Never Let Me Go: The Complete Set (10 page)

Logan was leaning against the counter when I turned back around. He had taken his tie off and unbuttoned his shirt. Delicious was the word that came to mind as my gaze raked over his muscled torso.

“Like what you see?” His voice was sex itself. Smooth and seductive. I felt my knees go weak.

“Very much.” I slid the shirt from his shoulders, pressing kisses to his arms as it fell to the floor.

“Care to catch up?” He pointed at my blouse.

“Your wish is my command.” I threw his words back at him while I untucked it from my skirt.

“No, let me.” He took ahold of my hand.

I nodded my acceptance and dropped my hands to my sides.

He slowly inched my shirt up my stomach, his fingers touching every inch of skin he revealed.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more beautiful,” he murmured after he had finished removing my shirt.

I took his face in my hands and brought his mouth down to mine. “Let’s go to the bedroom, I think we need a bit more space.”

He picked me up and hauled me over his shoulder. I squealed when he slapped me on the butt. When we got into the room, he practically threw me on the bed after he tore my skirt off.

I watched through my lashes as he took his pants off. He was mouthwatering in nothing but his skin.

“Come here.” I crawled back against the headboard.

He covered me with his body, the weight of him, the heat of his skin, felt like heaven. He parted my legs with his knee and slowly slid in, inch by glorious inch.

I shivered as his lips found mine. “Fast, baby,” I moaned. “I’m ready for it.”

“Anything you say, Kitten,” he growled, setting a merciless pace.

I squeezed his waist with my legs, the feeling so intense, I knew it wouldn’t be long.

“I’m close,” I panted.

“Already? Well, give me a moment to catch up.” His hands moved between us to cup my boobs.

“Sorry,” I said between clenched teeth.

“Never apologize for your pleasure.” He crushed his mouth onto mine a second before I exploded around him. He followed suit soon after.

“Should we consider this make-up sex?” He laughed after he rolled to the side.

“Do you think that was a fight?” I turned to look at him.

“I don’t know, was it?”

“No, believe me, you’ll know when we have a fight. Think of this as a reward for good behavior.” I scooted myself to the side of the bed and went in search of a shirt to put on. I found one of his t-shirts and threw it on quickly.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“To salvage dinner. You should get up, too. The table isn’t going to set itself.”

I heard him laugh as I walked out into the living room. I was pleased to see the food wasn't too far gone. I turned the burners back on and set about heating things up again.

Logan came in a few minutes later wearing a pair of sweats. “I’m here as commanded.”

“You know where everything is.” I pointed a spoon at him. “This will be ready in just a moment.”

When we were seated with food piled on our plates, I decided to see if I could get him to open up more.

“Tell me about your family.” I watched him to see his reaction.

He looked up from his plate. “What would you like to know?”

“Why aren’t you close with your mom?”

“She’s difficult. Wasn't around a lot when I was growing up. Leah and I were raised by nannies and the housekeeper.”

“That sounds hard.” I laid my hand on his.

“It was and it wasn’t. Some years were better than others.”

“What about your dad?”

“He was busy running the company into the ground,” he scoffed. “My grandfather had given him a thriving company and he took it to the brink of ruin in the twenty years he had it under his control. He seemed to care more about chasing women than actually running the company.”

“How old were you when you took over?”

“Nineteen. I met with the board and we kicked him out.”

“Wow. That’s crazy.”

“It was what needed to be done. They wanted him out. Hell, he wanted out. It was killing him, the guilt and worry were taking their toll. He and I didn’t speak for five years after it happened. My mother, of course, was mortified. She fled to Paris for a few years. Until things had quieted down. She always has cared so much about what others thought.”

“Your family sounds pretty screwed up.”

“They are. Leah and I are lucky we had each other.”

“I’d like to meet her.” I smiled.

“You will. We’ll go see her after the baby comes.” He returned my smile.

“What was it your mother said about me?” Hearing it made me nervous, but I needed to at the same time.

His jaw tightened. “You don’t want to know.”

“I really do,” I prodded, steeling myself for the words.

“She called you a gold digging whore. Happy now?” He looked me in the eye and I could see the anger just under the surface.

I sucked in a breath. “She doesn’t know me, how could she think that?”

“It doesn’t matter what she thinks. What I think is what’s important, and I know exactly who you are, Kitten.”

I decided that I had pressed my luck enough for the night and changed the subject to safer topics.

After dinner, we curled up in bed and watched movies until neither of us could keep our eyes open any longer. I drifted off to sleep in his arms, which was right where I wanted to be.

I WOKE UP WITH GRACE
wrapped around me like a vine. Anyone else and I would have kicked them out of bed, but with her it was nice.

The plan for the day was for us to go into my office for a bit and sort things into piles to be packed up.

I slipped out of bed and into the shower without waking her up. My conversation with my mother replayed in my head. It still got to me that she thought she had any say over what went on in my life. She was never there when I was growing up. I barely knew her now. That she thought her opinion even mattered got on my nerves.

I needed to make some changes in how our relationship would play out in the future.

“Logan?” Grace appeared in the doorway, her hair rumpled and a sleepy smile on her face.

“Morning, Kitten.”

“Is there coffee yet?” She yawned.

“No, I hadn’t gotten that far yet. Sorry.”

“It’s okay, I’ll pop out there and get it started.” She blew me a kiss and left in search of coffee.

I found her in the kitchen, her hair in a messy bun and flour on her cheek.

“What have you been doing?”

“Making pancake batter,” she replied matter-of-fact. “Grab me the blueberries we got yesterday, please? Oh, and the chocolate chips.”

“Chocolate chips?”

“Of course. You can't have good pancakes without chocolate chips in them.” She grinned.

I got the requested items and set them on the counter next to her.

“Tell me, how are you at flipping pancakes?”

“I’d say poor to fair.” I laughed. “I haven’t ever made them for myself.”

“Good lord, I have so much to teach you, don’t I?” She kissed my cheek and positioned me in front of the stove. “Thank goodness you even had a griddle. Come to think of it, why on earth do you even have cookware if you never cook?”

“You know, I honestly have no idea. I think it was one of those things that I just bought when I first moved in here. All of my apartments have fully outfitted kitchens, though I rarely use them.”

She laughed again. “Okay, well in Chicago we will be using both your kitchen and mine. I’m not eating out for every meal.”

“Both kitchens? You aren’t going to move in with me in Chicago?” I had assumed she would want to be with me.

“No, I don’t plan on moving in with you. I’ll stay over sometimes, but we need to do this right. I’m not jumping in headfirst. We barely know each other, it would be a mistake to move too quickly.” She looked pensive. “Do you understand my reasons?”

I did understand, but that didn't mean I liked them. I was moving my life for her, so she needed to be with me, in my home, in the home we chose together. I searched for the words to explain how I was feeling, but found none, so I remained silent.

“Logan. Look at me,” she demanded. “You understand, right?”

“Grace, Kitten, I’m moving my life to Chicago. For you. I wanted us to choose a place that would be ours, and live in it together,” I said softly.

She shook her head. “I’m not moving in with you yet, Logan. I’m just not going to do it. This is all moving so fast, I can barely keep up. I know you’re used to getting your way, but you need to learn the art of compromise.”

“I know how to compromise. I think you need to learn a bit about it as well.” I was angry. I stalked out of the room and into my office.

“Logan!” she yelled from the kitchen.

I shut the door to my office. I knew full well I was not being fair. I had never told her I expected her to live with me, but I just couldn’t stop the anger from bubbling to the surface. I didn’t like being told no. No one told me no. Ever. And here she was telling me no on a regular basis. This was not going to work for me. People did what I wanted, I couldn’t handle or tolerate anything else. It applied to all aspects of my life, including women. I needed control.

The door flew open. “Who do you think you are?” Rage colored her features. “You don’t walk away in the middle of a discussion. And you don’t get to make demands of me and my time. I’m a grown woman and I run my life, not you.” She huffed out a breath.

“Why don’t you want to live with me? Have you not enjoyed the past couple of days?”

“It has nothing to do with enjoying being with you or not. The fact is that we don’t know each other, and I’m not stupid enough to follow along blindly with whatever you want. What happens when this ends and I’m alone with nowhere to go?” she demanded.

“You think this is going to end?” That one hurt. When she said the words. It cut me.

She lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know that it will. But things happen. What if, three months from now, you realize that I’m not what you want?”

I saw it clear as day for the first time. Fear. She was just as afraid as I was.

“You are what I want, Kitten.” I stood up and walked around my desk.

“For now I am.” She shrugged, refusing to look me in the eye.

“No. I don’t think you understand me. You are what I want. I have never wanted a woman in my life before. Not once. I want you in my life. You may not see that as a huge revelation, but I assure you that it is.” I rubbed my jaw in frustration with this whole argument.

“I’m still not moving in with you,” she said defiantly.

“Fine.”

“Fine?” She arched a brow.

“I’m not forcing you to live with me if it’s not what you want. But, I'm not going to stop asking you to move in, so get used to it.”

That did it—a small smile flickered across her lips.

“Are we done fighting now?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Are you done being a colossal ass?” she shot back.

“For the time being, yes.” I tipped her chin up and searched her eyes for understanding. “Do you understand how I feel for you?”

“Yes,” she said softly.

“Good.” I kissed her lightly and released her chin. “Let’s go eat so we can get into the office at a decent hour.” I smacked her on the butt and hustled her back into the kitchen.

Thirty minutes later, we were in my car on the way into the office. Grace was quiet on the drive.

“Are you still upset about earlier?” I put a hand on her knee.

“No, not upset. Just thinking.” She patted my hand.

“About?”

“This whole crazy situation. I know that you’re used to getting your way all the time, but we’re different. I’m not an employee who has to say yes when you tell them to do something. I’m your equal, your girlfriend.”

“I know that.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.” I sighed. “I’ll try harder okay?”

She nodded. The rest of the drive was quiet, but I didn’t think she was upset with me anymore.

Brooke was waiting at the elevator as usual, my messages and coffee in hand.

“Mr. McFadden, your mother and sister have both called this morning. Also Mr. Janner is in your office.” She turned to Grace. “I apologize, I didn’t realize you would be here or I would have brought you coffee as well.” I noticed her tone was cooler than it should have been. Grace gave me a look at the mention of my mother, but she didn’t say anything. I was not interested in rehashing the previous conversation.

“It’s not a problem, Brooke.” Grace smiled sweetly. “If you don't mind, I’d love a latte?”

There she was, not taking anything from anyone. So fierce. I even kind of enjoyed when she defied me.

“Of course, right away,” Brooke responded in clipped tones.

“Thanks, Brooke. We’ll be in my office for the day. I’ll be leaving tomorrow for Chicago. I’d like your decision by the end of the week about coming with me.”

“Very well.” She nodded and clicked down the hall.

“Does she always dress like that?” Grace whispered as we walked.

“Like what?” I knew exactly what she was talking about.

“Come on, Logan, her clothes are painted on.” She rolled her eyes.

“What did I say yesterday? It’s strictly professional with us.” I kissed her cheek.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on, let’s go get to packing.”

Smith was sitting at my desk on the phone when we came in.

“Shai, I’ll call you later okay?” He laughed at something she said and hung up. “It’s about time you showed up.”

“Please, by all means, use my phone and my desk,” I said dryly.

“Well, it seems someone should be using it since you’re running off to Chicago.” He grinned.

“Did you need something?”

“No, just wanted to be sure I saw you before you left.” He walked around the desk. He turned his attention to Grace. “Take care of him, will you? I know sometimes he can be an ass, but he means well.” He kissed her cheek.

“Shut up.” I laughed and hugged him. “I’ll be around. Plus I doubt I’ll be able to keep you away for long anyway. Not with so many new women for you to meet.”

“You’re not wrong there.” He flashed a grin. “I’ll see you when I see you.” He gave a quick wave and left us alone.

“Are you sad to be leaving him?” Grace asked.

“Smith? I’m not really leaving him. Like I said, he’ll be around before too long.”

We set about the task of dismantling my office. Brooke brought in some boxes at Grace’s request, and we packed as much as we could.

“I HATE PACKING. WHY IS
it that I wanted to help you again?” I sat back on my heels, covered in dust.

Logan smiled. “I told you, this is why I hire people to move for me. “

“Don’t let me talk you out of it next time.”

“I hate to tell you, but this is only about a quarter of what I actually need to bring with me when we go.”

“Are you serious?” I stood up quickly.

“Afraid so. I think we can leave the rest to be packed, what do you think?”

“I think I agree with that decision.” I wiped my hands on my jeans.

“Are you hungry?” He stood and stretched.

“Ravenous. Let’s go grab some lunch.”

Logan had called down and there was a limo waiting for us at the curb. He slid in and pulled me along with him on the soft leather seat. “What are you hungry for?” He pressed his lips to my temple and settled his arm around my shoulders.

“Sandwiches and soup?”

“Out of anything you could have, you want sandwiches and soup?” He laughed.

“Yeah, do you have a problem with that?” I shot him a dirty look.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He looked the picture of innocence. After giving the driver instructions, he shut the privacy glass. “Am I forgiven for before? I know I’m overbearing sometimes, I’ll try my hardest to work on that.”

That surprised me. It wasn’t often that men like Logan, with the world at their fingertips, admitted to being wrong. “I’ll try to be less rigid in my expectations.” It was the least I could do. I couldn't really expect him to be everything I wanted overnight.

“Thank you.” He kissed the top of my head. “We’ll figure this all out.”

“Figure what out?”

“Being in a relationship together.” He chuckled softly. I could feel the rumble of his laugh against my back.

“You need to do that more often.” I sighed contentedly and leaned my head against him.