Logan (9 page)

“And doona laugh. I never want to deal with that again.”
 

“Oh, really? What are you going to do if we have a girl?”
 

“We
are
having a girl.”
 

It was his usual response. From the moment she had told him of the pregnancy, he had been adamant that they were having a girl, which had surprised her. She would have thought having a boy to carry on the name was more important. Callum had insisted they were having a girl…end of discussion.
 

“And, so what are you going to do about that?”
 

“About what?”
 

“If we have a girl.”
 

“Oh, well, you can deal with all that female teenage rubbish.”
 

Her smile faded, as she thought back to the passage. “We shall see about that. Now, what is going on with the rest of the Clan today?”
 

Callum smiled and stood. He raised her head and then sat on the sofa and settled her head on his lap. And with the fading afternoon sun streaming through the window, Callum talked about nothing important at all, as he slipped his fingers through her hair.
 

Logan stepped out of his room and had to fight the urge to turn around. He hated huge parties, and he hated bloody tuxes with a passion.
 

Angus was waiting for him with a smile on his face. “Took you long enough, little brother.”
 

“I hate doing this.” And he did. For art, he didn’t mind going to galas, but this had another level. It was work, dangerous work. Something he didn’t normally like to do. Not that any of them had clean souls. But for some reason, it all felt wrong.
 

“I know you do, but you know we don’t have a choice.”
 

If he did have a choice, he definitely would not be spending his first night in Paris at a charity auction. He had all kinds of ideas of great first nights. All of them started with romancing Meg and ended up making love to her for a week. None of that was going to happen, however.
 

Bloody hell. He needed to get his head on the task at hand. That one little kiss shouldn’t be interfering with his thoughts. But it was…and what could have happened if she hadn’t stopped him.  
 

So, why the bloody hell could he not get her out of his mind?
 

“You just need to give in, Logan.”
 

He looked at his brother, realizing he had been standing there as if in a daze for a few moments. “Speaking from experience?”
 

Angus chuckled. “It’s apparent to me there is something between you. Sure, you avoid each other, but she seems so uncomfortable around you. Especially on the plane today.”
 

Logan shook his head. “Leave it alone.
 

Before Angus could respond, Meg’s voice traveled up the stairs.
 

“They are going to case the place without us?”
 

“Never need to wonder about what that one is thinking, do you?” Angus asked, humor lacing his voice. “Not so much the siren at the moment.”
 

Logan only grunted, as he made his way down the stairs. She was still caring on, complaining that they were stuck in the apartment while the men were getting to go out.
 

“You need to get your woman in line,” Angus said.
 

“She’s not my woman.”
 

“Then I guess you don’t want to know exactly what the prevailing thought is on why you had no reaction to her last night.”
 

Logan stopped and turned to face his brother. “What the bloody hell are you talking about?”
 

“We know for a fact that you aren’t gay, and you aren’t related to her. Those are the two things that keep men from reacting. That leaves one thing.”
 

Lord, Angus was slow sometimes. For over two hundred years he had been dealing with his brother and waiting for him to get to the point. If he could actually kill him, he would.
 

“What?” he said from behind clenched teeth.
 

“There is something between the two of you.”
 

He turned around and started back down the stairs. “Yes, animosity.”
 

“There is a thin line between love and hate.”
 

And a lot could happen there. Like the night before. “You’ve been spending too much time with women.”
 

“Says the man who has had more than any of us.”
 

He waited until Angus stepped up beside him, and he slanted his brother a look. “The prevailing thought is that Fletcher is the Lothario of the group of cousins.”
 

Angus snorted. “I know for a fact if you kept score, and if Fletcher was ever truthful about the amount of women he’d slept with, you would come out neck and neck with the numbers. I know how many women go all soft for artsy types like you.”
 

He could feel heat crawling up his neck. “Forget it. And I don’t know what it was, but it didn’t draw me like it did you.”
 

They stepped into the hallway and her voice grew.
 

“Do either of those Scots even know what to look for?” Meg said, her voice not as loud as before.
 

“They aren’t looking for anything. They are making contact. I thought you agreed to this before.”
 

There was silence for a few moments.
 

“I just didn’t expect them to go to a party.”
 

Logan frowned at her tone. There was something there other than irritation. He opened his mouth, but Angus tapped him on the shoulder and shook his head.
 

“That’s not it,” Maggie said.
 

“Are you sure they will be okay?”
 

Maggie laughed. “Of course they will be, you silly witch. They’re immortal.”
 

Logan shook his head and walked into the room. They were sitting on the couch, more lounging if he was truthful about it. Both women had changed, but he barely noticed Maggie. Meg was wearing a long flowing red shirt. It wasn’t revealing, but it moved with her, creating an air of sensuality around her. She’d left her hair loose. Honey brown curls dripped over her shoulders.
 

It wasn’t anything especially sexy, but the color of the shirt highlighted her milk and honey complexion. Still, for some reason, he could not seem to get his mouth to open. He couldn’t even think of any words other than
MINE
.
 

Angus elbowed him to gain his attention. When Logan looked at him, he wanted to curse. The knowing expression on his brother’s face told him he’d noticed Logan’s preoccupation.
 

“And that we will be fine,” Angus said. Both women turned at the sound of his voice. Maggie smiled. Meg looked guilty.
 

“Well, gentleman,” Maggie said, “I see you clean up well, as usual.”
 

“Of course,” Angus said, as he walked forward.
 

Maggie leaned back and offered her lips up for a kiss. As they did, he kept looking at Meg. “Let’s go, brother, we have a man to meet. Oh, and ladies, I left you some goodies in the kitchen for later. Don’t go anywhere.”
 

As they walked down the hallway, Logan asked, “Do you think they would go out?”
 

“With those two, you never know. But, I warned Maggie earlier that they should be very careful. There is a sense someone is on the other side of this…someone still fighting us. And, who knows what Morin will do to Meg if he finds her out and about.”
 

Logan glanced back at the apartment, as Angus unlocked the car.
 

“Don’t worry, Logan. Your woman will be here when we return.”
 

With that, Logan followed his brother. The sooner they got this over with the better.
 

*  *  *  *
 

Once Angus and Logan left, Meg sat on her bed and tried to decompress. The fact that they had been ordered to stay in still irritated her. She understood the logic of it. The idea of her traipsing around Paris without knowing what Pierre was doing probably wasn’t a good idea. He was their main competitor for the jewel.
 

Still, she didn’t like being ordered to do something. Not by anyone. Even if he she wanted him to order her to do other things.
 

“I can hear you,” Maggie said from her doorway. Meg opened her eyes and looked at her friend.
 

“I was trying to meditate.”
 

“You were thinking it sucks we are stuck in the apartment tonight.”
 

She smiled. “I don’t believe I actually thought the word sucks.”
 

Maggie sat next to her on the bed and grinned. “I can’t believe we’re in Paris.”
 

“Is this your first time?”
 

She nodded. “We thought about it for our honeymoon, but we didn’t want to go that far away. It was my first time away from Jack like that.”
 

Meg grinned, thinking about how crazy Maggie had been before she left.
 

“So, I’m a little hungry. Want to see what my wonderful husband left for us?” Maggie asked.
 

No. She wanted to sit on her bed and pout more, but she knew it would sound stupid if she said that out loud. Instead, she nodded. “Let’s go find out.”
 

Meg led the way, as Maggie followed behind her.
 

“This place is amazing. It must be hard to stay away.”
 

“Now, it is. I miss this city so much. But at first, it wasn’t that hard. Paris has some horrible memories for me.”
 

Being arrested, having her lover, the one man she had ever really trusted, turn on her…it had been horrendous. But, it had taught her never to trust again. Especially men.
 

They reached the kitchen and she sighed. All was right with the world if there was a well-equipped kitchen.
 

“Now, if I know my husband, he made sure there is some good wine for me, and cheese,” Maggie said, elbowing her way around Meg. “And bread and chocolate.”
 

Meg sighed. “I could never get you to enjoy a good kitchen.”
 

Maggie opened the fridge and giggled. “Smashing.” She pulled out a bottle of very expensive champagne. “My man knows me.”
 

She started rummaging through drawers, and Meg shook her head knowing she wouldn’t get to play in her kitchen. Not at the moment at least.
 

“Over there,” she said, pointing to the drawer where she kept the wine bottle opener, as she walked to the cupboard where she kept the champagne flutes.
 

Maggie found it easily.
 

“With your background, I do understand why you don’t like to cook.”
 

“What’s that mean?” Maggie asked, as she turned the handle on the opener.
 

“You’re Irish. It’s not like you have a lot of things from your homeland’s cuisine.”
 

The cork popped out and Meg raced over so Maggie could pour the frothy liquid in.
 

“That’s rude.”
 

“No one ever said the truth was nice,” she said with a smile. “I will take New England Clam Chowder, fajitas, or peach cobbler over some of the things you have in Ireland any day of the week.”
 

Maggie clinked her glass against Meg’s. “We will agree to disagree.”
 

She took a sip and sighed. Angus had bought the best, of course.
 

“So, what about you and Logan,” Maggie asked.
 

“What do you mean?”
 

“I mean, what’s going on with the two of you?”
 

“Nothing.”
 

“Oh, no, don’t give me that. I know better than anyone—well, except for Rena—how you act around men. The fact that you don’t really flirt with Logan is a tell, love.”
 

She made a face. “How would I get him into my bed anyway? He has no reaction to the voice.”
 

Maggie was about to take a drink, but she lowered her glass slowly. She studied Meg for a moment or two. “You don’t think all you have is that voice, do you?”
 

Meg shrugged, trying to push away the insecurity that weighed heavy on her soul. “I will admit, I’ve used it a lot over the last few years. It’s kind of difficult to think a man is immune to it.”
 

“Don’t ever think that’s all you are. We are more than just our abilities, Meg. So much more.”
 

She wished she could believe, but she didn’t have it in her. “I guess you could be right.”
 

“And something happened.”
 

She glanced up at Maggie.
 

“I knew it. You were both acting strangely on the plane this morning.”
 

“He kissed me.”
 

“When?”
 

“Last night in the kitchen.”
 

“I just knew it. I told Angus there was something going on and he said to mind my own business.”
 

Meg rolled her eyes. “Men.”
 

“Exactly. So, what are you going to do about it?”
 

“What do you mean?”
 

“I mean, what are you going to do about it? You seem to have feelings for him.”
 

“Right now, I think we need to concentrate on the job. After that, we can worry about the man.”
 

Maggie smiled. “That sounds like a plan.”
 

And then, Meg could disappear for a while and think about how to get that man out of her blood.