Logan exited the freeway, and the truck jerked as it downshifted. “You haven’t read your sister’s books?”
“Is it that obvious?”
As a stop sign came into sight, he slowed around a bend. “Is it your sister’s writing style?”
“No.” That wasn’t it at all. “I think wolves are disgusting, hairy creatures who—”
Logan slammed on his brakes, well short of the stop sign line.
Veronica lurched forward, then back, slamming her head against the bench seat. “What was that for?” She was more shocked than hurt, her mouth gaping open when she realized he’d just brake-checked her. “I don’t see anyone crossing, funny guy. I think you’re clear for another ten feet.”
“Sorry.” Logan shrugged, and a tiny dimple indented into his left cheek. “Jerky brakes. I need to take a look at those.”
…
“There,” Veronica said, pointing to a white two-story home in Ballard, a subdivision in northern Seattle. “My house is the one with the red front door.”
“I see it.” Logan flipped around and parked in front, so that she would step out onto the sidewalk, then killed the engine. “It’s nice.”
But Logan already knew which house Veronica lived in, even before she pointed it out. He knew before she directed him off the freeway, and before the day started. Hell, Logan knew a lot more than that. She didn’t own the white house with the red door—the house was her sister’s, and she’d been renting it from her for the last two years. The blue house across the street with the overgrown grass and weeds in the beds…Logan was renting that one.
Lucky for him, the place had gone up for rent shortly after Jake called for help with Veronica’s stalker. If he had to keep an eye on his neighbor without her knowing it, there was no better vantage point than from the safety of the living room across the street. He could easily see who came and went, and who drove too slowly down the street. Plus, there was a detached garage in back with alley access that allowed him to come and go without being seen.
“What part of Seattle do you live in?” Veronica’s hands fidgeted in her lap.
“I live pretty close, actually.” Logan stretched his arm over the back of the bench seat and glanced over his shoulder at his temporary digs.
“Really? That’s convenient. Won’t be a long ride home, then.” Veronica spun slightly, angling her body toward him. Her sweet scent hit him hard, like a sucker punch to the groin. He hardened behind his fly, and shifted in his seat to hide the proof. How could she affect him so easily? With a single glance from behind her thick, fluttering lashes, his insides tightened into a fist. One whiff of her scent, and the wolf inside him roared, clawing to be set free.
She bit her bottom lip. “Did you enjoy yourself at the wedding?
“What’s there to enjoy? Overpriced drinks, overpriced gifts, and tons of family nobody recognizes.” Watching her worry her lip between her teeth evaporated the moisture from Logan’s mouth. He wanted to trace that plump bottom lip with his tongue and slowly suck it into his mouth. “This, right here, is the highlight of my night.”
“That’s sweet of you to say.” She paused, eyeing his lips with rabid hunger. “I heard what you said to that old man during the reception. You really don’t ever see yourself settling down?” Her tone was light, without any hint of pressure.
“I’m not the marrying kind.” Simple. To the point. No need to go into all the gory details of his parents’ marriage and the gleaming example he’d had of what not to do. “It’s better that I’m on my own.”
“Better, how?”
As a slow and soulful Van Morrison song buzzed from the speakers, a smattering of rain began to dimple the windshield. He exhaled heavily and struggled to release himself from the guilt of getting close to Veronica when he knew he shouldn’t.
“I meant that it’s better for the woman.” Uncomfortable and hating the feeling, Logan glanced over at his talkative passenger. The end of her ponytail was draped over one smooth shoulder, and the skinny strap of her black dress had slipped off the other. She was simply seductive, classically beautiful with dark hair and dark eyes that had more tones and shades to them than he could study in a lifetime. She was different from the other women he’d dated, who caked makeup over their faces in a poor attempt to hide their “flaws.” She was naturally dazzling and didn’t even know it. “I don’t do long-term relationships, and I don’t play the boyfriend card well, so it’s better if I keep things light.”
“You mean distant,” she corrected.
“Yeah. I mean distant.” Logan kept everyone at arm’s length. Always had. He’d had girlfriends over the years, but he couldn’t commit as they’d wanted him to. Logan’s mother had been married five times before he reached third grade. When she finally found her Luminary—her one and only fated lover—they’d fought like cats and dogs. Logan learned the lesson early: even if he found his soul’s match, things still wouldn’t be easy. They’d still fight. Still ride each other’s last nerve. “Like I said, it’s better this way.”
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 h
ip.
“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?”
“Um-hmm.” Veronica purred as she closed her mouth over his. Her body hummed, sending tendrils of energy snaking from her body to his. Something fierce whipped through him, jump-starting his heart and firing his libido lava-rock hot. Nothing existed but Veronica’s mouth, her tongue, her body.
“The door,” she mumbled against his mouth. “I left the door.”
Open, he finished in his mind. “Got it.”
He flipped her over, cradling her head so it didn’t whack against the floor. She gasped when his lips crushed hers, and he plunged his tongue deep in her mouth.
“Be right back,” he said, rising to all fours. Keeping his gaze glued to hers, he backed away slowly, then donkey-kicked the door shut behind him.
“Smooth, Logan.” She smiled as she watched him approach. “Real smooth.”
Crawling between her legs, Logan glided his hand up her calf, her thigh. “You’re right.” And as he bent low to kiss her leg, he growled. She twitched, stiffened at the sound, but relaxed once his lips touched the warm flesh of her inner thigh. “You’re smooth as silk.” He let his hands lead the way up her body, nudging her dress with his nose as he went. “And I bet you taste as sweet as honey.”
Her fingers tangled in his hair. She planted her heels and thrust her hips forward, just a bit. Just enough. “What are you doing to me?” she mumbled.
“I’m untying you.” Logan brushed his hand over her panties and found them damp with heat. “Jesus, you’re so wet.”
“Yeah, it’s uh”—she shook—“been a while since someone has done this to me, so…”
His gaze slid up her beautiful body. Veronica was flat on her back, her neck raised to watch him crawl over her. Her mouth was parted slightly, her eyes glimmering with desire.
“How long?” he asked, beginning to tremble with his own need.
“Weeks.” Her breath hitched as he swiped his fingers over her panties and swirled them over her sensitive spot. “Could’ve been months.”
“Months?” Logan couldn’t control the shrill in his voice. “What’s wrong with the men in this part of town? Are they blind? Senseless?” Stupid as fuck? “That’s just not right.”
She quivered from his touch. “I don’t know, but right about now I’m wishing there were more like you around here.”
“It’s a damn shame, but baby, I’m one of a kind.”
Teasingly slow, Logan peeled Veronica’s panties off her legs and tossed them aside. He pushed her dress to her waist, and then slipped his fingers into her folds. He groaned at the feel of her. She was slick. Warmer and softer than he could’ve imagined.
“Oh, God.” She lifted her hips and clawed at his back.
“Oh, yes.”
Logan’s eyes rolled back and his back teeth grinded until his jaw ached. Damn it, he was drawn so tight. Too tight. His muscles were on the verge of cramping, and they hadn’t even started yet.
He hovered over her, watching her face change as pleasure took over. Her eyelids fluttered closed and her mouth opened as she gasped for air. He had to taste her. Had to roll his tongue against hers. Keeping one of his fingers working her soft flesh, Logan braced himself on his other hand and brought his mouth down over hers. It was more than a kiss. It was an electric shot of lust that hit him hard. As though she felt the same thing, Veronica moaned, robbing him of his breath. She surrendered, her body rolling as her orgasm took hold.
“Holy hell.” She dropped her hands onto her forehead and went still beneath him. “Holy, holy, holy hell.”
“You’re still able to formulate words?” Logan slipped a f
inger inside her, then another, and began to massage her from the inside out. “No, that’s just not good enough. I want you to feel so good that you speak in tongues.”
Veronica inhaled sharply as Logan lowered his head between her legs. She grasped at his shoulders, urging him on by sliding her hand up his neck and guiding his head where she wanted it. He licked a slow, lazy line through her slit and moaned as the succulent flavors hit his tongue. She quivered. Shook. Her thighs fluttered on either side of his head. He wanted to dive into her and stay there awhile. Savor every last ounce. Lick her until he lost feeling in his lips.
“You’re going to make me…holy—” She drove her hips upward in time with the quick flicks of his tongue. “Logan…you’re going to…”
“Um-hm.” He couldn’t pull away to mutter a single word, so he let the words vibrate into her core.
She clutched at his shoulders, desperate, hungry, and then raked her nails into his skin, starting off an explosion of pleasure unlike anything Logan had ever experienced. It may as well have been his pleasure, and his orgasm. He was rising to his own peak, tightening and flexing, reaching for something just out of reach.
Hell, yes.
He swirled his tongue faster, slower, plunged it inside, feasted on her wetness. Veronica screamed, her voice ringing through the living room as pleasure rippled through her once more.
When he glanced up her shuddering body, Logan hovered on the brink of insanity. He needed more. He wanted to feel her clench around him, to possess her mouth while he pounded against her hips.
“Ima…Ima…shawdagood.” Veronica shook her head and wet her lips. “Yousari…watar.”
Logan felt a devious smile curl his lips. “That’s much better.”
“You.” She grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him up over the top of her. “Youshouldgivelessons.”
He laughed as he kicked off his shoes. “You want to be my star pupil? We can work something out.”
Oh, he was going to work something out, all right. As soon as he got these damn pants off.
Four Weddings and a Werewolf (Entangled Covet) Page 3
