“You think Ryan had the photo taken? That he was following you, not one of Ashton’s photographers following me?”
“I think so. He used it to harass me, playing the hunch that we were really having an affair. But I think he took it for other reasons, some perverted personal reason of his own. It just came in handy later.”
“So his hunch proved the photo, not the other way around?”
“Yeah, something like that. I think I want to look at those photos again. Maybe there’s something different about that one. Maybe I missed something. Or maybe Lori knows something. She would have signed for the package from the courier.”
Logan shook his head. The worry lines were back on his face, furrowing his forehead, etched around his mouth. She rose, walking across the room to him. He wrapped his arms around her, his hands sliding over the smooth silk of her robe. His lips found hers, his kiss gentle at first, but growing more intense the longer it lasted. After a time he broke away with a deep sigh, looking at her with a far-away expression on his face.
“It’s a good thing you don’t have a cat.”
“A cat?” A small burst of giggles escaped her. “Why on earth would you say that?”
“You’ve moved in here, brought your favorite robe. I noticed it the other day, when you came back from your apartment. It’s a vast improvement over the hotel robes.”
He was slowly undoing the sash of her robe, his fingers gently tugging at the knot. “You’d be needing to leave to tend to it. I have nothing against them, I like cats well enough. Never could have one though, being on the road so much.”
She caught the glimpse of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You’re living on the road then, here with me, in a way. And we do quite well at it. You’ve brought your favorite robe. I noticed it the other day, when you came back from your apartment.”
He’d undone the sash now and her robe parted slightly. Logan’s eyes were heavy-lidded as they traveled over the exposed curve of her br**sts peeking from the silk.
“How do you know it’s my favorite?” Her voice was a bit breathless, waiting for him to touch her, aching for his touch. They’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms the night before, but they hadn’t made love and beyond the simple physical release of sex, Melody was craving Logan, needing to lose herself in him. Something unsettled still remained between them and she wondered if Logan felt it as well.
“It’s a bit worn, here…” His fingers ran along the front edge of the robe. “…and here.” He held up the end of the sash. There was a tiny frayed end.
“You should be a detective.”
“I just notice things. And with you…” His hands slid beneath the silk, holding her lightly at her waist, sliding his thumbs up the full curve of her br**sts.
“I notice everything.”
Melody’s breath caught in her throat, her body reacting to his touch. Her hands rested on his chest, and she tilted her face to his as his hands rose up over her br**sts and down her arms. The robe slipped from her shoulders, and her arms found their place around Logan’s neck.
“Logan…I missed this…missed us, last night.”
His hands were roaming over her back, reaching down to cup her gently, pressing himself against her stomach. The thin material of his sweat pants did little to disguise his arousal.
“I know. I miss us too. It was…I wasn’t sure if that’s what you wanted, if you wanted me.” He lifted a brow. “But I’m thinking it is the thing you want now. Am I right?”
“Yes, more than you know.” She pulled him to her, her lips finding his. The kiss was long and sweet, and she felt Logan’s need for her, much as his desire.
Melody tugged at the elastic of the sweat pants, finally pulling them down Logan’s hips. It didn’t matter to her where they were at the moment, whether it was in the living room of the suite or not. She wanted him now and she broke away from him with a gasp.
“Logan…now. Please.” Her voice was tinged with wanting, with her nak*d need for Logan at that very moment.
Logan’s gaze, his eye locked with hers, reflected everything she felt, the need, the desire to find each other again, to make things right between them. He nodded his head before lowering her gently to the floor.
His lips were already on hers before they settled on the carpet, and there was an urgency to his movements, his knees pushing her legs apart, his hands beneath her, lifting her to him.
As he took her, she gasped, meeting him fully with her body, letting the weight of him hold her down, pin her to the earth.
It was brief but all consuming. Melody raked her nails across Logan’s back, crying out, tears of joy mingled with longing springing to her eyes. Logan buried his face in the familiar nook of her shoulder, his cries mixing with Melody’s, blending together in a passion-filled duet.
As brief as it was, it was exactly what Melody needed. The deep unsettled feeling was gone, replaced with a calm sense that even if everything was spinning out of control around her, none of that could touch them, touch this place where they came together as one.
Logan slowly raised himself above her and Melody held his face in her hands. She could feel the flush still staining her cheeks, feel her heart beating against Logan’s chest. “I’ll always want you, Logan, no matter what. This…this makes me whole, keeps me sane.”
He was still breathing hard, his words coming between gasps for air. “Aye. I’ll remember that for the future.”
* * *
Melody left for work, Logan promising to call Claire to try to set up some kind of meeting. Melody’s mind was spinning, trying to think of all the things the girl could want, trying to think of how she should advise Logan as his attorney. Anything but how she felt about Claire, and Claire’s assertion that the child was Logan’s. That thought was too painful to touch.
But that was the last moment she had time to think about Claire, or even Logan. Her office was a mad house from the minute she sat down until well past lunch. It wasn’t until Lori brought her a sandwich and soup that she realized she hadn’t heard from Logan.
As much as she knew she shouldn’t call him from work, she snatched up the phone as soon as Lori had closed the door behind her. The phone rang far too long as Melody tapped her spoon against her desk. Finally Logan picked up.
“Logan? Everything okay? I hadn’t heard from you…”
“Aye. I know. All hell has come undone.”
“With Claire?”
“No. Well, somewhat with Claire. But she’s the least of it. It’s Ashton.”
Melody sat forward. “Ashton? What has he done?”
“You haven’t heard then? I thought you’d have gotten notice, something official. He’s fired his attorney and apparently hired a new one. I don’t know how that affects the case though. I know it’s bothering everyone else.”
“A new attorney? No, I don’t think I’ve gotten notice. But it’s a madhouse here. I haven’t gotten through the mail yet from yesterday. It really doesn’t make that much difference, sometimes just slows things down, if the new attorney needs to get up to speed. They’d ask for something called a continuance. How did you hear about this?”
“Angus called, said Ashton was mucking about, asking questions of him and the other band mates, talking rubbish about me. Stirring things up, like he does. And then said his new attorney was going to kick our asses, or something like that. Either Angus didn’t remember a name, or Ashton never said.”
Melody cradled the phone against her shoulder and shuffled through the unopened stack of mail Victoria had left on her desk.
“Oh…here. From Ashton’s lawyer’s firm.” Melody tore open the envelope, pulling out several sheets of paper. As she read her stomach dropped.
“You have to be kidding me.”
“Melody? What? Is it not so good?”
“Ashton fired his attorney and hired Ryan Marshall.”
* * *
Melody spent the rest of the afternoon in a daze. Ryan Marshall, the man who harassed her, threatened her career, who knew she was having an affair with her client. This was the man who now represented Logan MacKenzie in his suit against Jack Ashton. How the hell was she supposed to deal with this? It would be all over, as soon as Ryan stepped into court. He would ask for the case to be dismissed, all because she’d fallen in love with Logan, couldn’t resist him. Slept with him. Because she had chosen love over her career.
And he would ruin her, if he had the chance. Melody had even provided the ammunition. She hadn’t given up seeing Logan. They’d been careful, but not careful enough.
Melody sighed, finding Logan’s file and clipping the papers inside. Think about it tomorrow, Scarlett. It’s not going away, it’ll still be here.
Victoria had been in and out of Melody’s office during the afternoon, uncharacteristically quiet, but Melody barely acknowledged her. There was something at the back of her mind, something to do with Ryan, and Logan’s case. But the thoughts were nebulous, just out of reach.
Logan was waiting for her at the security door when she got home from work. She’d almost forgotten about Claire in the aftermath of hearing about Ryan, and in the mountain of work she was dealing with.
“You said Claire wants to meet in a public place?”
Logan had poured Melody a glass of wine and they’d settled on the couch.
“Did she say why?”
“She said she wanted no surprises, nothing that would put her at a disadvantage. Whatever that means. She sounded scared, Melody. And Claire’s not afraid of much that I know of.”
“Can you convince her this is the only way?”
“I said it was the way I wanted it, that I didn’t want any surprises either. I told her I’d call her tonight, let her have a chance to think about it. But I wanted you here, when I called. For moral support.”
Logan smiled at her, and she saw the worry and anxiety she felt reflected in his face. It broke her heart and she set her wine glass on the coffee table.
“Come here.” She held out her arms and he slid across the couch, letting her hold him, his head resting on her shoulder.
“This is hard, I know. And I know you’d rather not face her. But we can’t let her be a ticking time bomb. Your name and face are already all over the tabloids and that’s not going to help your career. Especially now that they’ve picked up that the band has split up. All that negative publicity will eat away at your fans.”
Logan sat up, holding Melody’s hand, idly playing with her fingers. “Aye. I read some of that rubbish online today. The European pages have it all over, with quotes from the other mates. I suspect it was what Ashton was up to the other day, when Angus said he was asking questions. Picking away at Duff, and Colin, who likes to rant if given the chance.”
“It’s part and parcel of being famous, but it’s a terrible part.”
“You’ll get no argument from me there.”
They sat in silence for a while. Finally Logan sighed, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. “I supposed I better call and get it over with.”