Mr. Dangerously Sexy

by Stefanie London

  “Screw you.”

  He chuckled against her hair. “Is that a request?”

  “It’s an order.”

  The ridge outlined by his jeans told her that he was at bursting point. That meant she’d have to take it slow, tease him for as long as she could before giving in. Prove to him that he wasn’t in charge here. This was her domain.

  She drew his zipper down, the sound cutting through the quiet. Thankfully he hadn’t worn a belt today, so all she had to do was pop the button at his waist. His cock strained forward, peeking out the top of his boxer briefs.

  “Who’s in charge now?” She drew him out slowly, reveling in the way he tried to conceal his moan by clamping his teeth together. The twitch in his jaw gave him away entirely.

  “You know I am, Addison.”

  “I don’t think so.” Wrapping her fingers around him, she moved her fist up and down his length, giving his tip a light squeeze with every stroke. “You’re at my mercy now.”

  His hips bucked as she increased her pace. A string of curse words flew out of his lips as she bent forward and ran her tongue over the swollen head of him. The taste of him flooded her with memories. That night...that sweaty, passionate, dirty night.

  “Say it,” she said, blowing cool air over his heated skin.

  “No.” He ground the word out, but he was already fishing around in his pants. He found his wallet and flipped it open.

  “I won’t let you finish until you do.” Her strokes slowed and she watched him, her whole body alight with energy.

  “You started this,” he said, pulling out a foil packet and tearing it open. “I’m going to finish it...and then I’m going to finish you again.”

  Pushing her hands out of the way, he rolled the condom down his length. That simple action had never excited her with other men—it was the business part of sex. No glove, no love, right? But watching Logan handle himself intoxicated her. Arousal hung over her like a heavy cloud; it fogged her mind, and she didn’t protest when he reached for her hips again, dragging her into place and seating himself deep inside her.

  Being filled by him was a pleasure of the most exquisite variety. He fit perfectly inside her, as if he’d been designed for her.

  “No arguments?” he asked with a sly smile.

  “I’m still on top.” She planted her hands on his chest as he thrust up into her.

  “We can fix that.”

  In a second, he’d flipped her onto her back and had pinned her hands above her head. His hot breath whispered over her skin as he kissed her neck, sucking and biting until she writhed beneath him.

  Damn him. He knew exactly what to do.

  “Don’t fight it, baby. I’m better when I’m in charge.”

  When his mouth came down on her hers, she was lost. The insistent press of his tongue, the stubble on his jaw and the faint taste of herself on his lips was enough to send her over the edge again. She pressed her face against his neck and chanted his name over and over as her body shook.

  “That’s it, tell me.” He pumped into her faster. “Tell me.”

  “It’s you, Logan. It’s you.”

  He thrust into her once more and roared as he found his release. Cradling her in his arms, he rolled them onto their sides and threw one thigh over her. Claiming her.

  Reminding her that tomorrow she’d need to regain her distance if she had any hope of protecting her heart...

  5

  ADDISON’S EYES SNAPPED open at the sound of a bird chirping outside her window. The blare of horns and wail of sirens that usually greeted her in the morning were suspiciously absent. She pushed herself up and blew the hair out of her eyes to see that she wasn’t in her sleek and stylish Manhattan apartment.

  Of course, she was at the cottage.

  The events of last night came rushing over her like an avalanche. The long drive, the car accident, fighting with Logan...making up with Logan.

  “Ugh.” She ground the heels of her palms into her eyes.

  There would be no escaping Logan this weekend, not if she might be in danger. A delicious shiver rippled through Addison’s body. Everything ached in that way that could be achieved only by orgasms and hot, spontaneous sex. It had been too long since she’d felt this good, far too long.

  The empty space in the bed was cool and fairly unrumpled, which meant he hadn’t stayed long. Not that she was surprised. When it came to the morning-after dash, Logan made Usain Bolt look slow.

  A dark thought tugged at the corner of her mind. Last time she had been taken by surprise, because she’d been stupid enough to think that he might want to stick around. That he might feel something real for her. But less than a week later, she’d turned up at his apartment to find another woman answering his front door.

  That’s not going to happen this time. You know the score, and you’ve got plans to make it on your own. Sex doesn’t change that.

  And having sex with Logan was fine so long as it suited her needs: pleasure for her body, but not for her heart. She didn’t regret seducing him last night, not even a little bit. Being in his arms—distracting herself from the night’s events—was exactly what she’d needed. But that was all she needed from him.

  Addison threw on her bathing suit and then layered a floaty cotton dress over the top. This weekend was going to be all about rest and relaxation, regardless of whether or not Logan wanted to participate. No one was going to get her down—not him, not the guy who’d run her off the road. No one.

  * * *

  LOGAN PACED THE length of the deck out on the back of the cottage. The morning sun was light and buttery yellow. Soft, beautiful. Like Addison.

  Christ, you’re comparing her to the morning sun now? Get a fucking grip.

  He raked a hand through his hair and stared across the land that stretched out in front of him. It was so peaceful here, so serene. But all he could feel was how isolated they were. How no one would hear or see them.

  They could do anything and the world would be none the wiser.

  Having that level of freedom wasn’t a good thing for a man like Logan. He needed to know someone was watching, keeping tabs. In the office, he had guys like Rhys and Owen and Aiden to keep him in check. His team, his men. They didn’t realize it, but they kept him in line. Simply by giving him their loyalty, he was bound to do right by them as Daniel had done for him. But out here, anything was possible.

  And that scared the shit out of him.

  “Morning,” Addison said as she came up next to him. Her hair flowed loosely around her shoulders, her legs and feet bare under her summer dress.

  He wasn’t sure how he should greet her. With a kiss, or would that be too familiar? A hug, perhaps. But that could be too brotherly.

  This is exactly why you shouldn’t have overstepped. You got all caught up in the passion of the moment and then things got weird.

  He had too much to lose by getting entangled with Addison—it wasn’t just that he’d be dishonoring the memory of the man who’d mentored him. The company was his whole life, and he needed Addison by his side to take care of all the things he was clueless about: finances, health and safety, and all that other administrative crap that made his eyes turn square. Sure, there were other people who could do her job, but none who would do it as well as her. None that he trusted.

  She was Cobalt and he was Dane. Without one of those elements, Cobalt & Dane didn’t exist. Which meant he couldn’t risk any type of personal relationship with her. Especially given his track record for screwing things up.

  “Fancy a coffee?” she asked, eyeing him with unconcealed curiosity. “I’ve just put the pot on.”

  “You’re speaking my language.”

  He followed her back into the house and closed the door behind him, flicking the lock. A good security syst
em wasn’t worth crap if you didn’t make use of it.

  Addison swanned around the kitchen, humming to herself. She didn’t seem adversely affected by last night...though he wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting. They hadn’t made any rules or set any boundaries.

  “So, uh...about last night,” he said, sliding onto a stool at the edge of the kitchen’s island counter.

  “Yeah?” Addison raised a brow as she placed two mugs next to the coffeepot.

  “Should we...talk?” He drummed his fingers on the countertop. “Or something?”

  “I’d like to know what the ‘or something’ is before I say yes,” she teased. Steam curled up from the mugs as she poured their drinks.

  “You get what I mean.”

  “It’s just sex, Logan. It was consensual. We used protection.” She shrugged. “What more should we discuss?”

  “I don’t know. I just figured that’s what women normally like to do afterward.”

  She laughed. “The women you date might like to talk afterward, but I’m fine.”

  Truth be told, he’d never tried to initiate a conversation after sex before, so he had no idea what women wanted.

  “I don’t expect anything from you,” she said, placing his coffee in front of him. “If that’s what you’re worried about. It wasn’t anything more than blowing off steam.”

  “Right.”

  “I’m not going to ask you for any commitment. Whether we do it again or not...” She shrugged. “It’s no-strings in my mind.”

  He wasn’t sure how he felt about her assessment—was it possible to be both relieved and disappointed at the same time? Her silky skin was still freshly imprinted on his memory. His palms tingled with the urge to touch her again, but they had business to take care of. And forty-eight more hours until the rest of their team showed up.

  “We should head down to the police station and make our report today,” he said, blowing at the curl of steam winding up from his coffee. “What do you remember about the guy?”

  Her eyes dropped, long pale lashes obscuring her rich brown eyes for a moment. “Not much. It was dark and it all happened so quickly.”

  “What was he wearing?”

  Logan remembered, of course. He’d cataloged that information away the second he’d spotted the guy. But starting with a simpler and more obvious detail was a technique often used to unlock memories. Memories could be followed like bread crumbs until something useful was found.

  “His face was hard to see—he had a hood covering it.” She sucked on her lower lip, her eyes fixated on something in the distance. “He had gloves on, too.”

  “Did you see his face at all? Were there any marks or tattoos?”

  She shook her head. “He was white, but beyond that...”

  “Did he say anything to you?”

  Addison raised the mug to her lips, her hand trembling. “He said ‘let me in, you fucking bitch’ but I don’t know what that’s going to tell us.”

  “He didn’t ask you anything? Did he call you by name?”

  “No. So I’m not sure what the police will be able to do.” The doubt in her tone belied the neutral expression on her face. He suspected she didn’t want to seem scared, but after last night they were well beyond pretending how she felt.

  Still, he knew Addison. She had to feel in control at all times. This situation must be eating her up inside because it was something she couldn’t dictate.

  “They’ll chase down the vehicle and ask around some of the local businesses to see if anyone spotted him. That kind of thing. It might not yield any leads, but we have to try.”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  “You didn’t notice anything suspicious when you stopped at the gas station, did you? Was anyone following you?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” She scrunched up her nose as she tried to remember. “Actually, there was this one guy who leered at me, but I don’t know if you’d call that suspicious.”

  Men staring at Addison was hardly something he’d find unusual, either, but he’d come to realize in his line of work that even the smallest piece of information was worth looking at. “Did he say anything to you?”

  “No, at least not that I heard. I was on the phone to you so I turned away.”

  “What kind of a car was he driving?”

  “A truck.” Her brow creased suddenly. “It might have been a red truck. I can’t quite remember but...”

  “But?”

  “I think it was red.” Her skin had become pale, wan. Her coffee sat untouched on the island countertop. “Maybe he was watching me for longer than I realized.”

  “But you didn’t notice anyone following you on the road.”

  “It’s a straight road, Logan. Everyone’s going in the same direction and I didn’t notice anything until he got too close.”

  “It’s okay, Addi. We’ll tell the police about the guy at the gas station and they should be able to get a hold of the security cameras. Then we’ll know if it was the same person.”

  She nodded, but her eyes didn’t meet his.

  A few hours later—after they’d been to the local police station and reported the incident to Addison’s insurance company—Logan logged into his work email. Since it was the weekend, nothing much had come through, but Rhys had checked in to confirm that he was still welcome at the retreat. Logan chuckled to himself. His IT manager was a rule-follower to a tee.

  “I think you owe Rhys an apology,” he said, glancing up from his screen.

  Addison sat on the couch with her long legs stretched out, the edge of her sundress tantalizingly brushing the tops of her thighs. “We’re incentivizing staff disobedience now, are we? I thought you of all people would understand the consequences of not following orders no matter how someone personally feels about the situation.”

  “That’s a low blow.”

  Her defenses had to be up if she was using his past to make her point. Not that he could blame her entirely; she’d had a rough day. The officer at the local station hadn’t seemed too interested in her report—then he’d asked a few pointed questions about her driving history, which had gotten Addison’s back up. Luckily, Logan had been able to stop her from storming out of the station. Still, he wasn’t holding his breath for anything useful to come from the report.

  “I’m just saying that Rhys wouldn’t have gone against something you told him to do.” She tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ears. “I would simply like the same level of respect.”

  “The staff do respect you. But I train them to follow their instincts. Security staff are useless if they ignore what their guts tell them. Luckily, I didn’t fire him as you asked,” he joked, but she flashed him an irritated look. “He was worried about you, that’s all. It wasn’t meant to be a sign of disrespect.”

  Her red nails clicked on the keys of her laptop as she typed. He’d grown to enjoy the sound as he often heard it coming from her office late in the evenings when they were the only two people left.

  “What are you working on?”

  “Just preparations for Monday. You know, what I’d planned to do before you gate-crashed my weekend.” She didn’t turn away from her screen, but the corner of her lip twitched.

  “Glad to hear I’m always welcome.”

  * * *

  THE NEXT FEW days dragged for Logan, which wasn’t unusual. The retreat always made him restless because he hated to be away from the action. His hands would twitch with the need to do something, while all of Addison’s reports and numbers made his head spin. And made his mind go numb.

  But this time his restlessness had more to do with the barely tempered chemistry he shared with Addison. No amount of work would fade the memory of his hands on her skin or the feeling of her warmth wrapped around him. Of the taste of her on his
tongue. All he wanted to do was kick out his team and have her to himself.

  “You look tense, boss.” His employee and longtime friend, Aiden Odell, dropped down onto the bench next to him.

  The retreat’s work portion was over and now the team was relaxing, having a few beers and catching up on personal stuff. But watching Owen flirt with Addison had been enough to make him want to throw something, so he’d gone outside to cool off. It wasn’t Owen’s fault. Apart from the fact that he was a notorious ladies’ man, he had no idea that there was anything at all between Logan and Addison. No one did.

  “Just ready to get back to the office. You know numbers aren’t my thing.”

  “You’d be lost without Addison, then.” Aiden grinned and swigged his beer. “Hopefully she continues to put up with your shit.”

  Addison’s words echoed in his ears: Change happens and I might not always be around.

  On Friday night he’d assumed she was talking about her own mortality, but what if she meant that she might want to leave Cobalt & Dane?

  “I’m not that bad,” he said, as if trying to convince himself.

  “Man, I’m the only one who’s known you long enough to be able to call you on your crap. Let’s be honest. You’re difficult as hell.”

  Logan grunted. “I have high expectations, so what? If people want to work for someone soft, they know where the door is.”

  “All I’m saying is, this isn’t the military. Not everything is life-and-death.”

  That was the problem, though. People became complacent with their security and then bad things happened. Addison hadn’t perceived her email to be a threat and it had gotten her run off the road. If it hadn’t been for Rhys, she would have a lot bigger problems right now than a totaled car.

  On her request, he’d kept the accident quiet from the rest of their team. But that didn’t change what’d happened. Still, what if she was thinking of leaving him and their company?

  “It’s okay to lighten up occasionally, you know, let down that luscious hair of yours.” Aiden cracked up when Logan shot him a nasty look.

  “Says the guy who should be in a shampoo commercial.”