Of Love & Regret (Madison & Logan 1)

His cheesy line should have put me off, but I felt a sudden surge of anger as I thought about Logan back at the table with Kristina. Maybe a little fun was what I needed to get my mind off him.

“I guess I can’t keep you from doing your civic duty,” I said, returning his smile. “A drink sounds good.”

His eyebrows rose as if he were surprised I actually agreed. He guided me to the bar and flagged down the bartender to order the beer I requested. He handed it to me with a flourish.

“There you go. Thanks for letting me do my good deed for the day.”

“No problem,” I said with a laugh, feeling myself relax a little. Maybe this was just what I needed to get my mind off Logan.

“My name’s Todd,” he said, leaning close to me so I could hear him over the noise of the crowd.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Madison.”

“So what are you doing here on a Friday night, Madison?”

“Nothing much,” I said as I took a sip of the beer. “I just came with a couple of friends.”

“You mean someone as gorgeous as you isn’t here with your boyfriend?”

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at his line. I wasn’t here for the quality of the company. I was here for the distraction.

“No boyfriend,” I said. “I’m not looking for anything serious.”

Todd’s eyes lit up at my statement. Apparently, he wasn’t looking for anything serious either. He leaned down to speak closer to my ear, his lips brushing against my hair. “I think we’re both looking for the same thing tonight.”

Before I could respond, Todd pulled back abruptly. Looking up at Logan’s angry face, I realized he had wrenched Todd away from me.

“What are you doing?” he asked. Even though the bar was loud and noisy, I could hear the undercurrent of rage in his voice.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” I asked defiantly. “I’m talking to someone.”

“Hey, man, what’s your deal?” Todd shot Logan a dirty look. “This has nothing to do with you.”

Logan turned to him. The look on his face must have relayed the level of his ang

er, because Todd flinched before Logan even spoke. “You’re fucking around with something that’s mine. That has everything to do with me.”

Todd put his hands up in supplication as he shot me an accusing look. “Hey, she said she didn’t have a boyfriend.”

“I don’t!” I was enraged not only by Logan’s attitude, but by his words. Last time I checked, I wasn’t some thing that he owned. I pushed against Logan’s chest, trying to get some space between us. “What the hell is your problem? Your girlfriend is back at the table waiting for you.”

Logan ignored me and grabbed my wrist. My protests were drowned out by the noisy crowd as he dragged me towards the back of the bar. He led me into a dark hallway and flung open a door that said Employees Only and turned on the light. I found myself in a storage room that was filled with cleaning supplies. I ripped my wrist out of Logan’s grasp as he slammed the door shut. I went to grab the doorknob but he moved in front of me to block it.

“Are you crazy? We’re not supposed to be in here. Get out of my way!”

Logan was breathing heavily, and I should have been frightened by the look in his eyes, but I felt only rage at his heavy-handedness.

“What were you doing with that guy?” His steady voice belied the burning anger on his face. I felt a sudden chill of nervousness and crossed my arms against my chest to try to hide my reaction. I wasn’t going to let myself be bullied by him.

“That’s none of your business.” I took a deep breath, trying to get a handle on the situation. I had never seen Logan so irate, and even though I was pissed off by his behavior, it was better to neutralize his anger. “This conversation is pointless. Kristina is going to be wondering where we are. We should get back before she starts getting suspicious.”

“Answer me,” Logan said in a soft but steely voice, ignoring my attempt to diffuse the situation. “What were you doing with that asshole?”

My desire to be the voice of reason vanished with his continued aggressiveness. “How do you know he’s an asshole? And what if he is? I can talk to anyone I want. I can go home with him tonight and fuck his brains out if I want. It’s none of your business!”

It was the wrong thing to say. Logan’s eyes were burning as he took a step closer to me. I had to fight the urge to step back. I didn’t want him to think I was intimidated by him, despite my mounting trepidation.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” he said softly, his eyes trained on me. “Everything you do is my business.”