“Uh...Mr. Smith...”
“What
.”
“I think we might have a problem.”
“Yeah, no shit, you dumbfuck.”
“No, we might have a
real
problem...”
“Other than Campbell’s daughter fucking one of
the presidents dogs, what?”
“Well I think they might be...” He didn’t know
how to phrase this. He cleared his throat, hating the squeak it
made. A couple from the next table looked over at him odly. His
face burned with anger and he glared at them. They quickly turned
back in their seats.
“Think they might be
what
.”
“Married.”
Silence. Dead, choking, fury-filled silence.
Then, with a calm that made Carl uneasy, Joey said into the phone.
“Get out of that damn restaurant and don’t touch Claire Campbell
until I give you word.”
“So we’re still going after her?” he
asked, uneasy. If Logan found out that it was Carl, and that Carl
was
out
of jail, he
was dead. Logan had a license to kill-- Carl knew that very
intimately.
“I’m
not
losing this election.”
Carl took that as a yes.
Y
es, Carl, you’re going to be gutted by
commander Marshal and there ain’t shit you can do about
it.
Logan brushed his thumb over Claire’s silky
skin.
“Hope you realize that now that you’re mine,
you can’t be anyone else’s.” His possessive declaration was met
with a small smile, her skin heating under his hand as she began to
blush.
“Same goes for you,” she whispered, feeling
like they were the only two in the restaurant.
“Are you nervous?” he asked after a minute,
only the dim sound of the life in the restaurant viable to them.
She met his eyes straight-on.
“Yes.”
He smiled a little at her honesty, then leaned
over the table to brush his lips against her forehead. “Don’t
worry, Claire. I’ll take care of you.”
Just then, the waiter came to the table with
their receipt, a smile, and a brief parting word. Logan barely cast
the slip of paper a look before standing, catching her hand in his.
His smile was dark, and her breath caught.
“Time to take you home, Ms.
Marshal.”
Her blood heated and she stared up at him
before following his lead to the front. He paid for the bill, then
took her coat from the drawing room of the elegant restaurant. He’d
had to drive them out of town to get there, but it had been worth
it. The food had been exquisite and Logan had definitely been
charming.
The more she watched him, the more she listened
to him, the more her heart warmed to him. She was trying not to get
caught up in the fantasy, but it was impossible when he stared at
her with eyes surrounded by dark, thick lashes. Whenever he reached
for her, her heart did the disco in her chest. Whenever he smiled,
all she could do was stare and hope she didn’t melt to the
floor.
She had been more than honest when she’d
admitted to being nervous. She was terrified; even thinking about
it made her hands start to shake. Yet, at the same time, her body
was more than affected than just shaking hands. Her breath caught
in her throat. Her blood heated. Her heart pounded. Her legs
clenched. And, most of all, eagerness shot through her like a
bullet. She wanted to be Logan’s, more than anything.
Her only fear was the pain. Or if she didn’t
respond the way he wanted her to. She’d never been with a man,
except those few times with Logan a couple weeks back. He’d kept
his distance from her; did that mean he didn’t want her as much as
before? Looking at him, watching him smile down at her as he led
her to the car with his arm tucking her close against her body,
made her re-think that; that was silly of her. She knew he wanted
her more than he wanted to breath - he’d made similar comments over
their dinner together. So why was she so anxious about
everything?
True, it was her first time. It
was
normal
to be so
nervous. But was she
too
nervous about everything?
She pressed closer to his side as a gust of
wind shot around them.
“You okay?” he asked, guiding her to the car
and unlocking it when they were close enough. She nodded, smiling,
and he helped her climb into the passanger seat after opening the
door for her. He came around the other side and got in, starting
the ignition.
Claire was silent, and she didn’t notice that
they hadn’t moved until Logan clenched his fist around the steering
wheel.
“Listen...Claire, we don’t have
to...”
She looked up at him with shocked eyes. “What?”
she asked, voice raising a notch higher than it normally
was.
“If you’re that nervous, we can wait... It
doesn’t have to be tonight.” She could literally hear how much it
hurt for him to say that. The headlights reflected on the pole that
was stationed in front of them, casting one glare of light into the
truck. Logan was right in front of it. His eyes were dark, pained,
but he looked resolved.
He didn’t want to hurt her. Rush
her.
Her heart went out to him, and she
realized then that she was going to go through with making love
with him -- because she
wanted
to. What man would wait for a woman to be
comfortable with something like that?
Logan would.
“Hey...” Claire turned in her seat, biting her
lip. His eyes flashed over to her, then back to the
wheel.
She barely held in her gasp. They’d
been
burning
-- for
her.
Well, didn’t that just turn a girl on? she
thought, pulling her knees under her in the seat and then leaning
over the center consol. Logan looked at her with a wary gaze, not
moving.
“I never said I didn’t want to make love to
you, Logan,” she whispered, leaning closer. His giant chest let out
a breath of hot air, and he shoved a hand in his hair, staring at
her as if lost.
“Clare, you better not --”
She pecked his lips chastly,
quieting him. “I can do whatever I want,
husband
.”
His eyes flashed to black with heat, and she
saw his hands flex on the wheel out of the corner of her eye. Her
smile kicked up to one side, and she leaned even closer, kissing
his jaw.
One of his hands left the wheel, now holding
the back of her neck, pulling her to him.
She didn’t need anymore encouragement. Claire
slanted her mouth over his and the heat within her sprung to
life.
Her hands clutched at his shoulders tightly as
both of his arms came around her. He pulled her into his lap, arms
twining around her body and pulling her flush against him. His heat
radiated through her and she whimpered into his mouth. He bit her
bottom lip gently, urging her to open her mouth for him.
She did.
His tongue swept inside her mouth, and lust
licked along her nerve endings.
God, this was better than the first
time...
She pictured them, his hand on her
breast, kissing his way down her body to bite into her nipple.
Through her shirt, her nipples ached. She clung to him, kissing him
with more fever, wanting him
right
then
.
Logan growled, tightening his thick arms around
her trembling body, claiming her with his mouth.
Her hands threaded in his hair --
His mouth tore away from hers.
With a ragged voice, Logan grated, “We need to
get home. Like now.”
Chapter 18
Fire curled around her as Logan carried her
into his room.
Their
room.
His eyes held hers and in them she could see
everything. How much he wanted her, how much he wanted this, how
much he wanted to claim her.
The car ride had been painful. Sitting there
next to him, her legs clenched tight in an effort to still the rush
of desire…it had been torture. She’d wanted to lean over and kiss
him, make him pull over right then and there.
Any doubts she’d had at the restaurant were now
gone. Completely. Claire felt stupid for even thinking about them.
Logan wanted her — she wanted him. They were bound by law together
so there was nothing wrong with giving herself to him.
Especially when he was the only man to ever
make her feel like this.
He laid her down on the bed, standing at the
edge. His hands were fisted at his side and she could tell he was
trying to hold himself back.
Biting her lip, she reached for his hand,
pulling him to her, over her.
He was heavy, hot. Yet every single piece of
his skin that touched her caused her body to flame. Her heart
thundered in her chest.
“I don’t want you to hold back,” she
whispered.
He was silent for a moment. Claire stared up at
him, searching his eyes.
“Are you sure you want this?” he asked, his
voice nothing but a low growl in the dim lighting of the
room.
Her answer was to press her lips to
his.
He groaned, and that’s when everything started
to fall around her. His mouth covered hers with demand, forcing her
lips open. Not that it took much, though. With a low, lust-filled
groan, she gave herself to him completely.
The desire she felt wracked her body. It stung
her nerves like sweet droplets of fire. Her head swam with as Logan
overcame her senses.
His hand, which had been clenched in the
bedding, now trailed town her temple, her cheek. As it did so, his
kiss softened to the point that it was near painful. She wrapped
her legs around his waist, using her heels to urge him, nipping his
lips.
Still, the kiss was soft, gentle, and oh-so
tender. Her heart raced, but all the blood was rushing to her head.
His hand trailed down her neck, to her chest…so close to her
breast, but not close enough that he was touching her
there.
Where ever his hand went, it left a trail of
fire. A single, hot, fiery trail that had her arching under his
hand.
“Logan…” she whimpered into their kiss,
threading her hands in his hair, begging to him with her
touch.
“Mmm,” he murmured in response, dragging his
lips from hers, down to her neck. She gasped, clutching him
tightly.
“Maybe… Oh… Maybe you
shouldn’t
do
that…”
He sucked on the skin between her neck and shoulder, a small kiss
of heat.
“Why shouldn’t I?” he asked, meeting her eyes
briefly before moving lower down her body, moving his hands to
unbotton the blouse. She made no move to stop him, but covered her
face as it flamed. A wave of modesty hit her.
Was she going to be good enough for him? Was he
going to be disappointed in her? He knew she was a virgin and that
she’d never done this with anyone before, so was he expecting her
to be terrible —
Cool air met the skin of her stomach, and then
his lips.
Oh god, his lips.
On her skin.
Logan had obviously made it his goal
to kiss every inch of her skin — and he was starting with her
stomach. She shuddered as need curled along her body, following his
kisses. Pleasure nearly blinded her — never in her
life
had she felt this
before.
The blouse fell from her body to the bed, and
she worked it out of her arms, trying then to drag Logan up to kiss
her. He refused her hands, staring into her eyes as he reached
under her back, unclasping her bra.
She swallowed, face flaming. The look in his
eyes… Normally silver, the black depths were burning like obsidian,
burning into her soul. He wanted this. He wanted her. She could see
it all in his eyes, could feel it in his hands.
The snap was loud in the room, or maybe to her.
The bra loosened around her breasts, and Logan sat up enough that
he could drag the straps down her shoulders, and then away from her
body completely.
The second he looked at her breasts,
he growled. Her eyes closed and she tried not to feel embarrassed,
but she did. The first time this had happened, she’d been shocked
and drugged by his kisses.
Now
was the real deal.
Now
she was going to lose her
virginity.
Now
she
was going to be claimed by Logan.
She brought her hands up to cover herself
—
Logan grasped her wrists, stopping her. When
she met his eyes, he looked at her with such a dark look that she
trembled. “Don’t you ever hide yourself from me, Claire.
Ever.”
Then he did the unexpected – pushed her into
the bed, held her wrists above her head, and drew a cherry-red
nipple into his mouth. She gasp, pleasure biting her.
“Logan!”
Her voice was hoarse, even to her own ears. His
lips kissed and sucked, dragging moans from her. Claire felt like
she was in a never-ending storm, struggling to right herself and
make sense of what was happening. He switched to the other breast,
kneading the one he had just ravished with his hand.