Two Years Earlier

After our meeting earlier today, I couldn't stop thinking about Logan. The warm caramel swirls of his eyes. That one golden curl that I wanted to sweep off his forehead. That smile that made me purr like a cat in sunshine. Just thinking about him had me flustered in the best way. There was a connection between the two of us that wasn't just strictly business. At least, I really, really hoped there was.

Especially because I had already picked out a backless black dress to wear out tonight.

My phone buzzed, and I held my breath as I looked at the caller ID. It was a number I didn't recognize. Please, please, please...

“Hello?” I sounded far more breathless than I had intended.

“Olivia?” It was Logan. A little shiver of anticipation went down my spine. I liked the way my name sounded in his rich, masculine voice.

“This is she,” I replied, trying to sound like I didn't recognize the voice. I didn't want to appear too eager.

“Hi, it's Logan. From earlier today,” he said with a small laugh. He sounded almost nervous, which made the butterflies in my stomach far more hopeful than they had any right to be. “Would you still be interested in getting a drink with me tonight?”

“I'd love to,” I said, grinning into the phone. I was imagining his reciprocal smile on the other side of the line. “Where would you like to meet?”

“Have you ever been to de Luxe? I have a standing reservation there we can use,” he asked. My jaw dropped a little. It was only the most exclusive, expensive and infamous club in Chicago.

“No,” I answered. “But I know where it is.”

“Would you be able to meet me there in half an hour? Just tell the bouncer you're meeting me and you won't have to wait in line,” he said, as if walking into de Luxe was something normal.

“I can do that.” I was bouncing up and down on the couch and trying very hard to keep my voice steady. “I'll see you there.”

“Great!” He sounded excited as well. “See you soon!”

I hung up the phone, stared at it for a moment and then let out a whoop that made the neighbor's dog start barking. I was going to go to de Luxe with Logan Hayes!

Twenty-five minutes later, I was stepping out of a cab in front of the most exclusive club in the city. The line to get in wound around the block, but I walked past them all to get to the front door. A big man with sunglasses, even though it was almost dark out, stood guard over the entrance. I swallowed hard and went up to him, hoping I was giving off an aura of importance. The people in line stared at me, and I could hear whispers as I approached.

“Excuse me,” I said, putting as much confidence in my voice as I could muster. “I'm Olivia Statler. I'm here to meet Mr. Logan Hayes.”

When the man didn't move a muscle, I nearly took a step back. Maybe he wasn't here yet, or I had gotten the address wrong.

The big guard slowly looked down at the guest list, and his face immediately softened as he read it. “Right this way, Ms. Statler.” He moved to the side and lowered the red velvet rope to let me in. I heard at least two gasps from the line as I bypassed everyone in it. The man had a warm smile that changed him from incredibly intimidating to teddy bear for the two seconds he let me see it.

I stepped into the entryway and could see the main room. It was romantically lit, with silver couches and glowing tables. Music thrummed through the building, and the dance floor was already alive with dancers.

“Ms. Statler?” A woman in a flattering silver dress suit tapped my shoulder and motioned me to follow her. She took me up a flight of stairs, past an even bigger security guard, and into the VIP lounge. Logan was waiting for me at a table overlooking the dance floor. He stood as soon as he saw me, a grin nearly splitting his face in two.

“You look spectacular,” he said appreciatively, his eyes traversing my figure at least twice. I blushed, but I didn't mind that he was looking. In fact, I rather liked the idea that he was.

“Thanks.” I sat down at the table and looked him over. “You look pretty spectacular yourself.”

He beamed and shrugged as if it were nothing. He had changed into a black suit and smoothed his hair back. The overall effect was one of rugged sophistication, and it looked damn good on him.

“I took the liberty of ordering a bottle of champagne. Do you like Dom Perignon?” He pulled out a bottle from an ice bucket sitting on the table that I hadn’t noticed.

“I've never had it,” I said, shaking my head.

“Then, now is a perfect time to try something new.” He handed me a glass and poured out the golden liquid. I took a careful sip, and the bubbles tickled my nose. “What do you think?”

“Honestly?” I set my glass down on the table and looked at it. “I hate to say this, but it just tastes like plain old champagne to me. I don't taste anything special about it. I guess I'm a terrible champagne drinker.”

Logan laughed, making me feel completely at ease. “It took me a long time to taste the difference, but half the fun is just ordering it and watching peoples' reactions.”

I took another sip to steady my nerves. I was having a hard time not staring at him. “Have you spoken with your father yet?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I have a meeting with him tomorrow. I'm very hopeful about it, though. Your idea is perfect for Travel, Inc. I'm really looking forward to getting to work with you.”

“Me too,” I replied, feeling a blush warming my cheeks. I wanted to do more than just work with him. I looked up at him, and the look on his face said he wanted more too. The fact that we were out for drinks before he spoke to his father implied that this wasn't a business meeting. The butterflies in my stomach danced for joy, and I took another sip of champagne to quiet them.

“So,” he said, clearing his throat. “You said you've never been here before? Not on a date or anything?”

“I've been so busy getting my business started that I haven't had time to go on dates,” I explained. I paused to take another sip of champagne and looked up coyly from my drink. “If you're trying to find out, I'm not currently seeing anyone.”

Logan coughed a little on his drink, blushing slightly. He patted his chest and cleared his throat. “That's good to know,” he said with a smirk. “I'm glad to know I didn't get dressed up for nothing.”

Now it was my turn to blush. There was a silence for a moment as our eyes remained locked. “So?” I asked.

“So, what?” he asked back.

“So... are you currently seeing anyone?”

He laughed and my heart fluttered. “Ms. Statler, you haven't done your research very well.”

My jaw dropped a little bit. “I could say the same about you! Besides, I only looked up your company, not you. I thought that was the most polite way about doing things.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe I already knew that you weren't seeing anyone.”

I laughed as I rolled my eyes, then I looked back at him. His look was a little too serious. I lifted my eyebrows, as if to ask the question again.

“Yes, Olivia, I'm single,” he said with a smile. He looked at the curtain over the balcony at the dance floor. “And now that that business is out of the way, here's a question I couldn't find the answer to. Do you dance?”

I glanced down at the dance floor. People were dancing and gyrating below us. Everyone was having a great time. “Oh, no. No way.”

He laughed. “What's the matter? Didn't have fun in college?”

I laughed and threw back the rest of my glass of champagne. When I put the glass down, I said, “I had plenty of fun in college. This just wasn't my scene.”

“What about now?” he asked.

“Now?”

“Do you have fun now?”

I laughed again. “Sometimes it seems like all I do is work. But, yes, I have fun.”

“Okay, then let's have some fun.” He stood, holding his hand out for me. I smiled and accepted it, letting him lead the way as I slowly walked behind him in my heels. He moved with a smooth confidence that I enjoyed watching. Even after he got us past the curtain to the VIP room, the crowd seemed to part for him as he walked toward the stairs.

Both of us were getting glances from the entire floor, and I knew exactly why. We were a sexy couple, even if we weren't technically together. I wasn't used to the attention, but I enjoyed their looks.

We slowly descended the stairs and Logan continued to lead me toward the dance floor. I was actually getting pretty nervous by the time we finally made our way past the last table and onto the raised floor. He didn't stop there, though, he kept going, straight toward the center of the dance floor, melting into the crowd.

When he got to his destination, he turned to me. His eyes gave me a quick once-over, a hungry glance, before he leaned in and put his hands on my hips. Immediately, I could feel them gripping me through the soft fabric of my dress.

My hips began to sway as he guided me through the motions, keeping in perfect time with the tempo. I never considered myself to be a good dancer, but it was easy with Logan. My body responded to his, finding the rhythm of the music as it thrummed through me. I could help but look down at his hips moving, wondering what they'd look like without those fantastic pants on top of them, thrusting to the beat of the music. The thought shocked me a little bit, so I looked back into his eyes. They were still looking at me with that hungry look.

I didn't look away. I looked right back at him, putting my hand over his shoulder and drawing him in closer to me. We seemed to be matched in perfect time for a moment. Even when the song changed, he didn't seem to miss a beat, just changing his tempo as we continued to dance.

It was a perfect moment. Too perfect, it seemed. An exotic looking woman in a tight dress danced over near us. She ignored me as she put her hands in her hair and began to dance up against Logan, showing him just how interested she was. My mouth dropped as I looked at her, and she gave me a quick look like she had already decided that she didn't care what I thought. She was absolutely supermodel gorgeous and she was going after Logan like a lioness. She didn't even consider me a threat.

Logan surprised me. Normally I would expect a man to react, positively or negatively. I expected him to turn and either begin to dance with her or tell her that he wasn't interested. However, his eyes never left my body. His hands never left my sides. He completely ignored her, acting like she didn't exist. Even when she leaned in and whispered something in his ear, he never reacted. He was fixated on me.

The woman stared at him confused, frozen as the music beat around her. She certainly wasn't expecting that reaction. She finally shook herself before huffing off like a wet cat. Logan's gaze still pierced into me, completely oblivious to the other woman. I had never felt this sexy in my life. Logan Hayes had turned down a gorgeous woman for me.

Hope and excitement bubbled up inside of me. He liked me, hopefully as much as I liked him. It wasn't just a physical connection either. It could have just been my imagination, but I felt like there was a bond between us. Something that would last past the songs of the evening and into the future. From the way he looked at me, he felt it too.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but I wanted him so badly at that moment. The music and the way my body was responding to his had me wanting to push this further. I knew we had an intellectual connection, but right now, the physical one was overpowering. I leaned in, grinding into him a little bit more. I put my hands in my hair as the other woman had done, turning around slowly. His hands moved up and down my sides, exploring me in ways that excited me.

While his left hand remained on my hip, his right hand moved up my back. I shivered as his fingers met the bare skin of my neck, moving up into my hair. He grabbed a handful and gripped me. It wasn't pulling, it was guiding me, and it was so incredibly sexy.

A voice whispered in my ear. “I've never met any girl who could make me react like you.”

I couldn't help but moan, both in lust and in acknowledgment.

“No woman I've ever met has ever had the sense of humor, the business acumen, and the raw sexual energy that you have.”

I giggled. “You sure know how to talk to a girl.”

His voice turned very low. “So it's working?”

I decided to answer by pressing back into him. When I felt how hard he had gotten through his pants, I knew that he wanted exactly what I did. He inhaled sharply as I began to grind up against him.

I turned around to face him again. His hand was still in my hair, and I fell into him. He smelled so good, like clean soap and a light, woodsy cologne. My eyes flutter shut as I lifted onto my tiptoes and kissed him. It started light, but quickly became more as kissed me back. We continued to dance on the floor, kissing and swaying to the beat of the music, for a few long minutes. It was heaven.

He broke from the kiss. “Have you ever been in a limo?” he whispered into my ear, his hands tightening on my waist. I loved how I felt with him touching me.

“No,” I replied slowly, my eyes still closed from the kiss.

“Want to take a ride in mine?” he asked.

My eyes shot open. What kind of girl did he take me for? I thought. However, when I saw the look on his face, the sheer lust and desire that he felt, I knew I couldn't say no. I was exactly that kind of girl when it came to him.

I nodded my head quickly. In a moment, his hand was on mind, leading me back through the club.