Of Loss & Betrayal (Madison & Logan 2)

Logan shrugged. “My co-worker mentioned it got a bit wild here, so I figured whatever happened, happened.”

I gave him a skeptical look, but thoughts of his motives disappeared when I saw him raise his beer to his mouth.

“Wait!” I exclaimed. “That’s the beer you…” I trailed off, not knowing how to phrase it.

“The beer that I fucked you with?” Logan finished for me, his eyebrow raised. I nodded my head, feeling myself blush. He took a sip of his beer slowly as he watched me. I was mesmerized by his lips on the bottle that had moments before been inside me. It was both titillating and a little embarrassing.

When he lowered the bottle, he leaned down to drop a kiss on my lips. “That’s the best beer I’ve ever tasted. I’ll have to get some more later tonight, straight from the source.”

I smacked his arm but couldn’t deny the thrill that went through me. I would never tire of this. We could be so full of passion in one moment, and then silly and playful in the next. It was am

azing and soul satisfying being with Logan and I couldn’t imagine my life without him.

After we finished our beers, we’d had enough of the crowd and decided to go home. I was shivering when we got into the car, although Logan immediately blasted the heat. I made a mental note to never to wear a skirt in winter again, even with boots. I smiled to myself at the thought. Things would have been a lot less fun tonight if I had been wearing pants.

It was a quick drive back to Logan’s apartment. We spent most weekends at his place since it was bigger, although the weekdays were split between my place and his. We spent almost all of our free time together, and Logan had tried to convince me on more than one occasion to move in with him, but I was hesitant. I still felt the need to have my own space, because despite being deliriously happy with Logan, there was a part of me that was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I couldn’t shake the feeling that the universe wouldn’t allow me to be so happy because of my past misdeeds, and sooner or later the anvil would drop. It was a morbid way to think, but I couldn’t dismiss the thought.

Despite the negative thoughts that sometimes crept into my mind, on the whole, I was finally coming to terms with it being okay that Logan and I were together. I was able to separate the past, where guilt weighed me down for what had happened with Cassie, from my future, which was more optimistic.

“Do you want a drink?” Logan asked, when we were back inside his apartment. The warmth of being indoors was a relief as I took off my boots and stretched out onto the couch.

“Sure, why not,” I said, although my eyelids were already feeling heavy as I sank into the couch cushions. The beer I had drunk at the bar was making me drowsy and our little interlude had made me even more tired.

By the time Logan came into the living room with a glass of wine, I was half asleep. My eyes fluttered open when I heard his footsteps.

“Thanks,” I said as he set it on the coffee table. He sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. I leaned into him, nuzzling into his chest and sighing contentedly.

“Tired?” he asked as he dropped a kiss on my head.

“Mmm,” I replied, not having the energy to say anything else. The warmth of Logan’s body was soothing, lulling me to sleep.

“I forgot to mention earlier that I have to go to L.A. next week. I’ve been doing off-site consulting with the clients I handed over when I transferred back here, but there are some complicated issues that I really need to be present for, to handle in person.”

My eyes shot open, my fatigue disappearing. L.A. only meant one thing to me—Kristina. I hadn’t heard a thing from her since she left Chicago to go back to L.A., after she had been shattered by Logan breaking up with her. As far as I knew, Logan hadn’t had any contact with her either. I had never outright asked him, but I assumed that he knew better than to have anything to do with her. But now that Logan was actually going to be in the same city as her, I felt doubt and anxiety creep up. I decided that instead of letting it fester and make myself crazy, I would just straight out ask him.

“I can’t help but think of Kristina when I hear L.A.,” I started carefully, not wanting Logan to think I was accusing him of anything. “I have to admit that it makes me a little uncomfortable that you’re going there. How long will you be there?”

Logan gave my shoulder a light squeeze. “I’m flying out Monday morning and I should be back by Friday. And there’s nothing to worry about. Kristina is a part of my past, nothing more.”

I should have been relieved by his response, but the tension in my body didn’t dissipate. “You’ll be gone almost the whole week,” I said with a frown.

“You could always come with me.”

For a moment, my anxiety lifted at the prospect of going to L.A. with Logan, but then I shook my head. “I can’t. I promised Emily that I would dogsit for her next week because she’s going to be in New York for work.”

Emily had recently adopted a dog from a shelter that had become the love her life, but the dog was deathly afraid of strangers; to the point where she peed when people she didn’t know came into the apartment. I was one of the few people the dog actually liked, besides Emily, and I knew no one else could watch her.

The corners of Logan’s mouth turned down at my refusal. “Can’t she ask somebody else to dogsit or put her in a kennel? It seems ridiculous to not come to L.A. because of a dog.”

Irritation flared at his words and I sat up to face him. He was the one that had just sprung this L.A. trip on me, yet he was getting annoyed that I wasn’t willing to drop my prior obligation. As much as I wanted to go with Logan, and as much peace of mind it would give me about Kristina, there was no way I was going to flake on Emily.

“Emily asked me weeks ago to dogsit Lola. You know Lola is scared of strangers, and you’re suggesting we just throw her in a kennel where she knows no one? You’re the one who’s just telling me now about the L.A. trip. It’s pretty crappy that you’re giving me a hard time about not being able to go with you.”

My annoyance was clear in my tone of voice, and Logan put up his hands up in surrender. “Sorry. It just seemed like the perfect idea for you to come with me and I was disappointed. I know Emily is counting on you to watch Lola.” Logan gave me a placating smile that was full of boyish charm, meant to disarm me. “I’ll miss you.”

I laughed at his blatant attempt to get me back in good humor, and I allowed it to work. Logan pulled me up from the couch and carried me into the bedroom. I was too tired to do anything besides sleep, and Logan seemed to read my mind and just held me close in bed. I drifted off to sleep contentedly and was almost able to push the worry about Kristina out of my head. Almost.

Chapter Two