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“Gran!”
Catherine turned at the sound of the deep, compelling voice in time to see Logan glance inside the walk-in closet. “Gran!” he called once more. “Is that you?”
“Not unless this party has aged me more than I thought,” Catherine said from the back recesses of the room.
He continued his path straight toward her. “Not a chance.” His gaze settled on her face, intense and focused. “Beauty and a smart mouth—you’re a lethal combination.”
She chose to detour around that remark. “I thought you already left.” She curled her hand around the soft plastic of her coat, as if a solid grip would keep her safe from her rioting hormones and a sexy man.
“Keeping tabs on me?” he asked with a cocky grin.
“Guest awareness is part of my job.”
“Seems to me hiding behind your job is part of your job.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, although she already knew. Logan had obviously seen through her feigned disinterest.
He walked up beside her. His masculine scent tantalized and seduced. A swirling ribbon of desire unfurled in her belly and reached straight to her core.
“I meant every time I try to get close, you scurry behind the job description. Do I scare you, Cat?” His voice lowered a dangerous, seductive octave.
His gaze never wavered. Warm eyes she could drown in locked and held with hers. Did he scare her? More than he could imagine.
“Because that’s the last thing I want.”
“Then what do you want, Mr. Montgomery?”
He laughed deep in his throat. “Semantics won’t keep me at a distance. It’s Logan.”
“I…”
“Say it.”
She licked her dry lips. His gaze followed the movement. “Logan,” she murmured more to appease him than to become more intimate.
“Nice. Now as I was saying…I want to erase that cynicism from those beautiful green eyes. I want to make your dreams come true.”
His words struck Catherine in her heart. Unfortunately she still didn’t believe he saw her as more than an interesting diversion from the more cultured, more beautifully dressed women at the party. Women who would trip over themselves for a chance at landing one of the state’s most eligible bachelors.
“You want a good time,” she said.
He had the audacity to grin. “That, too.”
She wanted to give in to that handsome face and easy smile, which meant she had to get out of here, to her empty apartment where safety and reality would reassert themselves.
“Logan,” she said, not wanting to give him further reason to believe he affected her. “I think…”
A loud thud cut her off as the closet door slammed shut behind them. She jumped at the unexpected sound.
“Hold that thought.” He touched her lips with one finger. Heat traveled between her mouth and his skin.
A shiver took hold. Desire? Fear? Probably both. Though she liked to flirt, she’d never reacted to a man with such carnal, sensual awareness before.
Before she could think further, he strode to the door and jiggled the door handle. The muted sound of metal hitting the marble floor sounded from outside. He muttered a curse.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing as long as you aren’t claustrophobic.” He held the doorknob aloft in his hand. “Looks like the old lady has her own agenda. Not that I mind.”
An uncomfortable feeling arose in the pit of her stomach. “What are you saying?” She eyed the doorknob in his hand and shook her head.
He banged on the door with his fist. “Open up, Gran.”
“What’s your hurry? The company’s good and the way things look, you’ve got plenty of time. I’ve got to find someone in this house who understands hardware. I think I did serious damage,” she called back. The click of heels on the floor sounded as Emma Montgomery walked away.
“She didn’t,” Catherine said, glaring at the door through narrowed eyes. She wasn’t claustrophobic but she disliked the feeling of being trapped. Especially with this man.
“She did.” Logan shrugged. “Sorry. She tends to get carried away.”
“She?”
“You wouldn’t be suggesting I set you up?” Disbelief and humor lit his gaze. “I’m interested, not desperate. I can get my woman without Gran’s help.”
“Your woman?” She swallowed a laugh. “That has a Neanderthal sound to it.”
He shrugged. “I kind of liked it.”
“You would. So how about breaking down the door, Tarzan?”
“If I give it a shot, will you have that drink with me?”
“You wouldn’t stoop to using your grandmother, but bribery is okay?”
“Is that a yes?”
She believed he had nothing to do with their current predicament. The eccentric older woman would definitely pull a stunt like this. The only question was why. She certainly couldn’t think Catherine was an acceptable choice for her grandson, nor could she believe Logan incapable of getting his own dates.
Speaking of dates, she had a decision to make. The closet, which had seemed so large when she’d first entered, was shrinking by the minute. She couldn’t breathe without inhaling the scent of spice and man, an erotic combination that stole her breath and threatened to take her sanity next. One drink in a public place was much safer than hanging out alone with him now.
She glanced at his handsome face and forced a casual shrug. “One drink,” she agreed.
She hoped she didn’t live to regret those two little words.
CHAPTER THREE
RELIEF AT HER ACCEPTANCE warred with the steady beat of desire pounding inside him. “Should I be flattered that you accepted?” Logan asked. “Or insulted you want out of here so badly?”
“Neither. I accepted because I’m thirsty. Now give it your best shot.”
He wouldn’t have an inflated ego as long as Catherine was around. Logan was honest enough to admit he wanted her by his side for a long while. Long enough to get to know the cautious woman with the sassy mouth.
He needed time, but time freely given, not under duress. He eyed the door and slugged it as hard as he could with his shoulder. His bad shoulder. Hell, after years of college baseball, both shoulders were bad and this one rebelled against his attempted escape. It rolled in the socket and he groaned in pain.
Catherine was by his side in an instant. “I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault,” he muttered through gritted teeth. He counted to ten and waited for the pain to subside. Since it often popped out in his sleep, Logan was used to the routine. Slowly the shoulder numbed as the pain eased.
Soft hands reached for his collar. Logan let her slip the jacket off his shoulders. If she wanted to play Florence Nightingale, he’d let her. He wasn’t proud that he was taking advantage of her concern. But he doubted he’d have a better chance to catch her with her guard down.
She lowered herself to the floor, her back propped against the wall. “Sit.”
Logan sat beside her.
She turned and began working the sore muscles in his arm with her fingertips. The pressure felt so good he groaned in relief. “That feels great. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Now tell me how we ended up like this. What made you think Emma was in here?” Catherine asked.
He leaned his head backward and focused on the rhythmic motion of her fingers pressing through his shirt and into his skin. “The cocktail waitress who said, ‘Your grandmother is waiting for you by the coat closet.’ Nothing unusual or sinister about that…” Her fingers pushed deep and eased off, caressed and massaged the sore muscle. “Unless you know my grandmother. Mmm. A little deeper.”
She complied. Those fingers worked magic and Logan found himself seduced…by her scent, her touch, by her.
“Better?” she asked.
“Much.” As close to perfect as he could get without lying naked beside her.
“Someone should come looking for us any minute,” she said.
“If you believe that you don’t know my grandmother.”
“Maybe, but there’re plenty of people out there who can handle something as simple as a broken doorknob. The cleaning crew will have no problem fixing the handle.”
“Assuming she asks them to or brings their attention to us, which is doubtful.” He rolled his head to the side and met her gaze. Desire shimmered in her eyes, just as it pummeled inside of him. “We’ve got time.”
“People might want drinks,” she said, but the protest sounded weak.
“Something tells me Emma’s handling things as we speak. Besides, the party was winding down, with the judge holding court, reminding them about the formal breakfast he’s holding in the morning.”
Logan knew this because he’d spent a ridiculous amount of time assuring his father he would not be at the affair, he would not meet with future supporters and he most certainly would not be at the press announcement next Saturday. He’d have preferred to be in the thick of the party watching Catherine. Instead he’d been beating his head against a brick wall, just as he had too often as a child.
And from the stubborn glint in the judge’s eye, he hadn’t accepted Logan’s words. Too bad. The older man couldn’t say he hadn’t been warned.
“You always call your father the judge?” she asked.
When he called him anything at all, Logan thought. “That’s what he is.”
“He’s also your father.”
“Who thinks he rules everyone the same way he does his courtroom.”
“And I always thought any father would be preferable to none at all.”
So, she had no father in her life. Some more insight. He stored the knowledge, sensing it was an important facet of Catherine’s nature, a way to breach her defenses.
“Not always. Don’t get me wrong, he’s been there for us…as long as we toe the line.” That was about to change. Edgar Montgomery might have put up with his son’s erratic behavior, as he called it, but only because he believed he’d gain what he wanted in the end. It wouldn’t happen this time, which just might cause the ultimate family rift.
“Who’s us?” Catherine asked.
“Me and my sister, Grace.”
“I have a sister, too. So tell me what it was like growing up here.” She made a grandiose gesture with one arm. Obviously here meant the Montgomery Estate.
As a general rule, Logan didn’t choose to remember his childhood. He’d already divulged more in this one conversation than he had in the past thirty-one years. Along with the memories came an attached fear he would end up as alone as his old man. No matter how many people his father invited into his home, no matter that his wife trailed his every move, the judge was like an island. He allowed people to get near but never close. Not even his children.
For Catherine, a woman who eyed him and his wealth with obvious suspicion, Logan would dig deep and be honest. “It was lonely,” he admitted.
“That’s sad.” Her hand curled around his and her head eased onto his shoulder.
Stunned, Logan glanced down at their inter twined hands. She’d reached out to him. With the simple truth he’d begun breaching her well-built defenses. Money and status didn’t impress her.
Honesty did. His respect for Catherine rose.
Pulling herself up to her knees, Catherine faced him, eyes wide, her expression curious. “How could you be lonely with so many people around?” she asked.
“Because no one bothered with us kids…except my grandmother.”
Her smile wrapped around his heart. “I like her.”
“So do I.” And he supposed he owed his grandmother for arranging this get-to-know-you session with Catherine, but he’d still give the old lady a blistering lecture for meddling in his life.
Not that it would do any good.
“So tell me how you met my grandmother,” he said.
“At a fund-raiser we catered in Boston. She wanted more hor d’oeuvres and snuck into the kitchen to get them.”
He burst out laughing. “That sounds like Emma.”
Catherine grinned. “I caught her and we started talking. Next thing I knew she’d hired me for the Garden Gala.”
He glanced at Catherine and realized he was extremely glad he’d come. “When she’s not meddling, my grandmother is one smart lady.”
“Because she locked us in here?”
“Because she obviously likes you…and so do I.” His gaze locked with hers. Sensual awareness pulsed thick around them.
He cupped his palms around her cheeks, bringing her within kissing distance…and waited. One hint of refusal and he’d let her go. She shook her head and disappointment welled inside him.
He lowered his hands. Her sudden grip on his wrists stopped him. “Don’t.”
“Don’t kiss you or don’t pull away? Because I don’t play games, Cat. I want you and I know you want me.” The sudden hitch in her breathing proved him right.
“What I want and what’s good for me are two different things,” she whispered.
His mouth brushed hers, deliberately light and excruciatingly slow. He simply tasted her without pushing for more. Her fingers curled into his wrists and a purr escaped her lips. Cat, he thought, recalling his grandmother’s use of the endearment, had just earned her nickname.
His restraint was rewarded. She never broke the kiss or the momentum building between them. With this woman only patience would get him what he desired and he believed she was worth it.
Catherine let sensation take over. Logan’s lips were firm, his touch gentle. His scent enticed her and his kiss held checked passion and a respect she’d rarely felt from a man. Beneath the gentleness was a longing she felt, too. As a ribbon of desire coiled tight in her belly, the need to be with him overwhelmed her.
Without warning, the clatter of metal startled her and she jumped back, breaking their passionate kiss. One that never should have happened. She burrowed into his white shirt, unwilling to face him just yet.
“Sounds like we’re being rescued,” he said.
“Sounds like.” She forced herself to move. Ignoring the steady pounding of her heart, she stood, refusing to meet his gaze. She’d lost her head, succumbed to desire and Lord only knew what would have happened if they hadn’t been rescued.
She started for the door but his light touch on her back stopped her. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Cat.”
“Who said I did?” she asked defensively. “One kiss isn’t such a big deal.”
He raised an eyebrow. “One kiss?”
“Unless you can’t count.”
A slight grin tugged at his lips. “Neither one of us came up for air, so I’ll give you that one.”
Heat rose to her cheeks. “A real gentleman wouldn’t have mentioned that.”
“Whoever said I was a gentleman?” He touched the pad of his thumb to her lower lip.
Her entire body shook in reaction. She wrapped her arms around her waist but the effort at self-protection came too late.
“I started it, Cat, and I wish I could say I was sorry. But I won’t.”
With that statement, he preceded her to the door. She stared at his retreating back and wondered how things had gotten so out of hand. She glanced down at her shaking hands and closed her eyes against the unfulfilled sexual energy still pulsing through her.
She wished lust was all she felt for Logan Montgomery.
Sex was purely physical and easy to leave behind. Logan wasn’t. She’d seen the real man beneath the power suit and playboy charm. She’d caught a glimpse of a lonely little boy growing up in a mausoleum, much like she’d been a lonely child in a tenement apartment. Class differences had vanished. To make matters worse, she’d discovered she liked him. Really liked him. Somewhere between walking into this closet and walking out, he had begun to matter. Knowing the inevitable conclusion, the truth chilled her deep inside.
She stared beyond Logan’s broad shoulders to the closet door and listened to the sounds of rescue. Seconds later the hinges were off and the entire door had been removed. Without glancing in his direction again, she slid past him and headed for safety. The bright glare of the crystal chandelier hit her hard and she blinked until her eyes adjusted.
Catherine glanced around.
“She wouldn’t dare show her face now.” Logan’s voice sounded from behind her.
It didn’t surprise her that he’d read her mind.
“Gran’s probably upstairs hiding,” he said.
While he turned to thank their rescuers—the cleaning crew, as she had predicted—she pulled herself together. By the time he’d returned to her, she was composed again. Until she caught a glimpse of the makeup stain on the once white collar of his dress shirt.
She cleared her throat. “Well.”
He grinned. “Well.”
“Goodbye.” Feeling ridiculous, she held out her hand.
His warm fingers wrapped around hers. “Not so fast, Cat.” Her heart tripped at the shortened name. “You’re forgetting something,” he said.
“Such as?”
“You owe me a drink and I’d have sworn you were a woman of your word.”
Bantering and sparring. Now she was back on familiar ground. Her tension eased. “You didn’t get us out of there,” she reminded him.
“And I didn’t have to. I said I’d give that door a shot and I did.” He rubbed his shoulder as a reminder and a blatant attempt to induce guilt.
He was right. Semantics, as he’d called them earlier, had indeed tripped her up. She owed him one drink, but thank the good Lord, it wouldn’t be now. At least she’d have a chance to regroup and firmly remind herself that whatever was going on between them was just a fluke.
She glanced down at her work uniform. “I’d rather not go anywhere dressed like this.”
“You look good to me.” Warm eyes met hers and he extended his hand. “Come with me. You can trust me, Cat.”
She stared into those seductive brown eyes. Trust him? She nearly laughed aloud. Hadn’t her father said the same thing to her mother the night before he’d walked out for good? If Catherine agreed, would she end up seduced and abandoned the next day? And why was a tiny voice in her head shouting this man was worth the risk?
What was it about good-looking men that made them think they could have the world at their feet with raw sex appeal alone? She eyed him warily. “I can’t go anywhere with you. The company van is parked outside—I can’t leave it here.”
“Bet you it’s not. Double or nothing. If I’m wrong, you’re free to go. If I’m right, it’s drinks and dinner.”
She had him this time. “That’s a safe enough bet.” She patted the outside pockets of her black skirt, then dipped her hand inside. She dangled the van’s keys in midair. Five more minutes in his company then she’d be on her way home.
Later she’d deal with the lingering disappointment and sexual humming that still teased her senses. Later, she’d ponder the unfairness of fate, throwing a perfect man into her less than perfect life.
Later. When she was alone.
“Truck or no truck. Time to find out.” Logan reached out. He made a grab for the keys, but captured her hand instead.
His fingers wrapped around hers. Warm and trusting. The words came to her in a rush. She shook her head. Sexual awareness had to be short-circuiting her brain. Why else would a woman who’d promised herself she wouldn’t fall into a man’s trap, be thinking warm and fuzzy thoughts about someone so far out of reach?
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