The Billionaire's Kiss(73)

Unless he left in the next two hours, he wouldn’t be able to make it to DC. Logan knew what that meant. Jack was trying to duck him. With everything they had been through together, Logan knew when Jack was avoiding something. Why even text back then? Logan knew the answer. If Jack didn’t text, Logan would only keep at it. This was his way of trying to shake him.

Callie rolled over and mumbled, “Is everything alright?”

No, he wanted to say. The only thing in the world that he wanted was to stay there in bed with his arms wrapped around her, but for the first time in his life, he was trying to do the right thing instead of the easy thing, and he didn’t want to tell her. “Yeah, Callie, everything’s fine. Go back to sleep.”

Logan leaned over and kissed her temple. He buried his nose against her hair and inhaled. She smelled so wonderful. Why the hell couldn’t he just stay in bed with her? She shifted and raised her sweet, soft lips against his. If he had been standing, that kiss would have brought him to his knees. He knew that if he didn’t leave at that moment, he’d never leave. “Callie,” he whispered, “I wish I could stay with you tonight, but something came up and I have to head out.”

“Right now? Should I be worried?” she asked. “What time is it?”

“It’s half past one. I have to meet with a vendor in Boston early in the morning. I’ve had the meeting on the books for weeks, but something just came up and there’s no way for me to skip out on it. God, I wish I didn’t have to do this.”

“Do you want me to come?” Callie offered. “We could make a day of it.” She lifted her arms and yawned. Then she shifted again and pressed her curves against him. If she was trying to get him to stay, she was doing a damn good job.

“I wish,” Logan said, “but you and I both know that if you come with me, I won’t be able to concentrate.”

“Well, we could always figure out a way to calm your mind until the meeting,” Callie said. She was still half asleep, and her words jumbled together as she spoke.

“I can’t.” Logan turned over and rolled out of bed.

“You’re turning down sex?” Callie asked. Logan still wasn’t sure she was awake.

“What can I say? You’ve left me very satisfied, but I have to go. I wish more than anything that I could spend the next week doing nothing but lying here in your arms.”

“What happened to doing what you want?”

“What happened to responsibilities?” he asked. If only she knew why he had to go, she’d understand, he thought, but he didn’t want to get her hopes up, and he didn’t want her to think he was doing this just to win points with her. He was going to hash things out with Jack Coburn because it was the right thing to do, whether or not it came back to bite him in the ass.

He leaned in and kissed her again on the cheek. “I’ll call in the morning once the meeting’s out.” Then he kissed her again.

As his lips pressed against her cheek, Callie smiled. “Bring me back something good,” she said.

“Are you asking that as my girlfriend?” God. As soon as he said it, he realized he couldn’t take the words back. He, Logan Harris, the man who perfected the one night stand had just asked someone to be his girlfriend. What the hell was he thinking?

“Is that what I am now?” Callie asked. She suddenly seemed much more awake.

“I don’t know. It depends on whether or not you want me to bring you back something. I feel like girlfriends and wives get gifts.” Did he really just say wife? Christ, he needed to stop before he ended up on one knee asking for her hand in marriage.

“In that case, bring me back something big,” Callie said. She kissed him and rolled back over.

Hopefully I’ll bring you back the biggest victory of your career.





***

Callie lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. It had been an hour since Logan had left, and as soon as he had stepped out the door, she hadn’t been able to sleep. She felt restless, on edge. She didn’t know whether or not to trust him. She didn’t want to be jealous or suspicious, but, frankly, she had no idea what to think of anything that had just happened. After all, he had just asked her to be his girlfriend. Why on earth would he say that? Why would he do that and just leave? Sure, the electricity between them was so strong that it nearly crackled each time they touched, but he was hardly the type of guy who dated, never mind the kind of guy who considered someone his girlfriend. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was hiding something else.