Logan climbed off the platform, slid through the side curtain and grabbed his jeans. What he saw had to be an illusion. He spotted Julie and his world finally started to right itself.
He took a deep breath, steadying his frayed nerves. "Julie," Logan said as he ripped off his mask. "I think you need to go see who just wandered into the club." Logan cleared his throat as he stepped into his pants and zipped them.
Julie spun, her brow arched. "Who is it?"
"Just go see."
"Okay." She walked over and studied him. "Are you all right?"
Heat flowed over him and sweat coated his skin. "Yup, fine," he lied.
She strolled out of the back room and stopped short. "What the fuck," Julie said, shocked.
He came up behind her.
Julie waved him off and stormed out into the crowd. "What the hell is she doing here?"
Logan took a step after her. Herds of people enveloped Julie. He raked his fingers over his hair. Every cell in his body wanted to, no needed to know what was going on. Logan maneuvered through the crowd and bumped into a pissed off Maggie.
"Oh, Logan. Have you seen Julie?"
"Umm, she needed to deal with something."
Maggie threw up her arms in exasperation. "Great."
The crimson color on Maggie's pretty cheeks had Logan focusing on her more intently. "What can I do for you, darling?"
"Not have a penis would be a good start."
"Ouch." Logan placed his hands over his cock. "Someone who looks as sweet as you shouldn't have such violent thoughts." When she didn't smile and come back at him with a scathing remark, he frowned. "Do I need to ask someone to leave?"
"Forget it. If you see Julie, tell her I need to talk to her." Maggie stormed back to the bar.
"What crawled up her ass?" Logan shoved his hands into his pockets and continued his search for Julie.
* * * *
A full minute passed before Ava figured out the woman rushing toward her in a red-leather bustier and almost nothing else was her Aunt Julie. She wondered how anyone could breathe in something so tight. The way the outfit laced up the front made some of her aunt's attributes look much larger and others seem tinier. The six inch cherry red heels her poor feet were shoved into made Ava's toes curl in sympathy.
Julie's gripped Ava's arm. "Ava, honey, what are you doing here?"
"I… um… tried calling you," was all her confused and oddly turned on brain could think to say. A part of her wanted to run back to Minnesota where she lived a boring life, but a bigger part of her wanted to find out more about the club.
She took a deep breath, her attention focused on the couple in the corner. A man wearing what looked like a dog collar dropped to his knees and started to lick the black boot of his companion. The woman pulled on his collar and yanked his head to her crotch where he continued to lick. Ava forced her gaze back to Julie. "What is this place? Is what they're doing legal?"
Her aunt sniggered. "Yes, it's legal. I'll explain later." Julie wrapped her arm around Ava's shoulders. "Let's get you out of here." Julie led Ava over to a hallway off to the side of the club and hurried her into an office. "Sit. I'll get you some water."
Ava left her suitcase just inside the door and dropped into the chair across from the large desk. What she'd seen in the club and how the erotic scenes made her feel had the tears welling up and threatening to spill. Ava swallowed the lump of emotion. "Is this why you didn't offer to take me back with you after my parents' funeral?"
Pain flashed on Julie's face. "Partly." She grabbed the top of her garment and yanked it to keep her breasts from spilling out. "The club was just opening and not doing so well. By the time I was on my feet and ready to tell you, Bobby had his accident."
Ava's heart tripped and old pain settled in her belly.
"I'm sorry, honey." She raked her fingers through her sleek black ponytail. "And when I felt it was a good time to tell you, you got the job at that conservative school." Julie sighed. "I didn't think you would approve of my lifestyle."
Ava fingered the small gold heart Julie had given her years ago. "I have to say, this is quite a shock."
Julie leaned her hip on the mahogany desk. "What are you doing here?"
She hung her head. "I got fired from my job and I needed some time to figure things out."
"What? Why?"
Ava's eyes stung, and her chest heaved. "I'm being blamed for twelve of my girls being pregnant."
"Twelve, really?"
She smiled, not believing the number herself. "I know, right? I think it was some kind of pregnancy pact."
"Seems like an awful lot." Julie shook her head. "But, how is that your fault?"
"They needed a scapegoat." She forced herself to look at her aunt. "I don't think I belonged there anyway. I wasn't happy."
Concern ran over Julie's features. "But you've been at the school for years. How long have you been unhappy?"
Ava sighed and slumped back. "Always, I guess."
Julie took Ava's hand. "What do you mean?"
Ava needed to tell her aunt about her dreams. After what Ava saw in the club, she hoped Julie would understand and point her in the right direction. "I started having dreams about a man."
"Are these dreams sexual?"
Ava squeezed her eyes shut and nodded.
Julie put a reassuring hand on her arm. "It's normal to have dreams about men."
She opened her eyes and picked at a thread on her skirt. "It's not men. It's one man."
"Really." Julie settled her bottom on the desk. "Tell me about him."
"At first, all I could see of him was his eyes."
"You didn't know what he looked like?"
"Not really. All I knew was he was strong and big and I felt safe with him." Ava forced herself to look at Julie. "But now the dreams are more vivid and he does things to me that scare me a little."
"What happens that scares you?"
"I don't know. I can feel his touch in a way I've never been touched before." Something banged behind her.
Julie sat up straight. "Logan, come in. Let me introduce you to my niece."
Mortification swelled inside her stomach. Oh, God how much did he hear. She didn't want some stranger knowing her business. Ava swiveled in her chair, and glanced into the same piercing blue eyes she looked into every night. Heat started in her toes, racing to her hairline, and lingered uncomfortably in her center.
Logan pushed himself off the doorframe and walked into the room. He extended his hand. "Nice to meet you."
Ava stood, her brain muddled. The guy even moved like the man in her dreams. Words escaped her. He took her hand.
Lightning ran up her spine and took her breath away. He felt like her dream man and, oh, God help her, he smelled like him too. "Oh, um." She looked over to her aunt for help.
"Enough, Logan."
He grinned and stepped back. Ava's brain told her to run, but something more powerful made her stay—probably her weak knees. Logan's heart-melting gaze locked onto hers, and took the air from her lungs, before moving to Julie. "You're wanted up front."
"What, now?" Her aunt rolled her eyes. "Can't you handle it? I need to get Ava settled in upstairs."
"Nope. I tried, Maggie said she needs you."
"Jesus Christ," Julie exclaimed and looked over at Ava. "Sorry, honey, I have to deal with this."
"It's okay." Ava sat down. "I'll stay in a hotel until I figure out what to do next," she said. Maybe she should go back home.
"Don't be silly. You know I'll love having you around." Julie grabbed her hand. "Besides, there are no hotels available in a fifty mile radius for the next month."
Julie had a point.
"I know. I tried to extend my reservation at the hotel I was staying at and was told the same thing."
Logan cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to intrude on this reunion, but Maggie's waiting."
"Oh crap," Julie said annoyed. "Logan, could you please take Ava upstairs, and get her settl
ed in?"
He nodded. "Will do."
"We'll talk later." Julie hurried out of the room.
Logan walked over and picked up Ava's bag. "Is this it?"
Her gaze fell to Logan's delectable backside. She stood, straightened her skirt, and tugged at her blouse. Ava cleared her throat and forced out her most formal, "Yes."
He led her out of the office and down a narrow hallway before stopping at a solid metal door. Ava swallowed her unease as Logan opened the door and ushered her up the stairs.
Ava didn't know if what she felt was fear, embarrassment, lust, or a combination of all three. Her mixed-up emotions confused the hell out of her and did funny things to her sense of control. Live a little, Ava. Nick's words rang in her mind. Ava walked up the stairs and stood at the only door on the landing.
Logan came up behind her, trapping her. Ava's pulse pounded in her ears and breath caught in her chest. She straightened her spine and cleared her throat.
He reached around her, unlocked, then opened the door. "Let me show you around."
Ava almost jumped out of her skin when his well-defined arm brushed her waist. "Do you live here too?"
Logan set her bag inside the doorway and entered the space. His lips twitched. "Yes."
Could he and Julie be an item? Some people were into kinky stuff like what she saw in the club. Case and point Nick and his friends, though what they did wasn't out on display for the whole world to see. Julie deserves so much better. She was one of the nicest people she knew. It's none of your business. Keep out of it, Ava told herself.
* * * *
Logan watched an array of emotions cross over Ava's expressive face. Her sweet, clean scent enveloped him, and his body responded. He stepped back. The stiffness in his chest eased up a little. "Julie and I are business partners. I live here when I'm in town."
"And the woman you were with earlier?"
Shame swamped him. "Wanda is a member of the club. We sometimes hook up."
Logan forced himself to shut the fuck up so he didn't sound like a total pussy. The last thing he wanted was for Ava to know how much she affected him. Even though she had filled his dreams for too many nights to count, she didn't know him from Adam.
Ava blushed, clearly embarrassed.
Nope, the woman in front of him didn't dream of sex, and if she knew of the sexy scenes that played in his mind, she would run screaming.
"Let me show where you'll be staying." He led her through the spacious, comfortably lived in apartment. He bent, picked up a red throw pillow, tossed it on the sofa, and continued to guide Ava into his large, neat bedroom. The sparse space had none of the hominess the rest of the place had.
"So, tell me, Logan, how did you meet my aunt?"
When Ava spoke she stared at his chest. Logan flexed his pecks under his shirt and watched her eyes widen. He smiled to himself. "I met Julie ten years ago, at a club about an hour north of here." He grabbed the duffel on the bed and dropped it on the floor.
"Why would Julie drive so far to go dancing? This is Miami."
"It wasn't that kind of club."
Ava's gorgeous face turned a bright shade of pink.
"Oh." She played with her necklace.
He'd felt her skin warm to his touch in his dreams, had her breasts press against his chest, and watched her eyes fill with lust. He knew pretty damn well what hid under her prim and proper skirt and shapeless top. Logan willed his cock down and motioned to the room. "This is where you'll stay."
Ava stopped fiddling with the pendant. "But, this looks like your room."
"I'll take the couch. I ship out in two days anyway."
"Ship out?"
"Yeah. I'm in the Navy." For the first time in his adult life, his blood didn't rage at the anticipation of an upcoming mission.
Ava's gaze fell to the growing bulge in his pants. He cleared his throat. "I'll get your bag."
The next couple of days would be a personal hell for him. Logan would have to share an apartment with the sexiest woman he'd ever set eyes on. Unbeknownst to Ava, she'd saved his sanity—and possibly his life—on more than one occasion.
Chapter Four
Logan grabbed Ava's suitcase and told himself they would both be safer if he went back to base. He wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize his friendship with Julie and coercing her sweet innocent niece into bed might just be the straw that broke the camel's back.
Julie would forgive anything, except hurting her family. He could ask Maggie to stay with Ava until Julie came back from Vegas.
Logan stopped in the doorway and all of his good intentions flew out the window. Ava sat upon the bed, weeping. His body heated.
The tears streaking down her lovely face had something opening in his heart. Fuck me. A damsel in distress gets me every time.
He sat next to Ava, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
Ava drew in a breath. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me."
Her body felt good and right as it pressed into his. He tried not to think about the way her breasts fit against his chest and forced himself to pull back. "So what brought you to our little slice of paradise?" Logan's thumb traced over the small scar on her jawbone.
She swiped at the tears on her face. "Nick." Ava took in a ragged breath and shivered. "He suggested I stop living like a ninety-year-old nun."
"Who's Nick?" he asked before he could stop himself.
"Nick is my best friend and my roommate."
Logan's hands stopped stroking. "Are you two—" He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Are you and Nick a couple?"
Her face lit with amusement. "Oh, God no. Nick is just a friend."
Relief flooded him and left him wanting to know one more thing. "Why didn't you run for the hills once you saw what kind of club this place was?"
He continued to caress her cute scar. Logan couldn't stop himself from touching her soft skin.
Ava's face turned bright pink again, and she lowered her gaze. "That doesn't matter."
He lifted her face and knew he had to have her. "Yes it does."
She shivered and squeezed her eyelids closed. "Because." Ava hesitated for a long moment, her face flushing. "I couldn't stop having sex dreams," she blurted. "And Nick said I needed to find my true self."
The gods finally smiled down on him. He chuckled. "You're beautiful. You know that?"
She opened her eyes and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I'm a mess."
Lust socked him in the solar plexus. "You're the prettiest woman I've ever seen. I've dreamt of you." He waited for her to realize the significance of his words.
Long moments passed as emotions fluttered across her beautiful face. "It's you," she finally said. "I dream of you—of being with you."
Air he hadn't known he held rushed out of his lungs "I sensed you when you walked into the club tonight. I'm sorry you had to see me with Wanda."
Ava focused on the wall behind him. "When I saw you, um, do what you were doing with her"—she swallowed—"I think it excited me."
Hope and lust surged into him. "If that excited you, just think of what I could do if you gave me some time."
"How much time would you need?" Her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my. I can't believe…"
Logan leaned close, relief swelled in his gut. He nipped at her ear. "I can."
Ava leaned back. "This is all too much! How can this be?" She gripped the heart pendant around her neck. "How can people who have never met dream about each other?"
"I don't know," he said honestly. "But, what I do know is I have felt your body against mine in my dreams. My hands have caressed you and felt your wet heat."
She jumped up. "I need space."
"Okay," he said and stood. "I'll give you 'til tomorrow."
Shock reddened her face. "What about Aunt Julie?"
He brushed his hand over her long golden curls. "She leaves early tomorrow morning for a BDSM conference in Las Vegas. She'll be back Monday."
Ava slumped. "They have conferences?"
"Yes."
"But, what do people do there that they can't do at a place like this?"
Logan tugged her into a hug. "We don't have time tonight for me to explain it and do it justice."
"I don't know if I'm ready for all this."
Logan kissed the top of her head and leaned back so he could look at her. "We won't do anything you're not ready for."
Ava's eyes glinted with hope, and she sent him a sweet smile. "So, if all I want to do is kiss." A flush rode up her neck. "You would be okay with that?"
He couldn't stop the mischievous grin from spreading across his face. "As long as I can kiss you anyway and anywhere I want."
Her lips twitched. "Well, how many ways can there be?"
Logan pulled Ava to him and pressed a soft kiss on her cheek. Oh honey, I can't wait to press my mouth to your pussy and taste your sweetness. "You have been living like a nun." He stepped back. "I have to get downstairs." Desire drummed through Logan's veins, burning him from the inside out. "I'll see you in the morning," he said quickly and hurried out of the room.
Logan bounded down the stairs before Ava's sweetness forced him to do something stupid. He wanted to think. The sweet, naive woman in his bedroom reeked of marriage and babies. Not sex clubs and kink. Besides, she's probably a virgin.
He stomped into Julie's office and found Maggie sitting on the couch reading. "Hey, what's up?"
Maggie closed her book and smiled. "Just taking my break. I needed quiet."
"Did Julie fix whatever had a bug up your ass?"
She scooted over to make room for him. "I guess." Maggie looked like she wanted to say more, but didn't.
He plopped down and grabbed her book. The cover displayed a nude woman embracing a muscle bound naked man whose hands and arms hid the parts he wouldn't mind seeing. "What? You don't see enough of this here? You have to read about it."
"What I see in the club is sex. What I read about is love."
"I don't think you should mix the two." A pang of regret and doubt tugged at his chest.
Ava's Pleasure (Welcome to Paradise) Page 3