Of Loss & Betrayal (Madison & Logan 2)

Chapter One

Logan had a gleam in his eye that made me nervous. Somehow, he had convinced me that it was a good idea to go to a packed bar on a Friday night, when all I really wanted to do was crash in front of the TV and cuddle. I had relented since Logan wasn’t typically insistent about going out, so I figured he really needed to blow off some steam after a hectic work week at his law firm.

He handed me one of the beer bottles the bartender had set down in front of him, and I took a sip as I leaned against the bar. We had managed to finagle a tiny spot at the bar, but I was still feeling claustrophobic from the mass of humanity almost pressing upon us.

“Tell me again why you wanted to come here,” I said. “Was it the amazing ambiance or the scintillating conversations of the fellow bar patrons?”

Logan replied, but I was distracted by a couple who were gyrating against each other on the impromptu dance floor created by some of the more enthusiastic bar goers. I could swear that the man was going to swallow the woman whole with the way his face was plastered against hers. Fortunately, for the couple and me, it was dark in the bar so I couldn’t really make out what their hands were doing, and I was grateful for that fact.

“What did you say?” I asked, although I kept my eyes on the couple. It was like an accident I couldn’t look away from. I changed my mind when I saw the man licking the woman’s face like a dog. I could definitely look away, and I did so quickly, wanting to gag at the sight.

Logan was watching me with a sardonic look on his face. “Enjoying the show?”

“Ugh, no.” I took another swallow of my beer, as if that could blot out the image from my mind.

“While you were enraptured with the lovers over there, I was saying that one of my co-workers mentioned that this bar had recently opened, so I thought it was a good enough place as any to try out.”

“I’m too old to be in bars like this,” I retorted. “We’re both almost thirty, you know.”

“Sorry, next time we’ll go get the early bird special at Denny’s. I guess that’s more your speed.”

I rolled my eyes at Logan, but couldn’t suppress a smile. Despite not loving being in a crowded bar, I was happy to be anywhere with Logan. The past four months had been almost idyllic. Now that we were free to be in a relationship with no obligations to other people, it was like I was discovering for the first time what it was like to be in a healthy, functional relationship. And I realized that I had never really been in love before, now that I let myself love Logan with no inhibitions. It was almost frightening how deep my love for him went, because it made me feel out of control. But loving him was worth every risk.

I was distracted by my inner thoughts and didn’t notice how close Logan had gotten until he spoke again.

“What are you thinking about?”

My back was pressed up against the bar and Logan was bent over me with an arm on each side of me, effectively trapping me. I shivered in anticipation from just the warmth of his body near mine, and the scent of his cologne that was so familiar yet still had the ability to turn me on.

“About how lucky I am to be with you,” I confessed. “And about how much I love you.”

Logan’s blue eyes softened and he reached up to cup my face and brush his thumb against my cheek. “I’ve waited so long for this, Maddie. Now that we’re finally together, my imagination of what it would be like pales in comparison to reality.” He leaned down and lightly brushed my lips in a whisper of a kiss. His mouth moved to graze my cheek and then he whispered in my ear, “I’ll love you forever.”

My heart squeezed at his words, and I dropped my head forward to lean it against his chest. No matter how many times he said it, the exhilaration I felt from Logan saying he loved me never waned. I wanted to freeze this moment in time and live in it forever. It didn’t matter that we were in a noisy bar and surrounded by drunk strangers. I felt a profound happiness in that moment, and I never wanted it to end.

Logan moved his hand to lift my chin so that I was staring into his eyes. The mixture of love and desire I saw in them made my chest tighten. My eyes fluttered closed as he leaned down, and his gentle kiss soon increased in intensity. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed into him, opening my mouth as pure, hot desire blotted out any other thought in my mind. I forgot about the people around us as our tongues stroked one another and our kiss grew feverish. Logan pulled my body tight against his and I could feel his arousal grow. My hips seemed to have a mind of their own as they pushed against his hard length, rubbing up and down.

Reality intruded when I heard someone hooting and hollering, and I immediately broke the kiss, fearing that we were making a spectacle of ourselves. I was breathing heavily as I glanced behind Logan, and was relieved that the dance crowd was just getting rowdier. No one had noticed us. I was thankful again for the dim lighting in the bar.

“I thought that catcalling was for us,” I said with a laugh of relief. “Fortunately, we could probably strip naked and do the deed here and no one would notice with everything else going on.”

That gleam I had noticed earlier in Logan’s eye was back and I swallowed hard. Logan had pushed my sexual boundaries until I didn’t know if I even had limits anymore. It was amazing how tender and loving he could be in one moment, and then forceful and commanding the next when it came to our lovemaking. But doing anything in public was definitely something that had never appealed to me.

“Care to try?”

I laughed, not fully believing he was serious. “Sure, why don’t we just start a full on orgy.”

Logan raised an eyebrow. “That would require me sharing you, and I don’t share.”

I pushed at his shoulder playfully. “Sure, okay. Now give me some room to breathe before I pass out from lack of oxygen.”