Wild Boys After Dark: Logan (Wild Billionaires After Dark Book 1) by Melissa Foster (18)

LOGAN HELPED STELLA from the car. She’d hardly said two words on the drive from the hotel to her mother’s house. A deep vee had formed between her brows when they left the hotel, and it had been there ever since. She had a death grip on his hand.

“What’s wrong?”

“I…” She turned worried eyes up to him. “Are you sure Kutcher isn’t going to get out?”

Logan knew this fear would be with her for a very long time. “Yes. He’ll have to go through the legal process to get a conviction, but this is a sealed deal. He’s going to be behind bars for a long time. You’ve given them a positive identification on Kutcher. They’re talking to the neighbor who interrupted the attack to get an ID from him, too. They have the physical evidence they need to convict him. They had the DNA samples from the hospital visit after he stabbed you. He’s done, darlin’, and I’ll be with you every step of the way.” They’d been over this a dozen times that morning, and Logan was ready to reassure her a dozen more. Whatever it took, he was in, one hundred percent.

Stella breathed deeply as they waited for her mother to answer the door. They heard shuffling, and a voice similar to Stella’s called through the closed door, “Who is it?”

Tears sprang from Stella’s eyes. “It’s me, Mom. It’s Stella.”

They listened to two bolts sliding free, and the door opened as far as the chain lock would allow. A set of tired green eyes peered out at them, instantly filling with tears as they darted between Stella and Logan.

“It’s really me, Mom. It’s okay. It’s safe.”

A moment later Stella was wrapped in her mother’s arms, both of them crying, and Logan’s heart felt as if it had doubled in size. He turned away to give them privacy. Still within her mother’s embrace, Stella snagged his shirt.

“Stay.”

He did.

He always would.

Her mother’s cancer was in remission. Her hair had begun growing back, and although she appeared thin and tired, by the time they left several hours later, both Stella and her mother looked as if new life had been breathed into them. Stella had a bounce to her step, and Logan swore her eyes looked brighter than ever.

Stella stood beside the car, looking at her mother’s house for a long while. When she was ready, Logan opened the car door so they could leave.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to his chest.

“Thank you for everything, Logan. You’ve done too much for me already, but there’s something else I’d like you to do.”

“Anything, darlin’. You know that.”

“We can’t escape our pasts, but we can be free from them and put them behind us.”

“That’s what we’re doing.”

“No,” she said. “That’s what I’m doing. Now it’s your turn. I wish you would come clean to your mother, let her know what happened so that you can put that burden behind you.”

A chill ran through him at the prospect. Logan shook his head. “I don’t want my mother thinking of me as a cold-blooded killer. This is different.”

“What you did wasn’t cold-blooded, Logan. You saved that woman and her son. You probably saved many women that night. Your mother will be proud of you. She deserves to know as much as you deserve to be relieved of the guilt that you’ve been carrying around for so long. I love you, but I can’t see how we can move forward with that noose hanging around your neck.”

Logan had thought about telling his mother a million times, and the thought had nearly suffocated him. It was one thing to handle a mission for his country. He could disconnect from the emotions when he was carrying out a duty to protect his country, but this…This was his personal mission. No one hired him to do it. All he could imagine was his mother thinking about him killing that man with his bare hands.

“Please?” Stella stepped in closer. “For us? At least think about it?”

One look with her penetrating, love-filled gaze, and he fell under her spell, just as he’d been since the day he met her. He’d give his life for Stella if he had to. But this. This was the toughest thing he’d ever been asked to do. And for Stella, he’d do anything.

Earning Stella’s trust and love had changed him. She’d become his last night, and he’d been hers since the moment he’d followed her into that alley and rescued her.

He just hadn’t known that he’d needed rescuing, too.

NOW AVAILABLE

No last names. No strings. No ties.

Except of the silk variety.

Dr. Heath Wild and Allyson Jenner only wanted a simple tryst. But Heath couldn’t live with just one night, just one taste, of Ally—and Ally couldn’t escape the memory of his hands on her skin, the way he looked at her like she was his obsession, or his seduction, which had pushed her to the edge and had made her want to do things she never had before.

One night leads to one tantalizing phone call. Can one phone call lead to forever?

Chapter One

FUCKING PERFECT. THOSE words played over and over in Dr. Heath Wild’s mind as he thrust his tongue deeper into the receptive mouth of the sexy woman who was grinding her hips against his cock in the elevator of the Gray Mountain Lodge. He buried his hands in her hair and gave a less-than-gentle tug, testing the woman’s boundaries. The sexy moan that followed was all the green light he needed to press her up against the wall and pin her wrists above her head with one large, capable hand, while thrusting his other beneath her little black dress and into her—thong, hot damn—beneath. He didn’t waste any time finding his way inside this beautiful, willing creature. Her head tipped back, and he claimed her neck, sucking as he fingered her hot, wet center.

“Oh God. Yes. Right there,” she panted.

Acutely aware that the elevator was about to reach the sixth floor, he circled his thumb over her swollen clit as he claimed her mouth in another ravishing kiss. She clawed at his dress shirt, making sounds that had him picturing her spread-eagle on his bed, arms restrained, with his face buried between her legs.

“Ah. Fuck.” She dug her hands into his thick hair as the orgasm gripped her—and the elevator chimed.

Heath casually fixed her dress, unhurried by the elevator doors sliding open. He drank in her flushed cheeks, the light sheen of sweat on her upper lip that he wanted to lick off, and her full, heaving breasts.

“Open your eyes, sweetheart,” he said in a gravelly voice. He wanted more, and he was about to get it.

ALLYSON JENNER TRIED to act nonchalant as she passed an elderly couple in the hallway on the way to her room, hoping they didn’t smell sex wafting around her and the incredibly hot guy she was with. She lifted her chin as she unlocked the door, acting as if her hands weren’t shaking, like she did this type of thing every day, as the mind-blowing kisser she was about to fuck obviously did. She might not do it every day, but she wasn’t a stranger to hooking up with random guys, either. She enjoyed sex the way others might enjoy an occasional swim in the ocean; reveling in the shocking experience at first, then giving in to the exquisite pleasures, and finally, when she was satiated, going back to her normal life feeling rejuvenated for the next few months.

The door clicked shut, and the sound of the dead bolt sliding into place brought her back to the handsome man licking his lips. His piercing blue eyes raked over her body, lingering on her breasts. The edges of his mouth quirked up as he loosened his tie and cracked his neck to either side. Her nerves prickled. This was the moment she had to push past—the urge to flee from fear of the unknown. What if he was a psychopath? What if the staff found her bloodied body in the bathroom tomorrow morning? She’d watched him all afternoon at the medical conference downstairs. She hadn’t missed that, while she’d been sizing him up, he’d been stalking her like prey, and it had turned her on before he’d even bought her a drink after the conference. She really should have gotten his name. What had she been thinking?

She knew exactly what she’d been thinking, because the thought had only grown more intense with every passing minute. She wanted to feel his powerful body above her, his arms around her, and the enormous cock bulging beneath his zipper and outlined by his dress pants inside her.

He clutched her hips and tugged her against his expensive suit, taking her in another mind-numbing kiss. She fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, desperate to get to the smattering of chest hair she’d seen peeking out of the top. She could feel the strength of him in his kiss, in his grip, in the rock wall behind her hands. He was easily six two or six three. She was five five, maybe five eight in her heels, and he—what’s his name?—still had several inches on her.

“What’s your name?” she asked between kisses.

“Heath.”

Heath. She liked that. Smooth and hot, like him. She’d always loved a man’s man. A man who made her feel feminine but didn’t treat her like she was a delicate flower. A man who took what he wanted but still made her feel special, and this guy had stroked her hand when they were in the bar, not her thigh. His eyes read, I’m going to fuck you hard, but his actions told her he knew how to respect and pleasure a woman. Crazy, she knew, because how much could he respect a stranger he was about to fuck? But if he’d put his hand on her thigh in public, it would have sent a completely different message.

“Ally,” she offered.

The edges of his mouth curled up, but his eyes turned midnight dark as he tore her dress over her head, tossed it on the chair, and pulled her against him again.

“I cannot wait to get my mouth on you, Ally. To taste your come and feel you shatter against my tongue.”

Her insides caught fire. If he could make her come with his fingers in less than a minute, she could only imagine what he could do with that viperous tongue of his.

Breathe, Ally. Be patient.

He rubbed the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip and ground his hips against hers, sending patient out the window.

“I want to feel your luscious lips wrapped around my cock.”

His voice was liquid lust, and it was all she could do to whisper, “Yes.”

She clawed at his shirt, the button of his trousers, his tie, desperate for him to fulfill his promise. He grabbed her wrists and trapped them by her hips.

“You in a hurry?” He lowered his mouth to her neck and sucked.

Yes. I want you inside me. “No.” She squeezed her thighs together to try to satiate the longing between her legs. Every suck and stroke of his tongue made her nipples harder—if that was even possible. Good Lord, he was going to make her come without even touching her below the waist.

He stepped back, assessing her body with those lust-filled eyes again, pinning her in place as they slowly dragged over her.

“You’re fucking beautiful, Ally.” Her name slid off his tongue like a sensual promise. He took his time stripping off his trousers and dress shirt, leaving his tie loose around his neck and his black Calvin Klein boxer briefs covering his enormous erection.

Heat thrummed through her at his casual striptease.

“Heath what?” The question was driven by nerves.

His confidence was titillating, the way he languidly laid his dress shirt over the back of the chair, then did the same with his pants. He stopped mid-move, pulled his shoulders back, and eyed her skeptically. In the space of a breath, Ally drank in his five-o’clock shadow, which gave him an edgy aura. His skin pulled taut over his handsome, squarish face and strong jaw. He had full lips, and his mouth was slightly small—though she already knew it gave great pleasure. He turned, squaring his broad shoulders, and her eyes dipped south, to the perfect planes of flesh before her.

“I’m not looking for anything more than tonight, Ally. No last names, no talk of what we do for a living. Just a night of intense pleasure. Are you okay with that?” He lowered his chin, and his eyes implored her to answer.

“Yes,” she said with confidence. That’s what she’d been assuming anyway. Nothing new there, but hearing the words made her feel a little…something. Cheap? No. Definitely not. They brought a rush that was even more powerful, more enjoyable.

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Ellie Parker is a master at building walls around her heart. In the twenty-five years she’s been alive, Dex Remington has been the only person who has always believed in her and been there for her. But four years earlier, she came to Dex seeking comfort and then disappeared like a thief in the night, leaving him a broken man.

Dex Remington is one of the top PC game developers in the United States. He’s handsome, smart, and numb. So damn numb that he’s not sure he’ll ever find a reason to feel again.

A chance encounter sparks intense desires in Ellie and Dex. Desires that make her want to run—and make him want to feel. A combination of lust and fear leads these young lovers down a dangerous path. Is it possible to cross a burned bridge, or are they destined to be apart forever?

Chapter One

DEX REMINGTON WALKED into NightCaps bar beside his older brother Sage, an artist who also lived in New York City, and Regina Smith, his employee and right arm. Women turned in their direction as they came through the door, their hungry eyes raking over Dex’s and Sage’s wide shoulders and muscular physiques. At six foot four, Sage had two inches on Dex, and with their striking features, dark hair, and federal-blue eyes, heads spun everywhere they went. But after Dex had worked thirty of the last forty-eight hours, women were the furthest thing from his mind. His four-star-general father had ingrained hard work and dedication into his head since he was old enough to walk, and no matter how much he rued his father’s harsh parenting, following his lead had paid off. At twenty-six, Dex was one of the country’s leading PC game designers and the founder of Thrive Entertainment, a multimillion-dollar gaming corporation. His father had taught him another valuable lesson—how to become numb—making it easy for him to disconnect from the women other men might find too alluring to ignore.

Dex was a stellar student. He’d been numb for a very long time.

“Thanks for squeezing in a quick beer with me,” he said to Sage. They had about twenty minutes to catch up before his scheduled meeting with Regina and Mitch Anziano, another of his Thrive employees. They were going to discuss the game they were rolling out in three weeks, World of Thieves II.

“You’re kidding, right? I should be saying that to you.” Sage threw his arm around Dex’s shoulder. They had an ongoing rivalry about who was the busiest, and with Sage’s travel and gallery schedule and Dex working all night and getting up midday, it was tough to pick a winner.

“Thrive!” Mitch hollered from the bar in his usual greeting. Mitch used Thrive! to greet Dex in bars the way others used, Hey. He lifted his glass, and a smile spread across his unshaven cheeks. At just over five foot eight with three days’ beard growth trailing down his neck like fur and a gut that he was all too proud of, he was what the world probably thought all game designers looked like. And worth his weight in gold. Mitch could outprogram anyone, and he was more loyal than a golden retriever.

Regina lifted her chin and elbowed Dex. “He’s early.” She slinked through the crowded bar, pulling Dex along behind her. Her Levi’s hung low, cinched across her protruding hip bones by a studded black leather belt. Her red hoodie slipped off one shoulder, exposing the colorful tattoos that ran across her shoulder and down her arms.

Mitch and Regina had been Dex’s first employees when he’d opened his company. Regina handled the administrative aspects of the company, kept the production schedule, monitored the program testing, and basically made sure nothing slipped through the cracks, while Mitch, like Dex, conceptually and technically designed games with the help of the rest of Thrive’s fifty employees—developers, testers, and a host of programmers and marketing specialists.

Regina climbed onto the barstool beside Mitch and lifted his beer to her lips.

“Order ours yet?” she asked with a glint in her heavily lined dark eyes. She ran her hand through her stick-straight, jet-black hair.

Dex climbed onto the stool beside her as the bartender slid beers in front of him and Regina. “Thanks, Jon. Got a brew for my brother?”

“Whatever’s on tap,” Sage said. “Hey, Mitch. Good to see you.”

Mitch lifted his beer with a nod of acknowledgment.

Dex took a swig of the cold ale, closed his eyes, and sighed, savoring the taste.

“Easy, big boy. We need you sober if you wanna win a GOTY.” Mitch took a sip of Regina’s beer. “Fair’s fair.”

Regina rolled her eyes and reached a willowy arm behind him, then mussed his mop of curly dark hair. “We’re gonna win Game of the Year no matter what. Reviewers love us. Right, Dex?”

Thrive had already produced three games, one of which, World of Thieves, had made Dex a major player in the gaming world—and earned him millions of dollars. His biggest competitor, KI Industries, had changed the release date for their new game. KI would announce the new date publicly at midnight, and since their game was supposed to be just as hot of a game as they expected World of Thieves II to be, if they released close to the release for World of Thieves II, there would be a clear winner and a clear loser. Dex had worked too hard to be the loser.

“That’s the hope,” Dex said. He took another swig of his beer and checked his watch. Eight forty-five and his body thought it was noon. He’d spent so many years working all night and sleeping late that his body clock was completely thrown off. He was ready for a big meal and the start of his workday. He stroked the stubble along his chin. “I worked on it till four this morning. I think I deserve a cold one.”

Sage leaned in to him. “You’re not nervous about the release, are you?”

Of his five siblings—including Dex’s twin sister, Siena, Sage knew him best. He was the quintessential artist, with a heart that outweighed the millions of dollars his sculptures had earned him. He’d supported Dex through the years when Dex needed to bend an ear, and when he wasn’t physically nearby, Sage was never farther than a text or a phone call away.

“Nah. If it all fails, I’ll come live with you.” Dex had earned enough money off of the games he’d produced that he’d never have to worry about finances again, but he wasn’t in the gaming business for the money. He’d been a gamer at heart since he was able to string coherent thoughts together, or at least it felt that way. “What’s happening with the break you said you wanted to take? Are you going to Jack’s cabin?” Their eldest brother Jack owned a cabin in the Colorado Mountains. Jack was an ex–Special Forces officer and a survival-training guide, and he and his fiancée Savannah spent most weekends at the cabin. Living and working in the concrete jungle didn’t offer the type of escape Sage’s brain had always needed.

“I’ve got another show or two on the horizon; then I’ll take time off. But I think I want to do something useful with my time off. Find a way to, I don’t know, help others instead of sitting around on my ass.” He sipped his beer and tugged at the neck of his Baja hippie jacket. “How ’bout you? Any plans for vacay after the release?”

“Shit. You’re kidding, right? My downtime is spent playing at my work. I love it. I’d go crazy sitting in some cabin with no connectivity to the real world.”

“The right woman might change your mind.” Sage took a swig of his beer.

“Dex date?” Regina tipped her glass to her lips. “Do you even know your brother? He might hook up once in a while, but this man protects his heart like it carries all of the industry secrets.”

“Can we not go there tonight?” Dex snapped. He had a way of remembering certain moments of his life with impeccable clarity, some of which left scars so deep he could practically taste them every damn day of his life. He nurtured the hurt and relished in the joy of the scars, as his artistic and peace-seeking mother had taught him. But Dex was powerless against his deepest scar, and numbing his heart was the only way he could survive the memory of the woman he loved walking away from him four years earlier without so much as a goodbye.

“Whoa, bro. Just a suggestion,” Sage said. “You can’t replace what you never had.”

Dex shot him a look.

Regina spun on her chair and then swung her arm over Dex’s shoulder. “Incoming,” she whispered.

Dex looked over his shoulder and met the stare of two hot blondes. His shoulders tensed and he sighed.

“It’s not gonna kill you to make a play for one of them, Dex. Work off some of that stress.” Sage glanced back at the women.

“No, thanks. They’re all the same.” Ever since the major magazines had carried the story about Dex’s success, he’d been hounded by ditzy women who thought all he wanted to talk about was PC games.

Regina leaned in closer and whispered, “Not them. Fan boys, two o’clock.”

Thank God.

“Hey, aren’t you Dex Rem?” one of the boys asked.

Dex wondered if they were in college or if they had abandoned their family’s dreams for them in lieu of a life of gaming. It was the crux of his concern about his career. He was getting rich while feeding society’s desire to be couch potatoes.

“Remington, yeah, that’s me,” he said, wearing a smile like a costume, becoming the relaxed gamer his fans craved.

“Dude, World of Thieves is the most incredible game ever! Listen, you ever need any beta testers, we’re your guys.” The kid nodded as his stringy bangs bounced into his eyes. His friend’s jaw hung open, struck dumb by meeting Dex, another of Dex’s pet peeves. He was just a guy who worked hard at what he loved, and he believed anyone could accomplish the same level of success if they only put forth the effort. Damn, he hated how much that belief mirrored his father’s teachings.

“Yeah?” Dex lifted his chin. “What college did you graduate from?”

The two guys exchanged a look, then a laugh. The one with the long bangs said, “Dude, it don’t take a college degree to test games.”

Dex’s biceps flexed. There it was. The misconception that irked Dex more than the laziness of the kids who were just a few years younger than him. As a Cornell graduate, Dex believed in the value of education and the value of being a productive member of society. He needed to figure out the release date, not talk bullshit with kids who were probably too young to even be in a bar.

“Guys, give him a break, ’kay?” Regina said.

“Sure, yeah. Great to meet you,” the longer-haired kid said.

Dex watched them turn away and sucked back his beer. His eyes caught on a woman at a booth in the corner of the bar. He studied the petite, brown-haired woman who was fiddling with her napkin while her leg bounced a mile a minute beneath the table. Jesus. Memories from four years earlier came rushing back to him with freight-train impact, hitting his heart dead center.

“I know how you are about college, but, Dex, they’re kids. You gotta give them a little line to feed off of,” Regina said.

Dex tried to push past the memories. He glanced up at the woman again, and his stomach twisted. He turned away, trying to focus on what Regina had said. College. The kids. Give them a line to feed off of. Regina was right. He should accept the hero worship with gratitude, but lately he’d been feeling like the very games that had made him successful were sucking kids into an antisocial, couch-potato lifestyle.

“Really, Dex. Imagine if you’d met your hero at that age.” Sage ran his hand through his hair and shook his head.

“I’m no hero.” Dex’s eyes were trained on the woman across the bar. Ellie Parker. His mouth went dry.

“Dex?” Sage followed his gaze. “Holy shit.”

There was a time when Ellie had been everything to him. She’d lived in a foster home around the corner from him when they were growing up, and she’d moved away just before graduating high school. Dex’s mind catapulted back thirteen years, to his bedroom at his parents’ house. “In the End” by Linkin Park was playing on the radio. Siena had a handful of girlfriends over, and she’d gotten the notion that playing Truth or Dare was a good idea. At thirteen, Dex had gone along with whatever his popular and beautiful sister had wanted him to. She was the orchestrator of their social lives. He hadn’t exactly been a cool teenager, with his nose constantly in a book or his hands on electronics. That had changed when testosterone filled his veins two years later, but at thirteen, even the idea of being close to a girl made him feel as though he might pass out. He’d retreated to his bedroom, and that had been the first night Ellie had appeared at his window.

“Hey, Dex.” Regina followed his gaze to Ellie’s table; her eyes moved over her fidgeting fingers and her bouncing leg. “Nervous Nelly?” she teased.

Dex rose to his feet. His stomach clenched.

“Dude, we’re supposed to have a meeting. There’s still more to talk about,” Mitch said.

Sage’s voice was serious. “Bro, you sure you wanna go there?”

With Sage’s warning, Dex’s pulse sped up. His mind jumped back again to the last time he’d seen her, four years earlier, when Ellie had called him out of the blue. She’d needed him. He’d thought the pieces of his life had finally fallen back into place. Ellie had come to New York, scared of what, he had no idea, and she’d stayed with him for two days and nights. Dex had fallen right back into the all-consuming, adoring, frustrating vortex that was Ellie Parker. “Yeah, I know. I gotta…” See if that’s really her.

“Dex?” Regina grabbed his arm.

He placed his hand gently over her spindly fingers and unfurled them from his wrist. He read the confusion in her narrowed eyes. Regina didn’t know about Ellie Parker. No one knows about Ellie Parker. Except Sage. Sage knows. He glanced over his shoulder at Sage, unable to wrap his mind around the right words.

“Holy hell,” Sage said. “I’ve gotta take off in a sec anyway. Go, man. Text me when you can.”

Dex nodded.

“What am I missing here?” Regina asked, looking between Sage and Dex.

Regina was protective of Dex in the same way that Siena always had been. They both worried he’d be taken advantage of. In the three years Dex had known Regina, he could count on one hand the number of times he’d approached a woman in front of her, rather than the other way around. It would take Dex two hands to count the number of times he’d been taken advantage of in the past few years, and Regina’s eyes mirrored that reality. Regina didn’t know it, but of all the women in the world, Ellie was probably the one he needed protection from the most.

He put his hand on her shoulder, feeling her sharp bones against his palm. There had been a time when Dex had wondered if Regina was a heavy drug user. Her lanky body reminded him of strung-out users, but Regina was skinny because she survived on beer, Twizzlers, and chocolate, with the occasional veggie burger thrown in for good measure.

“Yeah. I think I see an old friend. I’ll catch up with you guys later.” Dex lifted his gaze to Mitch. “Midnight?”

“Whatever, dude. Don’t let me cock block you.” Mitch laughed.

“She’s an old…not a…never mind.” My onetime best friend? As he crossed the floor, all the love he felt for her came rushing back. He stopped in the middle of the crowded floor and took a deep breath. It’s really you. In the next breath, his body remembered the heartbreak of the last time he’d seen her. The time he’d never forget. When he’d woken up four years ago and found her gone—no note, no explanation, and no contact since. Just like she’d done once before when they were kids. The sharp, painful memory pierced his swollen heart. He’d tried so hard to forget her, he’d even moved out of the apartment to distance himself from the memories. He should turn away, return to his friends. Ellie would only hurt him again. He was rooted to the floor, his heart tugging him forward, his mind holding him back.

A couple rose from the booth where Ellie sat, drawing his attention. He hadn’t even noticed them before. God, she looked beautiful. Her face had thinned. Her cheekbones were more pronounced, but her eyes hadn’t changed one bit. When they were younger, she’d fooled almost everyone with a brave face—but never Dex. Dex had seen right through to her heart. Like right now. She stared down at something in her hands with her eyebrows pinched together and her full lips set in a way that brought back memories, hovering somewhere between worried and trying to convince herself everything would be okay.

Her leg bounced nervously, and he stifled the urge to tell her that no matter what was wrong, it would all be okay. Dex ignored the warnings going off in his mind and followed his heart as he crossed the floor toward Ellie.

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