by Tina Donahue
Tessa didn’t appear to notice. With her purse hugged to her chest, she waited, looking at him through the window, her expression open and honest, hiding nothing. The same as at the auction when she’d seemed so alone on the stage, her gaze lost in his, until the bidding on her had closed. She’d stared at the man who’d won her as though she didn’t know what to expect. Logan wondered if she’d worried about that from him too, now that she was here. Is that why she’d been doing research on her computer? Had it been about his professional background, not anything bad or—
She smiled.
Just like that, Logan forgot to question anything more, captivated by the deep dimple on her right cheek. It didn’t seem possible, but it made her appear even younger, fucking pure and innocent. He swallowed and stared, the same as she did with him, neither of them moving, their behavior no different from when he’d first noticed her on the stage.
What a moment that had been, shifting his world, disorienting him in both a pleasant and unsettling way. Getting him to bid on her for a full fucking week.
The vehicle’s trunk popped and the door on the driver’s side opened. Whoever had been sitting there emerged. Logan didn’t bother to look, figuring it was Wallace. Ronnie had explained that the man would bring Tessa here today.
Too late to change any of that now. Even if he could, Logan wasn’t so certain he wanted to.
He opened her door and offered his hand.
She accepted it immediately, her fingers moist and warm, her touch an unexpected balm. In her wedge sandals, the top of her head came to his chin just as it had their first night.
She smiled again, softer this time, creating a slightly smaller dimple. “Hi.”
Rather than being hushed and flirty, her voice was as natural as the rest of her.
Despite his earlier reservations, Logan began to relax. He smiled in return, almost a knee-jerk reaction. She kept having that effect on him. “Hi.”
Wallace closed the trunk and joined them with her luggage. Given its size, she’d packed numerous changes of clothing. Clearly, Tessa believed she’d be dressed most of the time she was here.
That hadn’t been Logan’s plan.
He released her hand and offered his own to Wallace. “Logan Kincaid.”
“Phil Wallace.” His grip was firm, his manner laid back and friendly. “But everyone uses my last name.”
“That’s because we never knew your first,” Tessa said. “Or, at least, I didn’t. It’s nice. It fits you.”
A blush crept up Wallace’s neck. He turned Tessa’s luggage around, offering the handle to Logan. “Careful,” he warned, “it’s heavy.”
“No, it’s not,” Tessa countered, then spoke to Logan. “Phil likes to joke around.”
“Have fun,” Wallace mumbled. He hurried back into the car, put it into reverse, made a tight U-turn and was on his way.
A bird chirped incessantly as the vehicle grew smaller and smaller on its way down the lengthy drive. Leaves rustled in the surrounding vegetation, stirred by the mellow wind or animals scurrying about. Sounds Logan hadn’t noticed before. Nor had he paid any attention to the scents. The fragrance of earth, newly mown grass, Tessa. She wore the same perfume he recalled so well, thinking about it too many times these last days. A clean, sweet scent. Roses? Some other kind of flower?
“Alone at last,” she joked, breaking their silence.
When Logan chanced looking at her, he wasn’t surprised she was regarding him rather than Wallace’s hasty retreat. “Not entirely,” he said.
Her delicate eyebrows lifted slightly. “Other people live here with you?”
“My caretakers. They have the house on the far left of the property.”
Tessa didn’t bother to look in that direction. She studied his mouth.
The stray tendrils dangling around her forehead and temples swayed with the mild breeze, urging him to smooth them back. He didn’t, aching to touch her but not yet ready to take that step. Once he did, there was no telling if he could ever stop.
“They’re here today?” Tessa asked.
Logan had sent the husband and wife team packing, giving them a surprise vacation for seven days. “No. But the house, my house, isn’t empty.”
That pulled her attention from him. She turned to the building. “Who’s inside?”
He leaned close and murmured, “You’ll see as soon as we get there.”
Tessa didn’t budge. She clutched her purse to her chest as though she needed it for protection. “Can I ask you something?”
Her reaction surprised Logan. He’d only been teasing. Why, he had no idea. It wasn’t like him…at least the him he’d come to be. This past year he’d been serious as hell about everything, his life consisting mainly of his work. Before that, he’d grown increasingly cautious, not at all like the man he’d been in his twenties. Casual. Relaxed. Optimistic. Goofing around. Making jokes.
“There’s no one inside, all right?” he said gently. “I was just kidding. Nothing to worry about.”
Tessa studied him, clearly deciding how she should respond.
“Go on,” he coaxed. “Say whatever you want.”
She shifted her weight, grasping her purse even tighter. “You’re sure about that. Absolutely? No doubt at all?”
Given her weird questions—no, he wasn’t certain in the least. Even so, he nodded.
Tessa sucked her bottom lip.
God help him. She looked so fucking wholesome, so damn inviting, it took all of Logan’s will not to move into her and suck her lip himself. “What?” he asked.
“I know why I’m here,” she blurted. “You know why I’m here. But I have a request, if that’s all right.”
“A request?” What was she talking about? What in the hell could it be?
“It’s not for more money or anything,” she said quickly. “So you don’t have to worry about that.”
“I wasn’t.” If anything, she was beginning to piss him off. Did she believe he thought so little of her that he assumed she’d shake him down for more cash? “You don’t seem like the type to extort funds from any man.”
“Oh, I’m not.” She gave him a wide-eyed innocent look that damn near had him pulling her into his arms to offer comfort and reassurance. “I just want you to know where I’m coming from.”
“Okay. Where is that?”
“I’d like to talk. Not like now. But really talk.” The words continued to rush from her as though she couldn’t get them out quickly enough. “I’d like us to get to know each other a little bit before we, well, you know, do anything.”
At the end of the miles-long driveway, Wallace turned left onto the public road and said, “Ronnie”, to activate the hands-free calling. Her number rang three times before she picked up.
“Wallace?”
He smiled at her smoky voice, the way she said his name, treasuring it. For years, he’d yearned for Ronnie while working for her. An attraction he hadn’t expected or really wanted after losing his wife. She’d been in her late forties, far too young, when Alzheimer’s struck. Relentless and cruel, the disease moved all too quickly, erasing her personality and memories, stealing the woman he’d adored. Wallace had bankrupted his own limo company to pay for her care. After she passed, he hadn’t been looking for love again, but thankfully had found it.
“Yeah,” he answered, sounding downright giddy. Like a young boy rather than a senior citizen. “Am I disturbing anything?”
“Not at all. I’m just sitting on the sofa relaxing.”
“Alexa run you around the stores?”
“I did that to her.”
He smiled. Since Alexa had left the agency, she and Ronnie got together as often as they could. They were closer than most mothers and daughters. So much so, Ronnie had urged Alexa to quit the agency for months. In Ronnie’s eyes, even helping to run the place was too much of a risk for the young woman, given that the authorities could always find out about it. With Alexa now pregnant with her and Hunt’s first
child—due in December—the decision made even more sense.
“I never thought that shopping for baby clothes could be so much fun.” Ronnie sighed. “They’re so cute.”
“You take pictures?”
“On both my cell phones. We’ll look at them later.”
Sounded like a plan to him. “Alexa’s doing okay?”
“She’s fine. So is Hunt. I can see how relieved he is that she’s not working any longer.”
No kidding. Before meeting Hunt, a District lobbyist, Alexa had called herself Magique, one of the agency’s highest paid and most popular call girls. She hadn’t been looking for love either, but Hunt wouldn’t accept that. He’d recognized Alexa’s yearning for him and pursued her shamelessly, putting his pride on hold, finally winning her heart.
She never saw another client after that. She’d simply seen to the agency’s financials, its day-to-day operations until her pregnancy and Ronnie had convinced her to quit.
“Before I forget, do pick up that stuff we ordered,” Ronnie said. “I want to give it to them at dinner tonight.”
“We have plans with them?”
“We do now. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Not as long as you’re there.”
She murmured, “Good answer.”
His smile widened. “I’ll swing by the store before I come home. If I can’t fit everything in the Lincoln, I’ll rent a truck from U-Haul.”
Ronnie chuckled. “We didn’t pick out that much.”
They’d gone nuts in the baby store, both of them wanting everything. Wallace nearly laughed at the memory. He and his late wife had never had children. Alexa and Hunt’s was the closest he’d ever get, and he intended to make the most of it. “We’ll wrap the boxes as soon as I get back. I just left Mr. Kincaid’s property.”
“Everything went well?”
“With him, yeah. As soon as we pulled up, he came out to greet us. Seems like a decent guy.”
“He is, or he wouldn’t be a client.” Ronnie paused, then asked, “What do you mean everything went well with him? What about Tessa?”
“She’s an unusual girl.”
Ronnie greeted that appraisal with momentary silence. She cleared her throat. “Meaning?”
“She wanted to know if men like to talk. That is, without having a gun to their heads. She asked me that pointedly, because I’m a man. Her words, not mine.”
“What do you mean, talk? About what?”
He made another turn that led from this isolated area toward civilization, then sighed. “I think she prefers to get to know her clients a bit before anything happens. She said something about it making their moments together more pleasant.”
The sound Ronnie made sounded anything but that. “Given Logan’s history, I doubt he’s going to want to share any of what happened. Tessa is aware of what he’s been through, correct?”
“She kept reading about it on the Internet on our drive to his estate.”
“Good god,” Ronnie mumbled. “I hope she doesn’t bring it up.”
With her confession, Logan’s expression had morphed from curiosity and a bit of bewilderment to obvious caution.
Tessa knew she should have backed down and behaved as she sensed Felicity would. Making a joke, saying she hadn’t meant it, she’d been teasing him as he’d just done with her. With that having broken the ice, they could then screw themselves crazy, until he got bored with her.
Which he would. Far faster than he might have with the other escorts.
Tessa couldn’t bring herself to admit defeat that readily, not even to lighten the moment. Pretending to be someone she wasn’t—and could never be—wouldn’t satisfy either of them for long. She wanted to bring herself and Logan as much joy as she could, partly because of what he’d lost, mainly because she sensed what a good, decent man he was. However, there was no way that could happen without some emotional bond between them, no matter how slight or temporary.
Which he clearly didn’t want, not even for a moment. He actually took a step back.
The wheels of her luggage bumped over the brick walkway.
“You’d like to cancel, wouldn’t you?” she asked, going for broke, determined to be honest with him no matter how much disappointment followed. “This wasn’t what you had in mind.”
Giving him no chance to answer, Tessa moved her oversized purse to the side and pulled out her iPhone. “I can call Wallace. He was driving fast, nearly supersonic, but he’s still not that far away. He can come back here and pick me up. We can forget about all of this. Ronnie will give you your money back with a sincere apology, I’m sure. She won’t even be mad at me, if you’re worried about that. If I had a chance to choose another mom, I’d definitely pick her. She’s great. So, if you want this to end right now, just say the word.”
Logan put his hand on hers, lowering it so she couldn’t make the call.
Surprised and pleased beyond anything she’d known, Tessa asked, “You want me to stay?”
His answer was to move so close, they nearly touched. If he was trying to intimidate her, it didn’t work. Tessa saw his pain and beneath it his need to hide those emotions from the world. Although she should have backed up to diffuse the charged moment, she didn’t. Wouldn’t. She needed his response, his honesty, and waited.
The ends of his tee wiggled with his heavy sigh. He arched one dark eyebrow. “What makes you think if we did that—got to know each other even a little bit as you’ve suggested—that it wouldn’t turn out bad? Could be we’d end up disliking each other intensely.”
“Impossible.”
He lowered his eyebrow and stared as if he hadn’t expected that answer or he thought she was nuts. “Impossible?”
“Yeah. I’m easy to like. Not high maintenance at all or dumb as a stick. I’m up on current events, and not just those that happen in Hollywood, if you’re wondering.”
Before he could say he had or hadn’t been, Tessa pressed on. “However, I never push my opinions on others. I don’t discuss religion or politics. That especially. I’m totally apolitical, but also fair. I believe in women’s rights, who wouldn’t? Equal pay too. Being able to break through the glass ceiling, a fair wage for everyone even if they’re not one of the one percent, social programs for those in need, freedom to love whomever you want as long as they’re also a consenting adult. If you’re a conservative, I don’t blame you for feeling as you do, even if it’s kind of one-sided, selfish, and rigid. I—”
He interrupted, “I’m not a conservative.”
“Wonderful.” She beamed.
“And you’re definitely not apolitical,” he added.
Tessa’s face warmed. She shrugged. “I have my beliefs…I just don’t talk about them if the other person isn’t on the same wavelength.”
Logan narrowed his eyes even as the corners of his mouth kept trying to lift in a faint smile.
“Clearly, you and I are,” she murmured and also hoped.
“Are what?”
“On the same wavelength.”
That doused his amusement and desire to flirt quicker than a kick to his balls. “You want us to know about each other?”
She hesitated at the challenge in his question, but still nodded.
“Great.” He stepped closer, towering over her, their thighs touching.
A shock of desire tore from Tessa’s pussy to her belly to her throat, his utter masculinity and size all too tempting. Tessa knew she was blushing badly and probably looked aroused as all hell, but couldn’t do anything about it.
Logan studied her for a long moment, lazily, hungrily.
God, that was nice. Jeezus, he was hot.
“Is Tessa your real name?” he said.
Of all the questions he might have asked, she hadn’t expected that one. Of course, she had opened that can of worms with her request. “Ah…no.”
Surprise flashed across his face. A bit of disappointment too.
Not wanting him to get too bummed, intrigued as t
o why he would be, she explained, “My given name is Terese James. The James is for real. In a way, so is Tessa, since it’s a form of Terese. I like how it sounds, so although I’ve been called Terese in the past, I go by Tessa now.”
“And if I call you Terese?”
“I won’t answer. That’s a promise.”
He grinned at her teasing, then sobered quickly as though he didn’t want her to read what he felt. “Tessa it is.” He explored her features, hair. “It fits you.”
“Seriously?” What he’d said sounded so nice, she asked, “How?”
“It just does.”
She laughed. “That’s no answer.”
As close as they already were, he edged nearer. Tessa’s laughter died in her throat, replaced by a soft yearning sigh.
“What else?” he asked.
It took her a moment to catch up to what he meant. “We’re only going to be talking about me?”
“It’s a start, right?”
He had a point.
“Ah, I grew up in Maryland, a middle-class suburb. My parents divorced when I was four. My dad got custody, which is weird, I know, but they never told me why. My mom died when I was nine.” A really bad time Tessa figured she shouldn’t get into. “Two years later, my dad remarried. I got a whole new family just like that.” She snapped her fingers.
Logan didn’t comment. He seemed to be waiting for more.
Tessa hauled in a breath and continued, “Strictly speaking, that would be a new mother and her two daughters who were a couple of years younger than me. Unfortunately, none of us was on the same wavelength.” The misery of those years still ached, though Tessa suppressed it quickly. “Don’t get me wrong, they’re nice people, I’m sure. It’s just that we weren’t that close when we all lived together, and now that I’ve been on my own for so long, since I was eighteen, we don’t stay in touch.”
Logan touched her arm, empathy in his gesture rather than lust, a connection that made Tessa want to sag into him, protected by his warmth and strength. She resisted. They’d never be at that point. However, they weren’t the same strangers they’d been just a few moments ago. Nothing more than client and escort.
“Your dad’s the same way?” he asked, far more gently than his previous questions. “You don’t have a relationship with him?”