SevenSensuousDays (14 page)

Never again. Not with anyone else.

His memories of earlier faded.

He moved to the edge of the bed, his legs dangling over the
mattress. A quick view of the room told him Tessa wasn’t in here waiting for
him to wake up. Was she in the bath? He listened for sounds of running water
and didn’t hear any. Dragging his hand down his face, Logan went to his closet
where he’d put her luggage.

On a relieved sigh he released his breath, unaware he’d been
holding it. Along with all of the cameras and monitors, her stuff was still
here. That meant she had to be too. Right?

He looked for the clothes she’d arrived in, not recalling
where he’d left them. They sure as hell weren’t in the closet. Nor was her
purse. The last he remembered, she’d brought it into the kitchen. Had she
grabbed the bag, along with her clothes and left? Why? Had the camcorders and
monitors been too much? Not titillating or pleasantly kinky as he’d thought, but
creepy, weird, and too embarrassing.

Wait. If she had left, how would she have done so? She didn’t
have a car.

Oh crap, Wallace did.

Logan was on the first floor and halfway down the hall when
he heard what sounded like the TV—peppy music and voices—and caught the scent
of popcorn. His stomach rumbled loudly, not having been fed since… He couldn’t
recall the last meal he’d had. When it growled again, he gave it a frown and
padded as quietly as he could to the family room.

Still nude, her hair bed-tousled, Tessa sat on the leather
sofa, Molly on her lap, Jack snuggled against her thigh. The pups’ food and
bowls of water were near one of the chairs, Molly’s pacifier forgotten on the
floor, a large bowl of popcorn on the sofa’s center cushion. Blindly, Tessa dug
into it, pulling out a fistful of the snack. She chomped on the kernels as her
attention remained on the movie.
Toy Story.

Logan rubbed his mouth to stop his smile. What in the hell
kind of escort was she anyway? She should be swinging from the chandeliers, a
rose clenched between her teeth, putting on a smutty act, her nipples rouged.

They were the same shade as her unadorned lips, looking as
innocent as she did.

Never should she comb her hair. Logan liked it as it was
now. Messy, natural, several tresses flowing past her shoulders, the ends just
above her breasts.

They trembled nicely with her throaty laugh at Buzz
Lightyear wearing a dress at a tea party, the astronaut toy looking miserable
as hell. Molly’s tail wagged, whapping the sofa. Jack continued to snooze.
Tessa took a long sip of her beer, placing the bottle back on the end table.

It was then that she noticed him.

Logan’s world paused. Sounds and colors faded. All he could
focus on was Tessa, the same as that moment when he’d first seen her at the
auction. She parted her lips now as she had then. An invitation?

He didn’t take it. Couldn’t. His legs didn’t want to work.
He remained rooted to where he was simply staring at her as she did with him.
The distance between them frustrating yet protective.

If he’d been another man with a different past, he knew they
would have been dating or living together, enjoying popcorn, beer, a movie with
the pups. Ordinary stuff that was more precious than all the money he’d
accumulated, the accolades he’d received, this place.

An impressive house that was nothing more than a series of
rooms to Logan, far too big for one man but thankfully isolated from the
outside world. When he’d bought the estate that’s what he’d wanted. To be left
fucking alone. No more reporters hounding him for online stories that would
generate speculation and outrageous theories.

People that Logan had never met had left comments on the
earlier articles, demanding to know why he wasn’t home until after the fire had
started. They’d speculated on what he was trying to hide…why he’d left his kids
alone with an obviously disturbed woman. Some claimed they had evidence that he
and the nanny were lovers and had driven Nicole to do what she had. Others said
the nanny had set the fire at his request so Nicole couldn’t get her hands on
his money when he left her. Many of those self-righteous citizens called for
his immediate arrest. Others prayed he’d burn in hell.

As if he hadn’t been there already.

He was supposed to have protected his kids. That had been
his most important job, and he had failed complete—

Something crashed in the movie, which caused the characters
to squeal. The sounds woke Jack. He scrambled off the sofa and fell to the
floor. In seconds, the pup righted himself and bounded to Logan, whose memories
had been thankfully interrupted by the noise…the fragile magic he’d experienced
with Tessa also broken, taking away that brief connection they’d had.

Just as well. It was dangerous territory. What he had to
avoid.

Logan told himself to leave. Somehow, he couldn’t. Holding
Jack in one hand, he padded to the sofa. “
Toy Story
?”

Tessa filled her mouth with popcorn and made him wait while
she chewed and swallowed. Her lips shone with butter. Logan’s knees sagged a
bit. Suddenly, he couldn’t think of anything but licking it off. Brash yearning
pulsed through him.

“Lame, huh?” She affected a contrite look and tone. “I
wanted to put on
Saw
—the final chapter—but figured Molly and Jack
shouldn’t see it. Not until they cringed through the first five installments.”

Logan fought a smile at her sass. “Good thinking.” He moved
the popcorn and sat next to her, putting the bowl on his lap. “Wouldn’t want
them to miss out on any of the gore.”

“Could stunt their growth.” She reached into the bowl,
digging deep, her movements causing the container to press into his cock. “Besides,”
she continued, “
Toy Story
is classic. The best freaking animated film in
history.”

He watched kernel after kernel disappear into her mouth. If
anything, there was more butter on her lips now. Her fingers too. Molly was
already taking care of that, licking them clean, exactly what Logan had
pictured himself doing. He cleared his throat. “
Rango’s
better.”

Tessa made a face. “No way. Not even as good as
Tangled.
”

“Oh come on. You’re comparing apples with oranges. Guys like
stuff like
Rango.
Isn’t that right?” he asked Jack.

The pup continued to squirm and whine, wanting to be free.
Logan put him on the floor. He bolted for his water bowl, hitting it, sending a
spray of liquid across the room.

“I’d say he’s more of a
Shrek
fan,” Tessa said.

“Oh god, I’d forgotten about that. Now that’s the best
cartoon of all time.” Logan gobbled a handful of popcorn, chewed quickly and
swallowed fast. “That scene where the prince is interrogating Gingy was fucking
hysterical. I never laughed so hard in my life. The gingerbread man can’t be
beat.”

“You didn’t like Puss-in-Boots? That Latin accent, those big,
soulful eyes?” Tessa giggled. “I want a pet like that.”

“You don’t have one?”

She shook her head and offered her beer to Logan. “My
apartment’s too small. Wouldn’t be fair to keep an animal cooped up there.”

He finished his sip and handed the brew back. Their fingers
touched, that small intimacy more electrifying than it should have been. Logan
rested his hand on his thigh, his fingers cold from the chilled glass. “Speaking
of which, have Molly and Jack been in here all day?”

“Nope. Walked them a few hours ago.”

By herself? Without him? Logan frowned before he knew he
would. Troubled that she’d done something so generous…so friendly, and that she’d
also left his side. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“After I made breakfast, I—”

“You made breakfast?”

She nodded, causing the ends of her hair to bob above her
breasts. “Lunch too. I kept going upstairs to see if you were awake yet. You
weren’t. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Logan tried to remember the last time he’d slept more than
three or four hours at a stretch and couldn’t, unless he drank himself into
unconsciousness. For too long, genuine sleep had eluded him, the same as being
at ease.

“You want me to make you something now?” Tessa asked,
scooting up.

Molly whimpered and squirmed as her brother had, making her
way from Tessa’s lap to the floor.

Logan rested his hand on Tessa’s satiny thigh. “No, it’s
okay.”

She settled back against the cushion, stroking his fingers,
outlining each. Might as well have been his cock, he was so quickly aroused.

“I don’t mind,” she said.

He knew she didn’t. And not because he’d paid her to see to
his every need for the time they’d be together. Logan figured money wasn’t even
in the equation for Tessa. She was simply being herself. A nice person. A
surprisingly remarkable young woman. Even as mistaken as he’d been about
Nicole, Logan didn’t think he was reading Tessa wrong. At least, he hoped he
wasn’t.

A flurry of emotions, some comforting, others far more
troublesome battered him. He really didn’t want to get close, and Tessa kept
coaxing him to do so…with her expressive gaze, the way she accepted him without
judgment, how she teased. Somehow, he liked her joking around best of all.

And had better get over it quickly. This wasn’t a date.
Never would be.

“I should walk them again,” he said. “They’re used to that
before they turn in for the night.”

“I’ll go with you.” She smiled. “If you don’t mind, I’ll
take Molly. You can have Jack. I left their leashes on the chair over there.”
She gestured to it.

Logan couldn’t drag his attention away from her to look.
Again, warning bells went off. “Don’t you want to watch the rest of the movie?”

“I only put it on for Molly and Jack.” She shrugged. “Me, I
would have been watching
Dance Moms.”

“Dance what?”

Tessa waved her hand in dismissal. “It’s a reality show
about stage moms and the psycho dance teacher who picks on their poor kids
every week.”

He made a face. “You like to watch that?”

“Only because I worry about Chloe. She’s one of the kids. I
keep rooting for her to win the competitions. Sometimes she does.” Tessa
smiled. “It’s really wonderful when that happens.”

God, she was beyond nice. Logan put the bowl of popcorn to
the side and stood. “Go ahead and stay here. Watch your show. I’ll take care of
the pups.”

“I’d rather go with you,” she said, direct as always.

“Why?”

Something passed over her face, an emotion Logan couldn’t
quite read.

“Because I would,” she said at last. “You’re kind of fun to
talk to.”

He wasn’t certain whether to be alarmed, amused, pleased, or
offended. She was twisting him into knots with seemingly little effort. “Kind
of?”

“Well, yeah. When you’re not talking about junk like
Rango.
”

Was that right? Logan leaned down, his hands on the sofa’s
back cushion on either side of her head. Tessa’s attention drifted from his
mouth to his eyes.

Again, the world seemed to stop as though waiting to see
what he’d do. Like confessing how much he enjoyed being with her. How she’d
brought him some measure of happiness and peace.

And then?

Pulling himself together, Logan muttered, “Better watch it,
baby. I like
Rango.
”

“I know. But don’t worry, you’ll grow out of it.”

Logan laughed. Tessa smiled…a bit smugly. As though getting
him to enjoy himself again had been her one goal.

He sobered. “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about cartoons when we’re
out there.”

“Whatever you want,” she promised.

Sure. She said that now. However, Logan knew what she was
doing. Being nice, getting close, burrowing deeper. All the things he didn’t
want.

Naked, except for their respective sandals and Tessa’s body
jewelry, they strolled the moon-washed grounds of his estate, scented sweetly
by nature and the refreshing night air. Molly and Jack tugged at their leashes,
not impressed by a bit of it.

Tessa searched for something to say, but wasn’t able to
think of anything that wouldn’t sound forced. She couldn’t settle for that
anymore, not with Logan. She’d seen how he lit up when he’d talked about
Shrek
and the other features he’d enjoyed. She loved the sound of his laugh,
which he didn’t do often enough.

He was trying so hard to remain distant that every time she
was able to pierce his defenses, he’d seemed stunned, somewhat relieved, and
then cautious all over again. Maybe she should assure him that this was nothing
more than a good time for her too, even if that was a bald-faced lie. Already,
Tessa was dreading the end of the week. Leaving.

To him, it would probably be a welcomed reprieve. As much as
he’d slept last night and almost all of today, Tessa figured he’d be even more
beat once she was gone. Exhausted at fighting her so hard.

He craved her sexually. Of that she had no doubt, even
though it wasn’t because she was the most beautiful or desirable female he’d
ever known. Tessa had seen the pictures of Nicole on the Net. Angelina Jolie
had nothing on that woman. She’d been breathtaking. Leaving Logan so
heartbroken and lonely that he couldn’t help but crave Tessa, until they
actually talked, joked, teased, and nearly got close.

She might have told him they didn’t have to go on being
lovers—not even via the agency—being sort of friends would be nice, but figured
he’d freak out if she brought up the subject. Despite that reality, the
prospect of being able to speak with him freely, sharing his pain, bringing him
joy, telling him about the things that worried or troubled her was a lure that
kept tugging at Tessa.

Foolish, she knew. Logan wanted to remain a client, while
making certain she was nothing more than his temporary escort.

She held back a sigh.

Molly whimpered, pulling Tessa toward one of the trees
closest to the spacious backyard. The pup lowered her snout and sniffed the
trunk vigorously.