Alpha Logan

THIRTEEN: home

Bella:

There had been moments in my life where this would be everything I've ever asked for. Standing in a room full of first-edition books that had years of history attached to them was something that would've been a wish I'd told to a genie.

Yet, I'm standing here in the confines of Logan's library, and the only thing I can think about is how his lips would feel.

With the proximity of where we stood, my nose was nearly brushing his chest. He looked at me with so much certainty, like the only thing in the world that would've stopped moving was me. And maybe, it did.

The craziest thing about it was I wanted him to kiss me. After crying about I wasn't capable of love, I wanted to relish it. Find all the reasons why my mom begged me not to fall in love, I wanted to find out why.

I took a shaky breath and gripped the hardcover book to my chest, praying to hold onto this moment forever. It seemed simple like we were meant to keep these feelings for each other there.

The lingering smell of the hundred-year-old books keep my senses in a daze, and all I could do was stare at the tall man.

Kiss me.

Make me forget why love is such a bad thing.

Show me how wrong my mother was.

Show me what lurks beneath the surface of a kiss.

But, it never came.

We stood silently, chest to chest for about a minute before Logan pulled away from me. The harsh reality of him leaving my side made me feel silly. Like I was begging for something I knew was too good to be true.

I quickly reached to push the book back into its original area on the shelf, where it belonged.

"Keep it, I insist." Logan stopped me, and took the book from my fingers, slightly brushing my hand along the way. "You seemed far more excited than I've ever seen you before for a book, and it's much better in your hands than sitting on a shelf untouched."

I opened my mouth to argue with him once more but he cut me off rather quickly. "I'll bring it with us for when you leave." Logan gave me a slight wink and took my hand in his again. "Come on, I can finish the tour if you like. Unless you'd rather stay here...." He trailed off and gave me a sneaky smile, and I quickly shook my head no.

"I'm afraid if I spend another five minutes in here I'll never stop looking at the books." I giggled and followed in his footsteps.

I couldn't believe the depth of his house. The house structure was all stone, almost looking medieval and every corner of the house of filled with luxury furniture. It was one of the best well-decorated homes I've ever seen and I was envious in every aspect.

My mind felt like it was still spinning on an axis from the proximity Logan and I just shared. I was trying to push down the feeling that I had just made the biggest fool of myself by leaning into his chest in desperation, but I knew it was the only thing we both could think about.

We began to walk through various aspects of the house. Logan showed me room after room, each different from the next. They all looked untouched, perfectly kept, and clean. I enjoyed his outside patio, despite the cold weather.

"Do you keep up with the plants?" I asked curiously as my eyes trailed over to the various flowers in his sunroom.

"No, I wish I knew what I was doing when it came to the plants but I have a lady that comes and tends to them. My mother gifted me all the plants as if I knew what to do with them."

I shrugged and took in the vibrant space. It was one of the brightest and most colorful spaces in his house and it drew me closer to the space. "I really like them, it's beautiful out here." My eyes floated around the space and I couldn't help but feel Logan's heavy eyes on me. I peeked a glance over at him and saw his dark eyes giving me a warm look. It sent shivers throughout my whole body.

We continued the tour of the house, almost trailing toward the ends of the rooms.

"Where do you spend the most time in your house? Mine would have to be my living room, obviously because it has the comfiest area to sit in. It's just the perfect, cozy place to read and watch tv... but yeah, what about you?"

Logan was silent for a few seconds as he thought about his answer. "I'm only ever in my office when I'm home. It's pretty boring and mundane in there though..." Logan told me and my ears perked up.

"Oh! Can we see it? I'd love to see what a CEO's office looks like!" I pulled a little one in his hand, feeling the roughness of his palms.

"Sure." Logan nodded curtly and started heading in the opposite direction from the way we were going. I was trying to keep up with his long legs by making faster steps as he rushed down the hallway as if he was trying to beat me to the room.

The room hid at the end of a long, dark hallway. Logan pushed the door open and slipped his hand away from mine, and rushed over to the large wooden desk. The office was the only room in that house that had blue walls, and ceilings that hung so high it strained my neck to see. I took in the area of the room, there was a lounge area to the left of his desk with the same professional decor. I glanced back over to Logan and saw his shuffling around various papers on the desk. I took a step toward him and was shocked at how big his office was.

But then again, every area in his house was overwhelming.

"Yeah, this is where I do a lot of my work." He shrugged and moved out of the way, holding the stack of papers in his hands. I began to walk around the desk and couldn't help but throw myself in the large leather desk chair that resided in the room.

"I can see why, this is one of the comfiest chairs on the planet." I leaned back and was entranced by Logan's cologne pouring out of the room.

"I think you are the only person who ever sat in that chair beside me." He laughed and crossed his broad shoulders over his arms. "And I think you're the only one who would be able to get away with it too."

My heart instantly rushed with the sweet comment he made, and I could feel my cheeks turning a soft pink color.

I was about to respond but the loud, blaring of Logan's ringtone had me stopping in my tracks. Logan held up a finger and harshly answered, "Hello?" I watched as he turned his back to me and stepped away far enough so that his voice sounded like a muffled mess.

I watched him for a few minutes, but when the phone conversation began to drag on, my curiosity got the best of me.

I peeked over at a few papers on the desk, a lot of them were finance papers or stock market holding.

There was one paper, in particular, that had me stopping completely in my tracks.

Classified: Animal Protection Division II

My hand was about to reach over to delve further into the contents, but his retreating voice of Logan had me pulling my hand away quickly.

"Sorry, that was my incompetent assistant. Want to continue with the tour?" Logan stepped over and I shot up from the chair. As I walked back over to him, Logan held out his hand to grasp into mine and we continued.

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