A Taste of Paradise

by Elizabeth Lennox

  “Logan, this can’t….”

  That’s when his thumb reached higher and he rubbed her already hard nipple. Her whole body jerked, first backwards, and she arched into his touch, then forward, as if she couldn’t take the torture any longer. She grabbed his thumb, trying to pull it away but his hand wouldn’t budge.

  “Gaia, relax. I promise I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.”

  She had no idea why, but with his words, she relaxed, dropping the pressure on his hands and practically leaning against him. A small part of her brain told her not to trust him. But that part was overruled by her body’s reactions to his touch, the way she was craving more of what he was doing to her now.

  When her fingers released his wrist, he moved his hand higher, gently caressing her body. Gaia had never experienced anything so amazingly tender and yet, at the same time, all-consumingly intense. Every cell in her body was trembling with need, a need that was getting hard to resist.

  “Logan, I don’t know what to do here,” she said, referring to stopping him versus letting him continue. But he took that comment in a different way.

  “You don’t have to do anything. Just let me touch you.” His mouth brushed against her ear before moving lower and Gaia had the answer to her earlier question. Logan started off soft and gentle, but then moved in more aggressively. His lips against her neck shifted. No longer was he gentle, but his mouth moved against her skin, singeing her body with the heat, his tongue, and his teeth. Every stroke of his fingers and his mouth made her shudder with longing, a painful, desperate intensity formed in her belly. She was gripping his arm now, but in a completely different manner than before.

  When he suddenly lifted her into his arms, she gasped as she tried to find balance where none was available. “What are you doing?” she demanded as he carried her out of the kitchen. “Wait! Logan! Wait!” she said, her arms wrapping around his neck as if he were the only lifeline available.

  Thankfully, he stopped before he reached her bedroom. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “We can’t do this!” she told him, her breath coming in heaving gasps. And she was the one being carried!

  “Why not?”

  Gaia searched her mind frantically, trying to come up with a reason that he would accept. Unfortunately, her body was clamoring for her to just allow him to continue. She might be passive in the interaction, but she was absolutely sure that she would love anything that happened tonight.

  “Because I’m…” she stared into his green eyes as he waited patiently for her to come to a decision. “Because I’m on my period,” she blurted, then couldn’t believe she’d actually said that. Not out loud!! Wasn’t there some sort of euphemism that she could have used that wouldn’t have been quite so…blatant? Gaia just wasn’t that bold!

  “I don’t care,” he told her softly, kissing her gently.

  Pulling back, she struggled to get out of his arms. Thankfully, he released her legs, but kept his arm around her shoulders. “I care!” she gasped, horrified by such an idea. “There’s no way that I would…” she shook her head, looking away from him. “Logan, I can’t…” she bowed her head in embarrassment at such a sensitive subject. “Look, can we talk about this another time?”

  He chuckled. “It’s just a natural thing that happens, Gaia. I don’t care what’s going on. I want you. You want me. Everything else is just details.”

  Okay, in another life, that little speech might have been very sweet. Unfortunately, she was quite horrified by the idea. Not to mention, she wasn’t actually on her period at the moment. It was just the first thing that had come to mind. She’d read that most men wouldn’t want to have sex with women during that time of the month so…well, she’d just sort of grasped onto that as an excuse.

  “No. We can’t…” she shook her head. “Just…not right now, okay?” She’d meant that she couldn’t talk about this now, but once again, he took it with an entirely different meaning.

  “When will your period be through?”

  She pulled back, straightening her clothes. “Logan, this just….”

  He pressed her back against the wall, his hands on either side of her head. “Don’t go there, Gaia. This is definitely going to happen.”

  She shook her head. “No, Logan. We’re business acquaintances. That’s it.” She couldn’t tell him that her brother was out to destroy his company and his family. That would be a significant issue.

  Come to think of it, she needed to work doubly hard on both her brother, to get him to stop this insane revenge plot, as well as convince Logan not to recommend moving forward with the waterfront renovation. She didn’t know the building very well, but she wasn’t sure that an old building, abandoned for decades, could be fixed up and sold for a profit. Before, when she hadn’t known the brothers, hadn’t gotten to know one of them better, probably too well for her peace of mind, then she hadn’t really thought through the whole revenge thing.

  If Freddy ever found out about how she’d tried to discourage Logan or fudged the numbers to make the project seem too expensive, she knew he would be furious. But this was a stalling tactic to give her time. Time to convince Freddy that he needed to stop this insanity and get some counseling.

  But now, things had gone too far. So it was up to her to stop it. Stop the insanity and put the pieces of her life back together. And that did not include one particularly handsome man with hands that made her lose her concentration.

  Looking up at him, she suddenly realized that he had been waiting for her to look at him. Patiently waiting. His hands were on either side of her head, braced against the wall. “What?”

  His green eyes were narrowed on her and her stomach tightened into a knot. “You’re lying,” he said softly.

  She wanted to laugh but she was still too nervous. Especially with him still so close. So touchable. “You really don’t beat around the bush, do you?” she teased.

  “No. I find that it is better to just come directly to the point. So, you’re not really on your period, are you?”

  She ducked under his arm. “This isn’t a conversation I’m going to have with you, Logan,” she told him and walked back into the kitchen. She couldn’t look him in the eye, which, she supposed, was a dead giveaway, but she didn’t care.

  She walked over to the sink and started to scrub their dishes cleaner than the dishwasher could ever get them, but she didn’t care. She needed something to do with her hands.

  She didn’t see Logan, but she could feel both his amusement and frustration. She could deal with both, just so long as he didn’t continue seducing her. She was too close to the edge, too close to allowing herself to be seduced.

  “Fine. We won’t talk about that. But how about this. There’s an event this weekend. I need you to be there with me.”

  Gaia started to shake her head. His next words stopped whatever it was she might come up with as an excuse. “We’ll be working on the details of the project all week. The event this weekend will have several investors. You’ll need to be there to talk to them, to answer their questions about the project.”

  She turned around, ignoring the soap bubbles covering her hands or the way the soapy water ran down her hands to drip on the floor. “I can’t talk about things like that to investors!” she gasped, horrified by the idea.

  “Why not?” he asked, grabbing a dishtowel from a hook and walking over to her. “You talked to Tommy and me about the project, convinced us to look into the idea further. Then you talked with all of my brothers. I thought you were brilliantly articulate when you discussed the details. All of their questions were answered with facts and details that showed each of us that you’d done your homework.”

  She was so distracted by his hands drying hers that she struggled to focus. When he was finished, he leaned forward, getting into her personal space again.

  “Yes, I did that, but…”

  He laughed softly as he looked down into her golden eyes. “Are you
seriously going to tell me that a bunch of white haired, elderly gentlemen are more intimidating than me and my brothers?”

  Gaia laughed at that image as well. “No way.”

  “Fine. Then you’ll be there. I’ll have my assistant send you the details.” He pushed away from her. “Besides, you work for me now. These kinds of events are part of your job.”

  Gaia’s eyes narrowed as she looked up at him. Something wasn’t right. She could sense it in the way he was watching her carefully. It was almost as if he were waiting for her to challenge his assertion. “Part of my job?” she repeated, feeling out the words to try and discover what it was that didn’t quite fit.

  “Absolutely. Part of your job. I’ll pick you up at six o’clock.”

  Gaia continued to look up at him. Something smelled rotten, but she couldn’t quite figure it out. Yes, she’d heard of events like this where people mingled. She even suspected that the event would be a good place for her to meet potential clients. But….

  There was something in his eyes, something that she didn’t quite trust. She suspected he was lying, but she didn’t know him well enough to be sure. And since she’d just done it to him, she didn’t have the moral high ground to call him on it.

  “Fine,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. She wanted to laugh at his triumphant expression, but she couldn’t because that would release those hated dimples. “Friday night.”

  “Good. I’ll send over a dress for you.”

  He grabbed his keys and started to walk towards the doorway. “This isn’t over, by the way,” he told her.

  Gaia had already suspected as much but she didn’t argue with him. She was quickly learning that arguing with Logan was like spinning in circles. It might be fun, but it didn’t really get her anywhere.

  “It is over,” she replied back, only to see what he might do.

  His reaction was swift and effective. One moment, he was almost to the door. The next moment, she was in his arms and he was kissing her. His mouth was demanding, passionate. One arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her up to his kiss, the other hand cupped her head, tilting it to the side to give him better access, one thumb sliding lower to open her mouth so that his tongue could slide into hers, stroking her, showing her what she was missing.

  Gaia whimpered, her arms wrapping around his neck as she pressed herself against him. She knew it was wrong, but there was nothing she could do other than kiss him back, revealing all of the secret longings she had been trying to suppress.

  When he finally lifted his head, she was trembling and would have fallen to the floor if he hadn’t held her gently but firmly against himself while she calmed down. With her forehead pressed against his chest, she gulped in air, trying to find her equilibrium. But it wasn’t easily found.

  “Good night, Gaia,” he whispered as he kissed her forehead. “Sweet dreams.”

  A moment later, she slumped against the wall and she heard her apartment door click shut behind him.

  It really did take a long time getting to sleep that night. She kept thinking about what it might have been like to give in to Logan’s temptation and let him make love to her. It would have been magical, she knew.

  But also wrong. She couldn’t make love to the man when she hadn’t convinced her brother to give up on his revenge. It just didn’t seem right.

  Chapter 6

  Gaia picked up her bag, physically exhausted and mentally drained. It had been a long day and she was worn out. It seemed as if every client she’d ever worked with had called, needing advice or new ideas. It hadn’t helped that she’d gotten so little sleep last night. And even the sleep she had gotten had been filled with erotic dreams of Logan making love to her.

  All she wanted to do now was go home, grab the pint of ice cream in the back of her freezer and have that for dinner. A good glass of wine, a hot bath, and then bed. Not necessarily in that order either.

  She’d just pulled on her raincoat when Janice, the office receptionist, burst into her cubicle. “You have a delivery!” she said, sounding breathlessly excited. But that was nothing new. Janice was a sweet lady, and always seemed to be rushing around from one thing to another. She had the energy of three people, but the organizational abilities of a herd of cats!

  Gaia looked down at the woman’s hands, startled by the size of the box. “Thanks,” Gaia replied, accepting the big, white box. “What is it?”

  Janice shrugged as she stood by Gaia’s desk, clapping her hands and bouncing with excitement. “I have no idea. It came by special delivery just a few minutes ago. The delivery guy seemed nice enough. I can’t imagine anyone sending you something bad. So you need to hurry up and….” Too late. The front office phone dinged, indicating another call coming in.

  Janice walked out with a frustrated expression, already heading back to the front desk. Gaia stared at the box in her hands, trying to figure out what it might be. She had no idea and, besides factory samples, she hadn’t ordered anything.

  Slipping the red ribbon off, her fingers trembled as she slowly lifted the lid. When she saw the dress inside, she gasped and shoved the top back down, covering the beautiful, designer dress and looking around to see if anyone else had caught a glimpse of the dress.

  Grabbing her bag, purse and the box, she hurried out of her cubicle.

  “What was in the box?” Janice called out as Gaia rushed through the lobby.

  Gaia jumped and looked around, sure that there was guilt in her eyes. “Nothing! Just some samples. I have to…” she had no idea what she had to do anymore. Gone were dreams of a relaxing night, a glass of wine, and much needed sleep. All she could think about now was giving Logan a piece of her mind for sending her such an outrageous delivery!

  “It was nothing,” she finally muttered and pushed her way through the ornate doors of her firm. Once out in the late evening sunshine, she hurried to her car, stuffing the box and her bags into the backseat.

  Getting into the driver’s seat, she sighed, pressing her forehead on the steering wheel. “That man is going to drive me crazy!” she grumbled to the otherwise empty car.

  With an angry growl, she started her car and backed out of the parking lot. Fifteen minutes later, she was pulling into the parking lot of her apartment complex. When she stared at the box in her back seat, she almost left it there, afraid to touch it. The box was becoming like a serpent in her mind, making her doubt her sanity.

  “Good grief,” Gaia muttered and grabbed the box and her bags. She was so tired, so wound up and then the man sends this?! Oh, she was so going to give him a piece of her mind.

  Inside her apartment, she dumped her bags and her keys onto the sofa, then snatched her cell phone and dialed his number.

  “Good evening, my beauty,” he answered. Gaia refused to give him credit for the shivers that raced through her body, going over to the thermostat and adjusting the temperature slightly.

  Gripping her cell phone, she tried to calm her racing pulse, but she was too angry. “Don’t you ‘good evening’ me, Logan! What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded. She knew she sounded like a shrew, but she couldn’t help it.

  His response was a deep, sexy chuckle and she pictured him in his office, feet kicked up on his desk as he leaned back in that huge, leather chair as he pushed those sexy glasses higher on his nose. “Didn’t sleep well last night?” he asked.

  “Uh!” She smacked her open palm against her forehead. “Don’t you dare!”

  His only response was a low, almost gentle laugh. “Oh, I dare. When you’re involved, I would dare just about anything.”

  Gaia’s mouth fell open with those words. They sounded so…wonderful.

  When she realized what she was thinking, she closed her eyes, trying to block out the impact he had on her. Pacing back and forth in her small apartment, she shook her head. “Logan, you sent me a dress! I’m guessing this is a dress for Friday night?’

  “Yes. I sent you a dress. I sent you something that I th
ought you would like and that you would look beautiful in. Is there a problem?”

  She could just picture that arrogant smile on his handsome features while he pulled those sexy…no, not sexy but…nerdy glasses from his face.

  Taking another deep breath, she turned and faced the white box, which was now laying on her sofa. “Yes. There’s definitely a problem,” she replied quickly. Lifting the top off of the box, she slid the stunning, sexually enticing dress into the air. “I can’t wear something like this! First of all, it is way too expensive. I couldn’t ever afford a dress like this.”

  “It’s a gift, Gaia.”

  “No!” she quickly replied. “I can’t accept a gift like this. It’s too much.” She stared at the low cut neckline. “And too little.” There was even a slit in the thigh. She never wore dresses with thigh slits! She didn’t have the courage…or the legs… for a dress like this!

  “Accept the dress. And wear it for me Friday night. I can’t wait to see you in it. You have great legs and a fabulous figure! I don’t know of another woman who could pull off that dress besides you.”

  She shook her head. “Logan, I already have a dress that would be appropriate for Friday night. I can’t accept this dress.”

  He made some sort of sound that she took for disagreement. “I doubt that the dresses you have would be right. I’ll come over, you can try them on, and I’ll be the judge of what would be appropriate for Friday.”

  The thought of him coming over, especially after what had happened last time he’d been in her apartment, broke her focus. “No!” she gasped, but it was already too late. He’d hung up on her.

  She stared at her cell phone, not sure she believed that he’d actually hung up on her. Or was she more horrified that he was on his way over? He couldn’t come over! She couldn’t see him. Not tonight. She was too tired, too worn out. Being around Logan required all of her concentration. Today, she had no concentration. She was too worn out after their interlude last night.