Chapter 12

Apparently I don’t have to wait long to see him, after all—I wake up with him knocking on the door wanting to know what happened after we left him at the pool. I tell him that nothing happened—we didn’t even make it to the garden—but he still seems bothered by something.

“Well, next time you don’t have to go running off with him like that!”

My eyes widen.

“Excuse me?” I say,, disbelievingly. “I thought I was supposed to be playing along with this whole thing. Weren’t you just telling me how important it is that Lucas not get suspicious? You certainly were being very convincing with Mara…”

His brow rises.

“Is that what this is all about?” he says, in a disbelieving tone. “You were jealous about Mara?”

Is he really saying this right now? 

“Why am I being attacked here? I’m not the one that did anything wrong!” I give him a hard look. “You’re the one trying to run some kind of con on Lucas.”

“Con?” Logan gasps. “It’s not a con.”

“No? Then what would you call it? You’re lying to him so you can swindle him out of his father’s fortune. If that’s not a con then I don’t know what is…”

Logan lets out a disbelieving laugh and looks away.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he balks. “Sometimes this is just how business is done. And besides, his father wouldn’t have his fortune if he hadn’t stolen it from my father, in the first place.”

“Maybe your father should have been a little more careful about who he was getting into business with.” A pang of guilt rushes through me as soon as the words leave my mouth. Logan’s eyes are widening even as I hastily add, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Is that what you really think?” he says. The shock and hurt in his tone make me feel even worse.

I wrap my arms around him and press myself tight against his body.

“No, of course not. It’s just… This whole weekend isn’t what I expected it to be.”

Logan’s strong arms squeeze me even closer, nearly crushing the air right out of my lungs—I don’t mind in the slightest.

“Look, I know it’s weird, but we just have to make it through one more day. After we’re back in the city we won’t have to do any of this sneaking around.”

We.

He says it so naturally, so effortlessly. I wonder if his tune would change if he understood just how it makes me feel to hear it—especially after being hurt by someone who treated me like I was just some play thing. I suppose, in the end, that’s really all I had been to him.

“You’re sure Mara doesn’t care about… this?” I snuggle him just a little to drive my point home.

I could use some reassurances after the looks she’d been giving me at the pool. Logan already gave me his word that there’s nothing going on with her, and I trust him, but it never hurts to be reminded that what you’re feeling is being reciprocated. 

Logan pulls back and looks at me again.

“Should I bring her in here right now and tell her?” he asks, his face completely serious.

Would that be too much to ask?

“I’m sorry, I probably seem pretty crazy. It’s just… I’ve been hurt before and I’m not exactly looking to rush into another situation like that again.”

Logan scans my face, his brow furrowing with concern.

“Tell me about it,” he says.

His tone is genuinely curious with a touch of concern—it’s sweet.

“Are you sure? I thought men don’t want to hear about a woman’s ex…”

“Yes, I’m sure. I want to know everything about you,” he says, without the faintest hint of hesitation.

My heart beats strongly in my chest and I look at Logan with seemingly new eyes. David never would have said anything like that. In fact, I’m half convinced that David really didn’t care to know anything about me. He just wanted me around to be his little sex toy, and that was it.

Maybe Logan really is different. Maybe things with him can be different. Maybe my life can be different…

So I tell him.

I tell him everything.

I tell him all about how David used to treat me. I tell him about how self-absorbed David was, and how, no matter what I did for him, I never felt like I could get his attention. I tell him about how David even used to talk to me about other women, as though I were just another one of his guy friends and not the woman he was dating. And then I tell him about how I’d unexpectedly dropped by David’s place, not even thinking he’d be home, to find him fucking one of those other bimbos he’d been telling me about.

For the first time, it doesn’t hurt to relive all of those experiences. With Logan, I don’t feel so vulnerable and tender when I reveal them. He never interrupts me, doesn’t make snide or cheap comments about David, and never once questions why I would continue to subject myself to a man like that—the way all of my other friends had done, as though I had a reason for being with him other than thinking I was in love. Logan just sits and listens, letting me get everything off my chest, with nothing more than curiosity and a depth of empathy behind those gorgeous eyes of his.

When I’m finally done he squeezes my hand and gives me a warm smile.

“You’re such a strong woman,” he says.

I’m taken aback.

“I think the word you’re looking for is dumb woman, actually…”

He shakes his head.

“You’re not even a little bit dumb. But you’re easily one of the strongest women I’ve ever talked to.”

“Really?”

I’m not fishing for compliments. He’s really not making any sense.

“It takes a lot of strength to go through what he did to you. And even more to share it so openly with someone else. Not to mention the strength it takes just to put yourself out there again, after all of that…” He presses a kiss to my forehead that sends shivers and aches all throughout my body. When he draws back he has that same, warm smile on his face. “Yes, you’re definitely one of the strongest women I’ve ever met.”

“Thanks.”

Thanks seems like a trivial response after Logan said all those sweet things, but my insides are such a jumbled mess that I don’t trust myself to say anything more than that. Besides, there are a few non-speaking activities that definitely feel more appropriate right now… If this hasn’t earned Logan the best blowjob I’ve ever given, then nothing ever will.

I kiss his neck softly, relishing the delicious taste of him. Pleasure pulses through me as my body yearns to taste more of him. Logan let’s out a soft groan and there’s an undeniable shift in the loose shorts he’s wearing.

“What are you up to?” he asks, innocently. 

“I want you in my mouth.” My kisses start working their way downward. “I want to taste you again. I want to make you come.”

There’s another shift in his shorts that leaves a noticeable bulge. My hand instinctively grabs it and starts rubbing the outline of his thick cock. 

I’m surprised when his hand wraps around mine and stops me. 

“Wait...”

I pull away, frowning. 

“What is it?”

“I was thinking...” My stomach feels like it’s curling in on itself—this can’t be good. “I was thinking it might be nice if we wait just a bit...”

“Did I do something wrong?”

I don’t understand. Logan definitely didn’t have any problem with me taking him in my mouth earlier—what’s different about now? 

He grins and slides his fingers through my hair. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to ease my mind. I want Logan inside of me so badly right now that my body is practically quivering in anticipation, but he’s here trying to calm me down by playing with my hair?

“Don’t get me wrong,” he says. “I want you. I want you bad.”

“You can have me.”

He bites his lower lip as his eyes dip down to the aching spot between my legs, sending a tiny tremble through my inner thighs.

“I get the feeling that you’re a pretty special woman, and I’ve got something special in mind…”

“Oh?” 

My eyebrows rise in genuine surprise. Could this man be any more of an emotional rollercoaster? I think he enjoys making a fucking mess out of me.

The grin on Logan’s face widens.

“Tonight. After everyone goes to bed, head back to the garden. There’s a gazebo there—you can’t miss it. We’ll have our own special little moment under the stars.”

“Okay,” is about the only thing I can manage to say. I can’t think of a single thing in the world that sounds nicer than having Logan all to myself in that beautiful garden with nothing but the sky overhead. 

After feeling that connection and sharing so much with him I’m not afraid to say that I’m pretty sure I’m falling for this incredible man. I know I’ve barely known him for a day, but my whole life changed in an instant when I caught David cheating on me…

Why can’t my life change for the better just as quickly?