Lilliput.
Logan hadn't addressed me directly all evening. I had been terrified that when he finally did, I would only hear Lillian.
Chewing my bottom lip, I complied in broken steps. I lowered my shaking hand to the drawer, metal bouncing against metal as I twice failed to properly insert the key into the lock. On the third time, I succeeded but my hand froze.
"Lily…"
I couldn't decide if his voice was sensual or cautionary as he spoke my name—probably both. I pulled the drawer open, my torso leaning away as if the contents might be explosive. Nothing filled the inside except a small, white satin box.
I wrapped my hand around the drawer's lip, paralysis settling into my flesh. I felt the caress of Logan's fingers across the back of my hand and then the warm brush of his breath along my neck.
"Open it."
Acquiescing to the request, I lifted the box from the drawer. Pinching its bottom, I tugged the lid up. As if it sensed my anticipation, the hinge resisted then opened suddenly with a snap. Inside, a diamond solitaire rested atop another layer of white silk.
It looked like an engagement ring. But it couldn't be. Could it?
"I knew I couldn't get you back with Marie still in the house. I told her yesterday she had a week to find someplace to live."
Marie?
I stared at him dumbfounded for a few seconds before I remembered Mrs. Jones' first name. Only slightly less confused, I continued to stare. He wrapped his hand around mine, stopping the tremble that threatened to send the ring and silk spilling onto the floor.
"I never thought she would pull something like this."
When I remained mute, he snorted in exasperation. "Baby, say something."
Hearing the endearment, I started to sway. I jiggled the box. "Why are you showing me this?"
"I want to marry you." No reproach shadowed his tone. Neither did he sound like he was talking to the stupidest person on the planet despite the distinct possibility that he was. "Lily?"
His voice carried a sharp, worried edge and I realized the room was spinning. His arms wrapped around me and he led me to the bed. Taking the box with its ring away, he sat next to me, his hand urging my head between my legs before I had the chance to faint.
Marriage?
Neither one of us had so much as said the word love yet. Did that mean he wanted to marry me but didn't love me?
"Breathe, baby."
Right, I'd forgotten to and the failure only made the room spin faster. I sucked a lungful of oxygen in. His hand stroked up and down my back, the gesture and my dizziness provoking a sense of déjà vu. A little more than two months ago we had been sitting in the front room, my body shaking and my mind in shock while he tried to calm me.
"I love you, Lily." His other hand cupped my knee and gently tugged to widen the spread of my legs so he could guide my head between them, encouraging the blood to flow back to my numb brain. "I wanted to go slower, but you have to know where I'm headed. For your sake and Stevie's."
It hit me then. Not only was Logan asking me to be his wife, he wanted me to be a mother to his son. Tilting my head, I looked across his lap to where the jewelry box rested atop the bedspread.
"When did you get that?"
"The same morning Marie showed up," he answered. "I thought, if the talk with your parents hadn't gone well—or occurred at all—maybe proof of how damn serious I am would fix their attitude…or yours."
I let my head sink a little closer to the floor. "When the two of you were out, I brought some laundry in here."
He rubbed my back, waiting for me to explain. Was I really about to suggest he slept with Mrs. Jones on the same morning he bought my engagement ring?
"Her suitcases were in here."
"I didn't know that until after you left. She slept in the guest room the whole time."
"A pair of her panties…under the bed…" My eyes snapped shut, my mouth, too.
He stopped rubbing. I opened my eyes and turned my head just enough to look at him.
"I didn't fuck her, if that's what you think."
"I know." I studied his face, not looking for a lie but anger at the accusation. "At least I do now—but I couldn't think straight that day."
I tried to sit up. A fuzzy gray void of nothing crept toward the center of my vision. Logan caught me as I started to fall to the side.
"Lie down, Lilliput." He moved me up the bed, taking the pillows from under my head and propping them under my feet. Resting on his side, he stroked my cheek. "You don't have to answer today or this week or this month."
He kissed my forehead, his other hand curling around the top of my head to caress my temple. He wiped a tear, making me realize I had started crying again.
"I just need to know there's a chance you'll say yes, love."
"It's only been a little while," I whispered, eyes closed while I tried to capture my thoughts.
"Only on the sex," Logan agreed. "A hell of a lot longer wanting you, plus five years of knowing you, seeing how funny and smart, caring and loving—"
He choked on the last word and stopped talking. His hands stopped moving and I felt the press of his head against the mattress. I knew he was done talking. He'd put himself out there, said he loved me, risked rejection and I had offered nothing in return.
Turning my head, I opened my eyes. His gaze lifted from my shoulders to my face.
"I love you, Logan." I wanted to turn onto my side, but another wave of dizziness washed over me.
Pressing gently against my shoulder, Logan pushed me onto my back and moved closer. He rested his arm across my chest, his lips against my cheeks. His thumb rubbed a soft line along my arm. "Just relax, love."
14
That sweet caress slowly extended to more of my body. Still refusing to let me turn or sit up, he drew my leg closer to him. When the skirt limited how wide he could spread my legs, he tugged it a little higher then draped his thigh across mine. His palm rested against the fabric of my panties as he kissed at my neck.
His hand slid beneath the underwear. "Lose the blouse, baby."
I undid the buttons, opening my top. He pulled the fabric of the bra back with his teeth then his mouth fastened around a nipple. I reached between us, my fingers searching for the hard bulge of his cock. I found it, thick and full. Logan groaned against my breast as I gave him an exploratory squeeze.
"I won't faint," I promised.
He pushed up onto his side, looked down at me and shook his head. Beneath my panties, his strong hands kneaded my plump labia. "Can't be too safe, baby."
He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, a sensual heat glazing his face. "And it makes me so hard to have you where I want you."
I gave another squeeze and sighed. Hard as steel and thick as a baseball bat from the feel of him.
He edged toward the end of the bed, his foot hitting the jewelry box. He caught it before it could fall. He stood, sorrow flashing across his face, and then he turned toward the dresser.
"Don't put it away, Logan."
His gaze caught mine through the mirror. A question filled his eyes.
Sitting up, I kicked the pillows onto the floor and scooted down the bed. My feet touched the carpet and I proceeded to put my clothes back in order, starting with my exposed breast. Buttons redone, if slightly askew, I smoothed my fingers through my hair then folded them in my lap.
Looking up at him, I repeated the words. "Don't put it away."
The slightest nod from Logan then he sank to his knees. Removing the ring, he put the box aside and took my hand.
"Marry me, Lily. Have my children. Be a mother to my son. Don't hide from me or doubt how deeply I want and care for you. Love me like I will always love you."
Voice choking, he slid the ring onto my finger. My tears landed atop his hand. Leaning closer, I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders and kissed him. "Yes. To everything. Always."
Logan kissed me back, more thoroughly as the soft smile on his face turned
hungry. He forced me onto my back. His fingers danced down the front of my blouse to quickly charm the buttons open. A slide of his hand underneath me and the bra came unsnapped. Dragging the straps along my arms, he exposed my breasts.
Burying his face between my breasts, Logan undid my skirt and stripped my clothes from my lower body. Back on his knees, he sank closer to the floor, his head nestled between my thighs.
Eyes closed, he feasted. His hands roamed my hips and thighs, gripping my flesh, tugging at it. His soft groans vibrated through me as he tongued and fingered me to my first climax. I blushed at how quickly he could make me come.
Standing, Logan stripped as I made my way further up the bed. Naked, he crawled on top of me, his head pointed at my feet and our torsos pressed together. His face burrowed once more against my pussy and I sucked half his cock into my mouth.
Sliding beneath me, his hands separated the globes of my ass. A finger teased my anus as he tenderly nursed at my clit. Moaning, I swallowed more of his cock, the angle of our bodies allowing me to take him deeper than ever before.
The sucking and fingering between my thighs grew more ragged as I brought him close to the edge of release with me. A phantom flame flickered along my skin, my body contorting from its heat and the need to taste Logan. I licked, sucked, stroked, scratched as he did the same. I started to vibrate, hips rolling, the moans as thick in my throat as Logan's cock.
He froze, his release shooting into my mouth as my hips crested upwards to ride his lips and tongue. We trembled together, another wave of my climax rolling through me, and then he collapsed to the side.
Licking my cream from his lips, his eyes drifted shut. I wiggled and shifted along the mattress until my head rested in the crook of his arm. Relentless, his hand returned to my cleft, leisurely working me to another mewling pitch while his erection returned.
"You're a machine," I teased as he pushed onto his side then covered me.
"Mmm. A pleasure machine," he agreed, spreading my thighs. "Just for you."
He worked his hand between us to grip his cock. "I'm taking you like this, love. Bare. I'm going to come inside you."
Trying not to cry anymore, I nodded. Tears aren't sexy. I wanted him in me, filling me, not drying my cheeks and trying to calm me all over again.
Logan pushed in, drove deep, his gaze never leaving mine. Biting the edge of his bottom lip, he stroked out. His brow lifted, lips parted and then he closed his eyes. "The things your pussy does to me, Lily."
My body squeezed reflexively. I loved having his cock in me, loved the way he looked at me, his gaze burning with desire. Seeing him so open with his feelings now, I realized all the little signals I had missed over the last eight months. The nuances with his voice, the slight flare of his nostrils when our bodies came close, the almost imperceptible twitch of his chest or biceps when we actually brushed against one another.
Logan lowered his head and nuzzled my breasts. His hips ran circles between hard driving thrusts. I ran my hands over his back, my nails lightly scoring his flesh when his being inside me felt too good to control myself.
Finding my knees, he gripped them and forced my legs up and wider. Holding his torso away from mine, he looked between us. I could feel how wet I was and hear the sucking slurps of his heavy cock fucking in and out of me. My pussy suctioned him tighter. His head rolled back and his eyes followed the same path until all I could see was white.
He breathed through his mouth, his lips and brow mobile as he dug deeper and deeper inside me. His heavy puffs of air wrestled with my whimpering pleas. He kept driving, plowing into me, plundering thick and hard as my pussy contorted around him.
"Come with me." My arms strained down, my hands clasping his muscled ass cheeks. I scored the skin, unable to maintain my grip as he pounded harder. The fat head of his cock tugged and battered until my body breached the first gate of an unfolding climax.
"Come with me," I cried more roughly. I needed him to complete the promise, to fill me with his cum. I wanted to feel its excess on my thighs when I stood, wanted to know that more of it remained inside me to bind our future together.
A curve whipped across my spine, contorted my torso. My mound slammed against him. The back of my head dug into the mattress. My pussy squeezed and squeezed and squeezed, unrelenting as another wave of pleasure ripped through me.
Logan kept pumping. His hands moved down to my hips to pin me to the mattress. His features randomly animated, he fucked harder, the sounds falling from his lips almost pained.
He seized, trembled once then exploded inside me. His fingers dented my fleshy hips. His cock jerked inside me again, his whole body clenching then relaxing with each spurt. Grasping at Logan's shaft, my pussy claimed another groan of surrender from him before he sank into me.
Logan kissed my breasts, his hands massaging my shoulders. Pulling from me, he moved down to kiss my stomach as his fingers smoothed across my nipples. Lower still, he nosed my clit then took the hood and pearl into his mouth, sucking as his fingers fucked the escaping cum back into my pussy.
"I love you, Lily." Burying his face against my mound, he wrapped an arm around each thigh and pressed them against the sides of his head. Breaking contact for a second, he looked up. "I want to taste you all night long."
15
The following afternoon, Emy and Stevie trapped me between the couch and the coffee table as Logan looked on with a grin cracking his face open.
"One more time before you leave!" they protested in near unison.
"Fine!"
With a playful huff, I collapsed onto the couch and extended my left hand for their inspection of The One True Ring. Emy grabbed my arm and held it with a tight grip, her face hovering over the diamond. Stevie waited patiently, his body snuggled against me.
"Are you really going to be my mom?" he asked, head tilting upward to read my expression.
"Technically, I will be your step-mother," I answered, still not sure how carefully I had to tread with the news. "Your mom will always be your mom."
A look flashed across his narrow features, one that echoed Logan's expression when he was "highly irritated."
"But you are going to be my mom, right?"
Melting at all the implications in Stevie's question, I nodded. "Yes, bug, I'm going to be your mom—and I will always be your mom."
"Good," he said matter-of-factly before turning to protest Emy's prolonged inspection. "Stop getting girl germs on it!"
Emy relinquished her hold with a dreamy sigh. Stevie studied the ring, his keen gaze clearly more fascinated by the science rather than its symbolism.
He cocked a brow at his dad. "Will this cut glass?"
Logan's chest bounced but he kept a straight face. "Presumably—but we aren't going to find out."
"Can it make a laser beam?" Stevie persisted.
Logan's laugh filled the room this time. "How about we do that rocket project you've been bugging me about, Champ?"
Stevie's arm started to pump the air in victory, but then he jerked it down and shrugged. "That would be okay…I guess."
Emy reached across me to tickle him. "You really are a sneaky bug!"
Logan spun a keyring on his finger, his gaze on mine and full of meaning.
It was time to go. Emy wasn't here to drool over my engagement ring. She was here to watch Stevie while Logan and I went to talk with my parents.
I would have happily stayed on the couch all night. But I had to show Logan I could get through the hard part of our officially being a couple—an engaged couple. A very soon-to-be-married couple.
Body flushing with another wave of gooey happiness, I smiled and stood up. Emy and Stevie both tugging and pawing at me to stay.
"You got your last look," I laughed, not sure which of the two was more mature. "Logan and I have some business to take care of and then we will return and you can look at it some more."
"With a magnifying glass?" Stevie asked before barreling into the next question. "Can I
shine my UV light on it?"
"Sure, Champ," Logan answered, gently pulling me the last few inches to freedom. Watching Stevie leap over the back of the couch, he hastily tacked on a caveat. "When we get back."
Stevie acknowledged the limitation with a heavy sigh then turned to Emy with a wicked gleam in his eye. "What's for lunch?"
"Oh, Lord!" I cackled, beating Logan to the hallway as Emy naively asked Stevie what he would like her to make.
Shutting the front door, Logan collapsed against it, waves of laughter pouring from him.
"Okay, what am I missing?" I asked. Bug's meal requests were always comical, but we hadn't heard his reply to know if it was downright hysterical.
"Caught him rehearsing this morning," Logan answered, his hand landing against the small of my back to propel me toward the car.
"Rehearsing? You mean practice naming some kind of dish?"
Wiping his eyes, he nodded. "Boo Paht Pong Karee, some kind of crab curry, my phone tells me. Only imagine him saying it twenty decibels louder, with both arms up in the air, and his fingers waggling in time to his eyebrows."
As I pictured it, an invisible hand closed around my throat, choking me until tears of mirth turned to tears of pain. It hurt how much I loved both Logan and his son. The only thing I had close to it was how I felt about my little sister, Rhea.
"Baby?" Logan asked, his voice tightening with worry.
I let him pull me into his arms, hoped that my clumsy patting at his chest was reassurance enough that I wasn't having second thoughts.
"It's okay—it just hit me really hard for a second how much I love the two of you." Looking up at him, I cupped his cheek, stroked my thumb across his firm lower lip. "I love you, Logan."
"And I love you, Lilliput. Now let's go tell your parents."
16
My mother opened the front door before Logan finished parking the car. Her entire face pinched in a frown, the expression deepening as Logan came around to my side and opened the door for me.
I mentally prepared myself for his hand to land somewhere on me, undoubtedly triggering a reaction in my mother, but he retained a gentlemanly distance as we approached the house together.
Tempted Beyond Return Page 7
