by Tina Donahue
Tessa cleared her throat to steady her voice. “He died several years ago, just as I was getting out of beauty school.”
“I’m so sorry.” His expression proved it. “You have no other relatives?”
“I have a lot of friends.” Many of whom were her clients, not that Tessa figured she should tell him that.
Logan nodded. “You went to beauty school, huh?”
“Graduated top of my class.” She ran her fingers through his hair, appreciating its thickness and silky texture…the way he’d stopped breathing at her touch. Soon—though not too quickly—she’d have him panting in appreciation. “Before this is over, I’ll give you a trim. You could use one.”
He laughed.
Tessa swelled with pride for having caused it. “I’m really good at what I do. Ronnie’s still one of my regulars.”
“No kidding. You are something.”
He wasn’t joking. She recognized his sincerity. Pure pleasure rolled through Tessa, more than if she’d had an orgasm. “Thanks.”
They stared at each other as they’d been prone to do. A sudden gust of wind whipped around them, mussing his hair further. Tessa smoothed it back. She stopped herself from cupping the side of his face, bringing his mouth down to hers. It was what they both wanted. She knew it deep in her soul. However, once the sex started he might flee into it, severing the fragile bond they’d forged. That’s what some men did.
Tessa brought back her hand and murmured, “What would you like to tell me about you? I swear I won’t ask. I’ll just listen.”
He looked past her, his expression suddenly closed, unreadable. Seconds passed in silence that grew unbearable for her.
Had she pushed him too far? Please, not that. Tessa struggled for something to say, but the right words wouldn’t come. She wasn’t a flirt by nature. She’d never been bold.
She waited for the worst.
At last, he nodded.
“Sounds fair.” He gestured to her purse. “What don’t you know about me that you haven’t already read on the Net?”
Her cheeks stung. She lied, “When Wallace pulled up, I was looking at the pictures of your place in Architectural Digest.”
“I see.”
His cynical tone said he didn’t believe her.
“You like it?” he asked.
There were flecks of gold and green in his irises Tessa hadn’t noticed before, along with faint lines at the corners of his eyes. As though he’d once laughed often and well.
“Or don’t you?” he prodded.
Tessa was about to ask, “Don’t I what”?, then remembered his question about this place. “It’s really huge.”
Way too big for one man, unless he hadn’t been looking for the square footage, but the seclusion. If there had been as many prying Internet articles about her private life as there had been about his, she would have wanted to escape that scrutiny too. “And gorgeous,” she added.
“So you like this type of house? Its design.”
“Yeah, who wouldn’t, except for the poor slob who has to clean all those windows.”
Logan lowered his face to hide his smile.
“Hey, I just noticed something,” she said. “We’re still talking about me.”
He slanted a look at her. “So we are. My turn to share, right?”
She nodded.
“Okay, here’s something you don’t know. I’m hungry. How about you?”
For food? Him? Both? “I didn’t have lunch,” she hedged. “I could eat. In fact, we could do it out here by the pond.”
“You mean eat?”
Tessa suddenly caught her unintended double-entendre, not that it helped. His question was still loaded with all sorts of possibilities. Her kneeling before him, taking his rigid cock into her mouth. Him between her legs, licking her clit. Them straddling each other, his head positioned above her cunt, his rod and balls, fragrant with musk, so close to her lips. “Yeah.”
“You don’t sound so certain.”
She smiled, liking how he was playing with her. What she’d never experienced with a man like him. Young. Virile. Incredibly sexy. “I am.”
“Uh-huh. How about we do it inside then? Where it’s cooler and there aren’t any bugs.”
“Bugs bother you?”
“No.” A look of mild offense crossed his face, mostly put on. “I thought they’d annoy you, since you’re a woman.”
That she was. Rarely had Tessa felt as female. His obvious restraint, taking this slow, them talking first because she’d requested it, made him seem that much more masculine. Freaking irresistible. “It’s beautiful out. Just the right temperature. Not too windy. Look at that amazing sky.”
He didn’t pull his attention from her.
Nice. “We could take a dip,” she said, gesturing to the placid water.
“There’s a swimming pool out back.”
“Here’s perfect. Don’t you ever swim in the pond?”
He shook his head.
“Do you mind if I try it?” she asked.
“Right now?”
“Later. First, we’ll have our picnic. I’ll make the sandwiches or whatever you have available. I’ll serve you.”
On an impulse she didn’t want to resist, Tessa got ballsy and pushed to her toes. She leaned toward him, her breasts not quite snuggled against his chest, though close. Her pussy a whisper away from his cock. She sensed he had an erection and wondered when he’d gotten hard. When she’d mentioned eating? Probably. She murmured, “I’m your prize, remember? I’m here to do whatever you want.”
With that promise, she eased back.
Logan’s complexion had darkened with desire. His strong body tensed with his obvious struggle for control. If he’d had his way, Tessa guessed she would have already been naked and spread wide while he mounted her on the walkway, bringing himself pleasure.
With more self control than most men had, he remained where he was and said, “Sounds good.”
“Yes, it does.” Because he’d taken what she’d said seriously. He was allowing them to get to know each other. Pleased, she headed for his house.
“Tessa.”
At the bottom of the polished wood steps, she stopped and turned to him. He hadn’t budged. The sun lightened his hair, while deepening the gold in his skin, making him even more appealing.
Her legs went unsteady.
“You’re here to do whatever I want,” he said, basically repeating her words. “Isn’t that right?”
It was, so she nodded, aware of her suddenly sprinting pulse.
“Excellent.” Pulling her luggage, Logan joined her, then slipped his hand beneath her hair to cup the back of her head. Tessa didn’t resist what she knew was coming. She wanted it badly. The same as he seemed to. She saw it in his beautiful eyes, felt it in how he brushed his mouth over hers.
Oh god. Every inch of her came alive, the rasp of his coming beard weakening her body. She moaned gently at the warmth and softness of his lips.
The sounds she made didn’t push him over the edge. His kiss didn’t ravage, it explored, his tongue slipping into her mouth, satisfying her in a way that touched Tessa’s soul. He tasted fresh, minty from toothpaste. He was a large man and could have taken advantage of her easily, discounting all that she’d wanted as mere nonsense.
He didn’t.
For minutes, he simply enjoyed her as she enjoyed him, their kiss finally growing heated, deep, and wet, just this side of wild.
Logan finished before Tessa was ready for that, pulling his mouth free.
By the time she was able to open her eyes, he was already regarding her with earnestness that went beyond mere sex. He’d been moved too. Tessa saw it. Felt it. For some reason it made her shy instead of daring.
She murmured, “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He smiled. “I’m hardly through.”
She teased in return. “No?”
“No. Take off your clothes.”
Chapter Five
&n
bsp; Tessa definitely hadn’t expected that. Not after what they’d just talked about. “Huh?”
Logan stepped back. With his movement, her luggage wiggled over the walkway’s uneven surface. He held out his hand.
What a hand it was. Long fingers, blunt at the tips. There was raw power and domination in that hand. Tenderness too. He’d displayed it so well at the auction when he’d brushed her hair off her shoulder and touched her cheek, then just a few seconds ago as he’d cupped the back of her head during their kiss. Not so much to keep her captive, she thought, but possibly for the joy of having her close. Showing her a part of what she sensed was the real Logan, his desire for true intimacy that simmered beneath his previous detachment.
That closeness seemed a distant, sweet memory given what he appeared to want now…to get on with this. Rush heedlessly into sex, then what? Fall asleep while she made his meal, protected from them getting to really know each other? Perhaps even like each other a little?
Had she been so wrong to believe that he’d actually heard what she’d said? Had he just been pretending to listen while thinking about this?
Tessa regarded his outstretched hand and tried not to sound too disappointed. “You want to hold my clothes after I take them off?”
“Give me your purse,” he said, serene as could be. “I’ll hold it.”
Not certain what to make of this, Tessa handed the item to him.
He bobbed it up and down, testing its weight. “What do you have in here, bricks?”
Just the usual stuff, in addition to her laptop with all those Internet articles about him. The ones that were on the major news and crime sites rather than the business or medical pages. They reminded Tessa of what had happened to him a little over a year ago. Most likely the real reason he didn’t want to get too close to anyone, especially a woman. If Tessa had been through what he’d survived and continued to endure, she wouldn’t have even hired escorts. She would have stayed in bed, nursing a hurt that wouldn’t go away.
Understanding softened her stance. Not that she could tell him that or broach anything he wanted to forget. She was here to give him a good time, right? She shouldn’t push him for any more than that. At least not unless he wanted it, which he probably wouldn’t. Suppressing a sigh, she murmured, “You and Wallace are such wusses.”
Logan gave her a sidelong look. “Excuse me?”
She continued to tease, figuring it might be the best way to break through the fortress he’d built around himself. “I’ve used hair dryers that were heavier than my purse, which is obviously more than you or he could handle.” Tessa wiggled her fingers. “Go on, give it back to me. I’m used to lugging stuff around. I’ll just toss it on the porch.”
He slung the strap over his shoulder.
“Careful,” she cooed. “Wouldn’t want you injuring yourself.”
“Don’t you worry,” he drawled right back. “I don’t intend to damage any part of me that I’m going to need during the next seven days.”
Her attention dropped to his fly, the prominent ridge of his cock pressing against it. Thick and erect, just as she’d suspected earlier. No doubt fragrant with the scent of his musk. She fought a shiver of delight. “Good to know.”
“By the way,” he added, “before you strip, let down your hair, literally. And when you do strip, leave on your sandals.” He studied them with obvious appreciation, lingering on the black ribbons tied in bows around her ankles.
For the moment, Tessa left everything on, including the coated band holding her ponytail. “You’re sure there’s no one else around? Not that I mind,” she lied, given that she really wasn’t an exhibitionist. “However, they might.”
“Don’t see why.” His gaze trailed up her appreciatively, pausing on her breasts. What she knew were the hard points of her nipples. “However, there’s not one soul in the vicinity, unless someone’s flying overhead.”
The sky was an unbroken mass of brilliant blue.
He parroted her earlier words. “Alone at last.”
Uh-huh. The reality excited and kind of daunted Tessa. Being alone with him was somehow different than it had been with her other clients. Maybe it was because Logan was so freaking hot and much closer to her age, thirty-three according to the articles, which made him younger than many of her other clients. Could be it was the sun pouring down on them, hiding nothing. Certainly not like the relatively soft lighting at the auction—even when she’d been on stage—that smoothed away a lot of her flaws.
She ran her fingers over the side zipper of her shorts, not yet confident enough to lower it. “Aren’t you going to undress too?”
Slowly, almost stubbornly, Logan shook his head.
“Why not?”
“I don’t need to be naked for you to make us lunch.”
Tessa stared, then laughed. “But I do?”
“It’s what I want.”
She thought he’d wanted to have sex. To bury his emotions in the act, revealing none of himself. Instead, he wanted her stripped bare, at least physically, while he remained dressed. Leaving her more defenseless than him. This wasn’t turning out as she’d imagined.
When she didn’t move, he asked, “Need help…or have you changed your mind about this?”
His question was more challenge than inquiry, triggering something within Tessa. Genuine desire she’d buried and denied for too long because of her self-doubt. If she caved and suddenly came on strong, tugging at his clothing, wanting it off so he wouldn’t focus so much on her, they’d screw like sex-starved monkeys and that would be that. Nothing more. Nothing deeper. Just an escort and her client. With mindless fucking filling their seven days.
It wasn’t nearly enough for her.
She wanted to see more of what he’d already revealed about his personality. He enjoyed teasing, playing, turning this into a test of wills. An encounter he intended to win.
Maybe…maybe not. “I haven’t changed my mind.”
Recalling how Scheherazade had coaxed that poor, clueless sultan to her side, Tessa removed the band from her hair—her best feature—slipping the elastic into her shorts front pocket. She turned her head from side to side, allowing her hair to flow freely. Just to make certain it did, she ran her fingers through it, her back arched, her nipples pushing against her top’s clingy fabric.
Logan noticed. Suddenly, he wasn’t so worried about her hair. He looked like he really wanted her top and shorts off. In all this revealing light.
Still stalling, Tessa next concentrated on her shorts, lowering the zipper in degrees, pausing to stroke her skin frequently before she continued and absolutely had to undress.
After a few seconds, Logan gripped her luggage’s handle, his thumb tapping it.
In response to his obvious impatience, and what she hoped was his mounting excitement, Tessa folded the front panel of her shorts down to reveal her belly and navel jewelry. The garnets flashed blood red in the potent sun, spraying patches of color on her pale skin.
“Off,” he said, the word strangled.
Okay, so he definitely sounded aroused. It helped relax Tessa. “Yes sir.”
He grinned at her servile response.
Gently, she swayed her hips back and forth, coaxing the garment over her curves. Before they reached the tops of her thighs, she decided to go for broke and turned her back to Logan.
He made a noise of protest, then went silent at Tessa’s shorts dropping around her ankles. The warm breeze grazed her naked ass, exposed fully by her lacy black thong.
Please, please, please, let it look good.
The wheels of her luggage scraped over the bricks. She looked over. Logan hadn’t moved farther away as she’d thought. He’d let go of her luggage. It rolled down the walkway and bumped against one of the short shrubs, tottering to a stop.
He didn’t notice or appear to care. His attention remained on her plush cheeks, the backs of her thighs. If he saw her imperfections as she always had, they didn’t seem to bother him. Rarely had
Tessa seen a man as riveted or as pleased. It showed in his disarming smile. Unsophisticated and completely endearing.
Joy bubbled in her for having caused his present state, which also gave her a shitload of confidence. Wanting to do far more, Tessa grabbed the stairway’s wooden rail, using it for support as she stepped out of her shorts, the legs wide enough so that her sandals didn’t get caught on them. Gracefully, she turned to face him, arms at her sides.
“More,” he ordered immediately, then shook his head. “I mean off.” His attention darted from her thong to her body jewelry, then back to her thong.
Wanting to play with him, she reached for the garnets to remove them.
He objected immediately. “No. Leave that. Take off your underwear.”
“You’re sure?”
Logan clenched his jaw so hard, his teeth must have hurt.
Poor baby. “As you wish,” she purred.
This time, he didn’t grin. Probably hadn’t heard her. Basking in the glow of her womanly power, how she clearly affected him, Tessa pushed her thong down, a bit faster than she had her zipper, though she didn’t rush.
Logan stepped closer as the lacy edge finally dipped past her groin.
“Wait.” He held up his hand and gawked at her baby-smooth skin. “You got one of those waxes?”
Brazilian to be precise. Tessa had sensed he’d enjoy it. Feigning uncertainty, she asked, “You don’t like it?”
“Huh?” He glanced at her. “What?” Before she could answer, he regarded her smooth cleft, her plump vaginal lips, already moist for him. “Wow.”
Damn, this was nice.
With her spirits soaring, Tessa pushed her thong past her thighs. It snagged on her knees for a moment, then dropped to her sandals. Using more care than she had with her shorts, Tessa finally stepped out of her underwear. She didn’t stumble once, her dignity intact. “Ready for more…or do you need a moment to calm down? Should I call 9-1-1 as a precaution?”
He worked his mouth so he wouldn’t smile. “You’re wrong, you know.”
Tessa’s hands stalled on the hem of her top. “About what?”