“Melody…please.” Logan was moving beneath her, h*ps rising, seeking more contact…seeking entry.
“Yes…oh, hell, yes.”
Melody lowered herself down onto Logan, exhaling as he entered her. She caught the look on Logan’s face; his head back, eyes closed, his expression radiating pure bliss. The same bliss she felt at that moment. His hands relaxed against her as she settled her weight fully on him.
“God, Melody.” He lifted his head, eyes meeting hers. “How did I get so lucky, finding you when I did?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know, but I’m glad you did.” She kissed him softly. “I love you, Logan.”
His hands were splayed across her back as she began moving against Logan, rising up and settling back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he leaned forward, his lips on her br**sts.
Their bodies moved perfectly together and it wasn’t long before Melody was moaning, grinding herself against Logan. His fingers were on her hips, at first guiding her movements, then holding her as she moved faster.
When she came, it was hard and fast, her body pressed down on Logan, head back, mouth open. She could hear Logan’s voice, his words lost in the pounding of blood in her ears and she wasn’t sure if it was Gaelic or English. But it didn’t matter; the cadence and tone of his words encouraged her, added to the waves of pleasure coursing through her body.
As she finished, she collapsed against Logan, rocking the chair briefly. She heard the rumble of his laugh as they regained their balance. Nestling her face against his shoulder, she let herself relax against him, let him hold her against his body, loving the feel of his hands on her skin, the strength of his embrace.
“Logan…” She nuzzled his neck, kissing the tender skin beneath his ear, trailing kisses down his jawline.
“That was amazing.” She sat up and he reached up, brushing a strand of hair away from her face.
“Aye, it was…and will be. I’m not finished with ye yet, by any length.”
She smiled down at him, shaking her head. “I hope not. I’m not finished with you either.”
Melody stood up and before she realized what was happening, Logan scooped her up, cradling her against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her down the short hall to the bedroom.
There were more roses on the dresser and night table, these deep red. A small lamp was lit and the room was cast in soft shadow. The covers were pulled back, rose petals scattered on the sheets.
Logan laid Melody gently on the bed, climbing beside her. He pulled her against his body, his lips brushing against her forehead and cheek before he propped himself on one elbow, looking down at her.
“Logan…you’ve really made this so special. I feel like a princess.”
“If I had a castle, you would be. We have them, you know, in Scotland.”
“I know…like in Inverness.”
Logan shook his head. “There are other ones, smaller, a little more private.” His hand traced over her shoulder, down the curve of her breast.
“I’d buy you a castle and make you my queen.”
“You would?” Melody watched Logan’s face, his eyes dreamy and hooded, as he followed the path of his fingers over her skin.
“Yes…a castle and land. Fill it with boisterous children. And horses.”
Melody tried unsuccessfully to stifle a giggle. “In the castle?”
Logan gaze traveled back to hers and she didn’t miss the roll of his eyes. Or the smile playing about his lips.
“No, woman. Not in the castle. In the stable, where they belong. But for you to ride, and for the children. And me. I like horses.”
“So…we’d live there, together?” Melody’s heart was fluttering in her chest, her breath catching in her throat.
“Well, it would be hard to get you with a child if we lived apart.” His hand drifted down over her stomach, his finger slowly circling her navel.
“Sometimes I’d be gone on tour, but you could come along, if you like.” Melody caught the almost shy tone of his voice and his quick glance at her.
“I think I’d like that. Very much.” Tears gathered in her eyes, threatening to spill down her cheeks.
“I love ye, Melody. I wish there were more words than those three…four…to tell ye what I feel.”
Logan leaned over, kissing her softly. “All I can do is show ye, and I’ll do that every day that we’re together. As many times as you’ll have me.”
The tears she’d been trying to hold back fell then. Logan pulled her against him, murmuring against her neck, his body pressed against hers as he rocked her gently and she cried softly. The murmurs eventually turned into singing, soft words she didn’t understand.
She lifted her face and his lips found hers, his body moving over hers. There was no mistaking his intent, his desire to take her, to take control. And Melody let him, letting him rise over her, claim her body as he gave her his.
Every move he made sent her spiraling higher, sent another wave of passion crashing through her body. She was clutching the sheets, body twisting beneath Logan as he drove her to her release.
And then he was there with her, his body tensed above her for a moment before he came. He called her name, his voice heavy with emotion and then buried his face in her neck, his cries muffled against her body. She held him as he shook against her, and as his breathing finally began slowing. After a long time he rolled onto his back, one arm thrown over his eyes.
“My, God, woman. You’ll be the death of me. But I’ll die a happy man.”
Melody laughed in the darkness, rolling over to rest her head no his chest, idly tracing circles on his damp skin.
“What’s the song?” She spoke without lifting her head from his chest.
“What song?” Logan’s voice was far away, arm still across his eyes.
“You sang me a song before…this last time.” She felt herself blush and smiled, glad Logan couldn’t see that he still made her blush.
“Oh, that. Nothing really. Just something I’ve been messing with.” He pulled her against him, his chest against her back. He found her hand, winding his fingers in hers.
“Sleep now, Melody. Sleep with me. Tá mo chroí istigh ionat.”
“My heart is within you too, Logan.”
His breathing slowed, grew deeper and the arm around her waist gradually relaxed, but never completely let go of her hand. She drifted off, the steady sound of his breathing in her ears, dreams of castles and Scotland in her head.
* * *
The alarm woke Melody. She was disoriented, still half asleep as she batted at the clock. Logan wasn’t in bed and she could smell coffee. She tugged her robe around her shoulders, stumbling down the hall.
“Morning. Coffee’s made. Do you want breakfast before you leave?”
Logan was sitting at the table, which still bore the remains of their very late night dinner. They’d woken well after midnight, both ravenous, and had devoured the rest of the room service meal.
“Um…no, just coffee.”
Logan pulled the second chair over, and she dropped into it. She caught his grin, which he tried unsuccessfully to hide behind the morning paper.
“What?”
“You’re a little…pale this morning.”
She took a welcome sip of coffee. “And again…it’s that damn Macallan.” The empty bottle was on the table, along with the champagne bottle, upended in the ice bucket, now full of melted ice water.
“Aye. It is.” He leaned toward her, his voice soft. “But it was fun, right?”
She laughed. “Yes, very much fun.”
“What are ye doing today then? At work, I mean.”
“I have to decide…we have to, actually. Decide what to do about your case. Ryan has to go. I need to deal with that, file a motion to get Ryan taken off the case. I want to keep them on the defensive, not let them put us in that position.”
“Lawyerly stuff. Right.”
“What are your plans for the day?”
“Nothing much of anything. Letting the day take me where it will. Thought I might take you to lunch, if you wanted to go. We’ve never actually had a meal together in the daylight.”
Melody pursed her lips. “Well, you can’t come upstairs, but I can meet you in the lobby and we can go around the corner. There’s a little deli I like. Back when I had the time, I’d go there. They have a wonderful roast beef sandwich with sautéed mushrooms.”
“Then it’s a date. One o’clock? I’ll call you, give you the secret password and you can slip away.”
She smiled and finished her coffee. “That works for me.” She rose, leaning down to kiss the top of Logan’s head as she passed.
He reached out and caught her, his arm around her hip. He held her against him briefly, his cheek against her stomach. He let her go, turning back to his paper.
“You okay?”
He shook his head. “I am. Just missing you already.”
“But I’m not even gone.” She ran the back of her hand down his arm, the skin warm to her touch.
“I know. I just…I miss you when you’re not here.”
Melody knelt beside his chair. “I think you’re missing other things too. Like the band, and making music.”
He nodded, distracted. “Aye. You’re probably right. I miss the music, and my band mates too.” There was a quick smile, a glint in his eye.
“But not, obviously, in the same way I miss you, Melody.”
* * *
The morning passed quickly for Melody as she worked her way through the stacks of files on her desk, trying to avoid Victoria. Logan called her promptly at one and did slip away while Victoria was away from her desk, meeting Logan in the lobby. She’d brought along the envelope with the photographs Ashton had taken. They’d been completely forgotten, lying on the floor next to her purse, never even touched.
“I feel like I’m skipping school.” She took Logan’s arm as they walked down the sidewalk.
“It is nice being outside for a change, not locked away in the hotel.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes. “Logan, you said something last night…about Scotland. About us, I mean. Living in a castle.” She shook her head, fumbling for the right words.
“Was that just something you said, in the heat of the moment? Or was there something more to that?”
“I meant it, Melody. Every word I said. Especially the bit about no horses in the castle.”
Melody tugged at his arm, laughing. “Be serious. Do you think about us, the future, after all this mess with the case is resolved?”
“I think about it all the time.” He looked down at her. “I want you in my life, Melody. Wherever life that may be. If it’s here, or Scotland, or between here and Scotland.”
“Where would you want to live?” She was giddy at the thought of living with Logan, spending her life with him. Everything seemed new and fresh, with so many possibilities.
“Scotland’s my home, ye ken. It’s where I want to spend most of my time, where I want to have my family. But there’s a need for me to have someplace here, in New York. It makes travel easier, if I have some place to call my own. As much as I like traveling, seeing new places, I like having some place other than a hotel to come back to. But I love Scotland, though. It is home.”