The moment had been killed.
He stood back to let her in. “Come in. Quickly.”
“I’m sorry,” Dani sounded upset as she scuttled past him like she was afraid he was going to change his mind and slam the door in her face. “I should have called. But I didn’t want you to say no.”
He gritted his teeth. He’d have said no alright. He still was. But he was going to have to do it tomorrow. He drew a deep breath and took her bag from her. “Look, it’s late. I’ve had a long day at work, you look like you’ve had a long day travelling. Go to bed. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
She studied his face for a moment. “Okay.”
He walked her to the second guest room and put her bag inside the door. “Here you go, shower, rest.” He frowned. “You need food?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You sure?” He struggled to relax. “We can get something...”
“It’s okay.”
She slipped into the room and closed the door.
Logan stared at it for a second. Feeling guilty, thwarted, stupidly sort of hurt.
He’d wanted to work on Min. Wanted to go deeper, talk more. Make her open up. And yeah, make her scream some more. But with his kid sister sleeping two doors down? All the progress he’d made in the last twenty-four hours was going to be wiped out.
Hell he was selfish.
His phone buzzed. Logan glanced at the screen and answered right away, turning away from Dani’s door and walking down the hall to his own room. “Hi Connor, she’s with me.”
“You’ve got Dani?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank God.” Connor sighed harshly. “One missing sibling is enough for me to handle in one week.”
“Yeah, well, sorry. But as it turns out, I wasn’t missing. And nor is Dani. I’ll send her back tomorrow.”
“What’s she doing there?”
“Some shit about quitting college. Not gonna happen.” He hadn’t achieved higher-level qualifications because he’d gone straight from the slopes to creating the Summerhill equipment brand, but it wasn’t a path he’d recommend. Even with the trust fund that Dani was coming into eventually, she needed to make her own way and learn to manage her assets. Staying at college was the best way for her to do that. And given she was super-freaking-smart, he’d have thought she’d know that. He wasn’t going to let her make the same mistakes he had. The longer she was safely shut away, the better.
“I’ll call you tomorrow once I’ve talked to her.” Logan rang off.
Finally, he walked into to his bedroom. Min was no longer naked, no longer smiling with that sultry heat. She was belted up in his robe, and looking concerned.
“Is Dani okay?” she asked.
Yeah, Min was too sweet. And he was too selfish.
He’d just gotten her to himself and she was worrying about his sister. Nice, but not what he wanted.
“You want me to talk to her?” she asked.
“No,” he snapped. He wanted Min to stay with him. He drew a breath and sighed. “Sorry. She’s fine. She’ll get it together, tomorrow. Let’s go to bed.”
He just had to get beside her. Inside her. He couldn’t stand to be apart another second longer.
He was desperate. How he’d managed to resist her for so long? If he’d known how good he felt with her, he never would’ve survived. He’d have been on his knees begging that first night.
But he hadn’t known her then, the way he did now. He hadn’t known how smart she was, how funny. How tough. How vulnerable.
He kissed her, but pulled back and gritted his teeth, hurriedly stripping himself. He needed to be naked. Now.
She’d been right. Sex had always been his escape. He’d never gone for drugs, or drinking to excess. It was all about the physical pleasure.
Maybe he’d needed that break—a spot of celibacy to then appreciate the joys of the flesh again. Because sex hadn’t ever felt so good. Sex hadn’t been so much fun.
But something had changed. This pleasure was almost unbearable. This pleasure brought an edge with it—a sense of panic.
Finally naked, he pulled her close. “It feels like it’s been forever.”
She laughed softly. “Poor you. A few hours and you’re that deprived?”
“And we have to be quiet, can you believe it?”
“Oh Logan, that a first for you?” She cupped his face. “It’s easy really.”
“We could put the TV on. Run the shower,” he groaned.
She shook her head. “You’re just going to have to suck it up and be silent.”
The best way to do that, of course, was to kiss her.
Silently he worked his way down and then back up her body. Filling his mouth with her taste, her scent, her heat.
It still wasn’t enough.
He grew frantic, frustrated. He ached to have her scream for him again, ached to have her unfettered response. Ached to lose himself in that freedom too.
“Sssshhh,” Min reached for him, drawing him to lie over her. “Slow,” she instructed.
He sighed, his muscles tensing. He needed the wildness.
But she framed his face with her hands, holding him so he had to look into her eyes. No hardship, he realized. She had the most beautiful eyes.
He watched the emotions flicker over her face as she widened her legs for him and lifted her hips, as he slowly penetrated her. He breathed out, control seemed to return.
“Feels g-good,” she whispered. “Feels so g-g-good with you.”
She’d spoken. Now she sighed. Soft, but audible for him. No gag necessary for her to feel free. She wasn’t afraid to just let herself be. Sigh. Say.
Embrace him.
Nothing held back now.
He nodded. Suddenly he was the one unable to answer because the desperation fell away and all that was left was the emotion. So huge, so all encompassing, he daren’t name it.
But he delighted in her words, in her touch, in this basic togetherness. They connected, pulled back only to rejoin, moving as one in the slowest, sweetest dance. And all the while he looked into her
eyes, reading hers. Embracing the ultimate communication.
So simple. So slow. So perfect.
“Min,” he breathed.
In the smallest hours of the night, at the peak of unutterable pleasure, the closeness overwhelmed him.
“I. Love...” He paused, fists clenching, pushed too far beyond his limits. “This.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
#ThingsIWishIdNeverSaid
Logan dragged himself from bed the next morning. So didn’t want to. So just wanted to stay buried in those coverings, buried in Min. Only she was curled away from him in a sleepy bundle. Exhausted.
He knew the feeling.
“You rest,” he whispered to her. “Work in the office if you want. I have to go back to the never-ending meeting.”
He hoped she’d sleep for another couple hours yet. And then she’d work on her web updates. He didn’t want her to think beyond the next few hours, or the end of their ‘engagement’.
He didn’t want to think about it yet. Because he didn’t know how this should progress. All he knew was that it couldn’t be over between them yet.
She didn’t answer him but he didn’t stop to look back, or he’d never leave.
He glanced at Dani’s closed bedroom door, decided he’d check in with her later.
He glared at the photographer loitering outside the apartment building. No smile for the shots the man took. From his taxi he texted Dani, telling her to stay indoors and to tell Min to stay indoors too. He didn’t want the guy bothering either of them.
In the office he worked quickly, trying to push the agenda along, trying to delegate to Tyler, but there was no getting out of pitch meetings early. He owed them his attention. He owed it to himself. Choosing total single-minded focus, he worked through lunch, no interruptions. No rest. Relentless.
Finally on his way home, later than he’d wanted, he called Rocco. “I need your help.”
“What’s up?”
“It’s Dani.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“She turned up unannounced late last night. Apparently she’s quitting college and coming to live here.”