Broken Melody (Rock With You #2) Rock Star Romance (3 page)

“I
care for you so much. Logan. I wanted to tell you. But you were gone. I thought
I’d lost you forever.”

“Aye,
I ran away. It was wrong, me being a coward, but it tore my heart out, seeing
you there with him. I wanted to do so many things; pull you away, beat the shit
out of him, demand an explanation. But I ran, like I’ve run before.” Logan
shook his head.

A
knock on the door made Melody jump. Logan looked up as a tall red-haired man
came into the room. Melody recognized him as the drummer from Revival.

“Logan…we’re
heading out. I…wanted to say good luck, before we left.”

Logan
stood and pulled the man to him in a warm embrace.

“I’ll
miss ye, Angus. I’m not sure what I’ll do without ye around.”

“Aye,
well, this is for the best, at least for now. Take care, Logan. I’ll be in
touch.” The man nodded to Melody and slipped out of the room. Logan stood for a
moment, looking at the empty doorway before turning back to Melody. There was
sadness and loss on his face, deep in his eyes. His voice was so low she barely
heard him as he answered her unspoken question.

“The
band’s broken up. This was our last show. We’ve cancelled the rest of the
tour.”

* * *

They
were quiet in the taxi to Logan’s hotel, Logan holding her hand during the ride,
absently running his thumb across her knuckles. The street was dark and the
night chilly as Logan ushered her into the small building and up the narrow
stairs. She half expected the same dismal accommodations she had at her hotel,
but the room turned out to be surprisingly cozy, dominated by a large canopy
bed with lavishly curtained sides. Melody was inspecting the decidedly feminine
looking bed when Logan caught her eye and smiled.

“All
the rooms have them, ye ken. The curtains, I mean. Not all inns had central
heat back when they were built. What looks romantic now kept those sleeping
from freezing.”

He
came to stand in front of her, his hands on her arms. She felt the warmth of
him reaching her skin, even through the thick sweater.

“I
see you’ve gone native already.” He fingered the wool of the garment.

“I
was unprepared…and cold. I left in a hurry.” She looked into his eyes, longing
to see the smile reaching them again. But it was still absent.

“Melody…can
we get back to where we were? It was all so new… so fragile before. Is it too
broken to fix? Did I ruin everything?”

Melody
shook her head. “No, Logan. It’s not. As long as you believe me, that there was
nothing between Ryan and I.”

Logan
nodded. “Aye. There’s nothing. I believe you. And I won’t doubt you again.” He
pulled Melody into his arms and his lips found hers. The longing was there and Melody
wondered again what it was he really wanted, if she was it, or if there was
something else he was searching for.

But
the gentle curve is his lips against hers, his hands on her body sent all
rational thoughts out of her mind. She let herself fall into the kiss, let it
take her on the start of an escalating ride of passion.

They
worked to get through the layers of clothes, Logan laughing softly at the
struggle to get Melody out of her new sweater. Her chilly fingers struggled
with the buttons on his shirt, the zipper on his jeans. But once they were
naked, lying on the big bed, Logan grew serious.

“I
thought I’d never see you again…never have this again. I’d never kiss these
lips…” He leaned over, kissing her softly, briefly.

“I’d
never see these again…” His fingers trailed slowly over the soft mound of one
breast, slowly circling its nipple. Melody sighed, her body moving under his
touch as he trailed his fingers lower, over her stomach, sliding between her
thighs.

Melody
arched her back, letting her legs move apart. “Aye, and I thought I’d never be
there again, inside you, feeling you surrounding me.”

Logan
moved over her, his mouth again on hers, his body briefly pinning her to the
bed as he lay claim to the space between her legs, settling himself against
her. And then he hesitated, holding her face in his hands.

“Will
you have me again, Melody? After I’ve been such a fool?”

Melody
ran her hands over Logan’s face, tracing the contours of his lips with her fingertips
as he kissed them softly.

“You’re
allowed to be foolish, Logan. Just stop running away. Trust me…trust us.” She
pulled him to her. This time, the longing was in her kiss, the longing to feel
him making love to her. 

“I
want you, Logan. More than anything. I love you.”

“Aye,
I love you too, Melody. More than you know.”

Everything
she’d ever wanted she’d found in Logan. And everything she felt, as he moved
with her, was more than she’d ever thought possible. Each touch of his hand on
her body, or his lips on her skin felt like it was the first time she’d ever
been touched that way.

She
lost herself completely in his love-making, her body fluid and supple, arching
beneath him as he moved over her.

As
she tensed beneath him, her body taut, muscles straining, he held her,
whispering the Gaelic words in her ear, the words she’d heard before. He was
close to his own release, his body moving with purpose against hers, as they
danced this dance, so many emotions flooded through her, so many sensations,
all driving her toward the edge of her own cliff.

The
brush of his lips on her neck, the warmth of his breath on her ear, sent her on
a dizzying upward spiral, her body swirling with intense sensations, riding the
crests of wave after wave of increasing passion, finally ending with a
soundless explosion of ecstasy. And then everything faded away.

Logan
was holding her, rocking her against his body, crooning what could have been
Gaelic or a lullaby. She didn’t care, only cared that she was in his arms, warm
and safe, her body full of the ebb and flow of their love-making.

“Ye
came back. Wherever it was ye went, it must have been grand.” Logan was kissing
her along the edge of her hair, his lips warm against her hot skin.

“Oh,
it was…it certainly was.”

* * *

Melody
lay in the quiet dark, listening to Logan’s soft breathing. She was relaxed but
not yet asleep, drifting in a haze of contentment. Logan was warm beside her
and for the first time in days she was at peace, the constant anxiety that had
been eating at her at bay. She snuggled beneath the eiderdown comforter, closer
to Logan, and he stirred.

“Am
I keeping you awake? I’m sorry,” she said.

He
shifted, pulling her closer, and she rested her head on his shoulder, her hand
on his chest.

“No,
I wasn’t really sleeping. Just enjoying having you here with me.” His fingers
brushed against her ear, sliding down to cup the nape of her neck. His lips
found hers in the dark. They stayed like this for a moment before he settled
back against his pillow.

“Logan,
you said something earlier. What did you mean, you can’t go through this again?
That you ran away before?”

He
was quiet for a long time, finally taking a deep breath.

“There
was a girl, a long time ago. From here, from home. We were engaged. We had a
tiny flat in the center of town. Nothing much for furniture, but it was ours.

“We’d
been on tour, nothing like what we have now, just mucking about in Glasgow for
a few weeks playing out in the pubs. I’d come home, I guess earlier than she’d
thought. She was there, with my best friend, in our bed.”

“Oh,
Logan. I’m sorry.”

His
gentle laugh startled her.  “No, you’re not. Not really. If it’d worked
out, we’d not be here now. But thanks anyway.” He squeezed her shoulder
briefly.

His
voice grew serious again and he went on. “I didn’t know what to do. I was so
happy to be home, to see her, so tired from driving all night to get to her.
And then I was so angry. I wanted to hit him, hit her, do something…anything.
So I punched the wall. Damned near broke my hand. She screamed, he jumped up,
searching for his pants. Before anyone could say anything, I was gone.”

Logan
stopped for a moment. Melody felt his hand on hers, his fingers winding through
her fingers.

“I
spent a week in a pub, unless it was closed, drinking myself stupid. Angus finally
found me and dragged me home with him. I was a wreck. Vowed never to get
involved again with a woman.” He squeezed her hand.

“Until
I saw you. Even half drunk and crying, you were the most beautiful thing I’d
ever seen. I couldn’t walk away.”

Logan
turned toward Melody, arms around her body, pulling her close.

“You’re
still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. And I love you. I should have
trusted you, not listened to my fears, not run away. I promise you, Melody,
I’ll never run away again, whatever it is. I’ll be there for you, always.”

She
touched his face in the dark, felt the warmth of tears on his cheeks.

“And
I love you, Logan. I’ll be there for you, always.”

* * *

They’d
stayed in Inverness another day, Logan taking her on walks around the town,
along the River Ness. They stopped at sunset on the Young Street Bridge,
watching the setting sun coloring the undersides of the scattered clouds in
pink and brilliant orange. Logan told her names of the churches along the banks
and she watched the wide river flowing toward the sea. The air was crisp and
clean, and Melody closed her eyes, drawing a deep breath.

She
turned at the sound of Logan’s gentle laugh beside her. “If it’s clean air
you’re looking for, I’ll take you up in the Highlands sometime. There’s no
petrol fumes there to muck up the air.”

“This
is clean, compared to New York. I’d take this in a heartbeat.”

They
walked back through the city center, to a small pub where they had dinner,
talking about everything and nothing. Over dessert, Melody finally brought up
the lawsuit.

“We
need to talk about your case, Logan. There was a letter just before I left,
Ashton’s attorney talking about filing a counterclaim. He’s claiming breach of
contract on your part, that you used Revival’s name and materials in your solo
venture. And that by doing so, it damaged his ability to earn royalties.”

“That
was expected, no? Nothing unusual about that. Ashton would want his day in
court, not settle out of it. And that’s all bullshit about using Revival’s name
or songs. Ashton was the one who set up those deals, set up the contract. He’d
have known then it was a breach, if it was.”

Logan
snorted in disgust. “Talk about playing both sides against the middle. That man
would sell his own grandmother for a dime, if he thought he could get away with
it. Listen, for now, as long as we’re in Scotland, let’s not talk about Ashton.
We’ll have a long time on the plane back to figure out what to do. Let’s just
enjoy our last night here. Pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist.”

Melody
looked across the table at Logan. The smile had come back into his eyes, at
least until she’d brought up Ashton.

“Okay.
Yes, I agree. No more Ashton until we’re in the air and over the Atlantic, at
least.”

After
dinner, Logan led her back through the dark streets to his hotel. She’d checked
out of her run-down little inn, moving into Logan’s room. The resulting chaos
of her belongings strewn about the room had then both tripping over luggage and
shoes and clothing.

“Sorry
about the chaos, Logan. I’m taking over your room with my things.” Melody was
kneeling on the floor, rummaging through her suitcase, looking for her
toothbrush.

“You
are. But other than the occasional stray shoe underfoot, I’m not too fashed.”

“Fashed?”
Melody cocked an eyebrow, looking up at Logan. “Not sure I know that one.”

“Troubled,
worried…bothered. It’s temporary. And if I had known you were going to track me
across the Atlantic, I’d have gotten a larger room. But as it is, this is fine.
We’re only here one last night, you know.”

Stepping
around her open suitcase, he crossed the narrow room. “I promise from now on
I’ll get rooms big enough for the two of us.”

He
pulled her up from the floor and held her, brushing a strand of hair from her
forehead.

“I
meant what I said on the bridge. I’d like to bring you back here, on holiday,
take you up into the Highlands.”

“I’d
like that.” She relaxed against him, the search for her toothbrush long
forgotten.

“There
are places I’d like to show you, wild places, lochs and hills and caves.”

“Caves?”
Melody shuddered. “Not sure I’d like a cave. You mean, like spelunking?”

“No,
not explore the cave, although you can go inside. It’s not particularly large.
Legend has it a man, James Fraser of Foyers, hid in the cave for seven years to
evade the British after the Battle of Culloden.”