“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I was thinking about all the benefits of vegetables.”
She didn’t trust the lazy smile that curved his lips. “You agree vegetables are the key to a healthy diet?”
“Not exactly.” He crouched down and tossed her over his shoulder, chuckling at her outraged cry of protest. With determined strides, he started back to the bedroom. “I’m just grateful they can be eaten raw. This way, we won’t have to worry about our meal getting cold. I’ve suddenly decided to work up a better appetite.”
She tried to keep her tone dignified as he carried her upstairs, but a giggle escaped. “Next time I’ll introduce you to the benefits of fruit.”
Logan chuckled and kicked the bedroom door closed.
The living room was shrouded in darkness, illuminated by the last few crackling embers burning in the fireplace. Flashes of lightning exploded outside. The only sound to break the peaceful silence was the steady pounding of the rain as it beat against the windows and the distant rumble of thunder. Chandler’s head rested comfortably against Logan’s chest as they sat wrapped in each other arms on the sofa. Her fingers played with the fringe on the soft blanket cocooning them.
“What are you thinking about?” He asked.
Chandler lowered her voice to match his husky tone. “I was thinking about my mother.”
“What was she like?”
She smiled, and her face glowed with memories. “Like an angel. She had long golden hair and a smile that lit up the room. She laughed all the time and tried to fill each moment with happiness.”
“Tell me what happened.” His hands stroked her hair.
“She died when I was nine. She had cancer. When she was confined to bed we’d make a tent in her room and pretend it was a fort. We’d eat together and play games.” Chandler paused, thinking back. “I know my father loved her, but he never had time for her. There was always the business to run, and the bigger the company grew the more time he needed to spend there. It finally got a point where he was never home, and the fights would start late at night, angry whispers I overheard through the walls.” She sighed. “I think my father feels guilty about her death even to this day. After she died it only made things worse. I couldn’t seem to reach him. He practically lived at the office, and then he started to send me there after school.”
She laughed shortly. “While everyone else practiced for cheerleading tryouts, I became best friends with the secretaries outside his office.”
“So one day you decided to leave.”
She heard the question in his voice. She knew she should share the details of her past with him but the humiliation of the event still hurt; the anger that her own father could use her as a commodity to further his business dealings. She hesitated for a moment, torn between not wanting to have any secrets between them and wanting to keep it buried for a while longer. She didn’t want to spoil their time together sharing hurtful memories. Vowing to tell him the whole story at a later time, she repeated, “Yes, so one day I decided to leave.”
The driving rhythm of the rain filled the silence. “Do you ever see your father?” he asked.
“Not really. We speak occasionally on the phone but it always ends up in an argument. He thinks I should be married by now.”
Logan stiffened. His hand stilled on her thigh. “And you disagree with him?”
“Let’s just say I disagree with the type of man he wants me to marry. Marriage is another business arrangement to my father, and I refuse to be involved with one of his deals.”
He caught the bitter tone in her voice and almost groaned. Half of him longed to tell her the whole truth; her father had approached him with the business deal of a lifetime, all in exchange for marrying his daughter. Logan had learned Alexander Santell had also offered the same deal to Thorne. If Logan had any doubt of the way Chandler felt about his attorney, he could sever any lingering emotions she may harbor for Thorne by telling her the attorney was courting her because of her father’s deal. The other half resisted, buying himself more time until he could figure out what action to take. Something inside him balked at exposing her father’s dirty dealings. Instinctively he knew Chandler still held a tiny thread of hope that one day she’d be able to patch up the relationship with her father. Logan needed to find another way out of this mess. He decided to change the subject. Fast.
“What made you decide to open the Yoga and Arts Center?”
Her legs wrapped around his as she snuggled closer to his body. “I studied yoga and meditation for two years and became certified as an instructor. I worked a couple of different jobs to support myself before I decided to buy my own building and set up my business. Harry had a friend at the bank who helped me with a loan.
“But then I got to a point where even though my clients were expanding, my bills seemed to be tripling. I struggled more and more to meet those monthly payments. Something had to break. I couldn’t get another loan to keep me afloat, so I needed to come up with an idea.”
“It was an excellent idea.” He trailed one finger up the sensitive flesh of her inner thigh. “Except for that crazy escape clause you threw in.”
“The escape clause made you sign the contract,” she retorted, letting one hand explore below his waist. His breath hissed through his teeth. “Logan, what are we going to do?”
“I’m coming up with a few ideas.”
“No, about our working relationship. About the contract.” Her eyebrows lowered in a slight frown. “There could be complications.”
With one swift movement he lifted her up and on top of his body, positioning her so her knees straddled his hips. Her hair fell in glorious waves down her back and brush against his skin. Her flesh glowed like burnished gold against the dying embers of the fire. Their figures threw shadows against the wall, mirroring their image.
“I’m going to take care of everything, Chandler.” His hands cupped her heavy breasts. He watched her emerald eyes glitter with desire. “We’ll work it out. The only complication we need to worry about right now is how I’m going to slake this hunger I have for you day and night.”
A sensual smile curved her mouth. She tossed her hair with a shake and laughed. It was a low husky growl, a sexy sound that made his gut clench. At that moment, she reminded him of an ancient pagan goddess; a free spirit who let her body guide her in her pleasures, whose eyes mirrored the wildness in her soul. She leaned over him. Her hands ran teasingly down his chest in a light caress.
“Then we should do something about that complication, shouldn’t we?”
She lowered her mouth to his, her tongue tracing the outline of his lips, slipping between them in a slow, sensual rhythm that made his breath catch in his throat and a low moan rumble from his chest. His hips were held captive by her legs as she moved her mouth down his body. She nibbled on his neck, her teeth scraped the muscles in his shoulders, and she playfully bit and licked at his masculine nipples that tightened in response to her touch. Her hands explored the carved flatness of his stomach and roamed lower, tickling the hairs on his inner thighs. She moved inward, cupping his shaft that throbbed and grew even harder beneath her fingers. Logan fought for control when she squeezed him lightly, stroking him, whispering hot words of what she wanted to do to him, with him.