“No one was going to hurt me and I still have to get to work.”
He scratched at his chin and ran a hand down his face like he was frustrated. “It’s already cleared with your boss to take a few days off. If you want to come in, I can take you or one of your friends can. Otherwise you can stay at the house. Where is your cat?”
I pouted. “She’s at Andi’s house. This is too much. I was going to get the car repaired on tomorrow’s paycheck.”
He shrugged. “Consider it an advance for the weekend. The house really is a wreck right now and I could use the help. You’ll take tomorrow off, get settled. Clean this weekend and we’re good.”
I opened my mouth but he cut me off.
“We aren’t dating. We aren’t together in any way so you’re just a person who is willing to clean for room and board. It’s nothing crazy. I’m just being friendly.”
“Well at least we’ve established some boundaries. Thank you, Dr. Matthews.”
He growled at me. “And none of that shit. I’m Logan to you. Not Dr. Matthews, the guy you work with. I’m Logan, the man you’re currently living with until we can get something else straightened out for you.”
I knew what he meant but it sounded a little crossed. I wondered if he even knew what he had just said. I wasn’t living with a man. I was going to be living under the roof of my employer. There was a distinct difference.
He went back around his desk and fished around in a drawer.
A set of keys dropped on the table when he was done. He had a prescription bottle in his other hand. “Keys to the house and garage or anything else you need access to.”
He opened the bottle, popped a pill in his mouth and swallowed without water.
I eyed the keys on the table but didn’t pick them up. “Why would you bring your escorts to the clinic?”
He rolled his eyes. “They wanted to see where I worked. I don’t know why, but my sex life isn’t up for discussion. Take the keys. I’m headed home early today so I’ll be off about the same time you are. I’ll drive you back to my house later.”
“This is a bad idea,” I mumbled and stood up.
“The worst,” he said back to me. “But you’re coming home with me tonight regardless.”
I hesitated and chewed on my lip. The plus side was I would sleep in an actual bed for the next few days. All I had to do was clean his house for the cost of fixing my car. Payday would hit and I could start planning my road trip without the pressure of needing to take off immediately.
This wasn’t all bad. I could endure living with the man for a few days. He wasn’t the guy I thought he was in some ways, but he was offering help, even if it was somewhat forced upon me. I was still confused about his moods and what he said, but it was a semi-charitable thing.
I leaned over and grabbed his keys from the desk. “Thank you, I’m extremely grateful for your help. It’s very nice of you.”
He watched me take the keys in front of him. His eyes slid over my mouth and he growled. “It’s not nice at all. I would put you in a hotel if I was being nice.”
I frowned at him, a little confused. “All the same, thanks. The bed will be much better than the car and I’ll try to stay out of your way.”
He shuffled in his seat. “Kaitlyn, I’ll see you in a while and for the record you’re never in the way.”
Dismissed, I exited the office, closed the door behind me and leaned up against the wall.
What the hell was that?!
I took a deep breath and let it out. It was only a few days. A few days of dealing with him. Only a few.
I could do this.
Chapter Five
Work had been good. It had provided my cluttered mind with enough distraction that I hadn’t thought about Logan and his house.
At six sharp he had come to collect me and we had ridden to his home in his Lexus. The car ride had been weird. We were both silent for the most part. I had wanted to ask him how his day went when we had first climbed in, but his face had been closed down like he was dreading this entire thing. I should have made other arrangements but one of the other therapy assistants had called in sick and I had been shuffling her patients with mine all day.
I would give it a night and see how things went.
He lived in an older part of the city not far from the clinic. The community was gated with a security man on post. My identity was given to the man and I was put on record as a person who could come and go. He had eyed me strangely before we left. I wondered how many women the guy had seen with Logan and whether he thought I was just another one of the doctor’s bimbos.
Logan drove into the driveway of a nice looking brick house. The garage door lifted and he parked inside next to an old Corvette.
Lacking anything to talk about, I inquired about it as we stepped out of the car. “What kind of Corvette is that?”
He glanced at me with a small hint of a spark in his eyes. “1957 Corvette. It was my granddad’s until he died. I remember him telling me several times not to touch it even as a kid. He loved that thing. He used to wash it every Sunday like clockwork.”
I smiled at him. “Do you ever drive it?”
He shook his head. “Not really. I start it up from time to time, make sure everything is still working. The clinic uses it in their car show they have every year. It’s not really my thing but I keep it around.”
We headed in the door to his house and stopped in a mudroom of sorts. There were jackets and shoes in disarray by an old wooden bench.
“Are your parents still alive?” I asked.
He opened the door to what looked like a kitchen. “Yes, they’re alive and kicking down by the coast. Dad has a boat he can’t stand to leave for more than a few days. He’s an avid fisher. My mother is involved in a lot of charitable work with the hospitals and a few other organizations. They keep busy.”
I looked around the kitchen. It had a large island in the middle with all stainless steel appliances. The cabinets were white and the walls were blue. All the counter appliances seemed to match. The most significant thing I noticed was that it was spotless.
“It’s very nice.”
He shrugged as he took off his jacket and tie. “Mom had one of her interior decorator people go through the house before I moved in.”
I was trying not to look at him as he unclasped the top two buttons on his shirt. I could see the top of his chest when he was done and I mentally slapped myself for eying him.
He caught me looking before I averted my eyes and he smirked.
“The basement is this way Kate. Your things are already down there.”
I followed him through the house. Most of his furniture was black leather with dark wood framing. He had a fireplace in the living room with a huge rug in front of it. There were very few things on the walls. Some framed photos otherwise it was pretty bare. Compared to my house it looked very sparse.
My old house, I corrected myself, and felt a pang of sadness.
He led me down a set of stairs near the entrance. There wasn’t a door blocking it off. I would have to remember not to pass by the bottom steps while I changed in the morning.
The basement had a king-sized bed, some tables and a huge TV set into the wall on one side. There was a couch and chair grouping on the other side with a desk shoved into a corner. The bathroom was small but had a tub and enough room on the counter for my small number of items.
The comforter on the bed was black, and again, the walls were devoid of decorations other than a mirror on one of the walls facing the bed.
I found my boxes beside the couch and next to a small closet. I bent over to open them one by one.
Again, I noticed that the room was clean, without anything particularly out of place. I wondered specifically what he expected me to clean.
“Thank you,” I said, when I turned back around to him. His gaze was fixed on me and I smiled.
He cleared his throat and looked toward the bed. “Sure, at least it’ll be com
fortable for a bit. Let me know if you need anything else.”
My eyes followed his gaze and I couldn’t help but wonder what it might be like to sleep with him in it.
I shook my head.
Gah, don’t think about it.
I really had to get this under control otherwise this wouldn’t work for more than a day. I couldn’t help myself though. While he still had his head turned, I glanced back up at the skin peeking out of the top of his shirt.
I cleared my throat. “So, since I apparently have tomorrow off, what would you like me to start cleaning?”
He sighed. “Whatever you want. The house is open to you. Cleaning supplies are under the kitchen sink. The backyard is small but if you want to go out there and read or something, there are some chairs.”
“Okay,” I replied.
He eyed me. His lips were set in a firm line. “I called about your vehicle. It’ll be done tomorrow afternoon. That car isn’t going to last much longer. I can take you to look at some over the weekend if you want.”
As much as he acted like he wasn’t trying to be a nice guy, things like that let me know that he was. Why would he do that if it wasn’t him just being kind?
“Uhm, maybe. I have to see about some apartments before I think about that.”
He nodded and opened his mouth then clamped it shut again. He seemed to be thinking about something.
“If you want to stay here for a while, you can. It’s up to you, just don’t bring any dates back to the house.”
I laughed, “I wouldn’t. I mean I don’t date much and there’s no one like that.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Why not?”
“Uhm, because I just don’t I guess. I’m not terribly good around men. I have my friends, my cat and me. Very exciting,” I said, and shrugged.
I turned back to my clothes and started unpacking some things and setting them on the floor. I made sure not to unpack my underwear in front of him.
Glancing back to him, I was surprised to see him sitting on the bed watching me with interest. I wondered why he was still hanging around. Not that I minded in a way, but it seemed odd because of the boundaries he had seemed adamant about back in his office earlier in the day. Was this not crossing some nonverbalized line?
“Do you have family?” he asked.
“None. Except for my uncle who just kicked me out of the house. So, apparently none, since I’ve decided not to like him.”
He growled. “What an ass. What happened?”
I shrugged. “The house was his. He’s decided to sell it. My grandmother willed it to him. She left me a cabin in Colorado though. So I was thinking about checking that out soon.”
“Checking it out? Where is it?”
“I’m not even sure. I have all the paperwork in an envelope in one of these boxes. It would be nice to see it. I’m curious what it’s like. He said a cabin and it wasn’t worth much, but my grandmother must have liked it, otherwise I can’t imagine why she would have will it specifically to me.”
I was trying to be vague about it, and failing. It was likely my next home if I could ever get there. It wasn’t terribly important that I share that with him though.
A noise like a pill bottle opening behind me caught my attention. I wondered if he took those pills for some unknown ailment.
I scooped a shirt out of my box and a tiny clit simulator fell out of the folds. I had forgotten it was in the bottom on my underwear drawer. One of my lace panties fell to the floor with it.
I froze for a second then covered both of the up quickly with the shirt.
I heard a chuckle behind me.
Crap! He saw them.
My face started to burn with embarrassment.
His voice sounded husky when he said, “So, you’re a virgin, but not adverse to orgasms. Tell me, how many men have kissed you Kaitlyn?”
I rolled my eyes and looked back at him. “Why?”
He considered for a moment. “Hmm, curiosity. How about I ask you a question and you can ask me a question? Like a game, anything we ask must be answered honestly but we can ask any question we want. We’ll go back and forth. I’ll go grab some food and I’ll keep you company while you unpack.”
I chewed on my lip wondering what he was up to. “Why?”
“Is that one of your questions?”
I groaned. “No. I’ll think of one. I’ll probably be unpacked by the time you get back though, so you won’t have to keep me company.”
He stood up and stalked over to me. “Well, one way to fix that is, you come with me.”
He picked me up and flung me over his shoulder.
What the—was he crazy? This was WAY out of the boundaries!
I squealed. “What are you doing! Put me down Logan!”
“Just being friendly Kaitlyn. We can be friends, right?”
“I have friends! They don’t pick me up and carry me around like an overgrown ape!”
He chuckled and carried me upstairs. “Well, this friend does. All in fun, Kate.”
He set me down on his kitchen counter. I leaned back and hit my head on one of his cabinets. He settled his hands on my hips. I could feel the weight and heat of them against me. Despite my irritation the feeling sent a small shiver through me.
He tilted his head at me. “Head okay? Do you need a doctor?”
I smacked him on the arm and he laughed.
In my memory, I couldn’t remember a time when I had seen him really laugh. Or it had been so long that I had forgotten. It was wonderful and made his entire face look younger. He had perfect teeth that flashed at me. His eyes crinkled at the corners. The blue in his eyes seemed to lighten.
He made me want to smile with him, so I grinned and shook my head.
My knees were on either side of his large chest and he didn’t seem interested in moving. It was a lot more intimate than I would have allowed any friend or boyfriend. It was confusing. It was like he was the master of mixed signals.
My stomach growled.
“Hmm,” he said and looked down at my stomach. His fingers started tapping on my hips causing my tummy to flip in unusual ways.
“Food?” I prompted, in a voice that sounded ten octaves above my normal one.
His eyes shot back up to mine. “Yes, good nutrition is essential. How about some Cheesy Poofs and wine?”
I laughed and his eyes moved down to my mouth. Glancing away, I bit my lip.
“So that’s a no to the wine?”
I turned back to him. “Uhm, sandwiches and apples maybe?”
He scrunched up his face. “I suppose that’ll do. However, I’m thinking, sourdough bread and lasagna myself.”
“Oh! That would be good too,” I said and smiled at him.
When he backed up looking for something his hands slid all the way down my legs until they rested on my knees. Unfortunately, in yoga pants it was like feeling him directly on my skin and I shivered again.
He really had to stop touching me if he wanted his boundaries to work. If I was lucky, I wouldn’t start drooling all over him before we ate. At this point though, it would be a small miracle.
He looked down at my legs. “Ahh, well, I’ll need something out of this drawer.”
He spread my legs apart by pushing my knees wide and opened the drawer below me.
I gulped and tried to control my breathing. I could see a bit more chest down his shirt as he bent down slightly. He had a smirk on his face as he dug around and finally came out with a big spoon.
“Is leftovers okay?” he asked. “I made it a couple of days ago.”
Trying to prevent myself from falling off the counter, I took a big breath. “Uh-huh.”
He shut the drawer and stepped between my legs again. His face came very close to mine as he reached over my shoulders.
“Lean forward. I need something out of the cabinet,” he said.
“Logan, what are you—”
He stepped back and looked at me. “I need plates Kaitlyn. Don�
�t worry, we’re just eating. Like friends do. Then we’re unpacking your things.”
If he was one of my gal pals, this weird closeness might be okay. Not so much with the spreading of my knees with his deviant hands, but being in my personal space wouldn’t bother me much. Right now, it was bothering me a lot.
He was not one of those friends. This was Logan. My stupid crush for months that was perpetually grumpy around me, bossy, and completely not interested.
Until now? I couldn’t figure out whether this was interest but he didn’t seem half as gruff. Given his sudden handsy treatment, the word “safe” wasn’t something that I would ever associate with him again. At least not where my body was concerned.
What was he doing to me? This was going to end badly, I just knew it.
He stepped back between my legs and reached over me again. I leaned forward, trying not to touch him. One of his hands dropped and he pulled my waist forward which shoved my crotch against his body.
Oh my gawd.
I could hear something in the cabinet behind me clinking, then the door shutting.
My face felt like it was on fire being this close to him. I knew I was blushing. I moved back quickly from him and he walked over to the fridge. I was hoping he didn’t notice, but if the smile on his face was any indication, he probably had.
He leaned down into the fridge and my eyes went to his butt.
“So, while I warm this up. We’ll play our game.”
It seemed like he was already playing one and I wasn’t sure what it was. I would see where it went though. Maybe this really was his way of trying to be friendly. My lack of knowledge of how he behaved on a regular basis had me at a disadvantage. I didn’t want to offend him, if this was how he was normally.
He got out a pan of lasagna and a wine bottle, then arched his brow at me.
Break (Lakefield Book 3) Page 5
