Conviction (Club Destiny #1)(80)
Author: Nicole Edwards

“Sam.” The whispered word that came from his mouth was more of a plea.

Her body jackknifed on the bed, a startled shudder running through her, but she didn’t scream as he’d expected. Then the sheer agony was replaced with a look of total revulsion and Logan was almost propelled backward with its intensity.

“What do you want?” Furiously wiping the tears streaking her face, Sam glared at him, but she didn’t move.

Logan’s throat constricted, unable to speak as he stood helplessly in the doorway, seeing the woman he loved hurting. Taking one step forward, then another, he slowly closed the gap between them, wanting only to touch her, to hold her. When he would have put his hands on her arms, Sam jerked back from him, the determination in those translucent green eyes boring into him.

“Don’t touch me. How did you get in here?”

Propelling herself off the bed in one graceful move, Sam pushed past him, going to the living room, leaving him standing in her bedroom feeling the fury she left in her wake.

He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, staring at her bed, noting the rumpled comforter that hadn’t been pulled down and the pillows tossed to the floor. Realizing she’d deserted him, Logan followed the sounds of cabinet doors being slammed shut, finding Sam in the kitchen, looking for something.

“Sam. Talk to me for a minute.” Somehow he’d managed to find his voice, though it didn’t sound like him at all.

“I don’t want to talk to you, Logan. If I did, I would have called.”

She hadn’t called, he knew that much. And neither had she answered her phone when he’d made several attempts to speak to her throughout the day.

“Samantha, I need to talk to you.” Using her full name, Logan inserted some urgency in his tone. At this rate, she wasn’t going to listen to a damn thing he had to say. “I need to explain what you heard today.”

“Explain? Do you think I’m dumb enough that I didn’t understand?” Sam retorted, slamming another cabinet door. “You don’t owe me anything, Logan. I just need you to leave me the hell alone.”

She stalked into the living room, flipping on a small lamp sitting on the side table by the couch.

With a calm he didn’t feel, Logan looked her right in the eye, trying to hold onto his control. “You need to hear me out.”

“I don’t need to do anything.” She argued, crossing her arms over her chest in a very defensive stance.

“But, I need to explain.” He reworded his intentions. Standing before him, Sam looked determined, yet vulnerable at the same time.

It pained him to know he was the cause for all of her anger, her hurt. She’d had hours to conjure up images that just weren’t real. If he’d followed her earlier in the day when he wanted to, she wouldn’t have had time to think about worst case scenarios all day.

“Logan,” Sam lowered her voice, finally looking him in the eye, “I don’t want any explanations. I get it.”

Infuriation bubbled deep, forcing the calm he had reached for to be absorbed until his hands tingled with the anger he could feel rising up. The hard headed woman wouldn’t listen to reason, making up her mind without giving him a chance to explain. The self-control he prided himself on dissolved.

“Damn it, Sam! What do you think you get? You walked in on part of a conversation, and without giving me a chance to explain, you stormed off.” He yelled, hoping to get her attention.

“I heard all I needed to hear.” She screamed back at him.

Logan was sure she hadn’t heard what he said, though she’d had a proper come back. Taking a step closer, he kept his hands to his side. He didn’t trust himself to touch her. Not that he would ever hurt her, but he wanted to shake her with the intensity of his anger.

“What? You heard me telling Deanna that I fucking had dinner with Heather. That’s all you heard, Sam.”

Sam flinched as though he’d hit her. The brunt force of the words was out before he could stop them, but he didn’t try to take them back. She wasn’t listening, and based on the change in her demeanor, Sam had shut down altogether, right before his very eyes.

Closing the gap between them, Logan got almost in her face. Their height difference caused her to look up at him, but he didn’t back away.

“It isn’t what you think.” He lowered his voice, letting the excessive energy drain from his body.

“It doesn’t matter what I think it is, Logan. I learned a valuable lesson today. I learned that I am not strong enough to endure a relationship with you.”

She could have just slapped him, her words having the same effect. Retaliating with words wasn’t going to get him anywhere, yet Logan wasn’t going down without a fight.