by Mari Carr
From her heavy-lidded eyes, Lacy had expected him to drag her upstairs and let the games begin again. He was sorely tempted.
Logan lowered the back of the truck and slid the chaise out. It wasn’t that heavy. Lacy helped him guide it down then held on to the light end, leading him to her door and up the stairs to her apartment.
He’d been in her place once before three years earlier, when he, Tyson and Evan had helped her move in. He had spent the day lugging furniture, placing it here, there, and then back to here as she directed their movements and changed her mind every five seconds. Logan hadn’t been back since.
Once she opened the door to her apartment, he followed her in and whistled. Damn. The place had been nothing more than white walls and a few hand-me-down pieces of furniture last time.
“You like it?” she asked, setting the chaise down just inside the door. He followed suit, letting his gaze travel around the space. Logan knew she had an eye for decorating and a knack for taking someone else’s trash and uncovering hidden treasures. But seeing all her efforts put together like this…
“It’s beautiful, Lace. So homey.”
Her apartment looked like the kind of place where a man could come home, kick off his work boots and sink into the comfy couch with a beer. He could spend hours just looking around at all the cool pieces she’d found. While he knew most of the decorations in the place were flea market and yard sale castoffs, everything worked together. More than that, it looked damned elegant.
Lacy was clearly pleased by his praise. “Thanks. You know, if you ever want to redesign your showroom, I’d be happy to help.”
“Is that your subtle way of telling me the place looks like hell?”
“Well…”
He chuckled. “I’d love your help. Keep intending to work on it, but I never manage to shift around more than a couple pieces before I get overwhelmed and give up.”
“I was thinking that if you added some funky artwork to the walls and maybe set it up like a house layout, it would show off your furniture better. Plus, I could add a few vases, knick-knacks, stuff like that, to add some color and some visual interest. I think it would make the whole place pop.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I’d really like that.”
“Awesome. I’ll come by next week on my day off and we can draw up a layout. And then I’ll start hitting the sales looking for the pieces I’m envisioning. It won’t cost much. Promise.”
“Money’s not an issue. I suspect the investment will be worth it in the long run.”
“And you’d be helping me out too.”
“How’s that?”
She grinned as she waved around the room. “I’m sort of at maximum capacity for crap in here. This way I can still fuel my bargain-shopping addiction without crowding up my apartment.”
“I see. Speaking of, where’s this going?” he asked, pointing at the chaise. There didn’t seem to be a spot for it in the living room.
“My bedroom.”
Of course.
Logan blew out a long sigh. “Listen, Lace. I think—”
She stepped closer and placed her finger over his mouth. “You promised me three times.” She smelled like flowers and French fries; the combination was ridiculously appealing.
“We need to be practical about this.”
“Okay. So be practical. You said Jane wasn’t an issue. Is that true?”
He nodded though he wasn’t sure that answer was entirely accurate. While he wasn’t still hung up on his ex, he was struggling with the fallout, trying to find a way back to normal.
“And what do you think Evan would say if he found out?”
Logan knew the answer to that. “He wouldn’t say anything. He’d beat the shit out of me very quietly.”
“You’re best friends, Logan. He loves you like a brother. What makes you think he’d disapprove of us as a couple? Is it the age difference?”
He shook his head. “No. It has nothing to do with your age. We’re both consenting adults.”
“Then it’s the sex. I mean…the way we like to have sex.”
Logan didn’t reply for a long time. He had been terrified of scaring Lacy away with his sexual appetite, but rather than run, she’d responded to it. With Jane, he’d worn the kid gloves at the beginning, introducing her to his desires slowly. That technique had blown up in his face. By the time he figured out they weren’t compatible lovers, he was in love with her, so he adapted, tried to hold back some of his stronger urges.
When the silence stretched too long, Lacy filled it. “You didn’t seem to have these hang-ups when it came to Yvette. What makes me different from her?”
He reared back. “Yvette?”
Lacy flushed. “I followed you one day. Watched you take her when her grandmother was out of the house.”
“That was nearly ten years ago.”
She shrugged. “I know.”
“You were just a kid.”
She scowled at his comment. The woman was touchy about him referring to her youth, but he’d spent too many years of his life seeing her as a kid. While that certainly wasn’t true now, the fact remained that she had no business spying on him at that age.
“I was seventeen and not entirely innocent.” Then she seemed to recall what she’d seen. “Of course, after that, I wasn’t innocent at all.” She laughed, but Logan didn’t find the humor.
“Jesus. You were too young to see that.”
“Maybe I was, but I’m not going to pretend it didn’t turn me on. A lot. Like a lot a lot.”
Logan ran a hand through his hair and forced himself to recall all the things he had done with Yvette. He had no idea which day she’d followed them, but any of them would have provided her with a fairly substantial education in kinky sex.
The knowledge certainly explained her interest in pursuing him, in her research on BDSM. He’d unwittingly exposed her to his true nature and the spark had ignited. Years ago.
He had no business being here.
“Let’s put this chaise in your bedroom. Then I need to head home.”
“What? Why? Are you pissed off I followed you and Yvette? Because—”
“No, Lace. I’m not pissed. I’m just coming to my senses.”
She fell silent for several moments. He let her sort through her thoughts, taking the time to get his own settled.
“I’m getting tired of chasing you, Logan. Sick of trying to force you to see something that’s standing right in front of you. You want to be blind? Fine. Be blind. I’m not in the mood to beg.”
She bent over and picked up her half of the chaise. He lifted his side and followed her to the bedroom, her words racing through his brain. Why couldn’t she see that he was trying to do the right thing?
They were halfway across the room when something on the bed captured his attention.
He put the chaise down and walked over to the mattress. “What the hell?”
Lacy followed him, picking up a thick butt plug and waving it around as if it was nothing more scandalous than a hairbrush. “I did some online shopping after the last time we were together. I was sort of hoping you’d educate me on all of this.”
“That was one hell of a shopping trip.”
In addition to the plug, there was a vibrator, a large dildo, nipple clamps, a crop and a jumbo-size tube of lubrication.
He’d met the woman of his dreams. And he’d known her his entire life.
Lacy sank down on her bed, letting her skirt ride up high on her thighs. “Guess I’ll have to find someone else to introduce me to—”
“Lacy,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Yeah?”
“Get undressed. Now.”
Chapter Five
Lacy fought hard to hide her grin as she tugged her t-shirt over her head. It was simply a stroke of luck that her new toys had arrived that morning and she’d decided to unpack them to take a peek. After that, she’d lost track of time, fantasizing about Logan using all the toys on her until s
he’d been late for work and had left them lying on the bed.
Logan was still resistant to a relationship, but Lacy wasn’t sure why. Whatever was holding him back wasn’t something he was ready to talk to her about. So she needed to find ways to keep him returning to her bed until he was. She didn’t intend to give up on him. Especially not now, when it was obvious they were so perfect for each other.
Once she was naked, she waited, curious about what he would ask her to do next. He was looking at her treasure trove of naughty toys intently.
“You really want to try all of this?”
“Yes.” She was taken aback by his uncharacteristic hesitance. She wasn’t used to seeing Logan unsure of himself. Typically, he was the king of confidence. “Of course I do.”
“You’re not doing this just to please me, because you think it’s what I want?”
Lacy frowned, wondering where his questions were coming from. This was the first time he’d shown this touch of reticence. “I love what we do together. It doesn’t just please you, Logan. God, you’re giving me orgasms that make my teeth rattle. It’s amazing.”
He considered that, and then—finally—the dominant lover she’d come to adore reemerged. His gaze swept over her naked form.
“Get on the bed. Lay down on your back in the center.”
As she moved into position, Logan swept the toys to one side of the bed.
“You forgot something,” he said as he walked toward her closet.
“What’s that?”
“Handcuffs.”
Lacy squeezed her legs together and cursed herself for the oversight. “I’ll steal some from Evan’s house tomorrow.”
He chuckled. “I’d prefer to buy you some. Last thing we need is Evan arresting his kinky kid sister for stealing his cuffs.” He opened the closet door. “Scarves?”
“They’re in a box right there on the floor.”
He followed her direction and tugged the box out. Opening it, he searched until he found several long scarves that apparently suited his purpose.
Lacy squirmed on the bed, wishing for the millionth time she hadn’t taken sex off the table. As fun as the toys looked, she would never be fully sated until Logan was buried deep inside her.
She watched as he approached the bed. He looked so large, so serious, so powerful. A sane woman would probably be terrified. Lacy felt nothing but excitement.
“Lift your hands above your head.”
Lacy obeyed, directing her hands toward opposite sides of the headboard.
He shook his head. “No. Cross your wrists.”
She moved them together. In her fantasies, she was always spread eagle. The idea that he would tie her up some other way had her heart racing at a dangerous pace.
Logan rested one knee on the mattress by her side as he reached up, tying her wrists together and then securing them to the headboard. Her arms were stretched taut, and she didn’t bother to test the knots for more than a second or two. Those suckers weren’t coming loose.
Logan rose from the bed and pulled his t-shirt over his head. She was treated to a visual feast of muscular arms, six-pack abs and smooth, tanned skin she longed to lick like an ice cream cone. She hoped the striptease would continue, but Logan stopped with just the shirt.
“Pants,” she suggested hopefully.
His eyes narrowed and she knew she’d made some sort of faux pas. “I won’t gag you this time because it’s all new to you and I want you to be able to say your safe word. So here’s your only warning. We’re doing this my way.”
“So…in other words, no suggestions from the peanut gallery. Got it.”
His stern expression slipped for just a moment, his lips tipping up in a smile he was trying to hide. He recovered quickly, but the twinkle in his eyes told her he wasn’t really annoyed with her.
“Don’t make me regret the gag decision.”
She bit her lip, trying to look chastised. In truth, the action was helping her to not laugh. It wasn’t that she wasn’t taking this seriously. She was. It was just that she was so happy. God, her joy was seeping out of her and it was hard to keep inside, contained.
She had loved Logan Grady her entire life and now, being here with him like this, she felt as if she’d come home. As if every dream she’d ever had was coming true.
Logan returned to the bed, crawling between her legs as he pushed them apart. The man certainly liked having her on display. She didn’t mind her nudity with him. He looked at her as if she were the most beautiful piece of artwork in the museum. It warmed her up, made her feel cherished. Sexy.
He ran his fingers along her slit. This time, she did flush. She was dripping wet. To the point where it was slightly embarrassing.
“Guess we won’t need that lube,” she said, jokingly.
Logan moved one finger lower and pressed just the tip into her anus. The move was unexpected, the penetration tight. It pinched slightly and she gasped.
“We’re going to need it.”
Suddenly, Lacy was reconsidering the size of the butt plug she’d purchased. In her overheated, horny mind, she had selected one that would be approximately the same size as his dick. She hadn’t fully considered the ramifications of putting something that big in such a small hole.
“Relax, Lacy.”
The man read her like a book. “I’m cool,” she lied.
This time he didn’t bother to hide his grin. “No. You’re not, but you’re worrying about the wrong things.”
As always, his words calmed her down. She assumed it all came back to that trust thing. He wouldn’t hurt her, wouldn’t abuse her or force her to do anything she didn’t want to do. She knew that as sure as she knew tomorrow was Saturday.
Logan lifted her legs, resting them on his shoulders as he bent forward to suck on her nipples. She was suddenly grateful she’d started taking those yoga classes at the gym. Logan was definitely going to stretch her flexibility limits.
When his teeth bit into her nipple, her mind went blank. She longed to grip his head, to run her fingers through his thick dark hair, but the scarf held firm.
She’d never had anyone pay so much attention to her breasts. Or to just one nipple. Logan spent ages laving the distended flesh, licking, sucking, biting. Every sting of pain he produced was followed by softness. He hurt. He soothed. Over and over. Her body trembled with the conflicting sensations, her pussy clenching resentfully on empty air.
Lacy needed to be filled. Needed him to fuck her.
“Please,” she gasped after several minutes. “God. I need you, Logan.”
He lifted his head, letting her see the pain etched on his face. He was suffering too. Strangely that idea comforted her. She wasn’t alone in this.
She was so distracted by his expression, she never saw him pick up the nipple clamp. She didn’t realize he had it in his hand until the sharp teeth of the wicked contraption snapped down.
“Ahh,” she cried. “Shit. That hurts.”
Logan didn’t remove it, but he didn’t put the other on either. Instead, he studied her expression. “Focus on your breathing, Lace.”
She did as he said, sucking in as much air as she could muster, which wasn’t much.
He shook his head. “No. Like this.”
She followed his lead, her chest rising and falling in time with his, in slow inhalations followed by long exhalations. Lacy had just adjusted to the sting of the clamp when he snapped the second one on.
“Fuck!”
He waited again, leading her through the breathing exercises. This time, it took fewer seconds to regulate, to adapt. Mainly because Logan had distracted her. Two fingers slammed inside her pussy and Lacy jerked roughly.
God. She was going to come. Like…right now.
She screamed and thrashed her head on the pillow as every nerve ending in her body exploded. What the fuck was happening?
It was several minutes before she realized Logan’s fingers were no longer inside her. Instead, he was hovering over her
, caging her beneath him as his elbows rested by her shoulders. He kissed her gently, the touch in direct opposition to the pleasurable pain he’d just produced.
“Okay?” he asked quietly when she finally managed to gather her wits.
She nodded. “I don’t understand how…”
“You’re submissive.”
Lacy would have argued that point. She’d chop off any guy’s dick if he tried to control her life, tell her what to wear or how to behave. The Sparks women had more than their fair share of independent and authoritative streaks.
But that wasn’t what he meant. She understood that.
And whether he realized it or not, Logan had molded her desires when she was seventeen, unwittingly revealing a part of her that she might never have known existed.
“I want you, Logan.”
The moment she uttered the words, she wished she could take them back. They seemed to break whatever spell had settled over them.
He pushed himself up and glanced at the pile of toys that still rested next to her on the bed. “We’re not finished with the lessons yet.”
The affection she’d just seen in his eyes was shuttered away. Logan would play with her, broaden her horizons, indulge her curiosity about BDSM. But he wouldn’t give her what she truly wanted. Him. All of him. Heart, soul and body.
Unfortunately he didn’t give her the chance to mourn that fact. Instead, he uncapped the lube and threw her back into a maelstrom of sensation.
Logan squeezed some of the lubrication onto his finger, and then slowly worked it inside her ass. She struggled to adapt to the pinch. It didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t entirely comfortable. She recalled his declaration about fucking her there. The masochist in her wanted that, even knowing it was likely to hurt like hell.
She had to hand it to him. Logan seemed to have the patience of Job. One finger eventually became two, and two became three. Hours could have passed for all Lacy knew as he took his time to stretch her. All the while he added even more lubrication.
Finally, seventy-two years later, she felt the tip of the plug against her ass.
“Shit,” she breathed out on a whisper as he pressed the wicked toy deeper. She really should have picked a smaller size.