He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not

stairs he headed down the hallway, turning right, toward the master suite. Amanda tried to grab the banister, but he was going too fast and her hands slid off the polished wood.
    “Put me down,” she demanded, wiggling to get out of his grasp.
    He stalked into the bedroom and kicked the door shut with his foot. He didn’t slow as he approached the massive four-poster bed.
    “Put me down,” she insisted again.
    “As you wish.” He dumped her unceremoniously on the bed. The mattress hadn’t stopped bouncing before he followed her with his body, pressing her into the mattress, chest to chest, thigh to thigh, groin to groin.
    His dark, angry eyes bored into hers as he stared down at her. She stared back, amazed at this side of him she’d never seen before, wondering what he was going to do. His eyes dropped to her lips. The tension in him suddenly changed and she felt the pressure against her abdomen increase as his growing erection pressed against her.
    “Mandy, what the hell am I going to do with you?” The words sounded like they were torn out of him, filled with frustration, anger, and something else.
    “ Love me ?” she whispered, reaching up and gently running her fingers along the side of his face.
    He shuddered beneath her touch. She saw the surrender in his eyes a moment before he leaned down and covered her mouth with his.

 
     
    Chapter Seventeen
     
    “W ake up, sleeping beauty.”
    Amanda groaned at the sound of Logan’s cheerful voice. She was lying on her stomach with one arm hanging off the edge of the bed. “Too early.” She threw the sheet over the top of her head.
    He chuckled and relentlessly tugged the sheet back down in spite of her efforts to hang on to it. “My curious sister is already downstairs, asking me all kinds of questions about why you’re so tired this morning. What do you think I should tell her?”
    She cursed and opened her right eye to glare at him.
    “What was that? I didn’t quite understand you, sweetie.”
    The sheet continued its relentless slide down her bare back. Had she actually thought this man was kind and sweet when he’d kissed her scars and made her feel beautiful and cherished? She cleared her throat and spoke louder. “I don’t care what you tell her. Leave me alone. Must . . . sleep. Go away.”
    Logan whisked the sheet off the bed and slapped her bare bottom.
    She shrieked in outrage.
    “Like it or not, we’ve got company. And unless you want me to tell Pierce why you’re so tired, you’d better get hopping.”
    “You wouldn’t dare.” She reluctantly sat up, grabbing a pillow to cover her breasts and block Logan’s view.
    His eyes dipped down to her lap and he gave her a lecherous leer. She gasped and grabbed another pillow to cover up.
    Laughing, he bent down and pressed a quick kiss against her lips. “If you’re not downstairs in ten minutes, I’m going to join that luscious body of yours in bed. I don’t care what Pierce and Madison think.”
    She shoved him off the bed but he caught himself before he fell. When she grabbed a knickknack from the bedside table and threatened to throw it at him, he grinned but hurried from the room, closing the door behind him.
    It wasn’t until she was in the shower that what he’d said sank in. Pierce was here? In spite of the wonderful night she and Logan had shared, had Logan called Pierce this morning to take her to a safe house as he’d threatened to do last night?
    The rest of her shower was taken amidst a series of stomps and curses as she vented her anger. She purposely took longer than ten minutes just to see if he would dare to come upstairs, now that she was awake enough to realize what he’d done.
    When he failed to show, she grudgingly admitted he knew her better than she thought. She reluctantly headed downstairs.
    A manda located Pierce, Madison, and Logan on the back deck, sitting at one of the round tables with an assortment of bagels and cream cheese.
    Logan stood and pulled out a chair for her next to him. She ignored him and grabbed another chair, scooting it in between Madison and Pierce, forcing them to move over to let her sit down.
    “Good morning, Pierce, Madison.” She forced a cheerfulness into her voice she didn’t feel.
    Madison exchanged a quizzical look with Pierce. “Good morning, Amanda.”
    Logan stood beside his chair with a scowl on his face. “Wouldn’t you rather sit over here? You’re crowding the others.”
    “Pierce? Am I bothering you