****
They caught a cab from the airport to the hotel and the entire ride was silent. Logan's face was implacable, tension pulsing through his body.
The hotel lobby was nice, but Lauren was too upset to notice anything about it. Logan made short work of getting them checked in, and while he was at it, her gaze landed on the gift shop only feet away. She made a move to wander in that direction, but without even glancing at her, Logan halted her escape with a firm hand on her elbow. The fingers of his left hand clamped around her arm while he signed the paperwork with his right, and Lauren realized that although his attention seemed to be focused on the check-in process, it wasn't. His attention was on her, and from the vise-like grip he had on her arm, she knew his focus wouldn't be leaving her anytime soon.
While they traveled up the elevator, Lauren's nerves totally went to hell. Logan leaned negligently against the wall, his legs crossed at the ankles in a position that should have been relaxed, but wasn't. She knew he wasn't relaxed. His eyes wouldn't meet hers, but he looked her over silently, from her feet to her neck, before landing on her lower torso and staying there. Even though he seemed to be trying, he couldn't hide the aggression that was like a force field around him. And it was totally, one hundred percent, directed at her.
The elevator doors opened and they found their room; Logan slipped the key card inside and turned the knob. He ushered her in before him, and then turned and bolted the lock, the clanging noise jarring her nerves even more.
She moved into the room, but he came after her, not even taking a second to glance around. Her breath came more rapidly as he stalked her across the limited area between the bed and the bureau. She backed up a few steps as she kept her eyes glued to his. All traces of vulnerability had left his face and his person; he was back in control, authority stamped across his features.
"Do you have any idea what you put me through?" His voice lashed out at her, pissed and impatient.
Her heart beat heavily in her chest as he started advancing on her. "I'm truly sorry, Logan. I won't do it again."
"You knew I heard your end of that conversation. You knew that, goddamnit. And you knew how bad it sounded. Do you think I'd ever do anything like that to you? Cause you worry like that?"
Oh, God. No, he wouldn
't
. He'd never hurt her, not in a million years. "No, I know you wouldn't. I should have told you right away. I should have told you it was your sister who is unhappy in her marriage. I should have trusted you to stay in control and not do anything crazy."
"You damn sure should have."
"I know."
He didn't let up. He didn't let it go. "It's been six years. Six fucking years and you still don't have a goddamn clue, do you babe?" His eyes narrowed on hers. "You have no fucking clue how much I love you. You have no idea that my world rotates around you. You know that, babe? Do you fucking realize that you're my sun, and without you I'd wither and die?"
The impact of his words hit her heart and tears came to her eyes. "Logan, I know. . . I feel the same way. I love you so much." As she spoke, he crowded into her personal space and fisted his hands around her wrists, taking her captive. Her heartbeat skipped a cadence, a rush of wet heat coming between her legs, but she continued to try to apologize. "I'm so sorry that I hurt you. I love you so much."
"You're never going to do it again, are you? Never going to make me feel like I'm about to lose you?"
"No, never."
He started walking her backwards, until her back hit the wall. "And you're about to make it up to me, right now, right this second?" he said in a gravelly voice.
Lauren fought down the butterflies in her stomach so she could breathe. "Yes."
"Anything I want, that's the way it's going to be, right Lauren?" As he spoke, he lifted her arms and imprisoned them over her head with one masculine hand.
She swallowed as a thousand pinpricks of light exploded in her head and a molten river of desire cascaded through her bloodstream. "Yes, anything."
"That's good. That's real good, babe." He took a deep breath as his eyes searched hers. "Tell me again."
She knew exactly what he wanted. "I love you."
His eyes flared with satisfaction but it wasn't enough. His free hand came between them and he wrapped it around her neck, not squeezing, not hurting, but
there
, meaning to dominate. "Who do you belong to?"
Lauren fought against the intense arousal rushing down her spine. Fought it long enough to be able to answer him. "You."
His nostrils flared and he shoved his torso against hers. "Who's the only person who touches you?"
She exhaled a shallow pant as her nipples pebbled against the material of her sundress. "You."
His hand slid from her neck and lifted the flimsy material of her dress; he gripped her butt and squeezed one cheek, just short of pain. "Who's the only person who fucks you?"
"You."
His fingers loosened and he shoved her panties down to her knees and then lifted one foot and pressed them down, all the way to the floor. "Who's the one goddamn person in this world you keep no secrets from?"
Lauren felt the cold air from the air conditioning unit against her skin and the hot temperature of his flesh as he grasped her; it was a contrast that made her shiver. "You."
"That's right, babe. That's the way it's going to be, understand me?"
"Yes."
At her answer, he released her hands only briefly, just long enough to lift her dress over her head and remove it from her body. Lauren wore nothing more under the dress, and with her panties gone, she found herself stripped completely naked. Staring down the length of her exposed body, his expression grew fevered. He grasped her hands over her head again, restraining her in an uncompromising grip, allowing her to feel his strength, and then he lowered his mouth to the top swell of her breast and began sucking in a rhythmic action that made her gasp in delight.
He sucked for only seconds, but from the force he used, Lauren knew he'd just marked her and that he'd done it deliberately. The knowledge that he was irrefutably claiming her was captivatingly, deliriously exquisite.
With the mark being made, he lifted his head again and began hammering more words at her. "You're mine, Lauren. Isn't that right?"
Jesus Christ
she loved it when he was like this. Demanding, forceful, dominant. "Yes."
His fingers bit into her wrist. "Say it."
"I'm yours," she breathed out.
"You like it when I fuck you, don't you, babe?"
Her insides melted and her knees buckled but he held her up with his large body. She inhaled jerkily and tried to answer. "Yes."
"Yeah, you do." He agreed, his voice so deep and sexy Lauren thought she'd die right then and there.
"You want me to fuck you now, don't you, babe?"
Currents of pleasure ran through her and she was flooded with wet heat. "God, yes."
"You going to be a good girl from now on? You going to do what I say?" His fingers settled on her clit, stroking it back and forth, rubbing at it until she thought she'd lose her mind.
"Yes, Logan. Please." She began moving her body toward his, undulating against him.
"I like it when you beg me." His voice was low and rough and Lauren knew he wanted it just as badly as she did.
God, it was always so hot between them. "Please, baby. Please fuck me. Fuck me now," she begged for him.
His mouth sank over hers, his tongue pushing inside and tangling with hers. His tongue and teeth were rough, and his fingers continued to work at her clit, but she wanted to touch him. She began pulling at her hands, trying to free them so she could get to the fastening of his faded blue jeans.
He jerked his mouth from hers just long enough to growl, "Be still."
"I want to touch you."
"No. Your hands stay where they're at." He still gripped her wrists with one hand, and slid the other from her clit until he swirled it deliciously around her opening, and then he looked down at her. "Look at me."
When her chin lifted, their gazes clashed and a low vibration buzzed in the air around them. His expression grew feral, and he sank his finger in about an inch and gripped her mound tightly, the palm of his hand pressing against the sensitive area at the top. "Mine." She took a shaky breath and he sank his finger all the way inside. Lauren felt it to the depths of her soul and the feeling was exquisite. "You're mine, Lauren. Don't you ever fucking forget it. You'll be mine until the day you die and nobody else will ever have you."
He began moving his finger inside of her, and he hit the spot that drove her wild every time. And he knew it, damn it. She began breathing rapidly, sucking in oxygen, and the entire world disappeared for her. There was nothing but the two of them, here in this moment, and she wanted it to go on forever.
She became frantic, pushing down on his hand, and it must have driven him over the top because he released her and said, "I can't wait." He adjusted his pants, and then he was freed, his erection pushing against her stomach. He lifted one of her legs, and brought himself to her opening. He pushed the head of his penis inside and lifted her chin with one finger. "I want to fuck you, baby."
Smoldering heat lacerated her; she was enticed by his words. "Yes. Now, baby."
His eyes gleamed into hers. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
"I'm going to fuck you until you can't stand up."
She pushed against him as she flooded with more heat.
Hot heat
. "Please, now, baby."
He pushed an inch into her, until he was stretching her and her eyes began to close. "Keep 'em open."
She stared up at him while she tried to take in enough oxygen to sustain her.
"You want it now?" he demanded to know on a tease.
"Please, please," she begged, panting for air.
"Say it."
"I want it now," she moaned.
That wasn't the answer he wanted. "Say it."
"I want you to fuck me now."
He gritted his teeth and demanded, "Say it."
"I love you." With those words only just leaving her lips, he slammed inside her and the relief was perfect. God, it was good. He was perfect inside of her. He pulled out and slammed back in. Lauren had no control and when her eyes closed, his lips sank over hers.
****
Logan felt the addictive heat of her silky skin surround him and the knowledge that his world was perfect again slid through him as relief, hot and fierce, pierced his soul. The pleasure was intense; he loved it, God, he loved it when she submitted to him like this.
He stroked her hard, his erection powerful as he surged inside and pumped against her. She was a temptation he couldn't resist, a temptation he didn't have to resist, and the knowledge fed the beast in him even more. He felt a primitive emotion come over him, and his abdominals corded as he stroked against her, harder and faster.
He impaled her completely, lifting her leg higher so he could go deeper. He wanted to go deeper; he always wanted to go deeper. He wanted her to yield completely, the primal being inside of him wanted to seize and restrain her. He wanted to claim her and assert his dominance over her, to impose his will over her and demand her acquiescence. It was a clash of wills, a lesson in control, and it didn't escape him that she let him have his way. He needed it and she didn't challenge him. He loved that about her.