Читать книгу Las Vegas Nights: At Odds with the Heiress - Cat Schield - Страница 12

Six

With each hour that passed, Logan found himself growing more impatient for the evening ahead. By the time six-thirty rolled around he was positively surly, or at least that’s what his executive assistant had called him. Then Madison had complained about his bad temper when he’d arrived home.

Now, as he negotiated the eastbound traffic back to Fontaine Richesse, his mood perked up alarmingly. Damn it. He was looking forward to spending the evening with her. To seeing what sort of delectable outfit she’d prepared for him. To letting her steal food off his plate and wheedle out of him intimate details about his life. Why had he agreed to have dinner with her? He should have insisted on meeting her at her office during the regular workday when he wouldn’t be tempted to linger for a nightcap in her suite.

A nightcap that might lead him to forget how quickly she turned on the charm. He would find himself seducing her and believing it was his idea. He’d have her naked and writhing beneath him before he realized she’d orchestrated the entire event. He simply couldn’t let her manipulate him that way.

By the time he arrived at Fontaine Richesse, he was running five minutes late. He dialed Scarlett’s cell, but she didn’t pick up. That was odd. She was rarely beyond arm’s reach of her phone. Driven by an irresistible sense of urgency, Logan’s pace quickened as he made his way through the casino. By the time the elevator deposited him on Scarlett’s floor, he was deeply concerned at her lack of response.

Rounding the corner to her suite, he noticed the door was wide-open. When he spied her on the floor, he ran the rest of the way down the hall. He entered her suite just as she lifted a hand to her jaw and opened her eyes. He knelt at her side as she groaned in discomfort.

“What happened?” he demanded, his throat constricting as he surveyed her for damage.

“I answered the door and a man hit me.” She sounded bewildered and weak.

“What did he look like?”

“He was wearing a ski mask.” She blinked in disbelief. “All I remember is that his hand shot out. Then everything went black.”

“How long ago?” Logan dialed the Fontaine Richesse’s security office.

“It was quarter to eight. Someone knocked. I thought it was you at the door.” Her gaze found his. “I was mad at you for showing up early. My hair wasn’t done and I hadn’t finished putting on my makeup.”

“You look beautiful,” he told her brusquely.

A voice came on the line and Logan quickly outlined what had happened. Security would call the police and get working on tracking the guy who’d broken in. A man in a black windbreaker and jeans would be a challenge to find in a hotel as large as Richesse.

As soon as he hung up, he scooped Scarlett into his arms and headed toward her bedroom.

“No!” She tugged at his suit coat to get his attention. “Not in there...”

“I’m not planning on taking advantage of you.”

“I had trouble deciding what to wear tonight, so...” She stared at him, her green eyes dazed. “Logan Wolfe, did you just make a joke?”

He raised his eyebrows in answer. “Where would you like me to put you down?”

“The couch would be fine. And then if you wouldn’t mind getting me the package of lima beans that’s in the freezer.”

“Lima beans?” He eased her down on the sofa and settled a pillow behind her head.

“I happen to like lima beans.”

“No one likes lima beans.”

“Not even someone as health-conscious as you?”

“Not even me.” He brought her the package of frozen beans and gently applied it to her bruised jaw. “Where’s your ibuprofen?”

“In the kitchen cabinet to the right of the sink.”

He fetched the pills and brought her a glass of water. Her gaze tracked his movements as warily as a cat watching a large dog who’d invaded her territory. Snatching a throw off a nearby chair, he spread it over her legs. A part of him realized he was fussing over her, but he needed to act. And since charging out into the night in search of her assailant wasn’t an option, seeing to her comfort made him feel as if he was accomplishing something.

“Nothing in here looks disturbed. Do you keep your valuables locked away?”

“I have a safe for my jewelry. There really isn’t much else of value here.” She glanced toward the dining room table. “The files.”

He followed her gaze. “The ones you took from the storage unit?” From where he stood he could see that the box was still on the table, but the number of files looked smaller. “Some are missing.”

“Which ones?”

She swung her feet off the sofa and started getting to her feet. Before she’d fully straightened, her body swayed. Logan caught her around the waist and drew her against him. Her head found his shoulder as she leaned more fully into him.

“Slow down.” He should have immediately deposited her back on the couch, but the feel of her, soft and yielding against him, was too appealing. His palm rode her strong spine up and down.

“I have to know which ones are missing. What if the information about Harper gets out? I need to tell her what I discovered.”

“Nothing can be done about that at this second. You were hit hard enough to black out. I think you should go to the hospital.”

“There’s no need for that.”

Before Logan could argue further, a hard knock sounded on her door.

“Sit. We’ll discuss the hospital as soon as you make a report to security and the police.”

“I’m not going.”

Grinding his teeth at her stubbornness, Logan resettled Scarlett on the sofa and went to let in Security.

* * *

By the time she’d given her statement and her suite had been dusted for prints, Scarlett’s agitation had reached an acute stage. Logan’s presence calmed her anxiety at having her privacy so roughly violated. The package of frozen lima beans had helped numb her jaw, but nothing could ease her worry over the missing files.

The thief had taken the files for Harper and her mother, Scarlett and their grandfather. In addition, although she hadn’t yet looked through the files that had originally been in the box, Scarlett thought two of those might be missing, as well.

“I really couldn’t have gotten through this without you,” she told Logan after he’d walked the uniformed officers to the door.

“You needed me. I was here.”

And now she sensed he wished he were elsewhere. Whether to chase down the man who’d stolen the files or just to be on his way, Scarlett wasn’t sure.

“I suppose you need to get home.”

Inwardly she cringed at the obvious reluctance in her voice. Sure, he’d been acting solicitous and protective, but that was how he’d treat any damsel in distress. She shouldn’t take it personally. No matter how wonderful it felt to have him hold her in his arms and treat her as if she were made of the finest porcelain.

“I called Madison to let her know where I was and sent one of my guys over to keep an eye on her.”

“I’m sure she’ll love that,” Scarlett retorted, her skeptical tone masking her need to snuggle against his powerful chest and take comfort from the strength of his arms around her. For such a hard, unyielding man, he’d demonstrated he could also be gentle. She found the combination both calmed and excited her.

“He’ll watch the house from the road. She’ll never know.”

His somber words caused her uneasiness to spike. “Do you think she’s in danger?”

“No.” The single word came out too fast and too sharp.

Scarlett didn’t find his frown reassuring. “I don’t believe you.”

“Until we know what’s going on, I prefer not to take chances.”

“We should probably let Violet and Harper know what happened.”

“Already done.” He’d been busy while she’d been telling her story to the police. “They will call you tomorrow.”

“I guess there’s nothing left for me to do, then.” Her statement hung in the air between them. She needed him to stay but couldn’t bring herself to admit it. Huddling deeper into the throw wrapped around her shoulders, she waited for him to leave.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to remain here alone tonight.”

Her stomach flipped. Usually he was no more willing to offer his help than she was likely to ask for it. The change in his attitude made him more dangerous than a hundred ski-mask-wearing intruders.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine if I don’t invite anyone in.” She tried to compel her lips into a reassuring smile but couldn’t.

Logan assessed her and his expression grew more determined. “Nevertheless, I’m going to stay.”

She’d already let him take control of the situation. In fact, she’d enjoyed having him in charge. But letting him know how desperate she was for his company could give him the advantage in the future.

“Fine,” she said, her manner grudging. “I don’t have the energy to kick you out anyway.”

His lips quirked. “You’re welcome.”

“The guest room is made up if you want to use that for what’s left of the night.”

“The couch will be fine.”

“Because you don’t want to get too comfortable in my suite?”

“Because if anyone is getting back in, they’re coming through that door.” He gestured over his shoulder toward the door to the hallway.

Scarlett shivered. The idea that the robber might come back was unnerving. Suddenly it was hard for her to breathe. She began to feel dizzy and set her forehead against her knees. A quiver passed through her as the anxiety she’d bottled up these past couple of hours refused to stay contained a second longer.

“Scarlett.” Logan knelt beside her. His large hand was warm and reassuring against her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She sat up straight and dashed away the wetness on her cheek.

He exhaled impatiently. “Will you stop trying to act like nothing is wrong when it’s obvious you’re upset?”

“Of course I’m upset.” She let her temper flare. It terrified her to let down her guard around him. “Shouldn’t I be? I was attacked and whatever the thief took tonight might have damaging consequences for my family.”

“Right now what you need is sleep.” He held out his hand.

His suggestion made sense, but she didn’t move. It was far nicer to be in the same room where she could be comforted by his reassuring strength. But telling him that would give him too much insight into how she thought.

“You’re sending me to bed?” She let him pull her up and forced a mocking smile. “Most men would be escorting me there.”

“Then most men are jerks for taking advantage of you in such a vulnerable state.”

Vulnerable? If that’s how he saw her, she’d given far too much away tonight. “Most men can’t help themselves. They find me irresistible.”

“That’s a pretty powerful feeling for you, isn’t it?”

She set her hand on her hip, a trace of spunk returning. “What’s wrong with feeling powerful?”

“Not a thing. Unless you have to be that way all the time.”

“I don’t.” But she was lying. Being strong was how she’d survived being a child star and how she’d struggled back from the dark years of partying too much and falling once too often for the wrong guy. “There’s nothing that I can do right in your eyes, is there?”

She turned away before the longing to throw herself at him grew too strong to resist. Her feet felt heavy and sluggish as she crossed the living room. With each step she took, her heartbeat slowed. She hoped he’d come after her, sweep her into his arms and carry her the rest of the way to her bed. When that didn’t happen, she closed her bedroom door and left a trail of clothes to mark her passage. Naked, she fell into bed.

But the weariness that dragged on her limbs didn’t reach her mind. Scarlett lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, and turned the theft of the files over and over in her head. Had the thief taken them without seeing what they were because he was in a hurry? Or had he broken in specifically because he wanted something that was in them?

She’d gone through her family’s files a dozen times. The only damaging item was the fact that Harper’s father wasn’t Ross Fontaine, and Scarlett couldn’t imagine Penelope hiring someone to steal the files. It had to be something else. What had she missed?

Closing her eyes, Scarlett sifted through the contents of her father’s file, but all she got for her efforts was an increased throbbing in her head. Ross had been a rotten husband, but that wasn’t exactly a huge secret. He’d preferred his women young and single so there weren’t any jealous husbands. And he’d been more ham-fisted than ruthless in running Fontaine Hotels and Resorts to have made any enemies among the other hotel owners in Las Vegas.

Scarlett just couldn’t see why the guy had wanted the files. And then she recalled the rest of what was in the box. Caught up in the drama surrounding her family, she’d only glanced through the other files once.

Most of the material had been about Tiberius’s brother-in-law, Preston Rhodes, the current chairman of the board and CEO of Stone Properties, which was headquartered in Miami, Florida. Like Fontaine Hotels and Resorts, Stone Properties owned hotel and resort properties all over the world.

Scarlett had once asked Tiberius why he didn’t work for the company his father had founded and learned how his brother-in-law had schemed to get Tiberius kicked out of the family business so he could take over.

No surprise, then, that Preston had never set foot in Las Vegas. Stone Properties had one hotel on the Strip: Titanium. Run by JT Stone, Tiberius’s nephew and namesake, the five-star hotel sat several blocks north of the trio of Fontaine hotels.

An hour ticked by, bringing her no closer to sleep. Logan’s presence in the living room was far too distracting. At last she got up and slipped into a hot-pink cotton lounge set. She stood with her hand on the doorknob for a few minutes, debating what excuse she’d use for wanting his company. In the end it didn’t matter because when she reached the living room, Logan was nowhere to be found.

Her disappointment was difficult to ignore as she headed into the kitchen for a bottle of water. Instead of drinking it, she set the cool bottle against her still-aching jaw. The coolness washed through her and without warning, tears sprang to her eyes. Normally she’d blink them away and shove down her unhappiness. Never show weakness. She’d learned that early in Hollywood. But being abandoned by Logan was too much on top of everything else she’d gone through tonight.

As the tears began working their way down her cheeks, the door to her suite opened. Heart pounding in sudden alarm, Scarlett was too overcome by panic to move. When Logan stepped into view, she was awash in relief.

“You came back.”

His gaze swung in her direction. “I never left.”

“You weren’t here when I came to get water.”

“I stepped outside to talk to Lucas.” He gestured with his cell phone. “I didn’t want to disturb you.” As he spoke, he narrowed the distance between them. “Is your jaw still sore?”

He’d moved within reach and before she could question the wisdom of her actions, Scarlett pressed herself against his strong body. She wrapped her arms around his waist and felt him tense. But when his hands touched her shoulders, it wasn’t to push her away but to gather her still closer.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “You’re safe.”

And for the first time in a long time, she knew she was. Letting someone take care of her wasn’t comfortable for Scarlett. She’d developed a deep and wide streak of distrust not long after reaching puberty. The older brother of one of her fellow actors had cornered her in a dressing room and stuck his tongue down her throat. Afterward he’d threatened to say she’d come on to him if she told anyone what had happened. She’d been twelve years old at the time and was just beginning to understand what it meant to be a woman.

“I’m not always strong,” she told him, her voice muffled against his shoulder. “Usually I’m terrified that what I’m doing is completely wrong.”

Logan stroked her hair. “You’ve sure fooled me.”

“That was the idea.”

* * *

Logan drew Scarlett toward the couch. They sat together in the middle with little space between them. Scarlett snuggled against his side and her lips curved into a dreamy smile when his arm came around her shoulder. It was a serene, domestic moment, unlike their normally tempestuous encounters. The invasion of her home had cracked her shell, knocking her off her game.

For the first time he didn’t question whether this was honest fear or just a performance to make him sympathetic toward her. He’d seen her acting range. She could transform herself into whatever played into a man’s fantasy. Since he’d criticized the way she dressed, he’d noticed her wardrobe had become more professional. Was she donning another costume, one designed to win him over? Did she even comprehend what she was doing? Or was it second nature to her?

“You’re a hard woman to read, Scarlett Fontaine.”

Tonight, she’d been as rattled as he’d ever seen her. So much so she couldn’t bring herself to tell him she was afraid.

Her sigh brushed his neck. “I hate to admit it, but you bring out the worst in me.”

He was silent a long moment. “Why is that?” He asked the question, not expecting she’d tell him the truth.

“I guess I want too much for you to like me.”

Her declaration caught him off guard. Had she recovered her equilibrium? Was this an act? She’d been prickly when he’d told her he wasn’t going to take advantage of her. She hadn’t appreciated his chivalry. And she’d been right to say that few men would’ve let her go to bed alone. Sitting alone out here with nothing but an unlocked door between them was a harsh test of his willpower.

“Why do you care what I think?”

“Because I like you and I know you don’t approve of me.”

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Why do you care what I think?”

“There aren’t a lot of people who don’t like me.” She huffed out a small laugh. “I know how that sounds, but I’ve always had a knack for winning people over.”

“I’ve seen you in action many times.”

“I can hear it in your voice. You don’t approve of how I behave.” She sounded grumpy.

Against his better judgment, Logan found her dismay charming. “Does it occur to you how ridiculous it sounds to say you want me to like you when you’ve been provocative and difficult at every turn?”

“I’m simply responding to your scorn.” She flashed him a baleful glance. “Call it self-preservation.”

Hadn’t he been just as guilty of provoking her? “Should we call a truce?”

“And have you lose interest in me because things become boring between us?” Her green eyes had regained some of their wicked sparkle. “Half the reason you find me so attractive is because I keep you guessing.”

“You’re sure I find you attractive?”

He’d no sooner uttered the challenge when her hand curved across his thigh. His muscles twitched in response and her lips arced impishly. That she was touching him to prove a point was the only thing that kept him from flipping her onto her back.

“If you knew all my secrets,” she said, “you’d find me deadly dull.”

“I can’t imagine that’s possible.”

To hell with his earlier stance on not taking advantage of her in a vulnerable state. There was only so much temptation a man could take. And the pressure behind his zipper demanded that he give up the fight.

He bent down and captured her mouth in a slow kiss meant to satisfy his need for deeper intimacy with her. She moaned beneath his lips and twisted her body until she was sliding backward. Unwilling to be parted from her even for a second, Logan broke off the kiss and scooped his hands beneath her ass, repositioning her with her spine flat on the couch, his weight crushing her into its soft cushions.

“Are you okay?” he asked noticing her slight wince. He pushed a hair away from her face and eyed the spot where the intruder had hit her. “If your jaw is hurting, we should stop.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Logan wasn’t convinced. “You’ve swelled up a bit where he hit you.”

“I’m fine.”

“Really?”

“Just shut up and kiss me.”

As fierce as his desire was for her, Logan wasn’t about to rush the moment he’d been fantasizing about for weeks. No matter how deeply lust sank its talons into his groin, he intended to explore every inch of her skin, taste each sigh, absorb the entirety of her surrender.

He applied gentle kisses to her parted lips, causing her to murmur in encouragement. With his weight pinning her, she had little hope of wiggling and driving him mad with provocative movements, but her hands were free and she used them to her advantage.

After ruffling his hair and tracing his spine, she tightened her grasp on his shirt and pulled it free of his pants. Braced against the first touch of her skin against his, he kept up the slow seduction with his lips and tongue. She sighed as her palms connected with his lower back. Logan couldn’t prevent the instinctive twitch his body gave as she raked her long nails up his sides.

Ignoring the heat blazing between them, he cupped her cheek and licked at her lips, running his tongue along her teeth before flicking her tongue. Beneath his palm he felt her facial muscles shift and knew she was smiling. He kissed her nose, a grin of his own blooming at her heartfelt sigh.

“Why so impatient?” he teased, taking her plump lower lip between his teeth and sucking ever so lightly.

Her nails bit into his back. “Because five years of foreplay is too long.”

“Five years?” Carefully avoiding her bruised jaw, he nuzzled the soft skin below her ear, inhaling her smooth, fresh perfume and the sharper tang of her earlier stress. If nothing else reinforced his need to take his time, this reminder of what she’d been through tonight did. “Is that what we’ve been doing all this time?”

“Of course.” She adjusted the angle of her head to grant him better access to her neck.

“How do you figure?”

“You don’t seriously think all that animosity between us was anything other than frustrated sexual energy, do you?”

He knew what it had been on his part, but was surprised she admitted to being similarly afflicted. “Are you saying you’ve wanted me this whole time?”

He tried to make his voice sound shocked, but ended up fighting a groan as she found a way to free her left leg from beneath him. By bending her knee, she was able to shift his hips into the perfect V between her thighs. Her intimate heat pressed against his hip even through the layers of fabric between them. Breath rasping in and out of his lungs, he held perfectly still to savor the sensation.

“Of course.”

He believed her because whenever they touched, the walls tumbled down between them. And in this place where they communicated truth as easily with words as they did with their bodies, he was in serious danger of falling hard.

Was that why he’d doubted and taunted her all these years? Because he suspected that if they had a civil conversation he might have to face just how crazy he was about her? All her flaws became insignificant. All his misgivings seemed to be paranoia.

“Make love to me, Logan,” she pleaded when the silence dragged on too long. “Don’t make me wait any longer.”

“I want nothing more,” he admitted. “But let’s take it slow.”

“Slow?” She didn’t look happy.

“Slow,” he confirmed. “You’re worth savoring. Relax.” He reclaimed her lips and soothed her with soft, romantic kisses. “We have all night.”

* * *

Scarlett put her impatience aside and let Logan set the pace. The ache between her thighs didn’t abate, but neither did it intensify as they exchanged a series of slow, sweet kisses. The give-and-take of his lips against hers was comforting and the fog of desire dissipated from her mind, offering her a chance to enjoy the feel of his strong body where it pressed against hers and the subtle cologne he’d applied for their date tonight. She concentrated on relaxing her muscles, ignoring the hunger needling her. Logan was right. They’d waited this long. Why rush it?

His kisses did unexpected things to her emotions. Lighter than soap bubbles, joy pushed outward from her center. Logan made her feel like no other man ever had. Cherished. Appreciated. Understood. The excitement she’d expected to feel as his body mastered hers was tempered by the need to relish every second of their time together.

“Why are you smiling?” Logan asked, drifting his lips across her eyelids and down her nose.

“I’ve never necked on the couch like this.”

“Never?” Surprise peppered Logan’s question. “I find that hard to believe.”

“It’s true. Necking is something you do with your boyfriend on your parents’ couch or in the back of your boyfriend’s car.”

“Seems to me you had both a boyfriend and access to a couch and car.”

“I wasn’t a normal teenager. For one thing, I didn’t go to regular school. I had tutors and studied between scenes. For another, my boyfriend at the time liked partying with friends and hitting the club.” Not kicking back and hanging out alone with his girlfriend.

“Oh, right, you were dating that boy-band reject back then.”

Hearing Logan’s derision, Scarlett wished she’d kept her mouth shut, but now that the door was open, she might as well step through.

“We started dating when we were fifteen.” Lost in girlish, idealistic fantasies about love, she’d relished their role as America’s sweethearts, but their private interaction wasn’t nearly as romantic as their public one. “After being fired from That’s Our Hilary because my image was becoming too sexy and getting offered nothing but vampy bad-girl parts, I tried to clean up my image by trotting out this vow of chastity until I got married.” The armies of paparazzi following them had eaten it up. Reacting the way any normal eighteen-year-old boy would, Will had dumped her.

“You’re a virgin?” Logan did a lousy job hiding his amusement behind mock surprise.

“Don’t be absurd.” To punish him, she rotated her hips and rubbed her pelvis against his erection. His eyes glazed with satisfying swiftness. “After Will and I broke up, I discovered celibacy wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.”

“So, you’ve never necked on a couch before,” he prompted. “Anything else I should know about?”

Too much. But those things would have to wait until she had a better handle on what was happening between them. “One revelation per day is all you’re going to get.”

“At this rate, it’ll take the rest of my life getting to know you.”

His offhand remark created a vacuum between them. Scarlett kept her eyes lidded and her breath even as she said, “It never occurred to me that you’d let it take that long. You’re so impatient when it comes to getting answers.”

“Some things are worth waiting for.”

It wasn’t like Logan to be cryptic, but Scarlett had no chance to question him further. His lips returned to hers with more intensity, and she knew the time had come for serious play between them.

When she’d dressed in the lounge suit, she hadn’t planned on Logan’s strong, sure hands smoothing over her curves, but now she was glad she hadn’t slipped into her underwear first. As bare beneath the hot-pink fabric as the day she was born, Scarlett knew the instant Logan’s fingers discovered her secret.

“Scarlett,” he groaned her name as her nipple tightened against his palm. “What you do to me.”

She arched her back and bared her throat for his lips and tongue. After working her into an unsteady mess, he glided his mouth across her collarbone and deposited gentle kisses in the hollow of her shoulder. His chin nudged along the edge of the fabric as he dusted his lips across her breastbone and worked his way toward her cleavage.

The zipper of her lounge suit surrendered beneath the downward pressure of Logan’s fingers. She gasped as cool air washed across her bare skin, but his lips skimmed over her ribs, warming her once more. Desire rushed through her as Logan finished unfastening the jacket and laved her quivering stomach. Sensation lanced straight to her hot core, leaving her head spinning.

Impatience clawed at her, but the man refused to move at the speed she so desperately craved. Now, instead of kissing her lips and neck, he was paying entirely too much attention to her abdomen, rib cage and the ticklish spot just above her hipbone.

“Logan, there are other parts of me that are hungry for your attention.” She tugged on his shirt, urging him to stop ignoring her breasts.

“Are there, now?” He kissed his way upward. “And what might those be?”

“My breasts are feeling very lonely.” She gathered them in her hands and offered him their aching fullness.

With a smile he licked around one nipple. “They are so beautiful, I was saving them for later.”

She was half-mad with the anticipation of having his mouth so close but just out of reach. “Not later,” she insisted as his tongue flicked one sensitive button. “Now.”

“Whatever you say.”

She had never imagined that ordering him to do what she wanted would be so thrilling. A moan ripped from her throat as he pulled her nipple into his mouth and sucked. Scarlett sank her fingers into his thick black hair and held on tight as an ocean swell of pleasure pushed her out of her depths.

“More,” she ordered as he switched to her other breast. “I need more.”

He soothed her with a single word. “Soon.”

But her need for him was escalating too fast and they both had too many clothes on. She grabbed ahold of his belt and tugged to get his attention. “This has to go.”

Unable to budge him, she hooked her fingers in the waistband of her own pants and eased them downward, knowing she couldn’t get them off but hoping he’d get the hint and help her.

“Not yet.”

But as he reached down to tug her hand away, she turned the tables on him and pulled his fingers across her mound.

“Yes,” she purred, parting her thighs still farther to encourage him to explore. She was rewarded by the slide of his finger against her moist heat. “Right there.”

Throwing her head back, she closed her eyes and centered every bit of concentration on the swirl of Logan’s tongue around her breast and the drag of his fingers at her core. She could feel tension invade his muscles and knew what he’d hoped to prolong was moving forward at its own speed, gaining momentum as it swept them toward their ultimate destination.

Her own body was tightening pleasurably. A smile curved her lips as she once again felt the downward drift of Logan’s mouth on her body. This time he didn’t linger at her stomach, but continued to move at a torturously slow pace to the place where she burned.

* * *

Logan eased her pants down her thighs. Blood pumped vigorously through his veins, clouding his vision. He blinked, needing desperately to focus on the exquisite body he was slowly baring—the large, full breasts, tiny waist and flat stomach. The jut of her hipbones and those long, toned legs. Absolutely gorgeous. And all his.

Tossing her pants aside, he settled between her thighs and cupped her round butt in his palms. Her eyes flew open as he set his tongue against her and drank in her essence. As demanding as she’d been a moment earlier, she melted like butter beneath his intimate kisses now. Her fingers clutched at his shirt, gripping hard enough to tear the seams.

He opened his eyes and watched her come apart. As she surged toward completion he experienced a rush of gratitude that he was here, giving her this pleasure. Her mouth opened as her entire body stiffened. His name escaped her in a keening cry.

As she drifted back to earth, he sat up and stripped off his clothes. He pulled a condom out of his wallet and sheathed himself. Any hope of taking his time was smashed by her parted thighs and welcoming arms. He lay back down, and angled his hips until the tip of his erection sat at her entrance. Her arms closed about his neck, her fingers playing with his hair.

“I need to feel you inside me,” she murmured, kissing his chin.

He dipped his head and kissed her soft lips, the contact tender and slow. When her tongue stole out to mate with his, he slipped into her in one smooth stroke and groaned. She clasped him in a snug embrace and the sensation was too much for words. But one stood out in his mind.

“Amazing.”

“Absolutely.”

Moving inside her was the single most incredible thing he’d ever experienced. Somehow she knew exactly how to shift her hips to achieve the ideal friction. Making love on the couch wasn’t ideal, but their shared laughter as they jostled for leverage and strained to pleasure each other with lips, hands and movements made the moment completely perfect and totally theirs.

He’d never imagined feeling such a strong connection with any woman, much less the one who’d been a thorn in his side for five years. Maybe she was right. It had been simple sexual frustration. Once they satisfied their itch for each other, they could go politely on their way, never to take jabs at each other again.

Somehow the idea that he might never get another night with Scarlett filled him with anguish. He kissed her hard, grappling with the notion that his desire for her could ever be fully slaked. But if she continued to drive him crazy, what did that mean for the future?

He quickened his pace as control abandoned him. Scarlett matched his intensity, her expression tight with concentration as they drove together toward completion. As she began to peak, her eyes opened and locked on his. The smile that emerged on her passion-bruised lips speared straight into his heart. It wasn’t carnal or greedy in nature. It was heartbreakingly open. She’d offered him a glimpse into her soul and it was brimming with optimism and hope.

Logan buried his face in her neck to escape what he’d seen, but the image haunted him as he felt her body begin to vibrate. The bite of Scarlett’s nails against his back triggered his own orgasm. Muscles quivering, nerves pulsing with frantic energy, he thrust hard into her and let himself go. Together they crested, voices blending in perfect harmony.

Bodies trembling in the aftermath, they clung to each other. Logan’s chest pumped, drawing much-needed air into his lungs. Scarlett’s fingertips moved languidly up and down his spine, her touch soothing.

Damn. What the hell had just happened?

“Give me a second and I’ll move,” he muttered, his voice raw and shaken. He hoped she would credit the workout they’d just had for causing him to sound so unsteady. She couldn’t find out how his feelings for her had deepened until he could sort out what to do about it.

“Take your time.” Scarlett’s voice was maddeningly relaxed and calm. “I’m enjoying the feel of all this brawn.”

While his heart thumped hard enough to break a rib, Logan kissed her cheek and the corner of her mouth. “Why are you smiling?”

“Are you kidding?” She laughed. “When was the last time you tore someone’s clothes off and had sex on a couch?” Her finger dug into his ribs. “And don’t you dare tell me last week.”

“I did not tear your clothes off.”

“No,” she agreed. “You took way too much time removing them.” She framed his face with her hands and forced his gaze to hers. “Are you okay?”

“I’m the guy,” he reminded her, turning his head so he could kiss her palm. “I’m the one who’s supposed to ask that.”

She twitched her shoulders. “So ask.”

“Are you okay?”

“Never better.”

Logan kissed her lips. “You know, we really should get off this couch.”

“Don’t you dare.” Her arm wrapped around his neck, holding him in a tight vise. “I like it right here.”

“At least let me...” He shifted his weight off her and lay on his back, pinning her on her side between him and the back of the couch. “That’s better,” he said, pulling the conveniently placed throw over their naked, cooling bodies.

“It’s nice.”

With her cheek resting on his shoulder and her body a curvy miracle half-draped over him, Logan closed his eyes and wondered when he’d enjoyed such contentment. Usually he was a burn-the-candle-at-both-ends kind of guy. He spent most of his days overseeing his company’s massive operations here in Las Vegas and his evenings dreaming up better technology to keep his clients’ assets safe.

Taking time for a personal life had been a low priority. Sure, he dated. A guy had needs. But he wasn’t one to linger after a nice dinner and some satisfying sex. He never exactly bolted for the door, but he certainly didn’t stick around long enough to snuggle.

This experience with Scarlett was much different. He was at peace. Delighted to hold her in his arms until the sun came up, watching her sleep or talking. Was it crazy that they argued about everything but blended seamlessly the instant they kissed? Would their differing points of view eventually taint their lovemaking?

It was no surprise that Logan was already thinking in terms of endings. Didn’t he enter every relationship with an eye on how and when it would end? Perhaps it wasn’t fair to the women he saw that he perceived their time together as finite, but his perspective was realistic. Even nine-year relationships ended. That his fiancée could choose her career over him had struck a devastating blow. One he wasn’t going to let happen again.

And he needed to be more wary than ever because slipping into sleep beside him was the first woman since Elle who had the potential to catch him off guard.