VITTORIO'S RUNAWAY BRIDE (The Vittorio Series) (8 page)

“
Io vogtio te
,” he whispered, “I want you.”
 
Lifting his head, he saw the answering hunger in her eyes even before she spoke.

“Then take me, Logan, take me…”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                        
 
 
 
 
 
***

Logan put the omelets he’d made in the oven to keep them warm then went to retrieve his cell phone while he waited for the coffee to finish brewing.
 
He smiled to himself, still feeling the heat of last night’s passion warming his blood…and his heart.
 
He wanted to make love to Shelby again this morning but she’d looked so serene, so breathtakingly beautiful as she slept, he didn’t have the heart to wake her.
 
He’d contented himself instead with making breakfast and reliving their night together as he cooked before deciding it was time to give Grady a call to let him know he would be bringing Shelby home as soon as her ankle was better.

“Grady, would you mind having Mason drop you off here so you can pick up Shelby’s car?”

“Does that mean she’s coming home with you?”

“We have not discussed it yet,” Logan admitted, “but after last night…” he didn’t finish the sentence, letting Grady draw the obvious conclusions.

“I’m really happy for you, Logan, and for Shelby too.
 
Mason said she’d lost weight and spent hours sitting on the beach just staring out at the ocean.
 
I’d say she was just as miserable without you as you’ve been without her.”

“We have not had much time to talk about why she left, but we are going to stay here for a few more days.  There will be plenty of time to get everything straightened out before we return.
 
Shelby had a bit of an accident yesterday and twisted her ankle so at least I know she cannot run away while we iron things out.”

“You sound confident,” Grady commented.

“As confident as any man could be when dealing with an emotional female,” he chuckled.

“Which is why I keep all my relationships short and sweet.
 
So when do you want me to pick up her car?”

“Right now, if it is not too much trouble.
 
Shelby is still sleeping so you could be here and gone before I wake her for breakfast.”

“We’re on our way.
 
Oh, and just so you know; I’ll be expecting a big, fat bonus on my next paycheck.”

Grady hung up before he could reply, but Logan wouldn’t have told him about the hefty sum Accounting had been authorized to add to Grady’s paycheck anyway.
 
Grady would understand the depth of his appreciation when he saw the check so there was no need to discuss it.
 
Less than fifteen minutes later, Logan handed Grady the spare keys he still carried on his key ring and sent him on his way.
 
After setting out plates and silverware on the cozy table on the deck, he hurried upstairs to get Shelby, suddenly feeling anxious to assure himself she hadn’t disappeared on him again.

The tightness in his chest didn’t ease until Logan had perched himself on the edge of the bed and leaned down to give her a kiss.
 
Shelby’s lips parted invitingly, a contented purring sound vibrating softly in the back of throat when Logan teased her mouth open with his tongue.
 
He was instantly aroused by the sweet taste of her and the way the musky scent of their love making still lingered on her skin.  With a regretful sigh, he drew back.
 
She wasn’t used to the relentless pounding he had given her the night before and would need some time to let the soreness fade.

“You came back,” Shelby said with a sleepy smile.

Logan returned her smile with an amused chuckle.
 
“Of course I did,
cara mia
, but it was to offer you a meal not to climb back into bed with you.
 
Not that I would mind going another round, but I think you have missed enough meals already.”

Shelby’s eyes widened.
 
Now fully awake, she was suddenly acutely aware that she was not only completely naked but that her body felt…wickedly satiated.
 
Color bloomed in her cheeks as hazy snippets of their night together flitted in and out of her memory.
 
Hot, searing kisses, sweat soaked bodies straining against each other, the warmth of his hand gliding over her skin as she quivered in pure ecstasy beneath him.

“Oh,” she gasped, her eyes growing even bigger.
 
“It…it wasn’t a dream, it really happened!”

Logan’s brows drew together.
 
“Are you telling me you do not remember making love to me last night?”

“Well I…I think the medication might have had something to do with it.
 
It just seems kind of surreal, but I…”

Logan stood up abruptly, thunder brewing in his eyes.
 
“Surreal,” he bit out caustically.
 
“You certainly seemed to have all your faculties about you when you were grinding your hips into me and attacking my mouth like a…a sex starved nymphomaniac!”
 
Logan saw her flinch but was too angry to stop himself.
 
“Or is it that you are so shocked by your own behavior you would rather pretend you do not remember anything rather than admit it was the most mind-blowing sex we have ever had?”

Shelby sat up, careful to keep the sheet tucked up under her arms.
 
Still stinging from his cutting remarks, she was tempted to lash out and accuse him of taking advantage of her while she was under the influence of the medication and obviously not acting normal.
 
Except that last night was the first time she had actually been able to shake off all her inhibitions and give freely of herself.
 
That
was the true Shelby.
 
Looking up into his angry eyes, she understood why he reacted so harshly to her admission that she thought it was a dream at first.
 
After all, how would she have felt if Logan told her he couldn’t remember whether it had been real or not?

“The medication did cloud my mind a little,” she said softly, “but I remember everything, Logan.”
 
Her smile was teasing as she reached out and slipped her hand into his.
 
“I don’t think I qualify as a nymphomaniac, but you’re right about it being the most mind-blowing sex we’ve ever had.”

The tension left his body, ebbing away as smoothly as waves rolling out to sea.  Logan realized it wasn’t anger he’d felt when Shelby said she thought it was dream, but raw fear.
 
Fear that what they shared last night hadn’t been shared at all; fear that the ground he thought he’d gained would be lost again; fear that Shelby was pretending she didn’t remember because she realized she didn’t love him after all.
 

Dio,
he truly needed to get control of his emotions before it destroyed him.
 
But even as he vowed to steel himself against her, Shelby’s smile faltered and his heart instantly melted.

Logan gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
 
“Are you hungry?”

“Starving,” Shelby beamed up at him.

“Let me get your robe then.
 
I have breakfast warming in the oven and have set the table on the balcony so we can enjoy the early morning sun.”

“
You
made breakfast?”

“Do not sound so surprised,
carissima
, not all of my talents lie in the bedroom.”

Shelby let out a despondent sigh as her eyes followed Logan across the room.
 
No, not all of his talents were confined to the bedroom; some of them strayed to a hotel room and a woman who wasn’t his wife.
 
She gnawed at her lip, wondering if she could ever forgive him or even if she should.
 
If only he would confess what he’d done and give her his word it wouldn’t happen again, she might be able to move past it.
 
But Logan had to come to her on his own, without any coaxing, or she would never know if he was truly remorseful for being unfaithful or simply saying he was because she’d confronted him about it.

Logan held the robe out.
 
“Let me help you get this on, then I will carry you downstairs.”

Shelby threw the covers back and slid her legs over the side of the bed.
 
“Don’t be silly, I’m perfectly capable of walking by myself.”
 
To prove her point, she stood up then let out a harsh gasp as pain stabbed through her ankle
and
shot up her leg.
 
“Logan…”
 
The color leached from Shelby’s face as her ankle gave out.

“I have you,
cara.
”
 
Logan caught her up in his arms, a worried frown on his face.
 
“Maybe I should bring your breakfast up here.
 
Once you have something in your stomach, I can give you a painkiller.”

“But you already went to the trouble of setting the table,” Shelby protested.

“It does not matter.  You need to be in bed.”

“It
does
matter,” she insisted.
 
“It was so sweet of you to do it and I would feel even worse for ruining your plans.
 
Besides, I think the fresh air would do me good.”

Logan took in the pallor of her skin and had to agree.
 
“Perhaps you are right.”
 
He lowered Shelby onto the bed and helped her put the robe on then scooped her back into his arms and headed downstairs.
 
“I will find something to keep your foot propped up first.
 
The omelets are warming in the oven so all I have to do is make toast and pour the coffee.”

After he settled her at the table and retrieved a footstool he found in the pantry, Logan hurried off to get their breakfast.
 
Shelby tipped her head back, breathing in the fresh ocean air and letting the sun warm her face.
 
Even with her ankle throbbing and the uncertainty of her relationship with Logan looming over her, she had to admit she felt better now than she had in months.
 
The emptiness was gone, vanquished in the night by her husband’s possessive love making.

“I will be back with the coffee,” Logan promised as he set the food laden tray on the table.

Shelby kept her eyes closed, reluctant to give up the warm glow enveloping her at the moment.
 
“I take mine with cream,” she said absently.
 
There was a rustle of movement before his shadow fell over her and he planted a tender kiss on her lips.

“I know how you take your coffee,
cara mia
.”
 
He spoke softly, drawing his head back just enough so he could see into her eyes.
 
“It seems like an eternity since we were together, yet I remember everything about you.”

“Like what?”
 
she said in a breathless whisper.

“Like the way you butter your toast.”

Shelby laughed.
 
“You noticed how I butter my toast?”

“I find it amusing that you will not eat it unless the butter covers every inch of it.
 
And you have a quirky way of eating a meal, always starting with the vegetables first and consuming them completely before moving onto the next item on your plate and ending with the meat, which you never eat more than half of.”

“That’s it?
 
You remember my strange eating habits?”

Logan stood up, his gaze sweeping over her body before returning to her face.
 
“Oh, no,
carissima,
I
remember a lot of other things. 
Like the way you look in the morning when you first wake up, all soft and dreamy eyed, and the slow smile that you save only for me.
 
And I remember how your face lit up when I came home at night, and the feel of your body pressed to mine.”
 

He paused for a moment, a heavy sadness hovering behind his eyes.
 
“But what I remember most is the way you kissed me good-bye that morning.
 
I wanted to take you back upstairs and spend the rest of the day in bed with you.
 
I almost stayed home.  Did you know that?”