“You’re right,” she said. “You can clean up in the morning and we can go straight to bed.”
“How about a bath first? I’ve got that lavender bath oil that you like so much.”
“Mr. Baptiste, are you trying to seduce me?”
“With all my might.”
“I’m going to make it easy for you,” she said as she pulled out of his embrace and stripped down to her lace demi bra and matching black boy shorts.
“Damn,” Logan muttered. “You wore those for me, didn’t you?”
She looked over her shoulder and winked at him. “Sure did.” Logan met her on the stairs, then scooped her up in his arms.
“I can’t wait to take them off.”
Robin leaned in and kissed him with a slow, burning passion. Logan nearly stumbled as he carried her to their bedroom. Robin laughed when she saw the bed hadn’t been made. She always made up the bed before leaving the house. But when Logan slipped his hand between her thighs, the unmade bed didn’t matter and the quip she’d planned to say was replaced by a moan as he stroked her wetness.
“Lo . . . logan,” she moaned.
“Say it again.”
“Logan.” Her voice was dripping with need.
He laid her on the bed and made short work of removing her bra and panties. Slipping his finger inside her wetness, Logan stroked her clitoris with the pad of his index finger. Robin screamed in delight. Seconds later, his tongue replaced his finger and Robin felt as if she was on the edge of an explosion. Suck. Lick. Suck. Robin’s thighs trembled as the waves of her orgasm washed over her.
Logan knew how to play her body until she purred and that was just what she was doing as his tongue circled inside her. “Oh, baby,” she breathed. “Oh, yess.” And with one last lick, he took her to the brink of pleasure.
“That’s the meal I’ve been waiting all night for,” he said as he eased up her body and wrapped his arms around her.
“Was it worth the wait?”
“Oh yeah,” he said as he pulled her on top of him. Robin straddled him and pulled his pants down. Logan’s erection sprang forward, rubbing against her thighs.
“Looks like you’re ready for some action,” she said as she leaned against him and kissed his neck.
“Always ready for you,” he said as he dove inside her. Robin rode him slow, arching her back as he stroked her breasts.
“Oh, Logan! Oh my!” She bucked harder and Logan dove deeper. Robin tightened her grip on his cock as she leaned back and gave him a slow grind. Logan moaned with delight as he and Robin reached their climax together. She collapsed against his chest and Logan held her tightly.
“I could hold you forever and that wouldn’t be enough time,” he breathed against her ear.
“I’d let you hold me forever.” Robin stroked his cheek. “So, the real work starts tomorrow.”
Logan shook his head. “We’re not talking about that in this bed,” he said. “This is the no drama zone. Just you and me.”
“I like that. Because we’ve got some reconnecting to do. I’m sorry that . . .”
“You don’t have to apologize. I was so concerned with your physical health that I didn’t think about how you were feeling emotionally and I should’ve known better.”
She offered him a half smile. “There was just so much going on inside me and I didn’t know how to deal with it all. I just had these dreams of having a perfect family and when . . .” Tears streamed down her face. “I thought I’d failed us. Because of all the dreams we’d talked about, all the things we had achieved, we didn’t have our baby.”
Logan wiped her tears away and kissed her forehead. Robin cried silently against his chest. And for a change, her tears weren’t about pain, hurt, and disappointment. This was the kind of conversation she and Logan should’ve had months ago. But she was afraid and didn’t know where to start.
“Rob, there’s nothing about you staying alive that is a failure. And maybe I pushed too hard to tell you that we had other ways to make a family when I should’ve listened to what you needed and not try to fix you. You were never broken.”
Robin exhaled and melted against her husband. “Thank you.”
“I love you.”
“Love you more.”
Moments later, the couple drifted off to sleep, not letting each other go.
* * *
Logan woke up when he heard the shower going. That’s right, Robin was back. She had to go to work and he didn’t. Reality was really biting now that he knew he wasn’t going to be able to save his patients from dangerous drugs. He had to make sure that he got things rolling on the lawsuit against the hospital so that he could expose what was going on with Cooper Drugs and the transplant patients. His career was probably over there. But having a private practice might be a good move for him. Then he and Robin wouldn’t have to leave Richmond. She had her career and she was doing just fine. He couldn’t, in good conscience, ask her to leave everything she’d built behind.
Besides, Logan knew if he had to start over, he could do anything with Robin by his side. Logan climbed out of bed and grabbed his boxers and slippers. He decided he’d get the kitchen cleaned up and make his wife breakfast before she headed to work. Before he made it downstairs, he heard Robin swearing.
Turning around, he headed into the master bedroom. “What’s wrong, babe?”
Robin wrapped a towel around her body and shook her head. “Um, I just realized that I don’t have any clothes here, nor do I have a car to drive back to my place and get some.”
“That’s pretty bad. Well, we should talk about your other place.”
“Yeah.” She crinkled her nose as she ran her fingers through her hair. “We can rent it out for a little while or check the market value and sell it.”
“You’re cool with that?”
“Are you saying you don’t want me to come home?”
Logan pursed his lips. “Hell no. I want you to pack up your stuff and move in now. I just want to make sure we’re making decisions together.”
She leaned forward and kissed him. “I get it. And I appreciate you. And you know what would make me appreciate the hell out of you?”
“What’s that?” Logan smiled and tugged at her towel.
Robin swatted his hand away. “If you would go to Petersburg and grab me some clothes. Actually, my black suit that’s hanging on the closet door and my laptop.” “I feel like I was set up.”
“I’ll make it worth your while when you get back.”
“Now, that is an offer I can’t refuse. Where are your keys?”
“Downstairs in my purse,” she said. “I’m even going to clean up the kitchen for you.”
“You’re so sweet,” he said as he headed downstairs and grabbed her purse. When he opened it, her phone fell out on the table. Logan wasn’t suspicious, but when he noticed an unread message on her home screen, he couldn’t help but read it.
I’ve been thinking about you a lot. Hope to hear from you again soon.
He shoved the phone back in her purse and headed out the door. Had Robin been seeing someone else during their separation?
Chapter 17
Robin loaded the last of the dishes into the dishwasher, then wiped down the counters before starting the machine. She was going to cook breakfast, but since Logan was going to be passing one of their favorite restaurants—with vegan breakfast options—she decided to send him a text and ask him to pick up one of her favorite specials. She tightened the sash on his robe and inhaled the woodsy scent of his body wash that lingered on the material. Robin felt so good being home again—this was the right place to be. When she picked up her phone, she groaned at the message from Terell. He needed to leave the past in the past. Besides, there was no chance that they would be more than friends from high school.
Robin felt a little guilty that she had been ready to use him to make herself feel better over her husband’s perceived infidelity. Terell knew she was married and had to know that a bridge t
o them being more than friends burned years ago. Did she really have to tell him? Robin ignored his text and asked Logan to grab breakfast once he got her clothes. She bounced into the living room and curled up on the sofa. The DVR was still filled with unwatched DIY shows from HGTV. Glancing at the clock on the mantel, she realized that she didn’t have to be in the office for another three hours, since she didn’t plan to go in until one. She clicked on one of the shows and closed her eyes.
What felt like seconds later, but was really an hour and fifteen minutes later, lips brushed across her forehead, waking her up.
“Um, Logan,” she said when she locked eyes with her husband.
“Got the food and some clothes. But you look super comfortable in my robe.”
“It feels good too. But let’s eat.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him. Logan set the food on the coffee table and then handed her a mug of coffee.
“How did I miss you making coffee?” she asked as she accepted the mug.
“All that snoring you were doing made it easy for me to walk in, hang up your clothes, put your laptop on the dining room table, and take a bite of your frittata. Also, make this coffee.”
“You’re so dirty.”
“If that’s your way of saying hungry, then I’ll be that.”
Robin grabbed his hand and brought it to her lips. “You know I love you, right?”
“I know. And I love you too.”
They sat and ate breakfast in silence. Robin glanced at Logan and realized how much she had missed times like this with him. “What’s wrong?” she asked when she noticed the pensive look on his face.
“Nothing, just trying to wrap my mind around what I need to do today. Going to court to file these papers and . . . I saw your phone this morning when I grabbed your keys.”
“Oh. That was . . .”
“So, do you have something you need to tell me?”
“There’s nothing to tell,” she said. “Terell is an old friend from high school and I saw him at Nina’s wedding.”
“You just saw him?”
“I wasn’t unfaithful to you. But it did cross my mind.”
Logan folded his arms across his chest. “Did it?”
“Can you understand what had been going on with us when he approached me? How confused and upset I was about me thinking that you had a baby with that woman?”
“So, if you saw him at Nina’s wedding, then that was after you sent me back to Richmond.”
“Didn’t I come home to you?” she snapped.
“You did, but what did you do before you got here?”
Robin stood up and turned toward the stairs. “I’m going to get dressed and go to work. I have nothing to hide from you and I’m not trying to keep anything quiet. If you want to look at my phone again, you’ll see that I never replied to him. There isn’t anything between us except high school memories.”
Logan followed her into their bedroom and called her name. “What?” she asked when she turned around.
“You left me over a lie. You filed for divorce because you thought I cheated on you and I’m just supposed to be okay with this?”
“Did I say that? But you begged me to trust you and I don’t get the same consideration?”
“But you didn’t trust me,” he exclaimed. “And I don’t want to play tit for tat with you. . . .”
“Then what the hell do you want, Logan?”
“Nothing,” he said with a sarcastic laugh. “Because obviously the only person in the marriage who can make a mistake and get forgiveness for it is my perfect wife. I’m just guilty for breathing.”
“Then what are we fighting for?” she asked in a quiet voice. “What was last night all about?”
“I thought it was about us finding our way back to each other, but you’ve been sitting on this secret and making me feel like an ass all of these months.”
“You had that woman in our house, you ignored all of the signs that she was problematic.”
“And you snuck around with your old high school fling?”
“I didn’t.” Robin snatched his robe off and pulled her underwear on. “I can’t do this when I have to get to work and file papers for you to prove that you didn’t fuck around on me.”
“At least you’re going to have proof.” Logan stormed out of the room and Robin collapsed on the bed.
* * *
Logan didn’t see things turning out this way. In his head, he wasn’t even going to say anything about the text message. He was just going to have breakfast with his wife, go over the forms they needed to file to get the paternity test on Kamrie’s son, and clean up the kitchen. He didn’t want to think about Robin being with another man. Or even considering it an option. But had she? Did she really think she needed to take things that far? Logan had been nothing but honest with her about Kamrie. He never slept with her. But Robin had some dude telling her he couldn’t stop thinking about her. What the fuck was he thinking about? How her thighs felt wrapped around him? How her lips felt pressed against his?
Logan slammed out of the house and got into his car. He needed to try to clear his head, but his mind was filled with Robin and this mystery man. Did she feel like the only way she could come back to him was to have an affair of her own? Even if he hadn’t? Logan pulled into the parking lot of a coffee shop near the hospital and sat there for a few moments.
He needed to focus on the fight that he had to be ready for. The fight for his career and his reputation. Logan couldn’t help but wonder if he still wanted the fight for his marriage to be on this list.
Logan walked into the shop and noticed Dr. Carter having an intense conversation with a woman dressed in a business suit. He inched toward a table not too far from the duo but out of their eyesight to see if he could hear what the discussion was about.
“This is unacceptable, Ryder,” the woman said. “Your hospital is supposed to be using the Cooper Drug cocktail for the transplant patients so that we can show the FDA the drugs are safe and we can get our approval.”
“The drugs aren’t safe. Patients are dying at a rate that my doctors are starting to notice.”
The woman sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Then get rid of those doctors. You’re at a teaching hospital and you can blame the deaths on the students. There are ways to make this work. Or do we need to cut our funding to you and the hospital?”
“Now, Veronica, you’re being ridiculous. I’m taking all the risks here.”
“You said that you suspended the main problem since taking him off the surgery schedule didn’t work. What else do you need me to do for you so that we can continue our lucrative partnership?”
I knew it, Logan thought. He wished that he had been recording the conversation, but with the background noise, it probably wouldn’t have been helpful. He slowly rose from the table and exited out of a side door. Once he was in the car, he called Liam.
“What’s up, Baptiste? You’re going to live a long time. I’m on my way to your house.”
“Good, because I just heard some information that’s going to blow the lid off why the hospital has been shitting on me.”
“Where are you?”
“Heading back to the house. I went to the coffee shop near the hospital and Dr. Carter was in there talking to a woman named Veronica. I think she’s from Cooper Drugs. She said that they had a lucrative partnership.”
“I’m going to do some research as soon as I get to your place. Are we going to bring Robin in on this? Maybe it’s time for you to file that lawsuit.”
Logan expelled a deep breath. “I’m not sure if Robin is . . . Let’s see what we can find out first.”
“I’m not even going to ask. I’m pulling up in your driveway.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
* * *
Liam was about to sit on the porch when Robin opened the door. “Liam, what are you doing here? I thought you were my driver.”
“Logan didn’t call you? Looks like he might have some evidence
against his bosses at the hospital.”
“We had an argument and I haven’t talked to him since he left.”
Liam looked down at his watch. “He should be here shortly. What’s going on with you two? I know y’all have been under pressure with all of this stuff going on. But, Robin, I’ve never known two people who belong together like you and Logan.”
She closed her eyes. “Maybe we don’t belong together,” she said so low that Liam didn’t hear her.
“Cancel your driver and help us save some lives today,” Liam said with his signature smile.
Robin pulled her phone from her purse and canceled her ride share service. “Fine. You want some coffee or some juice while you wait?”
“Thought you’d never ask. Oh, I have donuts in the car. Can you eat those?”
“Already had breakfast, so I’m good,” she said with a grin. Liam followed Robin inside and she started a pot of coffee. As Liam pulled out his laptop, he told Robin about the conversation he had with Logan and how they could leverage this information to get Logan his job back.
Robin tried to pay attention, but she couldn’t help but think about how angry Logan was over that text message. Over nothing. Was that how she made him feel? But it wasn’t as if he had gotten a DNA test saying she was Terell’s kid’s mom. He wanted her trust, but where was his trust in her?
“Robin?” Liam said, breaking into her thoughts. “You all right?”
“Yeah. I need to call my office and let them know I’m going to work from home today.” She headed for the living room and heard the door open in the foyer. Logan was home.
“You’re back,” she said.
“Yeah, there was no need for me to move to Petersburg.”
“So, you want to be petty now?”
“No, Robin, I don’t. Liam and I are trying to get to the bottom of what’s going on at the hospital. If you want to help, please do. But if we’re going to argue about your . . . Let’s get to work.”
“I need to call my office and let them know I won’t be in. Then I’ll meet you guys in the dining room.”
Logan gave her a curt nod and walked away. Robin closed her eyes and took a deep breath before making her call.
Won't Go Home Without You Page 17
