But he loved to touch her, to watch her, to tease her. Until she came.
Yet even now, in the early hours of the morning, when there was no one else awake to hear, no one to see, she was silent.
Because she had the corner of the pillow between her teeth. Suppressing any sound.
A finger of frustration drove into him. He wanted to hear her scream. He wanted to hear her cry out his name. To hear her beg for him. He ached for her to beg.
He ached for her. Period.
Finally, when her breathing had settled, she opened her eyes.
“Oh,” she blinked at him. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?” She rolled onto her back and stretched out, her body moving sinuously on the big mattress.
“You know damn well I didn’t.” He stared at her exposed breasts. So close to losing it. To just grabbing her hard and fucking her in two seconds flat.
He was hanging on by a bare thread.
“No I don’t.” She sent him a cheeky grin. “I slept like a log.”
Vixen. But he liked it—her—so much.
“What are you doing?” He raised up onto his elbows, frowning, as she slid from the bed with too much energy
“Getting dressed.” She bent to her bag and scooped out some clothes.
“Why?”
“If you thought you were b-b-bringing me here just so you could spend all your time feeling me up in your room, you’re mistaken. I want to get out. You said last n-night you were taking me on a tour. I want you to show me around.”
He flopped back onto the bed with a groan as she sashayed into the bathroom. Demanding woman. But she was right. They’d get outside, he’d take her round the town. Show her the spa. Avoid everyone.
But it was almost an hour before they left the bedroom—Min worked for a while as he’d showered and dressed and tried to think Zen. Was it possible to meditate a permanent erection away?
“Come on,” he said, leaning over to take the iPad from her hands. “You need food.”
He led her down to the dining room, knowing one of the staff would be on hand to make whatever they wanted. But as he walked into the room, his appetite was killed.
His parents sat at the large dining table, looking for all the world like a happily married couple. Which they weren’t. This anniversary party was a total sham.
“Good morning Min, Logan.” His mother looked up from her contemplation of the newspaper. “What would you like for breakfast?”
A waitress appeared almost instantly, from the door leading to the kitchen, but Logan was getting them out of there.
“Oh, don’t worry we’ll—”
“Have breakfast with us,” Connor interrupted him from directly behind, thumping his big hand on Logan’s shoulder. “You’ll have the full Summerhill fry-up, won’t you. And you Min?”
Logan met Connor’s eyes. A family reconciliation over eggs so wasn’t gonna happen. But he’d said he’d be here. Said he’d be good. “Sure thing. Min?” He glanced at her.
She nodded. “Thanks.”
Logan sat beside Min, placing her as far from his parents as he could, and putting himself in as buffer. Connor took the seat opposite. Logan grinned wryly. Was that so his kid brother could send him warning looks if he spoke in a way he shouldn’t?
“This engagement is going to last?” His father glared at him. “I’m sick of the sleaze surrounding you. It upsets your mother.”
Yeah. The real bad guy in all this had never been Logan, it was Rex.
Logan figured his mother was probably more upset by her husband’s countless affairs. At least Logan only had one woman at a time. Nearly. But at the very least he was honest about his escapades. He was open, upfront and able to admit when he’d made a mistake. The models had been a mistake. So had his part in that cheating scandal years ago.
But witnessing the worst marriage in the world left him uninterested in following the same path. He’d tried so damn hard to please for so long, skiing his heart out even when he’d hated it. Finally he’d woken up to the fact that his father, the person he’d thought was so important—actually wasn’t that interested. Certainly wasn’t interested in anything less than total success. Success by any means.
How his mother had put up with the bastard for so long he didn’t know. Why did she? For the money? The supposed status?
How Connor coped he didn’t know either. The man was a saint. As for his sister Danielle, she’d long been rebelling against the restraints and conditions and expectations. She’d run from her boarding school countless times, even now at college he’d heard she wasn’t happy. Another accident waiting to happen.
If it weren’t for Connor he’d happily walk away and leave the place to burn. But it was Connor’s livelihood. Connor’s hard work. And damned if Logan was going to sit back and let their father’s old mistakes ruin it all. Not at this late stage. If he could help in any way, he would. Even down to the dreaded keeping up of appearances.
With true Summerhill luxury, their meals were delivered within minutes. No waiting, always the best. The freshest. But Logan wasn’t remotely hungry now. He picked at food. Noticed Min wasn’t exactly wolfing it either.
“Seeing it’s such a happy occasion, we thought we’d make it a double celebration.” His mom broke the awkward silence.
“Oh?” A sense of foreboding filled him.
“Our wedding anniversary and your engagement,” she said grandly, looking at them expectantly like it was the best idea ever.
The toast turned to dust in Logan’s mouth.
“I’ve already had some of the decorations altered,” she said. “It’s the perfect opportunity for you to meet all our loved ones.” She smiled at Min. “You’ll get up and say something during the formal part of the evening, won’t you Logan? And you too, of course, Min. Everyone will want to hear from you.”
Shit.
Logan glanced at Min. She’d paled.
An engagement party? Double celebration? Oh the hideous irony. Neither of the relationships being celebrated were anything like what they were meant to be. The opposite in fact. And he hated the idea of his relationship with Min being in any way associated with his parents’ marriage. Tainted by it.
“Isn’t the double part of the celebration really your retirement, Dad?” he shot a look at his father.
His father’s jaw tightened. Yeah, the old man hadn’t liked being quietly ousted by his own son. And he’d never admitted that he’d done anything wrong.
But keeping his dealings only just this side of the law didn’t make them right. He was morally reprehensible.
“We’ll be mentioning it, Logan.” Connor shot Logan an equally loaded look. “Doing a little look-back on Dad’s achievements.”
The recent rapid growth and success of the Summerhill brand hadn’t been their father’s work. It was all Connor’s. Connor was the only reason he was here. Right now was Logan’s time to step up and be there for his brother.
“Well that sounds perfect. An anniversary and engagement celebration will be a lot of fun,” Logan said coolly. “Of course we’ll speak.”
He watched Min reach for her glass of water with a shaking hand. Under the table he reached out and put his hand on her knee. She flinched.
Damn.
She didn’t speak to him the entire walk through the lodge. Not even when he took her through the not-so-secret family-only tunnel that some tourists paid extra to get to see.
“Min?”
“I-can’t-do-this-Logan.” Her words tumbled out on top of each other. She expelled a harsh breath between her teeth. The speaking thing had totally thrown her.
“I’ll tell them you’re shy,” he said, hating the guilt stabbing his heart.
“You told them I work in PR.”
“Well, you do. You write for people. I’ll clarify.”
She didn’t look any happier.
“I’ll take care of it,” he said, feeling bad for her. Wanting to fix it, but not enough to let her out of it. ?
?I need you with me for this.” He pulled her against him. “That’s all. You don’t have to say anything, just be there.”
She looked up at him, her green eyes serious. “Why?”
“Because...” I need you. He needed the grounding she somehow gave him. For all the battle between them, he felt secure with her. He could be himself. She didn’t suck up to him. Determinedly not interested. It was a weird relief.
“You can see for yourself what it’s like,” he said.
“If you haven’t spoken to him properly in years, why are they running around re-organizing the party of the decade to celebrate your engagement?”
“You don’t think anyone outside of the family is aware of the tensions, do you?” Logan laughed bitterly. “We’re the Hughes family. A little eccentric, but basically perfect. Nothing tarnishes us. Not even my sordid sex clip. It’s all a fairytale. This is to prove that very point.”
“So its not the welcome return of the black sheep?”
Never, just as he’d warned Connor. His father was no longer interested now Logan had turned his back on the path that had been prepared for him. “You can see there’s no forgiveness there. There’s nothing there.”
Just emptiness.
She stepped away but took his hand. Standing by his side. “You’d better show me round then.”
So much had changed Logan felt like a tourist himself. But he’d left this place sooner than the others. While Xander and Connor had been carving up the slopes as ski guides, he’d been in training camps. Going to New Zealand during the North American summer so he had the winter there, working it on their slopes. A life lived in winter. In the end he’d gotten sick of being cold. Sick of trying to realize someone else’s impossible ambition.
But Summerhill resort had gone from strength to strength. The Hughes owned not just the hotel, but also controlled the tourist activity companies, half the shops, and half the restaurants.
“Where did you hang out?” she asked, looking around the picturesque ‘village’ center.
“On the slopes.” He waved a hand at the peaks surrounding them.