Chapter 26

After playing back Logan's message for the eighth time, Hope admitted it.

She'd let him back in a little.

Hearing the deep timbre of his voice made her tingle and she replayed it several times just to get that buzz before actually listening to his words.

He thought her song was great.

He wanted to see her.

She should be ecstatic.

A small part of her was. So ecstatic, that after hearing the message for the tenth time a song poured out of her. Which pretty much confirmed what she already knew: he made her happy and when she was happy she composed much better.

Her muse was such a fickle bitch.

She wrote three more songs before she called him back. He answered on the second ring. Eager. She liked that.

"Hey, thanks for calling me back."

"No problems," she said, managing to sound cool and aloof while her thighs clenched at the sound of his voice. "You're in Sydney?"

"Yeah, I finished up a quote today. I'm at the airport now."

Hope bit back her first impulse to blurt an invitation to come see her when he landed. She couldn't sound desperate, not when she wanted to do this right.

But what was right? If she invited him here, they'd end up in bed before they had a chance to talk. And she couldn't go to him, not after the last time at his place. He wouldn't appreciate if she booked them into a fancy hotel.

Unless…"How about we catch up when you get back?"

"Tonight?"

He sounded surprised. Not as surprised as he'd be when he saw what she had in mind. She intended on keeping their reunion simple, no frills, appealing to the heart of the man who'd captured hers without trying.

"Yeah. I'll text you the details of where to meet me. It's not far from the airport."

He hesitated, before responding. "Okay, sounds good."

She exhaled in relief. She intended on doing this right and not screwing up like last time.

"And Hope?"

"Yes?"

"I'm looking forward to seeing you."

He hung up before she could respond, leaving her breathless with anticipation.

She'd been mulling her plan since last night and his call today confirmed she should follow through. Logan mistakenly thought she was shallow and valued wealth because she'd let him believe it at his place. So she intended on proving the opposite before divulging the truth, all of it.

The simple roadside motel in Mickleham would be perfect for what she had in mind. A date. No frills. Confronting this thing between them and articulating all that they'd left unsaid.

She fired off the details to him, surprised when he didn't respond with more than a thumbs-up emoji. He had to be curious.

Or maybe he'd taken one look at the motel's name and address and thought all she wanted was a quick fuck, when she wanted so much more this time.

She wanted time.

Time for her to learn to trust.

Time to explore this connection between them.

Time to develop resilience against her fear of betrayal.

The next three hours dragged. Anticipation fizzed in her blood, making her lightheaded as she cleaned her apartment, showered, chose a simple outfit, and headed for the motel. She made a quick stop on the way to pick up their supper. She fully intended on making Logan see that she wasn't so different from him despite what he thought.

She'd booked a suite at the motel because from the pictures on the website it had a dining table and sofa, items conducive to talking. Booking a room with just a bed would give him the wrong idea. Not that she didn't want him more than ever but sex could come later. They needed to talk first.

As she checked in, she heard the roar of a descending plane at nearby Tullamarine. It drowned out her doubts momentarily, until she realised Logan's plane would've already landed and he would be on his way.

She hoped like hell she was doing the right thing.

The suite didn't disappoint. Clean, plain, with a simplicity she craved. The faintest aroma of vanilla hung in the air, courtesy of a dispenser plugged into an outlet. Her gaze fell on the bed, covered in a daffodil yellow spread, the one bright spot in the room.

She had high hopes for that bed.

She closed the door, slipped off her flip-flops, and laid the food parcel in her arms on the dining table. The smell of fish and chips soon overpowered the cloying vanilla and her mouth watered. She hoped Logan was hungry; for more than food.

A knock sounded at the door and she jumped, the butterfly farm in her stomach taking flight. Shaking out her arms did little for the sudden buzz zapping through her body so she dragged in a deep breath, let it out, and opened the door. And promptly sagged against the door jamb, that damn buzz making her knees weak.

An unshaven Logan, wearing a plain white T and denim, and with a wild look in his eyes, overshadowed everything she'd planned on saying when she first saw him.

Instead, she grabbed at his T, hauled him inside, and slammed the door. Then he was on her, his mouth seeking hers, his hands grabbing her butt, hoisting her up so he could carry her to the bed.

She clawed at him, desperate for skin, losing her mind a little when he nibbled his way down her neck to the hollow between her collarbones. Her pelvis arched as his mouth trailed lower, and when he captured a taut nipple between his teeth, she almost came.

"So responsive," he murmured, untying the knots of her cotton dress at her shoulders and sitting up long enough to tug the whole thing off her body. "So beautiful."

He lowered his head again and this time he zeroed in on where she wanted him most. Her thighs fell open as he settled between them, the intensity in his gaze making her heart jackhammer.

"I've missed you," he said, a second before his tongue swiped her.

She whimpered and he did it again and again and again, long, slow sweeps that had her writhing and panting and clutching at his head. He lapped at her clit like he couldn't get enough and when he changed the pressure from soft to hard, she came apart, bucking her hips like a wild thing.

It was her fastest orgasm on record and she didn't care. This reunion wasn't about slow and steady. She craved him with every cell in her body and she wanted him.

Thankfully, he didn't give her time to recover. She didn't need it. She wanted more; everything he had to give. He stood, whipped off his T-shirt, unzipped his jeans, and pushed them down to the floor along with his jocks. His cock sprang out, thick and long, and she licked her lips in anticipation.

She throbbed with wanting him and as he rolled on a condom she couldn't wait any longer. She surged up to meet him but to her surprise, he steadied her and slowly lowered her to the bed.

"I want to take my time savouring this," he said, as they lay face to face.

She couldn't read the expression in his eyes, or maybe she didn't want to. She'd never seen him like this, laid bare, his emotions simmering beneath the surface.

"I want this to be special." He hooked her knee over his thigh and slid into her, inch by exquisite inch. "I want you."

He wasn't just talking about the sex and they both knew it. But with him filling her and her body clamouring after another release, she didn't want to analyse or speculate. He'd said, 'I've missed you' which in the throes she'd assumed meant he missed the sex.

But his gaze told her differently and as he started to move, slowly at first, sliding in and out with the single-mindedness of a man hell-bent on pleasure, Hope knew something had shifted between them. Something momentous. Something that could give her the future she wanted no matter how much it terrified her.

His eyes never left hers as he started to thrust harder, the delicious friction making her heart pound like a jackhammer. He grasped her hip with one hand, the other cupping her cheek, the heat generated from their sweat-slicked bodies making her face burn.

His mouth tightened as his eyes widened and she knew he was close. With a saucy move, she slid her upper leg tighter over him, changing the angle of their pelvises and he groaned, driving into her like a man possessed.

When she strained forward to kiss him, he slid his thumb over her lips and held her face in place so he could see her when he came. With two more thrusts he stiffened, his face contorting with pleasure, his groan so deep it reached down into her soul and tugged something free.

He knew it too, because he'd seen it in her eyes, seen every damn thing she was feeling.

But instead of running like he had every other time, instead of closing off like she expected him to, he brushed a tender kiss across her lips before wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight.

In that moment, Hope knew she'd made the right decision in taking another chance on this guy.

He could be her future.

Time to make it happen.