Won't Go Home Without You

by Cheris Hodges

  Logan shook his head. “This is unbelievable. Why wouldn’t this have shown up in the background check?”

  “Cover-up, maybe? Think about it, a high-profile couple in the medical field wouldn’t want to tell the world about a woman like Kamrie. So, they ship her off to another state. And here you are with your drama.”

  “You got proof of this?” Logan asked, thinking about what he’d need to show Robin.

  “That’s why I’m going to Atlanta tomorrow.”

  “The day after Christmas?”

  Liam nodded. “You want your wife back or nah? Listen, if this woman is trying to ruin your life, then we have to see if this is a pattern.”

  Logan nodded. “I get it. Let’s do it.”

  “But first, you got to feed me.”

  “Bacon and eggs?” Logan said as he headed to the kitchen.

  Chapter 7

  Watching Nina and Clinton exchange their vows tugged at Robin’s heartstrings, and she prayed that her sister would never feel the pain of betrayal that she was suffering through.

  Though she wished that she could’ve skipped the reception, Robin attended the party and tried to put on a brave face. The champagne helped.

  “Robin,” Terell said as he walked over to her. “You almost upstaged the bride.”

  “What are you doing here?” she asked as she set her glass on the bar.

  “Well, this was a huge event and I wanted to see you again.”

  “Not a huge event, but wasn’t Nina a beautiful bride?”

  “I don’t know. I couldn’t keep my eyes off you.”

  Robin snorted and reached for her glass of champagne. “You sure it was me and not my father who had your attention?”

  “Ha. It was totally you, Robin. What are you doing later?”

  She closed her eyes. Robin wanted to go home, kiss her husband, and wake up from this six-month nightmare. But that wasn’t an option. “I’m here until tomorrow. No plans.”

  “Want to hang out and catch up?”

  Before she could answer, Yolanda crossed over to her and wrapped her arms around her sister. “It’s toast time. Are you ready?”

  “I guess,” Robin said. “Terell, I have to go.”

  Yolanda led her tipsy sister to the dais. “What was that all about?”

  “Leave me alone. I was probably on my way to making a bad decision.”

  Yolanda faced her sister and stroked her cheek. “You know what, I’ll do the toast for you because tears aren’t going to work here.”

  Robin touched her damp cheek, unaware that she had been crying. “Yolanda, I can do this. I just . . . Am I ruining Nina’s day with my bullshit?”

  She shook her head. “No. You’ve been hiding it.” Yolanda pointed at Nina and Clinton as they kissed. “They are happy. I want you to be happy again, too.”

  “What about you, Yo-Yo? Why do you have a bodyguard?”

  Yolanda rolled her eyes. “Who is going to do this toast, me or you?”

  Robin looked at her baby sister as she stroked her new husband’s face. “I got this.”

  “All right.” Yolanda squeezed Robin’s hand. “You sure you’re okay?”

  Robin took a deep breath. “It’s not about me today, this is Nina’s day.” Walking up to the dais, Robin blew kisses to her sister and brother-in-law, then tapped her champagne flute. “Everyone, if I could have your attention for a moment. Today, we’re celebrating love and happiness. Nina and Clinton, when I look at you, I see so much love and a bright future for you. Marriage isn’t always going to be easy, but . . .” Her voice caught as tears welled up in her eyes. “As long as you have love, it’s not going to be hard to make it through the tough times. As long as you have trust, you will have everything you ever need. Don’t let anything or anyone else’s story make you think love isn’t enough. God bless your union.” Robin forced herself to smile instead of crying. Everyone in the audience clinked their glasses and Robin took the opportunity to take a seat. Alex grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

  “You did good, sis,” she whispered.

  “Think I’d be missed if I left?” Robin wiped her eyes and glanced over at Nina and Clinton as they shared a kiss.

  “I’ll cover for you.”

  Robin leaned in to her sister and gave her a hug. “Thank you.” While everyone toasted and cheered the newlyweds, Robin headed for the exit.

  “Where are you going?” Terell asked as he followed her outside.

  “I just need some air.”

  “I thought you’d be cheering for your sister all night.” Terell smirked. “What’s going on with you?”

  “My marriage is falling apart and I don’t want to bring this negative energy to my sister’s big day.”

  He held his arms out to her and, despite herself, Robin fell into his embrace. “I’m sorry you’re going through this.” Terell stroked her back. “You want to go somewhere and talk? Away from all of this?”

  She looked up at him and part of her wanted to get a measure of revenge on Logan for breaking her heart. But what would cheating on him change? She’d said she was willing to fight for her marriage, so what in the hell was she doing right now?

  “I can’t. I should go home.”

  “Aren’t you at home now? Or are you talking about going back to your husband?”

  Robin shook her head and pushed out of his arms. “I really need to go.” She looked down at her hands and her bare left ring finger seemed to be a stark reminder of why she needed to leave. Robin missed her husband and she was tired of feeling like a storm cloud. Though she tried to hide her pain, Robin knew when she walked in the room she sucked the joy out of everyone’s happiness.

  Maybe the long drive back to Virginia would give her time to think if she wanted to save her marriage. Wasn’t the love she just spoke about the same thing she and Logan were supposed to have?

  Then why did he cheat on me? Robin thought coldly.

  “But what if he didn’t?” she muttered as she walked with no direction outside in the parking lot. Maybe it was time to stop burying her head in the sand and fight for her marriage.

  Crossing over to the family wing of the bed-and-breakfast, she decided that she’d leave a note with Alex and let her tell everyone what was going on. She didn’t want to argue with her sisters about her decision. After all, it was her marriage.

  It took Robin about twenty minutes to change out of her dress and gather her belongings. The sooner she left, the less of a chance she’d have to change her mind. Just as she was about to head to her car, she heard Sheldon call her name.

  “Hey, Daddy,” she said as she slammed her trunk. “What are you doing here?”

  “When one of my daughters goes missing these days, I have to check it out.”

  “Well, I don’t need a bodyguard, but I do have to go.”

  “Tonight?” He wrapped his arm around Robin’s shoulder. “I don’t know why you girls like to drive up and down the road like you all are truck drivers.”

  “If I don’t go now, I don’t think I’ll go at all,” she said. “I’m going home. Back to my house and I’m going to see if . . .”

  “You’re going to give your marriage another chance? I’m not surprised, Robin.”

  She studied her father’s face. “Do you think I’m doing the right thing?”

  Sheldon patted her shoulder. “That’s not for me to say. I know you’re hurting and I also know how much you love Logan. If this is what you want, I’ll support you.”

  “Would—did you and Mommy ever . . .”

  Sheldon sighed. “All marriages are different and I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do. Your mother and I had our issues. We worked through them our way, just like you and Logan will. Now, you call me when you get home. And you’d better go before your sisters come around here and try to talk you out of leaving.”

  Robin kissed her father’s cheek. “I love you, Daddy.”

  “Love you too, baby. Drive safe.”

 
* * *

  Logan paced the house for the fifth time in an hour. He’d cleaned everything from top to bottom, done the laundry, and even ironed his shirts. Now, he was bored. Logan wished that he hadn’t taken leave from the hospital, but going there would add to his stress. By now, the rumors about him and Kamrie had to be at a fevered pitch. But he was concerned about other things at that hospital. The overwhelming number of experimental drugs that some doctors were being paid to use were killing people. The more Logan complained about it, the more crazy shit started happening to him.

  Maybe that’s what this thing with Kamrie was all about. Someone wanted to silence him and what better way to do it than with a sex scandal? Yes, his reputation was going to take a huge hit, but he had to get his wife back. And that meant fighting this allegation—publicly. Robin was his whole life and he would give anything to have her back in his life. It didn’t feel like Christmas being in the house alone. Plopping down on the sofa, he closed his eyes and remembered the first Christmas he and Robin spent together in New Orleans.

  Logan looked around his apartment and felt like a cornball. He had a too tall Christmas tree in the corner that had more lights on it than the law should’ve allowed. And then there was the fake snow. What did he know about snow? It didn’t snow in Baton Rouge and he was sure that it didn’t snow in Charleston. What if Robin didn’t like snow? When he took a deep breath, he knew he’d sprayed way too much of that fake pine-scented air freshener. His place smelt like an overgrown swamp in the middle of a Florida summer.

  And he hoped that when Robin walked through the door she wouldn’t regret skipping Christmas with her family to be there with him. The basketball team had a tournament and lost in the first round. Robin had decided that she was going to follow the team to cheer her man on. To say Logan had been surprised by her decision would’ve been the understatement of the century. Robin loved her family and Christmas.

  That’s why this day had to be special. And already he felt as if he had fucked it up. The timer on the stove buzzed and Logan dashed into the kitchen to check on the oysters Rockefeller stuffing that his coach’s wife had given him the recipe for. The last thing he needed to do was burn dinner.

  At least he wouldn’t be eating fast food for Christmas this year. Logan pulled the dish from the oven and it was perfection. Now, he had to make sure the Cornish hens were going to be juicy and crisp. And it looked as if they were. So, if Robin could look past the corny decorations, she was going to have a great meal.

  Logan was used to women cooking for him, making sure he was satisfied. But Robin was different. Double R wasn’t with him because he was a basketball star. She actually saw past that and made him work to earn her heart. It was a mission he’d taken on headfirst. Logan knew this was the kind of woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

  When he heard a knock on the door, he thought that he was going to pass out. She was here and he had to act like he hadn’t been obsessing over her visit. Crossing over to the door, he took a deep breath and then opened it.

  “Merry Christmas!” Robin said as she held up two bags with Black Santa faces on them.

  “Merry Christmas,” Logan replied. This was a side of Robin he hadn’t seen before. She was excited like a kid.

  “So,” she said as she walked in and kicked off her shoes. “I know you probably didn’t want to be here today and . . .” She turned toward the Christmas tree. “Oh my goodness. That tree is awesome.”

  Logan hid his laughter as she dropped the bags and crossed over to the tree. “When I was little, my mama used to get a super big tree and put too many lights on it.” As she stood in front of the tree with a huge smile on her face, Logan crossed over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

  “And I was thinking that you were going to think I was the corniest man in Louisiana.”

  She leaned back against him and smiled. “I thought I was going to walk in here and find you super depressed about the tournament.”

  Logan spun her around. “The minute you said you would spend Christmas with me, I didn’t really care about losing in that tournament.”

  Robin brushed her lips against his. “Then we are going to have a merry Christmas. But what is that smell?”

  “What smell?”

  “Is something burning?”

  “Shit! The hens.” Logan let her go and ran into the kitchen. His perfect hens were now a crispy mess. He slammed the pan on the stove and shook his head.

  “It could be worse,” Robin said from the doorway. “You could’ve burnt something that I was looking forward to eating.”

  He tilted his head to the side. “You’re telling me that I did all of this for nothing?” He fanned his hand across the pan of dressing, the collard greens, and macaroni and cheese.

  “Wow, you have been busy. I love a man who knows his way around the kitchen and likes big trees.” Robin licked her lips as she closed the space between them.

  “Big trees, huh? That’s all I needed to make this day special for you?”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and brushed her lips across his. Logan devoured her mouth with a passionate kiss. Her lips tasted sweeter than honey, and when she moaned as his tongue grazed hers, Logan wasn’t worried about dinner.

  He wanted to feast on Robin. This would be the first time he made love to her and it had to be special. Especially since he’d messed up dinner royally. Pulling back from her, he had another surprise to offer her.

  “Robin, you could’ve spent Christmas with your family and probably would’ve had a better dinner. But you stayed here with me, even after we lost the game.”

  “I’m where I want to be.” She stroked his cheek and smiled.

  “Glad you’re here because I really want to be with you.”

  “Me too.” She thrust her hips into his and his body was on fire. “I’m ready.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She tugged at the zipper on his jeans. “Let me show you how sure I am.”

  Before he could reply or whisk her off to his bedroom, where there were more twinkling Christmas lights, Robin dropped to her knees and had his pants around his ankles. When she gripped his hardness, Logan moaned in anticipation of her next move.

  He wasn’t ready when she took him inside her hot mouth. Lick. Suck. Suck. Lick.

  Logan had no idea that the brainiac he’d fallen for was so good with her lips and tongue. One more deep suck and he’d be done. But he was powerless to stop her as she darted her tongue across the head of his dick. Then she licked the length of him and Logan’s knees quaked. No matter how good it felt, he had to pull back.

  “Damn, girl,” he moaned as he helped her to her feet. “That was unexpected.”

  “I hope you didn’t think that I was all work and no play.” Her smirk made his dick jump.

  “Come with me,” he said as he held her hand. In that moment, Robin was the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. She was a goddess. Beauty mixed with innocence and snark. He took her to his bedroom. Donny Hathaway’s melodic voice greeted them as they walked in. He glanced at Robin, who looked as if she was about to cry.

  “Babe, what’s wrong?”

  She shook her head, then wiped her eyes. “This was my mom’s song. She’d play this while we decorated the tree and then sneak kisses with my dad.”

  “I can turn it off,” he said.

  “No, it’s sweet. I love this song and this season.” She reached up and stroked his cheek. Logan drank in her image, realizing for the first time that she was wearing a slinky red dress with a white fur collar. Oh, yeah, she loved the season. But as cute as the dress was, Logan longed to see what was underneath it.

  “Mrs. Claus has nothing on you, babe,” he said as he reached for the zipper.

  “Glad you finally noticed,” she said with a wink.

  He slid the dress off her shoulders, her brown skin glowing underneath the twinkling Christmas lights he had placed on the ceiling. The farther he slid the dress down, t
he more of her exquisite body he revealed. Perky breasts with rock hard nipples.

  A heart-shaped tattoo on her hip. That was a shocker. “Who knew you had a rebellious side?” He ran his finger across her ink, then eased her onto the bed.

  “Not too many people know about this. Consider yourself blessed to see it.”

  Logan chuckled. There was that sharp tongue that had pierced his heart. Easing down her body, he kissed her tattoo. “I need to be the last person to get this blessing.”

  “Then you need to make it worth it.” She stroked his neck as he traced the heart with his tongue. Logan slipped his hand between her thighs and fingered her wetness. Robin’s moans were like music to his ears. He’d waited for this moment since their first kiss.

  Logan pulled back from her and lifted her into his arms as he leaned back on the bed. Robin smiled as she straddled his body. Her hand snaked down his taut body and gripped his erection.

  “Damn,” he moaned, turning to jelly in her hands. “I’ve wanted this for so long.”

  “Then you should’ve spoken up sooner.” She stroked him long and hard. Chills danced up and down his spine. If she kept this up, Logan wasn’t sure if he’d be any good when she wrapped those thighs around him.

  “R-Robin,” he groaned. Logan felt the heat radiating from her body as she ran her hand down the center of his chest. The irresponsible and horny side of him wanted to dive into her wetness without protection and drown in her heat.

  The last thing he wanted was to become that guy. Getting a girl pregnant in college, making her take a backseat to his dreams. Besides, he and Robin had law school and medical school in their futures.

  “Protection,” he said as he reached underneath the pillow and retrieved a condom. When Robin took it from his fingers and tore the package open, Logan knew she was going to be full of surprises.

  She spread her thighs and slid him inside. Logan cried out in delight as she rode him slowly. He held on to her waist as she ground against him. They found each other’s rhythm after a few strokes, then fell into a dance that made them both feel insane pleasure. Robin threw her head back and called his name as he thrust deeper and deeper inside her.