Luck Be a Lady - Cathie Linz [80]
Logan stood there.
Megan opened the door. Logan took one look at her and stepped into the room to take her in his arms. “Are you okay?” he said gruffly.
Megan shook her head. She didn’t know if she’d ever be okay again.
Her teeth were chattering, making speech difficult but she managed to say, “What are you doing here?”
“Faith sent me. She was worried about you. When she couldn’t reach you on your cell, she was sure you’d come looking for your mother on your own despite something called a pinkie swear not to do anything foolish.”
“I didn’t think it was foolish. But I was wrong. Very, very wrong.” Being held in his arms warmed her, reassured her, comforted her. But it didn’t erase the pain.
“What happened?”
“She said she’d wanted my dad to tell me she was dead so I’d never try to find her.” Repeating the words brought tears to Megan’s eyes.
Logan swore under his breath.
“What’s wrong with me that my own mother doesn’t want me?” Megan half sobbed.
“There’s nothing wrong with you. There’s definitely something wrong with her.”
“I’m going to cry,” she warned him. “A lot.”
“Go ahead. I can handle it.”
And he did, patting her back and making soothing noises that she would never have expected from a tough guy like him. She’d thought that crying might send him running for the hills but no, he stood there and took it. He let her cry on his shoulder. And not just cry, but downright sob.
When she finally stopped, he leaned back slightly and smoothed her hair away from her tear-streaked face. “Feel a little better now?”
She nodded but felt embarrassed by her outburst. Stepping away from him, she reached for the tissue box on the nearby desk. She winced as she caught a glance of herself in the mirror. “I’m sorry about that. I don’t usually fall apart like that. I know you might not believe me because this is the second time I’ve lost it with you.”
“I don’t mind if you lose it with me,” he said.
“My nose is all red,” she muttered, blowing into the tissue. “I look like Rudolph.”
“I could say that you have a nice rack, but I’m a better man than that.”
She couldn’t help it, she had to smile at his stoic expression. “I can’t believe you came all this way to see me. Wait a second, how did you know where to find me?”
“Faith checked your credit card records. She saw the flight you booked and the hotel. I had to make sure . . . you know . . . see for myself that you were okay. I had the weekend off anyway, which is rare. But I’ve been putting in a lot of overtime. All those calls that interrupted us before,” he reminded her.
“Right.”
“I can’t get called into work from D.C.”
“Really?” she teased him. “Are you sure the president won’t need you for some emergency?”
“He’s got the Secret Service, the FBI and CIA. I’m sure he can manage without me.”
Megan wasn’t sure she could manage without him. “Your shirt is all wet. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I brought another shirt.” He pointed to the duffle bag he’d dropped by the door before unbuttoning the denim shirt he wore.
“Let me.” She moved closer and took over the unbuttoning duties.
Tilting up her chin, he looked deep into her eyes. She was a goner. Somehow she started kissing him. Or he started kissing her. She wasn’t sure who made the first move. She only knew that having his lips on hers was as close to heaven as she could be.
Passion flared between them. She practically ripped his shirt off while he slid her jacket off her shoulders and let it fall onto the floor. She backstepped toward the bed, tugging him with her.
When the mattress hit the back of her knees, she yanked the bedding out of the way before tumbling backward onto the ritzy sheets. He came with her, kissing her deeply, sliding his hand beneath her top to undo the front fastening of her lacy bra. He cupped her bare breast in the palm of his hand as he brushed his thumb over her taut nipple. The need to join with him pulsed through her entire body.
She gently pushed him away in order to remove her top. He watched her and huskily said, “Are you