“What is it?” She doesn’t answer, so I pry her hands away. “Nik?”
She lets me see her face, and she looks as if she might cry. What the hell happened? “Mandi said she had two people from the press check in. They were asking questions about you and me. Whether she knew me and where they might find us.”
I close my eyes. Why the hell did the press wait this long to come here? And of course, just as I’m making progress with Nikki. I wish I knew for sure she’ll take this okay, but I’m not sure she will.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Nik, this family has weathered worse storms than this.”
Nikki
I should’ve known the press would eventually find us. We’ve been in this bubble for so long after our marriage that you’d think someone paid them off not to bother us. Why are they just now showing up in Sunrise Bay, and why didn’t they do enough of an investigation to know that Mandi is my sister?
“Hey.” Logan pries my hands away from my face. “We can handle this. We’re happy and that’s all they’re gonna find.”
“It’s not us I’m worried about. It’s me, my family. They’re gonna be digging around.”
He sits back on the couch. “Are you sure it’s only your family?”
I don’t need him doubting my feelings for him right now. “Yes, Log. Let’s remember my mom married her husband’s cousin. That can be twisted in a lot of different ways.”
He looks me straight in the eye. “Your mom and Hank are in love. They’re not gonna care about that. I promise they’re only here for me and you.”
I blow out a breath. “The night we met, did I tell you why I wanted to start this podcast?”
This isn’t the ideal time for us to delve into our deep dark pasts, but this will help Logan understand that I am only concerned about my family and not what they’ll find between the two of us. If it means opening up to him, well, I have no choice, and he’s more than proven I can trust him.
“So they can tell their own side of their story.” He smiles at me. “It’s a great idea. A lot of people just believe what they’re told.”
I nod. “Yeah, but the reason it’s so important to me is that when my dad cheated on my mom, all these rumors started spreading. How my mom knew and turned a blind eye for years because she didn’t want to give up their lifestyle. Other people said my parents were swingers and they’d host orgies. The worst rumor was that they’d pimp us out at their parties.” I roll my eyes just thinking about it.
“Kids are assholes.”
“That’s the thing—it wasn’t just the kids, it was the adults too. Once my family was torn apart, my mom had no choice but to return to Sunrise Bay because our lives were becoming a living hell down there. The people we thought were our friends turned out to be the most vicious of all.”
His hand lands on my thigh. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
I shrug. “It was a long time ago, but let’s not forget that even here in Sunrise Bay, when my mom and Hank got together, not everyone was happy about it. Some kids called them kissing cousins even though they’re not blood related. At least up here, people aren’t so hung up on making sure they’re on the top of the pedestal that they kick anyone who gets close in the face to tumble back down. It’s not Arizona, but I’m concerned that all the press is gonna focus on is that you married a girl who’s related to her stepdad.”
He takes my hand, tugging me up from my position to straddle him. His hand molds to my ass and our eyes lock. “I’ll take care of this, Nik. You’re my wife, which means it’s my responsibility to make sure you’re safe and secure.”
My forehead falls to his shoulder. “You can’t be sure, and you can’t control what they’re going to say. They’re gonna have a field day.”
His hands land on either side of my cheeks, and he pulls me away from his shoulder. “I can be sure, because I won’t stand for anyone making up lies. I have a platform and I’ll use it if we need to, but we’re in this together.”
Never in my life did I think I’d fall for a man I married immediately after meeting him, but I have fallen for him. So much so that I’d take his last name and truly see where this marriage could go. He might just be one in a million.
“Trust me?” he asks.
I still for a second, then nod. He exhales, letting out a relieved breath because he understands how hard it is for me to be vulnerable and hand over my heart. Then he stands up.
I yelp as I try to hang on. “Where are we going?”
“We’re going to bed,” he whispers in my ear. “I want to make love to my wife.”
Goose bumps travel down my spine as he carries me up to the master bedroom where the majority of my stuff has accumulated. I hold on to his neck as though I could lose him at any time. Once we’re in the bedroom, he lowers me to the bed and climbs up and over me.
“Shouldn’t we talk about the press?” I ask.
He puts his finger over my mouth and shakes his head. “They’ll be there tomorrow. Tonight, it’s just us.” He unbuttons the rest of my blouse, his palms push the fabric away from my skin. “You’re so beautiful, Nik,” he says with awe in his voice.
I arch, allowing his hand to mold to my breast, needing to feel him more in this moment than ever before.
Reaching back on the neckline of his T-shirt, he tears the shirt off his body. My fingers outline the tattoo on his chest. He doesn’t tear his gaze away as I’m transfixed on him.
“God, Logan,” I murmur.
“What?” he asks, his fingers unbuttoning my pants and sliding the zipper down.
“You. I never would have thought…” I struggle to finish my thought when he slides his hand down my pants, playing with my clit over my soaked silk panties.
He kisses the hollow of my neck. “Thought what?”
“That I’d…”
He straightens out and smirks at me. “You don’t have to say it.”
I shake my head. “I want to.” I swallow past the dryness in my throat and lock my eyes with his. “I’ve fallen for you, Logan Stone, and it scares the crap out of me.”
He chuckles. “Join the party, but it’s all going to be okay. I promise to never break your heart.”
For the next hour, we slowly touch one another, our lips exploring each other’s bodies. And in that bedroom, Logan makes love to me while promising no one will ever harm me on his watch. By the time I fall asleep naked beside him, wrapped up in his arms, I’ve never felt safer or more loved in my entire life.
It took two days for them to dig up my parents’ past. Obviously, we’re not talking about the best in their profession here. All they had to do was talk to the townspeople and someone would’ve spilled the beans.
Logan and I are at my mom and Hank’s, and I look around the group gathered in the kitchen.
“I’m sorry, guys,” I say, thinking about what they have to endure because I married an MMA fighter on a whim.