She sat up, pulling her feet away from Logan’s hands. “What if she’s a mole for Ryan? What if he planted her in the office, to keep track of me, of us?”
Logan shook his head. “If it’s true, it explains a great deal of things. But was she listening with her ear to your door? How would she know what we said on the phone?”
“Victoria can listen to my calls, from her desk. Melissa could as well. The phones are set up that way. With Melissa, we’d have conference calls through that system. But all Victoria has to do is press the mute button, hit the extension line I’m on and listen in. There’s nothing on my phone that even shows whether she’s listening.”
“So any conversations we’ve had, she might have heard, and then repeated them to Ryan?”
Melody nodded and swallowed hard. Logan’s face was suffused with the same anger she’d seen in Ryan’s office and she was startled by its intensity. I never want to be on the receiving end of that anger…ever.
“Bastard. Fucking bastard. Is there nothing he wouldn’t do to hurt you? I wish now I would have hit him again.”
Melody shook her head in disbelief. “I’m stunned…if it’s true. Remember, I really don’t have solid proof, just a whole bunch of coincidences and hunches. Nothing solid. But I think we need to be more careful, not only of Ryan, but of everyone else.”
“Aye. I agree. We lay low.”
He turned to Melody. “And among the ‘everyone else’, there’s Claire. She’s called again this afternoon, left another message.” His cell phone was lying on the coffee table, looking innocent enough. But Melody knew it was a ticking time bomb.
“We should listen to them, Logan. You can’t avoid her forever.”
Logan picked up his cell phone, flipping open the display. After a moment he set the phone between them on the couch. At the sound of the woman’s voice, as the lilting Scottish accent filled the room, Melody’s hands went cold, her body numb, as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over her head.
‘Logan…it’s Claire. Please…I know you’re there. Pick up…please.’
“That was today, in your office. This was later.” Logan tapped a button on the phone.
‘Logan. Please. I know you’re avoiding me, but we have to talk. It’s important. Please call. I need to talk to you. There’s something you need to know.’
Logan picked up his phone, flipping the display closed. “Well, nothing much there.”
“Will you call her? Or answer her call?”
Logan’s nonchalant shrug belied the tension in his body. “I will, I suppose. I just don’t want to hear how much she loves me and all that bullshit, or how she wants me back.”
Melody was silent, the echo of Claire’s voice in her mind.
“And then there’s the pain it’ll cause you…already is causing you. I can see it in your face, in your eyes.” He slid across the couch, pulling her against him.
“Even though I tell ye I love ye, you’ll have doubts. It’s just the way the mind works. The heart knows, but the mind plays tricks on ye.”
He held her hand, tracing the lines on her palm. “You’re in my heart, Melody and nothing will take that away. Nothing. She’s of the past, ye ken. And all her asking or pleading won’t bring her into my life…our life.”
His fingers were beneath her chin, tilting her face to his. “Ye believe me, don’t you, Melody? I don’t like seeing you like this, knowing that something from my past is playing a part in how you feel.”
“I know…and I believe you. I do. And you’re right. My mind is going in a thousand directions, none of them good. And none of them the right way.”
“Then let’s just leave it for now. You’ve had a horrible day and I’ve missed ye.”
He kissed her gently at first, and she tried to let her mind follow her body, to let the touch of his lips, then his hands as he moved them over her body, and later, the feel of him beside her in bed sooth her mind, ease her fears.
And he did sooth her mind, while deliciously exciting her body. Melody let herself be wrapped in Logan’s arms, her legs around his waist, their bodies moving as one. When she arched against him, opened herself fully to him, every worry she had was erased in the swell of passion, of love, in the physical release she felt.
It wasn’t until later, after they’d recovered, lying in the dark listening to Logan’s slow breaths that the fears came back. It wasn’t only Ryan, an insidious presence, but somehow easier to deal with than the nebulous fear that Claire had instilled in her heart. Even with Logan’s reassurance that the past was just that, there was a dull empty feeling inside her.
She lay awake a long time, the window turning from black to felted gray to a dim yellow as dawn approached. When Logan stirred beside her, she was still awake.
“Morning…” His voice was sleep-roughened, sexy and husky, and she turned to him, burying her face against his shoulder. Tears she’d thought she’d pushed aside rose to the surface, and Logan held her as she cried against him.
“Melody, what is it?” He gently pulled her away from him, pressing her back against the pillow.
“Have ye slept at all? What is it?” The concern in his voice and on his face made her heart swell with love, made the empty feeling grow smaller.
“I’m…it’s just…not knowing is worse than knowing what Claire wants.” The words tumbled out in a rush.
“I just want to know what it is she’s after. I can’t know how to think about something if I don’t know what it is.”
Logan’s mouth curved into a smile but the warmth of it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He lay back on his pillow, pulling her against him. She curled into the protective crook of his arm, her hand on his chest. He covered hers with his, wrapping his fingers around hers.
“I know…I understand. But don’t let it eat at you, Melody. We’ll find out and then we’ll both know. Whatever it is, it won’t change what’s between us. I won’t let it.”
He turned to her, his gaze intent on hers. “You believe me when I say that, don’t you?”
She nodded, sniffling. “I do. It’s just…in the dark, it’s harder to believe.”
“Go to sleep. It’s not dark any more.” He pulled her to his chest and she rested her head on his shoulder.
“Sing to me, Logan. Sing me a song.”
“Aye. A song. Any one in particular?”
She closed her eyes. “Something in Gaelic, something I don’t need to understand to like. If that makes sense.”
He laughed softly. “I know what you mean.”
She fell asleep with the dawn breaking outside, listening to Logan’s soft singing. She knew it wasn’t the song from the pub, the song about home. The melody was different, the few words she might recognize not there. But she drifted off, Logan’s arm around her, his body warm against hers.
* * *
Melody woke with a jolt. The bed was empty and for a fleeting instant she thought Logan had left. She sat up, clutching the sheet, searching his pillow for the note she’d hoped he’d left.
But the sound of the shower brought her fully awake. She lay back, her heart thudding in her chest. This has got to stop.
She was still sitting up in bed when Logan came into the room from the bathroom. Even with just a towel wrapped around his hips—or maybe because of the towel—he radiated charisma.
“Hey…” She lay back, stretching beneath the sheet, letting it slide from one shoulder.
Logan stood at the foot of the bed. “I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”
“Uh-uh…I woke up on my own. But I missed you.” She arched her back and the sheet slid further, revealing the curve of one breast.
“You did? Imagine that.” Logan’s mouth turned up in his characteristic charming grin and he stood, hands on hips, watching her improvised strip tease with the sheet.
His hair was still damp, curling around his face. Melody let her eyes wander down his body, lingering on the towel, before traveling back to meet his gaze. She thought she saw a not-so-subtle movement beneath the towel.
“I did. And I think you miss me too.” She raised a questioning eyebrow. Logan walked slowly to her side of the bed, just out of arm’s reach, taking hold of the edge of the sheet. Slowly he tugged it away from Melody’s body, revealing more of her, his eyes traveling over her body as the sheet moved lower.
“I did miss you…taking a shower alone is no fun. And I want you very much.” He tugged the sheet past her hips.
“And I think you want me.”
By the time he’d uncovered her feet, Melody’s breathing was fast and shallow, her lips parted, heart racing. Logan dropped the sheet on the floor, leaving her nak*d on the bed.
Her eyes strayed back to Logan’s towel, now barely concealing exactly how much he wanted her.
“Do you want me, Melody?” His voice was low, teasing, so seductive it sent a ripple through her body. She nodded.
Logan pulled the towel away from his hips, dropping it to the floor with the sheet. She held out her arms and he climbed onto the bed, kneeling between Melody’s legs.
“Say it…say you want me.” Logan bent forward, hands planted on either side of her shoulders.
“I want you, Logan. Now…”
Logan sat back, holding her gaze a moment longer.
Then he was pulling her toward him, fingers digging into her hips, sliding up his thighs, taking her so fast she cried out in surprise.
He was rough and sensual and dominant. And she surrendered to him, letting him control everything, letting go completely, letting him use her while giving her so much in return.
At the end she clung to him, as he knelt, hands splayed across her back, holding her hard against his chest. She rode the waves of her release, head back, arms around his neck as Logan buried his face in her br**sts, his noises muffled against her skin. He trembled as he held her, his body taut as a wire, as he shook with the force of his release.
He finally lowered her gently to the bed, collapsing beside her. She stroked his back, tracing her fingers along his shoulders and down his spine, over and over, until he rolled onto his side.
“I suppose then you’ll be wanting more of that later. That being so grand and all.”
She laughed, swatting his arm. “You’re full of yourself today, aren’t you?”
“That I am. And it’s a good feeling.” Logan pulled her down, kissing her hard. When he finally broke the kiss and spoke, his voice was serious, but the glint of laughter was still evident in his eyes.
“But you will be wanting more, yes? Because I know I will.”
* * *
It was late Sunday when Melody finally got ready to leave for her apartment. They’d skirted around the subject of Claire, Logan reluctant to either answer her calls or return them, and Melody decided she’d rather enjoy the little bubble of peace Logan had created for her than think about it. It’ll still be there Monday, whatever it is she wants.