Chapter 6
Gaia picked up her bag, physically exhausted and mentally drained. It had been a long day and she was worn out. It seemed as if every client she’d ever worked with had called, needing advice or new ideas. It hadn’t helped that she’d gotten so little sleep last night. And even the sleep she had gotten had been filled with erotic dreams of Logan making love to her.
All she wanted to do now was go home, grab the pint of ice cream in the back of her freezer and have that for dinner. A good glass of wine, a hot bath, and then bed. Not necessarily in that order either.
She’d just pulled on her raincoat when Janice, the office receptionist, burst into her cubicle. “You have a delivery!” she said, sounding breathlessly excited. But that was nothing new. Janice was a sweet lady, and always seemed to be rushing around from one thing to another. She had the energy of three people, but the organizational abilities of a herd of cats!
Gaia looked down at the woman’s hands, startled by the size of the box. “Thanks,” Gaia replied, accepting the big, white box. “What is it?”
Janice shrugged as she stood by Gaia’s desk, clapping her hands and bouncing with excitement. “I have no idea. It came by special delivery just a few minutes ago. The delivery guy seemed nice enough. I can’t imagine anyone sending you something bad. So you need to hurry up and….” Too late. The front office phone dinged, indicating another call coming in.
Janice walked out with a frustrated expression, already heading back to the front desk. Gaia stared at the box in her hands, trying to figure out what it might be. She had no idea and, besides factory samples, she hadn’t ordered anything.
Slipping the red ribbon off, her fingers trembled as she slowly lifted the lid. When she saw the dress inside, she gasped and shoved the top back down, covering the beautiful, designer dress and looking around to see if anyone else had caught a glimpse of the dress.
Grabbing her bag, purse and the box, she hurried out of her cubicle.
“What was in the box?” Janice called out as Gaia rushed through the lobby.
Gaia jumped and looked around, sure that there was guilt in her eyes. “Nothing! Just some samples. I have to…” she had no idea what she had to do anymore. Gone were dreams of a relaxing night, a glass of wine, and much needed sleep. All she could think about now was giving Logan a piece of her mind for sending her such an outrageous delivery!
“It was nothing,” she finally muttered and pushed her way through the ornate doors of her firm. Once out in the late evening sunshine, she hurried to her car, stuffing the box and her bags into the backseat.
Getting into the driver’s seat, she sighed, pressing her forehead on the steering wheel. “That man is going to drive me crazy!” she grumbled to the otherwise empty car.
With an angry growl, she started her car and backed out of the parking lot. Fifteen minutes later, she was pulling into the parking lot of her apartment complex. When she stared at the box in her back seat, she almost left it there, afraid to touch it. The box was becoming like a serpent in her mind, making her doubt her sanity.
“Good grief,” Gaia muttered and grabbed the box and her bags. She was so tired, so wound up and then the man sends this?! Oh, she was so going to give him a piece of her mind.
Inside her apartment, she dumped her bags and her keys onto the sofa, then snatched her cell phone and dialed his number.
“Good evening, my beauty,” he answered. Gaia refused to give him credit for the shivers that raced through her body, going over to the thermostat and adjusting the temperature slightly.
Gripping her cell phone, she tried to calm her racing pulse, but she was too angry. “Don’t you ‘good evening’ me, Logan! What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded. She knew she sounded like a shrew, but she couldn’t help it.
His response was a deep, sexy chuckle and she pictured him in his office, feet kicked up on his desk as he leaned back in that huge, leather chair as he pushed those sexy glasses higher on his nose. “Didn’t sleep well last night?” he asked.
“Uh!” She smacked her open palm against her forehead. “Don’t you dare!”
His only response was a low, almost gentle laugh. “Oh, I dare. When you’re involved, I would dare just about anything.”
Gaia’s mouth fell open with those words. They sounded so…wonderful.
When she realized what she was thinking, she closed her eyes, trying to block out the impact he had on her. Pacing back and forth in her small apartment, she shook her head. “Logan, you sent me a dress! I’m guessing this is a dress for Friday night?’
“Yes. I sent you a dress. I sent you something that I thought you would like and that you would look beautiful in. Is there a problem?”
She could just picture that arrogant smile on his handsome features while he pulled those sexy…no, not sexy but…nerdy glasses from his face.
Taking another deep breath, she turned and faced the white box, which was now laying on her sofa. “Yes. There’s definitely a problem,” she replied quickly. Lifting the top off of the box, she slid the stunning, sexually enticing dress into the air. “I can’t wear something like this! First of all, it is way too expensive. I couldn’t ever afford a dress like this.”
“It’s a gift, Gaia.”
“No!” she quickly replied. “I can’t accept a gift like this. It’s too much.” She stared at the low cut neckline. “And too little.” There was even a slit in the thigh. She never wore dresses with thigh slits! She didn’t have the courage…or the legs… for a dress like this!
“Accept the dress. And wear it for me Friday night. I can’t wait to see you in it. You have great legs and a fabulous figure! I don’t know of another woman who could pull off that dress besides you.”
She shook her head. “Logan, I already have a dress that would be appropriate for Friday night. I can’t accept this dress.”
He made some sort of sound that she took for disagreement. “I doubt that the dresses you have would be right. I’ll come over, you can try them on, and I’ll be the judge of what would be appropriate for Friday.”
The thought of him coming over, especially after what had happened last time he’d been in her apartment, broke her focus. “No!” she gasped, but it was already too late. He’d hung up on her.
She stared at her cell phone, not sure she believed that he’d actually hung up on her. Or was she more horrified that he was on his way over? He couldn’t come over! She couldn’t see him. Not tonight. She was too tired, too worn out. Being around Logan required all of her concentration. Today, she had no concentration. She was too worn out after their interlude last night.
Calling him back, she gritted her teeth when the call went right to voice mail. Texting him, she told him not to come over, but there was only silence in response.
“You’re a horrible jerk!” she yelled at the phone, as if Logan could hear her.
Pacing back and forth, she tried to come up with a plan of action. He was on his way over here and her first thought was to put lipstick on and run a brush through her hair. But when she headed to her bedroom to do that, she stopped and closed her eyes. She wasn’t going to doll herself up for him! He was coming here uninvited! She didn’t want him here. Her stomach was not filled with butterflies in anticipation of seeing him again. She was just painfully hungry because she’d skipped lunch again today!
Gaia thought about grabbing her purse and just leaving. She didn’t need this kind of frustration. But then he would win! He would be running her out of her own house! She had plans for tonight. Yes, they were kind of pathetic plans with a very high priority on sleep, but they were her plans! And more specifically, they didn’t include a tall, handsome, overly arrogant man who…made her feel crazy!
Perhaps if she’d been less tired, or maybe if she hadn’t seen him the night before and knew what he was capable of, she might have pulled herself together faster and come up with a plan. Just leaving her apartment might have shown him that she was serious and he couldn’t tinker with her evenings.
But she was tired, and, the thought of him coming over made her nervous, flustered. So she wasn’t thinking fast enough. Logan was too quick-witted, too intense. He’d have her all confused and seduced before she knew what was going on!
All too soon, there was a knock on her door, quickly followed by the doorbell. She stood there, staring at the door. Glaring might be a better verb for what she was doing. Or maybe not. Maybe it could only be defined as a frantic watching of her door.
She had no clue at this point.
“Open the door, Gaia. I have dinner.”
Dinner?! At that moment, her stomach growled and her angry glare turned to desperate hunger. Placing a hand over her stomach, she knew that her will was weakening.
He must have heard her mental ruminations because he continued, “Come on, Gaia. You know you’re starving. Open up and we’ll just talk.”
Those last three words...she didn’t believe him. But goodness, she wanted to believe him. Was he capable of just talking? She doubted it.
“If you don’t open the door, I’m going to get the building manager to let me in,” he threatened.
Okay, that worked! She could even hear the amusement in his voice, but she still knew that he wasn’t bluffing. The man didn’t bluff! He would follow through on every threat!
With a sigh of resignation, she opened the door. Pulling it open, she stared at him, drinking in the sight of him. He was so darn tall! And every inch of him was just pure, unadulterated alpha male! Even his ridiculously long eyelashes behind those too-hot glasses seemed to be dominant male!
Leaning forward, he placed a chaste kiss on her lips, over before she could even react. “Are you going to invite me in?” he teased.
She leaned her head against the side of the door, frowning up at him. “I didn’t invite you over here. Why on earth would you wait for an invitation to come inside now?”
He laughed, nodding his dark head. “Good point,” and he pressed the door wider until he was inside the door, closing it when he was on the other side.
His smile dropped from his face as he took her in. “You look tired, love. You didn’t sleep well last night, did you?”
She was already shaking her head before she realized what she was admitting. “I just had a hard day at work.”
“Quit your job and come work full time for Steele Industries.”
Gaia laughed as she stepped out of his way. “I would imagine that working for you and your company would be significantly more stressful.”
He smiled slightly. “You might be right, but I could make it much more rewarding for you.”
Gaia couldn’t believe his teasing. Still laughing, she led the way into the kitchen. “I don’t even want to know what incentives you’d offer.” She reached up and took two plates out of the cabinet.
“I brought Chinese for dinner. I didn’t know what you liked, so I just got a bunch of different dishes.” He lifted two heavy bags up and set them on the counter, starting to empty the plastic containers from the bags.
“I love Chinese. There isn’t much I don’t like,” she said, leaning over to peer into the bag. “You got sweet and sour shrimp though, right?” she asked, her mouth watering over the thought of the incredibly unhealthy food. But she was just hungry enough that the thickly battered, deep fried meat covered in a sugary sweet and sour sauce sounded perfect.
“Sweet and sour shrimp, General Tso’s chicken, kung pao chicken and several other items. I think there’s something with seafood in here too.” He continued to unload the bags and she realized that he really hadn’t been kidding. He’d gotten enough to feed an army!
“While I get this out, you go bring me the dresses you are so sure would be appropriate for Friday night. I’ll be the judge and let you know if they are okay or if you should wear what I sent to you this afternoon.”
Gaia laughed. “There’s no way I’m going to wear that dress. I don’t care if you approve or disapprove of my current cocktail dress wardrobe.”
He broke a pair of wooden chopsticks apart and lifted a bite of spicy chicken, holding it out for her.
“Oh!” she sighed and, before she realized what she was about to do or the dangers of her actions, she leaned forward, unconsciously placing her hands flat on his chest as she opened her mouth to take the bite.
Closing her eyes, she savored the taste, enjoying the spicy sauce and the tender chicken. “This is so good,” she moaned. Most Chinese food restaurants, especially the takeout places, overcooked their chicken. Most likely afraid of salmonella poisoning, but the result was tough, chewy chicken. This was not tough. It was tender and flavorful and so very good!
“Oh, that was perfect,” she sighed, her fingers curling slightly in happiness.
Logan watched the woman, wondering if she realized she’d touched him without his prompting. Her fingers were still on his chest and he would be a happy man if they never left. Hell, he’d like to rip off his shirt so that her soft, delicate hands would be against his skin. He wanted all of her naked. No barriers as she touched him, writhed against him as he explored every part of her body.
“More?” he offered, his voice husky. Deep. His body came to life as he watched her. Damn, he wanted this woman! Never had he had to work this hard to get a woman into his bed, but he didn’t mind. He was enjoying the chase, although he knew that he was going to love the success even more.
She opened her eyes and looked up at him, obviously startled by what she’d just done. Thankfully, she didn’t move away.
“Why are you here?” she asked, her voice just as affected by their proximity.
One side of his mouth quirked up. “Because you haunt me, Gaia,” he admitted, open and honest. His truth was just as raw as the rest of him. “Go show me those dresses.”
She pulled back, not sure what she should do.
He could read the indecision in her pretty eyes. “Don’t question it, honey. Just go show me the dresses,” he murmured and picked up another chunk of delicious chicken, holding it out for her. She took it and moaned again with ecstasy before turning away. She was almost to her bedroom door when she started to question why she was blindly following his orders. But in the end, she still went to her closet, pushed back her work clothes and reached in to get the three black cocktail dresses she’d purchased over the years. The shoulders of each dress were a bit dusty because she didn’t use them often. Most of the social events she attended were more casual. But they were decent dresses and she knew that they would be appropriate for just about any cocktail evening event.
Carrying all three out to him, she lifted them higher, standing in front of him, daring him to tell her that they weren’t the right style or fabric. They were good quality and dressy enough for anything that came her way.
Logan looked at the dresses as he leaned against the counter, using the chopsticks with expert skill. He walked over to her and lifted another chuck of chicken to her mouth, which she automatically accepted.
“Go try them on,” he told her. “I can’t determine what they will look like on you when they are just hanging from the hangar.”
She looked up at him, then at each of the dresses. “They’re just black cocktail dresses, Logan. There’s nothing special about them.”
He shrugged slightly. “You are special. So yes, they look like just average dresses, but I’m guessing they will look much better on you than they do on the hanger. If they don’t, then you’re wearing my dress.”
She laughed at his logic and couldn’t help but feel flattered. “Don’t use your charm on me. It won’t work,” she said.
In reply, he offered her another bite of chicken, then nudged her back towards the bedroom. “Show me. And if you need help with the zipper, I’m very good with my hands.”
She laughed at his quip and was halfway to her bedroom, again, before she realized that she was blindly following his orders. Again!
Gaia just accepted that she was more exhausted than she’d thought.
Walking into her bedroom, she closed the door, but not before she glanced back down the hallway. Sure enough, he was still watching her, his eyes almost glowing with heat.
Shaking her head, she closed the door and tossed the three dresses onto the bed, wondering why she was doing this. She wasn’t a wimp. Why was she bowing down to his demands?
Because…
Because she didn’t want revenge on his family, her brother was wrong, and Logan might be terrifying, but there was definitely something between them. No other man had ever made her feel so…feminine. Pretty.
Wanted.
Pulling off her silk blouse and slacks, she stared at the first dress. It was just a simple black sheath dress in silk crepe, but she thought it was a solid, professional outfit, nothing special about it. She twisted slightly, turning to look at herself in the mirror and realized that she’d lost a bit of weight, so the dress wasn’t as flattering as she’d remembered.
Not bothering to find the shoes to go with this particular dress, she stepped out of her bedroom and walked down the hallway.
Standing awkwardly in the doorway to her kitchen, she glared up at him, daring him to criticize her dress.
Oh, he dared!
But first, those green eyes traveled up and down her figure in the black dress and she had no idea what he was thinking. But she also knew that she wouldn’t have long to wait. Logan was nothing if not blunt.
“It’s a chastity dress,” he told her flatly.
Gaia burst out laughing, completely forgetting to hide her dimples. She should be offended but...well, it wasn’t the most flattering dress. “Don’t hold back, Logan,” she said when her laughter subsided.
He leaned down and kissed her. “I never do,” he told her. “Go try the next one,” and he lifted another bite to feed her. This time it was the sweet and sour shrimp but these were in smaller bites, thankfully. Normally, the sweet and sour shrimp were huge, three or four bite pieces.
On her way back to her bedroom, she felt a bit more relaxed but was unaware of the saucy sway of her hips.
Logan noticed and almost choked on the bite of shrimp. He couldn’t pull his eyes away and his body, already alert, went into full, aching, painful erection mode. Damn, but the woman didn’t know how powerful she was! He instinctively knew she wasn’t doing it consciously. There was no coy glance over her shoulder, no come-hither smile…unfortunately.
So instead of barging into her bedroom like he wanted to do, tossing all of the dresses onto the floor and then her onto what he knew would be a perfectly made bed, he held back and took several deep breaths, trying to get his body back under control.
He thought he’d done a fairly good job of that, but then she walked out again. No, this dress, another black one, was just as demure as the last one, but Gaia was in it. He was finding that it didn’t really matter what she was wearing as long as she was in the outfit. He was immediately hard and throbbing with the need to make love to her, to hear her cry out with release and then he wanted to see that beautiful smile after she climaxed in his arms.
“How’s this one?” she asked, those luminous golden eyes looking up at him. He forgot to swallow.
“You’re beautiful,” he told her, not even looking at the dress.
When she smiled this time, he noticed a slight tinge to her cheeks and he gripped the chopsticks to keep himself from grabbing her.
“But the dress is horrible.”
Another burst of laughter. “I know. I didn’t realize how frumpy these dresses are.” Stepping forward, she took the container of Chinese food out of his hands and sauntered back to her bedroom. “Hey!” he called out, feigning an objection to her theft.
She glanced over her shoulder. “Consider this penance for being so blunt,” she told him.
He crossed his arms over his chest, enjoying her feisty attitude. “You like my bluntness,” he called out a moment before she closed the bedroom door again. Logan chuckled as he picked up another container of food, opened another package of chopsticks.
He was in trouble, he thought. Big trouble!
Gaia leaned against the bedroom door, her eyes staring up at the ceiling as she tried to get her panic under control. Good grief, she was in trouble! That man could send her senses spinning harder and faster than she’d thought possible! How could he have such an effect on her? And it seemed so effortless!
Staring at her bed, she wondered what it would be like if she just gave in to the need clamoring inside of her. Just one night. One perfect, amazing night in Logan’s arms. She knew that he would make it wonderful for her.
She reached for the door handle, about to ask him to come in here and…and what? Make love to her? Have sex? Was there even a difference?
She barely knew the man! And he was sort of her boss! Well, okay, not really. Not in any way, actually. But even if he wasn’t her boss, what she was contemplating still wasn’t right.
Good grief, her brother was trying to bankrupt Logan’s family! This was wrong! So very wrong!
She couldn’t do anything with Logan until she’d convinced her brother to leave them alone and move on with his life. Probably the only way to do that was to convince Logan that the waterfront project wouldn’t work. She knew buildings. She could go over the building with him and point out all of the problems, the dangers of the building.
Yes, discouraging him on moving forward with the building renovation seemed like the right thing to do. At this point, there wasn’t any money lost. She could do this!
But no, she couldn’t be with Logan. Not ever. Not with the way her brother felt about the Steele family. It just wouldn’t be ethical.
Taking a deep breath, she nodded her head. She was better now. She knew what she needed to do. She was back in the game. No sex with Logan. No matter how much she wanted it, she couldn’t, morally, be with him.
Slipping on the next dress, she stared at herself in the mirror. Why did she have three black cocktail dresses? Why had she bought three dresses in basically the exact same style? It made no sense! This one was a bit lower cut than the other two, but since the first one came up to her neck and this one had a rounded neckline, it wasn’t saying much. There was absolutely no cleavage showing in any way.
“Gaia?” Logan called out. “Is it that bad? This last one can’t be as bad as the other two!”
Gaia snorted with laughter. Stepping out of the bedroom, she tried to glare at him. But when he just rolled his eyes, she couldn’t help it. “Okay! I know! They’re all very…boring. But they are professional and stylish.”
Logan popped a piece of broccoli into his mouth, set down the food and walked over to the box where she’d left the rose colored dress. “Here. Try this one on and then tell me what you think.”
She looked up at him, the sparkle in his eyes coming across as dangerous. Not dangerous in a physical way, but dangerous to her very recent vow.
Gaia thought about telling him no, that she needed to just wear one of the black dresses. But the look in his eyes, that challenging, I-dare-you look, was back in his eyes. He knew what she was thinking! How could he read her so easily?!
“Fine!” she snapped as she took the dress, careful to not touch his fingers again. “But I’m not wearing it Friday night,” she told him firmly. “This dress isn’t professional.”
“It will look perfect on you.”
She glanced down at the tag, hoping that it was the wrong size. But it wasn’t! Darn it!
“It’s the right size,” he told her with a chuckle, correctly reading her actions.
She glared up at him. “How did you…” she stopped before finishing that question. “Never mind. I don’t want to know how you gained your feminine expertise.”
He laughed. “Oh, you’re going to benefit from my extensive feminine expertise, Gaia. Never doubt that.”
Gaia didn’t. Doubt him, that is. Taking the dress, she walked back into her bedroom, more stiffly this time. Her stomach was doing somersaults and her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest. She just hoped that he couldn’t see the impact he had on her. She had to have some secrets! And obviously, her thoughts weren’t very private. Not around him!
She quickly slid the black dress off and tossed it onto the bed, right on top of the other two dresses, as well as her slacks and blouse from the day. It occurred to her that her bedroom was looking like a stripper’s hangout.
Turning away from the mirror, she pulled on the amazingly beautiful dress, already loving the way it clung to her curves. The material was softer than she’d thought possible and the way the rose material felt against her skin…! It should be itchy and scratchy with the rhinestones all over the netting material of the sleeves, but the whole dress was amazingly soft! The deep V neckline of the dress was much more than she was used to. She’d never worn anything like this. In fact, she had to unzip the dress and slip her bra off because the edge of her bra was showing. It didn’t matter. The dress had built in support and when she turned to look in the mirror, she couldn’t believe the image staring back at her.
The way the dress was made seemed to tuck in at her waist, making her waist look several inches smaller. And the way the rhinestones on the bodice were placed, it created the illusion of a tiny waist and fuller bust. The only word that popped into her mind was, “Wow!”
She’d thought she’d said that word out loud, but then realized that it was Logan standing in her bedroom doorway. Turning sharply, she caught his eyes as they moved down her body, heating her up and making those summersaults in her stomach turn to back flips.
“Now that’s the dress you will be wearing Friday night,” he told her, his voice deep and husky as he moved deeper into the bedroom. He took both of her hands and pulled them away from her body, not allowing her to hide from him. “You look stunning, Gaia,” he whispered.
She started to pull back, reading his intention in his eyes. “Don’t,” he told her firmly, his fingers tightening on her hands. “I’m going to kiss you.”
She shook her head, her entire body trembling with…anticipation? Fear? Most likely both. “Not a good idea. Let me change clothes and I’ll come out to the kitchen.”
He shook his head in response, slipping those sexy glasses off and tucking them into a pocket. “No. It won’t make a difference if I kiss you here or in the kitchen, in that dress or whatever you might put on later. I’m still going to kiss you.”
She knew she should stop him, but instead, her head lifted, her lips softened and she moved closer to him. Just one more attempt to discourage him, she told herself. It would soothe her conscience later. “The kitchen is safer.” Her fingers touched those glasses, wondering what he could see without them covering his eyes. Damn, he looked hot! With or without those glasses…and the implication of his glasses off…in his pocket. Her stomach tightened in anticipation.
He smiled slightly. “No place is safe when you are close by,” he replied. A moment later, he covered her mouth with his, not giving her an opportunity to argue. One of his hands dropped hers, coming up to cup her jaw, tilting her head as he gently, slowly made love to her mouth.
His hands had already discarded the clip holding back her hair and now his fingers tangled in the locks, pulling her head back so that he could deepen the kiss. “Logan,” she whispered, not sure if she was telling him yes or no. She just knew that she loved the way he was touching her, the way he kissed her. He had already unzipped the back of her dress without her even knowing that his hands were behind her. A moment later, he lifted her up and spread her legs. She had only a fraction of a second to absorb the fact that she was now sitting on her dresser with Logan between her knees. His hands scooped up her bottom and pulled her closer.
With a gasp, Gaia realized that she was now intimately pressed against that hard, throbbing erection. Perhaps it was a good thing that Logan didn’t give her time to realize what was happening because she might have stopped him.
But then again, she might not have. Everything he’d done to her so far had felt incredibly good. What could he possibly do next?
She shouldn’t have wondered. The man didn’t pull back. His fingers shifted higher on her waist, her breath catching in her throat when, as his green eyes looked down into her golden gaze, his hands smoothed away the top of her dress, pushing it lower.
“Gaia!” he breathed as he looked at her bare breasts, freed from all restraints and falling into his hands. Cupping them lovingly, his thumbs moved higher, circling each areola as he continued to keep her eyes prisoner with his own.
Gaia trembled, her body aching with the need to feel him touch her. Just a small touch. She’d be perfectly satisfied if she could just have his thumbs rub very softly against her…He did it!
“Again,” she whispered, her voice choking as the need reared up hotter and heavier than she’d thought possible. He followed her plea and her body shuddered, curling inward slightly. Both of her hands came up to capture his thumb, her fingers pressing that digit against her nipple. “Please,” she begged once again. Logan complied with her plea, rubbing that sensitive peak gently. “Harder,” she cried out, bowing her head because she was just too desperate for more.
“Look at me, Gaia,” he grumbled, holding his thumbs away from her breasts until she complied.
When her eyes opened up, she was only aware of the sensuous haze that surrounded her as well as the desperate need to have him touch her nipples again. And again.
“Put your hands behind you and lean backwards,” he told her, his thumbs rubbing back and forth against those beautiful peaks. When she didn’t immediately comply, he pulled his hands away, almost smiling at the desperate sound her throat emitted when he was no longer touching her.
“Logan,” she whimpered, pressing her hands against his, needing him to touch her.
“Hands on your dresser, Gaia. Do it now,” he commanded with a hard edge to his voice that sent shivers of anticipation surging through her whole body. His thumbs caressed her nipples, telling her without words that, if she complied, she would get what she wanted.
She placed her hands behind her on the wooden top of her dresser, then moved her eyes, cloudy and hazy with need, back to his. Her reward was to feel his thumbs pressing against her nipples in a different way, sending shock waves throughout her whole body. Every brain wave was focused on his fingers against the overly sensitive peaks and she couldn’t hold her body still. Her hips kept moving and, no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop herself from pressing against that hard ridge that was…oh, goodness, it was exactly where her body needed it to be!
“No!” she gasped when his mouth covered her right nipple while his thumb and forefinger teased the left and she would have screamed, but the intensity was too much. But by this time, his lips, his tongue, and even his teeth were involved. She was also leaning back too far. If she lifted her hands to push him away, she would tumble backwards on the dresser. Shifting her body away from him didn’t work since his strong hands simply held her in place when she tried to move. In fact, he actually arched her further back by pressing his hands against the small of her back and leaning closer. In this position, she was completely at his mercy.
She quickly discovered that Logan had none!
“I can’t!” she screamed, her legs lifting higher to wrap around his waist as she grabbed his shoulders.
“You can,” he argued. But then his lips were right back on her nipple. Then to her other nipple. She couldn’t believe how incredible that felt! Writhing against him, she wasn’t sure if she wanted him to stop, or if she might punch him if he did stop. Either way, she was too enthralled by the incredible pleasure that was almost too pleasurable. Unconsciously shifting against him again and again, she pressed her breasts closer and he sucked hard on one while pinching the other.
That was all it took to take her right over the edge. She couldn’t hold back the scream when her body seemed to burst into stars. Everything inside of her was throbbing, her body aching as pleasure surged over and over again. Her arms were like manacles around Logan’s neck as the pulsing continued. She had no idea what else was going on in the room or in the world. All she could attest to was the incredible throbbing that was overwhelming her.
Slowly, very slowly, her body came back to earth. It took her a long moment to realize that she was almost choking him and she released the tension in her arms, but even that seemed like a monumental effort. Cell by cell, muscle by muscle, her body relaxed until she felt like a limp noodle in his arms.
Gaia opened her eyes, not sure what had just happened. She noticed that Logan was still holding her and her arms actually hurt from holding onto him. Relaxing her arms, she looked up into his green eyes. His green, triumphant eyes.
“You okay?” he asked.
Gaia wasn’t sure. Was she okay? She felt like singing. Laughing and dancing. But… “What just happened?” she asked him.
He laughed then, giving up on holding back. “You just climaxed in my arms, honey.” He moved slowly, his hands smoothing against the bare skin of her legs.
That was startling. “NO! No, I didn’t do that!” she snapped and ineffectively tried to push away from him. She suddenly realized she was sitting on her dresser in a completely undignified manner, her knees spread wide to accommodate his hips and the rose colored dress around her waist, her breasts naked and bare for him to see. Pulling up the dress, she shook her head as she tried to hide her nakedness from his triumphant gaze. “Please, this isn’t…”
The doorbell rang at that moment and her eyes widened in fear. The only person who would come to her place unannounced was Freddy. Good grief, Logan was here as well as her brother? Planets were colliding. This was not going to end well.
“Are you expecting someone?” he asked, his voice hardening as he watched her tug at the dress.
Her body froze with his angry tone. “No! I wasn’t expecting anyone. Not even you,” she whispered in a harsh voice, trying to cover up and get down from her dresser. Good grief! She’d actually…on her dresser! Of all the pieces of furniture that one could…do…that on! Why the dresser? That was a new one. She’d never read about dressers in any romance novel! “Please Logan, you have to go!” She was struggling to get her arms into the sleeves of the beautiful dress, cringing at its recent abuse.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He did give her space to get her clothes in order, even stepping forward to zip up the back. She shivered despite her anxiety over whoever was at the door since her body still hadn’t come down off the intense pleasure she’d just…he’d so recently…. Gaia sighed, rubbing her forehead to try and get her mind away from what Logan had just done to her. And what she’d like him to do again!
Before she could admonish herself for wanting something she shouldn’t want, her cell phone started ringing. “Good grief!” she muttered, her face flaming with color as she tried to figure out how to get out of this painfully awkward situation. Doorbell ringing with an irate brother, cell phone ringing with what would most likely be work related and a large, incredibly aroused male standing in front of her.
Unfortunately, after what she’d just gone through, she couldn’t think very quickly. Although, she might not be able to blame her lack of brain functioning on her most recent climax…well, not completely on the climax. Her brain was never fully functional when Logan was around, she thought.
Focusing on one problem at a time, she turned to face Logan. He really was the biggest threat anyway. “Please, you have to go. Whoever is at the door,” she said, looking down at her cell phone, “you can’t be here. And this is my boss!”
Logan’s fists rested on his lean hips and she had to pull her eyes away from that area, astounded by the impressive erection that was still there, despite the chaos around them.
“Your boss is calling to give you details on the renovation of the factory building. We’re moving forward, although all the details haven’t been worked out yet.” He paused to grin down at her. “I’m now your client.”
With those words combined with the possessive gleam in his eyes, Gaia gasped, staring up at him in horror. “I’ve just…,” she looked up at him. As understanding dawned on her, she realized that the situation had just become ten times worse!
“No! You’re not my client!”
Her cell phone continued to ring and she glanced down at it, then back up at Logan, her stomach tightening with dread. She pushed her hair out of her eyes with one hand while she tried to come to terms with the error of what she’d just done. “Please, tell me I didn’t almost have sex with a client!” she yelped, horrified at her lack of decorum and professionalism.
Turning her back on Logan, she pressed the answer button on her phone. “Hi Jim,” she greeted, waving to Logan, silently begging him to leave her bedroom. It was just too intimate, having him here in her personal space. Besides, her bedroom was dainty and delicate. There was nothing dainty or delicate about Logan. He was all male. Huge, domineering, alpha male with testosterone seeping out of every pore, an enormous aphrodisiac, and definitely throwing off her equilibrium.
Even as she greeted her caller, her doorbell rang three more times in quick succession, causing her anxiety to increase. There was only one person who would be so rude as to repeatedly ring her doorbell. Freddy.
Her brother was going to be furious seeing Logan here in her apartment. It wouldn’t help that she was wearing a sparkling cocktail dress. And…Oh no! There were Chinese food containers all over the countertop! It looked like she was entertaining Logan here in her apartment.
A noise in her ear caught her attention and she pulled her eyes away from Logan, startled by the masculine voice talking to her. “Yes! I’m sorry. I’m still here,” she said to her boss who was trying to get her attention. He said something else, but her focus was mostly on the huge man standing behind her, refusing to vacate her bedroom. “Yes. I understand,” she said, even though she had no idea what her boss had just said as she held her breath, praying that Logan wouldn’t…
A heavy hand rested on her shoulder and she tensed, swinging around. She looked up into his green eyes, once again losing herself as she tried to interpret Logan’s expression. He seemed concerned and some of the tension dissipated slightly.
Shaking her head, she moved around him, thinking she really needed to hear whatever it was her boss was telling her while, at the same time, trying to push Logan out of her bedroom. But the man was too big, too tall. If he didn’t want to move, he wasn’t moving. No matter how much she pushed or shoved, he was standing there.
“Go!” she whispered harshly, pressing the phone to her chest.
Those amazing lips compressed and images of what he’d just done to her flashed through her mind, distracting her even more.
“I’m not going,” he told her firmly. “We need to talk.”
She frantically shook her head, not even half listening to her boss. “No. We don’t need to talk. I need to discuss something with my boss and my brother is outside my apartment. We can talk tomorrow!”
Logan looked down at her, undecided. Something was telling him that he should stay and discuss what had just happened in the bedroom. But the look in her eyes was pleading with him to understand.
Relenting, at least for now, he sighed heavily. It went against every instinct inside of him, but his hands dropped from his hips and he pulled her closer, ignoring the man droning on through the cell phone, completely unaware that his listener was focused on something else. “Fine,” he grumbled. “I’ll pick you up for breakfast tomorrow.” With that, he bent down and kissed her, just a brief kiss, but she still felt it all the way down to her toes. And he knew it too!
Thankfully, he grabbed his jacket from the chair on which he’d tossed it earlier and walked to the door. The doorbell rang three more times as his hand rested on the doorknob and he looked back at her, a dark eyebrow lifted as if he were questioning the sanity of opening the door to someone so rude.
But Gaia had already lifted her cell phone to her ear and was partially listening to her boss relay details about the consulting agreement he’d negotiated with Steele Industries for her services. She didn’t catch all of the particulars because she was too intent on trying to mentally avoid the standoff between her brother and the man who had stormed into her life, even though she kept trying to push him out of it.
On any other day, she would have resented the strange look between herself and…whatever Logan might be in her life…but at this particular moment, she couldn’t even interpret it. Between her boss talking on the phone, Logan standing here in front of her and her own flustered memories of what he’d just done to her not to mention her brother on the other side of the door who was going to be furious about everything, she couldn’t really figure out all of the right moves. Not right now.
The world was too chaotic and she was mentally bracing for her brother’s furious reaction when Logan opened the door.
Sure enough, an incredibly impatient Freddy was right there, about to ring the doorbell again. The startled look on his angry face was priceless! He stared up at Logan who silently glared right back down at him, not giving an inch.
There was a short, tense standoff between the two men, one overly large and muscular, the other just an average guy, but neither moved. The standoff lasted for several strained moments, but finally Logan stepped forward and, thankfully, Freddy backed away, making room for Logan’s departure.
A moment later, Logan gave her a look that warned her that their conversation was not over. Gaia swallowed past the lump in her throat, since they really hadn’t had much of a conversation tonight. It had been…Logan had just…
Gaia closed her eyes for a moment, trying to block the past half hour from her life. It might have happened, but she didn’t need to acknowledge it. Yep, the head in the sand approach would work quite nicely at the moment.
When she opened her eyes, she realized that Freddy was just standing in her doorway, staring at Logan’s retreating back. Gaia had no idea what was going through her brother’s mind, but she couldn’t focus on Freddy at the moment. Her boss was still on the phone, saying something about an important meeting tomorrow at the Steele Industries offices and she was to report to them for final instructions in the morning. Gaia didn’t get all of the details, too frantic, angry, confused and still trying to come to terms with what had happened in her bedroom only moments ago.
For a brief, crazy moment, she wondered if her brother or boss could tell what she’d done, what she’d just experienced in the arms of a man she shouldn’t even be talking to. But then she took a deep breath, smoothed her hand through her hair and closed her eyes, trying to focus on one thing at a time. No use borrowing trouble, she told herself soothingly. And in the bigger picture, she hadn’t really done anything wrong. Not really. Morally, yes, she’d violated her personal rules, but in all other aspects, she was an adult and could kiss and…do anything else she wanted to do with a man.
Slow, steady breaths and she nodded her head several times, acknowledging her boss’ words even though she still couldn’t really absorb or understand what he was saying. It felt like everything was tumbling down around her at the moment.
Her boss finished and Gaia realized that she needed to respond. “Yes, I understand. Okay, I’ll be there early tomorrow and will update you as soon as I have more information,” she said to her boss, hoping that he hadn’t said anything else because she was clueless. “I’ll submit a summary of my conversations with Steele Industries about the waterfront project so that you’ll be in the loop.”
She heard her boss laugh softly. “You don’t have to go into too much detail, Gaia. Just a quick e-mail every once in a while will suffice. And know that we are always here to help. So don’t feel like our firm is abandoning you just because we’re contracting you out to another firm. You’re an outstanding designer.”
Gaia smiled slightly with his kind reassurance and unexpected praise. “Thank you, Jim. I appreciate your confidence.”
“I’ll get off the phone now. It sounds like there was a bit of chaos happening when I first called. Everything okay?”
Was everything okay? She wasn’t really sure. Gaia looked at Freddy who was now staring at all of the food on her countertop. “Definitely. Just my brother stopping by for a quick visit. He likes to annoy me by ringing the doorbell impatiently.” Freddy’s wide-eyed gaze swung towards her and she simply lifted her eyebrows in response, daring him to contradict her statement.
Her boss laughed, obviously having dealt with siblings himself. “Well, I can understand brothers, being one myself. They can be the best and the worst in our lives, I know. Talk to you later, Gaia.”
Gaia smiled, genuinely touched by his acknowledgment of sibling issues. “Thank you, Jim,” and she hung up the phone, taking a deep breath. Goodness, how had such a boring evening turned into a chaotic string of events?
As friendly as Jim was at the moment, Freddy was the exact opposite. Normally, she would try to pacify him, but tonight, after all she’d gone through with Logan, she wasn’t in the mood for his irrational, paranoid rant.
“Don’t you dare say a word!” she snapped when he opened his mouth to start. She knew where he was about to go and she didn’t want to hear it again. “First of all, you will not ever ring the doorbell repeatedly in that manner again. Repeated ringing is rude and inconsiderate. I am not your servant or a butler. You may ring the doorbell once and I will answer my door when I get to it. Not before. And if I don’t want to answer the door, then I won’t!” She felt empowered both by her speech as well as the shocked widening of Freddy’s eyes. “Furthermore, you are no longer allowed to just drop by my place anytime you want. Obviously, I have a life. You are my brother and I love you, but a bit of forewarning would be greatly appreciated. So unless you have a dire emergency, and if that’s the case, you darn well better call me and disturb me, but otherwise, you will respect my time and my privacy and call first! I won’t mind if you call and are already on your way over, but just dropping by unannounced is annoying.”
Freddy’s shock quickly transformed to anger, his eyes darkening at those words. “Only because I caught you consorting with the enemy! How could you be here with that man! He’s not good, Gaia! You know what he did to our family!”
Gaia put a hand to her forehead, trying to calm down, to suppress her impatience but it was difficult. She was tired, she’d just done something with the man in question that had seemed incredibly wonderful at the time and she was so tired of Freddy’s preoccupation with revenge against the Steele family. Taking a deep breath, she looked at him with both firmness and compassion. “Freddy, this obsession you have with the Steele brothers is not only wrong, it is like a sickness. You need to get help. The Steele brothers didn’t destroy our family. Dad did. He drank himself to death, leaving us to pick up the pieces.” She shook her head and corrected herself. “No, that’s not right. He left me to pick up the pieces. You haven’t helped. You won’t keep a job even if you like it. You won’t move on with your life!”
“Because the Steele family needs to pay!” he practically whined.
“No!” she snapped back at him, lifting her hand to stop his next tirade. “No, the Steele family does not need to pay! They did nothing wrong. I’ve listened to your arguments for the past several years, but they haven’t ever made sense!”
Freddy’s face turned red with his fury at her words. “You believed what I was saying before!”
Gaia gritted her teeth, trying to figure out how to get through to him. “No, Freddy. I never agreed with your arguments. I didn’t disagree though, which was wrong too. I didn’t want to lose you. You’re the only family I have and I was scared that, if I didn’t allow you to vent, then you would do something rash.” She moved closer to him, taking his hands in hers gently. “But Freddy, your anger is not right. Something is wrong here. I need you to go see a doctor. I’ll even go with you. I’ll help you however I can, but this isn’t right. You’re trying to hurt people that don’t deserve to be hurt.”
Freddy was livid now. Whipping his hands out from her gentle grip, he stepped backwards, his eyes on fire with an inner rage that scared her. “You’re in love with him!” he shouted in an accusatory voice. “You’re in love with him and you’ve turned on me!”
Gaia was stunned. “Freddy, what are you talking about? Who am I in love with? And no, I haven’t turned on you. You’re the only family I have left!”
Freddy’s hands flailed out, dismissing her words. “You’re in love with him! And don’t you dare try and tell me that the guy leaving here a minute ago wasn’t one of them!” he said, the last word coming out as an epithet.
Gaia couldn’t believe the vitriol that Freddy was spewing. “I guess I should have seen this a while ago, but I kept thinking it was just…something else.” Putting her hands on his shoulders, she looked at her handsome brother through clearer eyes now. He was only an inch or two taller than she was and, after being around Logan, who always felt like a giant, Freddy wasn’t so bad. “Freddy, would you please let me help you?”
He smacked her hands away and moved away from her, pacing her small family room, his shoulders tense as he navigated around her sparse furniture. “You can help me! By bringing down that family! You just need to convince them to go through with the project down by the waterfront. I know they’ll sink a lot of money into that project if you point out all of the good aspects of that building.” He stopped pacing and looked at her, suddenly seeming lost but still angry, almost as if he were blaming her now. “You have an honest face, Gaia. People believe you when you say something.” He smiled and laughed slightly. “Maybe that’s why you’re so in demand with all of your ritzy clients and don’t have time for me anymore.” He shrugged, not even looking over at her, not noticing her horrified expression at his words. “It doesn’t matter. Help me with this, finish what you said you would do, and I’ll stop.” He glared harshly at her then, waiting impatiently for her answer.
Gaia was more hurt than she cared to admit. But she wasn’t going to allow him to malign her job any longer. His words weren’t fair and she couldn’t hold back her anger. Not this time. “Freddy, I am just starting to be in demand, but it isn’t because I have an honest face,” she snapped sharply. “It’s because I work hard and I’m good at my job.” He started to interrupt her but she held up a hand, stopping whatever wounding words he was going to utter next. “They trust me because I listen to them and help them realize their dreams. Which is exactly what I thought I was doing for you, but this…obsession…it isn’t healthy.”
He flailed his hands wildly in the air. “I don’t have an obsession!” he roared back. “I have a healthy desire to give our family the revenge Dad deserves!”
He wasn’t listening! He didn’t even want to see reason regarding their father! “No, Freddy! Dad was a drunk! He was addicted to alcohol and he didn’t get help!”
Of course, Freddy ignored her. “Are you going to help me or not? Am I going to have to take down that family by myself? Or are you going to be my sister and honor Dad’s memory by helping me?”
Gaia looked at him carefully, seeing him a bit more clearly now. Her mind worked frantically, trying to come up with a way out of this problem. “I told you I’d help you. In fact, I have a meeting with two of the brothers tomorrow morning and I believe it is to go through the waterfront building and examine the structure. Teague Steele is in charge of construction and knows buildings better than I know the shoes in my closet,” she explained, trying to lower her voice to try and help him gain control of his own temper. “Logan is a brilliant architect. They’ll both be looking at the building, at the structure, and the materials to see if there is anything that can be saved. I’ll be with them and can point out whatever I see,” she told him, not mentioning her personal plan of getting him to seek out help. “But if I’m going to do that, I want you to do something for me.”
“What’s that?” he sneered. “Make dinner for the two of you so that you can get all cozy again, just like you were doing tonight?”
Not giving into his taunt, she shook her head. “No. I need you to talk with someone. I’ll set up the meeting, but you have to promise me that you’ll talk to this person.” She needed him to see a therapist, someone who could evaluate his state of mind. She was starting to suspect that something wasn’t connecting correctly in his brain. “Will you do that for me?”
He shrugged dismissively and crossed his arms over his chest. “Sure. I’ll do that for you if you’ll follow through on your end of the bargain.”
She stared into his eyes, trying to discern if he was telling her the truth or not. Unfortunately, all she saw was his anger. An unhealthy, strange anger that frightened her now that she was really looking at it with different eyes. But he’d agreed and she suspected that was the best she was going to get for the moment. If it got him in to see a therapist, then at least it was a first step. “Fine. I’ll make the appointment for you and I’ll even go with you, if that will make you feel more comfortable.”
He snorted. “I don’t need to talk to anyone, but if it will get you to follow through on your promise, then yeah. I don’t need you to hold my hand though. I’m a big boy now, Gaia. Just tell me where and when. I'll be there.” A moment later, he pushed past her, stalking to the doorway. “Don’t let me down.” And then he was gone.
The silence in her apartment was eerie, she thought. Looking around, she couldn’t believe all that had transpired over the past few hours. She’d come home just wanting a glass of wine, a warm bath, and sleep. Boy, had her plans gone awry!
Gaia glanced at her watch, shocked to find that it was still only about eight o’clock. It felt like it should be well after midnight!
With a sigh, she walked into her kitchen and put away all of the food containers, stacking them into her fridge. She hadn’t had much to eat tonight, but the thought of food right now turned her stomach.
When she entered her bedroom, she came to a standstill as she looked at all of the clothes spread over her bed. Only then did she glance down and realize that she was still wearing the sparkling rose dress. That’s when her mind flew back to being in Logan’s arms, the things he’d done to her body! Her hands came up to cover her breasts, her body aching once more to feel that thrilling exhilaration.
And yet, she couldn’t let that happen again. First of all, she wasn’t really sure how she could face Logan again. Not after what she’d let him do to her. His hands and his mouth…the way he’d kissed and pulled, tugged and tormented her nipples. Goodness, she could still feel the aching need that had overwhelmed her! And then that explosion…
She took a deep breath and leaned her open hands against her dresser, then quickly pushed away as if she’d been burned, remembering that this was the place of her seduction at the hands of an expert.
Covering her face, she tried to obliterate the memories from her mind, not wanting to think about it, not wanting to remember. But they were there, the feelings, the images and that explosion! Goodness, the pleasure had been more intense than she ever could have imagined possible! She wanted that again, but she didn’t want to want that!
In a burst of self-disgust, she unzipped the dress and carefully folded it back into the tissue paper, putting everything back into the box and closing it up. When that was done, she had to slide the box underneath her coffee table, not wanting to see the box. It taunted and tormented her with the memories of what had come after she’d slid that amazing dress on. Or more specifically, what had happened when Logan had slid that dress down, baring her breasts to his intense gaze.
Shivering, she shook her head and walked away from the family room. Apparently, even being in the room with the dress was too much for her.
She finally poured herself a glass of wine, hoping it would help her stop thinking of that moment, the way it had felt to have his hands cup her breasts, or how she’d loved the way his mouth had captured her nipple, his teeth grazing against the tip….
“No!” she snapped to the empty room. “Don’t think about it!”
Walking into her bedroom, she stepped into the shower, turning the water to barely lukewarm. She’d wanted a long, soaking bath, but that was out of the question now. No way was she getting into a warm bath, the water soothing over her skin, just like Logan’s…
“Stop!” she said out loud, startling even herself.
Her phone buzzed and she glanced over at it as if it might turn into a serpent. Fortunately, it sat there on her bed, looking innocuous. But it buzzed again, indicating that another text had come in.
She wrapped a towel around her nakedness and walked over to the phone. Staring down at it, she felt her heart rate pick up speed. It wasn’t a message from Logan, she told herself. He was gone, had probably headed to a bar, looking for a less complicated woman and was happily trying to seduce her at this very moment.
She tried to tell herself it was most likely Freddy or her boss.
Forcing her feet to move forward, she carefully lifted the cell phone, trying to convince herself that it wouldn’t reach out and bite her.
The warm, fuzzy feeling that enveloped her as she read the words was shockingly strong. “You okay?” read the first message. “Let me know if you need any help.”
For some reason, she’d expected messages from Logan to be more sexual in nature. Maybe something more along the lines of, “I loved watching you earlier,” or “Can’t wait to finish what we started.” So, a message simply asking if she was okay made her feel…cared for? No, that couldn’t possibly be right.
But yes, she re-read the messages, completely unaware of the smile forming as she typed back, “I’m good. Thanks.” She probably should text something more, but her fingers were shaking too hard for anything more.
“Good,” he came back, obviously waiting for her response. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Sleep well, beautiful.”