Ever so slowly, Veronica inched her way across the bench seat so she was sitting next to him, her thigh brushing his. Even through the springy fabric of her dress and his pants, warmth radiated from her body to his.
“I’ve never been one to keep things light,” she said, leaning in slowly. “But I’m willing to give it a shot…if you’ll show me.”
Veronica was exactly the kind of woman he needed to stay away from. He tried to creep away, but his back met the hard ridge of the door. He kept his arm in place, but now it was draped right behind her shoulder. How easy it would be to curl it around her petite frame and drag her against him. She’d be warm and soft, a reprieve from the harsh coldness he’d forced into his life.
“Tell me, Logan,” she said, her mouth dangerously close to his. “Why were you so assertive back at the park, when you offered to take me home, but now it feels like you’re pulling away? Have you changed your mind?”
“About you?” The desire to stamp his mouth on hers had only hardened with her showing of confidence. “No.”
“Then what?”
Thinking about nothing but the lust spiking his gut, Logan clutched her shoulder and hauled her against him. “If we do this, it’s one time. One night that we never talk about to anyone, and I mean anyone. We never mention it again. No pressure. No expectations. No sleeping over or phone call in the morning. This is about sex, pure and simple. Can you handle that?”
Veronica’s breath hitched as a rich wave of sexual heat assaulted his senses. She was ready for him, her body going pliant in his arms.
“You sure do have a lot of rules.” She licked her lips, letting her tongue linger in the corner of her mouth.
Logan hardened to the point of pain as he envisioned her wet, pink tongue swirling around the tip of his cock. He swallowed hard, and said, “Rules are meant to protect the players.”
She paused, no doubt weighing his words against her expectations for the rest of the night. In that split second of quiet, when the pitter-pattering of the rain and the raspy notes in Van Morrison’s voice deafened the muffled thud of Logan’s heart, he second-guessed his offer.
What the hell was he doing? He needed to get his head on straight.
“Okay.” She leaned in to him before he could take it all back, and flicked her tongue across his lips. “Let’s play.”
On a groan, Logan plunged into her mouth. She whimpered at the force of the contact, but opened up wide, letting his tongue sink in. His senses exploded, consumed by the honeyed taste of her mouth, the creaminess of her lips, and the soft little mewing sounds escaping her as he slanted his mouth over hers. He sucked on her tongue, earning a squeal of delight that made his cock twitch with raging need. He drove his fingers into her hair and tugged on the silky brown strands until she arched back into his hands, her mouth opening in desperate invitation. Then, when the air ripped from Logan’s lungs, leaving him gasping for more, he planted a firm hand on her hip.
“Stop,” he fought out, pulling back. If he was ever going to stop, now was the time. Before things got out of control and he lost his restraint completely. He’d never crossed that line and gotten involved with someone he was protecting. Yet with Veronica, it was different. It felt as if he was on the border of having it all together, and losing everything at once. “We have to stop, have to…sloooow down.”
“Can’t.” Her voice was weak. Fatigued. Her eyes were closed and her lips kiss-swollen. “Don’t.”
Roping her arms around him, Veronica buried her face in his neck. Her hair, though it was tied back, smelled so good, like vanilla and coconut—the perfect combination of sweet and fresh. He closed his eyes and breathed her in as his senses kicked into overdrive, spinning with the scents from her hair, her skin, and her arousal.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” she whispered against his ear. “And I have to admit that I kinda like the thrill of it. You can’t pull the rug from beneath me now.”
As Logan’s stomach flipped, he swept Veronica into his arms, pushed out the door and stormed into the rain.
Chapter Four
“Wait…wait.” Veronica slung her purse in front of her and fumbled for her keys. Logan set her down and stole behind her, his arms coiled around her waist, his face buried in her neck. He dusted kisses over her shoulder, letting his lips glide over the silkiness of her skin. She moaned, rested her head on him. And dropped her keys. “Damn it.”
Palming her stomach, Logan held Veronica firmly against him. He was so hard. So achingly hard. “Hurry,” was all he could muster.
“I can’t”—her breath hitched—“when you’re doing that.”
“What? This?” He gripped her waist and suckled her earlobe between his lips. “Is this distracting you?”
“Uh-huh.” She swayed against him and rose up on tiptoe so that her backside was brushing against his erection. “Have to get inside…neighbors watching…don’t want…”
“Shh…” Logan nipped at her lobe and gave a low groan into her ear. “Why don’t you bend over and grab those keys?”
She shuddered, her skin dimpling with gooseflesh. “But I don’t want to move.”
“If you don’t find the strength, your neighbors are going to get one hell of a show.” While holding her against him with one hand wrapped around her waist, Logan used the other to skim down her body. Down the flat span of her stomach. Down her thigh. He lifted her dress and touched skin.
“Okay. Wait.” She jolted into action, bent over—all too quickly—and jammed the keys into the lock. She spun around, playing the temptress by biting her lip in the coyest way, and leaned back against the door. “Come on in.”
She invited him closer. Beckoned him in with a seductive glare that burned right through his clothes.
Veronica opened the door wide and stepped backward over the threshold. Her heel caught. With her weight behind the door, it whooshed open, slamming against the wall. She lost her balance. Tumbled and gave a half-laughing scream. Logan lurched forward to catch her, but momentum was pitching her toward the living room floor. He did the only thing he could do—he wrapped his arms around her waist, tucked her against him, and rolled. His back met the floor as she landed on top of him, hip to hip. She giggled into a laugh and propped herself up on her elbow.
“Let me guess,” he said, laying his head on the hardwood. “Is your middle name Grace?”
His job was to watch for creepy, pervy stalkers, but if Jake really wanted Veronica protected, he should’ve sent someone to watch for cracks in the sidewalk.
She smacked him in the chest. “Is your back okay? You hit the ground really hard.”
“Believe me…” Now it was Logan who laughed. “My back is fine.”
“I totally ruined the mood.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” Judging from the massive tent pitching his pants, the mood hadn’t changed at all. He took the tip of Veronica’s ponytail, which dangled in his face, and slipped it over her shoulder. “You saved me from having to sweep you off your feet. Look at that. You’re already there.”
“Oh, jeez, lay it on thick.” Her kissable lips pursed. “You must sweep all the ladies off their feet.”
“Believe me, it’s not like that.” Logan slid his hands around her waist and tugged her against him. “I just know what I want when I see it. Is the sweet talk working?”