“Oh, Leah, I forgot to tell you, look what I found at the store? I figured you would like to see this.”
I listened to her murmured reply, “That’s nice, I’ll look at it later.”
“But, Leah, honey, you need to see this, they have recognized you for doing such a beautiful job. Don’t you want to see it?”
“No, Anna, not right now, please, I will look at it later. Mary already emailed me about it.” She let out a sniffle.
“Here let me refill your tea.” Mom came back into the kitchen carrying her cup and put the kettle on. “I tried.”
“Try harder, much harder,” I said through clenched teeth. I had just flown halfway across the country, and I wasn’t going home without her.
As soon as the kettle boiled Mom poured the hot water over the fresh tea bag and carried it back into the living room where she stopped as soon as she set eyes on Leah. She waved her hand for me to see. I poked my head around the corner careful to keep out of Leah’s line of sight. She sat with the magazine in her lap, her hand over her mouth, tears in her eyes as she flipped through the article.
“Leah, what is it?” I watched Mom go over to Leah and sit the cup down on the end table before kneeling before her.
“It’s just . . . it’s nothing. Can you get me the phone?” she asked through fresh tears.
“What for, honey.”
“I need to call Logan. This is humiliating! The way this article reads it’s like they think we are together! What the hell was he thinking?”
“Leah, calm down. I don’t think he . . .”
“No. Don’t tell me to calm down. It’s no wonder Mary emailed me. This hurts, Anna.”
“What, honey, what hurts?”
I swallowed the lump that sat in my throat, listening to her cry because she thought I would purposely hurt her. It was killing me. She needed to read between the lines of that stupid article and stop being so fucking stubborn.
“Logan. This wasn’t supposed to happen, but I’ve been in love with him for years. I tried so hard to get his attention, and he never noticed until he came back for your anniversary. He noticed me then and made damn sure he took what he wanted and then spit it back at me.” Her sobs were heartbreaking.
“Leah . . .”
“Anna, give me the phone. I’m done.”
I was finished listening to her cry. I took a deep breath and stepped into the living room. My mom was still crouched down in front of her, her hands on Leah’s knees. Joe stood at the base of the stairs looking utterly afraid to step into the room for fear of getting yelled at. I said nothing I just stood there watching.
“Leah, honey, please . . .”
“No, Anna, your son has done enough damage, he has broken my heart. I can’t do this anymore. I’m going to be the laughing stock of the office. After I talk to him, I’m calling the design firm and I am moving back home. There is no way I can face those people after this.”
“You don’t have to call me,” I said, my voice echoing in the room. “I can clearly see my plan has failed and that you haven’t read between the lines, Leah.”
She looked up at me, a look of shock and surprise and then hurt on her face. “Logan, what the hell, this article, it will get me fired.”
“You just said you were going to quit. So what does it matter? And why would you get fired?”
“Because, Logan, it looks like . . .”
“Looks like what?”
Leah looked down at the magazine and flipped back to the start of the article. “The way it’s laid out, and with the pictures, it looks like I conspired with you to get this job and into this shoot. She’s made it look as if we are together, for god’s sake.”
“What does the headline read, Leah?”
“It Was All or Nothing,” she read aloud looking down at the page in front of her.
“That’s right. What is the significance of those words in relation to us?”
She sniffled, wiping her nose with a tissue my mom had handed to her and shrugged her shoulders.
“What were the words you said to me the weekend we were together?”
“It has to be all or nothing.”
“Well . . .”
She looked up at me, a realization coming over her face, a cute little smile forming on her lips. Anna stood up from where she was kneeling and looked to Leah and smiled.
“Really, Logan? For real?” she asked between sobs.
“For real.”
She stood there a deep flush growing on her cheeks as the realization hit.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” I asked.
She got up out of the chair, dropped the magazine to the floor, crossed the room and fell right into my arms. I wrapped mine around hers and pulled her tightly against me, comforting her. Mom snuck by me and I heard her tell Joe to come with her and leave us be. As I held Leah in my arms, breathing in her familiar scent, I felt lighter than I had in months.
“I’m sorry I took so long to figure things out, but I realized something the other day. The only thing missing to make my life complete is the perfect girl.” I pulled away from her to look at her face. “You. You’re my missing piece. I want to spend my life with you. Everything points to you,” I whispered in her ear as she rested her head on my shoulder.
She pulled back and looked up into my eyes, her green eyes dancing as they always had done when she had looked at me. “Thank god, Logan, because I love you.”
“I love you too, Gingersnap.” I didn’t wait, I devoured her mouth, my tongue darting in between those perfect lips.
A short while later, we pulled into the parking lot of the nearest hotel. There was no way I would be able to take what was mine with Mom and Joe in the next room. I went into the lobby and rented a room for the night. Together, hand in hand, we walked to the room and I slid the key into the lock.
As soon as we were through the door, I pinned her against the wall and pulled her t-shirt over her head. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her. I found the clasp of her bra and quickly flicked it open, the material falling away from her perfect sized breasts. I kissed down her neck, taking a nipple into my mouth, swirling my tongue around then taking it between my teeth gently biting. She let out a soft sexy moan, so I did it to the other one. I stood back up meeting her mouth, grinding my hips against her as I pressed her harder into the wall.
She gripped me through my pants and ran her hand the length of the me, squeezing and stroking my hardness through my jeans. It was all I could do to hold back, if she kept it up it wouldn’t be long before I blew my load into my pants. I ripped her hands away and picked her up, carrying her to the bed where I lay her down.
I pulled at the button on her jeans, opening them and unzipping the zipper. I got a peek at her red panties while I pulled her jeans off her, then I slowly inched her panties down her legs. I quickly unzipped my pants, letting them fall to the floor while her eyes scanned down to my hardened cock, watching it spring free. I placed my knee on the bed between her legs, making my way up her body. I braced myself on my elbow and crashed into her mouth.
Her hand grabbed my cock and started stroking me, she ran her thumb over the head, rubbing the bead of pre-cum that had gathered there. “Fuck, Leah,” I breathed out as I ran my fingers through her wetness, concentrating on her clit. I slid two fingers into her, relishing in the feeling of her tightness.
“Logan, please, make love to me,” she moaned into my mouth.
“Fuck me,” I said dropping my head down beside her shoulder in frustration.
“What? What is it?”
“I forgot the fucking condoms, Leah.”
She rolled onto her side and looked into my eyes. “I don’t care, Logan, I want you to make love to me. I want to feel you inside me.”
She lay back down, and I propped myself up on my elbow. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” She looked up at me shyly. I gave myself a couple of pumps and ran my cock through her center finally pushing myself all the way i
nside her. She let out a full moan as I buried myself into her.
I felt her tightening around me, so I slowed down, slowly pumping into her hard and deep. She felt incredible as she hugged my cock and her fingers dug into me running her nails down my back. Hearing her moans getting louder, I reached between us, running my fingers over her clit as I continued to pound into her. I felt a rush of heat as she came all over me, calling out my name. I felt the familiar throbbing start just before I let go, pouring myself into her.
I collapsed on her breathing hard as she placed soft kisses on my shoulder. Once I gathered myself, I pulled out of her and rolled onto my back pulling her into me. She rested her head on my shoulder, slowing her breathing as she relaxed against me.
TWENTY-NINE
Leah
Christmas the following year
I checked out the front window and then glanced at the clock. It was almost two, Dad and Anna were coming to visit for Christmas. It was the first time they had come to Boston at Christmas time, and we were excited to have them stay with us.
“Are they here yet?” I heard Logan ask from behind me.
“No. I thought you were putting the finishing touches on the McGill project?” I said taking a sip of my soda water.
“I’m working on it.”
“Well, get back to it, they are not here yet. To be honest, I don’t know what is taking them so long, their plane landed at twelve.”
“Probably traffic. You know what it’s like this time of the year.”
I went back to the counter where I had a roast sitting in a pan and finished putting the slices of onion in with the meat and sprinkled the seasoning over it. I covered it and placed it into the already hot oven.
“Do you think they will be happy at the news?”
Logan had asked me to marry him last week over dinner at one of the top restaurants in Boston. He had even gotten down on one knee causing everyone in the restaurant to turn and look at us as he proposed. It was the most romantic thing ever, and then we had come home and made love for hours. After I called Jenna and told her the news, we both laughed as her shrill squeal poured through the phone.
“I think they will love it.” He came up behind me, wrapped me in his arms and placed little kisses along the back of my neck making me laugh. “However, I think they will like our other news better,” he whispered as he continued kissing me.
“What the fact we are finally opening our own design firm?” After they had published the article, things went crazy for us. We both had more work than we could handle and Logan and two other architects he worked with branched off and opened their own firm. I was in such high demand at Preston that I could barely keep up, and then Logan suggested I should join his firm and take over the interior design side of things. I gave my notice at Preston just before we closed for Christmas and I posted an ad for designers to join me at Lehmbeck Designs.
Logan laughed as he placed his hand along the flat of my stomach. “You know what news I’m referring to,” he said taking my mouth.
I broke the kiss. “We shouldn’t say anything yet, just in case.”
“In case of what?”
“They say to wait three months, just to make sure everything is fine.”
“Then why did you tell me?”
I looked at him and laughed and started cutting up potatoes. “Don’t be ridiculous, Logan, of course I had to tell you, you were there.”
“Well, I can’t wait to share that news either,” he said pouting as he pushed me against the wall and met my lips.
I heard a car pull up to the house and looked out the window over Logan’s shoulder to see Anna climb out of the car and look around at the house all decorated in Christmas lights. “They’re here.”
“They will have to wait, I need to make love to you right now,” he said pulling my hand down between us and placing it on his hard cock.
“Put that away, Logan, your mother is here.” I laughed pushing him away and then kissing him quickly.
We both looked to one another and smiled. “Let’s just hit them with the news of the engagement first, okay. I don’t want to kill my father at the same time,” I whispered into his ear, kissing him on the cheek.
“I don’t get it, why would that news kill your father?”
“Logan, you know why.” I had always promised my dad I would get married before I had a baby. It wasn’t going to happen that way.
“So, we get married next week.” He looked at me his eyes full of mischief.
“You’re crazy, I can’t pull a wedding together in a week. No one could.”
“Yes, you can. I need nothing elaborate, just something like Mom and Joe. I already know I love you; I don’t need to announce it to the world with a big show.”
I smiled and threw my arms around his neck kissing him. “I love you too.” He took my hand in his and together we walked to the front door to greet our guests.
<<<< The End >>>>
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Dear Readers,
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read Bad Company. I hope you enjoyed Leah and Logan’s story.
If you did, I would love it if you would drop me a review. Reviews are important to me; I love to hear what my readers think.
I wanted to give you a little update. I have been working hard on the remainder of the Malone Brother’s series. I have titles for the other two books in the series, along with release dates. I also have a couple of other releases planned for this year. To be kept up to date with the progress of these titles and to be notified of release dates, make sure you add the following to your Goodreads TBR. You do not want to miss what I have coming up for the rest of 2019!
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Coming Soon
August 2019: Malone Brothers Book 3,
Bryce: http://bit.ly/HistoHold
October 2019 Dagger: http://bit.ly/GRDagger
November/December 2019 Untitled Holiday Romance: http://bit.ly/GRHolidayRomance
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
S.L. Sterling had been an avid reader since she was a child, often found getting lost in books. Today if she isn’t writing or plotting, she can be found buried in a romance novel. S.L. Sterling lives with her husband and dog in Northern Ontario.
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OTHER BOOKS BY S.L STERLING
It Was Always You
On A Silent Night
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The Malone Brothers
A Kiss Beneath the Stars (The Malone Brothers 1)
In Your Arms (The Malone Brothers 2)
Bad Company Page 14