Page 40 of Logan (The Valeur Billionaires #1)

“I want you,” I admit, my voice husky with desire. “God, Logan, I want you so much I can hardly breathe. But...” I take a shuddering breath, trying to gather my scattered wits. “I’m here with Johnny. I came with him. It’s not right. I’m not a cheater. And you, you only want sex from me.”

“Sloane.” He grips my chin, forcing me to look him in the eye.

“I don’t just want sex. What can I say to convince you?

I want all of you, your beautiful and clever head, with the brilliant ideas.

I want the long conversations, the funny nonsense.

And I won’t lie, the sex too. You deserve someone who will worship you and spoil you, and also someone who will fuck you the way you like it. ”

“And you’re that someone?” I miss our conversations, too, the days we spent together. Everything flowed so easily. I felt comfortable around him. He always listened to every word I said and didn’t run away screaming when I talked about computers and technology. And the sex… The sex, was divine.

“Yes. I see how your body reacts, how your nipples harden and your skin shivers. You know I’m that someone. Your body already knows.”

I gaze into his eyes, bright even in the dim light of the storage room. My body tingles. It remembers every moment and every touch. He’s right, damn it, my body is attuned to him. I nod.

“I need to talk to Johnny first and explain before we start anything. It’s only fair.”

“Does that mean yes?”

“Yes.” I bite my lower lip.

“So, can I see you after the event? After you...” He swallows heavily. “Talk to him?”

I close my eyes. “I’ll call you after I finish things with him.”

“Please don’t make me wait much longer, Sloane. I can’t take it.” With that, he retrieves the key, then turns and strides to the door, unlocking it and holding it open for me. I take a deep breath, trying to compose myself, before I step out into the brightly lit hallway.

The rest of the night passes in a blur. I make small talk, smile and laugh at jokes I barely hear. My mind is consumed with thoughts of Logan, of his hands and his mouth and the heat in his eyes when he looks at me.

I’m so distracted I barely notice when Johnny sidles up to me, two fresh drinks in hand. “Having fun?” he asks, passing me another glass of champagne.

I take it automatically, gulping a too-large sip. The bubbles tickle my nose, and I fight back a sneeze. “Mm-hmm,” I hum.

Johnny studies me, a small frown marring his brow. “You’ve been weird all night,” he observes. “Distant. Did something happen with your boss?”

I nearly choke on my champagne. If only he knew. “No,” I say, too quickly and too loudly. “No, everything’s fine. Tired, that’s all.”

Johnny looks at me through narrowed eyes. “Did you just fuck him?”

“What? No. Why would you ask that?”

“You’re all flushed and weird. Did you just fuck him, Sloane?” He moves closer, and for a moment, he doesn’t look like the guy who took care of me when I was sick, but threatening.

“No. He’s my boss.”

“Tell the truth.”

“That is the truth. We just talked.”

“You’re lying. I don’t know what that was, but I’m sure it wasn’t related to the product you developed.” He twists his mouth.

Inviting Johnny here was a terrible mistake. I wanted Logan to be jealous, and it worked better than I thought. But I used Johnny for it, and that’s not right. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of him like this.

I don’t want him back, and I never did. It’s not fair that I misled him by allowing him to think we had a chance. I have to end this and make it clear to him that nothing will happen between us.

What was once between us is dead and won’t return. It was a mistake to allow him to get close to me again, and a further mistake to invite him here.

The night drags on, but, blessedly, it’s time to leave. Johnny escorts me to the front door of my apartment, his hand heavy and unwelcome on the small of my back. I’m vibrating with tension, rehearsing the words over and over in my head.

“I had a nice time tonight,” he says when we reach my door, turning to face me with a smile. “Maybe we could do it again sometime?”

Oh God. He’s going to make this even harder than it needs to be, isn’t he? I take a deep breath, steeling myself. “Johnny, I?—”

But before I can finish, he’s ducking his head, his lips aiming for mine. Panic flares hot in my chest, and I turn my head at the last second, his kiss landing awkwardly on my cheek.

He pulls back, confusion and hurt warring on his face. “Sloane? What’s wrong?”

“I can’t do this,” I blurt out, the words tripping over themselves in their haste to escape. “Us. I thought I could, but...I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“It’s because of him, right? Your boss? I knew he was looking at you weird. Tell the truth.” He grabs my arm a little too hard. “You fucked him today, didn’t you? Got a taste of money and now I’m not good enough? You’re fucking for money?”

“Ouch! Johnny, you’re hurting me.” I pull my arm back and step away from him.

“This has nothing to do with him. We’re not a match, you and me.

We were never a match. It’s not for nothing that you were cheating with Kelly.

You were missing something in our relationship because we weren’t meant for each other. ”

Nothing justifies the cheating and the humiliation he put me through, but I understand now that we never had the passion I have with Logan, and Johnny was probably missing something, too, even if we didn’t understand that at the time.

“ Pfft ,” he snorts. “You have someone else. I know it. Too bad you’re not brave enough to tell me to my face.”

“Because you told me to my face? We were together, and you went and slept with Kelly behind my back. Everyone knew but me. So don’t talk to me about bravery.”

“I knew it! I knew there was someone else. You love to look down on me, to show me how much better you are, but you’re no different from me.”

“Except we’re not together, and I never cheated on you.” I go inside and slam the door behind me.