Logan's fingers trailed down Veronica's spine, sliding gently under the covers, over the soft curve of her buttocks before resting at the very peak, his palm spreading across her flesh. Exhaling a contented sigh, Veronica smiled from her place next to Logan – having naturally returned to her side – in the large hotel bed. Logan's eyes twinkled with happiness and for a second, Veronica almost forgot that any time had passed since the last time they were like this together.

"So tell me. How did you end up here?" He said, his palm patting her bottom ever so slightly.

"The elevator – same as you," She teased, letting out a little squeal when his playful pat became a squeeze.

"You know what I mean. How did you get to work at L.A. Now?" Shifting closer to her on his pillow, his eyes narrowed in thought, but his grin continued as if he couldn't stop it.

"Oh! You mean that." She laughed, tossing him a little wink of mischief. "When I decided that the F.B.I. life wasn't for me, I figured that being a lawyer wasn't going to be any better, so I transferred into Stanford'a journalism program. I thought that being a journalist would allow me to still do my investigation work, but also get me out of the trenches, so to speak. Plus, editors kind of look the other way so long as you get the story and everything seems like it was obtained legally. The F.B.I. was a little sticky on that whole 'legally obtained' thing."

A shiver ran through Veronica as Logan began making small circles with his thumb on her butt cheek and she bit her lip, trying not to initiate round-three quite as quickly as she initiated round-two. ""

'Yeah, but 'L.A. Now' isn't really known for their hard-hitting investigative reporting." He chuckled. "How did you land there?"

Biting her lip, Veronica shifted her arm under her pillow, avoiding Logan's eyes. "I usually write under a pseudonym – Victoria Lilly – to keep the crazies from tracking me down. But the expose I wrote for 'Vanity Fair' about Monticello Chemicals tainting the water supply in a small Texas town had some pretty...negative...responses."

The smile dropped from Logan's face, deep lines running across his forehead. "What kind of response?"

Veronica shrugged, finally meeting his gaze. "Tires slashed. A dead rat duct taped to my condo door. But it was the picture of my dad in his office that finally made me back off from the investigative stuff – at least for now."

"Fuck," Logan muttered, shaking his head. "How did they find out?"

"Money. Intimidation. I mean, I had been doing it for a couple of years – it was really only a matter of time before someone hated me enough to find out who I really was." Rolling onto her side, Logan's hand rose as she turned before landing on her hip. "'L.A. Now' is a regular salary, with some easy investigation pieces and some light and fluffy stuff that I can write while half asleep. Plus, I can use my real name. Up until now, if you Google'd me, nothing I've written will come up, unless you knew my alias."

The corner of Logan's mouth turned up in a wry smile and he tossed her a wink. "That's why I couldn't find anything about you when your dad mentioned you were a journalist."

"He couldn't help himself, huh." She remarked, rolling her eyes.

"Nope. Your old man is way too proud of you not to brag to your ex-boyfriend about how great you were doing." Scratching his beard, Logan chuckled.

"Ex-boyfriend." She repeated, as if she couldn't remember that he was, in fact, her ex.

"Well, that's what I am, right?" Shuffling closer to Veronica on his pillow, Logan's hand pulled her hip gently towards him and she replied by shuffling closer to him until their bodies hovered just inches apart. "Your ex-boyfriend?"

Veronica's hand slipped across the covers to connect with Logan's arm, her fingers sliding along his muscular bicep, across his shoulder to rest lightly on the soft bristles of his beard. Moving his head slightly, he kissed the tip of her thumb as she stroked the dark brown hairs near his mouth.

"What if I want to be all Katherine Hepburn about this and just take you as my lover." She said quietly, her eyes skimming the rough outline of his jaw.

"Right now, I'd settle for that." He said, his fingers pressing into her hip, coaxing her to come closer until they were hovering close enough to feel each other's body heat.

"Hmmm right now, huh. But then what?" Taking a slow breath, she inhaled musky scent of herself still imbedded in his beard. "Where does this go?"

Logan shrugged, his body closing the gap so he was pressed against her fully and her breath hitched as she found him beginning to become hard against her. "I don't know...but I'd give everything to find out."

Her open lips were stopped from speech by his lips as they brushed gently across. Closing her eyes, Veronica wrapped her arms around him, pulling herself close to him as her legs spread under the covers, her knee hooking around his hip, making sure his body didn't go anywhere. Logan's lips continued to touch hers, then release, and she found herself chasing them with an urgency she hadn't felt in a while.

When the phone next to the bed rang, Veronica nearly jumped out of her skin and she pulled away from Logan quickly, in partial shock. "Who the fuck...everyone calls me on my cell?" Frowning, Logan swiftly spun around in the bed, grabbing the receiver. "Hello?"

Logan's eyes went wide in shock for a second before glancing down at Veronica as he nodded into the phone. "Yeah. Just a second." Covering the mouthpiece, Logan held out the phone to her. "It's Keith. For you."

Veronica's whole body shook in a visceral response to her father's name, said to her while she was naked. Taking a second to let her brain catch up to what was in fact happening; she stretched out her hand slowly, looking to take the receiver. With a nod, Logan handed it to her before leaning back against the headboard, his hands resting behind his head.

Ignoring the glorious view of Logan's flexed pecs, Veronica placed the phone to her ear and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on what was about to happen.

"Heeeyyyy Dad..."

A deep sigh swept through the phone and Veronica could only imagine the eye-roll. "Heeeyyyy Veronica. I tried to call you on your cell, but you wouldn't pick up."

Pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger Veronica winced in agony. "Right. Sorry. It's in my purse."

"And where is your purse, dear Veronica?" Her father asked slowly.

"Not...here?" She replied, opening one eye to glance out the bedroom doors towards the living room.

Keith let out a huff of frustration and Veronica prayed that the bed would swallow her whole. "Look, we're all adults here, Veronica. I figured...this...would happen when you went to interview Logan. When you didn't answer your phone, I just played a hunch. So why don't you to get yourselves together and come and have this delicious lasagne I made. It's too much for just you and me anyhow."

"Okay Dad." Veronica pinched the bridge of her nose. "See you soon."

Handing the phone back to Logan without turning around, she let out a deep sigh. Get the story, maybe catch up on things for old times' sake, get out of Neptune – that had been the plan. This...this was not part of the plan.

"What'd he say?" Logan asked, the phone chiming as he replaced it on the charger.

"He wants the little buddy who helped him take down the Kane family to come to dinner." She sighed, glancing over her shoulder at him. "With me, of course."

A look of glee spread across Logan's face and he shuffled himself down towards her, wrapping his arms around her tightly, his lips coming to rest at the crook of her neck and she squealed as his beard tickled her skin.

"See, I told you he likes me now." Logan murmured into her flesh, the vibration sending a warm tingling across her skin. "I mean, how could he not?"

Relaxing into his arms, Veronica let out a little huff of annoyance. Get in, get the story, maybe have a bit of time to catch up, then leave – that was the plan. As Logan sucked the sensitive skin at the crook of her neck, Veronica began to lose rational thought again. Maybe, this wasn't the plan, but she had to admit, it was so much better.