“Claire, I want you to move in with me.”
Claire blinked in surprise at Logan’s sudden shift in conversation. They’d been in the midst of discussing something. What had they been talking about, anyway? His words had her so rattled that she’d completely forgotten already. But whatever it was, it certainly hadn’t been living arrangements.
She paused in the glow of a streetlight to look up at him. They were walking back to the hotel after a delicious dinner at the café they’d visited for lunch the previous day. The sun was still visible just above the edge of town, over Logan’s shoulder, a blazing pink ball amid the periwinkle sky.
“What do you mean, Logan?”
A rueful grin kicked up the corner of his sulky mouth. “I think it should be self-explanatory.”
“It is,” she agreed. “What I really meant was why?”
“Again, that seems pretty self-explanatory.”
“So humor me and explain anyway,” she said dryly.
He looked distinctly uncomfortable, tugging at his earlobe and then tunneling his hand through his hair. “You’re carrying my baby.”
“And?” she prompted, her brow raised.
“And I want to know you’re safe and not have to worry about you.”
It wasn’t exactly a declaration. Claire frowned at him. “I’m perfectly safe at Sophie’s.” She resumed walking, hoping he would simply allow the matter to drop. An argument would definitely ruin the tentative truce they’d achieved. And Claire didn’t really want to argue with Logan. She just wanted to be with him, as close to him as possible.
“Damn it.” Logan snagged her elbow and forced her to stop and turn back to him. He looked incredibly sexy with the horizon’s glow illuminating him, his black hair an unruly halo about his head.
She had to steel herself against his potent allure, against the incredible pull she felt for him. “Let’s not discuss this now,” she urged, trying desperately to keep the peace.
“I think we need to discuss this now.” His gaze was dark and intense on hers. “I want you to move in with me.”
“So you already said.” She pulled her arm from his grasp, her patience wearing thin. “But I don’t want to move in with you, and in case you’ve forgotten, your little contract is null and void.”
“Screw the damn contract,” he bit out. “This is important. I’ve been thinking about it, and I want to be a bigger part of the baby’s life. There’s no reason why you can’t live with me. You’re unattached. I’m the father of your child. What more is there?”
“What more is there?” she echoed. “Well, only my feelings, but who cares about them, right? How could I forget that the only person who matters is Logan Monroe?”
Angry now, she stalked away from him, crossing the street without bothering to look both ways. She didn’t want to be a burden to Logan. Was he with her now simply because of the baby, because he felt like he had no choice? Claire hated the thought of it. Trapping him had never been her intention.
Tears threatened her vision, rendering it a blurry maze of lights and color. Pausing, she attempted to regain her composure. Logan approached her from behind. She could feel his presence, smell his scent. The urge to turn and throw herself into his arms was strong, but she forced herself to refrain.
“I didn’t want to trap you, Logan,” she told him, still unable to face him.
“Trap me?” he asked, his hands gently on her waist, spinning her around so she had no choice but to look up into his gorgeous face. The expression he wore softened. “Is that what you think, Claire? That I feel trapped?”
“Don’t you?” Her eyes searched his for an answer.
“Of course not.” Logan flashed her a crooked smile, his hands tightening. “I know we didn’t plan this baby, but that doesn’t matter to me. I’ve felt a hell of a lot of things since you told me you were pregnant, but trapped was never one of them.”
To her utter mortification, she felt a tear slip down her cheek. She tried to dash it away, but Logan beat her to it, catching the drop on the tip of his thumb. “I’ve never cried so much in my life as I have lately,” she offered weakly. “I cry at commercials.”
“I’m an ass. I lied to you.”
“What do you mean?” Her heart hammered against her chest.
“I don’t want you to move in with me just so that I know you’re safe.” He brushed the backs of his fingers over her cheek. “I want to be with you. Every day. When you get a cramp in your leg like you did this afternoon, I want to be there to rub it. When the baby kicks, I want to be there to feel it. It’s not about feeling trapped, it’s about wanting to share this with you.” He paused, a wry grin curving his sensual mouth. “There. I said it. I’m a selfish bastard.”
“No.” Claire reached up and cradled his face. “You’re not.” She felt dangerously close to tears again, so she reached up on tiptoes to press a kiss to his mouth instead. “You’re not.”
And it was true. She’d been so convinced he only thought of himself, and she’d been terribly wrong. Logan had proved to be a caring father already, and the baby wasn’t due for another four months. The way he spoke of Eunice Withers, the way he took care of Derek, giving his friend a place to stay to recover. The way he noticed that she kept fresh flowers in her office. It all spoke volumes to her.
“But I am,” Logan whispered against her mouth. “Because all I want is to keep you to myself forever.”
He deepened the kiss, practically curling Claire’s toes. His words sent pleasure skittering over her body. She felt the exact same way, if she was brutally honest with herself. She never wanted their weeklong idyll to end. Being with Logan, making love with him, relaxing with him, laughing with him, it was all just so magical, so unlike anything she’d ever experienced with Garrett. It was intense and heady, and she wanted more, that elusive more Logan had talked about that day in his office. She didn’t know what it meant yet, but she knew she wanted to chase it. To follow it wherever it would take her.
“I think we should get back to the hotel,” Logan murmured, ending the kiss at last.
“Fast,” she agreed.
Logan was in trouble. A hell of a lot of trouble.
Because in the span of a week, he had fallen completely under Claire’s spell. He couldn’t get enough of her. They’d spent their week together like a pair of teenagers, laughing, lounging at the nearby beach, making love every chance they got. But he still didn’t want to let her out of his sight. He didn’t want to leave their hotel room, to acknowledge that their week together was at an end.
Claire stood at the window, the gauzy, white drapes and early-morning sunlight shining through its panes lending her an angelic air. The pull to her was magnetic. Logan was helplessly drawn, crossing the room and sliding his arms around her. She wore her long, blonde hair down in lush curls about her shoulders. He buried his nose in those gleaming curls, breathing deeply. Christ, even her hair smelled like vanilla. Logan didn’t think he’d ever be able to smell the scent of vanilla again without getting a hard-on.
Claire put her hands atop his, leaning back into him, her firm derriere pressed against his already aching groin. “Do we really have to leave?”
Logan smiled, nuzzling her neck. “I feel the same way.”
Being here with her like this, his hands pressed to the soft curve of her belly, his lips against her neck, was pure heaven. He knew in that moment he’d never been happier in his entire life. That the woman he was holding in his arms was solely responsible for that scared the shit out of him.
Trying to ignore the unsettling thoughts pervading his mind and focus instead on the incredibly soft skin of Claire’s neck, he kissed her below her ear, his tongue flicking out to taste her. This, he could handle.
“Logan?”
He kissed the point where her neck met her shoulder. “Hmm?”
“Thank you for this week.” Her voice was quiet and sexy as hell.
A smile curved his lips. “I think I should be thanking y
ou, not the other way around. I had a hell of a time convincing you to come here with me.”
“I know.”
“You know I should be thanking you?” He paused and kissed the curve of her ear. “Or you know that I had a hell of a time convincing you?”
“Maybe a little of both.” Her fingers caressed delicate, tantalizing patterns on the tops of his hands. “But I’m glad you succeeded.”
“Me too,” he murmured, trying to keep his voice light. God, the word glad didn’t even begin to describe how he felt about it.
There was a silence between them for several minutes, but it was a comfortable one. Logan couldn’t recall when he had ever just held a woman like this, when holding a woman in his arms without it leading to sex had been enough. Not that he wouldn’t like to take Claire to bed right now, of course, but holding her felt just as incredible.
“I need to thank you for something else too,” she said, spinning in his arms to face him. Her lips glistened with his favorite lip gloss, and they distracted him for a moment.
He dipped his head and kissed her, parting her sweet lips with his tongue and delving inside the hot recesses of her mouth. Her tongue met his and he groaned. His hands went to her bottom, pressing her against his cock, but not as closely as he would have liked because of her belly. With a laugh, he pulled away, looking down at her, admiring her beauty.
“You were saying?” he asked, breathless.
Claire looked dazed for a moment, her gaze slightly unfocused as it settled on his. Her lips were satisfyingly swollen from their kiss. Logan grinned down at her.
“I was saying thank you,” she said at length, her voice husky. “For opening up to me this week. I know it’s not easy for you.”
Logan felt his grin slip a little and his body tense. She was right. Opening up to anyone, even Derek, was not necessarily easy for him. But it made him uncomfortable that she had noticed.
“Don’t,” Claire commanded gently, sliding her arms around his waist.
“Don’t what?” But he was being deliberately obtuse. He knew exactly what she meant, which brought him to the second thing that scared him shitless. That Claire seemed to know him better than he knew himself.
Damn it.
“Don’t get all distant with me. It’s too late for that and you know it.”
Again, she was right. “I’m just not good at this kind of thing,” he grumbled, feeling unaccountably embarrassed.
Claire gave him a soft smile that sent another shaft of heat directly to his already stiff dick. “I like that you’re trying it with me.”
Ah God, he was a goner. He leaned down to kiss her again but was stopped by her gasp of shock. Her hands flew to her belly, sending a sickening spear of alarm slicing through him.
“What is it? What’s the matter?” He gripped her wrists without realizing it, fear paralyzing him.
“Nothing.” A sudden, blinding smile lit up her face. “The baby moved.” She grabbed his hands and pressed them to her belly. “Feel.”
The fear subsided, replaced quickly by an incredible, gut-wrenching sense of awe. He looked down at his large hands splayed against the crisp white button-down shirt she wore, her small hands atop his. And then he felt it, their baby stirring against his fingertips.
He wanted to say something, but emotion choked him, rendering him completely speechless. His gaze flew to Claire’s and he knew she could see in his eyes the whirlwind of feelings sliding through him. Wonder. Love. Pride. He felt something wet slide down his cheek.
A tear, he realized. For the first time in his life, he was crying, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Claire leaned up to kiss him and his arms closed around her, crushing her against him. He felt like a drowning man being offered a life vest.
“Thank you for this,” he whispered hoarsely. “Thank you.”
When Logan pulled into Sophie’s driveway a few hours later and Claire spied the Volvo already parked there, the happy bubble surrounding her popped. Her parents.
Logan parked behind the Volvo and turned to Claire as he cut the engine. “Sophie has visitors?”
His gaze was inquisitive, but she knew he could sense the change that had come over her. She nodded, feeling miserable. “My mother and father.”
“Ah.” He raised a brow at her. “Something tells me you aren’t exactly pleased about them being here.”
“Maybe we should just go to your place for a little bit,” she suggested hopefully. Facing her mother was the last thing she felt like doing right now, especially since Anne had yet to discover that Logan was the baby’s father, not Garrett.
“If that’s what you want,” Logan said.
He was being so understanding about it, so uncharacteristically understanding, in fact, that it made her feel guilty. She wasn’t ashamed of Logan. So why should she hide him from her mother and father? Obviously they would have to meet at some point.
“No.” She stopped him with a hand. “On second thought, let’s just go inside.”
He studied her intently. “Are you sure?”
She nodded again, even though she wasn’t sure at all. But hiding wasn’t really an option. Was it? No, she told herself firmly, it wasn’t.
So she got out of the car and headed toward the trunk. Logan beat her to it, refusing to allow her to carry either her suitcase or her bag.
“I’m not incapacitated, you know,” she said pointedly, slamming the trunk closed.
He gave her a half-grin. “I didn’t say you were.”
Claire frowned at him. “No, but you act like you think I am.”
“No.” Logan’s grin escalated into a slow, heart-stoppingly sexy smile. “I act like I want to take care of you. Because I do.”
His words should have enraged the independent woman inside her. But they didn’t. In fact, they made her feel all warm and fluttery inside. Logan turned on his heel and headed for the house, leaving her no choice but to follow in his wake, stunned by him yet again.
Trevor was at the front door, holding it wide for Logan to enter. Still playing the part of chivalrous knight, Logan gestured for Claire to precede him and followed her inside the house. Trevor introduced himself to Logan, and the two men shook hands before Trevor pulled Claire aside.
“Your mother’s in the kitchen,” he whispered. “She doesn’t know you’re here, so you still have time to hide.”
Claire laughed and patted her brother-in-law’s shoulder. “Thanks for the heads-up, but I’m trying to be brave.”
Logan turned back to Claire. “I’ll take this up to your room for you.”
Claire thanked him and then focused on Trevor again. “Where’s Soph?”
“In the kitchen with your mother.”
“Where’s my dad?”
“Not here.” Trevor looked down at her, concern in his golden-brown eyes. “Golfing, I think. I can distract your mother if you want to go.”
“I have to face her some time,” Claire offered. “In fact, I might as well get it over with now. Can you keep Logan occupied for a couple minutes?”
At his assent, Claire headed for the kitchen and the showdown that was about to ensue with her mother. Anne looked typically perfect, her ice-blonde hair cropped in a chin-length bob, her makeup applied just right, her pantsuit a light blue that complemented her eyes. She was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping tea with Sophie when Claire entered.
“Well.” Anne looked up, setting her teacup in its saucer with a dissonant clink. “How was the trip you forgot to mention you were going on?”
Claire knew from the clipped tone of her mother’s voice that this wasn’t going to be pleasant. Steeling herself, she crossed the hardwood floor and sat next to her sister. Sophie gave her an apologetic look.
“The trip was amazing, Mom,” Claire finally said. “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to tell you about it. It was kind of a last-minute thing.”
“Was it business?” Anne asked coolly.
“No.”
“Clai
re.” Anne frowned at her. “I’m at my wit’s end with you. You’re having Garrett’s child and yet you go off on vacation with another man. What happened to you?”
“Mom,” Sophie chastised.
“It’s okay, Soph,” Claire said quietly. “I do owe her an explanation. Mom, things aren’t exactly the way you think they are. What I mean is—”
“Is he here?” Anne rose from her chair so quickly that she nearly sent it toppling to the floor. “I’d like to give that man a piece of my mind.”
“Mom.” Claire rose too, rushing after her mother, who had plunged into the entrance hall where Logan stood talking with Trevor.
But Anne was a woman on a mission. She marched right up to Logan, her low heels clicking on the floor. “I’d like to know what you think you’re doing, breaking up my daughter’s marriage,” she demanded, sounding every bit the self-righteous mother she was.
Logan’s eyes widened, flying briefly to Claire before returning to Anne once more. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you. You must be Claire’s mother. I’m Logan Monroe.” He extended his hand, looking as smooth and unruffled as he sounded.
“Of course I’m her mother,” Anne snapped. “And I’m well aware of who you are, you home wrecker. She’s pregnant with her husband’s child, for God’s sake.”
Logan stilled, his gaze flying back to Claire. Her breath seemed to freeze in her lungs at the look of naked hurt she saw for just a moment before he hastily hid it behind a mask of composure. “Is that what she told you?” he asked, his voice deceptively soft. Although he addressed Anne, he never took his accusing gaze from Claire.
“Of course that’s what she told me,” Anne responded, obviously annoyed. “What else would she tell me?”
“Logan,” Claire began, her voice pleading.
He broke eye contact with her, looking back at Anne. A self-mocking smile curled his sensual lips. “That I’m the father of her baby.”
Perfect Persuasion (Love's Second Chance Book 2) Page 14
