The tightness in his chest didn’t ease until Logan had perched himself on the edge of the bed and leaned down to give her a kiss. Shelby’s lips parted invitingly, a contented purring sound vibrating softly in the back of throat when Logan teased her mouth open with his tongue. He was instantly aroused by the sweet taste of her and the way the musky scent of their love making still lingered on her skin, but he drew back with a regretful sigh. She wasn’t used to the relentless pounding he’d given her the night before and would need some time to let the soreness fade.
“You came back,” Shelby said with a sleepy smile.
Logan returned her smile with an amused chuckle. “Of course I did, cara mia, but it was to offer you a meal not to climb back into bed with you. Not that I would mind going another round, but I think you have missed enough meals already.”
Shelby’s eyes widened. Now fully awake, she was suddenly acutely aware that she was not only completely naked but that her body felt…wickedly satiated. Color bloomed in her cheeks as hazy snippets of their night together flitted in and out of her memory. Hot, searing kisses, sweat soaked bodies straining against each other, the warmth of his hand gliding over her skin as she quivered in pure ecstasy beneath him.
“Oh,” she gasped, her eyes growing even bigger. “It…it wasn’t a dream, it really happened!”
Logan’s brows drew together. “Are you telling me you do not remember making love to me last night?”
“Well I…I think the medication might have had something to do with it. It just seems kind of surreal but I…”
Logan stood up abruptly, thunder brewing in his eyes. “Surreal,” he bit out caustically. “You certainly seemed to have all your faculties about you when you were grinding your hips into me and attacking my mouth like a sex starved nymphomaniac!” Logan saw her flinch but was too angry to stop himself. “Or is it that you are so shocked by your own behavior you would rather pretend you do not remember anything rather than admit it was the most mind-blowing sex we have ever had?”
Shelby sat up, careful to keep the sheet tucked up under her arms. Still stinging from his cutting remarks she was tempted to lash out and accuse him of taking advantage of her while she under the influence of the medication and obviously not acting normal. Except that last night was the first time she’d actually been able to shake off all her inhibitions and give freely of herself. That was the true Shelby. Looking up into his angry eyes she understood why he’d reacted so harshly to her admission that she thought it was a dream at first. After all, how would she have felt if Logan had told her he couldn’t remember whether it had been real or not?
“The medication did cloud my mind a little,” she said softly, “but I remember everything, Logan.” Her smile was teasing as she reached out and slipped her hand into his. “I don’t think I qualify as a nymphomaniac, but you’re right about it being the most mind-blowing sex we’ve ever had.”
The tension left his body, ebbing away as smoothly as waves rolling out to sea and Logan realized it wasn’t anger he’d felt when Shelby said she thought it was dream, but raw fear. Fear that what they’d shared last night hadn’t been shared at all; fear that the ground he thought he’d gained would be lost again; fear that Shelby was pretending she didn’t remember because she realized she didn’t love him after all. Dio, he truly needed to get control of his emotions before it destroyed him. But even as he vowed to steel himself against her, Shelby’s smile faltered and his heart instantly melted.
Logan gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” Shelby beamed up at him.
“Let me get your robe then. I have breakfast warming in the oven and have set the table on the balcony so we can enjoy the early morning sun.”
“You made breakfast?”
“Do not sound so surprised, carissima, not all of my talents lie in the bedroom.”
Shelby let out a despondent sigh as her eyes followed Logan across the room. No, not all of his talents were confined to the bedroom, some of them strayed to a hotel room and a woman who wasn’t his wife. She gnawed at her lip, wondering if she could ever forgive him or even if she should. If only he would confess what he’d done and give her his word it wouldn’t happen again she might be able to move past it. But Logan had to come to her on his own, without any coaxing from her, or she’d never know if he was truly remorseful for being unfaithful or simply saying he was because she’d confronted him about it.
Logan held the robe out. “Let me help you get this on then I’ll carry you downstairs.”
Shelby threw the covers back and slid her legs over the side of the bed. “Don’t be silly, I’m perfectly capable of walking by myself.” To prove her point she stood up then let out a harsh gasp as pain stabbed through her ankle then shot up her leg. “Logan…” The color leached from Shelby’s face as her ankle gave out.
“I have you, cara.” Logan caught her up in his arms, a worried frown on his face. “Maybe I should bring your breakfast up here. Once you have something in your stomach I can give you a painkiller.”
“But you already went to the trouble of setting the table,” Shelby protested.
“It does not matter, you need to be in bed.”
“It does matter,” she insisted. “It was so sweet of you to do it and I would feel even worse for ruining your plans. Besides, I think the fresh air would do me good.”
Logan took in the pallor of her skin and had to agree. “Perhaps you are right.” He lowered Shelby onto the bed and helped her put her robe on then scooped her back into his arms and headed downstairs. “I will find something to keep your foot propped up first. The omelets are warming in the oven so all I have to do is make some toast and pour the coffee.”
After he’d settled her in front of the table and retrieved the footstool she kept in the pantry for reaching the top shelves, Logan hurried off to get their breakfast. Shelby tipped her head back, breathing in the fresh ocean air and letting the sun warm her face. Even with her ankle throbbing and the uncertainty of her relationship with Logan looming over her, she had to admit she felt better now than she had in months. The emptiness was gone, vanquished in the night by her husband’s possessive love making.
“I will be back with the coffee,” Logan promised as he set the food laden tray on the table.
Shelby kept her eyes closed, reluctant to give up the warm glow enveloping her at the moment. “I take mine with cream,” she said absently. There was a rustle of movement before his shadow fell over her and he planted a bone melting kiss on her lips.
“I know how you take your coffee, cara mia.” He spoke softly, drawing his head back just enough so he could see into her eyes. “It seems like an eternity since we were together but I remember everything about you.”
“Like what?” She said in a breathless whisper.
“Like the way you butter your toast.”
Shelby laughed. “You noticed how I butter my toast?”
“I find it amusing that you will not eat it unless the butter covers every inch of it. And you have a quirky way of eating a meal, always starting with the vegetables first and consuming them completely before moving onto the next item on your plate and ending with the meat, which you never eat more than half of.”
“That’s it? You remember my strange eating habits?”
Logan stood up, his gaze sweeping over her body before returning to her face. “Oh no, carissima, I remember a lot of other things, like the way you look in the morning when you first wake up, all soft and dreamy eyed, and the slow smile that you save only for me. And I remember how your face would light up when I came home and the feel of your body pressed to mine.” He paused for a moment, a heavy sadness hovering behind his eyes. “But what I remember most is the way you kissed me good-bye that morning. I wanted to take you back upstairs and spend the rest of the day in bed with you. I almost stayed home, did you know that?”
Shelby’s throat constricted. “If only you had,” she choked out.
“Would it have changed anything, or would you have left me eventually anyway?”
“I don’t know,” she replied despondently, “I honestly don’t know.” Tears filled her eyes when he nodded slowly then turned and walked away.
Chapter 5
Logan poured the coffee then added a dab of cream to Shelby’s cup of the steaming brew. “There will be no divorce,” he said in a voice meant to deter any further discussion.
“A separation then,” Shelby braved a reply.
He speared a piece of omelet, chewing it thoroughly before shaking his head. “No. We have been separated for six months and it did not work out for either of us.”
“Maybe it didn’t work out for you, but I was doing just fine,” she lied.
Logan’s expression remained impassive. “I think not, cara mia. You have lost weight, a sure sign of depression, and you spend your days staring out at the ocean or not bothering to get out of bed at all.”
Shelby’s fork slipped from her fingers and clattered onto her plate. “How…how could you know that?” Her eyes widened in disbelief. “You’ve had someone watching me?”
“Only for the past week. Until last Monday, I did not know where you were.”
“Why did you wait to come here yourself?”
Logan polished off his omelet then leaned back in his chair, eyeing her over his cup of coffee. “I wanted to make certain you did not have a…visitor staying with you.”
“A lover you mean.”
“Yes, a lover.”
“And are you convinced I don’t have one?”
“I would not be here if I thought otherwise.”
Shelby picked up her fork and concentrated on finishing her omelet. So it was okay for him to have an affair but not the other way around? Obviously, he thought she was clueless as far as his blonde bimbo went or it would have dawned on him why she’d run off and filed for divorce. Being unfaithful was the one unforgiveable sin she’d once told him, and fool that she was, Shelby had soaked it up like a sponge when Logan pulled her into his arms and swore on his life that she was the only woman he ever wanted to make love to. But that was right after they’d gotten married so maybe he just hadn’t gotten bored with her yet and actually believed what he was saying.
And yet…she couldn’t dismiss the way Logan looked her when he let his guard down long enough for her to see his heart in his eyes. There was a tenderness there that couldn’t be denied, but was it love? Shelby rewound all the intimate moments they’d shared and was numbed by the realization that Logan had never once said he loved her. Oh, he’d shown her in a million different ways how much he cared for her, but he’d never actually said the words.
He’d told her he wanted her and needed her, that he loved being with her and even that she was sexually desirable but she couldn’t recall a single time he’d come right out and said I love you. Did that mean he didn’t love her or only that he was incapable of saying it? Surely it was more than pride or pressure from his family that had kept Logan from signing the divorce papers. Shelby wanted so badly to believe he loved her so she could put an end to the lonely, barren life she’d endured over the past six months and go back to being the insanely happy woman she’d once been, but how could she when there were so many doubts crowding her mind.
Shelby pushed her plate away, surprised to find she’d eaten every last bite. She reached for her coffee and took a few sips before stealing a quick glance at Logan then nearly dropped the cup when she caught the intensity of his gaze. It was the same calculating look he wore when that sharp edged mind of his was figuring out the best way to manipulate a business deal so that everything worked to his advantage. It was unnerving to have that shrewd intellect directed at her, especially knowing that failure was not a word in Logan’s vocabulary. Shelby carefully set her cup down and forced herself to look him in the eyes, determined to find out what he was plotting.
“I won’t be bullied into going back with you Logan.”
“I have no intention of bullying you,” he said smoothly.
“Then what are your intentions?”
“To find out why you left and to…convince you that we belong together.”
“I’ve already told you why I left.”
“No, cara, you only told me part of the story.”
“What about your story,” she steered the conversation in a different direction, “why did you really come after me?”
Logan’s calm demeanor faltered. “What kind of question is that? You are my wife.”
“Only because you refused to sign the papers.”
“Papers that should never have been filed in the first place,” he said heatedly.
Shelby rubbed her temple. “This is getting us nowhere, Logan.”
“You are right, neither of us is ready to talk yet.” He rose from his chair and scooped her up in his arms then strode purposefully back into the cottage.
Shelby’s insides trembled when he headed down the hallway towards her bedroom. “Wh-what are you doing?”
“What I should have done on the day you left me, taking you back to bed.”
“Logan, this won’t solve anything,” she said in a shaky voice.
He lowered her onto the mattress and tugged at the tie on her robe then drew the material away, letting his eyes feast on the perfection of her nakedness. “On the contrary, carissima, it will solve a very big problem.”
Shelby’s breath caught in her throat when he reached for the zipper on his jeans and slowly dragged it down, the soft scraping of the metal as tantalizing as a seductive caress. Somewhere in the back of her mind a protest was uttered but it was feeble at best and easily ignored, the little voice of reason gradually fading and growing silent altogether as Logan removed each article of clothing then lowered his gloriously naked body down onto hers. A soft moan escaped her lips as he eased himself inside of her, submerging Shelby in the same passionate heat they’d shared the night before.
It wasn’t until much later she as lay in his arms listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing that she realized Logan’s sudden desire to take her to bed hadn’t exactly been spontaneous. He’d deliberately set out to weaken her defenses against him, which would have upset her if she wasn’t already perfectly aware she’d been completely at Logan’s mercy from the moment he’d stepped out of his car and back into her life. And she realized something else too. No matter what he’d done in the past she had no choice but to forgive him, because a life without Logan was no life at all.
***
Logan slowly scanned the room. If there had ever been any doubt in his mind that Shelby loved him, there was none now. Grady had told him sometimes the lights didn’t go out until the wee hours of the morning and now he knew what she’d been doing to fill the hours. He stepped closer, scrutinizing the paintings and admiring how well she’d captured his likeness in each one of them. They were beautifully done, but there was a sadness about them, a loneliness that made his heart ache and rejoice at the same time. Grady was right; Shelby had been just as miserable without him as he’d been without her.
Logan closed the door behind him when he left, glancing down the hallway towards the bedroom where Shelby was still sleeping and considered waking her up. It was eating him up inside not knowing why she’d run away, and the not knowing is what made him feel so helpless right now. He was a powerful man in the business world, making and breaking multi-million dollar deals with every confidence that he would always come out on top and that no one, no one, could beat him at his own game. And yet Shelby, his sweet, unassuming little wife had brought him to his knees and left him as weak and vulnerable as a newborn kitten.
VITTORIO'S RUNAWAY BRIDE Page 6
