by Lila Younger
“Pasta’s almost done,” I remember to say.
He lifts up a bottle of wine as he comes into my apartment and I close the door.
“I figure if you were going to cook dinner for me, I should bring something too,” he says.
“Thanks.”
A bit of wine is just what I need, and I grab the glasses so he could pour out some for each of us. I take the pasta and swirl it into two bowls for us and bring them over to the table. I thought that maybe we wouldn’t even get to dinner before we rip each other’s clothes apart, but to my surprise, Logan holds back.
“What do you think?” I ask nervously to fill up the space.
“I like it,” he says. “I can see why you’re so proud of it. Is this your own recipe?”
“My family’s,” I say. “I’m half Italian and half Scottish.”
“Is that why you want to go to Italy so much?” he asks.
I’m surprised that he remembers, but I nod.
“That’s right,” I say. “I’m second generation Italian, so only my grandma is really Italian, but there’s been lots of traditions and recipes passed down. I would love for a chance to go back there though, and see where I truly come from.”
“And your Scottish half?”
“Well, they’re not exactly known for their food. I mean, we don’t even eat haggis,” I say, pulling a face.
Logan laughs, a lovely rich laugh that I could listen to anytime.
“I’ve had haggis before,” he says. “It tastes much better if you don’t know what it is when you eat it.”
“So you’ve traveled there?”
“I have,” he says. “My father didn’t believe in spoiling me, but he did want to make sure that I got to experience things he never got to. We traveled every summer since I was six years old. It was one of the highlights of my childhood. He’d sort of relax on those trips, mostly because smartphones weren’t a thing back then. It was the only time I’d see him really smile a lot.”
I feel a warmth in my heart as he confides in me. Dinner flows along, and I feel myself connecting with Logan. He’s such an interesting person that before I know it, all the food is gone, and it’s just me and him.
“Dessert!” I say, jumping up and going to the fridge. I open the door, but it’s slim pickings. I could whip something up if I had time, but I don’t think Logan came over to watch me bake. “There’s some strawberries and-”
“There’s only one dessert I want,” he says, so close to me I can feel his breath on my neck. I turn around quickly and look up at him, my body responding on its own accord. Those muscular shoulders, those stormy blue eyes, it’s all so fucking sexy that I can’t resist. My heart is slamming against my chest when Logan finally puts me out of my misery and kisses me, tongue thrusting into my mouth, body slamming me back against the fridge. I can tell how hungry he is for me, and it makes me incredibly wet.
“Bedroom,” he growls at me, and I hurriedly bring him to my room. I really shouldn’t have bothered with trying to make the bed, because Logan’s eyes are only on me as he tells me to take off my clothes. His eyes rake over me as I carefully push the straps of my dress down my shoulders, the fabric puddling on the floor around me. I hear an appreciative hiss as he sees that I haven’t bothered with a bra. My nipples tighten with the sudden contact with air. Finally I take off my panties, until I’m completely naked in front of him. I blush, and my first instinct is to cover up, but he won’t let me.
His hands move over my back, my hips, my ass and squeezes possessively. He takes his time with his own clothes, eyes fastened onto mine.
“I want you to suck me off,” he says, and I drop to my knees.
His cock looks positively massive bobbing in front of me. I wrap my mouth around the head, swirling my tongue around the rim before taking him as much as I can. I hear a sharp intake of breath and I can’t help but smile. I’ve gotten pretty good at this I think. I suck a little harder and grip onto his shaft with my hand, working up and down together. Logan continues to groan above me, his hands pushing my hair back so he can get a good long look. His hips move with me, fucking my mouth hard. I lick his long cock, sucking hard each time I get to the bulbous tip, before taking Logan all the way again. He pushes past into my throat, until I’m almost gagging.
“Onto the bed,” Logan commands and I obey. “Before I come in your mouth.”
I can’t look away as he slowly parts my legs and climbs on top of me. He kisses me once on the lips, and then drops more slowly down the sensitive hollow of my neck, between my breasts, before plucking my nipple into his mouth with a hard suck. I gasp, back arching up to get closer to his warm mouth as desire radiates from my breast. He toys with me, kissing, licking, sucking before trailing down my stomach, and down to between my open legs.
“You taste fucking fantastic, Mikayla,” he growls, just inches above me.
I whimper as his tongue skates across my lips, flicking into my entrance and causing another spurt of liquid to come out. He does it again, and a soft moan escapes, filled with frustration and longing. I want him to hurry, but he’s taking his own sweet time, one hand clamping firmly onto my leg to keep me from bucking up to his face. My helplessness is so hot and erotic that I’m practically soaking my sheets. I hold up my head for a moment and see the pleasure in Logan’s blue eyes before he dips down between my legs again. Pleasure courses through me as he tastes me, kisses me, fucks me with his tongue. I surrender completely to him, letting go as he pushes his face deeper inside of me, searching, questing deeper and deeper, his fingers pushing apart my folds so he can get his face right up against my pussy. The roughness of his stubble just adds another layer of intensity to it all.
I try to hold out, but I’m too close to the edge, and there’s nothing left to do but brace for the impact of my orgasm hurtling towards me. Ecstasy comes all at once, with the force of a wave, dragging me under and making me black out with pleasure. I grind my hips against his mouth, riding on Logan’s face as he gulps me down. He doesn’t stop, touching me again and again in the perfect spot to set off another chain reaction, until I’m finally floating back down to reality, feeling almost boneless and exhausted from my orgasms. There’s a crinkle but I hardly hear it over the pounding of my heart.
Every part of my body is in exquisite pain and pleasure. Logan lifts my legs up, throws them over his shoulder, and slides his cock into my sopping pussy. He fits like a glove, and I lock my legs around his hips as he pumps into me. Even though I’m tired and content, I already feel desire building up inside me again as he fucks me, riding me hard and fast as we come together one last time.
My emotions are swirling through me when Logan finally pushes off of me. I feel raw and exposed and afraid. This is what I want, more than anything I could imagine. I wish there was a way to put it all into words, but it all feels too fragile, as though speaking could break the bubble we’re in.
Logan
I wake up the next morning feeling lighter than I have the past few days. Even though the meeting this morning looms in my mind, I feel great waking up with Mikayla. She’s small and fragile, nestled against my body. My cock hardens between her ass cheeks, and she murmurs something softly in her sleep. The temptation to fuck her again is hard to resist, but there’ll be time for that later. Right now I have to deal with the last obstacle to getting my father’s company back on track. I carefully slip out of bed so I don’t disturb Mikayla and head into the shower.
When I come out, I’m greeted by the smell of sausages and eggs sizzling in a pan. There’s a steaming mug of coffee at the table, and Mikayla’s moving around the kitchen in just an oversize tee. It skims just below her ass, and I lift it easily as I slide myself against her. My hands reach to cup her breasts, pinching and rolling her nipples as she tilts her head back, a soft moan escaping her lips.
“Morning,” I say huskily. “You look amazing.”
“You’re going to make me burn breakfast at this rate,” she murmurs. “And we’
re going to be late.”
“I’m the boss. I can go in whenever I want.”
“I can’t though,” she says softly. “And I’d rather not have everyone talking about us.”
I reluctantly let her go and grab the mug of coffee. Mikayla’s done a fantastic job with breakfast, and a guy could really get used to this every morning. Not only how much I love seeing Mikayla’s breasts shake when I first slam into her, but how much I enjoy seeing her out of the bedroom too. The thought is there in the background of my mind as we eat, get ready, and head to work. Whereas once I only thought about a woman when I wanted to fuck her, now Mikayla takes up pretty much my entire day. It’s going to be a problem soon, one I’ll have to figure out a way to deal with. But not today.
Once I get into the parking lot I expect her to go, but she pauses.
“You’re very tense,” she observes. “Is something wrong at work?”
“Hopefully not for long. I can’t talk about it or else I’ll lose control, but suffice to say, I’ve uncovered someone doing a lot of damage to the company. He’s the reason why we’re in this mess to begin with. But all of that ends today.”
She looks into my eyes and smiles.
“I hope it will all work out how you want,” she says. “You’ve worked so hard, you deserve to have things go well.”
With that, she gets out of the car. I’m surprised by how much she cares. Unfortunately, once Mikayla leaves, my bad mood descends again. Let’s just get this over with, I think. This meeting with Kevin will hopefully be the end of Red Canyon Steakhouse’s troubles.
Kevin arrives at my office soon after I get my morning coffee. I carefully set a microphone to record, to make sure that he wouldn’t be able to get away with all the damage he’s done. I’ve prepared my words for our meeting, but as soon as he shows up I’m seeing red. This was supposed to be my father’s trusted friend, his right hand man. I can’t believe that he’s the one responsible for trying to destroy what my father has built.
When Sean first told me about the discrepancies, I was astonished that it had been so widespread in the company. But then Sean and I both realized that the only way this could have happened was if someone high up was orchestrating things. It took a while to dig up who could have benefited. I made Sean go through every person in the company, one by one, until finally, the only one left was Kevin. I didn’t want to believe it. Kevin had been there from the beginning, when my father took over the first Red Canyon Steakhouse. Why on earth would he have wanted the company to fail? I still couldn’t understand it.
“Logan,” Kevin said easily. “How are you doing?”
“Sit,” I said curtly, trying hard to rein in my anger. “I have something I want to talk to you about.”
“Of course,” he said. “What’s going on?”
I study his face, trying to see how the fucker could look at me like this, as if he’d done nothing wrong.
“You can stop pretending Kevin. I know. I know everything you’ve done to try and ruin the company my father built. You couldn’t possibly think that you could have gotten away with it for much longer once I brought Sean on board.”
Kevin’s mouth set for a moment before the anger burst out of him.
“Your father was an ungrateful bastard! Twenty five years, twenty five, I’ve worked under him, toiling and slaving away, believing in your father’s dream. Late nights, working weekends, I did it all. My wife left me, I never see my kids, but I did it. I did it all for Red Canyon Steakhouse and what your father told me it was going to be. And then, instead of retiring like he should have, he kept going, because he wanted you to take over the business. Wouldn’t give it up. Passed me over, even though I knew every bit of this business. I built it from the ground up with your father but it wasn’t good enough for him. He had to give it to his son, who had no stake in the business and wanted to go larking off to Silicon Valley to make apps!”
The rage pours off him like lava from a volcano and my jaw tightens. There is nothing to do but try and control my own emotions as Kevin leaps to his feet, pacing back and forth. I could see spittle flying from his mouth and I am secretly glad he wasn’t in my face instead.
“I talked to him, begged him, did everything I could to prove I was worthy. And instead of hearing me out, he turned his shoulder on me. Shut me out. Well, I didn’t get to where I was this long just to be left with nothing, so I decided I would take what’s mine. It wasn’t hard. Your father may have been the boss, but I was running things. I fed him all the information to keep him happy, until it was too late for him and everything started to fall apart. I would have bled this company dry if it hadn’t been for the stupid fool’s heart attack.”
“I can’t believe this. You know, you would have gotten your wish if you had waited. Even though I know that one day I would run the company, I wanted to do other things first. Make my mark outside of my father’s shadow. I would have been happy to hand over the reins if the company had been thriving,” I say to him.
“As if. Your old man made it clear to me that there could be no one else. His will said as much. No, all my hard work counted for nothing with your father. I was just taking what I was owed.”
I shake my head wearily and punch a button.
“Mrs. Stiller, can you send in the detective?”
Kevin’s mouth drops open.
“You didn’t honestly think that I would just let you get away with this did you?” I growl. “You were going to put hundreds of people out of a job. You stole from the company. Congratulations Kevin. You’re going to get what you deserve, but I don’t think it’s what you want. Oh, and you’re terminated effective immediately,” I add. “I’ll have someone clear out your office.”
The detective walks in and I hand over the recorder.
“You can’t do this,” Kevin says, his face turning almost purple. “You can’t record me without my permission.”
“Sure I can,” I say as I watch him get handcuffed. “I’m your boss.”
I’m able to keep it cool until the doors close, but then I’m seething. Even though it felt good to see Kevin get taken away, I’m still furious. Not only at him for his betrayal, but for my father too, who couldn’t seem to see the truth, who was so desperate to hold onto power and do things his way that he jeopardized everything. I slam my fist on the table. We are so lucky Sean was able to find the cause of this. Now we just need Mikayla’s revamped menu to start bringing in the customer again and maybe we’ll be able to pull though.
The thought of Mikayla loosens up my shoulders. She’s exactly what I want right now. But I don’t want to make her cook for me. She’s done more than enough of that already. Maybe we could eat out, someplace where I can hold her hand without worrying that someone will catch us. I stand up and walk out of my office.
“I’m going out Mrs. Stiller,” I say to my secretary. “Please hold my calls. The only person I want to hear from is the detective if he needs me.”
“Sir,” she says, standing up. “I wanted to say that you’re doing a wonderful job. Your father would have been very proud of you. This is all he’s ever wanted.”
Her words stir up troubling emotions, but I accept them anyways.
“Thank you,” I say. “But I know that I couldn’t do half as well without you and everyone else working here.”
She turns back to her desk and I head downstairs on the elevators. Mikayla’s in the kitchen, and for a moment I just look at her through the window in the door. I’d be stupid to let her go, to not try and make this work. Because I did want to. For the first time in a long time, I want someone to care and protect, someone to nurture and love, who would want to do the same for me too. The strength of that emotion sucker punches me in the gut, and I have to take a steadying breath before I open the door and walk in.
Mikayla
Even though I have a lot on my plate, my mind draws a blank as I stare into the pantry. What on earth should I make? I have no clue. Instead my mind wanders to the meetin
g Logan is supposed to have today. Who could it be with? I know that it has something to do with what’s happening with Red Canyon Steakhouse and why it’s in such a terrible state right now, but that’s it. I hope everything is working out. I hope that whatever is wrong, Logan’s found a way to fix it, and I hope, rather selfishly, that it means my job is safe. Not only will I miss being able to create and cook every day, but I’ll miss seeing Logan himself too.
Seeing him a second time has me hopeful that what happened between us wasn’t just a one night stand for him too. I’ve already spent enough time trying to analyze it all, and the more I think about it, the more confused I am about what’s going on and what I want from it. Logan’s never tried to lead me on, never promised me anything more than the night. So why do my thoughts get so jumbled every time I think of him?
“I need to get a grip,” I mutter. “Let’s tackle appetizers.”
Red Canyon Steakhouse’s menu used to be a huge, bloated thing. There were some 200 odd items on it. I’ve systematically slashed it down for the rebranding, but I know that if we’re to keep the customers, the next step would be to completely overhaul the menu, update it to the season. There’ll always be a core set of items on the menu that hopefully be a hit with the customers and that is what I decide to tackle today. I’ve narrowed it down to about five items when the door opens and Logan steps through. I look up and smile but it quickly disappears.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, standing up. “Did the meeting not go well?”
I thought that he would be walking in cheerier than I’d left him this morning, but if anything he looks more upset. His blue eyes are dark and stormy. He comes over, and to my surprise, cups my face and kisses me, slow and deep. My body responds, melting against his, begging for more. I’m out of breath by the time he pulls away.
“I’m better now,” he says softly. “Come on, I want to take you out for lunch. I can explain everything then.”
It takes everything in me to not reach out and pull his body close again, but Logan’s mind is on something else so I nod and grab my purse. He picks out a Peruvian restaurant that’s just opened to rave reviews for lunch. The place is packed despite the fact that we’re here a half hour before noon. This is what I’m hoping for Red Canyon Steakhouse too. Once we’re settled and the waitress has taken our orders and menus, he sighs.
