LOGAN (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 5)

by Marilyn Campbell

  His return smile was equally suggestive. "Sometimes that was enough."

  "And other times?"

  He took a deep breath and dragged his bent leg up across hers. "Sometimes I need more. You touch me. And you ask me to touch you."

  Although Tarla felt his arousal throbbing insistently against her thigh, so far he had done nothing more aggressive than enticing her to make a choice that would please them both. "Like this?" Her fingertips caressed his cheek, trailed down and up his arm and settled on his chest.

  His adoring gaze held hers and he whispered, "And more."

  "Show me." She closed her eyes when he guided her hand down below his waist to confirm just how hard he was straining to control his desire for her. As she learned the width and length of him, she made the request he awaited. "I'd like you to touch me too, Logan."

  Her breath caught in her throat until his hand slowly found its way to her breast. Cupping it in his palm, his thumb teased the hardened peak through her shirt as his mouth returned to hers for a kiss that could only be described as reverent.

  He made her feel things she didn't know were possible. There was nothing in her considerable sexual experience that compared to this. And yet, she wasn't surprised. She had believed from the first that there was something special about Logan. She was torn between wanting this sweet torture to go on forever and the desire to rush headlong toward the magical burst of satisfaction she knew he could give her. To her immense relief, he made the decision for her by slipping his hand beneath the waistband of her slacks.

  "I love you, Tarla."

  His words brought back a painful memory but she couldn't hold on to it. As she tried to respond, he found the tiny bundle of nerves at her core and her only answer was a gasp of pleasure. She wanted to feel him in the same way but his experienced touch brought her to a peak so quickly, she could only lie there, melting, dying, feeding on kisses that had finally, thankfully, become demanding and urgent.

  "Logan!" Geoffrey shouted through the door, then pounded on it for good measure. "Are you in there, man?"

  Chapter 8

  Logan's hand stilled as both his and Tarla's heads jerked toward the door in shock.

  "Sh-sh-sh," Logan sounded. "He'll go away if we don't answer him." His mouth returned to hers and his fingers resumed their exciting play between her legs.

  For several heartbeats, she was more than willing to complete what they had begun. Then she heard Geoffrey's voice talking to someone just outside and the sensual haze began to lift from her mind. Ending the kiss and moving his hand from her body, she whispered, "We have to answer him. If we don't, there's liable to be a whole crowd out there waiting for us to come out." He tried to pull her close again but she managed to resist this time. "No. Logan please. This shouldn't have happened... and... and they'll know."

  That seemed to make an impression on him and he took a deep, calming breath. "I'm in here," Logan said loudly enough to be heard through the door. He and Tarla sat up and started extracting straw from each other's hair. "Just running an experiment."

  "Have you seen Tarla?" Geoffrey asked. "She's nowhere around."

  "She's in here too," Logan replied, his eyes still making love to her. "We're almost finished. We'll be out in a minute."

  "Right. I'll meet you outside. Lunch is on and I need to discuss something with the both of you."

  Tarla made a move to rise but her legs weren't ready to support her. She closed her eyes and tried to regain control of her body.

  Logan wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair. "I'm sorry. This should have waited until we were assured of privacy. After lunch, we can—"

  "No," Tarla protested, her head bobbing up from his shoulder. Sanity abruptly returned like an icy gust of wind. "This... this really shouldn't have happened. I don't even know how it did. Something is very wrong."

  Logan eased back from her and frowned. "What do you mean?"

  "You... I... I'm not sure what I mean," Tarla stuttered as her mind tried to form an excuse for her reckless behavior. "It must be this crazy situation. We're both under a lot of stress, and—"

  "I'm not feeling any stress," he countered with an easy smile. "In fact, I don't remember ever feeling so relaxed."

  "You're doing it again," she said rising to her feet and stepping back from him.

  "What?"

  "Smiling."

  He stood up and kissed her nose. "Of course I'm smiling. I just had my own personal angel in my arms."

  Her heart wanted to believe the look of utter devotion on his face but her intuition was insisting that something was off-kilter besides her balance. "That's not why. You were smiling before. I wondered about it when you first came in but then..."

  His smile turned sexy and he bent to kiss her mouth. She almost gave in but the moment his lips touched hers, she moved away. "I have to think. Please. Just give me some time to work this out."

  Logan's fingers stroked her cheek. "I've waited this long for you. I guess a few more hours won't matter." His hand slid around to the back of her neck and urged her closer. "I'll give you the time you need but I need something from you to tide me over. Just one more kiss, angel. Please."

  She knew she should deny him but her head angled beneath his and she couldn't resist one more quick flight to ecstasy. Much too easily, her body responded to him and the one kiss became several more. Only when both of them made an effort to remember that Geoffrey was waiting were they able to compose themselves enough to leave the tack room without clinging to each other.

  * * *

  Simone wasn't at all sure what she should do. The scene she had just witnessed on her monitor had her very confused. She had learned the facts of primitive male behavior long ago and thought they were quite clear. But the man in the tack room hadn't appeared cruel or violent. Nor had the woman looked repulsed or in pain. If anything, she seemed to be enjoying the way he was touching her and pressing his mouth to her face.

  Watching them had caused the most peculiar feelings, a discomfort of sorts, especially in her womanpiece, yet it wasn't entirely unpleasant, either.

  Should she tell Nadia or should she simply make a note of the incident in her report to Advisor Iris? Nadia would be furious if she wasn't informed of such an unusual occurrence. But if Iris learned that Nadia was aware of it, she would know that Simone had to be the one who had given out the information. Simone was the only one on duty at the monitors.

  After a few minutes consideration, she decided it was a situation in which she could only come out a loser. The only way around it was to edit out the scene, as if it never happened. Before she erased it, however, she played the recording twice more to get a better understanding of what the pair had been doing. Nothing in her education explained it and yet she was certain their actions and dialogue had some importance.

  * * *

  "I can't put my finger on it," Geoffrey told Logan, Tarla and Robin as they ate lunch. "But something is going on. I expected Wilkes to cause trouble this morning. Instead, he was pleasant and worked as hard as everyone else. And when Lee Tang passed right by him in the kitchen just now, the look on his face was practically contrite."

  "He's not the only one who's acting different," Robin interjected. "Now don't get me wrong here, but some of our men were giving me the eye yesterday. You know, like they were ready whenever I was."

  Tarla noted the way Geoffrey grimaced at Robin's comment then kept his eyes glued to his plate as she went on.

  "Today, though, those same men smiled nicely without any hint of sexual interest. I know it sounds egotistical but I'm a realist. I know what most men think when they look at me and those thoughts were noticeably missing today."

  Tarla met Logan's gaze and knew his thoughts. Something strange had happened to them as well but neither was ready to discuss it with the others.

  "How do you feel, Geoffrey?" Tarla asked. "Anything that you'd describe as unusual?"

  "I feel fine," he answered with a smile. "If it's some
thing in the air, I don't think it's affecting me."

  She prompted him a little further. "Would you say you feel better than fine? Maybe more relaxed than you should under the circumstances?"

  He chuckled. "Now that you mention it... I slept better last night than I have in years, even with all the excitement."

  "Logan's very relaxed too," Tarla stated then glanced at him for confirmation. His smile said all that was necessary. "Robin? How about you?"

  Robin pressed her forefingers to her temples, closed her eyes and hummed in a monotone for a few seconds. "All systems are A-OK," she said, imitating a computerized voice. Then with a thoughtful expression she amended her report. "Maybe I feel more relaxed than I should though."

  Tarla nodded. "Same here." Mentally, she acknowledged that for her, it was more than being relaxed. What she had just done with Logan suggested her memories had been stifled and her entire defense system had broken down. "Now, I want you all to think about that. Is there any reason we should be at ease? Yesterday at this time we were nearing hysteria. Don't you think it's strange that no one—not a single person is fretting over our situation today?"

  Logan's smile had faded as he realized how right Tarla was, and yet it still didn't worry him overmuch. "Did any of you see Higgs this morning? He was the worst yesterday."

  "I did," Robin said. "I didn't give it a thought at the time, but he wasn't even trying to bend anyone's ear. He seemed perfectly content to quietly go about his work."

  "Just like everyone else," Geoffrey said, his eyes narrowing with concern.

  They were silent for a moment as they drew the same conclusion. Tarla said it aloud. "Whatever causes the residents here to act like androids must be affecting us as well."

  "In another day or two," Robin said, "we could all be just like them. We might even give up the idea of getting out of here."

  Logan forced himself to remember what his attitude had been twenty-four hours ago. As good as he felt at the moment, he knew that wasn't the case then. He would never have acted on his desire for Tarla yesterday and he definitely would not have spouted his private thoughts to her. It was as if all his personal barriers had been stripped, leaving him vulnerable... and mindless. Just like the puppet people around them.

  "Okay," Logan said in a voice that was almost back to normal. "We're being relaxed in some way. How?"

  "The food?" Robin offered.

  "The water?" Logan asked, immediately thinking about how many gallons he had consumed already.

  "I was being facetious about the air before but we shouldn't rule that possibility out," Geoffrey said. "Or sonic waves, either."

  Tarla sighed. It could be anything. "Obviously, we can't stop breathing or absorbing sound. And we might be able to fast for a day or two, but eventually we'd have to eat and drink again. The only way we'll be able to avoid whatever it is, is to locate the source. And only our caretakers have the answer to that."

  "True," Logan stated. "But at least we can fast as long as possible, while we step up our escape plan."

  "We have an escape plan?" Robin asked in surprise.

  Logan laughed. "That's Geoff's department. He claimed he's a master of strategy."

  Geoffrey made a face. "I believe I did say something along those lines." He rubbed his chin as he organized his thoughts. "All right. Let's start with what we know. The barn is a go-between but it's impregnable. An ill person can get out of here, but only if he's alone and then he's gassed first."

  "We might be able to block the flow tube without them knowing it, so the patient could stay conscious," Logan suggested.

  Geoffrey shook his head. "But that would still only be one person."

  "Sometimes a single man can be more effective than a whole squad," Logan reminded him.

  Again Geoffrey contradicted him. "Only when he knows what he's up against."

  Robin brightened with an idea. "What if a whole squad was in the tack room, but hiding? You know, create an optical illusion for whoever is watching so they think there's only one man in there?"

  "Excellent idea," Geoffrey said with a grin. "When all the candles are extinguished, it's completely black in there. We could set it up in darkness, during the night, then surprise them."

  Tarla played devil's advocate. "At most, you could only hide a dozen people in there. Besides, we have no weapons. That's not much against an unknown power. I think we should hold off trying that until we're positive there's no break in the invisible wall where the whole company could get through at once."

  Geoffrey nodded. "That would be preferable, but from what we've been told, I don't have much hope of our finding such a break. At any rate, the team examining the wall will be reporting back this evening. We should work on the tack room plan this afternoon and have it ready to go if the findings on the wall are negative. We could try it tonight. Agreed?" He met each of their eyes.

  "Agreed," they replied in unison.

  "Robin and I can spread the word about fasting," Tarla said.

  Geoffrey gave another nod of agreement. "I'll start working on the optical illusion. Logan, are you willing to head up the squad?"

  "Of course. Besides, I'm probably the best decoy we've got since they already treated me and shouldn't be suspicious if I claim to have another migraine."

  "Good. Then I'll leave it up to you to select the others that will go with you."

  Logan accepted with a thumbs-up sign. To Tarla he said, "Don't worry about our being unarmed. There are plenty of things in the tack room and elsewhere around the farm that could be used as weapons. It won't be the first time I've had to improvise."

  "That's it then," Geoffrey said and everyone nodded their agreement.

  "I have a different question," Robin said. "Has anyone else noticed that only one sun rose this morning?"

  Although they looked skyward with some bemusement, only Geoffrey responded. "I suppose if there were still any question of whether or not we've been drugged, not noticing the absence of a ball of fire in the sky would seem to prove it. Perhaps it's more of a moon orbiting the sun than a secondary sun. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to reappear."

  "Duncan mentioned something about that," Tarla recalled, trying to pull the memory out of her foggy brain. "I think he said, when a new person arrived, there was always a storm and the second sun. Could that be important?"

  Geoffrey shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Either way, we can't afford to ignore anything here. Thank you, Robin."

  She made a face. "Noticing that an entire sun has vanished from the sky doesn't take a brainiac. Maybe I'm immune to the drug."

  "That could be important also," Geoffrey said seriously. When no one had anything else to discuss at the moment, he ended their meeting.

  As they each got up and threw out the remains of their lunch, Logan motioned Tarla aside, but she spoke before he could. "Before you start apologizing, I want you to know that what happened was obviously a result of whatever is being done to all of us. I don't blame you, nor do I hold you responsible for anything said. And I hope that you will forget my behavior as well."

  Logan gazed down into her eyes for several heartbeats before speaking. "You took the words right out of my mouth." Without another word, he turned and went about his assignment.

  Tarla had to fight the temptation to call him back. The way he had looked at her made her think she had hurt his feelings. But she knew his expression was no more genuine than the tender, respectful way he had treated her, or the beautiful romantic words he had spoken. He had been manipulated to behave that way by some unseen force. It was very similar to the way the narcotics in the hospital had altered his personality. Only this time, she had been affected as well.

  How else could she have forgotten how he really felt? Now that she was aware of the cause though, she could make certain nothing like that ever happened again.

  What a terrible shame, the little voice in her head whispered, for nothing quite like that had ever happened to her before.

>   As she struggled to dismiss the entire episode, another unsettling realization sunk in. More than likely, a caretaker had observed her moment of weakness. How could she have so completely forgotten the probability that they were being observed from the instant Logan had bolted the door? It wasn't logical but the thought of the love scene being enacted for another being's amusement was terribly upsetting.

  Throughout the rest of the day they each performed the tasks agreed upon. At one point, Tarla felt as though someone were watching her. She turned around and met Logan's gaze. Again she read something so vulnerable in his eyes that she had to stop herself from going to him. When he realized she was looking back, he had hardened his expression and turned away. She fortified herself with the hope that their plan would be a success and things would soon be back to normal.

  All of the soldiers and nurses were cautioned about the food and water before dinner. The fast caused some half-hearted grumbling but everyone was too relaxed to make a serious fuss.

  When the team that had been examining the wall came in, their report was a confirmation of Duncan's statements. The invisible barrier began at one rear corner of the barn and ended at the other. The back wall of the structure was apparently part of the barrier. There was no interruption or detectable weakness around the entire perimeter. It couldn't be scaled and went far higher than anything they could construct to climb over it. They had dug a twenty-foot deep hole, but the wall appeared to be bottomless.

  They now had no choice but to attempt an escape through the tack room.

  Geoffrey had selected five men and women to assist him in preparing the hiding places within the room. In case they were being observed, one person at a time went into the tack room to fetch or return an item and did their best to make their actions appear innocuous.

  When everything was in place, Geoffrey met with Logan's team, which consisted of nine other men, Lee and Alicia. Logan and Geoffrey had decided that the major should stay behind. Each was given a diagram of the tack room and an assigned spot so they would be able to find it in the dark. The tube would be blocked only when the maneuvers began.