He led her to his bedroom, the one he’d given her because it had the biggest bed. She pulled out of his hold and climbed into the bed, her ass waving in his face. Damn. He swatted it a couple of times and she squealed again, grinned back at him.

Internally, he sighed. Time for the conversation. “There’s a couple of things we need to discuss before we do this.”

She sat up, her confusion clear. “Okay.”

“First off, this isn’t a relationship. It’s just sex. It is bound to be the best sex either of us has ever had, but that’s still all it is. Just sex.” He waited for her acknowledgement, and went on.

“Second, I like spanking your ass. I plan on fucking your ass. If anything I do is something you don’t like, tell me. No suffering allowed. I’m not into BDSM, I’m just a slightly kinky fucker. No contracts, no safe words, you say no, I’ll take it as a no and stop. But within those confines, we’ll experiment. Got it?”

“Yes.” She nodded breathlessly, her tits bobbing and swaying with her movement. He swallowed hard.

“Third, condoms are a must.”

“I’m on the Pill.”

“Don’t care. We’re not exclusive. This relationship doesn’t continue after you leave here. Condoms will be used.”

“Understood.”

“Fourth. When we get back to the real world, we will have a trial period, to see if you can still be my assistant. If we find it’s not working, I’ll hire someone else.”

“Wait. Even though we aren’t going to have a relationship when I leave here, you’re going to fire me?”

“If we end up emotionally tangled and the business suffers? Yes. Technically, you’ve already quit on me. Twice.” He cocked his head. “You still want to go ahead? I can leave you alone right now.”

She squirmed. “I want your hard cock down my throat, in my pussy, in my ass. I want you. I’ve been fantasizing about you for longer than a year, if you want the truth.”

He pinned her with his gaze. “Always the truth between us. Understood?”

“Understood. Just so you know, I like being fucked in the ass. I can climax from having my nipples played with. I haven’t had a good sex partner ever, so I’ve found out things on my own and with the use of sex toys. I like being spanked, which you’ve just introduced me to, so thanks. And I accept all of your conditions.” She lay back on the bed, one hand playing with her thick nipples, the other between her spread legs.

His sight now confirmed what his sense of touch told him earlier. She had a neat landing strip of hair pointing the way to her pussy, but her labia were hairless. The best of both worlds, as far as he was concerned.

Logan settled on the bed, spread her legs wide, and applied his tongue to her. Sweet, tart, she tasted delicious, and he took his time, learning her folds, savoring her clit that had grown swollen beyond its hood. He nibbled, and sucked, and licked, and bit gently until Katherine’s body tensed.

“God you eat me so well. I’m almost there, baby. Damn, almost there.”

He spared a hand from holding her hips and found her nipple. Pinched it, and at the same time sucked hard on her clit. She came apart, her juices flooding his mouth as she screamed his name, her body trembling beneath him.

Not waiting until she settled, he grabbed a condom from the bedside table and sheathed himself before sliding into her.

Her pussy still pulsed with her contractions and he just lay there, his elbows on the bed, and kissed her deeply.

Finally she roused, kissed him back, and wrapped her legs around him. “Fuck me. While I’m here, I’m yours. Fuck me, Logan. Fuck me until I can’t stand. Keep me wet for you all night long.”

“Christ, Katherine. Such a dirty mouth on such a pretty woman.”

He pulled out of her, flipped her over. “On your knees.” She rose up and he took her hips, thrust into her again.

She screamed and pumped his cock, soaking his balls with her pussy juice.

“Gods, you’re so responsive.” He thrust into her again and again, loving the heat of her, the feel of her around him, the feel of her satiny hips in his hands. Loved the way her plump ass caressed his lower belly every time he pumped into her.

Thoughts of taking her ass pushed him closer to the edge.

“Come, baby. Come for me,” she crooned.

He reached around her hips, flicked her clit, and just after she exploded again around him he came, hot cum pumping out of him, filling the condom.

Katherine collapsed beneath him, all warm, silken woman, her hair shrouding her face as she slumped against the pillows.

He pulled out of her, went to the bathroom to clean up and dispose of the condom.

When he came back, he fully expected her to be asleep, but she’d rolled onto her back and gotten under the covers, her blue eyes wide, and her grin wider.

“Damn, baby. But if I had known how good you are at fucking and sucking, I’d have hunted you down and stripped in front of you long before this.” Her throaty purr reached inside him.

He climbed in next to her, propping himself up on one elbow. “Another rule. When we’re naked, no talking about the past, or the future. There is only now. Only here. Only sensation. Can you live with that?”

She sat up, the sheets pooling around her waist, not even pretending to shield her magnificent breasts from his gaze. “On one condition. That after this is over, and before whatever happens at the office happens, you tell me what the hell is going on with you.”

No bullshit there. He weighed his options. She was going to leave anyway; he knew that. He couldn’t keep her around, not after having her naked under his hands. Replacing her was going to be a bitch, but he cared too much for her to have her stay. Cared far too much, and had for a year.

Finally he nodded. “You deserve that much from me.”

She slid down and sighed. Put her hand on his heart. “Thank you.” Awareness flared across her face. “Which reminds me. That necklace is fucking gorgeous. You shouldn’t have, but I’m ecstatically glad you did.”

She kissed him then, a sweet kiss, one that held her heart. His own heart stuttered and trembled as she kissed him.

Katherine pulled back a bit, wrinkled her nose. “You had dessert. I haven’t had mine yet.” Diving under the covers, she found his cock, already half-hard for her. “Ooh, lookie what I found.”

Logan felt a smile tug at his lips, and he slapped her ass, waving temptingly near his face, before shoving the covers down so he could watch her take him deep into her mouth.

“You’ve got a cock-worthy mouth, Katherine.”

She moved around to face him and grinned, licked him like a lollypop before applying suction to the tip of his cock. Need surged through him and without another thought, his hand came down on her head, encouraging her to take him deep.

She gagged a little, backed off, before setting up a rhythm that had his balls drawing up. The sight of her, red lips, glossy hair, big tits hanging down, did something for him.

“Don’t use your hands on my cock, just your mouth. Play with your tits while you suck me off,” he ordered.

Katherine’s hands immediately went to her nipples. She played, sucked, tugged, pinched, took him deep. At one point, she let him go and wrapped her tits around his cock, her nipples pointing right at him. He pinched them, and she giggled before taking him down her throat again.

“Scoot your ass up here.”

She moved where he directed, and his hand went to her still-wet pussy. Damn, but he loved everything about a woman, but he really loved a juicy pussy. Her labia were thick, her clit like a little cock so stiff and proud under his fingers.

He pinched and explored and tasted her on his fingers while she sucked him, played with his balls, dipped her finger into her own pussy before she pressed it to his hole.

Logan moaned and strummed her clit harder. She pressed in to the first knuckle, pulled it out, in and out, in and out, until she finally took him all the way down her throat, pushed her finger all the way into his ass.

He came, hard, shooting cum against the back of her throat. She swallowed again and again, kept jamming her finger in and out of his hole and came, squealing, when he slapped her pussy.

The two of them collapsed. Katherine rested her head on his thigh and just sighed with pleasure. Logan ran his finger through her hair idly, enjoying the moment. How long had it been? Even before their kiss last year, he’d been going through a dry spell.

She hummed under her breath, some familiar song. It took him a minute to realize that she was humming Jingle Bells.

Oh hell no.

He shifted her off his thigh. “I have one more rule.”

She heaved a sigh. “Seriously? I solemnly swear I won’t burn your house down.”

“No Christmas songs. No Christmas decorations. No mention of Christmas at all, period. Understand?”

She rolled over and propped her chin up on her hands. Met his gaze with a shrewd one.

“No. I don’t understand. But I will, because you’re going to tell me after this is over.”

He scowled, pushed the hair out of her face. “Brat.”

“Nope. Not owning that. I just know you’ll keep your promise. Truth between us, yes?”

“Yeah.” He sighed and stretched. “You want to take a bath? I need to do some cleanup in the kitchen.”

Her face brightened. “I’d love to.”

“There are bath salts under the sink. Use anything there.”

She reached up and kissed his cheek. “You sure you don’t want me to help in the kitchen?”

“Nope. I’ve got it handled.” He just needed time alone. Time to process what had happened between them.

“Okey doke.” She kissed him again and bounced out of bed, and headed to her bag, grabbed some essentials, and disappeared into the bathroom, moving as if he hadn’t just given her multiple orgasms.

He inhaled the cherry-vanilla scent she left behind, and his mouth watered. His dick twitched. Damn it. There was a very good possibility they’d spend the entire week naked. That was a good thing, right?

Uncertain about the short-term future, Logan stood, put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, and went to do cleanup duty in the kitchen.

Outside the kitchen window, the snow fell, fast and furious. What he’d known in his heart the minute she parked in front of his house turned into reality. She was stuck here.

His pin-up gal assistant, who had a deep love for Christmas, was stuck with Scrooge.

Kitty stretched her legs out in the huge tub, and wondered if Logan would fit in there with her. The bath salts were some fancy French brand and smelled wonderful. Made her skin even silkier. But she had to wonder just who had bought them.

He wasn’t married, that she knew. But he could have been at some point. Right? And why the hell his hate on Christmas? It was the most wonderful time of the year. Just like the song.

She frowned and lifted a leg out of the water, soaped it up and rinsed it off before doing the same to the other leg. It was too bad she would be leaving when the sun rose. But she’d made a promise to her buddies, and she wanted to ski Mammoth.

Um.

Okay, fine, so maybe she’d prefer to stay here and fuck Logan for days on end. But that wasn’t practical. She had her life; he had his. Not to mention the work he needed to do. Mr. Hennessey really wanted that necklace for his wife.

But man. They meshed so well. They communicated great during the business day. She knew when he needed a reminder, and he usually remembered to drop off work for her, either via FedEx or in person.

Much more rarely in person.

She sighed, ducked her head back into the water and got her hair wet. Washed it with her favorite moisturizing shampoo. It would be super curly after this, as she left her flat iron at home. He’d never seen her with her curls. Then again, he’d never seen her naked until tonight. A night of firsts.

Kitty giggled. A part of her still couldn’t believe she was here, with him. That they’d had amazing sex.

But damn all his rules, constricting her, constricting their relationship. She’d play by his rules for as long as she was here, but once she left? Once she got his confession of why he was the way he was? All his rules would go out the window.

She was Katherine Jane Dobbs. She got what she wanted, ninety-nine percent of the time. She’d wanted Logan Erickson for what felt like forever. Ergo, she’d get him. Right?

Energized from the sex, from the bath, Kitty pulled the plug on the water that had started to cool, and stood, took a towel from the bar, and dried off. She fondled her boobs. Thank God he liked her double Ds. Her last boyfriend had been repulsed to the point where she finally kicked him out of her life after he mentioned a breast reduction one too many times.

Her pussy was a little sore. Logan was not small, by any means. She had a few qualms about taking him up her ass, but as she told him, she liked anal. With a dildo, at any rate. A human might make things more painful. Or less, she supposed.

Chuckling at her train of thought, Kitty dressed in the leggings and t-shirt she’d planned to wear at the lodge. Sharing a room with friends from college didn’t lend itself to sexy nightwear, unfortunately.

After depositing her toiletries bag back in the bedroom, she went to the kitchen to find him just finishing up.

“Hey bartender, any chance of having another glass of wine?” She sat on the stool at the island and batted her lashes at him.

“At your service.” He put a glass in front of her, poured wine.

She sipped and observed. “You look uncomfortable.”

“It’s been a few months since I’ve had anyone in my space. Either here or in town.” He wiped down the counter.

She bit her lip against the questions she was dying to ask, and instead fell back on a standard. “Do you play board games?”

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows. “Board games?”

Kitty grinned. “Yeah. You know. Risk. Monopoly. Stratego. Mars Conquers the World. Like that.”

“I might. Do you play card games? Like poker. Or cribbage.”

She tilted her head. “I might.” A yawn caught her by surprise. “But on second thought, can we save that? I think my switch just flipped.”

“Tired?”

“I can be fine, running on all cylinders, and then boom. It’s like something internal flips on and says, nope. Time for bed.” She yawned again. “Not something I can control, though trust me, I’ve tried, and lived to regret it.”

“Then let’s get you to your bed.” He came around the island and helped her off the barstool.

She stiffened her knees and refused to move, tilting her head up to meet his gaze. “My bed? Honey, if it’s not the same as your bed, forget it.”

Logan sighed. “Katherine…”

“Nope. That won’t fly, not anymore. I’m Kitty. That’s my name, so use it, please.” She yawned again. “Come to bed with me, Logan, in the bed where we had each other for the first time. Right now, I’m too damned done to do more than snuggle up against you and snore in your ear.”

His eyebrows rose. “You snore?”

“You’ll never find out if you don’t sleep with me tonight. I’ll be gone in the morning.”

She saw the awareness that came into Logan’s eyes, but he didn’t say anything and she yawned again.

“Come on, baby. Take me to bed. Sleep with me. In the purest sense of the word.”

She knew satisfaction when he took her to bed, and after a quick shower, joined her there. Curled around her, one arm firm around her waist. She’d been dozing but not really. Now that he was there, with her, she felt herself sinking into one of the purest sleeps she’d ever had.

In the depths of the night, his scream woke her up, his cries of no! and fuck you! punctuating the air.

He’d turned away from her at some point, and now he thrashed about, as if punching an unseen enemy. She rose up and one of his fists hit her cheekbone, wringing a shocked gasp from her.

Kitty’s heart pounded, but she ignored the pain, grabbed his flailing arms, and pushed them against his chest. Laid on top of him, and spoke in a calm voice.

“Logan, it’s Katherine. Your assistant and current fuck buddy. Come on, wake up. You’re safe. You’re safe with me, I fucking swear.”

He struggled once more then gasped. His eyes flew open and met hers in the dim of the room.

“Kitty?”

She melted with relief. “Yeah. It’s me. You okay, boss?”

He shook her off, to her dismay, and left the bed. “I knew this wasn’t a good idea.” He paced the room, agitation coming off him in waves.

A part of her noticed he wore only boxers, though the room was chilly. Lots of quilts and comforters on the bed mitigated the cold, but still.

“Come back to bed.”

“I hit you.”

“It was an accident.” She felt her cheek. It throbbed, but there was no bleeding. “I’m fine. Come to bed. I can see you shivering from here. Don’t be stubborn, Logan.”

“Why should I stop now?”

At her snort, he gave in and got back into bed, his back to her. Undaunted, she curled around him.

Kitty took a hesitant breath. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Okay. You know if you ever do, I’m here.”

“No. You’re not going to be here. You’ll leave, like everyone else has.”

Kitty’s ears pricked up, but she sat on her desire to poke him with questions. “Hush now. You need sleep. I need sleep. Think lovely thoughts of us fucking, and you’ll fall asleep soon.”

He grunted. “Or I’ll turn around and fuck you.”

She smiled into his back. “I won’t say no.”

“God, woman. Shut up and go to sleep.”

“That’s what I’m saying.” She didn’t say anything else, just kept her arm around him and her breathing even.

Eventually his breathing slowed, and he slipped into sleep, leaving her to wonder just what the fuck that was all about.

As far as she knew, he wasn’t a veteran. But that didn’t mean he didn’t have PTSD from some other trauma.

Damn it. What demons was he fighting? And what the hell could she do about it, if he wouldn’t even talk to her?

As she lay there, wakeful in the night, her cheekbone throbbing, she wondered if maybe instead of leaving in the morning, she was meant to stay right here.