aching body. She lay there, unable to form a coherent thought, too exhausted to move. It was almost too much effort to breathe.
They gently cleaned her, taking care with her tender areas. Then Logan pulled her upward and looped her arms around his neck. She went willingly, a limp rag doll against his chest as he carried her further up the bed to lay her down.
Rhys crawled in behind her and spooned against her back. His hand swept down her side and over her hip even as he murmured sweet words in her ear.
Logan leaned in to kiss her lips. Then he pulled the covers up over them and told her to sleep.
Chapter Twelve
A brisk knock at their door woke Catherine. She stirred and started to climb from between Logan and Rhys when Logan put a hand out to stop her.“You stay here, baby. I’ll see who it is.”
He rose and hurriedly yanked on some clothes before walking to the door. Catherine sat up, and Rhys leaned up beside her as she strained to see who was there.
“My apologies for disturbing you, but I have an urgent message for Logan Wellesley and Rhys Cullen.”
“I’m Logan.”
Catherine saw him reach out, and then he stepped back into the room, closing the door behind him. She studied his face as he opened the piece of folded paper the messenger had delivered.
And then her heart sank when she saw his expression darken.
“What is it?” Rhys demanded.
“Maybe nothing,” Logan muttered. “It’s a message from Kingston. Wants me to call him as soon as possible.”
Rhys frowned. “What the hell could he want?”
“That’s what I need to find out.” He cast an apologetic look at Catherine. “I won’t be long, baby. You and Rhys get dressed and head to the restaurant. I’ll meet you there as soon as I’m done.”
She swallowed and nodded, though she couldn’t get rid of the dread tightening her chest. Whatever it was, she had the feeling it had just ended their vacation.
Logan disappeared out the door, and she sat there for a moment, worry nagging at her. Rhys cupped her shoulder and pressed a kiss to the side of her head.
“Don’t look like that, sweetheart. Whatever it is, Logan will fix it.”
“Yes, he’s good at fixing things,” she said faintly.
She slid out of bed and went into the bathroom to take a quick shower. When she came out, Rhys was sitting on the bed, fully dressed, waiting on her.
“I’ll just be a minute,” she said. “Why don’t you go ahead so we aren’t late for our reservation.”
“You sure?” he asked.
She nodded and smiled. “I’m hungry, and I’ve been looking forward to dinner all day. I’d hate to lose out because we were five minutes late.”
He stood and pulled her into his arms. “Okay, but don’t be long.”
After he left, she selected her clothing and took care with her hair and makeup. Why all of a sudden it was so important for her to look nice, she wasn’t sure, but it made her feel better, more secure. As if painting on a mask made her better prepared to deal with what was to come.
Ten minutes later, she left the hotel room and walked toward the lobby. After stopping at the desk to find out exactly where in the hotel the restaurant was located, she started back on her way.
As she walked down the corridor branching off from the lobby, she heard Logan’s angry voice. She halted abruptly outside one of the conference rooms. The door was ajar, and it was obvious that Logan was spitting mad.
She leaned in, standing as close to the door as she could without pushing it open.
“There is nothing more important to me than this deal,” Logan said tersely. “Nothing. Whatever I have to do to secure your confidence will be done.”
There was a pause.
“Yes, I’m out of town, but I can leave at a moment’s notice. No, nothing important. Just some downtime, and that’s not as important as this deal.”
She sucked in her breath. Surely he didn’t mean it. He couldn’t.
“Rhys and I will be out as soon as I can get our pilot down here. I’ll call you when we land in San Francisco, and we can set up a time to meet.”
Knowing he was about to end the call, Catherine stumbled away from the doorway and hurried toward the restaurant. She felt ill.
In a desperate attempt to calm herself, she ducked into the ladies’ room. She braced herself against the sink, her stomach in one gigantic