by Emma Harley
His grin only broadened, and he leaned close enough so their noses were almost touching, his breath was soft on her lips. She was terrified he could hear her heartbeat quicken, because despite his disgusting attitude, he was incredibly attractive. Fighting herself not to break contact with the molten gold of his irises, she felt him slide a hand down her back and draw her against him, sending a river of goosebumps down her arms. Raina was completely frozen, her rapid heartbeat seemed like it was the only sound in the room as Logan grazed his finger down her neck and put his lips to her ear.
“Perfectly clear, princess.”
He pulled away from her with a maddening smirk and walked away, taking every bit of heat in her body with him. Without turning back he called to her.
“You can drive, you have to learn your way around.”
∞∞∞
The cold air bit sharply at her cheeks as she stepped outside. It was summer, but the overcast sky and nipping winds were miserable. Logan stood by a flashy white car, playing with the keys. He tossed them to her and walked to the passenger side. Raina just stood watching him, slightly shivering.
“I can’t drive,” she called to him. He looked at her with a dumb expression.
“What do you mean you can’t drive?”
“What part was difficult for you to understand?”
He shook his head and got in the driver’s seat while she slid in beside him, firing off a few quick texts to her friends.
“Who are you texting?” She flipped the phone away from him so he couldn’t see anything, drawing a mischievous grin from him. “Let me guess, telling your friends about your lickable new boss that makes you drool and have dirty dreams?”
Raina's jaw dropped and she got out of the car, shaking her head. Her body had completely betrayed her when that asshole got close, he was arrogant and rude, but he was so damn gorgeous she seemed to forget about it. She strode back towards the house, but Logan caught up with her, and stood in her way.
“Move.” She was giving him a chance, but once again he had to act like an asshole.
“I’m sorry, Raina, I’m sorry,” he sighed, “I just want to be friends, I don’t mean to push too much.”
She shook her head again.
“We barely know each other, I am your employee. You don’t say things like that, maybe if you’re really close you can talk about those things. But we are not friends, and you’re off to a pretty crappy start,” she snapped, her voice raising to a shout.
He nodded, sighing softly. “You’re right I’m sorry Raina. Please let me make it up to you okay, I promise I’ll be better,” he strained, taking one of her hands in his. Clearly he wasn’t used to apologising. She wanted to pull away and go to her room, but paused and nodded.
“One chance, I swear if you pull this crap again I’ll kick you in the crotch and quit.”
Somehow he didn’t doubt the threat. “Alright, get in.”
Back in the car, Raina pulled out her phone and resumed the conversation with her friends as Logan drove down the driveway and onto to road. Maybe the asshole was right, she had indeed been talking about the new boss that made her drool, and how much of a jackass he was too.
She was sipping on water when a message from her friend Meghan came through.
He can’t say anything stupid if you’re sitting on his face.
Raina choked, spilling water down her top and coughing up a lung. Logan looked at her, laughing.
“You okay there?”
She waved a hand in dismissal, coughing hard. He was still chuckling when she took deep breaths after her choking fit.
“You might want to cover up a bit,” he muttered, staring out the window. His knuckles were almost white from gripping the wheel so tight. Raina looked down. She forgot she was wearing a white camisole under her shirt that was now showing the light pink bra underneath. She swore under her breath and tried to button up the old shirt, before coming to the horrible realisation that the buttons were very strained around her breasts. She angrily zipped her jacket up instead, then sent a volley of curses to her friend, telling her about the mishap.
Logan glanced over and relaxed slightly. A few moments of silence went by before he spoke.
“Do you miss your friends?” Raina shrugged, still looking out the window.
“I guess, it’s tough leaving somewhere. They talked about visiting sometime, getting a hotel and making it a weekend vacation but I doubt it.”
He just nodded, listening intently. Suddenly his car phone beeped, with the name Alison on the screen.
“Hey Alison, what’s up?”
A shrill voice exploded in the car and Logan scrambled for the volume knob.
“Logan,” she drawled, “you have to come out tonight, everyone is going for drinks at Sapphire's.”
Raina saw his face drop a little.
“I’ll think about it, I have a lot of work to do today so I might have to give it a miss,” he lied smoothly.
“No come on,” she whined, “it will be so much fun, I'm bringing some girls from dancing...” Raina zoned out, closing her eyes and massaging her temple. The whiny bitch on his phone was getting louder, naming a load of people who would be at the club. This was the person she actively avoided in social situations, the clingy, shrill, over the top Britney that hooks on to guys and doesn’t let go. Raina considered herself a sex-positive feminist, she was of the opinion girls should be able to do what they want as long as they’re happy. But damn, girls like this were to be pitied for their desperation.
The call ended with gag-inducing “mwah” sounds.
“So are you going partying with Britney?” Raina asked sarcastically. She froze, she had been calling this girl Britney so much in her head it slipped out. Logan looked at her quizzically. “You heard me call her Alison, where is Britney coming from?” Raina swore to herself.
“The mushy girl that calls you her BFF but really she’s just trying to bone you and she’s whiny, she tries to drag you into social events with all her friends to make you look like her boyfriend, that’s a Britney.”
Logan roared with laughter as he drove onto a motorway.
“Oh my, sounds like you’re jealous that I have a female friend,” he teased. She whipped her head to him with a snarl.
“I am not jealous at all,” she said, if only a half truth. She hated that she felt jealous. She barely knew this man, and jealousy was never something she had to deal with. Even when her previous boyfriend had cheated on her, she hadn’t been jealous at all.
“You keep telling yourself that princess, but you’re coming across as very jealous.”
Raina fumed in her seat and shifted away from him. She didn’t have to look to know that he had that infuriating smile on his face. He pulled over into a picnic area and stopped.
“What are we doing here, this doesn’t look like the city,” Raina asked, a slight panic rising in her voice. She had watched way too many crime documentaries about girls getting lured to their deaths to be comfortable with this. Logan just leaned over and smiled.
“I said I’d make up for being an asshole, so I thought I’d start here,” he explained as he got out. He came around to her door and opened it for her.
Raina stood and looked at him before slamming the door behind her.
“I swear Logan if this is some sort of prank, I’ll shoot you.”
He chuckled and guided her down a gravelled pathway.
Trees of various species were in full bloom and blocked out most of the dim sunlight with their leafy canopies. A large, reedy pond came into view, with a small waterfall splashing down the rocks. Despite the lack of sunlight, it was a beautiful place. A wooden gazebo stretched over the water, hung with brightly coloured baskets of flowers. A stylish old country house stood against the backdrop of lush fields and ancient trees, Raina assumed it doubled as some sort of restaurant judging from the delicious smells wafting through the air. Logan laid his hand on her shoulder and walked her down to the gazebo.
“This is somewhere I love coming just to relax. It’s always peaceful, and no matter the weather it always looks amazing,” he said looking around him.
Raina just nodded, it was beautiful, however Logan didn’t seem like the type of person who had any sort of appreciation for nature.
“I thought you might like somewhere to go and relax if you’re going to university this year, maybe this could be somewhere you could go clear your head,” he shrugged, strolling off towards the country house. Raina followed slowly behind, reading messages on her phone. Not paying attention to where she was walking she slammed into something solid.
Logan stared down at her, scowling. She gave him a small smile.
“Are you pretending to be a tree?”
“Am I boring you?” he spat, shoving his hands in his pockets. Her nostrils flared indignantly as she shoved her phone back in her pocket.
“Logan I’m talking to my friends okay, the people I care about that live very far away from me. I’m sorry if the concept of ‘having friends’ is foreign to you,” she snarled. It was his stupid idea to spend the day together despite the clashes they already had, why shouldn’t she take thirty seconds to talk with people she actually liked?
He merely raised an eyebrow at her, then turned back towards the nature trail, his pace quickening. She almost had to run to catch up with him.
The rest of the morning carried an uncomfortable silence between them, severed only by short comments from Logan about the scenery and the occasional acknowledgement from Raina.
A misty spray of rain had started earlier, merely prompting her to put her jacket over her hair and regret not wearing something hooded. But now, almost an hour walk away from the car, the sky split open with a barrage of showers. The pair ran for the cover of the canopies, not a perfect cover, but it was better than getting soaked in the rain.
Logan pressed up beside her, his hair plastered to his head. He shook his head like a dog, spraying her with droplets.
“What the f… Logan stop shaking yourself off you aren’t a dog,” she hissed, wiping the rain off her face. He shook harder and she squealed, swatting him away with a chuckle. He grinned down at her.
“About time you smiled Raina,” he breathed. She flushed and made herself busy with fixing her laces. The sound of her name on his lips made her stomach flutter and her pulse accelerate. She stood up to find he was still smiling, before he grabbed her hand in his.
“Let’s get to the country house, we can dry off in there and grab a bite,” he offered, leading her into the rain towards the house. They ran as fast as Raina’s legs would allow her, each stride of Logan’s equalling two of her own. Reaching the shelter of the awning, they were soaked and panting. Raina’s hair now flattened against her head and hanging like rat tails. Logan kept hold of her hand as he led them inside.
A dreary eyed receptionist sat yawning behind a small wooden desk, being lulled to sleep by the heat of the small stove opposite her. She hurried over at the sight of Logan and slid her arm around him, cutting Raina off as she snuggled up to him. “Logan,” she breathed in a sultry voice, “It’s so good to see you.” She pulled away slightly, keeping her hand lingering on his bicep. Raina noted the grimace that flashed his features for a brief second, before being replaced with a strained smile. He eased his arm out of her grip and stepped towards the old desk.
“Jasmine,” he nodded by way of greeting, “just looking for something to dry off and eat in.” The woman’s face paused before sauntering back to her computer. Logan looked anywhere but her face, as Raina noted the glares she was getting while his attention was averted. She plastered on a fake smile as she handed over two sets of keys.
“We have the executive suite available for you Logan and a first-floor room available for your guest.” The hiss in her voice as she referred to Raina made her huff a sarcastic laugh and roll her eyes. Another one of Logan’s groupies it seemed. Logan leaned close to Jasmine, whispering in her ear too low for Raina to hear, and took a single set of keys.
“I’ll send an order down for food in an hour,” he waved in dismissal. He guided Raina to the staircase, not before Jasmine gave her a seething glare that promised her food would be poisoned.
Safely out of earshot of Logan’s devotee, Raina grabbed his elbow and pulled him to face her.
“What did you say to that girl and why are we getting a room together?” He arched an eyebrow with a cocky half-smirk.
“Nothing bad, and I thought you’d like to dry off. It’s a long drive back home, and I don’t want to sit in a car with you smelling like a wet dog.” She brushed off the insult as he continued his way upstairs.
“I was supposed to be going into town today, I hadn’t planned on you being involved, let alone dinner and a hotel room with you.” He pushed open a door at the end of the hall with a sigh. She stepped around him warily, eyeing the uncomfortable amount of velvet drapery and furnishings. The door slammed behind her and she spun to Logan, the anger palpable on his face. Merely one step closer to her, he stopped and raised his palms slowly.
Raina didn’t flinch as she knocked the safety off the gun she had pulled from her jacket.
“What the fuck Raina,” he trembled, his feet rooted to the carpet. His terror lashed his features, but she didn’t dare blink.
“You bring me on a four hour journey, walk me through a wooded area, and then take me to some outback hotel where you’re chummy with staff. I’d rather not be a cold case victim of a psychopath,” she breathed, her arm deadly still. Logan shook his head violently.
“You’re a fucking psycho, who carries a damn gun around with them!” he backed up a step, cautiously observing the weapon she held with disturbing familiarity, “I swear, there was no ulterior motive, Kalen made me promise to get along with you, and I was honestly going to take you to dinner, I swear Raina please, put the gun down.” His begging unnerved her, and she lowered it an inch. Moving closer to him, she patted his jacket down before backing away.
“82nd Battalion General,” she stated, clicking the safety on and stuffing the gun in her pocket. Logan didn’t move, his hands still dead weights in the air. “You can relax, I’m not going to shoot you. You put me in a weird situation, I had to be sure you weren’t trying to kill me or something.”
After what felt like an eternity, he loosed a long breath before hissing “What the fuck was that?”
She cocked her head to the side, with an almost sympathetic expression.
“I served for a few years. Was made general of my battalion after a year and a half. Not to brag, but I was and remain the most sought after marksman in the army. Sorry, but I wasn’t going to die being strangled by some guy in a hotel room.”
Logan sat down on the edge of the bed rubbing his face.
“You’re still a kid,” he muttered. Raina perched herself on the only chair not covered in velvet, observing him.
“Calling me a kid when you’re basically the same age is a bit stupid. I was trained to shoot since I was a child, may as well have put it to use.” She picked at the skin around her fingernails. His fear had been replaced by something she couldn’t quite identify. He gave a nervous laugh.
“Truthfully, I thought you were some kind of murderer yourself when you pointed the gun at me,” he ran his hands through his damp hair, “you didn’t take this job to kill us and steal our money did you?” She chuckled lightly and shook her head.
“I’ve done undercover missions for assassination, if I was planning to kill you, you’d be dead by now.”
“Well that’s comforting.” He started pacing, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “So you’re some sort of expert sharpshooter, an assassin and a highly ranked military princess, and you came to work for us as a teacher? That doesn’t make any sense at all.” She shot up from her chair and squared up to him.
“First of all, I’m not some sort of expert sharpshooter, I am an expert sharpshooter. And I was a highly ranked General, not a princess,” she snarled, “a jo
b I got because of my ability to lead, my skills because I worked damn hard and had to deal with condescending pricks like who thought I should have been home looking for a nice husband. Just because mummy and daddy didn’t pay my way through life doesn’t mean I am someone who you can speak down to.”
Silence.
He didn’t break his stare, but instead of the fear she saw earlier, he looked awestruck. A second later, the door swung wide as a pimply boy strode in with clean towels.
Realising they were standing there, very close together, he halted and stuttered. “I’m so sorry, reception told me this room was empty.”
He scrambled around for somewhere to put the linen, desperate to leave. Raina softened her features and attempted to reassure him. “It’s fine, don’t worry yourself about it sir,” she smiled, taking the towel from him. Logan’s little paramour had obviously sent him to interrupt whatever revelry she thought was going on. She gave him a wink and a smile. “We’re going to need two bathrobes and a menu please.”
Relief washed across his face as he scurried out with a strange little bow and she turned back to Logan, his eyebrows raised in confusion. She knew she was being petty, but the death stare Jasmine had thrown at her pissed her off. He was trying too hard to get her to like him, and if he was really the player he acted like, he would have given up already. But Logan always had to push it, turning every interaction into a power struggle and a battle of wits. And Raina wasn’t going to allow herself to lose.
She stepped closer to him and put her hand on his chest, breathing heavily. She couldn’t help staring into the molten gold of his eyes. “This will never happen again after today, do you understand?”
Nodding slowly, he almost purred as she eased him towards the edge of the bed and stripped off her jacket, dropping to the floor with a clunk. His eyes darkened as she placed herself between his legs and let her hands wander over his chest, slowly undoing the buttons on his shirt. Logan moaned as her delicate fingers stroked up his neck and entangled in his hair before she slipped his jacket off too. Raina pushed him back onto the bed and knelt over him, feeling his hardness straining impressively through his jeans and pressing against her thigh. She nuzzled his neck, her soft breaths pebbling his skin as she nipped his earlobe and whispered, “I’m showering first.”