Fuel to the Fire

by Kait Gamble

  He lowered his eyebrows as he turned to face her as well. “Why? I think we’ve moved past that now.”

  Jackie couldn’t stop the scowl from dragging her mouth downward. “Why, because we’ve had sex?”

  He returned her expression with a wry smirk. “More than just sex, Jackie, and you know it.”

  “It’s been what it’s always been like between us.” That, at least, was the truth.

  Logan gripped one of her hands between his. “It’s as though nothing has changed.”

  Jackie bit her lip as she drew her hand away. “Exactly.”

  Biting back a snarl, he pulled away and began searching for his clothes. Why was she being so infuriating? Why wouldn’t she talk to him just a little?

  He stepped into his trousers and threw on his shirt.

  Why did he care? This was supposed to be about sex. Simple. But would it hurt her to just admit that when they had sex it was extraordinary? That it meant more?

  He gritted his teeth and jammed his feet into his shoes.

  What truly aggravated him was that she sat there and watched him get dressed without a word. As though she didn’t care whether he left or not.

  Maybe she didn’t?

  The thought that she couldn’t care less that he was angry and leaving incensed him further.

  “Jackie.”

  She hesitated but finally met his gaze.

  “What are you keeping from me?”

  She just stared at him and shook her head. What made it worse was the anguish in them as she told him, “Please go, Logan.”

  What choice did he have but to leave?

  Logan glared at her before striding out and slamming the door behind him with a resounding bang.

  Chapter Eight

  Jackie stared at the darkening sky from the sun lounger on her deck. Logan was long gone and she wasn’t sure if she’d be seeing him again after his angry departure.

  He hadn’t changed in that respect. Still bullheaded and determined to get what he wanted. Obviously, her feelings or thoughts on the matter didn’t figure into the equation.

  He had simply grabbed his clothes, slung them on and stormed out. Very much the Logan she remembered.

  The clouds were still darker than the sky and patched it in wispy streaks, creating fanciful shapes. A few stars pricked through the inkiness to twinkle faintly.

  Taking a long breath, she inhaled the fresh air and just let her limbs hang loosely. For the first time since she arrived, she felt calm considering what she was dealing with.

  She didn’t want to talk about the past. What had happened, had. Nothing they could say now would change that. Why couldn’t he let it go and just let them enjoy themselves?

  Because his goals had changed.

  As far as she could tell, he wanted to take things further and wanted to make amends for the past. There wasn’t much he could do to make things up to her. And getting back together with him was out of the question. They had a good time in bed and out, but when things took a serious turn… That’s when it all fell apart.

  She didn’t want to go through that again.

  Jackie couldn’t.

  It was probably best if she ended things now. But she was so weak when it came to Logan. Hadn’t their time together proven that? He was like an addiction she didn’t want to quit.

  Perhaps it was time to throw herself into her bridesmaid duties.

  It made sense, after all that’s what she was there for. She needed to be a better friend to Caroline.

  With that plan in place in her head, Jackie settled back in her seat.

  Now for the follow-through.

  * * * *

  Logan paced his room, though it did nothing to alleviate the frustration and anger coursing through him.

  He wasn’t going to get anywhere with Jackie stonewalling him. He doubted he’d get anything from Caroline.

  But Charles…

  Couples getting married talked, didn’t they? Caroline might have talked about Jackie.

  Logan sighed. Was he really going to go and interrogate a man he barely knew on the eve of his wedding? It was crazy.

  But he was grasping at straws. He would have to use a little stealth and a lot of charm if he was going to get anything out of Charles and not come across like a crazed stalker.

  But why wouldn’t Jackie talk to him about what happened? Had he done something wrong? Had she? If she had, what would be so bad as to warrant her wanting to end things? The worst thing in his mind was cheating. But Jackie wouldn’t have cheated on him any more than he would have on her. While they had been together, all others had been eclipsed by Jackie and Logan wanted to believe it had been the same for her.

  So what had happened? Her parents? Her father had certainly taken enough joy in telling him that Jackie didn’t want anything to do with him ever again.

  Had that been the truth? Logan was beginning to distrust his own memories. The way Jackie was behaving definitely shrouded what he’d thought had happened in doubt. She hurt, and that gnawed at his gut.

  It was time to find out the truth.

  * * * *

  The sun painted the outside world gold as Logan headed to the restaurant where he knew everyone congregated for breakfast. So far, he hadn’t joined them simply because he didn’t really know anyone and didn’t feel too inclined to change that fact.

  But if he wanted information, he had to make nice with them.

  Even if it made him feel like a fraud.

  When he loped in, he was greeted by curious gazes, which he ignored. Logan made his way to the table filled with groomsmen and took a seat. Luckily, it was across from Charles.

  “Morning.”

  They accepted his gruff greeting with amusement. Charles in particular grinned.

  “Had a rough night?”

  Did he look that bad? It wasn’t surprising, considering he hadn’t gotten any sleep. He grunted something that the others took as ‘Why, yes. I had woman trouble’ because they all shuffled closer with expressions of curiosity and commiseration on their faces.

  “Have some juice.” Charles pushed a drink toward him that smelled suspiciously like it contained more vodka than orange juice.

  He took it anyway. “Thanks.”

  Doug nudged him. “So what happened? Was it something to do with your hot ex? You know, she’s so prim and proper, I bet she’s a wildcat between the sheets.”

  The fact that the man had even considered what Jackie was like in bed made him want to twist his head off, but he shook it off and took a swig of the so-called orange juice.

  “I knew it!” Charles declared triumphantly. The rest of the men shared looks of commiseration. “We’ve all been there.”

  One of the men, Logan knew him as Phil, grinned lasciviously. “Let me guess. You had a hot night and now she wants more?”

  “Not exactly.” He wasn’t even in the ballpark. If they knew what he and Jackie had been up to their heads would have exploded.

  He wasn’t going to get anywhere with these idiots around. “Can I talk to you, Charles? Privately?”

  There were groans from around the table when a quizzical-looking Charles nodded his assent. “Of course.” He grabbed his drink and led the way to a secluded table well away from prying eyes.

  They slid into opposing seats. For a long moment, they just stared at each other while Logan tried to formulate the questions in a way that didn’t make him come across as Crazy Stalker Ex.

  “So… What’s up?” Charles paled a little. “You’re not going to back out of the wedding over your ex, are you? I can swap you with another woman if you need.”

  Logan shook his head. “It’s nothing like that.” At least not yet.

  “So?”

  “I wanted to know if Caroline said anything to you about me and Jackie in the past.”

  Charles frowned. “Not really. After the shock reunion the other day, she said you two had a past and that was about it. Then she read me the riot act for not telli
ng her I recruited you and blah, blah, blah.”

  Logan didn’t have the patience to listening to his blathering. “Nothing about why we broke up before?”

  Charles lowered his pale eyebrows until they met in a confused furrow. “No. Should she have?”

  Logan shook his head.

  “Look, if you two hooked up and it’s getting a bit messy, just let her know who’s the boss and that if it’s not going to happen, that’s all there is to it.”

  Logan sat there letting it sink in and it dawned on him that not only had Charles gotten it completely backward, he had as well. Jackie was the one who didn’t want to take anything further. So what did that make him? The woman in their relationship? What Charles said did make sense, though, and it had been what she had told him.

  Jackie drew the line and expected him to be a grown up about it and respect that. And what had he done?

  Been an asshole.

  He downed the rest of the drink. “Thanks for that. I’ve got to run.”

  Charles looked at him quizzically. “Don’t you ever eat?”

  “When I have time.” He got up and nodded his goodbye.

  “We’ve got the rehearsal dinner tonight. You’ll show up for that at least, right?”

  Logan barely heard him. “Yeah. No problem.”

  He hastily jogged along the halls and pathways until he found himself in front of Jackie’s door. How to commence groveling without actually looking like he was begging for forgiveness?

  He knocked and waited.

  Would Jackie even answer?

  He waited a moment longer, but when there was no answer, fear fluttered in his chest. Would she have left? He doubted Jackie would let Caroline down like that. Much like himself, Jackie did seem to prefer hiding out in her room to joining in with the others. So if she wasn’t there, where was she?

  He vaguely wondered if he would find her in the spa once again. Blood rushed to his cock at the thought of repeating their last visit. Perhaps they could find something new to do there.

  Logan pulled out his phone and, with no qualms, accessed the hotel security cameras with a few flicks and a secure login. There was some advantage to running the security to the hotel. He knew he was skirting a fine line with what he was doing, and that Jackie would probably be horrified if she found out what he was doing. But it wasn’t like he was invading anyone’s privacy, he only took a look at the feeds from the cameras in the common areas, after all. It gave him enough to track her out onto the beach.

  He logged out and followed the path Jackie had taken out into the sunshine. It wasn’t long before he found her.

  She wore the same one piece suit from before, but had covered up her delicious ass with a sarong. A detail he was glad for. There was a primitive part of his brain that didn’t want anyone else seeing her.

  It was ridiculous since she wasn’t with him. He didn’t own her. But the thought of any other man getting a glimpse of her ass—or any other part of her for that matter—drove him nuts.

  Logan took a slow breath as he approached. “Hey, Jackie.”

  She started and turned to face him. Even though he couldn’t see her eyes behind the dark sunglasses, he could tell she was on guard from her stance. Her shoulders were tight, her jaw obstinate. Jackie looked like she was ready to punch him if she had to.

  That was new.

  Jackie was the gentlest person he’d ever known. For her to want to strike out was the ultimate in her last lines of defense.

  The realization that she was so on guard made him sick to his stomach. He slowed and put up his hands. “I just want to talk. And to apologize for my behavior last night.”

  Jackie’s posture relaxed somewhat, but he doubted he had her convinced.

  He took a step closer. “I just wanted you to know that you’re in the driver’s seat. I’m just along for the ride. I realize that I’ve been acting like a total asshole. All I’ve been caring about is what I wanted. I should have paid more attention to your wants and needs.”

  “Yeah, you should have.”

  At least she was speaking to him. He took a breath and carried on. “I’m not going to say that I don’t have questions. What we have between us is rare. And you and I both know it. But something happened between us years ago, and I want to know what it was that drove us apart.”

  Jackie inhaled to rebut, but he shook his head. “I won’t force you to answer. If you never do, I’ll just have to live with it. I just want to spend time with you. And when our time’s up and you want to end it… I won’t be happy, but I’ll accept it.”

  Jackie stared at him. He was saying all the right things. But could she believe him? Why should she?

  To be truthful, he might have been a jerk about things, but she knew what his temper was like. And his focus. When Logan Forrester wanted something, he would do whatever it took to get it.

  But she also knew he was a man of his word. If he said he would drop it, he would, even if it killed him.

  “I would like to spend time together.” She stepped closer and studied his eyes, though she wasn’t sure what she was searching for. “I do agree with you that what we have is something unique. But I’m not about to forget about everything else just to have it for a short while. We’re here for our friends’ wedding. That should be our priority.”

  “You’re right. Though they’re more your friends than mine. I’m just involved because they were short a man.” He shrugged. “I was reminded that we have the rehearsal dinner tonight? When’s the practice wedding scheduled to happen?”

  “Tomorrow morning. At ten.” And not a moment later—Caroline had a schedule that nothing short of an act of God would change.

  “Wonderful.” He sounded anything but thrilled.

  Jackie wasn’t sure what to say next. In lieu of standing and staring at him dumbly, she started walking. She knew he would fall in step beside her, and he did. They ambled for a while and they made it to the waterline before she looked at him again.

  Logan’s brow was furrowed and his jaw rigid. He stared stonily at the water, as if it could answer his questions if he intimidated it enough.

  Logan was a handsome man. Tall, broad shouldered, classical features. He could have been a sculpture. The breeze riffled his hair and softly wafted his scent to her. It was like everything about him was engineered to derail her brain and whip her hormones into a frenzy.

  He must have felt her gaze on him because he turned his beautiful eyes to her. “What?”

  “Nothing.” She sighed. “So when you say spend time together, what exactly do you mean? Like, as a couple?”

  “If that’s what you want. If you want to keep it light, I’m good with that too. Like I said, I just want to spend time with you to get to know you again.”

  That sounded both wonderful and pointless. “What good would it do, Logan? We’d just get attached to one another again and…”

  “And what?” he challenged.

  It would be more excruciating than the last time they had to part ways? “It might not be the smartest idea.”

  Logan wrapped his arms around her. “I never claimed to be a smart man.”

  Jackie couldn’t deny that she enjoyed the sensation of him cocooned around her. She felt warm. Protected. Safe.

  Jackie chuckled into his chest. “Neither am I, it seems.”

  “What I want is another chance. We were good together once. We still are in a lot of ways. I just want to find out if we can go the distance this time around.”

  She stared up at him, straight in the eyes. “Okay.” With a trial period so short, nothing could really develop between them. It would at least leave her heart intact this time.

  Logan shifted to hold her from behind like he always used to. Arms secure around her shoulders and his chin light on the top of her head. She could almost imagine that they were the same kids who believed they would be together forever and happily ride off into the sunset.

  They stayed that way for a long time simply star
ing at the surf. If Jackie hadn’t known better she would have thought he was trying to learn what she wanted through osmosis.

  Logan pressed his nose against her hair and sighed. “So what do you want to do until we have to grace them with our presence at the dinner?”

  “What else is there to do?”

  “There’s an aquarium.” He lowered his head to whisper in her ear. “Or we could go to the spa again. There are many rooms there we haven’t violated yet.”

  Heat blossomed, unfurling low in her belly to envelop her body. That certainly had its possibilities. “Why don’t you set that up while we check out the aquarium?”

  Logan grinned. “You got it.”

  Jackie had wondered where they could possibly put an aquarium in the hotel. Logan led the way with a secretive smile on his face the entire time. He knew how much she loved the ocean and seeing the creatures living there. There was just something so soothing about the blue of the water and watching the animals swim. If she could have, Jackie would spend all her time in the ocean.

  Logan followed a path that led them deeper into the hotel and, at the same time, the mountain.

  Confused, Jackie looked at him. “Did we take a wrong turn somewhere?”

  Logan chuckled and shook his head. “Nope. Just keep walking.”

  What choice did she have when he had her pinned to his side and he continued?

  Jackie got the impression that not only were they going farther into the bedrock, but they were also descending. Yet somehow the lighting stayed bright and natural and the air fresh. She didn’t know how they did it, but it was incredible.

  But her breath caught when they reached what could only be their destination.

  The lighting had dimmed, giving the cavern-like space a mysterious blue glow. The only way she could figure the engineers did it was they cut off the side of the mountain and replaced it with an immense pane of glass. It gave them an unprecedented glimpse into the world outside.

  Fingers of light filtered through the water to act almost like a spotlight on the brilliantly colored fish and coral. It was the next best thing to actually being out there in the water.