by Poppy Flynn
"Not every parent," Luanna pointed out.
"No," Logan agreed. "Not every parent. Just the good ones. I already know that I would do everything in my power to support any child of mine who was in the same situation, and I don't even have any yet. I don't think you'd do anything differently."
Luanna nodded, the strands of her deep red hair sliding sensuously over his wrists like strands of silk, making his gut tighten with desire. Damn, but she was beautiful, inside as well as out.
"You're right; I would do the same." Her words reduced to a whisper as she recognised the desire burning in his eyes before he dipped his head and plundered her willing, waiting lips. Luanna felt an answering heat bloom deep in her soul, transcending the mere physical, and she wondered at how she had managed to get in so deep, quite so quickly, with this man. It didn't matter, though. He was like a bright light illuminating a thrilling new path in what had been a sedate and measured route, and Luanna was beyond excited to see just where it was leading.
It seemed like he kissed her forever, licking and nibbling, duelling with her tongue, exploring every hidden recess until he knew her mouth better than she knew it, herself. Yet it still felt too soon when they came up for air, both breathing heavily, lust fizzing effusively through their veins.
"I think we have at least a couple more hours of privacy," Logan ground out hoarsely as he rose and pulled her with him to her feet.
Luanna couldn't manage anything but a nod, a shudder of delight coursing through her as he dragged her towards the bedroom once again.
Chapter 4
If Danny was surprised to find Logan still at the house when he finally came home that evening, he certainly didn't show it.
He was sweaty and covered liberally with mud and grass stains, but he greeted Logan like an old friend with a 'Hey, dude' and the offer of a high five, which Logan took. Then he said hi to his mother and wandered off to take a shower.
Dinner was much in the same vein. They chatted about generalities, as if they'd sat at the table, talking over food, a hundred times before.
Logan was surprised at the boy's easy acceptance. As cool as Danny had been about it when he'd walked in on them earlier, he had still expected the third degree when it finally came down to it.
The more Danny spoke and added some surprisingly measured opinions to the conversation, the more Logan liked and respected him. He didn't have a huge amount of experience with teenage boys of any age, but the few he knew tended to be mouthy punks with attitude, even those who were a good deal older than Danny. Logan, even though he'd been a quiet, studious teen, himself, certainly had never possessed as much perception and self-awareness as Luanna's son. This kid certainly wasn't going to slot into anyone's preconceived idea of how a fifteen-year-old boy should behave.
Logan supposed, all things considered, that he really shouldn't have been surprised when Danny collared him, later that evening, when Luanna excused herself to go and take a shower before they turned in for the night.
The kid looked him straight in the eye, his gaze focussed and direct, so much like his mother that Logan wanted to smile. But he understood that this was a serious matter and kept his features impassive.
"So," Danny paused momentarily, "You and Mum."
Logan inclined his head in acknowledgement and held the boy's gaze. "What do you want to know, Danny?"
"You serious?" he asked succinctly.
"I am," Logan confirmed then elaborated slightly. "We are."
Danny was quiet for a moment, considering, but his eyes never wavered. "You're a surprise," he offered, finally. "Mum doesn't date."
Logan felt it was important to recognise the boy's silent concern. "I know," he accepted. "We talked about it. I understand that this might be an adjustment for you. For both of you."
Danny nodded his head a couple of times. "Don't get me wrong," he said with a frown. "I'm glad."
He eased back a little and leaned against the back of the sofa, relaxing a little more. Contemplating. He stared at the blank wall in front of him as if he were looking at a memory that played there like a cine film. "All my life, she's worked so hard. When I was a kid, she used to study all the time," he revealed. "Oh, she'd always stop to play with me or read a book or something, but she never went out and enjoyed herself. She never did anything for herself."
His eyes locked with Logan's again. "Even the studying wasn't really for her. Accounting wasn't her dream; it's was her dad's profession. Mum was good with figures, and Granddad could help her with the courses, since she couldn't go to school," He looked away again, a rare flash of uncertainty flickering briefly in his eyes and suddenly far more the young boy that he really was. It made Logan wonder if the teen felt guilty for the sacrifice his mother and his grandparents had made for him.
"Once we moved out, she worked even harder, saving every penny so she could put money into a college fund for me. She always buys anything that I need, but she never spends anything on herself. Me and Gran pretty much had to bully her into buying a new dress for the wedding supper yesterday. Mum said she could find something at a charity shop or just stay in her bridesmaid's dress." Danny paused and swallowed, a hint of pride showing in his young face, but overriding that was the sadness he felt on his mother's behalf. "Granddad would have agreed with her that it was the most financially sensible option, but Gran hit below the belt and told her that if she was going to be involved in a posh, society wedding, then she'd better make sure she looked the part, or she'd be letting us all down. Mum can't bear to think that she's letting anyone down."
Danny shook his head and laughed. "But I'm getting side-tracked. What I mean is that Mum's pretty naïve when it comes to men."
Logan disagreed. There was nothing naïve about Luanna. Innocent, maybe, but he guessed that was a more difficult concept for a teenage boy to attribute to his own mother.
"I want this for her, but I don't want to see her getting hurt."
Logan leaned forward and patted a reassuring hand on Danny's shoulder. "I don't want to hurt her, Danny," he assured. "Your mother is a beautiful and remarkable woman, and I can't believe any sensible man hasn't snapped her up already, but that is purely my good fortune. I want to treat her to all the things she deserves. All the luxuries and indulgences I can give her, because I truly believe that she's worth it."
A genuine smile crossed Danny's face, and he crinkled his eyes. "You'll do, then." He shrugged nonchalantly, but the blessing of his approval warmed Logan deep in his chest and eased a niggle he hadn't even been aware of until it dissipated.
When they'd all retired for the night, Logan felt an overwhelming feeling of rightness as he folded his slacks and hung them up in her wardrobe, next to the silk Armani suit he'd worn for the private supper. The suit he'd have to wear to the office tomorrow, since the rest of his clothing was Lord knows where right now, having been relocated by the wedding planner, when she'd been instructed to find new accommodations for the Blackwood directorship after Joe Blackwood had decisively cancelled the company's four retained suites at the hotel which had treated his new daughter-in-law's best friend so shabbily.
Logan was used to luxury and excellence. Oh, he worked hard for it, despite his family's wealth. He'd never had any interest in being an overindulged trust fund baby, but he'd still been surrounded by refinement and elegance, the best that money could buy.
Yet here, in Luanna's modest little apartment with its budget furniture and lack of space, he felt more comfortable than at any other time he could remember. He felt as if he'd finally found a home, and that, in itself, highlighted the chilly and formal existence he'd occupied for most of his life, from nannies and boarding schools to his own expensive but somewhat cold and austere apartment back on the south coast.
The only other place he was nearly as comfortable was at Club Risqué, which fit him as comfortably as an old pair of jeans—or even one of his impeccably tailored Saville Row suits. The thought brought him up short for a moment. Would he end up
having to give up one to keep the other? The thought gave him pause. But this thing with Luanna was so new, he simply couldn't answer that question yet, neither in the speculation of what she might allow in relation to his fetishes, nor whether the incentive would be there for him to walk away from Shibari in favour of a relationship with a woman who didn't embrace his own brand of kink.
As red hot as each of their sexual encounters had been, so far, they had all been mostly vanilla. There had been no bondage involved, whatsoever. Climbing naked into the narrow bed beside Luanna, he wondered if now was the time to change that.
Pulling her close, he nibbled on her collarbone as she snuggled up to him, pressing her long lithe body with its lovely silky skin close enough to plaster herself to his side. Disappointingly, as he let his hands rove over her generous curves, he also noted that she was wearing a pair of baggy sleep shorts and another long, stretchy vest top.
She batted at his wandering hands, even as she giggled girlishly. "Stop it!" She whispered, "We can't mess about while Danny's in the house."
Logan reared back in mock horror, but his hands kept up their mission to creep inside her top and find her breasts. "We can't?" he exclaimed. "So how on earth does procreation prevail in families with more than one child?" he teased.
"Logan…" she began, and he could tell by her tone that she planned to deny him, but his hands found themselves full of her glorious breasts and she lost the thread of her objections as soon as he grazed his fingers across the rapidly stiffening tips. Before she could say another word, he bent his head and pulled one hard little bud, fabric and all, into the heat of his mouth, sucking and nipping at her through the cloth then turning his attention to the other when she bucked and wriggled beneath him.
"You'll just have to be quiet," he murmured into her magnificent cleavage as he massaged the globes together and brushed the material aside.
Luanna threw a fist to her mouth, and Logan smiled as she bit down on the fleshy pad at the base of her thumb to stifle her groans as he grazed his teeth over a plump, coral nipple and then bit down gently. Her shoulders heaved, and she started to pant, but Logan knew another denial was on the tip of her tongue, so he plunged one of his hands down the elastic waistband of her shorts and pressed and rubbed his fingers firmly across her clit, around and around in decisive circles, until her hips were undulating to meet the strokes.
"Weren't you the one who invited me to stay the night and insisted there was no point in patronising Danny by not sleeping together when he already knows we are?" Logan kept up the erotic assault in all her sensitive spots.
"Yes, but…"
He thrust a finger inside her without warning and captured the sexy mewl that left her lips with his mouth, covering hers and plundering deep, mimicking the pull and thrust of the sexual act with his tongue.
"I could fuck your mouth; that would muffle your screams," he growled in her ear. He knew he'd shocked her when her eyes widened, but her body couldn't lie, and he also felt the gush of moisture that coated his fingers as they continued to play in her sweet pussy.
"Dammit, Thornton." Luanna scowled, even as she shuddered with longing.
"And what was that speech about not being into the whole 'subterfuge' thing, and despite having a teenage son, you weren't up for creeping around and pretending we're not what we are, hmm?"
"You know that's not what I meant," she managed, sucking in a breath as he breached her with a second finger, her loose sleep shorts already pushed away, down around her hips.
"Don't worry; I think I can help you." Logan chuckled darkly. In a flash, he dragged her vest top up over her head, freeing her heavy breasts. For a moment, he was side-tracked, himself, drawing a velvety peak deep into his mouth and suckling hard, until Luanna's low groan brought him back to the task in hand. Carefully folding the stretchy, ribbed fabric in half, then in half again, Logan fashioned a wide band and promptly smoothed it over Luanna's mouth, tying it swiftly at the back of her head. Gently laying her back down on the bed, but keeping her wrists circled with one big hand, Logan grabbed his tie from where he'd left it dangling over the back of a chair and hastened to tie her hands with it while she mumbled her objections behind the soft cloth.
Then he peeled the rest of her clothing away and latched his mouth over her clit, sucking and worrying the little nub with his tongue. When he felt the quality of Luanna's struggles change from challenging to impassioned, he crawled back up her body, stopping to fondle her breasts and enjoy the taste of their cherry tips on the way. Then he nuzzled her neck and her ear, before trapping her within the cage of his arms and looking at her earnestly.
"I'm going to make love to you, with or without," he told her in a low voice. "But if you really don't like this, I'll free you right now. Just nod to continue, or shake your head, and it's gone."
It was Luanna's turn to take a leap of faith. He'd taken her by surprise, but she didn't hate the sensations already coursing through her heated blood.
Finally, she nodded her head. She saw the lust and also the relief that fired in Logan's eyes, but still, he gave her another out. "Are you certain?"
Luanna nodded again.
Logan closed his eyes and tucked his head into the crook of her neck. Then he sucked at the delicate skin on her collarbone and lifted his head once more. "I won't do anything unexpected," he promised her. "I just want to make love to you like this, give you a little taste of being bound. I want to fasten your wrists to the headboard, too; you okay with that?"
Luanna's breath caught at the thought. It was strangely erotic, and she nodded once again in consent.
Logan was surprised at the slight tremor in his hands as he secured Luanna's bound wrists to the convenient wooden crossbar at the head of the bed. He'd bound a woman hundreds of times in complex and contorted poses, for his sexual and aesthetic enjoyment. But never before had it ever meant as much to him as this simple, improvised act of bondage.
Logan sat back on his haunches and admired his handiwork, makeshift as it was. Luanna looked beautiful, restrained. She would look even more magnificent in his ropes. Just the thought had his cock throbbing. She would suit a colour that was strong, like her. Not red, that would clash with her hair and overpower her pale skin. But still something bold, brighter than black. Purple, perhaps, or yellow. God, he hoped she would allow him to tie and bind her. He could start with something unrestricting and erotic like the karada, or rope dress, to introduce her to the art of Kinbaku. And from there, once she was comfortable, maybe she would permit something more intricate and confining—something that would allow the rope to pose her body, and finally, perhaps she would agree to be suspended, modelled like a ballerina, frozen mid-jump. Eventually, she might even allow him to record those moments for posterity.
The thought had him sucking in a harsh breath, and suddenly, he couldn't keep his hands off her for a moment longer.
Falling on her, Logan filled his hands with her generous breasts, trying not to tease himself with how they would look wreathed in his rope, forced forward and jutting out, pouting and engorged. More so if she permitted him to use the takate kote or box tie, which would brace her back and bind her arms out of the way, behind her, thrusting her chest forward as a side benefit.
Massaging the full globes, Logan sucked on her sweet, pebbled nipples like a baby at the breast, laving at her with long, strong pulls until he felt the tips elongate and fill his mouth. First, one and, then, the other, treating each to the same sweet torment.
Luanna writhed on the bed, her moans of pleasure muffled by the fabric of her vest, but Logan could hardly wait for the time when he had his own equipment available and he could see her in a proper gag.
Shimmying down her body, he peppered suctioning open-mouthed kisses and little nips across the soft swell of her stomach. She bucked and arched, winding her long legs around him as she tried to manipulate him to the place she craved him most. She was topping from the bottom, trying to make him do what she wanted, instead of w
aiting for what he gave. Not that she realised what she was doing, but still, he wasn't having any of that.
Pushing himself back off the bed and grinning at the stifled expression of dissent that fell from Luanna's lips at his withdrawal, Logan quickly grabbed his belt from the closet and a second tie.
Luanna's muted protests became more emphatic when she saw the things in his hands, her eyes widening with fright as she shook her head urgently.
Logan frowned, looking down at his hands then back at Luanna before he realised what had caused her distress. His face cleared, and he sat on the side of the bed, cradling her cheek in his palm. "I have no intention of striking you." He indicated the belt. "I just want to restrain your ankles. Will you let me do that?" he appealed.
Luanna's tense body went instantly limp and she nodded with a sharp exhale, though Logan wasn't sure if she'd only agreed as a reaction to the relief she felt at the realisation that he wasn't planning to thrash her with the implement.
"Are you sure?" he repeated, smoothing wisps of hair away from her face. Her eyes softened and cleared, and if he could see her mouth behind the cloth, he thought she might have smiled.
In answer to his question, she nuzzled her cheek against his hand, before she confirmed her response, allowing him to read the consent clearly in her eyes.
He stared deeply at her, stroking her mouth across the fabric that covered the bottom third of her face and placing a sweet kiss on the end of her nose, and in return, she could see the depth of emotion in his own.
With a last kiss to her temple, Logan whispered, "Thank you," before he stalked to the bottom of the bed and went about fashioning fastenings from his improvised bindings.
Pulling her legs wide and securing them to the posts at the corners of her bed added a certain eroticism to what was already proving to be a super-heated encounter, and Luanna could feel her body reacting to the new sensations, spiralling her even deeper under Logan's spell.
