Nine
Callie rested her head against Logan's chest and tried to catch her breath. The rain, which had been pelting against the window earlier, had slowed to a drizzle, and through the window, Callie saw the first hints of sun she had seen all day. It could keep raining for all she cared. She wouldn't mind an excuse to spend more time in close quarters with Logan. It might even give her an excuse to let another wave of desire overwhelm her. She hadn't expected to throw herself at him like she had earlier, but she was glad she had. It was the best sex she had ever had, the kind of thing she hadn't thought possible. She felt like every nerve ending in her body had been set ablaze with pleasure, and she wanted more. Her heart was still racing, endorphins pulsed through her body, leaving her pleasantly dazed. Yeah, I could do that again, she thought.
After a while, she crawled out of bed and pulled on some clothes. Logan's shirt was long enough to look like a dress on her. By the time she had rolled up the sleeves and cinched a belt around the waist, it didn't look half bad. "So what do we do now?" Callie asked.
"I thought I'd give you the tour," Logan said.
"You mean that wasn't just some trick to get me undressed and into bed?"
"I wish I could claim that I did that on purpose, but it was a pleasant surprise. Come on, I'll show you the house, unless you'd like to spend a little more time in bed."
"I could be tempted," Callie said. "After all, according to your little rule, this will be the only night I spend with you, so we might as well make it count."
"In that case, I could give you a different kind of tour."
Callie laughed. "Maybe a regular tour of the house would be nice. I might need some time to recover."
"Your call," Logan said. He stepped out of bed, pulled his clothes back on and gestured toward the hallway. "Let's go. The interesting stuff is on the main level," he said. "This floor is mostly guest rooms at this point, but we haven't had a big party here in years, not since my mother passed. You wouldn't believe some of the people who have stayed in this house, some of the things that have gone on here over the years. When they reached a back staircase at the end of the hallway, Logan pointed to the bedroom on the right. "I had my first kiss in that room. I snuck in there with a girl one year on the Fourth of July. She was a freshman in high school and I had just started the seventh grade. She was way out of my league."
"So your thing for unobtainable women goes way back. Are there any other firsts I should know about?" Callie asked.
Logan's eyes lit up and he looked up and down the length of the hall. He grinned and shook his head. "A gentleman never tells."
"Who said you were a gentleman?"
"No one, which is why I can tell you I lost my virginity down the other end of the hall."
"You're shameless."
"It's easy when you have nothing to be ashamed of."
"You weren't that good," Callie said.
Logan's laugh echoed through the empty upstairs rooms. "You're quick on your feet, aren't you? Let's see if you can keep up." Logan headed down the stairs and pushed open the door to the mansion's massive library. The outer wall of the room was covered in ceiling to floor windows, with doors that opened out to the veranda, and the other three walls were completely covered in bookshelves that reached almost two stories into the air. Callie marveled at the sheer number of books and the intricate woodwork on the shelves themselves. Logan walked across the parquet floor to a set of switches and turned on the sconces that lined the walls, bathing the room in soft light. "It was originally built to double as a ballroom."
"I'm trying to imagine you ballroom dancing."
"It's not hard," Logan said. He stepped up to her, slid one hand over her back and winked. "Just follow my lead."
After fumbling her feet against his for a moment, Callie started to laugh. "You actually know how to dance?"
"Dance lessons, music lessons, sailing, horseback riding: if it was taught, my mother signed me up for lessons. She was old money. My father let me run free, sports, snowmobiles, skiing, that kind of stuff. I didn't stick with dancing for very long, but once you've learned it, it's hard to forget. Plus it's won me points on occasion. Of course, dancing is easier if you have music," Logan said. "La da dee, la da daa, la da dee,” he hummed as he showed her the basic steps of a waltz. “Dance with me Callie."
As they danced across the room, Callie occasionally stepped on Logan's foot, but soon she got the hang of it. Logan kept his hand firmly on her back and his eyes locked on hers. "See, you're a natural."
"You're just saying that because you can't resist me."
"Well, if the temptation becomes too great, I'll just ask you to dance."
"I'm beginning to see how you get so many women," Callie said as Logan spun her around one last time. "You disorient them."
"Want to know my real trick? Beer and an acoustic guitar. I don't know about the guitar, but I'd bet my life that there's beer in the fridge. The kitchen comes at the end of the tour. First I need to show you my favorite part of the house."
"I take back what I said earlier. You make an excellent tour guide. Who knew you had a soft side?"
Logan winked at her. "Just don't tell anyone, ok? I don't want to ruin my sterling reputation." He slid his arm over her shoulder and led Callie out into the main hall. "Would you like to see a secret room?"
***
Logan grabbed Callie's hand and led her down the hall. He hadn't set foot in the secret room for years, but he wanted to show it to her. He wanted to share it with her. It might have been dumb, but it felt like a way to share more about himself with her without getting overly sentimental. "Come check out the study with me. It's over here." Logan led Callie down the hall and then turned the corner to another hallway. He motioned to a wood paneled wall and slid his hand across the dark mahogany, looking for the seam. He knew exactly where the handle was, but he wanted to put on a show for Callie. What good was a secret room without a little suspense? He couldn't just walk over and open it. No, he had to take his time. As soon as his fingers reached the seam in the wood, he slid them down the opening toward the latch. Then he stepped back. "Why don't you do the honors?"
Callie looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He could tell that she wasn't sure if he was joking about there being a secret door. "This house was owned by a bootlegger, Eldridge Colt, a distant relative of the man who invented the revolver. He built a series of hidden passages and rooms throughout the house in case he needed to hide or flee. Over the years, most of them, like closets with false walls and hidden compartments, were opened up or closed off. By the time my parents bought the house, almost all of the passages and rooms had been removed during renovations and remodels, except for one. Give me your hand."
Callie stepped up to Logan and placed her hand on the wall. With his guidance, she pushed in, and the panel before her opened to a tiny hallway. "It's a hidden study. Supposedly, Colt kept his secret books in here, but my father kept it as a study. Go on, do the honors." Callie stepped forward and opened the next door. As she pushed it open, light from the windows spilled onto her face, and Logan watched as she looked around the room. The storm had broken, and sun filtered through the clouds outside.
When he was little, Logan had loved this room more than any other. It was where his mother had read to him. It was where his father would take him after finishing a business deal. It was the place where he felt closest to having a normal life and a normal family. Inside the room, with the big mahogany pocket doors pulled shut and a small fire crackling in the fireplace, he felt like an ordinary kid in an ordinary family, together in a small room, happy and content.
Even at that young age, Logan had known that most families didn't have libraries or secret rooms or many of the things his family had. For a while, the room had served as his father's office during the summer months. It was easy to see why. It was hidden away from the rest of the house, and with two rambunctious sons and a parade of houseguests, it was one of the few places where he could get away and just work. At night, when Hank was finishing up his work for the day, Logan would sneak in and plop down in one of the leather chairs and watch him.
Sometimes, Logan would pull a book off the shelf and start reading. His father hadn't explained to him how many of the books in that room were rare first editions, but he had taken every care to remind him that these things were special, that they were the result of hard work and good luck. His father had done a good job of instilling that lesson. Logan had taken it to heart. He hadn't earned any of this. It had been given to him, and it was his responsibility to live up to that.
"I've always loved this room," Logan said as he stepped into the library. He walked over to a wall of bookshelves that reached from the floor to the ceiling and ran his hand over the spines of the books.
"I thought you were the man who didn't love anything or anyone," Callie said.
"I loved this place when I was a kid, probably more than any other. Every detail of it seemed so magical. The ornate detail in all of the woodwork, the tall bookcases, the way the sunlight filtered through the dusty air in the morning. Whenever the room wasn't in use, I used to come down here before breakfast and take a book down from the shelf and just start reading. Half the time, I had no idea what the books said. I don't think it really mattered. You're the first person outside of my family to step foot in this room in twenty years."
"That's incredible," Callie said. She sat down in one of the leather chairs and ran her hand over the arm rest. Against the oversized chair, her body looked even more delicate and feminine. Logan wanted to lean in and wrap his arms around her.
"Come on, we should get going while the weather's still good," he offered.
He watched Callie pull herself up from the chair. Bright golden afternoon light lit up her lovely face and her blonde hair, making her seem even more beautiful, like she was a vision, a dream of what an angel would be. As she moved towards him, his desire for her overtook him and he stepped forward to kiss her.
He leaned in and kissed her, slow and hard. She tasted sweet and pure, and he needed her. Logan pressed Callie against the wall and kissed her cheek and her neck as a wave of desire rolled through his body. He wanted to take her there and then.
Callie moaned in surprise and ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him tighter against herself. He breathed in her scent, her delicate floral perfume mixed with the cool scent of rain. Her breath was hot and humid against his ear, and each heavy, hurried breath told him that she wanted him, too. He raised his lips back against hers and kissed her, running his hands over her hips, and leaning into her.
Logan felt like he was losing control of himself. With each kiss, he wanted Callie more and more, and he didn't know what to think. There was just something about her, something different. He usually had a bit more self control than this. As he kissed Callie's wonderfully sweet lips one more time, he decided he needed to act. He pushed back from the wall and pulled away from her, leaving a safe space between his body and hers. She deserved something more than a quick romp on the floor, something more than a simple wave of passion, and he wanted to be the kind of man who could give her what she deserved.
He held out his hand. "We should really get going," he said. He just needed a few minutes to regain control, a chance to figure out just what the hell it was about her that made him feel this way. This wasn't just the thrill of running off with someone. This was something else, something new. Now, if only he could figure out what it meant.
"And here I was thinking we just had," Callie replied.
You have no idea, he thought. If he didn't figure out some way to get over Callie Haven, he was going to be in trouble fast.