Playing with Temptation (10 page)

She couldn’t remember a time she’d felt
so much
, yet her mind came to a screeching halt at the word
submit
and what it implied—a weakness she refused to allow. “I’m not submissive,” she said, somehow managing to sound insistent, despite her flushed, extremely aroused state.

“No, you’re not,” he agreed in a silky tone. Amusement glimmered in his gaze, contradicting every bit of the lazy, exquisite chaos he was causing with his fingers. “Not by nature, anyway, and
that’s
why I chased after you last night.”

Her lashes had fallen half-mast, and she struggled to keep the lust sweeping through her from completely fogging her brain as he withdrew his fingers, then pumped slowly back inside her. “You chased after me because I’m a challenge for you?”

“No, because you fucking excite me,” he growled roughly. “You stimulate me and make me so fucking hot with this push-pull between us.”

Her head fell back on a moan, every nerve ending in her body drawing tighter and tighter with every word he spoke, with every slide of his fingers and thumb against her slick, aching flesh.

He pushed his hard, muscular body up against hers, his hips mimicking the thrust and grind of his hand between her thighs. “I want you to let go and give in to me.” He dipped his head and licked her breast, pulled her nipple into his mouth, and bit gently before soothing the sting with his tongue. “Let me take care of you and your desires. Trust me to know what you need and to give it to you.”

She closed her eyes and whimpered, feeling herself free-falling for his promises, for him. The excruciating need to come was a pool of heat shimmering and undulating in her blood, just out of reach.

“Tell me yes,” he rasped against her neck. “Tell me
yes
, and I’ll show you how good it can be. How good I can make you
feel
.”

She’d never wanted, no, desperately
needed
, an orgasm so badly in her life. “Yes,” she panted shamelessly,
begging
for it just how he wanted. “Oh, God, Logan, please,
yes
!”

Once again he dragged his fingers along that responsive spot inside of her while his thumb pressed and rubbed against her clit. The tension inside of her multiplied, then burst through her with such force she
screamed
, uncaring that the sliding door was open and her neighbors might hear. Her back arched, her hips lifted, and her arms and thighs shook as he relentlessly drove her higher, the pleasure so overwhelming her entire body shuddered with a series of orgasmic aftershocks.

When her breathing finally evened out and her heartbeat slowed, she felt his fingers ease from her body, leaving her feeling oddly empty inside, and not just physically. She was still leaning back on her hands—just barely—and she forced her eyes open and found Logan’s smoky-eyed stare taking in her disheveled state, her flushed breasts, her swollen sex—while he was still fully, completely dressed.

He lifted his gaze to hers, his expression etched with a dark, carnal hunger…and a whole lot of male satisfaction. “That was so fucking beautiful to watch.” Then a slow, arrogant grin curved his sensual lips. “At least we got the begging and screaming out of the way.”

Her complexion heated at the reminder. “Stop gloating,” she said, and pushed her dress back down her legs. “A
gentleman
wouldn’t have pointed that out.”

She readjusted her bra, then started to refasten her top, but he gently brushed her hands aside and did the task for her. “You should know by now that I’m not a gentleman when it comes to dirty, messy sex,” he drawled softly, his eyes dancing with mirth. “And I’m coming to realize that you like it dirty and messy, too, don’t you? Admit it.”

She raised a brow, refusing to provide him with that much leverage. “And give you something else to brag about? I don’t think so.”

He gave her a smile, a flash of sexual promise that made her hot all over again. “By the way, you said yes.”

Yes
to letting go and giving in to him.
Yes
to letting him take care of her and her desires.
Yes
to trusting him to know what she needed, and for him to give it to her. All things she never would have agreed to if he hadn’t held her orgasm for ransom, the rogue.

And now he was looking at her as if he wanted a whole lot more of all those things. “That was completely under duress.”

He chuckled, the sound a sexy rumble in his chest. “I figured you’d try and find a loophole after the fact.” He lifted his hand and oh-so-tenderly grazed his thumb along her jaw, the one action melting every bit of her resolve. “I want you bad, Raina, and considering we’re going to be together for at least the next week, why not take advantage of that time and enjoy what we know will be some really great, dirty, messy, kinky sex?”

He was presenting her with an ideal situation—sex that she already knew would be off the charts and no complicated strings. He wasn’t asking for a commitment or forever, only to later decide she wasn’t good enough, that a woman who owned a boutique that sold sex toys wasn’t marriage material.

Been there, done that, and had the heartbreak to prove it.

He was just offering her pleasure, and lots of it. He was being open and honest about what he wanted—and
honesty
was more than most of the men she’d dated in the past had ever given her. She knew exactly what to expect with Logan…a temporary affair until she no longer needed his bodyguard services. A practical way for the both of them to get this wild attraction to each other out of their systems, without any emotional entanglements.

He was asking for her body, not her heart, and
that
was something she could give him without any regrets.

Giving him a coy smile, she placed her hands on his chest, thinking it very unfair that she hadn’t seen him naked yet. “I’m all for having a bodyguard with benefits for the next week.” Leaning in close, she ran her tongue along his throat as she skimmed her flattened palms down his torso, then cupped the stiff rise in his pants and gently squeezed, more than willing to return the favor he’d just bestowed upon her.

He pushed his erection against her fingers and groaned, except when she started to unbutton his jeans, he grasped her wrist and pulled her hand away.

Confused, she glanced up at his face. “What about you?”

He exhaled a harsh stream of breath and shook his head. Clearly, it had taken extreme effort for him to stop her. “What just happened wasn’t about me, or you repaying a sexual favor. It was about you trusting me enough to give yourself over to me, which you did beautifully.”

His explanation stunned her, left her in awe, and Raina wasn’t sure how to respond to such a selfless act. She couldn’t ever remember a man giving her an orgasm and not expecting one in return. And here was Logan, who’d just redefined the word
foreplay
with his erotic words and the way he’d seduced her body with his clever fingers and touch. He’d taken her on an exquisite, mind-bending journey of sensation and pleasure, all in the name of securing her trust.

“Don’t look at me like I’m a saint, Raina,” he said gruffly. “I’m far from it. I have every intention of seeing you restrained and spread out for me, panting, wet, and willing to do anything I ask. Tonight was easy. Next time, I won’t be so gentle or accommodating.”

Yes, he’d already warned her that he liked to fuck hard and dirty, that he was dominant and aggressive—and the thought caused an undeniable thrill to ripple through her.

He helped her down from the table, and it took her a moment for her still jellified legs to stabilize. Clasping her hand in his, Logan walked them both to the front door, then turned to look down at her, his features serious. “You’re in for the night, right?”

It was a statement more than a question, and she couldn’t help but grin at him. “I promise I won’t be a bad girl and sneak out after you leave.” Honestly, she was exhausted and planned to take a long, hot bath and then go to bed.

“I just want to make sure you don’t go out alone
at all
, not until Dean or Mac figures out what’s going on.” He rubbed his thumb along her knuckles, then let go of her hand. “If you need anything at all, no matter what time it is, call my cell and I’ll be right over.”

God, how long had it been since anyone had taken care of her or worried about her? The answer made her throat tighten. Even if it was part of Logan’s job description as her bodyguard, it felt good to know that if she needed him, he was only a phone call away.

“Thank you,” she said.

He nodded. “I’ll be here at eight thirty in the morning to pick you up.” That was a good hour and a half before she had to be at the store to open for the day. “Why so early?”

“Because we’re going to breakfast.” He gave her an adorably boyish grin that contradicted how masculine and
big
he was, a far cry from a boy. “After I work out in the mornings, I’m ravenous.”

The image of his body all hot and sweaty, muscles flexing as he exercised, made her stomach tighten. “Okay, I’ll be ready.”

“Excellent.” He lowered his head and brushed his lips along her cheek in a too-chaste kiss after everything he’d just done to her. “Have sweet dreams,
sugar
,” he drawled huskily.

“Sugar?” she asked as he pulled back and straightened, wondering where that endearment had come from.

Humor curved his lips and he arched a brow. “Would you rather I call you
spice
?”

Ahh, Sugar and Spice, for her shop. “Cute, but I’d rather not be referred to as a Spice Girl.”

He chuckled, the sound deliciously wicked. “You could be Kinky Spice.”

She couldn’t contain her own laughter. “No, thank you,” she countered just as playfully—another thing she enjoyed about being with Logan. Their ability to flirt and tease one another. Everything about being with him was so effortless and easy.

“Then sugar it is.” Winking playfully at her, he opened the door and stepped outside, giving the area a quick glance before looking back at her. “Lock the door and set the alarm,” he said in a tone very much like an order.

“Yes,
sir
,” she replied and saluted him, not thinking about the implications of what she’d just said.

In the next instant, his gaze darkened, turned a blistering shade of green. “Fuck, that sounds so hot coming from your mouth.” He took a deliberate step back, when Raina suspected he wanted to do the opposite. “Close and lock the door
now
, Raina, before I change my mind and you’re saying the word
sir
under much different circumstances.”

She shivered, and a jolt of renewed desire spiraled deep and low. Obeying his command was more difficult than she imagined when she was so tempted to let those other tantalizing circumstances play out with him, right here and now.

But after the day she’d had and that much-needed orgasm he’d so generously given her, Raina really was tired and not in the right frame of mind to engage in those dominant games her protector wanted to play.

“Good night, Logan,” she said instead and finally shut the door.

She secured the deadbolt, then closed and locked the slider in the dining room before she set the alarm for the evening. It wasn’t until she was in her master bathroom, stripping off her clothes to get into the hot, steaming bath awaiting her, that she realized Logan had stolen yet another pair of her panties.

T
he following morning,
after a hard-core session of cardio and strength training, Logan took a shower, changed, then picked up Raina right on time at eight thirty. He drove them to Perry’s Cafe, his favorite place to have breakfast in Old Town and only a few blocks away from her store. He ate there a few times a week, usually with one or two of the guys from the office, and everyone there pretty much knew him by name.

When they arrived at the restaurant, the young, pretty hostess—who was very shy and sweet but always eager to greet him—seated Logan and Raina in a booth by a window. As soon as they sat down across from one another, June, one of the older waitresses who had been working there forever, came up to the table with two mugs in one hand and a coffeepot in the other.

“Hey good-looking,” she said, greeting Logan with a bright smile as she set a ceramic mug down in front of each of them, then began filling the cups to the brim with the steaming brew as she eyed Raina curiously. “What’s the special occasion, Logan? You’ve never brought a woman here other than your sister. Or is this one special?” she asked and gave Raina a sassy wink that made her blush.

Surprisingly, Logan
did
consider Raina a special exception, and not because she was a client of Noble and Associates. For the first time in a long time, she was a woman he actually
enjoyed
being around outside of The Players Club, which was normally the extent of his “dating” someone. “I think she could be very special, right,
sugar
?”

Raina rolled her eyes at the pet name he’d given her last night and glanced up at June. “Is he always such a sweet-talker?”