SevenSensuousDays (6 page)

Tessa definitely hadn’t expected that. Not after what they’d
just talked about. “Huh?”

Logan stepped back. With his movement, her luggage wiggled
over the walkway’s uneven surface. He held out his hand.

What a hand it was. Long fingers, blunt at the tips. There
was raw power and domination in that hand. Tenderness too. He’d displayed it so
well at the auction when he’d brushed her hair off her shoulder and touched her
cheek, then just a few seconds ago as he’d cupped the back of her head during
their kiss. Not so much to keep her captive, she thought, but possibly for the
joy of having her close. Showing her a part of what she sensed was the real
Logan, his desire for true intimacy that simmered beneath his previous
detachment.

That closeness seemed a distant, sweet memory given what he
appeared to want now…to get on with this. Rush heedlessly into sex, then what?
Fall asleep while she made his meal, protected from them getting to really know
each other? Perhaps even like each other a little?

Had she been so wrong to believe that he’d actually heard
what she’d said? Had he just been pretending to listen while thinking about
this?

Tessa regarded his outstretched hand and tried not to sound
too disappointed. “You want to hold my clothes after I take them off?”

“Give me your purse,” he said, serene as could be. “I’ll
hold it.”

Not certain what to make of this, Tessa handed the item to
him.

He bobbed it up and down, testing its weight. “What do you
have in here, bricks?”

Just the usual stuff, in addition to her laptop with all
those Internet articles about him. The ones that were on the major news and
crime sites rather than the business or medical pages. They reminded Tessa of
what had happened to him a little over a year ago. Most likely the real reason
he didn’t want to get too close to anyone, especially a woman. If Tessa had
been through what he’d survived and continued to endure, she wouldn’t have even
hired escorts. She would have stayed in bed, nursing a hurt that wouldn’t go
away.

Understanding softened her stance. Not that she could tell
him that or broach anything he wanted to forget. She was here to give him a
good time, right? She shouldn’t push him for any more than that. At least not
unless he wanted it, which he probably wouldn’t. Suppressing a sigh, she
murmured, “You and Wallace are such wusses.”

Logan gave her a sidelong look. “Excuse me?”

She continued to tease, figuring it might be the best way to
break through the fortress he’d built around himself. “I’ve used hair dryers
that were heavier than my purse, which is obviously more than you or he could
handle.” Tessa wiggled her fingers. “Go on, give it back to me. I’m used to
lugging stuff around. I’ll just toss it on the porch.”

He slung the strap over his shoulder.

“Careful,” she cooed. “Wouldn’t want you injuring yourself.”

“Don’t you worry,” he drawled right back. “I don’t intend to
damage any part of me that I’m going to need during the next seven days.”

Her attention dropped to his fly, the prominent ridge of his
cock pressing against it. Thick and erect, just as she’d suspected earlier. No
doubt fragrant with the scent of his musk. She fought a shiver of delight. “Good
to know.”

“By the way,” he added, “before you strip, let down your
hair, literally. And when you do strip, leave on your sandals.” He studied them
with obvious appreciation, lingering on the black ribbons tied in bows around
her ankles.

For the moment, Tessa left everything on, including the
coated band holding her ponytail. “You’re sure there’s no one else around? Not
that I mind,” she lied, given that she really wasn’t an exhibitionist. “However,
they might.”

“Don’t see why.” His gaze trailed up her appreciatively,
pausing on her breasts. What she knew were the hard points of her nipples. “However,
there’s not one soul in the vicinity, unless someone’s flying overhead.”

The sky was an unbroken mass of brilliant blue.

He parroted her earlier words. “Alone at last.”

Uh-huh. The reality excited and kind of daunted Tessa. Being
alone with him was somehow different than it had been with her other clients.
Maybe it was because Logan was so freaking hot and much closer to her age,
thirty-three according to the articles, which made him younger than many of her
other clients. Could be it was the sun pouring down on them, hiding nothing.
Certainly not like the relatively soft lighting at the auction—even when she’d
been on stage—that smoothed away a lot of her flaws.

She ran her fingers over the side zipper of her shorts, not
yet confident enough to lower it. “Aren’t you going to undress too?”

Slowly, almost stubbornly, Logan shook his head.

“Why not?”

“I don’t need to be naked for you to make us lunch.”

Tessa stared, then laughed. “But I do?”

“It’s what I want.”

She thought he’d wanted to have sex. To bury his emotions in
the act, revealing none of himself. Instead, he wanted her stripped bare, at
least physically, while he remained dressed. Leaving her more defenseless than
him. This wasn’t turning out as she’d imagined.

When she didn’t move, he asked, “Need help…or have you
changed your mind about this?”

His question was more challenge than inquiry, triggering
something within Tessa. Genuine desire she’d buried and denied for too long because
of her self-doubt. If she caved and suddenly came on strong, tugging at his
clothing, wanting it off so he wouldn’t focus so much on her, they’d screw like
sex-starved monkeys and that would be that. Nothing more. Nothing deeper. Just
an escort and her client. With mindless fucking filling their seven days.

It wasn’t nearly enough for her.

She wanted to see more of what he’d already revealed about
his personality. He enjoyed teasing, playing, turning this into a test of
wills. An encounter he intended to win.

Maybe…maybe not.
“I haven’t changed my mind.”

Recalling how Scheherazade had coaxed that poor, clueless
sultan to her side, Tessa removed the band from her hair—her best
feature—slipping the elastic into her shorts front pocket. She turned her head
from side to side, allowing her hair to flow freely. Just to make certain it
did, she ran her fingers through it, her back arched, her nipples pushing
against her top’s clingy fabric.

Logan noticed. Suddenly, he wasn’t so worried about her
hair. He looked like he really wanted her top and shorts off. In all this
revealing light.

Still stalling, Tessa next concentrated on her shorts,
lowering the zipper in degrees, pausing to stroke her skin frequently before
she continued and absolutely had to undress.

After a few seconds, Logan gripped her luggage’s handle, his
thumb tapping it.

In response to his obvious impatience, and what she hoped
was his mounting excitement, Tessa folded the front panel of her shorts down to
reveal her belly and navel jewelry. The garnets flashed blood red in the potent
sun, spraying patches of color on her pale skin.

“Off,” he said, the word strangled.

Okay, so he definitely sounded aroused. It helped relax
Tessa. “Yes sir.”

He grinned at her servile response.

Gently, she swayed her hips back and forth, coaxing the
garment over her curves. Before they reached the tops of her thighs, she
decided to go for broke and turned her back to Logan.

He made a noise of protest, then went silent at Tessa’s
shorts dropping around her ankles. The warm breeze grazed her naked ass,
exposed fully by her lacy black thong.

Please, please, please, let it look good.

The wheels of her luggage scraped over the bricks. She
looked over. Logan hadn’t moved farther away as she’d thought. He’d let go of
her luggage. It rolled down the walkway and bumped against one of the short
shrubs, tottering to a stop.

He didn’t notice or appear to care. His attention remained
on her plush cheeks, the backs of her thighs. If he saw her imperfections as
she always had, they didn’t seem to bother him. Rarely had Tessa seen a man as
riveted or as pleased. It showed in his disarming smile. Unsophisticated and
completely endearing.

Joy bubbled in her for having caused his present state, which
also gave her a shitload of confidence. Wanting to do far more, Tessa grabbed
the stairway’s wooden rail, using it for support as she stepped out of her
shorts, the legs wide enough so that her sandals didn’t get caught on them. Gracefully,
she turned to face him, arms at her sides.

“More,” he ordered immediately, then shook his head. “I mean
off.” His attention darted from her thong to her body jewelry, then back to her
thong.

Wanting to play with him, she reached for the garnets to
remove them.

He objected immediately. “No. Leave that. Take off your
underwear.”

“You’re sure?”

Logan clenched his jaw so hard, his teeth must have hurt.

Poor baby. “As you wish,” she purred.

This time, he didn’t grin. Probably hadn’t heard her.
Basking in the glow of her womanly power, how she clearly affected him, Tessa
pushed her thong down, a bit faster than she had her zipper, though she didn’t
rush.

Logan stepped closer as the lacy edge finally dipped past
her groin.

“Wait.” He held up his hand and gawked at her baby-smooth
skin. “You got one of those waxes?”

Brazilian to be precise. Tessa had sensed he’d enjoy it.
Feigning uncertainty, she asked, “You don’t like it?”

“Huh?” He glanced at her. “What?” Before she could answer,
he regarded her smooth cleft, her plump vaginal lips, already moist for him. “Wow.”

Damn, this was nice.

With her spirits soaring, Tessa pushed her thong past her
thighs. It snagged on her knees for a moment, then dropped to her sandals.
Using more care than she had with her shorts, Tessa finally stepped out of her
underwear. She didn’t stumble once, her dignity intact. “Ready for more…or do
you need a moment to calm down? Should I call 9-1-1 as a precaution?”

He worked his mouth so he wouldn’t smile. “You’re wrong, you
know.”

Tessa’s hands stalled on the hem of her top. “About what?”

“Me being a wuss. You have no idea what I have planned for
you.”

Given his husky voice and wolfish expression, Tessa had a
fair idea. Heat suffused her chest, throat, and cheeks.

Logan noted her deep blush. “You all right?”

“Are you?”

“If I’m not and need CPR,
you’ll
be giving it to me.
Understand?”

Yes sir.
Recalling their kiss, the sheer wonder of
it, Tessa nodded obediently. “Should I continue?”

“Only if you don’t want to be punished. Your choice.”

Her heart skipped a beat. The thought of him turning her over
his knee and paddling her if she didn’t obey him was a huge turn-on. Her cunt
grew damper, the breeze licking her moisture. She wondered if it glistened in
the sun, her arousal so obvious he’d notice. “You want to spank me?”

“What do you want, Tessa?”

He was turning things around on her again, demanding that
she reveal things about herself while he remained aloof. Not eager to fight him
at this time, she murmured, “Later.”

He nodded. “Definitely later. Get rid of the top. Quickly,”
he ordered.

Tamed and loving it, Tessa pulled the garment off without
any hesitation and dropped it on top of her shorts. If she’d flung it into one
of the trees, Logan probably wouldn’t have noticed given how he focused on her
bra.

When she reached in back to unclasp it, he said, “No. Leave
it on.”

Tessa’s hands returned to her sides, giving him the show he
wanted. Her bra had half cups, the ebony satin and lace fully exposing her
nipples. Unlike the night of the auction, they weren’t rouged.

Logan ran his forefinger around her right areola. Ribbons of
sensation shot through Tessa, forcing her to bite back a bawdy moan. Her
nipples constricted even more, the tips über firm.

“Nice,” he whispered, then spoke more loudly. “Do you always
wear bras like this one?”

She hadn’t before today, so she said “no” quickly, not
wanting Logan to think she had for her other clients, which might make him
wonder what she did with them. That would surely drive home that she was
nothing more than an escort. Something Tessa couldn’t abide. She’d enjoyed
their banter and his praise too much, sharing her history with him even though
he had yet to reveal anything personal to her.

“You should,” he said. Honesty rang in his words. “It’s
amazing.”

She smiled inwardly at his awe, floored and pleased by it. “Thanks.
You hungry?”

He pulled his attention from her nipples.

Moments passed in silence, the air thick with promise. If he
reached for her now, Tessa knew she wouldn’t resist…couldn’t. Although she had
a clear desire for how this week should go, she wasn’t made of stone. She’d
been lonely for too many years. Ignored for as long as she could remember. One
touch from him and she’d sag against his hard body, her mouth on his, her hands
roaming over all the good spots.

To her surprise, he behaved. Just as she’d wanted earlier.
So they could get to know each other a bit first.

“For food,” she finally added when he said nothing at all. “The
picnic lunch I’m going to make.”

That broke his concentration…somewhat. He divided his
attention between her naked cleft, her sandals’ black bows, the dangling
garnets, and her bared nipples, as though unable to decide where to linger the
most.

At last, he gestured to the front door.

Tessa didn’t move. “My luggage?”

Logan looked around, obviously surprised it wasn’t in the
vicinity. He retrieved it, along with her clothing—which he pressed to his face
and sniffed, savoring her fragrance.

She swallowed hard, moved beyond anything she’d known.