Until then, she could control her attraction to Logan. She could appreciate his looks and cope with his flirting and just laugh at that too. She weaved her way along the frost-tipped pathways looping round the park, so lost in thought she only vaguely watched the half inch of path ahead of her. Trying to rationalize. Justify. Plan.
“Hey, watch it.”
“Sor—” she broke off and stared stupidly up at the wide-shouldered man she’d all but collided with.
Damn. In broad daylight, Logan Hughes was even more arresting.
Her mouth watered. It wasn’t the only part of her that dampened in a blink.
“I thought y-y-you weren’t c-c-coming.” She gritted her teeth.
“I said I wasn’t, yet.” Logan smiled at her. “All in good time. Patience is a virtue, didn’t you know?”
Tease.
“I was having a n-n-nice time alone.” She sent a withering glance behind her. “Being tailed by your goon.”
But Ed seemed to have melted into the shadows somewhere along the line.
“Ed isn’t a goon. He’s highly intelligent and an excellent assistant.”
“I don’t need protection,” she whispered.
“Yes, you do.”
“Not as much as you.” She glowered at him.
He laughed. “Come on, you haven’t had enough fresh air yet. And it’s too cold to stand still for long.”
He had that heart-stopping smile on, the big one that lit up his eyes. He hadn’t even bothered with shades, just relied on the shadow from the peak of his cap.
She stepped back and took in the rest of his outfit. It was her turn to be amused. He was all rugged up in a giant jacket and scarf, his hands buried deep in his pockets, like he expected to be lost out in the snow for a week or something.
“You really don’t like the c-cold?” she asked.
He shook his head, moving his weight from foot to foot as if to emphasise the fact. “I like to be warm.”
An ex-ski champ shuddering over a little frost and snow? It was weird given he’d grown up on a mountain.
“But you came running through here earlier, right?” She turned and walked alongside him, taking the path leading deeper into the park. She knew he ran regularly. It was one of the things she wasn’t allowed to tweet about. At least, not the location. Or he’d have stalkers.
“Yeah. Running is good. You get hot.” He nodded as he kept pace beside her. “You want to join us? We go pretty much every day”
As if. She nearly keeled over with the giggles.
“Come on.” He sent her another of those smiles that made her tingle all over. “What do you do to keep fit? You’re in good shape given you spend all day in front of a computer.”
“You’ve b-been looking?”
“You know I have.” He shrugged. “You’ve already pointed out I can’t help it.” He turned suddenly, facing her, blocking her path. Forcing her to stop. The laughter died from his eyes, leaving only simmering heat. “But you’ve been looking too.”
He put it out there again. The challenge.
Min took a second, tried not to look in his eyes. But that was impossible because he was right in front of her and his eyes were more mesmerizing in real life than in any photo spread. So much warmer. So compelling.
“I’ve been thinking.” She had to speak huskily. “Why don’t you just get that decoy to act in my place?” She sniffed. “Pay the actress or model.” Or whoever it was who looked better as Min than Min did herself. “You don’t need it to be me, that p-picture on the internet was blurry—”
“Oh but I do need it to be you,” he interrupted, whispering back at her. “It has to be you.”
She jerked her head to the side. “No—”
He lifted his hand, gently cupping her jaw with a feather-light touch. “Yes. I need it to be you.”
Chapter Nine
#YouKnowYouShouldntBut
Yes? She froze in front of him. He held her face in the barest of holds, she’d have no trouble stepping back and breaking the contact. But she didn’t. She couldn’t move. “Why m-me?”
His eyes gleamed, the blue fascinating her, and with a quick movement he lifted the cap from her head. “You have the most amazing hair…”
“Other women have long hair,” she breathed.
“Not this thick. Not this color.” He slid his hand to the nape of her neck, slowly lifted the long braid free from its hiding place, pulling it so it hung over her shoulder, over her breast. He ran his fingers the length of it, tugging the tie at the end off. Slowly he unwound the strands.
He had a hair fetish?
“She could get extensions,” Min suggested weakly.
“No.” He laughed softly, leaving her braid and looking into her eyes again. “Anyway, it’s not just your hair.”
She swallowed. “C-c-can’t—”
“No.” He framed her face with both hands. Holding her mouth tilted towards his.
She knew what was going to happen. She knew it and she didn’t stop it. Even though he gave her plenty of time. Truth was, she wanted to know.
Maybe his recklessness had rubbed off on her. Maybe she was just curious. Maybe she just couldn’t resist.
She stared up at him. Utterly still.
Daring.
His damn beautiful lips had that teasing curl even as he pressed them to hers.
It wasn’t a light kiss. It was confident, like he knew what he wanted, how to get it. How to give her what she wanted. A teasing slide of temptation.
One kiss, another. With each brush of his lips, he lingered a little longer, nudging her need. Anticipation licked through her, like flames hungrily encapsulating a tinder-dry tree. Until she gave in to that unspoken demand and opened.
Finally he sealed his lips to hers and stayed. His arm curled around her. Securing her. Seducing her. And his tongue swept into her mouth, a coaxing caress. Another tease altogether. He took only the lightest taste, as if knowing she ached for more already. Only he wasn’t giving it to her. Not yet.
He was only going to make her want more.
She leaned in, reached up to grip his coat tightly. She melted into his kiss, opening. Then taking. She sought him out with her own tongue. Dueled. Dared.
His size, his strength, his scent, his skill, all overwhelmed her. Desire flared, lighting an incandescent need to explore. To feel each of his muscles, to test them.
“Mmm Min,” he murmured, lifting ever so slightly from her and drawing in a deep breath. “You do taste good.”
Caramel cashew ice-cream.
“It’s not the ice-cream.” He licked her lower lip, then took it between his teeth in the tiniest nip.
Mercy.
He claimed her mouth again. This time harder. This time with the dominant hunger she’d wanted. His fingers twisted into her hair, his arm pressed her close, as if he couldn’t help twining her around him.
She couldn’t restrain her response. Moved. One little thrust towards him. She couldn’t resist the urge to feel the full impact of his strength—to draw it from him.
He reacted instantly, sealing their bodies as best he could despite the bulky clothing between them. His hand spread on her butt, driving her hips into his.
She gasped as she felt him pressing hard against her lower belly. The urge to rise onto her tiptoes and part her legs grew. She burned with heated awareness. She wanted him naked against her. She wanted to ride. She wanted to come.
His fingers tightened in her hair and the kiss became fully carnal. His wicked tongue teased. Claiming. Dominating. Teasing. Pleasuring. His hips thrust in a matching rhythm—enough to send her insane. Enough to make her shiver. His intense sexuality almost suffocated her.
But she didn’t care. All that mattered was that he didn’t stop. She needed more. So much more. She needed it—him—stamped all over her. Arching her neck back, she twirled her tongue against his. Seeking to taste. To take as much as he was.
Her nipples had tightened to sore, sharp
points. She needed to rub them against his chest. Needed to bare them because the lace of her bra was irritating their sensitive tips. She needed him to suck on them. She needed him to suck her lower too. To strip her and part her and taste her and tease her until she came. She not realized how much she needed it.
Needed, needed, needed.
She ached for the release.
Only gradually she became aware he was easing her out of it. That he’d released his grip on her hair. His hand at her back rubbed gently, no longer fiercely clamping her to him. He stood still. And then his tongue ceased its sublime stroking.
She jerked her head back, hating that he’d retained his senses enough to control this, while she’d thrown hers to the wind. Her thoughts burned in the heat of that kiss.
“See why it has to be you?” he said, his voice harsh. “Chemistry.”
Min pushed out of his arms, but annoyingly he kept that one round her waist as if he knew just how weak her legs were. How much effort it had taken to peel her body away from his.
All this from one kiss? Okay, one series of kisses.
“There’s no denying it, Min.”
Was this what this whole charade was really about? She was his latest target?
She could be one of his women. Hell, half the world now thought she was. What would it matter if she went right ahead and let him screw her to smithereens? She’d have the orgasm of a lifetime—she was sure of that.
Why not just give in and get it over with?
Because now, as her brain kick-started, she realized something about him got too far under her skin. Letting him win again? Letting him have his way when he always had his way?
No.
She didn’t want to be another easy conquest. And besides, he’d had so many, no doubt all good… she bet none of his previous lovers had ever literally stuttered their way through sex.
She wasn’t humiliating herself like that. Not with him.
“Don’t get s-s-smug about it,” she said, stepping to the side to walk past him, wincing as her stupid stutter appeared. “A man as experienced as you could turn on a stone, I’m sure.”
He strode ahead a pace and rounded to face her front on. Damn if that didn’t melt her panties again.
“So it’s my experience that’s aroused you?” he questioned, his eyes wide. “Not me personally?”
“Sure.” She shrugged and tried to side-step round past him again. “And it’s b-been a while since I’ve had a man.”
But he planted both hands firmly on her waist, holding her in place, in front of him. “So you’re an easy option, that what you’re saying?”
Uh no. It didn’t matter how hot she was—how hot he got her—she wasn’t about to succumb to him. Not after this. Right?
“I’m just saying you don’t need to worry.” She had to fall back on breathy voice. She wanted this conversation closed, now. And she needed her personal space back, now. “This was j-j-just...”
He still didn’t let her move. Didn’t seem to give a damn about the people having to swerve to avoid them. And as she looked up into his eyes, all those people faded away. Her focus zeroed in on him.
“I think I do need to worry,” he said softly, his eyes kindling with more than amusement. “You’re saying that if any man with just a hint of experience tries it on with you, then your motor’s going to be revving sky-high in a split-second. That’s definitely a problem for me as your fiancé.”
Oh please. “I’m n-n-not going to cheat.” She’d never do that. Not even on a fake fiancé. Not when she knew how much it sucked to be on the receiving end of that treatment.
“Given your response just then, I’m not sure you’ll be able to stop yourself.” He lifted a finger and ran it over her lips.
They were still hot. Quivery. Needy. It took every ounce of her self-control not to let her tongue follow the path his finger had taken. Not to open her mouth and let him in. She wanted to suck on him.
“You’re so hot. I knew you would be. You want it,” he said, staring at her mouth. “But don’t worry,” he whispered, lifting to lock his eyes on hers with a fierceness that stole her breath. “I’ll see you satisfied.”
He’d known she would be? Min’s heart stopped. How, exactly, was he going to see her satisfied?
Anticipation seared through her muscles. Excitement thrummed through her so quickly, she was about to slither into a pool of willing woman at his feet.
His hands tightened on her waist, as if he sensed her moment of weakness.
She tried to calm her crazy self down. Because no, she wasn’t giving in on this. “I’m not having sex with you,” she whispered furiously.
“Did I say I was going to have sex with you?” he replied, suddenly smiling. “All I said was that I’m going to see you satisfied.”
Oh my. If he kept talking like that she’d come on the spot, passersby be damned.
He pressed his mouth to hers again. Damn if she didn’t melt again, opening, falling into it. And he caught her, slamming her soft body against his hard chest. But it was too quick—a luscious slide of his tongue, then a nip of teeth and he drew back putting a greater distance between them. His fingers were digging tight into her flesh now, but apparently he was determined to keep them apart.
Min stared at him. Stunned. Who knew a mere kiss could be so devastating.
“Nothing to say?” he prompted.
She shook her head, her brain cells slowly slipping into gear. Now she saw that gleam of calculation in his eye.
She’d set him a challenge. And too late she realized that was the kind of thing a hyper-competitive creature like Logan lived for.
Well he wasn’t going to win. She didn’t know how she was going to manage it, but stay cool she would. This had been her first—and last—loss of control around him.
“Tell you what else I’m going to do,” he said as he turned, taking her hand and heading back towards his apartment. “I’m going to make you speak, my sweet mute,” he promised. “You won’t admit you want me?” He grinned. “We’ll see about that.”
Chapter Ten
#TalkLikeAPirateDay
“Are you ever going to speak to me again?” Logan asked two hours later as he sat on his sofa.
“No.” Min thumped her fingers over the keyboard, trying not to talk, not to look and definitely not to think about him ever again.
“What about your quiz? You don’t want me to answer all your prying personal questions?”
He was trying to wheedle and it wasn’t going to work.
“You can write the answers d-d-down for me,” she snapped.
“You can’t act the outraged virgin, you gave as good as you got, Min.”
“Mmm hmm. As I said, you c-c-could get a stone to slick up.” She glared at her screen.
“What you think of me?” His laugh was a deep, warm rumble. “You don’t even know me. But you think that because I was in one clip—a film taken unknown to me—I’m some kind of sexpert. Some guy who’s slept with thousands of women.”
“Haven’t you?”
“No.”
She glanced heavenward, so skeptic. “You were in a sex tape, Logan.”
“So?”
“Most guys aren’t.”
“Actually more than you think. They just don’t all make it to the internet.”
She abandoned the attempt not to look at him, swivelling on the chair to face him. Irritating guy was doing the model pose on the sofa again. “So you’re saying your n-number of c-conquests is less than ten?”
“Maybe a little more,” he downplayed it with a teasing tilt of his head. “But I’m nowhere near triple figures.”
She nearly choked. “You keep a spreadsheet?”
“No.” Laughter lit his ice-blue eyes. “But I’m fairly accurate.”
“You can’t expect me to believe you. You’re photographed with all those m-m-models.”
“Don’t you think that might just be for the look of it? For the pictures? The publicit
y?”
“No.”
“This is for the look of it, though—right?”
She nodded. Of course it was. And now it dawned on her. “Was that the whole point of the trip to the park? To g-g-get some snaps for the paps?” How mortifying—had he been faking?
“Then why did I go to all the trouble of having a decoy for you?”
She frowned, momentarily thwarted. She’d forgotten that. “Well. Then it was like I said, you just can’t r-resist trying it on with a woman. Doesn’t matter which woman.”
“Is it so impossible to believe I might find you attractive?”
There was something in the way he asked, that slight hint of concern in his eye that threw her. She didn’t want his pity or anything near to it. “Don’t think you c-c-can use my inferior self-esteem to worm your sperms’ way into my womb.” Sarcasm dripped from her tongue.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He inclined his head. “But you’re saying you do have inferior self-esteem.” He nodded like that made sense. “Didn’t you feel how turned on I was in the park?”
Min closed her eyes briefly. Yes, she’d felt. That hard bulge beneath his coat? She knew she’d turned him on. She’d turned other guys on before... she knew she wasn’t totally unattractive. But the thought of baring all with Logan? Of trying to compete with all those other women who’d been with him? Why would she do that to herself? “I think you’re a very s-s-sexual person.”
“Oh that’s right. I’m just an animal who can’t control his own base desires.” He muttered bitterly. “But here’s the kicker Min, so are you. Maybe that’s what happens when we’re in each other’s company.”
She shook her head. “You’re just s-s-sexual. I’m only... because… it’s been a while I guess.”
She didn’t want to be that out of control with him. She didn’t want to embarrass herself.
Beg for Me Page 11
