He cut her off with a curt voice. "You're. Not. Fucking. Going. Anywhere."
Pleasure inundated her and she tried again. "Logan--"
"What?" he hissed.
"You're hurting my wrist," she complained softly.
He released her at once and his hands sank to her hips and he picked her up and put her on the top of the vanity, her legs dangling between them. Without missing a beat, his fingers sank into the fragile silk at her hips, ripped the garment from her legs and tossed it away.
He lost not a second, and with his hands gripping her knees, he shoved them apart and moved between them.
The light was bright, almost glaring and now, as he looked down between them, Lauren was spread wide and vulnerable to him.
He began to growl low in his throat like a wounded animal, his expression a glowering mask of fury. His hands left her knees long enough to adjust his fly and release his engorged erection. Immediately, he began pushing in, and Lauren suddenly felt both weak and powerful all at once.
He was so aggressive in his masculinity, that she was powerless as his body towered over hers and dominated her as he filled her where she was open to him. But it was good because now she knew how he really felt about the possibility of her leaving.
She had the answer she needed, and she set out to soothe him at once. "Logan," she began, but he cut her off by swiping her wrist again and swiveling her arm until he held it twisted behind her back in a clasp that she couldn't possibly get away from.
Sheer, unmitigated sexual excitement coursed down her spine and landed in a heated rush between her thighs. Oh, God, yes . . . this was new. Another onslaught of dampness eased his way, and he surged all the way inside with a grunt and held there.
Lauren was well and truly captured. He held her pinned to the vanity with his shaft that impaled her, and her arm in a vise behind her back. He wasn't hurting her, but she couldn't have gotten away, even if she'd wanted to.
Right.
Like that would ever happen.
She tried again to ease his torment. "Logan."
"Don't start. I don't want to hear it. You're not leaving."
"No, I'm not," she said softly.
He picked his head up and narrowed his eyes on hers. "You said you were going to Los Angeles."
She read torture and confusion in his eyes, and knew without a doubt that her home was with him now. She held his eyes and shook her head, her hair spilling around her shoulders. "No, I didn't say that. They offered me a job, that's all."
Relief, in its most basic form, spread across his countenance. "You're not going?"
Their gazes held and a hot, sweet ache began to pulse between her legs. "You don't want me to go, do you?"
For an answer, he growled again and pulled out and then slammed back inside. Lauren caught her breath. His head fell to her shoulder and he began pumping, in and out, his thrusts both aggressive and territorial.
Lauren began splintering around him but had enough snap to try again. "You don't want me to go, do you, Logan?"
His hands clenched around her with uncompromising strength. "You're staying here," he answered with commanding arrogance.
His possessive answer sent her into a tailspin and she felt her muscles clasp around him and begin to milk him. The feeling was electric. Amazing and electric and she knew she was about to come undone in his arms. He started to groan his pleasure in a spiral of grunts as he jerked and throbbed inside of her, but with a flash of panic and realization, Lauren pushed against him. "You didn't put on a condom."
His nostrils flared, a primal look appearing on his face. It became apparent that it was too late to worry about anything anymore, and Lauren let go. She saw stars as a feeling of contentment engulfed her. He released her arm and she immediately wrapped her arms behind his neck and held on. She felt him pull out and then just as quickly slip two fingers inside of her, and they strained against each other, coming together as a hot rush of liquid landed on her stomach. She rode the last waves of her orgasm, and then took a deep breath and relaxed against him, the feeling of euphoria she always felt with him stronger than ever before.
The strength left her limbs and she felt his magnificent hold grasp her tightly to him. She let out a breath. "I love you," she said simply.
And waited.
She felt his muscles relax for half a second but then, in a rush of motion, he opened the door, picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, where he dropped her to the center of the bed.
She scrambled to her knees, wearing only her bra, and watched as he began slowly and methodically taking his clothes off, his hot gaze never leaving hers.
The primal fear and rage that had been boiling in Logan's system not ten minutes ago was only now slowly receding. When he'd heard 'Los Angeles' come from her lips, he thought his world was about to split apart at the seams.
He thought maybe he'd gone a little crazy. Getting inside of her and capturing her in his arms had helped somewhat, but it wasn't until he'd heard her say that she wasn't going, had he returned to sanity.
But maybe he wasn't quite there yet.
He'd come, true, barely having enough time to pull out before he exploded in heated bliss. But it hadn't been enough. He was still primed, still ready. Dropping his boots, jeans and underwear to the floor, he pulled the t-shirt over his head and took it to her, dropping it to her stomach and swiping it across her belly, but that was all the time he could give to something as inconsequential to him as cleaning her up.
They'd have time to clean up later.
Her eyes were big and round as she stared at him. "Are you going to get a condom this time?"
"Do you want me to?" he asked as calmly as he could manage.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He didn't answer her, just opened the drawer and with economical movements, slid a condom over his erection.
He turned back and mounted the bed, pushing her down and coming over her on all fours. "If you weren't going to leave, why did you even bother to tell me? You had to know how I would react."
She began shaking her head. "No, I wasn't completely sure. I needed to know . . . I need to know that you want me here with you. If you don't, if you don't feel the same way about me as I feel about you, then you need to tell me now. I can't turn down this job offer lightly. This would be a career move that--"
At her words, Logan began to feel his brain separate from his body again and he cut off her words by lowering himself until his face was in hers. He'd been so fucking close. So fucking close to pulling it together and acting human again. But then she'd opened her mouth and said more shit that was causing a fire in his guts and a burning sensation in the region of his heart. "Shut up, Lauren."
"What?"
"Just shut the fuck up. I already told you. You're not going anywhere. Don't talk to me about job offers and career moves. Are you trying to drive me out of my mind? Is that what you want?"
She stared at him, obviously shocked, and took a quick intake of breath. "No."
"Then what do you want?" he demanded to know.
"I want you to tell me that you want me to stay here with you. To stay here because of you."
He pushed the hair back from her forehead and took a deep breath. He slid his hand down and lifted her leg over his arm and opened her to him in a way that he found himself dreaming about, day and night. He slid inside her hot sheath and momentarily closed his eyes as a feeling of peace almost overwhelmed him. Lifting up, he stared down into her eyes. "Lauren."
He could see the pulse beat in her neck. "Yes?"
He paused and then said firmly and once and for all, "I want you to stay here with me. I want you to stay here with me and turn down the job. I want you to do that because of what you and I have together." He studied the purity in her upturned face. "Is that clear enough for you?"
An expression crossed her face that caused a stab of satisfaction to slide through his guts and then she nodded her head before her eyes closed and her arms wrapped around him as she welcomed him into her body.
He slowly let the tension recede but found his grip on her just a little tighter than he usually allowed it to be.
Twenty minutes later, Lauren came from the shower and Logan was fully clothed and putting his boots back on. "You still want to go out to eat?" he asked, his voice seeming deeper than usual.
She held the towel around her and nodded her head.
"Come here," he ordered.
As she walked toward him, she felt the coil of heat that she knew she should be getting used to by now. He was sitting, fully clothed, on the bench at the foot of the bed with his legs spread apart. She came between them and raised her eyes in question.
He held out his hand to her. "Let me see your wrist."
She was momentarily puzzled but then remembered she'd told him earlier that he'd been hurting her. There was no use in arguing that she was okay, he'd want to make sure for himself. She lifted her arm and placed it in his open palm.
As she already knew, there would be no mark from his hands left on her body. The only marks he left on her were either accidental from his whiskers abrading her, or purple bruises that he sometimes scattered across her breasts. He never used his strength in a way that wasn't always controlled. And while his earlier grasp had been a little too tight, it wasn't anything that he should be worried about now.
His fingers ran over her skin lightly, almost in reverence, and Lauren's heart turned over at the gentle touch. "Does it still hurt?"