A Taste of Paradise

by Elizabeth Lennox

  Marcy rolled her eyes in response to Gaia’s question. “I’m just picking up something for Zeke,” she said, indicating the stack in her arms. “Going for another run?”

  Gaia laughed as she glanced down at her leggings and wicking shirt. “Is it obvious?”

  Marcy tilted her head, looking startled. “You have dimples!” she exclaimed.

  Gaia put her smile away. She hated those dimples! They weren’t sophisticated in any way and she had worked hard to keep her smiles light and airy, which kept the ridiculous dimples from being so obvious.

  “Yeah. A ‘gift’ from my mother,” she replied sarcastically, referring to the woman who had left them when she and Freddy had been too small to understand her desertion.

  “Well, I think they’re great! I’ll walk out with you,” Marcy volunteered and the two of them headed to the parking lot. “What are you working on now?”

  “Oh, I have several projects in process right now. There’s one in Tacoma that should be pretty interesting. But it’s a difficult drive.”

  Marcy nodded her head. “I know lots of back roads if you need help there. I’ve mapped out several routes that would cut seven to eight minutes off your commute, depending on where the project is in Tacoma.”

  Gaia blinked. “You drive down to Tacoma often?”

  Marcy stepped out into the watery, afternoon sunshine. “I’ve actually never been there. I mapped out a route just in case I needed to go though.”

  Gaia almost laughed. She didn’t know Marcy well enough to tease her about such a plan. They’d met several months ago and Gaia knew that the gorgeous beauty was married with a tiny baby, but Gaia really would like to get to know the woman better. She seemed very nice and someone she’d like to hang out with on occasion.

  Deciding to just go for it, Gaia turned slightly. “Want to get a cup of coffee some time?” she asked, holding her breath. The woman probably had loads of friends and a crazy social life. Anyone with her kind of gorgeous looks and intelligence probably did lots of fun things.

  Marcy’s crystal blue eyes widened a moment, then her features softened into a smile. “I’d like that! Or how about lunch tomorrow? I’d love to have an excuse to get away from the work site.”

  Gaia laughed, forgetting for the moment to hide her dimples. “Is it that bad?”

  “Worse!” Marcy gushed. “You can’t even imagine the current work schedule!”

  Gaia swallowed painfully, intimidated by the idea of working for Steele Industries.

  “About lunch, I would love to get out of the office, so it is a date! Call me when you know your schedule tomorrow and I’ll find a good restaurant near you.” A moment later, the woman was gone in a burst of energy.

  Gaia almost laughed again, thinking that Marcy was great, if a bit nutty in her need to plan everything.

  Chapter 5

  “Freddy, we can’t go through with this,” she told her brother when he walked into her apartment for dinner two nights ago.

  He laughed and pulled her into a hug. “You’re a worrier,” he said and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t sweat it, sis. This is going to be great.”

  She shook her head as she pulled out of his arms. “Listen, I have another plan.” She took his hand and led him over to the sofa. “If the project doesn’t go through, then it is done. But if it does go through, and the condominiums really sell, I’ll get a finder’s fee. Freddy, this could be in the millions of dollars. We could put that money towards a fund in Dad’s memory.”

  Freddy’s confident smile changed to a look of horror. “Why the hell would we do that?” he demanded and stood up, walking into her kitchen to pull out whatever was in the oven. “Oh man! You made lasagna! You know how much I love your lasagna.”

  “You’re not listening to me!” she exclaimed in frustration, pushing his shoulder. “Wouldn’t it be better, more productive, to fund something positive in Dad’s memory instead of trying to bankrupt a family? The Steele brothers weren’t even running Steele Industries when Dad sold the farmland. It isn’t their fault.”

  Freddy ignored her argument, walking into the kitchen to peer into the oven. “We’re dealing with the fallout of their deal with Dad.”

  She shook her head frantically, frustrated with his stubborn attitude. “How?” she demanded impatiently. “How in the world are we dealing with any repercussions from Dad’s sale? I have a college degree, you have money left over from his life insurance just sitting in the bank, waiting for you to use it to get you through college and there’s so much that you could be doing with your life if you’d just get over this need for revenge!”

  He swung around and glared down at her. “Dad suffered! You and I suffered!”

  She refrained from smacking her forehead at this latest complaint. But just barely. “How? Again, what happened after Dad sold the land wasn’t our fault and we were taken care of after he died! And he died of his own irresponsible actions. He didn’t get a job! He preferred to sit around drinking instead of putting his life back together!”

  Freddy was furious. Throwing his hands up in the air, he shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you defending them?”

  Gaia wanted to pull her hair out. He just couldn’t see things clearly! “No! But I won’t defend Dad any longer! He was a drunk, Freddy! If he’d gotten help, if he’d done something with his life, like get a job, become a role model to you instead of just sitting around complaining about how he’d gotten a raw deal, then we would have been much better off!”

  Freddy huffed for a few minutes, but he was too angry. “I’m outta here,” he roared. “If you don’t want to go through with this, then I’ll figure it out on my own!”

  A moment later, her door slammed closed on his departure and she sighed with frustration. Freddy was a good guy, but he was obsessed with avenging a man who didn’t need to be avenged. Didn’t deserve it either.

  So, why was she even trying to help him with this crazy project? Why had she gone along with the idea of renovating that building? And…

  Her doorbell rang again and she hurried over to the door, hoping that it was Freddy and he was going to be calmer, that they could talk about things.

  But it wasn’t Freddy.

  “Logan!” she gasped and then her mind stopped functioning. Especially as he walked into her condo, closing the door.

  “I tried calling, but you didn’t answer your phone.”

  Gaia’s lips pressed together. She’d turned off her phone when he’d called earlier tonight. She couldn’t talk to him, couldn’t face him again after their lunch meeting. The man was just too…raw!

  “Um…I’m busy,” she told him, backing up as he moved into the apartment.

  “Doing what?” he asked, following her step for step. “Your brother just stormed out of here. Is he okay?”

  Gaia blinked. “How do you know my brother?”

  Logan shrugged one of his massive shoulders. “With his blond hair and golden eyes, he looks just like you. Besides, he works for Tommy on one of the crews. Teague and I were talking about your project and your brother’s name came up. I made the connection.” He set a bottle of wine onto the counter.

  Gaia shivered, wondering if Logan had any idea how much Freddy hated the Steele family. She certainly hoped not. Ignoring the very obvious clue of the bottle of wine, she crossed her arms over her chest. “So what are you doing here?”

  One dark eyebrow lifted over his startlingly green eyes. “I’m here to see you,” he told her, as if that should be perfectly obvious. He continued to move deeper into the apartment but then stopped, his head lifting as he sniffed the air. One moment, he was looking down at her with a wicked gleam in his eye and the next, his eyes had sharpened as he searched the kitchen for the source of that luscious smell. His body froze as he sniffed the air, then those green eyes came right back to her. “Damn, woman! What are you cooking?”

  Gaia was so startled by Logan’s change in demeanor that she burst out
laughing when he turned, heading into her kitchen.

  “Lasagna,” she replied but by that point, he was already opening the oven door.

  “Dimples and lasagna,” he groaned, closing his eyes as if he were contemplating nirvana. “I’m in heaven.”

  Gaia straightened her shoulders. “I don’t have dimples,” she asserted firmly.

  He ignored her as he opened and closed her cabinets until he found her plates. “Whatever you say, my lovely chef.” He had two plates out on the countertop, and then started searching drawers for potholders. He found them a moment later and pulled the lasagna out of the oven. “I think I’m in love with you!” he confessed and winked in her direction. “You have a great laugh, by the way. It’s amazing how you can laugh like that without showing your dimples.” He glanced over at her. “You practice in a mirror, don’t you?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t have dimples and no, I don’t practice laughing in a mirror.”

  He focused on serving huge portions of the still-bubbling lasagna then handed her a plate and took his own, grabbing the bottle of wine as he went over to her small table. “Where do you keep the wine glasses and bottle opener?”

  She stared at him, wondering how someone could have such confidence. “Why do you assume that I drink wine?”

  He chuckled, moving closer and towering over her. One hand reached out to touch the spot where her dimples would normally appear, but he dropped his hand as he moved ever so slightly closer. “You’re a wine drinker,” he told her with absolute confidence.

  Gaia sighed, because yes, she loved wine. Her brother drank beer and she always kept some in the fridge for him, but she really did prefer wine, even though she couldn’t afford the good stuff. “Fine,” she grumbled. “Would you like some dinner?” she asked sarcastically since he’d already served them both some lasagna.

  “You’re a gracious host, Gaia.”

  He chuckled when she rolled her eyes, but his eyes zeroed in on those adorable dimples. He knew that she was trying hard not to laugh so they wouldn’t come out, but her efforts were a miserable failure. No way was Logan going to tell her that though. He loved her gorgeous smile and he adored those dimples. When she wasn’t smiling, she looked too serious, as if the weight of the world sat on her slender shoulders. When she smiled and those cute dimples appeared, she was transformed into a completely different person.

  He didn’t mind the view from behind either, he thought as she moved away from him to reach into a cabinet, retrieving two wine glasses. Her slender hips swayed back and forth as she moved, an unconscious enticement.

  She came back with a bottle opener, two wine glasses, and a bowl filled with salad, placing all items on the table in front of him.

  “A domestic goddess,” he teased, taking the bottle opener and the bottle of wine to quickly extract the cork. “So, how was your day?’ he asked as he poured some wine into both glasses.

  Gaia watched with excitement as the wine filled the glass. Goodness, she loved a good glass of wine. She could already tell from the way the liquid flowed against the glass that it would be an excellent vintage. She usually found the lower-cost brands adequate, but…oh my, just from the smell, she knew this glass of wine was going to be amazing!

  When he handed her the glass, she was very careful to not touch his fingers. When she chanced a glance up at him, she knew that he knew what she’d been trying to do. Darn it! The man was annoying and she hated the way her cheeks flamed up with heat. From the look in his eyes, she knew that her cheeks weren’t just warm, they were embarrassingly pink.

  “A gentleman would ignore that,” she muttered.

  He chuckled softly as he sat back down across from her. “First of all, I find it charming and endearing. Secondly, it only proves that I’m right. You shoot me down with every other sentence so my fragile ego needs those subtle clues that tell me you’re truly interested.” He leaned forward, lifting his glass in a toast. “And lastly, I never claimed to be a gentleman. You should be forewarned about that. I go after what I want Gaia. And right now, you are my sole focus.”

  Those words made her stomach quiver with awareness. Wait! No, not awareness…fear! Yes, fear! But not fear because she wanted him. Nope. This was that other kind of fear…the kind she would remember if she could just stop being painfully aware of everything regarding this handsome man. His incredible scent was filtering through her overly sensitive nose, her senses. And all she could think about were his hands, wondering how they would feel like if they were touching her. Uh oh! Her eyes moved higher, locking onto his lips. How did he kiss? Was he passionate? Or gentle? Aggressive or soft and barely there?

  Or all of the above?

  “If you keep staring at me like that, I’m going to act on the pleading look in your eyes, Gaia,” he warned. The look he sent her way told her that he wasn’t just issuing an idle threat.

  Gaia jerked backwards, blinking to try and get her mind back under control. Or was it that she needed to get her body back under her mind’s control? Of course, it was her mind that was going off in strange directions. Like wondering how he kissed?! She’d never done that before! She’d never cared enough to wonder about her previous dates’ kissing style beforehand.

  “You’re doing it again,” he commented, his voice deeper, huskier.

  She looked at his green eyes, startled by the heat she found in their depths. “What am I doing?”

  He smiled slightly. “If you don’t know, I’m definitely not going to tell you. Suffice it to say, yes.”

  Gaia pulled back, too aware of him as a strong, attractive male. And the “yes” scared her on some elemental level that she didn’t want to prod closely enough to define. The yes was dangerous.

  And enticing!

  “Dinner,” she croaked out. “Lasagna.” Lifting her glass of wine, she took a careful sip, then closed her eyes. “Oh my, this is good wine.”

  He lifted his own glass, startled by the surge of lust he felt as he watched her enjoy just a tentative sip of wine. “Glad you like it,” and even he could hear the husky quality to his voice. So he wasn’t surprised when her golden eyes came back to him, staring at him with wide-eyed wonder.

  “Dinner,” he prompted. “Did you make this from scratch?” he asked.

  Gaia looked down at her plate, having forgotten what was going on other than the excellent wine and the sexual tension that could be cut with a knife. When she looked down, she noticed the lasagna and, for the life of her, couldn’t remember how it had gotten there.

  Oh yeah, he’d walked in, sniffed out her dinner, and made a beeline for her kitchen. “You seem to take over wherever you go, don’t you?” she asked as he sat down at the table. She followed, relieved to have something else support her since her legs were about to give out on her.

  He took a bite of the steaming, Italian delicacy. “Yes. It’s sort of my personality.”

  She didn’t completely understand, but thought it would be better to change the subject to something less charged. “I saw in the paper that several of your government projects are ahead of schedule. That’s good!”

  He smiled, understanding exactly what she was doing but he’d allow it. For now.

  “We have some good managers out there,” he said, and they discussed some of the ongoing buildings that were being erected across the city as well as the country. Gaia was surprised at how much she enjoyed the conversation with him. He could be so charming when he put his mind to it.

  She smiled as she took his plate to the kitchen. “You’re quite charismatic and interesting when you’re not trying to seduce me or throw me off balance,” she called out to him.

  Unfortunately, she didn’t realize that he’d followed her. Was, in fact, right behind her.

  “Who says I’m trying to throw you off balance?” he asked, putting a hand on either side of the countertop, surrounding her with his heat.

  The plates clattered into the sink and she wanted to grab something, to hold onto something s
o that she was balanced, but the countertop was the only solid surface and his hands were already there. “Logan,” she whispered, intensely aware of him as a man. She almost snorted, thinking that she’d never forgotten that he was male. She’d never met a more powerfully strong male!

  “Tell me what you want, Gaia,” he asked softly, his warm breath heating her neck, sending shivers everywhere. His hands moved along her arms, warm hands that made her think naughty thoughts.

  “I want…” she was going to say something like, “I want you to stop touching me,” but he kissed her neck. That was really the end of her resistance. She sighed, forgetting about rinsing off the dishes. All she could think about was his firm lips tickling her neckline, the sensitive skin above her blouse and all the other places where his mouth would feel so very good.

  “No you don’t,” he said with a chuckle as his mouth moved along her neck, kissing her right underneath her ear. “You want me to keep doing this.” His lips teased the small hairs at the back of her neck and she almost laughed, but his hands slipped around her waist at that particular moment and she definitely wasn’t laughing any longer. She could barely pull in a full breath. She didn’t want to move, afraid that if she did, even a small movement, would cause his hands to slip higher. And then she was afraid of how much she wanted his strong hands to move higher.

  Oh my, his hands slid higher!

  “Logan!” she gasped, grabbing his wrists and trying to pull them away. In response, he nipped at her earlobe, causing her head to fall back. She knew that he was close behind her, but when her head ran into hard muscle, she was struck anew by how he had surrounded her. His fingers spread wide, pressing against her stomach and rib cage.

  “Logan, this isn’t…”

  “Stop talking,” he commanded. His hands then moved higher, cupping her breasts while his lips continued to move along her neck, nipping and teasing. His thumbs were so close! So incredibly close to her nipples and she wanted desperately to feel those thumbs on her nipples, to feel them tease and drive her mad. Even not feeling them where she wanted them was making her crazy!