Logan's Woman (12 page)

Right now, it felt like he was doing the exact
same thing but with Claire.

Her hands weren’t clenched so tight in her lap
now. “I would be putting everyone else in danger
though...”

“My men know how to take care of themselves.
You don’t deal with roudy bulls without learning a couple of
things,” he said lightly.

“I don’t know...” She worried her lip, rubbing
her face with her hands. He took hold of her wrist, gently this
time.

“Feel how stressed you are? Scared? I can take
care of that,” he promised. “I just need to know who you’re running
from.”

Claire swallowed. Her head fell back. The light
from the ceiling reflected off of her damp cheeks, and then, with a
weak voice, “I can’t just start in the middle.”

“Then explain from the beginning,” he coaxed,
taking her hand and running his thumb over the soft
skin.

She was silent, didn’t speak for so long that
Logan would have thought she’d forgotten what to say. But then she
said, “My dad is one of the Senators of Iowa. Their cutting chairs,
and...and that means the Senators of that state have to go through
a re-election, and one of them is getting cut and...” She paused,
catching her rambling.

“Well, the other three chairs are a kick-in. No
one wants to vote them out. But it’s between my dad
and...”

“And Joey Smith,” he finished, having heard
about it on the news. Not enough to remember anything more from it,
he wasn’t even from Iowa but -- “Senator Campbell. His daughter
died in a car accident...”

Claire swallowed thickly, looking pained. “That
was me.”

He nodded, slowly understanding. “So I’m
guessing that Smith is after you.”

Claire looked away from him. “He thinks that if
he can kill me, then my father will be too devastated to continue
the election and will drop out, making him default on the remaining
chair.”

“But I thought you ‘died in a car accident’,”
he pointed out.

“Daddy warned me that Joey might find out I’m
not really dead. He wouldn’t do the dirty work by himself, though.
The election is too important for him to leave Iowa for... He’d
send someone after me.”

Logan nodded, knowing exactly what she was
saying and that she was right. Bluntly, he would hire someone to
kill Claire should they ever find out she was really
alive.

He knew what his men were capable, what they
had done together in the past, and he knew that something like this
was no threat at all. He could have them out here in less than a
day and Claire could stay with him -- it would be ten times easier
to keep her safe than following her everywhere -- even though he
was willing to do so.

“If I can promise your safety, will
you stay here? Running won’t keep you safe. If they find out you’re
alive, they can track you so quickly that you’d be dead the second
they did. If you’re with me, though...” He grabbed her chin gently,
forcing her to look at him. “I promise I can -- and
will
-- protect
you.”

Chapter 9

Claire knew he was telling the
truth.

She knew he would protect her.

Knew she trust him.

But something told her to leave anyways. If she
stayed, she would only put him in danger. It didn’t matter that he
could protect himself, it was the fact that she was going to be the
reason he had to anyways.

Her chest constricted so tightly it was hard
for her to breathe.

She swallowed, wiping at her tears again.
Logan’s eyes were on her, staring into her. Feeling like a trapped
animal, she stared right back at him. She let him see all of her
vulnerability, all of her fears, all of her worries.

“It’s asking too much...”

His dark head shook. “It isn’t,” he promised,
holding onto her hand still. His thumb was sending hot sensations
up her arm.

Her thoughts and her emotions warred with her.
She wanted to feel safe, but not as his expense. She didn’t want to
leave, didn’t want to run anymore, but being with him.... If
anything happened to anyone here because of her, he would hate her.
And she’d already been through him hating her once -- she didn’t
want to go through it again.

“How about this,” he started, making her look
at him. There was an evil yet teasing light in his eye. “We’ll make
a deal.”

She backed away from him -- well, as much as
she could sitting in a chair. He didn’t let go of her hand when she
pulled on it.

“I don’t...know...”

“It won’t be bad. You don’t have to sell your
soul to me,” he chuckled, bringing her hand to his mouth and
lightly brushing his lips over her knuckles.

“I want something from you. Have since I first
saw you outside Drake’s Pharmacy.”

Claire had no clue what that could have been.
“Money?” she asked, unsure. Her father had often warned her about
guys pretending to like her because of the money and title she had.
But she also knew that Logan didn’t have any use for more
money.

“No,” he said sternly. “What I want from you is
much more...permanent.”

“I have no clue what that could be,” she said,
at a loss.

-----------------------------------------------

Logan knew what he was about to ask was
ridiculous. Irrational. Maybe it could even be considered as taking
advantage of her. But either way, it was a step closer to getting
what he wanted and he had nothing to lose. He’d been with a bad
wife before, but Claire was nothing like Christina.

She was beautiful, real, down-to-earth, she had
depth and brains and she was so innocent she could have scared the
devil away with a smile. He knew there was a big chance she would
say no, that even if she did say yes she would resent him later,
maybe even leave him.

But it was the best way to save her -- and have
her for himself.

And, as he thought about the future, he didn’t
think it would be so bad. She would stay with him at the ranch, no
one in the town could say anything bad about her, and it was time
that he started having heirs. He couldn’t imagine anyone else
replacing Claire, and he knew this was a once in a lifetime
chance.

Determined, Logan took her hand and brought her
to her feet.

He got down on one knee.

“I might as do this semi-right,” he said
lightly, before kissing her knuckles.

“Logan...what are you doing?” Her voice was
full of fear. She even tried to tug her hand out of his, but he
didn’t let her. Holding tightly, he smiled up at her.

“Claire Campbell,” he started, making sure to
use her real name. “Will you --”

“Oh, god,” she groaned, covering her face with
her other hand.

“--marry me?”

Chapter 10

“Logan, you don’t know what you’re
asking...”

He stayed on his knee, his hand holding tightly
yet gently onto hers.

Claire stared down at her.

When she thought of being proposed to, she
pictured someone she loved and someone that loved her. A ring.
Flowers. Candle-lit dinner.

Not
, she
thought, a dirty cowboy kneeling in front of her in a total
man-cave of an office, no ring in site, and not a single
petal
near him. And
especially because of pressing circumstances. Shouldn’t you only
propose to someone when you were in love? she thought desperately,
staring into his eyes.

There was start determination there. She knew
that even if she said no, he wouldn’t give her that option. It was
right there in his eyes, clear as day for her to read. But what she
didn’t understand was...everything.

“Yes I do. I know that I want to make you my
wife, right now.”

“Right now, yes. But later... Logan, I
can’t...”

He got to his feet, cupping her face with his
rough hand. “Claire, I’m not giving you that choice.”

Her brows lowered. “I’m the one that got asked,
shouldn’t I get a say?”

Logan’s head shook. “Nope. Not with
me.”

“I’m not going to say ye --”

His lips brushed against hers, silencing her.
Then, as fire danced along her lips like feathers, he whispered,
“You will. Just wait.”

“My father...”

“Technically,” he said against her skin,
wrapping his arms around her and drawing her to his body, “you
don’t have a father. You’re supposed to be dead. If he happens to
find out about this later on, however, then...”

“Logan!” she gasped, partly because she was
shocked at what he was doing to her and what he was
saying.

“Yes?”

“You can’t...you can’t be serious. This is
ridiculous,” she sputtered, pushing away from him.

Logan only crushed her against him.

“I
am
serious. And guess what?” he said, a grin in his
voice. His lips moved against her neck, hot breath fluttering over
her skin.

“What?” she said airily, heart pounding so much
that she was almost light headed -- or was that because of Logan?
She had a feeling it was. With her heart trying to climb up her
throat, her hands were threading into his hair and urging him
closer, even as every rational thought she had told her to back
away from him.

“Since you’re going to be my wife
--”

She shook her head, even as her eyes closed
with mute pleasure.

“-- we are sleeping in the same bed,” he growed
roughly against her neck, nipping.

Claire should have protested. Really, she
should have, but she couldn’t bring herself to. Right now, she
would do anything to have Logan touch her like he was right now. If
he stopped, she would probably cry. Her head fell back for him, and
he kissed up her neck and to her jaw, one of his hands grabbing the
back of her neck and making her look at him.

The heat in his eyes was almost enough to undo
her.

“No fight, no argument,” he murmured, only
pulling back for a second before grabbing her roughly around the
hips and lifting. Instinctively, her arms wrapped around his neck
just as her legs did.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” she said quickly,
tightening her arms around his neck despite her words.

With her wrapped around him, he stood moved to
the door. She squeaked. “Logan! Put me down!”

“I have to carry you across the threshold,” he
teased, stepping through the office door after opening it with one
hand.

But even when he crossed the doorway, he didn’t
let go. Instead, he carried her across the hall and to his room,
where the door was closed. He barely paused while holding her and
opening the door, and the second they were inside, she found
herself on the bed, and on her back.

He loomed over her, covering her. His hands
slid up her shirt, to her tender stomach and to her waist, all the
way up to the underside of her breasts. “Say yes,” he whispered,
pressing a kiss to her jaw, her cheek. The corner of her
mouth.

Her head shook back and forth, long hair
spilling over the pillows that were under her. Fingers speared into
his hair, tugging. “We can’t...”

“Can’t, what?” he murmured, caressing her
stomach, her hips, the underside of her breasts-- anywhere he could
touch without losing control of himself.

“Do this...”

“Of course we can.” To prove his words, he bent
down and kissed her full on the mouth, drawing a ragged, surprise
moan from her.

“Logan,” she moaned again softly, holding him
to her. “You’re crazy. I’m not marrying you...”

He nipped her ear lobe gently. Her stomach
tightened and she grabbed his shoulders tightly. “Just think, if
you did... Joey knows who I am and what I can do. Everyone with a
say in the government has heard of me. When he finds out that you
and I are married...he wouldn’t dare touch you.”

She didn’t believe him, but kept silent,
instead revealing in the feel of him against her.

“The pastor in town owes me a favor. I can have
this drawn up by Wednesday and...”

“Logan!” she gaped, digging her nails into his
shoulders. He’d moved his way down her body, and was now lifting up
her shirt, slowly kissing his way up her stomach. Fire curled it
way around her, almost making her lose her train of
thought.

“Hmm,” he murmured, beginning to slide his hand
under the lining of her bra.

She arched under his hand, grasping her
wrist.

“Stop doing that,” she begged, even as she
ached desperately for his touch.

“But you like that,” he whispered, his finger
brushing against her breast, setting fire along her skin. With a
ragged moan, she gave into him – for now. She wasn’t going to agree
to marry him, but she would let him touch her like this.

“I’m not… I won’t marry you, Logan…” she
whimpered, eyes closing tightly at the pleasure.