“Alright.”
“But I did need to step in on a few cases, most notably the MacKenzie-Ashton case.” He raised an eyebrow, regarding Melody from across the table.
“I assume you’re still seeing your client?” He shook his head, looking at her disapprovingly.
“I have yet to say anything to the other partners, since I have no actual proof, just a very substantial amount of circumstantial evidence, and a very strong hunch. And I always go with my hunches.”
Melody glared at Ryan. “You’ve done enough damage. Things are…” Her voice trailed off and she dropped her eyes, twisting her hands in her lap. She really did not want to discuss her relationship with Ryan.
Ryan was watching her closely. “Things are not so good in paradise? I can’t say I’d be unhappy knowing that, if that’s the case.”
“It’s really none of your concern.” She raised her eyes, meeting his gaze.
“What concerns you concerns me, especially if it affects your work here at the firm. And let’s talk about that. Ashton is filing a counterclaim, as you know. Breach of contract. We’ll need to have Mr. MacKenzie interviewed in light of these new questions. I’d like to have that happen this week…in the next couple days. Do you think that could be arranged? We’ll conduct that interview together.”
Ryan waved a finger at Melody, a smirk on his face. “No leaving you two alone here.”
Melody felt her anger rising again, but fought to maintain control. “Ryan, I’m still capable of doing my job. And you can’t appoint yourself lead attorney just because.”
Rising from his chair, Ryan walked behind Melody. The snick of the door closing softly behind her made her jump, and then Ryan’s hands were on her shoulders, his fingers rubbing her shoulders, thumbs working into the nape of her neck.
“I haven’t. If you heard that, you heard it from someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about.”
His fingers were sliding slowly down the front of her blouse. “Melody, when I tell that the health of your professional career is in my hands…” His fingers slid lower, brushing the tops of her br**sts. “…I am not exaggerating. You are hanging by that proverbial thread and I am the only one who can pull you back.”
The touch of his hands on Melody was almost too much, but she gritted her teeth, tense in the chair.
“What do you want from me, Ryan?”
“The same thing I’ve wanted all along. You. Your success. But mostly you.”
His breath was stirring the hair near her ear. She closed her eyes, willing him to let go of her. But he leaned closer, his lips brushing her ear.
“I’m still waiting for you to see the light, Melody. I’m hoping when this case is over, you’ve won, and the client has departed to be a rock star on the road, leaving you in the dust, you’ll come to your senses. Until then, I can only be supportive…” Ryan leaned over, kissing the side of her neck “…and persistent.”
There was a soft knock at the door. With unhurried ease, Ryan removed his hands from her shoulders. Melody turned, watching as Ryan moved with unhurried calm to the door. Lori was there, holding a file.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I need a signature.”
“Fine. No trouble.” Ryan took the file, reading as he walked to his desk. Melody glanced at Lori and found the woman looking at her intently. She wondered for a moment if a button had come undone on her blouse, but she couldn’t very well check now.
“Here you are. Are you filing this now?” Ryan handed the file back to Lori.
“Yes. In the next hour or so. I’ll email you the confirmation.”
As she left, Lori gave another pointed glance in Melody’s direction. What’s with her today? Am I on everyone’s black list?
Ryan returned to the table, leaving the door open. Melody was wary but for the next half hour he discussed the MacKenzie-Ashton case, laying out a strategy for her to follow in interviewing Logan.
“I think you should schedule that interview soon. Tomorrow, if possible. I suspect you know how to reach Mr. MacKenzie on such short notice?”
Melody grimaced at the condescending tone in Ryan’s voice, but chose to ignore it.
“Yes, I’ll have Victoria make the arrangements and let you know.” Melody rose, turning toward the door. She felt Ryan behind her and as she stepped out of his office she felt his hand briefly brushed against her hip in an all-too familiar gesture.
“Remember: we’re on the same page here. We want success for you, and we do want to win this case. Remember that, Melody.”
* * *
Logan had checked into a small hotel not far from Melody’s office. She met him there after work, excited to see him again, but still irritated by Ryan and his latest advances.
“I had room service send up something for dinner. I think it’s best if we stay out of sight for a time, rather than give Ashton any more ammunition for his case.”
Melody dropped her purse and coat on the couch, walking into Logan’s open embrace. She nuzzled against his chest, breathing in the complex scent of his aftershave, clean soap and the underlying scent of Logan himself, rich and warm and utterly masculine.
“I think you’re brilliant.” She smiled up at him, taking in the lines of his face, his eyes, and his sensuous mouth. Out of habit and now almost an obsession, she traced his lips with her fingers. He looked more rested than he had in days, but there was worry and tension in his eyes, in the way he held his mouth. The case and especially the breakup of the band, which he had yet to talk about, were weighing on him.
He held her gently, his lips on hers, and for a moment all thoughts of the case and Ashton and Ryan left her mind. When he broke the kiss, she sighed.
“I wish we could just stay here, in a cocoon, for a long, long time.”
“Aye, I’d gladly agree. But, we’re stuck with what we have at the moment. A case and a jackass. Actually two jackasses.”
“That reminds me. Did you get a call from the office, from my paralegal? Ryan wants to interview you as soon as possible.”
“She did call. Left a message.” Logan pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, scrolling through the messages.
“I wanted to ask you first about it, before I agreed. Make sure I wasn’t being set up again.” He gave her a wry grin. “I’m not fond of being set up by that man.”
Melody watched as he searched for the message, scowling briefly at his phone.
“Here it is.” He set the phone on the coffee table and they listened to Victoria’s voice. When the messages were done, Logan stuck the phone back in his pocket.
“Call in the morning and take the meeting. It’ll be at one o’clock and in Ryan’s office. Lori will probably come get you from reception and bring you up to his office.”
Logan sat back on the couch and Melody curled next to him. “I just want this to be over, for both of us. It drives me crazy thinking of you there, with him, every day.”
Melody started to protest, but Logan held his finger to her lips. “I know…I know there’s nothing. But to know that this is happening, it’s just hard…very hard.”
They ate by candlelight, the distant rumble of thunder and the brief flashes of lightening lending the whole meal a romantic flavor. After dinner, Logan carried one tall candlestick into the bedroom, setting it on the night stand.
In the candlelight, and in silence, Logan slowly undressed Melody, taking his time with each piece of clothing. She could feel his eyes moving over her body as he uncovered her, looking at her with something like awe. The gentleness in his gaze, the love for her brought tears to her eyes. Logan looked puzzled, pulling her against him, his lips tracing the track of a tear that rolled down her cheek.
“Did you know tears of happiness are chemically different than tears of anger?” He murmured the words against her neck. Melody suppressed a sudden, small giggle.
“No, I didn’t. And why do you know this?”
Logan straightened, looking into her eyes. “I read on the road. Picked it up somewhere. These…” He ran a finger over her cheek “…are tears of happiness.”
Melody raised an eyebrow. “You can tell?”
“Aye. They taste like happiness…they taste like you. And I have no reason to doubt that you’re happy. Am I right?”
Melody smiled. “You’re right. Very right.”
Logan picked her up, settling her on the bed. Images from their first night together came flooding back, the heady feeling of being with this strange man, not thinking at all about anything but the look of him standing nak*d beside the bed, the confident he exuded, the blatant sex appeal, all which pointed to the promise of a fantastic night of sex…and nothing more.
But here she was, in love with him, and he loved her. That took her breath away and made everything that was happening to her at the office fade into the distance. With Logan here, in bed with her, his body pressed against hers, there was nothing else she needed or wanted.
Their lovemaking was long and slow, the candle melting down into long fingers of wax, finally guttering out, and leaving them illuminated only by intermittent flashes of lightening.
Sometime toward morning, as Melody held Logan tight in her arms, the force of his release taking her breath away, she was carried along with him, on the strength of his passion, the movement of his body leading hers, sending her on a spinning ride of her own.
They clung to each other for a long time, breath rasping from their throats, finally coming down from their shared high. They gradually relaxed their arms and legs, slowly moving apart, rearranging, finding each other again, eventually settling into comfortably entwined arms and legs.
Melody was drifting, warm and relaxed, enjoying that magical sensation of not knowing where her limbs ended and Logan’s began.
But after a long time Melody realized Logan was still awake.
“Is something wrong? You’re not asleep.”
“I’m thinking about the band, about the breakup of the band, more to the point.” She could hear the echo of sadness in his voice.
“You haven’t said anything about the band since we left Scotland.”
“It’s hard, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
“You’ve known them a long time. It must have been like a betrayal, when they broke away.”
Logan shifted beneath her. “No, you’ve got it turned around. It wasn’t they that broke up with me, it was me that broke up with them.”
Melody turned toward Logan. In the soft light from the window, she could see his face, watched as she stared up at the ceiling.
“Why, Logan? I thought you were trying to hold them all together.”
“I was. But in the end, it was like keeping a relationship together just because it’s always been. Even if it’s broken. And we were broken. We weren’t playing music because we loved it, we were playing because it was expected. There was no joy in it. We knew it and the fans knew it. London was sold out, but when they left, the crowd was disappointed. So were we.”