Crazy Beautiful Love (3 page)

“I think you have
a problem with me.” Her words were soft but I could hear the edge in her words.
“You’re pretending you think I have an issue with you because you’re Logan
Martelli
. Woo, I’m scared to be with the big, bad Logan
Martelli
, eldest brother in a family of criminals. I’m so scared.
You’re going to steal a car and then have your wicked way with me. Uh oh. Even
though I can’t even get you to make out with me for longer than a few minutes.
The issue we have here isn’t what I think of you, which by the way is not much,
and that has nothing to do with the rumors about you in town. The issue we have
here is that I’m a girl, and I’m rich, and I’m college educated, and I’m
forward, and you don’t like that. You don’t like that a girl like me is
confident enough to tell you that she wants you. You’re scared that I’m going
to emasculate you. You’re scared that I’m going to be a better thief than you.
You’re—”

I watched Maddie
ramble on incensed and pulled her towards me. “Oh, shut up,” I growled at her
before pressing my lips down on hers again. “Just shut up,” I whispered against
her mouth, and this time it was she who pushed her tongue into my mouth first.
We kissed passionately, as if it were the last kiss that either of us would
ever have on earth. I ran my hands down her back and grabbed her ass and pulled
her into me so she could feel my arousal against her stomach. I squeezed her
ass cheeks and enjoyed the feel of her firm butt against my hands. She pushed
her breasts against my chest and I felt her hands in my hair. I opened my eyes
and saw her gazing into mine with a sparkly glint. She was loving every second
of our encounter, and it crossed my mind that she had deliberately wound me up;
she had wanted me to take control of the situation and just shut her up. All of
a sudden, I felt even more aroused and I brought her down to the ground with
me. If this was what she wanted, who was I to say no?

“Oh, Logan,” she
moaned against my mouth, as I slipped my hand up her shirt and cupped her
breast over her bra. I slipped my fingers into her bra cup and pinched her
nipples, delighting in the sound of her groan at the contact of my skin on
hers.

“Sit up,” I
commanded her and pulled off her tank top as she sat up and stared at me. I
then unclasped her bra and threw it on the ground.

“Take off your
shirt as well,” she whispered.

“What?” I stared
at her, unsmiling.

“Take off your
shirt.”

“I’ll take it off
when I’m ready.” I gave her a direct warning look. “If we’re going to do this,
we’ll do it as I say.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Lie down.” I
watched as she lay back on the ground and smiled before leaning down and taking
her naked breast in my mouth. I almost groaned as I tasted her. Her nipple
tasted sweet, and I suckled on it as if it were the sweetest confectionary.
Maddie shifted underneath me, and I saw her legs spread as if giving me the
signal that she was ready for another area to be serviced.
All in good time,
I thought to myself. I moved my mouth over to her
other breast and she cried out as I nibbled on her now extremely hard nipple. I
felt her hands on my back, and I knew she was pulling my T-shirt up. I paused,
not ready for her to take my shirt off. I shifted and grabbed her arms, pinning
them back on either side of her head.

“I told you, I’m
not ready to take my shirt off.”

“I want to see
your chest.”

“Not now,” I
growled down at her, wanting her to be slightly scared, wanting her to pause
and think for just a moment,
what the fuck
am I doing here?

“Okay.” She smiled
up at me sweetly. I couldn’t resist her smile. This stupid girl had no idea who
she was messing around with. Part of me felt sorry for her, and the other part
of me felt sorry for myself. One of us was going to get really hurt. I could
already see the heartache; there was nowhere for anything to go between us. It
didn’t matter if we were both drawn to each other like moths to a flame. It
didn’t matter that we had only met that evening. I knew she couldn’t resist me,
because I couldn’t resist her. There was some magnetic pull drawing us
together. I’d known it as soon as our eyes had locked earlier. But I wouldn’t
have pursued it or her.
Liar
, a voice
in my head called out,
why did you pull
over then
?
You were hoping to see
her. You were hoping with every fiber of your being
.

“Logan,” she
whispered up at me, distracting me from my thoughts.

“Yes?” I blinked
down at her, unseeing.

“Kiss me.” She
leaned up, and I blinked again and saw her staring up at me with beautiful,
open, shining eyes. Shit, there was an emotion there that I didn’t want to see.
“Kiss me.”

I reached down and
pulled my shirt off and threw it on the ground. I saw her eyes widen in shock
at the huge scar on my abdomen, and as she opened her mouth to talk, I reached
down to kiss her. I didn’t want to talk about the scar. My chest crushed down
on her breasts as we kissed and rolled around. My fingers trailed down her
stomach and I crept them down to the top of her jeans and unsnapped the button.
I looked up at her to make sure it was okay, and she nodded. I popped the button
quickly, and then unzipped her jeans and pulled them off. I stared at her in
wonder. She looked like a beautiful angel beckoning to me in only a pair of
black lace panties. I ran my fingers in between her legs and she gasped as I
slipped them into her panties. I grinned as I felt her wetness; she was as
ready for this as I was. I rubbed against her gently, listening to the sounds
of her moaning as I brought her close to a climax with just my fingers. I
increased the pressure of my fingers, and watched as she writhed on the ground
beneath me, her eyes getting darker and darker. Just as I felt she was about to
come I removed my fingers from her and she cried out in protest.

I didn’t hesitate
as I felt her hands on my button, and I allowed her to unbutton my jeans before
I yanked them off and sat there in my boxers.

She reached her
hand into the fly of my boxers and grabbed hold of me cautiously. She grinned
as she felt my hardness in her hands, and I smiled at her before pushing her
back down on the ground. I positioned myself between her legs so she could feel
my hardness next to her. She moaned, and we rolled around in the grass,
touching and exploring each other’s bodies. Within a few minutes, her panties
and my boxers were also off and I looked down at her with a question in my
eyes.

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been
more sure.” She nodded and pulled me down. “Fuck me, Logan,” she whispered in
my ear seductively, as she arched her back up to me. I couldn’t take it any
longer, and I centered myself at her entrance and pushed myself inside of her.
She cried out as I entered her. I moved slowly at first, but I just couldn’t
hold back, and I increased my pace so I could feel her enclosed tightly around
me. I stared down into her eyes as I moved back and forth, and the intensity of
the desire in hers turned me on even more. I leaned down and pressed my lips
against hers again, wanting to taste her as I took her. My lips crushed down on
hers and she kissed me back hard, as she wrapped her legs around my waist.

She scratched my
back and I felt her body shuddering underneath mine as she came.

“Logan!” she
screamed over and over again, and I felt my body spark with electricity before
I burst into her and then slowly withdrew myself, collapsing next to her. I lay
flat on my back and she leaned over and rested her head on my chest, her
fingers trailing along my chest. I saw her staring at my scar, and she ran her
fingers down and touched it gingerly. I saw her glance up at me to make sure it
was okay, and I nodded and played with her hair.

“That was
wonderful,” she exclaimed breathlessly.

“I’m glad you
enjoyed yourself.” I smiled at her, too satiated to say much else.

“We should do it
again.”

“Not now.” I
laughed. “Unfortunately, I’m not Superman.”

“Maybe tomorrow?”
She looked up at me, and my breath caught. I looked away from her causally.

“I’m busy
tomorrow.”

“All night?”

“You should stay
at home and out of trouble, Maddie.”

“I don’t want to.”

“You shouldn’t be
sleeping with random men the first night you meet them.” I turned to her, and
caressed her breast as I told her off. “It’s not safe.”

“You’re safe.” She
giggled. “That tickles.”

“Why did you steal
that cop car, Maddie? And why did you get in my car?”

“I just wanted to
see what it would be like …” Her voice trailed off. “I needed a break.”

“You could have
gotten into serious trouble. You could have gotten arrested.”

“It would have
been fine.” She shook her head.

“You don’t want a
record,” I lectured her, but I realized the irony of my words. “You have your
whole life ahead of you.”

“If you hate crime
so much, why do you steal?” She spoke earnestly, and I looked at this girl I
had only known for a few hours and laughed. No one had ever seen me for who I
was in my whole life. Or asked me such a question.

“Who says I hate
crime?”

“It’s obvious.” She
looked at me with sad eyes. “So why do you do it?”

“Why does anyone
become a criminal?”

“You’re not going
to tell me?” She looked hurt.

“I don’t know you,
Maddie.” I scowled. “We had sex, that’s it. We didn’t become best friends. I’m
not going to divulge all my secrets in some post-coital bliss.”

“Why are you so
mean to me?”

“I’m not mean. And
why do you care? You’re a young, beautiful girl with the world at your feet. What
does it matter to you what I do or say?”

“Logan
Martelli
, I wish you would get that chip off of your
shoulder.”

“I wish you would
be smarter about who you get into cars with and sleep with right away.”

“You weren’t
complaining ten minutes ago.” She ran her finger down the side of my face. “And
don’t you dare call me a slut or easy.”

“I would never say
that.”

“Sure, I know most
girls say this, but this is the first time that…”

“Oh my God, please
do not tell me you’re a virgin,” I cut her off, aghast. “Shit.”

“No, Logan.” She
laughed hard. “Though if I was, I would be devastated by your comments. I was
about to say, this is my first one-night stand, or the first time I’ve had sex
on the first night I met a guy.”

“Really?” I looked
at her with a disbelieving gaze. “I’m not calling you a liar, but you were
pretty forward for someone who’s never done this before.”

“What can I say?”
She laughed. “I knew what I wanted.”

“You’re crazy.”

“You keep saying
that.” She stared at me thoughtfully. “Though, I suppose others would agree. I
can see the headlines now: ‘Mayor’s daughter has sex romp with town criminal.’”

“What did you
say?” My face paled at her words.

“Sorry, I didn’t
mean to be rude.” She made a face. “I shouldn’t have called you the town
criminal.”

“No, no, not
that.” I took a deep breath. “Did you say ‘mayor’s daughter’?”

“Yeah.” She nodded
and wrinkled her nose. “I know, I’m frightfully rich, and spoiled, and should
know better, but…”

“No, that’s not
it. You’re Mayor Wright’s daughter?” I sat up and pulled away from her.

“Yes, what’s
wrong?” She looked worried. “Does it matter?”

“I need to take
you home.” I jumped up. “You need to go home, now.” I picked up her clothes and
threw them at her. “Get dressed.”

“But, I wanted to
spend the night—”

“I don’t care what
you want, Maddie, get dressed.”

“What’s wrong,
Logan?” She jumped up and started pulling her clothes on and I turned away from
her with my heart pounding.

“I have to take
you home, now.” I felt a headache coming on, and I avoided Maddie’s gaze. I
never should have pulled over. I knew it had been a mistake to bring her here.
I just hoped it wasn’t going to bite me in the ass. I grabbed my stuff, and ignored
the slight pang I felt as I realized the reality of the situation. I could
never see Maddie again. I had only known her for one night, but I already knew
she was going to be someone I’d have a hard time forgetting.

Chapter 3

Logan

Maddie didn’t say
anything as I drove her back to her house. I was glad for the silence. I
ignored her and the pounding in my head and concentrated on the street signs.
My heart was also pounding, but I convinced myself that was due to my fear of
the police catching up with me and not due to what had just happened in the
field.

“You can just drop
me off at the bus stop.” Maddie’s voice was low and pained and I kept driving
without saying anything. “Are you going to tell me what I did wrong?” She
paused and then continued after a minute. “Or was this just a bit of fun for
you?”

“What do you
think?” I kept my eyes straight ahead, wanting her to feel hurt.

“So this was just
a roll in the hay? Or should I say, a roll in the grass?”

“You can call it
whatever you want.”

“You’re an
asshole.”

“Then don’t be so
easy next time.” I regretted the words as soon as they slipped off of my
tongue. I heard her gasp and I knew I had hurt her. But I didn’t want to let
her know that I actually respected her for going after what she wanted. I liked
that she wasn’t the type of girl to play games. Unfortunately, I knew I
couldn’t tell her that.

“You were easy,
too,” her voice was accusing. “But let me guess, because I’m a girl, it’s an
issue. I’m a slut because I slept with you right away, but you’re a saint,
right? The criminal saint.”

“I didn’t call you
a slut and I never said I was a saint.” I shook my head and peeked at her. My
heart trembled when I saw the confusion and hurt on her face. I felt horrible
but a part of me was happy that she was hurt. She deserved it for what her
father had done. I hated her because I hated her whole family. I just wished I
hadn’t gotten involved with her in the first place.

“Well, in case you
didn’t know, you’re not a saint. I should call the police and tell them you
stole this car.”

“Yeah, you do
that, wannabe cop car stealer.” I rolled my eyes, though my stomach was a
bundle of nerves. What if she said that I tried to steal the cop car, then
stole this car and kidnapped her or something? Girls were crazy, and I didn’t
know her from Adam. I cursed under my breath as I felt my sweaty palms on the
steering wheel. I had well and truly fucked this up. And then Maddie started
laughing, and I looked over at her in surprise.

She grinned at me
as she wiped tears from her eyes. “I guess I’m the pot calling the kettle
black, aren’t I?”

“Huh?” I frowned
at her, confused at her sudden change.

“Me threatening to
call the cops on you.” She shook her head. “I wonder if I should tell them
about my own attempted theft before or after I rat you out?”

“I guess that’s
the dilemma.” I smiled at her reluctantly. Maddie really was different from any
girl I had ever met.

“Are you going to
tell me why you’re taking me home?” she said softly.

I shook my head. “No.”

“I like you, Logan
Martelli
.” Her voice was sweet and she sighed before
she continued. “You’re a sexy, wonderful mystery.”

“I’m not a
mystery. You know who I am. Everyone in River Valley does.” I paused and looked
at her quickly. “Though you didn’t go to school here, did you?”

“No, my parents
sent me to boarding school in Boston.” She made a face. “They didn’t think that
the schools in River Valley would prepare me to go to the best colleges.”

“Ironic that the mayor
thinks that the schools here are crap.” I tried to hide the bitterness in my
voice.

“Yeah,” Maddie’s
voice was soft. “It says a lot.”

“So why did you
steal a car, Miss Wright? You’ve got more than enough money to buy a ton of cop
cars if you so desired.”

“I’m not going to
say.” She shook her head, and I frowned at the sound of her voice. It was a mix
between humor and sadness.

“Wait, so now you
actually know why?” I slowed down and stopped at the red light and then looked
over at her hard. “I thought you didn’t really know.”

“You’re going to
think I’m crazy if I tell you.”

“Oh?” I closed my
eyes briefly in worry. Had this been some sort of sting operation? Shit, my dad
would go crazy if I got busted, and especially because of Maddie Wright. I could
just imagine how angry he would be, and Vincent and Jared would be worried and
scared.

“So I’m not going
to tell you,” she continued childishly, and I squared my jaw and stared at her
intently.

“What the fuck is
going on, Maddie? I’m not one of your college beaus you can twirl around your
little finger. You mess with me and I will make sure it’s repaid. Do you hear
me? Your parents warned you about the
Martelli
brothers,
I’m sure. And they did that for good reason. You do not know what I’m capable
of.” My voice was low and harsh as I said the words I thought would scare her
most. A part of me was sad that I had to play this role, especially with her.
For some reason, I didn’t want Maddie to believe the rumors about my family. I
didn’t want her to think I was capable of doing really bad things. But it was a
bit late for that; she had met me on the night I had stolen a car. She would
never believe I was a good guy inside; I didn’t even know if I was a good guy
inside.

“What are you
talking about, Logan?” Maddie’s eyes flashed with anger instead of the fright I
had expected to see. “And the light just turned green, so you can go.”

“I’ll go when I goddamn
please,” I hissed, slightly unsure of myself. She wasn’t reacting in the way I
had expected.

“Logan, you’ve
been watching too many John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies.” Maddie laughed
and leaned back in her seat. “Or maybe
The
Godfather
and
Goodfellas
?
Did you watch a movie marathon recently?”

“What are you
talking about?” I blinked at her in confusion, heart thudding again.

“That little talk
just now, about me not messing with you.” She laughed. “I’ve only known you a
few hours, but I know you wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Are you stupid,
Maddie?” I sighed as I pressed my foot on the gas. How could she trust me so easily?
Didn’t she know that there were real bad men around who could do her harm? “You
do not know me, no matter what you think.”

“I trust my gut
instincts.” She smiled at me sweetly. “You’re not a bad guy.”

“What sort of guy
am I then?” I held my breath, waiting for her answer.

“You’re the guy
I’m going to marry.”

I burst out
laughing at her words and shook my head. She really was a Loony Tunes
character.

“I think you’ve
had too much time on your hands this summer.”

“Have you ever
seen
The Notebook
or
Love Actually
?”

“Nope.”

“Well, have you
ever seen any romance movies?”

“Nope.”

“Well, when people
are meant to be together, they just know.”

“Maddie, I have no
interest in getting married, and if I did, it would not be to you.” I let the
words linger in the air and felt her flinch at my words.

“I hope you don’t
think—”

“Look, Maddie,” I
cut her off and pulled over at the end of her street. “This isn’t a romance
movie or book or whatever. There is no happily ever after for us. I don’t know
what game you’re playing. I’m sorry I slept with you. That wasn’t fair to you.
But listen to me carefully: we are nothing. I don’t know you, and I don’t care
about you.”

My eyes blazed
into hers and I could see tears welling in them. I broke away from her gaze and
looked at the tree-lined street of mansions. I stared at her house, with the
colonial columns and the porch swing, and my blood boiled. There was no reason
for me to feel sorry for Maddie; she had everything she could ever want. She
was just some silly college girl, caught up in some fantasy of getting with a
bad boy. I knew her type.

“That’s how you
feel?” Her voice was strong, and I was surprised that she wasn’t crying
already. I guess she inherited her backbone from her piece-of-scum father.

“Yes.” I looked
back at her and stared at her slightly trembling lips. They looked so pink and
luscious, and I could almost feel them on mine; soft, moist, and sweet. I
wanted to pull her towards me and hold her tight. I wanted to kiss her again. Shit,
I wanted to take her in the backseat of the car. All I would have to do is
throw the baby seat out.

“Well, I guess
that’s it, then.” She opened the door. “It was nice to meet you.”

“I wish I could
say the same.” I turned away from her harshly. Let her hate me. I needed her to
hate me. I couldn’t afford for the lines to be blurred. I was already feeling
shitty, and I just needed to get away from her.

“I stole the cop
car because I wanted to meet you,” she whispered before she slammed the door.

“Wait, what?” I
sat there in shock. “What the fuck is she talking about?” I cursed at myself as
I opened the car door and jumped out. “What do you mean?” I called after her as
I hurried to keep up with her. She was walking fast and I ran to stop her.

“Wait.” I grabbed
her arm and stopped her. “What do you mean you stole a cop car to meet me?”

She turned around
slowly and my heart froze as I saw the tears streaming down her face. She
looked up at me, and her cheeks were blotchy. I pulled her towards me subconsciously
and held her in my arms. She rested her head on my shoulder and I stroked her
hair and buried my face in her black locks. I felt her body pressed mine, and I
ignored the stirrings of lust that grew in me.

“Why do you hate
me?” She looked up at me with wide eyes, her irises cloudy and unsure. “I don’t
get why you’re trying to hurt me.”

“I don’t even know
you, Maddie. We just met. I’m not trying to hurt you.”

“You’re not a
cruel guy.” She shook her head. “You changed after we had sex.” She sighed. “I
guess it’s my fault.”

“I didn’t change
because we had sex.” I shook my head and rubbed her lower back, pulling her
closer to me. “We’re two people who shouldn’t have …”

“
Shhh
.” Her eyebrows crept together. “I don’t want to hear
anything about being from opposite sides of the track or whatever. We’re both
adults here. Yeah, I know you’re a criminal, a petty criminal. But I also know
you’re a smart guy. I know what you do to help others.”

“I don’t know what
you’re talking about.” I looked away from her. How did she know so much about
me? I thought I had hidden my tracks a lot more carefully.

“It doesn’t really
matter now.” She pulled away from me. “You’re just a guy, and I’m just a girl.
I know you like to go to the pier to steal cars at night. And you know that I
like to watch romance movies.”

“I see.” I
frowned. If the fact that I liked to steal cop cars at the pier was well known,
then I had to choose another spot.

“I wanted to see
what it felt like to be a car thief.” She shook her head and frowned. “I wanted
to be in your head.”

“Why?” I looked at
her in confusion.

“I don’t know. I
didn’t think it through properly. I figured maybe you would wonder who the new
thief in your territory was, and maybe you’d come find me.”

“Now who’s
watching too many movies?” I laughed and ran my hands through my hair. “I can’t
say I really understand, but I guess I get it.”

“I just wanted to …”
She shook her head. “Oh, what does it matter? I’m too tired to explain.”

“I want to know.”

“Are you going to
take me out tomorrow night on a date?”

“No.”

“Are you planning
on ever seeing me again?”

I looked at her
and at that moment, I wished that I could give her a different answer. “No. No,
I’m not,” I replied honestly, I didn’t tell her that I wished that the circumstances
were different. It didn’t matter what I wished; they weren’t now and would
never be.

“So it doesn’t
matter then. I was just a stupid rich girl.” She let out a quick
self-deprecating laugh.

“You’re not stupid.”
I shook my head, wishing I knew what I could say to make her feel better. My
intent had been to hurt her, but now, seeing her crushed and disappointed face,
it didn’t feel as good as I had always hoped it would.

“Whatever. It was
nice finally meeting you, Logan
Martelli
.” She gave
me a quick kiss on the cheek and pulled away from me. She walked slowly up to
her house and I stood there in impenetrable silence as I watched her walking
away from me. I saw her at the front door and then walked back to the car. I sat
in the driver’s seat and stared at the house, unseeing. I didn’t even have to
have my eyes open to picture every detail of that house and lawn. I’d been here
so many times, sitting in a car, staring and listening to stories. I’d hated
this street and this house for more than half my life. I’d hated the family
that lived in that house for as long as I could remember. Even though I’d seen
the mayor and his wife before, I’d never seen Maddie. We didn’t even know she
was called Maddie; we knew her as Maddison. I had hated Maddison Wright and her
family with every bone in my body, and now I sat in my car with a ball of
confused emotions. Because I didn’t hate Maddie, not even a little bit. I
didn’t hate Maddie at all. But there was nothing I could do to ever let Maddie
know that.

***

As I walked
through the front door, it felt like I had been away for years, even though it
had only been a few hours. I surveyed the mess in the house, and laughed to
myself at the sight. I could only imagine the shock on Maddie’s face if I had
brought her here.

“Logan, what did you
get?” My dad’s gruff voice called out to me, and I saw him sitting on the large,
scruffy brown leather couch, with a beer in his hand.

“Toyota.”