Her eyes narrowed. “What karma?”
Logan lifted an eyebrow. “Weren’t you his mistress while he was married to his first wife? Surely you’ve heard the saying ‘How you got him is how you’ll lose him’?”
Chantal looked like she wanted to slap him. “You really are your father’s son, aren’t you?” she hissed. “Salaud.”
He laughed. “Well, technically, I am a bastard. So you’ll have to come up with a better insult than that.”
That drew a small smile from her. “Do you speak French, Logan?”
“No.”
She laughed. “And yet I’ve seen you conduct postgame interviews entirely in French.”
He smirked at her. “If you already know that I speak French, why did you ask?”
She smiled, slithering closer. “Just making polite conversation.”
He gave her a sardonic look. “Is that why you followed me down here? To make polite conversation?”
“I think you know the answer to that question.” Dropping all pretenses, she pressed her body against his, sliding her hand inside his tuxedo jacket to rub his chest.
“Mmm, look how strong you are,” she purred appreciatively. “You’re the new and improved version of your father, although I don’t think Luc has ever been this ripped before. My God, Logan. Your workout regimen must be positively insane.”
Logan felt numb to her words, numb to her touch. He peeled her hands from his chest and turned away from her. “You need to go.”
“I don’t want to. And you don’t want me to either,” she said coyly, sidling up beside him and rubbing against his arm. “I know you think I’m beautiful and sexy. I’m a little older than you, and you find that intriguing—”
Logan gave a harsh snort of laughter and turned his head to look at her. “You actually think I’m intrigued by my father’s trophy wife?”
She lifted her chin. “I know you are.”
He laughed at the ceiling before looking at her again. “Let me put this in the crudest possible terms so there’s no misunderstanding. I’ve fucked more women than I can recall—young, old and everything in between. And you know what? None of those broads meant shit to me, before or after. There’s only one woman I’ve ever made real love to, whose body I cherish and can’t get enough of—”
She smirked. “Let me guess. Meadow?”
“Damn right. She rocks my fucking world every single time we come together. Apart from her, sex is pretty much a transaction to me. A necessary outlet. A temporary release.” He raked Chantal with a coldly amused glance. “Fucking you would be no different. The second I busted a nut, I wouldn’t give you a second thought. But you, on the other hand…” He trailed off with a smirk.
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you suggesting that I would become obsessed with you if we slept together?”
“Let’s just say you wouldn’t be the first.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Someone thinks rather highly of his sexual prowess.”
“With good reason. I said sex is mostly meaningless to me. Never said I wasn’t good at it.”
She stared at him. Her eyes were bright with excitement, the thrill of the challenge. “I don’t know whether to be insulted or turned on.” She grinned. “I think I’m both.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not interested. So run along.” Logan shooed her off and turned back to the window, dismissing her.
She didn’t budge.
He heaved an annoyed sigh. “Look—”
“Do you know the real reason your father invited you here tonight?” she said with a malicious sneer. “A business rival was threatening to leak the news that he’d fathered an illegitimate child years ago. Luc knew he had to get ahead of the story to mitigate the damage to his family’s reputation. So he and his advisors planned this dinner party and invited some of the most influential people he knows. He needed to break the news himself and spin the narrative to make himself look sympathetic and remorseful. He wanted his past sins to be chalked up to youthful indiscretion and nothing more.” She shook her head in disgust. “Tonight wasn’t about righting past wrongs or extending an olive branch to the son he abandoned. Tonight was a preemptive move to do damage control before his rival exposed his dirty little secret.”
Logan stared at Chantal with such cold fury that she took an instinctive step back.
“Why are you telling me all this?” he said in a low voice.
“I thought you should know the truth. I didn’t want you to leave here thinking your father’s a changed man. He’s not. He’s a selfish, cunning manipulator driven by ruthless ambition and greed. He doesn’t do anything that doesn’t benefit him or his family. He took a calculated risk by airing his own dirty laundry. The scandal of fathering an illegitimate child might hurt his reputation in the short run. But when that illegitimate child just so happens to be an NHL superstar…well, all can be forgiven.”
Logan glared at his stepmother, renewed anger burning in his chest as he absorbed her words. His father’s motive for delivering the speech was even worse than he’d thought.
“When I married Lucien, I didn’t even know you existed. He kept the truth from me all these years. When he finally decided to come clean, he told his entire family before he told me, his own wife.” Chantal’s lips twisted bitterly. “I had to hear it from that little bitch Kinsley. She threw it in my face during an argument. She told me your father had a son with the only woman he’s ever loved. A woman he thinks about every time he looks at me.”
Logan clenched his jaw as he backed slowly away from Chantal, his fists balling and releasing at his sides.
She followed him, rubbing against his chest as she backed him up toward the couch. “We’re both victims of your father’s treachery and deceit. Now’s our chance to get even with the bastard. Don’t you want to hurt him the way he hurt you and your mother?”
Logan’s gut tightened with fury. “Don’t talk about my mother.”
Her lips curved upward in a sharp smile of triumph. She’d found his weakness. “I can see how much you hate him. I can see it in your eyes and feel it in the rigid muscles of your body. You’re like a ticking time bomb ready to explode.” She ran her hand down his chest. “You need to find a way to release all this pent-up rage before it destroys you.”
Logan turned his head away as she cupped his jaw and nuzzled his neck.
“Fuck me, Logan,” she whispered in his ear. “Fuck me good and get your revenge against your father.”
Logan shook his head, jaw clenched tight. “No.”
“Do it, Logan,” she goaded urgently. “You want to hit him where it hurts? Fuck his prized trophy wife. Take what’s his.”
Logan closed his eyes and swallowed hard. Out of the toxic brew of hatred, pain and fury, Meadow’s face appeared in his mind and then blurred before fading away.
Chantal was right. Sleeping with her would deal a crushing blow to his father. He could make it happen right here and now. He could throw Chantal down on the couch and rage-fuck her until her treacherous screams of pleasure brought her husband running. He could already see the look of betrayal on Lucien’s face, the anger and humiliation. It wouldn’t even the score between them, not by a long shot. But it would be a start.
As Chantal pressed her body closer, nothing stirred in his crotch. Not even a twitch. His blackened soul might be hell-bent on revenge, but his body clearly wasn’t interested.
“Let’s make him pay, Logan,” Chantal breathed coaxingly. “Even if he never finds out, we’ll have the satisfaction of knowing we got the best of him.”
When Logan opened his mouth to respond, she reached up and put her fingers over his lips. “Shh.” She looked up at him through her fake eyelashes. “Don’t talk. Just kiss me.”
When he didn’t resist, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her mouth against his.
Everything inside him recoiled. But he didn’t push her away, and she took that as encouragement to keep going.
“God, you’re se
xy,” she purred with throaty arousal. “I wanted you the moment I laid eyes on you. I’m going to enjoy fucking you.”
His heart, mind and body rebelled against her words.
“Kiss me back,” she whispered pleadingly. “Let yourself go, Logan. You deserve this. We both do.”
As her tongue tried to part his lips, he came to his senses and jerked his head away. “No. I can’t do this.”
Chantal moaned, her arms tightening around his neck. “Logan—”
“No. I’m serious. I love Mea—”
Chantal gave him a hard shove, catching him off balance and sending him sprawling back onto the couch. With a breathless laugh she quickly climbed on top of him, straddling him as he stared up at her in angry disbelief.
“What the f—”
She leaned down and gave him a smothering kiss.
He tore his mouth away, his hands lifting to grip her arms. Before he could push her off him, he heard voices approaching the room.
There was a loud, shocked gasp.
Then his father roared, “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?”
Logan sat up so fast that Chantal toppled off his lap and landed hard on the floor. He barely noticed, his gaze already swinging to the woman who stood just behind his father.
The blood drained from his head.
Meadow stared at him with a look of stunned betrayal that ripped his soul open.
“Jupiter—”
She spun around and took off running out of the room.
His heart lurched. “Jupiter, wait!”
As he got up and rushed after her, Lucien furiously grabbed his arm. “You rotten little bastard—”
Logan violently shook him off and raced after Meadow, praying he hadn’t just fucked up the best thing that ever happened to him.
Chapter Forty-Four
MEADOW
* * *
Tears erupted from her eyes as she fled down the corridor. Her heart was beating riotously above the sound of her heels clicking rapidly across the floor.
“Jupiter! Wait!”
She ran faster, but she knew she couldn’t outrun him. When he grabbed her from behind, she whirled around and slapped him across the face so hard that his head snapped to the side and her palm went numb with pain.
“You son of a bitch!” she screamed through her tears. “How could you?”
“It’s not what you think, I swear!”
“Liar!”
When he tried to wrap his arms around her, she beat his chest with her fists until he released her. The ruddy imprint of her hand on his cheek gave her no satisfaction.
His eyes beseeched her. “Baby—”
She held up a warning hand. “Don’t come near me!”
He swallowed hard. “I know it looked bad, babe, but if you’d just let me explain—”
“Explain what? That you were about to fuck your stepmother before you were interrupted?”
“I wasn’t gonna fuck her!”
“Coulda fooled me!”
He caught her wrists in an urgent grip. “Let me explain—”
She wrenched free of his grip, spun away and marched up the spiral staircase, almost blinded by tears. Logan was right on her heels.
“Listen to me,” he tried again. “Chantal came on to me and I was trying to fight her off. Couldn’t you tell?”
“No, I couldn’t!”
“Well, that’s what happened! She kissed me and pushed me down—”
“Pushed you down? You’re six-four and two hundred thirty pounds! How did that skinny bitch push you down?”
“She caught me off guard!”
“Give me a fucking break, Logan!”
“It’s true!”
They had reached the middle deck where the guest staterooms were located. As she marched furiously toward their cabin, Logan followed her, pleading his case.
“Nothing happened, I swear to God. It looked much worse than it was—”
“I don’t believe you!” She stopped outside their stateroom and stabbed her finger into his chest. “How would you feel if the shoe were on the other foot? If I totally ignored you during dinner, then afterward you walked in on me kissing another man, how would you feel, Logan? How the hell would you feel?”
“I’d be fucking devastated!” he yelled in her face. “But I’m trying to tell you that nothing happened between me and Chantal!”
“And I’m telling you that I don’t believe you!” she yelled back.
“Goddammit!” He gripped her arm when she tried to turn away from him to unlock the door. “Meadow, please—”
“Let go of me! I have nothing more to say to you!”
“Then just listen to me!” he entreated, his eyes boring into hers. “Please, baby—”
“Don’t you ‘baby’ me!” she screeched, wrenching out of his grasp.
Frustrated, he reached up and grabbed his hair as if he were going to rip it out by the roots. “You have to believe me, Jupiter. What you saw down there, I’m not the one who started it. She threw herself at me!”
“Oh, I believe that,” Meadow said caustically. “She’s been flirting with you all night, so I’m not at all surprised that she came on to you. But here’s the thing, Logan. Why didn’t you just remove yourself from the situation? She couldn’t have stopped you from leaving if you really wanted to. But you didn’t even try, did you? You stayed because a part of you was tempted—”
“That’s not true!”
“No? Then why the hell didn’t you leave?”
Guilt flickered in his eyes. “I don’t know.”
“You do know!” Meadow folded her arms across her heaving chest. “Just tell the truth, Logan. You wanted to sleep with her.”
“No, I didn’t!”
“I don’t believe you!”
“It’s true!” he insisted fervently. “I only let her kiss me to hurt my father! I didn’t even kiss her back!”
Meadow stared at him. “But you let her kiss you? Is that what you’re saying? You willingly let another woman put her mouth on you?”
“Well, yeah,” he admitted guiltily. “But I couldn’t go through with fucking her!”
Meadow’s lips twisted with bitter scorn. “How decent of you.”
“Shit! That came out wrong!” He grabbed his head with both hands and let out an aggravated breath. “I meant—”
“You said exactly what you meant.” She shook her head at him, pain clawing at her insides. “I was right about you from the start, Logan. You’re no good for me.”
“Don’t say that.” His voice was a raw whisper. “Please don’t say that, Jupiter.”
“But it’s true.” She hated the way her voice shook. “You see, Logan, it’s not about the big houses and expensive telescopes, the designer clothes and sparkling diamonds. It’s about trust. When we’re apart, can I trust you not to seek refuge in wild parties just because something’s weighing on your mind? Can I trust you not to sleep with other women because you’re angry and out for revenge? Can I trust you not to be tempted? I honestly don’t know if I can, and that breaks my heart.” She gave him a look of sadness and regret. “In a way, it’s not your fault. As the saying goes, ‘Hurt people hurt people.’ And you’ve definitely been hurt, Logan. You’re damaged. We both are. But the difference between you and me is that I’m not willing to hurt the people I love.”
He groaned and reached for her arm, but she snatched it away. Blinking back tears, she fumbled her keycard out of her beaded clutch and unlocked the door. “I’m going inside. You can come back later for your things and sleep somewhere else tonight. Maybe you and your stepmother can pick up where you left off, assuming your father hasn’t killed her.”
Logan groaned miserably. “C’mon, baby. I know I fucked up. I had a terrible lapse in judgment, a few seconds of epic stupidity. But it’ll never happen again, I swear to God. You gotta forgive me, Jupiter. I can’t lose you.”
“You already have.”
Raw pain darkened his eyes.
>
She steeled herself against it. “I’ve fought too long and too hard to put the past behind me, to heal from everything I went through. I still have a long way to go, but while I’m on the road to recovery, I have to protect myself from any more harm. I love you with all my heart, Logan, and maybe someday we can be friends again. But that’s all we’ll ever be. Just friends. Nothing more.”
His face contorted with agony. He shut his eyes and hung his head as he whispered hoarsely, “Jupiter, please—”
“Goodbye, Logan.” Before he could open his eyes, she backed through the door and slammed it, swiftly turning the lock.
“Jupiter!” Panicking, Logan pounded his fists on the door and rammed his shoulder against it. “Don’t do this, Jupiter! C’mon, baby, open up and let me in! Please, baby! Please!”
She slapped a trembling hand over her mouth and backed away from the door.
“Jupiter, please!” he howled desperately. “I’m sorry, baby! I’m so fucking sorry!”
She heard voices outside the door. They belonged to Lucien and two unfamiliar males, presumably his bodyguards. They were speaking in stern tones, trying to reason with Logan. But he was too out of control to be calmed down or reasoned with.
“Jupiter!” he yelled despairingly through the door. “I’m not going anywhere until you talk to me!”
When one of the guards issued a warning, Logan snarled ferociously, “Get your fucking hand off me!”
The next sound she heard was the smack of a fist against flesh. She knew, even without seeing, that Logan had punched one of the men.
There was a muffled yelp followed by the sounds of a struggle as the guards wrestled with Logan, trying to restrain him and drag him away. He was putting up one hell of a fight, yelling and cursing at them between begging Meadow to open the door.
She screwed her eyes shut, shaking so violently it was a miracle that her bones didn’t crash together and shatter. She could barely pull air into her lungs.
Just when she feared she was having a panic attack, she heard two more male voices. Reinforcements had apparently been called.
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