Ties That Bind (Club Risque Book 3)

by Poppy Flynn

  "Do you have any kind of protection here?" It was unlikely, but it was worth a shot.

  Luanna drew in a deep breath then let it out again as if she were preparing herself for the anti-climax, not that it would come to that. He would still make sure that she was well pleasured and satisfied; she just didn't realise it yet. There was more than one way to skin a cat.

  "No, I…" She paused and started, as if a sudden thought had hit her. "Wait, maybe…" she muttered.

  A moment later, she surprised him by scrambling off the bed and scurrying out of the room and down the hall. Lifting off his knees, Logan made it to the doorway in time to see Luanna coming out of the only other room in the small apartment, which he assumed must belong to her son, her fifteen-year-old son.

  The grin she threw at him was both triumphant and satisfied. Holding her hand up towards him, she showed him a large box of twelve condoms. He raised a single eyebrow questioningly.

  "I got pregnant when I was just barely sixteen," she defended. "Not much older than Danny is now. Believe me, as soon as the subject of the birds and the bees came up, I made sure Danny was prepared. I'm hoping he's sensible enough to refrain, and I certainly don't mean to encourage him, but I definitely don't want him to find himself in the same situation."

  She didn't need to explain herself to him. He knew what teenage boys were like. Heck, he'd been one, so he knew how their minds worked and exactly what randy little sods they could be. Right now, he was just bloody overjoyed that she treated her son seriously and didn't lie to herself about how he'd never get up to mischief.

  It wasn't relief that flooded through him. He was a man perfectly capable of curbing his appetites and controlling his needs. It was similar, but it was something more than that. An encompassing…liberation, maybe, of the visceral regret that had seized him when he had imagined that this night was not going to end in the resolution that either of them had anticipated.

  Taking the box from her and throwing it on the bed, Logan pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her pliant body, revelling in her curves and the feel of her hot skin against his own. When she lifted her chin to look at him, he dived to claim her lips, plunging his tongue straight into the warmth of her mouth and tangling his tongue with hers.

  The fire, which had abated only slightly in the past few minutes, ignited again with a roar as Luanna tasted herself on Logan's tongue. In the space of a mere instant, he had her panting and moaning into his mouth until, just as hastily as he had started, he wrenched his mouth away and swung her into his arms. The surprise of the move and the sensation of the floor giving way beneath her had her yelping and grasping onto his shoulders. She wasn't exactly plump, but she was no waif, either; still, Logan held her surely and easily, despite her surprise. Clearly, those muscles had a boatload of power behind them, and as he carried her effortlessly back to the bed, she thought she might succumb to an old-fashioned swoon.

  Logan settled her gently in the nest of rumpled blankets that they had wrecked on the bed but, this time, instead of following her down, he reached for the box and extracted one of the little foil packets, ripping it open without delay and smoothing it expertly over his engorged shaft.

  Setting a knee on the mattress and reaching for her, Luanna placed a hand on his shoulder and looked earnestly at him.

  "Please don't make me wait any longer; I don't think I can take it," she begged.

  Smiling, Logan eased himself over her lush body, taking his weight on his arms and allowing her to adapt to the rest of his bulk. His straining erection prodded her hip, and she adjusted her position, parting her thighs to form a cradle for his body and wrapping her legs around his.

  Reaching between them, he lined his cockhead up with her opening, never once taking his eyes off hers.

  "I want to watch you as I take you, this first time," he breathed, and the erotic imagery sent a flood of moisture to her already saturated pussy.

  Feeling the tip of his penis breach her female flesh, Luanna sucked in a breath and tried not to tense up. He pushed in inexorably, not giving any quarter, and she could feel herself being stretched to the point of pain. She panted a little and fought to relax, but she never took her eyes off him, and the look in his kept her anchored. Logan pushed in slowly, but insistently, right to the hilt, then stilled to allow her body time to acclimatise to the intrusion. Leaning on his elbows, he brought his hands up to frame her face and took her mouth in the most tender kiss she had ever experienced in her life.

  Luanna's heart seemed to do a slow somersault in her chest. Right there, in that very moment, she realised—too late—just how susceptible she was to this man and just what a danger he posed. He had attracted her with his unconventional good looks, reeled her in with his honour and his respect, tied her to him with pleasure and consideration. Already, she knew she could fall deeply, irrevocably in love with such a man. She could only hope that he wouldn't come to destroy her with disappointment.

  She had endured many things in her life. She wasn't sure she wanted to add heartbreak to her list of life skills.

  And then the thoughts fluttered away as Logan began to withdraw, her clasping channel dragging at his flesh as if refusing to let him leave her; the friction lighting up nerve endings deep inside that she never knew she had, firing sparks of desire throughout her abdomen and all the way down into her thighs which had started to quiver with delight.

  When it felt as if he might almost completely leave her body, he thrust again, this time, harder, more insistently. His pelvis bumped against hers, stimulating her clit. The tip of his cock nudged her cervix, sending tingles throughout her abdomen, and then he did it all over again and again and again, until each plunge became relentless and demanding, faster, harder, winding some unseen coil within her. Tearing guttural sobs from her throat and causing her to hold on as if her very life depended on it, as if letting go might hurl her into some deep, unknown abyss, her fingers dug into biceps, her nails leaving small crescent indents in his skin.

  And then, suddenly, the world was tipping, and she was shifting. Luanna was momentarily disoriented as Logan abruptly withdrew, pitched her onto her stomach. Barely giving her a chance to right herself and find her breath, he wrenched her hips upwards and plunged in from behind, drawing a long, rasping scream from her that was muffled by the bedding.

  A brief pain prickled her consciousness, but it had already ebbed before she realised that he had slapped her across the fleshy orb of one buttock. Before she could object, a second and third and then a fourth smack had rained on her butt, each in a slightly different place. Luanna opened her mouth to say something, but another volley of blows fell on the opposite flank and the only noise she made was a surprised squeal. Then Logan was rubbing at the reddened areas and, to her utter surprise, the smarting pain transformed into a tingling, heated pleasure. What the hell was that? Luanna was stunned, conscious that the level of her desire had been ramped up beyond what she had believed was possible. But before she could assimilate what had happened, Logan pulled her onto her elbows.

  "Grab hold of the headboard and hold on," he demanded, his normally velvet smooth voice rough with passion. Luanna followed his instructions then braced herself firmer as he thrust hard and fast, gripping her hips hard enough to leave bruises and raining several more spanks down the sides of her thighs. Just when she thought she couldn't take any more, he reached around with both hands and, somehow, without losing his pace, grasped both of her nipples, pinching and twisting until a high wail dragged from the very depths of her soul, and the world around her shattered. A rainbow of colours exploded behind her eyelids, and the walls of her pussy clamped tight around his cock, milking and contracting like a velvet coated vice and yanking a jagged roar of completion from Logan's lips.

  Her quivering muscles gave way, and Luanna collapsed into a puddle of greedy, fulfilled contentment on the bed. Her chest heaving and her skin clammy amid the riot of covers and pillows, she couldn't dredge up the desire to move even
an inch.

  Behind her, she was vaguely aware of Logan pulling out, leaving her body feeling suddenly bereft, and moving down the hall to the bathroom. The man obviously had way more stamina than she did. Her brain was barely functioning, never mind any of her supposedly moving parts. Maybe she drifted off for a minute, because it seemed that she had barely formed that last thought before he was back, crawling into the bed behind her and yanking the rumpled bedspread haphazardly across their sweat chilled bodies before he hauled her against him and they both fell into the deep sleep of the utterly satisfied.

  Chapter 3

  Luanna felt like a furnace was heating her back, but try as she might, she couldn't seem to find a cool spot and her bed seemed unusually cramped and lumpy. Rolling onto her back and getting stopped by a seemingly immovable object, her sleep-muddled brain wondered, just for a moment, whether she was sleeping in a different place. Stretching out her arm, expecting to come into contact with the coolness of wall, Luanna was brought up short when her fingers fell on something warm and firm but supple, instead. As consciousness slowly seeped into her foggy mind, she became aware of the sound of deep breathing, and then her eyes flew open as images and recollections from the previous night gained clarity and she was lucid once again.

  Her eyes widened, and her skin flushed, while her gaze flew to Logan as some of the things he had done to her hurtled back to the front of her mind. Just the memory had her body heating up all over again, and Luanna dragged in a shaky breath and closed her eyes again as she tried to compose herself.

  A few minutes later, she felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck, and her eyes flew open once more.

  This time, Logan stared back at her, his slumberous, amber eyes glinting in the flecks of sunlight that were streaming through gaps in the curtains where they'd been so hastily pulled together the night before. A slow smile crept over his face as their gazes meshed and held, then he gave a low growl and pulled her to him, meshing their lips as well.

  Luanna gave a soft sigh as his clever fingers roamed all over her body, reigniting the banked embers of a passion that she had never known before, but which now seemed to be simmering just below the surface, ready to flare up at the slightest encouragement. No words were spoken as Logan fanned the flame of desire higher and higher, until both of them were panting and moaning. This time, at least, he didn't tease her for hours, making quick work of the condom and then sliding himself deep inside her welcoming heat. And while the foreplay might have been less heated and deliberate, this time, he stroked into her at a measured and unhurried pace, building the fire more slowly but no less intensely, until orgasm crashed over them both and they fell back into each other's arms, allowing sleep to take them once more.

  The next time Luanna woke, she stretched herself out and was conscious of aches that she certainly wasn't used to having, despite the yoga exercises that she did religiously every day to keep herself fit and supple.

  Her inner thighs twinged deliciously, and her lady parts felt delightfully well used. Luanna was generally pretty unflappable, but this morning, a delicious lassitude seeped through her bones that had her feeling even more serene than usual.

  Smiling and sprawling out across the bed, she realised that Logan was no longer beside her. Checking her bedside clock, she was shocked to see that it was past midday and she had slept the morning away.

  Luanna stretched again, working the kinks from her body and wondering where Logan was. He had told her he wasn't just after a one-night stand, and she had certainly given him the out, so she didn't imagine that he had bailed on her without bothering to say goodbye. She was sufficiently self-confident that she didn't bother to start second guessing his intentions. Tipping her head to one side, she realised that she could hear water running and surmised that he was using the shower. Idly, she wondered if she should go and join him in it, but if she did, they'd never get cleaned up. And although her shower was generally adequate, Luanna knew that the hot water would give out way sooner than Logan, and no matter how great shower sex sounded in books, she was pretty sure that getting needled with rapidly cooling water that turned to freezing in the blink of an eye wasn't ever going to be the most erotic scenario. If she was lucky and Logan didn't linger, she might just about be fortunate enough to get herself freshened up, never mind anything else!

  Sighing and letting herself drift again, Luanna waited for Logan to finish. After she cleaned up, she'd think about making them both some breakfast…well, brunch, really, given the time. She wondered whether she should make the bed, which had been reduced to a random pile of jumbled linens, but maybe they would just mess it up again. Luanna smiled again; she certainly hoped so. Maybe she would just straighten it out until Logan went home, so it wasn't quite so lumpy.

  Five minutes later, Luanna heard the water shut off and was just trying to drum up the energy to get out of bed, when the unmistakeable sound of voices hit her. At first, she simply assumed Logan was on the phone, but her pulse started to hammer when she realised there were two distinct voices. Then her heart dropped into her stomach as she recognised the second voice as that of her son.

  Luanna sat bolt upright in the bed. What the hell was Danny doing here? She wasn't prone to panic, but right now, her mind spun off in so many different directions that she felt decidedly flustered. What did she do now? Get up and run to Logan's defence? Get dressed first, which would leave the two of them facing off for long minutes, play ostrich and pretend she was still asleep and let the two of them deal with the awkward situation without her. No, that simply wasn't her style.

  Realising that all this dithering was neither going to help nor change the situation, Luanna gave herself an annoyed shake and threw back the bed covers before taking just a few seconds to grab some clothes and get herself dressed in yoga pants and a sloppy sweatshirt, rationalising that she was better off fully dressed for this confrontation and, also, that Danny wasn't anything close to being a hothead and neither was Logan, so they could undoubtedly manage to treat each other civilly for a few minutes.

  That being said, she didn't take the time to brush out her hair because that would probably be pushing it.

  Striding across the room, preparing to take the bull by the horns, she pulled open the bedroom door, only to stop short at the sight of her son, with a knowing smirk, facing Logan who was standing there with nothing but a rather small towel slung low on his hips.

  Luanna just stood there for long moments while a tide of colour swept across her skin. It wasn't often that she found herself at a loss. She wasn't embarrassed as such, but still, witnessing the reality of her unexpected lover all but naked and chatting with her fifteen-year-old son was rather less than ideal and not quite how she would have chosen their first contact.

  Logan had rolled out of Luanna's bed that morning with a sated grin on his face. Last night had been the best night he'd experienced in a damn long time and he was excited at the prospect of exploring exactly where things might lead with this woman.

  There had been plenty of women come and go from his life. He wasn't ashamed of that, and he certainly wasn't any kind of player. Things had simply never worked out with any of them.

  With Luanna, things just felt right, and Logan was eager to see how they progressed.

  He had found himself just lying, propped up on his elbow, watching her sleep, enjoying the opportunity to look at her while she was unaware and unguarded. In slumber, she looked so much younger than her thirty-two years. Her skin was scrubbed clean and dewy, with barely a line to give away any of the traumas of her life. So much so that it was almost impossible to believe she had a fifteen-year-old son. Luanna made no secret of her past indiscretions. In fact, she was far more likely to draw them to attention and put them out there for the world to see. No skeletons in her closet. Logan liked that about her. What you saw was most definitely what you got—straightforward and up-front. There was no coyness and secrecy. What she was and what she did, she owned. And if things didn't
go the way she expected, by her own admission, there would be no needy clinging and hand wringing. She simply walked away and chalked it up to experience—no histrionics, no tantrums and no awkwardness. It was so refreshing. She was strong and self-reliant. That, in itself, was a turn on, as far he was concerned. He wasn't the kind of Dom who wanted a clinging vine who couldn't think for herself and couldn't exist independently. He wanted a woman who was confident and self-reliant. Wrap that up in Luanna's tall, curvy body and she was as perfect as any woman he had ever met. More, if he was honest. He had to remind himself to put the brakes on. In his head, he already had them sharing a house and a life, but after just one night together, he knew he was getting ahead of himself and he had to give both of them a bit more time to get to know each other properly.

  Quietly leaving the room so that Luanna could get a bit more sleep, Logan headed for the shower across the hall. Glancing through to the open-plan kitchen / living area, he spotted a coffee machine and decided to put it on to brew while he was getting cleaned up. Digging around her orderly cupboards, he found mugs and set them ready on the uncluttered work surface before he headed back to the shower.

  As he set the water pressure and heat—such as it was—Logan decided that he'd treat Luanna to breakfast in bed. He'd bet his investment portfolio that was a pleasure Luanna was never indulged in. The thought made him sad. She was a special woman; he'd worked that out months ago, just from working with her. She deserved some of the luxuries his own lavish lifestyle could offer. While her small apartment was immaculate and in a decent part of town, it was still clearly fitted out on a budget. Although what Luanna had managed to do with that budget was nothing short of astounding. It wasn't obvious to the impartial eye that her furnishings were modest and inexpensive. The lounge furniture was all of the same coloured wood, and each piece was sturdy and well made, but when you bothered to look closely, a lot of it was dated and none of it matched and he'd bet that she'd collected them all from the careful scouring of charity shops where she'd purchased the best quality she could afford, to make sure it lasted, and matched the wood to give it cohesion. It appeared that Luanna had applied some clever tricks to bring it all together. Using soft furnishings to tie it all in, which from their diversity—curtains, cushions, table runners, the padded fabric top of the footstool which doubled for storage—he guessed were hand made. Another money saver.