At Odds with the Heiress(52)

With a whoosh of air from her lungs, she collapsed forward and buried her face in his neck. Logan didn’t have enough breath to voice his appreciation of what had just happened, so he settled for a firm hug and a clumsy kiss on her shoulder.

His heart rate took a long time returning to normal. The way she affected him, Logan wasn’t surprised. Since that first kiss in the elevator, she’d shattered his serenity and caused him to reevaluate what made him happy. For a long time he’d resisted accepting how much he needed her. Today, he stopped fighting.

And now she was all his.

“I’m going to make damn sure you don’t regret turning down the part,” he told her, gliding his fingertips along her soft skin.

She laughed breathlessly. “I like the sound of that. Can we start now?”

He snagged her questing fingers and returned them to his chest. “I can’t stay. I promised Madison that when I got back we’d talk about her moving to L.A.”

“What?” Scarlett made the leap from languid to outraged in an eye blink. She pushed herself up so she could meet his gaze. “But yesterday she was talking about college.”

Logan approved of her irritation. It matched his own. “Apparently that changed after she met your producer friend and Chase Reynolds.”

Her face shuttered. “Bobby is a man who makes things happen and Chase is larger than life. I can see how they could’ve reawakened her dreams of going to L.A., but she and I talked about how important college was to your family. She agreed to get her degree and afterward, if she was still determined to be an actress, to then go to L.A.”

“Apparently Bobby gave her his card and told her to look him up.” Logan recalled the rest of what his niece had said. “She believed since you were returning to your acting career that you would offer her a place to stay.”

A pained expression twisted Scarlett’s features. “I’m sorry she got the wrong impression of what I intended to do. As for Bobby, I know he really liked her,” she admitted in a low voice. “Even told me he might have a part for her in an upcoming TV series. I told him not to mention anything about it to her. I guess I should have been clearer and told him not to give her any encouragement at all.”

“That might have been a good idea.”

Scarlett tried to stay calm as she was caught in the riptide of Logan’s growing annoyance. “I told him she was going to college this fall. I’m sure he didn’t expect her to change her plans because he told her to look him up.”

“There must have been more to it.”

“I’ll call her tomorrow and get her back on the path to college.”

“I’d really appreciate that.”

“My pleasure.

“Maybe she’s just impatient to start living her dream,” Scarlett suggested. “I certainly don’t blame the girl for going after what she wants.”

Placing her palm on Logan’s chest, she set her chin on her hand and scrutinized him. What was it about this often difficult, sometimes surprising and always sexy man that turned her insides into mush? They were at odds as much as they were in accord, but whether they were arguing or making love, he always made her feel as if being with her was exactly where he wanted to be.

And for that matter, what did he find appealing about her? He was scornful of her lack of a college education. Disparaging about her former occupation. Critical of her wardrobe, her abilities as a businesswoman and the way she used her sexuality to her advantage.

Granted, the chemistry between them was off the charts, but she was pretty sure she wasn’t just a conquest. No, there was something more between them than fantastic sex, but she had no idea what.

“I’ll tell you what,” she said into the silence. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow and get her back on the college track. Will that make you happy?”

“Are you sure you can do that?”

She had absolutely no clue. “Haven’t I been doing a great job so far?” She acknowledged his skepticism with a wry smile. “Up until yesterday, I mean?”

“You have.”

“Grudging praise from Logan Wolfe? I’m thrilled.”

With a humph, he deposited a brief kiss on her mouth and began rolling toward the side of the bed where he’d left his clothes.

“Do you have to go?” Scarlett flopped onto her stomach and kicked her legs slowly in the air. As if drawn by a force too powerful to resist, his gaze swept over her disheveled hair and toured her naked backside. She knew exactly how appetizing she looked lying there and thrust out her lower lip in a provocative pout. “If you stay the night I’ll make it worth your while.”