He glanced at Catherine and realized he was extremely glad he’d come. “When she’s not meddling, my grandmother is one smart lady.”
“Because she locked us in here?”
“Because she obviously likes you… and so do I.” His gaze locked with hers. Sensual awareness pulsed thick around them.
He cupped his palms around her cheeks, bringing her within kissing distance… and waited. One hint of refusal and he’d let her go. She shook her head and disappointment welled inside him.
He lowered his hands. Her sudden grip on his wrists stopped him. “Don’t.”
“Don’t kiss you or don’t pull away? Because I don’t play games, Cat. I want you and I know you want me.” The sudden hitch in her breathing proved him right.
“What I want and what’s good for me are two different things,” she whispered.
His mouth brushed hers, deliberately light and excruciatingly slow. He simply tasted her without pushing for more. Her fingers curled into his wrists and a purr escaped her lips. Cat, he thought, recalling his grandmother’s use of the endearment, had just earned her nickname.
His restraint was rewarded. She never broke the kiss or the momentum building between them. With this woman, only patience would get him what he desired—and he believed she was worth it.
* * *
Catherine let sensation take over. Logan’s lips were firm, his touch gentle. His scent enticed her, and his kiss held checked passion along with a respect she’d rarely felt from a man. Beneath the gentleness was a longing she felt, too. As a ribbon of desire coiled tight in her belly, the need to be with him overwhelmed her.
Without warning, the clatter of metal startled her, and she jumped back, breaking their passionate kiss. One that never should have happened. She burrowed into his white shirt, unwilling to face him just yet.
“Sounds like we’re being rescued,” he said.
“Sounds like.” She forced herself to move. Ignoring the steady pounding of her heart, she stood, refusing to meet his gaze. She’d lost her head, succumbed to desire, and Lord only knew what would have happened if they hadn’t been rescued.
She started for the door but his light touch on her back stopped her. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Cat.”
“Who said I did?” she asked defensively. “One kiss isn’t such a big deal.”
He raised an eyebrow. “One kiss?”
“Unless you can’t count.”
A slight grin tugged at his lips. “Neither one of us came up for air, so I’ll give you that one.”
Heat rose to her cheeks. “A real gentleman wouldn’t have mentioned that.”
“Whoever said I was a gentleman?” He touched the pad of his thumb to her lower lip.
Her entire body shook in reaction. She wrapped her arms around her waist, but the effort at self-protec
tion came too late.
“I started it, Cat, and I wish I could say I was sorry. But I won’t.”
With that statement, he preceded her to the door. She stared at his retreating back and wondered how things had gotten so out of hand. She glanced down at her shaking hands and closed her eyes against the unfulfilled sexual energy still pulsing through her.
She wished lust was all she felt for Logan Montgomery.
Sex was purely physical and easy to leave behind. Logan wasn’t. She’d seen the real man beneath the power suit and playboy charm. She’d caught a glimpse of a lonely little boy growing up in a mausoleum, much like she’d been a lonely child in a tenement apartment. Class differences had vanished. To make matters worse, she’d discovered she liked him. Really liked him. Somewhere between walking into this closet and walking out, he had begun to matter. Knowing the inevitable conclusion, the truth chilled her deep inside.
She stared beyond Logan’s broad shoulders to the closet door and listened to the sounds of rescue. Seconds later, the hinges were off and the entire door had been removed. Without glancing in his direction again, she slid past him and headed for safety. The bright glare of the crystal chandelier hit her hard and she blinked until her eyes adjusted.
Catherine glanced around.
“She wouldn’t dare show her face now,” Logan’s voice sounded from behind her.