Beatrix was mine, and nothing would ever change that.
She wrapped her arms tightly around me as I pumped her full of my essence. When the pleasure finally receded, I groaned once more and stilled, my semi-hard cock still inside her. After long seconds, I pulled out and lay beside her, our identical breathing filling the room.
I turned and looked at her. Beatrix was on her back, her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling as she caught her breath.
Damn, this woman is going to be my everything. Hell, she already is.
I couldn’t help myself as I pulled her close and held her tightly. Turning my head and kissing her temple, I breathed out as pleasure and warmth still filled me, the kind that had nothing to do with what we’d just done.
I heard her breathing change as she started to drift off. I stroked my fingers up and down her bare arm, felt her skin pebble. The fact that my touch affected her even though she was falling asleep pleased me to no end. “I can’t let you go,” I whispered against her hair, not sure if she heard me, but either way, I’d keep telling her until there was no doubt in her mind.
Chapter Thirteen
Beatrix
One week later
What did it say about me that a week later—seven whole incredibly delirious and pleasurable days later—where I found myself spending every free moment I had at Logan’s apartment? My body was sore in all the right places, I had light marks marring my flesh from his passion, and I’d never felt so… complete in my entire life.
It says that you’ve finally found whatever was missing in your life, that one thing you didn’t even know you needed until it was there.
I wrapped the blanket around my body tighter and stared at the city from Logan’s balcony. This high up, the wind was a little more violent, whipping my strawberry-blonde hair around my face, slightly obstructing my view. If I closed my eyes and held my arms out, it was almost as if I were flying.
And I absolutely tried it, standing this high up, the blankets falling from my body, my nudity making the experience even more surreal.
But that wasn’t today. The neighbors in the high-rise across from the balcony didn’t need another show from a crazy but very happy woman right now.
The sun had risen hours ago, and despite the summer month, the wind was chilled. I wrapped the blanket more firmly around me. God, had I ever been this happy? No. Never. That should scare me, especially for how fast this all had gone, but it all felt so… right.
The sound of the sliding door opening and closing had me turning around. I watched as Logan stepped out, already dressed in his suit, looking like the CEO he was. And dammit, did he look good. His appearance was one that clearly commanded others. But with me? With me, he was gentle, with soft touches and strokes that set me on fire.
As soon as our gazes locked, I felt that intensity and connection right away. It stole my breath.
His smile was slow, heated. He finished adjusting a cufflink then crooked his finger for me to come to him, his expression dark, full of promise. What fool would I be not to come when a man like Logan Mathis beckons, especially when he looked at me like I’d just given him the world with my very presence?
He pulled me close, and I rested my head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. The material of his suit was soft, expensive. Despite Logan being extremely wealthy, he didn’t flaunt it, didn’t make people feel less than he was. He was probably one of the most genuine souls I’d ever met, and even I knew how crazy that sounded after only a week. But when the truth hit you, it hit you hard.
I smoothed my hands up his chest, feeling his lean muscles barely restrained underneath his jacket. “I can’t stay in your apartment forever.” I said those words in a whisper, and I instantly felt his body tighten. “I have to get back to my life, my apartment, all that stuff.” The way he stiffened in my arms was like he thought what I just said was abhorrent.
He pulled back, his arms gently gripping my shoulders. The stormy expression on his face had me swallowing and heating all at the same time. “You could,” he said softly. “Stay here, live here with me.”
I was shocked by his suggestion. His expression was so serious, as if this was the answer to everything.
He moved his hand up the side of my neck until he could cup my cheek. Then he moved his thumb over my lower lip, his focus on the act. “It’s a scary offer. I know that,” he said while still focused on my mouth. “But I meant everything I said, Beatrix. I meant it and more. I’ve never felt this way before about a woman, and I know I’ll never feel it again. You belong here, with me.” He took my wrist and placed my palm right over his heart. “You could live here. It would be so easy, so effortless.” He was whispering again. Logan searched my face, this heaviness in his gaze that had my heart skipping a beat.
I still hadn’t said anything one way or another, and so he continued.
“I know this is fast. I know it’s insane, but I also know that you feel the same way.” Leaning down, he kissed me softly on my lips. It wasn’t sexual, wasn’t rushed or even heated. It was like a seal. It was like he was telling me the truth with that kiss. “But I have all the time in the world to wait for you. I have all the time for you to realize that as strongly as I have.”
I swallowed, my throat so thick.
“I’m a patient man, Beatrix.”
I didn’t need time to know how Logan made me feel, that I wanted to grasp onto this feeling forever. And for however cautious I’d been in my life, guarding myself, my heart, right now, I just wanted to throw caution to the wind, like I had in that limo, like I had in his apartment.
I wrapped my arms tighter around him and rose up on my toes to be the one to kiss him now. “I don’t want to let go of what’s happening between us,” I murmured against his lips. “I want to see how far it goes, Logan.” I felt him smile against my mouth, felt his body physically relaxing against me, as if my words were what he’d been waiting to hear his entire life.
“So that means you’ll stay here, with me?”
I cackled softly and pulled back, cupping his face, his cheeks so smooth from his morning shave. I looked into his blue eyes, could see all the possibilities looking down at me. “How about we take it one day at a time?” I breathed out slowly. I wanted to move in. I wanted to do that so badly. But I wanted to take my time with him.
The smile he gave me warmed me from my toes to the top of my head. “I’ll take one day at a time every day, all day, Beatrix.” He leaned down and kissed me, whispering against my lips like another seal of truth, “Because I know it’ll be forever with you.”
Epilogue One
Logan
One year later
I watched her from the living room, unable to tear my gaze from the woman I loved far too much for my own sanity. She was cooking us dinner, her voice soft as she sang a song. She was in her element right now, and dammit was she one fantastic cook.
After downing my coffee, I stood and took the empty mug into the kitchen. She had her back to me, and I practically stalked her as I slowly moved closer. Truth be told, I could stare at her all day, every day, and never get enough. Even a year later, she was what consumed me, what I was obsessed with. And it had only gotten worse. I’d only gotten more possessive as time ticked by.