It was very nice to have someone concerned about her for a change. Not needed, but still extremely nice!
Why hadn’t she gotten these messages earlier? Her phone had been right beside her all morning. Looking at the tiny symbols at the top of her screen, she cringed. She realized that she hadn’t turned her ringer back on. She always turned the sound off at night so that she could sleep and wouldn’t be woken up by the midnight arriving advertising e-mails. A pointless effort after last night, she thought with irritation since her sleep had been disturbed by something much more awakening than a silly notification sound.
Driving to the waterfront site, she wasn’t sure if she liked the warm glow that suffused her after reading all of those text messages. She was still horribly embarrassed after last night, but she shouldn’t have ignored him. Or forgotten to turn on her ringer this morning so that he didn’t feel ignored. She hadn’t done it on purpose, but he didn’t know that.
So when she pulled up to the cracked and weed-racked parking lot of the building, she immediately saw him striding towards her. It wasn’t just her stomach that started dong flips this time. It was her whole body that felt like it was turning over. Excitement, dread, fear, and embarrassment warred for dominance inside of her. She couldn’t help it. The man terrified her!
He reached her car before she could figure out what she wanted to feel. With strong arms, he almost lifted her out of her car, pinning her against the side and glaring down at her. “Are you hurt?” he demanded.
“No!” she gasped, trying hard to breathe, but it was difficult with him so close and memories of last night surging through her body. Oh yeah, and that hard part of him that was quickly growing and pressing against her stomach.
“Then why didn’t you answer my texts? Why are you avoiding me this morning?”
She shook her head, placing her hands on his shoulders to try and calm him down. It seemed to work, although his green eyes sharpened. “I wasn’t trying to avoid you, Logan,” she explained in a soft voice, soothed by his concern. “I forgot to turn on my ringer this morning when I woke up and I didn’t see your messages until a few minutes ago.” She saw the softening in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Logan looked at her beautiful face and, for the first time, noticed the dark circles she’d tried to hide with makeup. “You didn’t sleep well last night, did you?” he asked. His hands released her upper arms and he gave her a bit of space, but not much.
“No. Not really,” she admitted since the evidence was obviously there for him to see. She couldn’t very well hide her sleepless night, especially when he was able to frazzle her so easily. Besides, maybe if he knew that she wasn’t in top form, he would take it easy on her today.
Right, like Logan knew how to take it easy or slow down. The slow smile forming on his handsome face made her stomach muscles tighten even more. That anticipation thing was a real curse, she thought. “You were dreaming about me, weren’t you?” He smiled and lowered his head to kiss her lightly, his arms slipping around her waist, pulling her close once more. “I would apologize, but I’m not sorry.” His arms tightened around her. “I dreamed about you last night too. And I was furious that I couldn’t finish what we’d started.”
He laughed softly when she blushed at his words. “Okay, so you got to finish. But I could have gotten you to that place a few more times if I’d stayed.”
She focused on the middle of his chest, unable to look him in the eye when he was speaking so boldly. She wasn’t a prude. Okay, well, yes, she probably was, but that wasn’t the point at this moment. She was just…overwhelmed by the man! He was just so…open about sex and his desires. She’d grown up thinking that sex wasn’t spoken about, not even really thought about. With a father who drank too much and a brother who was usually off doing something he shouldn’t be doing, it had been up to her to be responsible. That meant suppressing her desires, figuring out the details in life. “Then I’m glad you didn’t stay.”
He kissed the top of her head, soothing her with the gesture. “I know. You’re not ready for the next step. Not yet.” He backed up and took her hand, lifting it to his lips. “But very soon. And no more avoiding me. I’ll help you get there, Gaia.”
Gaia opened her mouth to deny that she would go to the next step, but a throat clearing to her right stopped whatever it was she might have said.
Turning, Logan put a hand to the small of her back. “You’re annoying, you know that?” he said. Initially, Gaia thought he was talking to her, but when she turned her startled eyes in his direction, she realized that he was referring to the equally tall and almost as handsome man to their right. “Gaia, you probably remember my brother, Teague, from when he interrupted us that first day in my office. He’s going to tour through the place with us today. Between the three of us, we’ll make a final judgment on whether this project will work.”
He took her hand and led her forward. The other man extended his hand and Gaia was relieved to have an excuse to step away from Logan’s possessive touch, even if she liked it. Just a little. She didn’t really like his arm around her waist. Not really.
Ugh! Now, she was having arguments with herself, inside her head!
Focusing on the man in front of her instead of on the man beside her, she smiled up into his green eyes, feeling as if he were already a friend. The man had a nice smile. A smile that didn’t make her shiver in any way! What a relief! “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Teague,” she greeted warmly.
“Likewise!” he laughed softly, his green eyes moving back and forth between her and his brother. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Sort of,” he teased. “My little brother here,” he said, referring to Logan, “says you have some great ideas about this old place. I’ve seen the drawings. Your idea is impressive.”
Gaia smiled, relieved that this other man was so welcoming. He was just as good-looking, but not nearly as terrifying, as Logan. “I don’t know if it will work. This is an old building and the saltwater might have ruined the structure to the point that it isn’t feasible,” she told both of them, trying to sound optimistic even while once again trying to discourage forward momentum on the possibilities. Logan hadn’t really listened to her the other day, countering each of her arguments and explaining why the building was more solid than she’d realized. Hopefully, Teague will be more cautious and pessimistic.
Teague’s smile widened and he nodded. “Well, let’s go through the area and see what’s going on, shall we?”
“Let me change shoes,” she said and pulled a bag out of her backseat, grabbing a pair of sturdy boots. Taking off her heels, she tied the boots on then stood up, startled by the look of admiration on Logan’s handsome features. It was probably on Teague’s as well, but she really only noticed Logan when he was around. Or not around, she thought as she remembered tossing and turning last night, just thinking about what he’d done to her and all the things she wanted him to do to her.
Bowing her head because she couldn’t take that kind of look from him right now, she stepped to the side a bit. “I’m ready now,” she told them.
There was another soft chuckle before Logan grabbed her hand again. She tried to pull her hand away, but he wasn’t allowing it.
After a short tug-of-war, which she lost because he wasn’t releasing her hand, she stopped walking and glared up at the obnoxious man. “Stop!” she whispered with vehemence, trying to keep her voice down while still sounding assertive and confident. “I don’t want to give your brother the wrong impression.”
Teague chuckled again, obviously hearing her even though he was several steps ahead of them. “Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on. No need to hide anything from me.” He glanced at the building and made notes on a clipboard. “Not that it would be possible anyway. Not with the sparks flying between the two of you.”
And then he walked away. Gaia frowned faintly at his broad back, not sure what he meant. But then Logan squeezed her hand, gaining her focus back on him. �
��See? Nothing to worry about,” he told her and tugged her gently forward.
The three of them walked through the weeds and crumbled sidewalks to the building. The whole time, she pointed out issues with the structure, the weeds, and the proximity to the highway and ocean. After touring the site with Logan the last time, she’d done additional research on buildings and structural issues, trying to come up with problems that might make the project too cost prohibitive to move forward.
The men looked at her strangely at first, but their glances became amused as she continued to point out the negatives. Both of them carried clipboards and were writing things down, although the notes Logan scribbled were mathematical equations that stumped her. She had absolutely no idea what he was calculating on the paper and, what was more impressive, he seemed to be doing all of the complex calculations in his head. And he kept doing that sexy thing where he pushed his glasses higher up onto the bridge of his nose. Goodness, she wished he would stop doing that! It made her nerves fire up every time.
She wanted to reach up and whip those glasses off his handsome face, but was afraid of getting that close to him. Strange things happened when she got close to that man and she was exhausted to the point of being sleep deprived due to those strange things.
“Okay, that’s enough, Teague,” Logan said a couple of hours later. Teague was examining the foundations where the mortar was separating from the bricks. “I’m going to take Gaia out for lunch. I don’t think she had anything for breakfast.”
The other man looked over his shoulder, noticed the fatigue in Gaia’s eyes and nodded his head. “That’s probably a good idea. I can finish up here. We can meet in your office this afternoon to discuss feasibility.”
Gaia was already shaking her head. “I’m not hungry,” she said to both men, trying to pretend like she wasn’t about to pass out from hunger pains.
Logan didn’t listen to her. He simply wrapped his fingers around her upper arm and tugged her away from the pile of rubble they’d been working near. “Come on, honey. You’re exhausted and starving. I can fix one of those issues for you.” He waited until they were several feet away from his brother before he said in a lower voice, “I would love to tuck you into a soft, warm bed and kiss you good night, but if I started kissing you now, you wouldn’t get any sleep.”
Gaia pulled back, but he didn’t let go of her arm so she couldn’t get that far. “That’s not going to happen,” she told him stiffly, but even as she said it, memories of the previous night came back to haunt her.
He plucked her car keys out of her fingers, unlocking her car and grabbing the bag with her other shoes before slamming the door closed once more and locking her car. The whole time, Gaia glared at his magnificent shoulders despite the fact that he was impervious to her glare.
He laughed softly at her attempt to be firm, handing her the bag of shoes. “You’re cute,” he told her, despite the conviction behind her words. “You and I both know that it will happen. It isn’t even a question of ‘if’ anymore.” He opened the passenger door to his car as he chuckled. “Not that it was ever really a question.”
She stopped before he nudged her into the car, turning to look up at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Her lips compressed as she tried to fight the need to reach out and touch his chest, to simply feel the muscles that she’d discovered last night.
He moved in closer, trapping her between his big body and the interior of the door. “It means that we were going to eventually be in a bed together from the first moment we saw each other. I know it, and you know it, although I’m guessing you haven’t given yourself permission to accept it yet. But it is going to happen. After last night…”
She inhaled sharply, shaking her head even as she lifted a hand to halt his words. “We’re not discussing last night,” she interrupted and ducked down into the seat before he could say another word.
Logan hesitated, but then smiled as he closed her door. She watched as he walked around to the other side of the car. When he got in, he started the engine and pulled away, his long, muscular arm behind her and she could feel the heat of his body, smell the citrusy scent of his cologne or aftershave. Goodness, the man smelled hot! Hot and sexy and so incredibly delicious! That was so not fair, she thought with resentment.
“You know we’re going to have to discuss what happened last night sooner or later, Gaia.”
She realized that she’d made a serious tactical error by ducking into the car. It was in motion now and her seatbelt was on. She couldn’t get away from him as easily. The fact that she was in the car now was just proof of how exhausted she really was. If she’d had a good night’s sleep, she would never have gotten into his car. She would have confidently slipped her heels back on, walked over to her own car, and gone back to her office.
With a sigh of resignation, she bent down and untied her boots, tugging them off so she could slip her feet into her heels once more. It felt better to have the boots off. Somehow, her pretty heels gave her more confidence. Or maybe it was just that her heels gave her a few extra inches of height and that helped her feel a bit less intimidated by Logan’s overwhelming height and breadth. No man should have shoulders that wide, she thought, as she shifted in her seat, putting a few more inches between her shoulder and his. Not much, because there just wasn’t enough room in his small car for “enough” space.
“We’re not,” she repeated, rubbing her forehead and wondering what her next move was going to be. How did a woman protect herself from a man who was so sweet and kind, not to mention sexy and powerful and just…. She couldn’t even come up with any negatives this time!
Logan glanced over at her, saw the fatigue wearing her down, and acquiesced. “Okay, we’ll leave this subject for another time, honey. Just relax for a few minutes until we get to the restaurant. I’ll take care of you.”
Gaia was too exhausted to think about trying to fight him now and his words sounded so sweet and gentle, even in his deep voice. In fact, they probably sounded even better because of that incredible voice of his. Was she losing her mind?
Possibly. Maybe not. Maybe she should just…. She was tired, worn out mentally and physically, and all she wanted to do was crawl into a bed to relax.
Logan watched Gaia as she slowly fell asleep. Turning down the radio, he drove around town for a while, trying to lull her to sleep. She really did look exhausted, he thought. Driving aimlessly, he waited until he was sure she was fast asleep before driving back to her building. Once there, he carefully lifted her out of the passenger seat, surprised that she didn’t wake up. He had her keys in his hand as he carried her to her apartment. With as little jostling as possible, he unlocked her door and carried her into her bedroom.
He thought he showed great restraint when he lowered her to her bed and pulled off her shoes. He didn’t take off any of her other clothes, even though he knew she would most likely be more comfortable without the skirt or jacket. But that might have tested his restraint too much, so he refrained. Also, it might have woken her up. He didn’t want that. Yes, he wanted her, but she needed sleep much more than he needed her in his bed. Naked. Exposed and allowing him to…
He cursed mentally and turned away from the image of her curled up on her beautiful, feminine bed. Pulling a throw blanket off of the end of the bed and covering her legs, he watched her for a another long moment, enjoying the way her lips were softened in sleep, her long lashes fanned out over her pale skin. She really was a beautiful woman, he thought. But there was so much more to her. He was just as attracted to the innate gentleness he sensed within her as he was to her physical beauty. She was a fierce protector as well. He had to admire that. Unfortunately, she didn’t take being protected by someone else too easily, so it was a good thing she’d fallen asleep.
Shaking his head, he knew he damn well was going to slay dragons for her. He wasn’t completely sure who those dragons were, but he suspected that her brother was one of them. He made a mental note to look into her
brother’s past, find out more about him. Last night, there had been a strange look about the younger man. Normally, he would have extended his hand, shook the other man’s hand before leaving. Having grown up with three brothers, Logan had no idea what it was like to have a sister. But the idea of a daughter, a golden haired, amber-eyed daughter…that brought up a fierceness inside of him that he couldn’t tamp down. So maybe Gaia’s brother was only trying to protect his sister.
Somehow, that didn’t seem exactly right. His instincts were telling him there was more to the story, somehow.
For several more moments, he contemplated his sleeping beauty. And yes, he considered Gaia to be his woman. He understood that she was nervous, that there was more going on behind those beautiful eyes and she was too nervous to explain. But in the end, he knew he would win her over.
Forcing himself to turn away, he walked out of her bedroom, closing the door quietly, he walked out, a list of errands to accomplish before his sleeping beauty woke up.
An hour later, he’d gotten his brother to drive her car back to her apartment complex, had a restaurant box filled with food in her fridge as well as a bottle of red wine open on the counter with a note to enjoy herself.
As quietly as possible, he slipped out of her apartment, only glancing in on her one more time before leaving her alone to sleep the rest of the afternoon.
Gaia woke up and stretched, feeling so much better. When she opened her eyes and looked around, she was startled to see that she was in her bed. The last thing she remembered was…driving away from the warehouse site earlier this morning.
Sitting up, she looked around. She saw her shoes placed carefully beside her bed. She never placed her shoes carefully anywhere. By the end of the day, she normally walked into her apartment and flipped her shoes off. Half the time, she had to pick them up from her living room floor in the morning. Even then, she would simply toss them into her closet. Yes, she loved shoes, but no, she wasn’t kind to them. It was sort of a love/hate relationship. She loved the way they made her feel when she had a great pair of shoes on, but by the end of the day, she hated the pain in her toes and the balls of her feet.
A Taste of Paradise Page 10
