by Erika Masten
She looked down at the Chanel box with apprehension in her gaze. “What’s the catch?”
“The catch is I need you to go to a dinner with me tonight, here in Boston, just us and a business partner and his wife. I’m about to close a deal and a good impression will go a long way.”
“You want me to help you?”
“That’s correct. I need a date. I don’t know anyone in Boston, so that leaves you.”
“Good to know I’m your first choice,” she snapped, tossing her MP3 player on the bed and looking down at the box.
Here we go, can’t be in the same room for five minutes without a fight starting.
“You know what, forget it.” He turned and began walking toward the door. “I can do this without you.” It had been a long week, he didn’t have the patience to fight with her.
“Wait!”
He stopped in his tracks but didn’t turn around.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”
He slowly turned.
She gave him a sheepish grin. “I guess you bring out the worst in me.”
“We seem to bring out the worst in each other. Guess that means other than sex we’ll never be together.” The words came out of his mouth before he gave them any thought, but the look of hurt in her eyes made him regret them. “Angel, listen, I didn’t…”
She put up a hand stopping him from moving toward her. “Why apologize for the truth?” Not looking at him, she tugged at the black satin bow tied around the box and removed it, then slowly removed the lid to reveal a red satin cocktail dress.
She pulled the dress from the box and examined it.
“So, do you like it?”
“Yeah, it’s beautiful. Thanks.”
“Then, you’ll go?”
“It is part of the agreement, isn’t it? What time?”
“Eight.”
“I’ll be ready.”
With her facing around away from him, he was having a hard time judging her mood, but the tension in her body told him enough and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. “Listen Angelica…”
“I’ll be ready.” The tone in her voice told him the discussion was closed.
Chapter 6
How one person could make her feel so good, like maybe he wanted to bridge the gap and then with a heartless comment or action could make her feel so insignificant and cheap was beyond her. She was angry with herself that she was letting his opinion and view hurt her.
Giving herself a final inspection she was impressed at how well the dress fit. How he knew what to buy her was beyond her. It sure beat the last few items of clothing he’d bought for her. The off-shoulder red satin dress was loose-fitting around the chest, but tightened around the hips and buttocks, falling to just above the knee.
She finished off the look with a pair of pear-shaped drop diamond earrings and diamond necklace. After pulling on a pair of black Chanel sling back shoes, she grabbed her black Chanel bag and made her way to the staircase. She paused at the balcony overlooking the entranceway and her eyes landed on Logan’s broad back, in a black suit jacket. He seemed to be holding something, but she couldn’t quite see what it was since he was looking out the window next to the door and into the driveway.
Sensing her behind him, Logan slowly turned and his gaze caught hers. His stare was so intense, she felt her face growing warm and she averted her gaze.
“I’m ready.” She tapped the face of her gold and diamond detailed watch and began to descend the stairs. “And I still have five minutes to spare.”
“I had no doubt.”
He met her at the bottom of the stairs and passed her the bouquet of roses he had in his hands. She crinkled her nose up at him, as she accepted the flowers and breathed in deeply, savouring the sweet scent. “What are these for?”
Logan shrugged, giving her a sheepish smile. “Peace offering?”
Tilting her head to the side, she studied his expression, not sure what to think. “Are you asking me or telling me?”
“Maybe a little of both.”
They stood looking at each other for a minute, silence overtaking them. This is awkward. Things were never awkward between them. Combative, yes. Sexually charged, you bet. But awkward was a new feeling.
“I should put these in water.” She hooked her thumb behind her in the direction of the kitchen.
He let out his breath, in a loud whoosh. “Good idea.”
The awkward silence took over once again as they made their way through the house to the kitchen, the only sound the click-clack of her heels on the porcelain tile floor.
If it stays like this, it’s going to be a long night, she mused as she grabbed a vase from a cabinet under the sink and poured some water from the faucet into it. She almost preferred the combative banter between them to this unknowing. Logan unwrapped her flowers as she poured the packet of flower food into the vase. Still in silence, they worked together arranging the dozen roses.
“You look amazing in that dress.”
She lifted her eyes to meet his and found herself flushing. “Thank you.” She looked down at herself. “It’s beautiful. You have amazing taste. Or at least it’s improved since my last gift from you.”
He laughed out loud. “Which you haven’t worn all week, don’t think I didn’t notice.”
She laughed along with him, seeing the humour in his sexy green eyes and feeling the tension begin to slowly melt away. Finished with the flowers she leaned back against the countertop.
Eyeing him from head to toe she gave him a nod of approval, fingering the lapel of his suit jacket. “You look pretty good yourself, Spanky.”
Logan relaxed against the sink, crossing his arms over his chest. “Spanky? Is that my nickname? What did I do to earn that name?”
“It isn’t your nickname... yet… I’m still testing it out.” She grimaced. “It’s better than some of the names I’ve come up with since I’ve met you.”
He cringed. “Harsh. Maybe I deserve that.”
She cocked a brow up at him.
“Okay, I probably deserve that.”
Their gazes locked again and she felt herself melt. How could he have such an effect on her? It was disturbing that only a matter of a word or a look could make or break her mood. No man ever had that power over her before. “You haven’t been around much.”
“It’s a tiring commute each day.”
“You do own the company, can’t you work through the computer or something?”
“I figured you’d be happy to have the house to yourself all week.”
“I don’t know. I just –” She sighed and pushed herself off of the counter. “Never mind.”
“No, what?” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him. “Tell me. What’re you thinking?”
She lowered her gaze and looked down at the tips of her shoes. “It’s just too… quiet. You know?”
To her surprise he pulled her into his arms and held her tight. “I know.” By the soothing tone in his voice she didn’t doubt he indeed knew. Maybe they weren’t so different after all?
~*~*~*~*~
“Logan, so good to see you again.” William, a man of his mid-50s, extended his hand to Logan and then Angelica before nodding toward his wife. “I don’t think you’ve met my wife, Melissa.”
Angelica focused her attention briefly to Melissa, who was the usual trophy wife: tall, blonde, with one too many trips to the plastic surgeon. Plastic surgery was one thing she just couldn’t wrap her head around.
Once finished with introductions, they sat and placed their orders. Less than ten minutes into sitting down Logan and William became engrossed in a heated conversation about some business deal. She normally had no reason to go to business dinners, and now she knew why her mother would complain about how boring they were. While theoretically she and Melissa were supposed to entertain each other, neither one was able to maintain any sort of conversation, so she split her time between her meal and stealing glances over at Logan.
>
There was something else bothering her – William. She couldn’t quite place him; all she knew that was that she somehow knew him. Had he been a business associate of her father? Maybe the father of a friend of hers? She couldn’t say, but something about William Vaughn wasn’t sitting right. For once she wished she’d paid better attention to her father when he’d speak about business.
She looked down at the scallops on her plate and absentmindedly poked at them with her fork. But even if he had dealings with her father, so what? That shouldn’t be enough to make her feel uneasy. She gave her head a shake, feeling foolish. Even if he had been associated with her father that was the past.
“You okay?”
So caught up in her own thoughts, she jumped at the sound of Logan’s voice. “What? I’m –” She caught Logan’s eyes and gave him a tight smile. “I’m fine. Just not feeling right…”
“Do you –”
“Excuse me.” She pushed her chair back and stood, scanning the restaurant for any sign of a restroom. After a minute of scanning she caught sight of it on the far end of the restaurant. Not waiting for a reply, she left the table and made her way across the room.
I bet they think I’m a nut, she groaned inwardly. She wanted to be the good partner for Logan. Normally she had an easier time faking it and being able to make idle chit-chat, she was just off of her game tonight.
She disappeared into the restroom and made her way to the mirrors, relieved to see she had the restroom to herself. Closing her eyes she rolled her neck back and forth. Memories of the dinner parties her parents had hosted over the years came to mind, hundreds of parties, thousands of people. There would be no more parties, no more shopping with her mother for the perfect dress or hearing her father tell her what a stunning young woman she’d turned out to be. They’d never see her graduate from college or prove to them she could be so much more than the troublesome teenager she once was. Tears welled up in her eyes; it was too much and the tears began to stream down her cheeks.
A knock came at the door, followed by Logan’s voice. “Angel, are you in here?”
Shit! Grabbing a few pieces of paper towel from the dispenser she dampened the towel and dabbed at her eyes, attempting to salvage as much of her makeup as possible.
“Angel?” The door creaked open and she heard his footsteps entering. “Are you in here?”
“Go away. I’m fine.” She wiped her nose and sniffed, turning to face him as he came around the corner, concern etched in his features.
“What’s wrong?” He was across the floor in the matter of a few strides and pulled her into his arms. “What’s going on?”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she buried her face against his chest and held tight to him. Instead of stopping the tears, the warm comfort of his embrace only opened the floodgates once again, but her tears came harder and faster this time.
“Melissa can’t be that much of a bore is she?” he teased, kissing her temple.
She choked on a partial laugh and shook her head. “No.”
“Your father?”
“And Mom. Memories, you know?”
“I know.” He took a deep breath in and slowly released it, while stroking her golden locks. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought you.”
Once she had herself under control she reluctantly pulled out of his embrace and turned to look into the mirror again and gasped. She looked like a demented clown with red puffy eyes, streaks of black down her cheeks and silver shimmer along her temples and forehead.
“Oh God, I look bad.” She looked back at Logan and her eyes widened in horror at the sight of his white dress shirt now with black streaks along the chest and collar. “And your shirt. Oh no!”
He looked down at his shirt, but didn’t seem perturbed. “It’s okay, sweetie.”
“God, I’m so damned broken right now. I’m sorry.”
He stepped behind her and ran his hands up and down her upper arms, his gaze meeting hers in the mirror. “You’re human and grieving. Nothing weird or broken about that. I’d be more concerned if you weren’t feeling something.” His expression of sympathy and concern was genuine and there was honesty and caring in his eyes.
For the first time since she met Logan there was no doubt in her mind about him or his intentions for her. He wasn’t her enemy and he wasn’t there to make her life a living hell. It may have been his original intention, but it wasn’t any longer. No, now he was there for her and the realization that she wasn’t alone after all nearly sent her back into a sobbing mess.
“What are you thinking, Angel?”
Closing her eyes she leaned back against him and took a moment to listen to the soft rhythmic thumping of his heart. “That I’m not alone after all.”
He gave her a little squeeze. “No. You’re not.”
Chapter 7
“So,” Logan jerked his thumb toward his bedroom door and smiled. “This is me.”
She jerked her thumb toward her door. “Yeah, I’m down there.”
“Sure, sure.”
She didn’t want to be alone tonight, but didn’t have the courage to ask to stay with him. Something changed between them tonight and in this new relationship paradigm she didn’t know where she stood. Friends, maybe?
Looking up into his eyes she saw he seemed as confused as she was about what to do or where to go next. She sighed. She couldn’t handle a rejection from him right now, it was best to retire to their respective rooms.
She took a few steps backward. “It’s been a long day so…”
“Yeah.” A sympathetic smile spread across his lips. “I know. If you need me…” He nodded toward his room.
“I know where to find you.”
“Okay. He nodded. “Goodnight Angel.” And then he was gone, disappeared into his room.
“Goodnight,” she whispered to the empty hallway as she entered her own room, closing the door softly behind her.
Angelica felt numb as she undressed and slipped into a pair of fleece pants and camisole. At least when she was fighting with Logan, attempting to one-up him she felt something. The frustration and anger were center stage and kept her from feeling the pain. Now that she had her little breakdown in the restroom all she felt was… nothing.
She needed to feel something. All she had to do was walk a few doors down and lose herself in Logan. Maybe she’d be rejected, but that wouldn’t be any worse than what she was feeling now, or worse, falling back into the bowels of sorrow.
Walking to her door she grasped the knob and stopped herself. Things were good between them, did she really want to potentially ruin their already fragile relationship?
Not allowing herself to give it any more thought she turned the knob and made her way to Logan’s door. She paused briefly before knocking.
“Come on in.”
She opened the door to see Logan had changed into jeans and a t-shirt and was sitting at the desk at the far end of the room, his laptop open. He finished typing whatever it was he was working on as she stood shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot at the entrance of his room, wondering if she should just go back to her room and forget being with him tonight.
“Everything all right?” He shut down the computer, closing the top and then stood, crossing the room to her.
She shrugged. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
He thrust a hand into his dark hair and sighed. “I see. Do you want to go for a walk, or maybe grab a snack...”
She looked up into his eyes. “No.” Gathering her courage, she stepped up to him and placed her hands onto his chest. The muscles flexed as her fingers caressed him. “That’s not what I want.”
His body tensed. “Then what do you want?”
Sliding her hands up his chest to his explore his shoulders, she pressed herself tight to him. “You know what I want.” She chewed at her lower lip as she searched his eyes for a clue to what he was thinking. She kissed her way across his jaw and then ghosted her lips across his. "I need som
ebody right now. I need you."
He touched the side of her face and her eyes found his. "You don't know me, Angelica. If you did, I don’t think you'd want anything to do with me."
"I want to know you and I think you may need me as much as I do you." She slipped her hand to the nape of his neck and gently urged his lips down to hers. His aftershave drifted to her, beckoning her closer.
Logan hesitated, conflicting emotions flashing in his eyes. She could feel him fighting with himself, deciding whether to allow things to progress or not.
Angelica moaned and excitement rushed through her as Logan's lips came crashing down onto hers. As their lips and tongues danced and explored, he twirled her around, and walked her backward until the backs of her legs hit the mattress.
She squealed as they fell backward onto the bed. His body pressed her back against the mattress as he settled between her legs. As his tongue slipped past her parted lips, his growing erection pressed against her pelvis restricted by the layer of jeans and fleece.
Memories of the night at the club and how marvellous he'd felt as his dick slid in and out of her, filling her to the limits and making her climax – over and over – came to mind. She slipped her hands around his waist and pulled his body down tighter to hers. Her hips bucked up against him – her pussy needing his thick dick filling it.
Logan's lips left hers and slowly began to trail butterfly kisses across her jaw. Angelica's back arched exposing her neck to him, as she pulled the hem of his t-shirt up so she could run her fingers along the hard contour of muscle underneath. With one hand at the side of her head, holding up his weight, his free hand pulled the camisole up until her moderately sized, perky breasts were bared to him. His fingers began to caress the first nipple and she gasped as a short jolt of electric pleasure shot through her.
"My God Logan I want you!" She could feel her juices beginning to pool between her legs as her pussy throbbed. Wanting him. Needing him. Her desire for him was maddening. She clawed frantically at the shirt and with his assistance finally pulled it up over his head and tossed it to the floor.
