Newborn Conspiracy (16 page)

At first, he looked as if he were about to deny it, “Some," he finally said.

She stepped closer and slid her arm around his waist. For her, it was a bold move. After all, they were alone and the energy between them was intense.

“A hot bath might help, or so I heard someone say." she said, trying to keep her tone soothing.

Unfortunately, it came out as sultry. She heard her own low silky voice and fought the urge to run her fingers over his stomach again.

He lifted an eye brow."Is that an invitation?’

She smiled again, but it faded as quickly as it came. That’s because she had to wonder—was it really an honest-to-goodness invitation or just the adrenaline talking? After all, she was standing very close to the hottest man she’d ever known. A man she desperately wanted.

But was afraid to take.

So had the bath been her wussy way of offering herself to Logan? Mia wasn’t sure, but she figured there was an easy way to find out. She reached up to touch his face. However, reaching was as far as she got.

Logan snagged her wrist and examined the scrapes on her right hand. Then he cursed.

Oh, mercy. She hadn’t intended for him to see that.

“It looks worse than it is" she said, trying to soothe some of that reborn anger.

“I did that."

“Yes, when you saved my life. Or maybe it happened when you put your body over mine so that you’d get shot and I wouldn’t. Either way, I owe you and these scrapes are a minor price to pay for being alive."

Logan obviously didn’t agree because he cursed again and would have moved away from her if she hadn’t latched on to his arm.

Mia didn’t allow doubts to enter her head. She leaned in to kiss him.

But he beat her to it.

His mouth came to hers. The kiss was hard and hungry and Mia knew this wasn’t going to stop.

She didn’t want it to stop. And the kiss wasn’t all she wanted to do. No. She fulfilled a little fantasy and ran her uninjured left hand down the length of his chest. Oh, yes. It was a great chest. And an even better stomach. Lot of muscles. Lots of strength. His reaction was good, too.

He caught her wrist and slid her hand lower, over the front of his jeans.

Logan made that male sound again. The one that melted her body and made her want more.

So she took more.

She shook off his grip and slid her hand inside his jeans. If she thought her pulse was jumping and body burning before that, it was a mild reaction compared to having him hard and ready in the palm of her hand.

Logan pulled back from the kiss and looked at her. He seemed to be examining her eyes, maybe to figure out if this was going where he thought it was. But while he watched her, while those sizzling eyes met hers, he took his own hand up her right thigh. He didn’t move fast, at least not fast enough for her now-burning body. He gave her enough time to stop it.

But she had no intentions of stopping anything.

“I haven’t had an orgasm in three years," she admitted.

That information caused a muscle to flicker in his jaw."Then you’re overdue for at least a couple."

While he tongue-kissed her neck and earlobe, Logan pushed up her skirt and his hand slid to her stomach. Then, lower.

Into her panties.

He didn’t just touch her with his fingers. He went inside her. Touching her in just the right place.

Just like that, the sensations wracked her. The tire blazed through her. The need pinpointed to his touch.

Her climax came in a flash. So fast. So hard. So intense. So overwhelming that she would have fallen if he hadn’t caught her. Her body closed around his fingers. And Mia felt herself fly right over the edge.

“That’s one," Logan said.

Right before he dragged her to the floor.

Logan refused to think about this.

And he wouldn’t consider stopping.

That probably had something to do with the fact that Mia had her hand in his jeans. Her fingers were wrapped around him.

Or maybe it was because of the sweet silky moans she was making as she felt the aftershocks of her orgasm. It didn’t matter why he was doing this or why he wasn’t stopping. Hell, it didn’t even matter if this was wrong. They were well past the point of logic, of doing the right thing.

Taking Mia was the only thing that mattered.

They landed on the soft carpeted floor, side by side. Face-to-face. Thankfully, other parts of them were aligned, as well.

If her injured hand bothered her, she certainly didn’t show any signs of it. His leg was hurting, he was sure of it, but the pain was numbed from his overwhelming need to take Mia now.

Because her fingers began to slide up and down the length of him, Logan took her hand from his jeans.

Mia slid down, her mouth against his chest. And she kissed him, using her tongue and mouth to turn up the heat a notch. Not that he needed those kisses— he was primed—but he took a moment to savor what would likely be very short foreplay.

He’d thought the first climax would take the edge off for her. But it apparently had only made her want him more. Her kisses were urgent, almost frantic. And she didn’t keep her hands still, either. She slid them over him as if she knew the very secrets of what got him hot.

And she probably did.

Since his body was craving any and everything she wanted to do to him.

Because he wanted to give her more pleasure. Logan turned the tables on her. He slid down her body and stripped off her top so she could deliver some tongue kisses of his own. He kissed the tops of her breasts and had the pleasure of hearing that silky moan. He made her moan even harder when he took those kisses lower.

Man, she smelled like sex. And he wanted nothing more than to have that taste in his mouth.

So, that’s what he did. Logan rid her of her panties and gave her some kisses that she would hopefully never forget.

He certainly wouldn’t.

She tasted as good as she smelled. Her cries roared through him, fueling the need that was already overwhelming.

Mia rammed her fingers through his hair."Again," she whispered.

Oh, yeah. He intended to do that, too, but this time, he wanted to be inside her.

Logan left her for a couple of seconds so he could fumble through his leather bag and find the condoms he’d had brought from his house. Mia followed him.

That was a sight, all right. A beautifully naked Mia crawling her way toward him.

With those jeweled amber eyes and her coppery hair spilling all around her face, she was a vision. Apparently, a needy one, because she practically tackled him.

He landed on his back, with her on top of him. All in all, it was a good position.

Until he remember something.

“Are you physically ready for this?" he asked, dreading that she might say no.

“I’m more than ready," she assured him. And she proved it by unzipping his jeans and stripping them off him.

Yes, she was ready. Mentally. But Logan forced himself to slow down just in case her body wasn’t on the same willing level as the rest of her.

She helped him with the condom and damn near gave him a climax in the process. Logan rolled them over, so that he was on top of her. And because he couldn’t wait any longer, he entered her. Gently.

He felt her body give way to him as he pushed through that silky heat. The pleasure was so intense that Logan lost his breath and didn’t care if he ever found it.

And then Mia froze.

Startled, his gaze flew to hers. Her face was still flushed with arousal, and the heat was still in her eyes."I’ m claustrophobic," she said."I’ve never had sex with a man on top of me."

Logan immediately started to change their positions so that she could be on top. But she latched on to him with both hands and even wrapped her legs around him.

“No, this is fine." The words spilled out, mixed with her rapid raw breath, “Better than fine.

This is the way I want it, Logan. This is the way I want you,"

She lifted her hips, pushing him deeper inside her.

That did it. Logan took her assurance at face value and went with it. Later, much later, he’d consider what a gift of trust this was from her. But right now, he wanted a different kind of gift. One that would satisfy the heat raging inside.

He moved inside her. Long, penetrating strokes. Strokes that she deepened even more by moving with him. Each one took them closer. Higher. To the only place that either of them wanted to go.

“Again," Mia whispered, the sound shuddering on her lips.

Logan obliged.

He slid into her one last time. He felt her body respond in the most basic, human way.

Her fingers dug into his back. Her legs clamped harder around him. And Logan kissed her so he could taste her as she shattered again.

THE SOUND WOKE HIM UP. Logan snapped to a sitting position and reached for his gun.

That wasn’t there. He fumbled around. Still didn’t find it. And the sound continued.

It took him a moment to orient himself. He glanced at the clock that was perched on a nightstand. According to the ruby-red numerals it was nearly 9:00 p.m. Thankfully, there was light spilling from the adjoining bathroom so he could see where he was.

He was in the hotel bed with Mia.

She stirred, too, though she didn’t immediately sit up."Tanner," she mumbled.

That was the sound Logan had heard. Not an intruder or a gunman. His son was awake and was fussing, probably because he needed to be changed or fed.

Mia yawned and shoved her hair from her face. She looked disoriented, as well. And totally hot. Just the sight of her naked body made Logan want her all over again, but that would have to wait. Tanner got priority.

“How did we get in bed?" she asked, yawning again. She fumbled around the night stand, located a nightgown and pulled it on.

“I moved you here after you fell asleep on the floor. You were obviously exhausted"

And she was also a little disoriented because she didn’t get up. Logan climbed from the bed, put on his boxers and went to the bassinet to set Tanner. He scooped him up in his arms and brought him to Mia.

Though she was obviously still tired, Mia took over. She pushed aside one side of her gown and Tanner latched on to her nipple so he could nurse.

That was a slant, too, and it elicited a totally different response in Logan. Mia with their child in her arms. It made him feel warm and fuzzy.

It also made him even more concerned.

So far, he’d done a lousy job protecting them. Having sex with Mia amid all the danger was definitely a lapse in judgment and concentration. Protecting them should be his only focus.

“I’ve never had sex on the floor before," she mumbled, her eyes meeting his."It was great."

But then Mia frowned."I know it also complicates things."

Logan didn’t dare say he was thinking the same thing. He just let her continue.

“You can interpret it whatever way you like," she said.

He flexed his eyebrows. It couldn’t happen again. At least not until they’d caught the person who was trying to kill them.

The silence settled uncomfortably between them. The only sound was of Tanner nursing and that wasn’t enough to block out the thoughts going through his head.

What the hell had he done?

In hindsight, it would have been a dam good idea to work out his feelings for Mia before he’d had sex with her.

Because of her past, she wasn’t the strongest person and he had no right to play with her emotions. Heck, at a minimum he should have thought of their son. Mia was right. Sex did complicate things—and they didn’t need that. They already had enough complications.

“I think you cured my claustrophobia," she whispered."You did what a hoard of therapists hadn’t been able to do. Thank you for that."

“You’re welcome." he said because he didn’t know what else to say.

She met his eyes again."No matter what happens, this isn’t going to cause me to have some mental setback. It’s okay, Logan. It’s really okay."

He frowned."Are you reading my mind?"

The corner of her mouth lifted, but it wasn’t exactly a smile of humor."Mind-reading isn’t necessary. You’ve got that trapped look in your eyes."

He immediately tried to change his expression."Well, I don’t feel trapped." But the problem was he didn’t know how he felt."Because of my line of work, I’ve spent most of my adult life avoiding serious relationships. I always wanted kids, but I didn’t figure one would be in my future this soon."

She nodded. Because of her childhood trauma, she’d certainly done her share of avoiding relationships.

Tanner finished nursing and she put him on her shoulder to burp him. She leaned over and brushed a kiss on Logan’s cheek. It wasn’t a hot and lusty one, nor was it one of those mindless spousal pecks.

It had a goodbye feel to it.

And that bothered him.

“It’s okay, Logan," Mia said, her voice light and feathery."Having sex with me can mean as little as you want it to mean."

Hell, that bothered him, too. And then it riled him."What—"

But that was as far as he got in what would no doubt be an argument because the phone rang.

He’d brought his jeans into the bedroom, but since he’d discarded them on the floor, he had to get off the bed and fish through the pocket to retrieve his cell.

“McGrath," he snarled.

“It’s Jason. There’s a visitor for you here in the hotel lobby—Donnie Bishop."

Logan was certain that caused his scowl to deepen because Donnie Bishop should have been nowhere near the place. He pressed the speaker function so that Mia could hear the rest of the conversation.

“What does Bishop want?" Logan asked. He glanced at Mia. She was staring at the phone as if expecting to hear the worst.

“He has a package for you. I scanned it and it’s not a bomb. He says it’s a CD and that’s what it appears to be."

Maybe it was the sample that Donnie had promised them."Open it and verify that’s what it is.

And while you’re doing that, let me talk to Donnie."

A moment later, the man came onto the line."Logan, I have what you and I discussed at the prison and I’d like to give it to you in person."