me.
“Thanks for bringing me. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it, but I am.”
“I’m not sure whether to take that as a compliment or not.”
Thankfully, my phone rang before I could stuff my foot any farther into my mouth, and I snatched it out of my purse.
“Hi, it’s Julia from the Sutherland Animal Hospital.”
“Is Nickel okay?”
“Better than okay. He’s eating well, and it was a straightforward repair, so he can go home just as soon as you’re ready to pick him up.”
“I’ll be there soon.” How long would it take me to finish lunch, get home, pick up my car, and drive to the veterinarian? “In around an hour?”
“Perfect! He’s such a lovely little kitty.”
I hung up and spooned a mouthful of dessert into my mouth, chewing slowly. After the escape to Claude’s, it was time to return to reality.
“What’s up?” Logan asked. “Bad news?”
“Not really. Nickel’s doing good.”
“Then why do you look as though your husband’s mistress just interrupted your tennis match?”
Trust Logan to make me smile again. “Because Nickel can go home now, which means I have to as well, and I was kind of hoping to stay somewhere else tonight.”
A hotel, maybe, or one of the sleep pods in the office. Last night, the adrenaline had still been flowing and I’d been determined not to let Jerry Olson break me, but today… A girl was allowed to change her mind, wasn’t she?
“Well, that’s good, because you’re both staying at my place,” Logan said.
I choked on my last mouthful of crème brûlée. “What?”
“Your security’s not up to scratch, and I need to get some sleep too. Nate built my monitoring system, and it’ll alert me if a mouse coughs.”
“But… But…”
“You can pick up clothes and cat food on the way. Don’t worry—I’m not expecting you to sleep naked. Unless you want to, of course. I’m not gonna say no.”
I was still gaping like a goldfish when Claude came over to say our meal was going on Emmy’s tab. Logan wanted me to stay in his…his man cave? I’d heard rumours that he lived in a cabin buried in the freaking woods, far from anywhere and totally alone. I’d be trapped. A man like Logan could eat a girl like me for breakfast.
“I can’t believe—”
The sound of a slap stopped me mid-sentence.
“For the record, I faked it every time!” the woman at the next table shrieked.
I squinted through the foliage, and her husband simply shrugged. “What makes you think I was screwing you for your benefit?”
He ducked as she threw her wine glass at him, and as it smashed on the floor, she was already storming off.
Logan slid his arm around my waist. “Just for the record, kitten,” he murmured, lips close enough to brush my ear, “I’m all about a woman’s pleasure.”
Be still my throbbing lady parts. Perhaps being eaten for breakfast wouldn’t be so bad after all.
CHAPTER 21 - SLOANE
NICKEL MIAOWED INSIDE his cat carrier as we trundled along Logan’s driveway. The ruts made my teeth rattle, and the tree branches meeting overhead gave the whole approach an atmosphere of gloom. A lopsided pair of rusty gates blocked the way, and I was amazed they were still standing, but as we approached, they swung open on silent hinges. Not a single creak. Odd.
Then we rounded a bend, and the pitted blacktop gave way to a perfectly smooth surface. The trees thinned out, and I glimpsed a clearing with a stone sculpture in the centre. Pretty. A moment later, the house came into view, and I let out a gasp. The L-shaped ranch dominated the space, pale green in colour with cream and brown accents. Manicured lawns stretched to the trees, and sunshine glimmered off the rippling surface of the pool at one side.
Logan pressed a button on his keys, and a door in the separate three-car garage rolled up.
“So, what do you think of the place?” he asked.
“It’s not what I was expecting.”
“I don’t like to make it look too nice out front. Attracts the wrong sort of attention.”
He parked the truck and opened my door for me, revealing his inner gentleman once more, and the last of my resolve melted away. The things he’d said and done for the past few weeks—they couldn’t all have been in jest, could they? The sweet words, the kind gestures, the little touches that might have been innocent on their own but put together added up to something more. He really did like me.
I still didn’t understand why, but I’d take it.
And I’d give myself.
I clutched Nickel’s carrier while Logan grabbed my bag and Nickel’s litter tray, and the bolts on the front door shot back when he peered into the retina scanner beside it. Blackwood used the same system for after-hours access at headquarters.
“Can you add me to the system so I can get in and out?”
“Already done.”
“You knew I’d be coming here?”
“Yes.”
I didn’t really know what to say to that, so I didn’t say anything, just gripped the handle on Nickel’s carrier tighter and followed Logan into the hallway. The place was about as far from the bachelor pad I’d imagined as it could get. Pale wood floors with the occasional rug, pastel walls, and plenty of windows to let the light in. A trio of cream leather sofas clustered around a log burner in the living room. And his glass dining table was a whole lot nicer than my chipped wooden one.
“I’ve got three guest rooms, but one of them’s set up for Fantasia. If you like Disney, feel free to use it.” He dropped my bag next to a door I assumed l
ed to the sleeping wing. “I thought we’d put Nickel in the mudroom. The veterinarian said he needed to be confined in a small space, right?”
Logan had a mudroom? That was so…so…civilised. Had I fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole a month ago and somehow not noticed? I’d gone from semi-living with a cheating jerk to temporarily shacking up with a man who probably wore a cape and went joyriding in the Batmobile in his spare time.
“Yes, the mudroom. Makes perfect sense.”
Nickel had his leg tightly wrapped in a blue bandage, and when I opened the door of the carrier, he gingerly stepped out and sniffed around. The room was spotless, not a speck of dirt anywhere despite its purpose.
“Do you have a cleaner?”
“How did you guess? She comes Tuesdays and Fridays.”
“And a gardener?”
“Every Thursday.”
I couldn’t even find my back gate. Suddenly, I felt utterly inadequate, but Logan didn’t notice because he was on his knees petting Nickel.
“I think he likes me.”
“I know how he feels,” I blurted, then clapped a hand over my mouth. “Oops.”
Logan froze for a second then climbed to his feet, walking towards me until I was forced to back up. My ass hit the wall, but still he kept coming until there was only an inch of space between us. His kind expression had disappeared, replaced with a heated gaze and a dangerous mouth.
And when he kissed me, I had to hang onto his arms to stop my knees from buckling.
His lips were gentle at first. Soft. But when he licked the seam of my mouth and I yielded, he became more forceful, taking everything and demanding more. My embarrassing gasps and whimpers—he swallowed them all.
I wrapped my legs around him as he carried me into the hallway, and I thought he’d keep going, through to the bedroom, but he stopped to re-arm the security system. At least one of us was still thinking straight.
“Secure.” He pressed me up against the wall again, and this time he arched his hips into me. Holy moly, Christmas had come early. “Your mouth tastes so sweet, kitten. I bet you taste good everywhere.”
I unbuttoned his shirt as he kissed my neck, and as his lips trailed along my collarbone, they left a fiery path in their wake. How had I ever tried to resist this? The man was more addictive than crack. I only hoped I measured up. The likes of Kenneth and Lyndon had in no way prepared me for a man like Logan, but right now, all I wanted to do was touch him, so I closed my eyes and blindly carried on.