And there was good reason for that. We didn’t have the luxury of making mistakes during this charade.
I knew I needed to stop kissing him, but in order to do that, I had to slide my hands out from beneath his T-shirt first.
Impossible.
“Nina,” he whispered in my ear.
There was an invitation in those two syllables. Every cell in my body screamed at me to say yes, but my brain finally flipped on again to override my hormones.
I forced myself to pull away just far enough to say the words I didn’t want to say. I wound up with my head pressed against his chest.
“We shouldn’t.”
He let out a long sigh in response as his arms wound around me to pull me closer.
“I want to, so bad,” I continued. “But it just feels…”
“Yeah.” Logan rested his chin on the top of my head. “I get it.”
If we stayed pressed up against each other, I couldn’t guarantee I’d be able to continue resisting him, so I finally mustered the strength to flatten my hands against his chest and push away.
We were both unsteady on our feet. Logan’s hair was messed up, and the spaghetti straps on my tank had slid down my arms. I righted them and moved farther away from him.
“Good night, Logan,” I said as I turned to leave.
I was three steps away when he called my name. My heart expanded with hope, eager to hear that he’d found a loophole to allow the naked stuff we were both dying for.
I turned to find him holding the book out to me.
“Don’t forget this.”
I hoped the desperation didn’t show on my face as I walked back to him and took it.
“Thanks,” I said as I headed for the door.
“I hope you sleep okay,” Logan said.
I could only manage a nod, because we both knew that sleep wasn’t going to be a possibility for a long time.
16
NINA
My phone was in my hand, but the unfamiliar ringing wouldn’t stop. It had startled me awake, and after scanning the room in a shocked haze, I finally pieced together where I was.
Logan Ashford’s palace.
I looked down at the phone in my hand and saw the telltale flash of gold on my ring finger.
And I was Logan Ashford’s sort-of-kind-of wife.
Everything shifted back into focus.
Butwherewas the noise coming from?
I glanced at the nightstand. A house phone?
“Hu-hello?” I stuttered into the receiver.
