OneManAdvantage (13 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Nicole sighed. “Oh, Logan.”

“What’s wrong, babe?” He nuzzled her hair.

“You’re making me all stupid.”

He laughed and pulled back, arms still around her. “You’re
far from stupid, Nicole.”

She shook her head. “Oh yeah, I am.”

“Come on. Let’s sit down. Tell me what’s wrong.”

He took off his hat and jacket and dropped them onto a chair
in her living room, looking around. “Nice place.”

Silvia popped up onto the couch and sat, head tilted to one
side, watching him with interest. She liked men.

“Thanks. Not as nice as yours.” He was a multimillionaire
hockey player, and although she’d grown up surrounded by that kind of wealth
and privilege, now she lived a pretty ordinary life.

“Bah.” He sat on the couch on the opposite end of the dog
and patted the cushion beside him. “C’mere.”

She sat beside him, nerves fluttering in her stomach and
lust curling way down low inside.

“Okay,” he began. “It’s happened twice now. We had sex at
the loft and then you turned me down when I asked you out. We had sex last
night and when I offered again to take you out for dinner, you turned me down.
I might get some kind of complex from all the mixed messages.”

She couldn’t help but smile. Damn, he just put it all out
there.

“Sorry.”

He searched her eyes with his. “So you want to have sex with
me, but you don’t want to date me. Is that it?”

Emotion closed up her throat and she just stared back at him
for long seconds. “Well,” she finally said. “Yes. That’s about it.”

His eyes flickered first with hurt, then disappointment. He
pursed his lips as he regarded her thoughtfully. “Okay. Thanks for being
honest.”

“What’s wrong with that?” she asked. “Isn’t that what most
guys want? Sex and no commitment. No strings.”

“Huh. Yeah, I guess some guys do. And me. Sure. I’m just a
guy. As if I’m going to turn down sex with a hot girl.”

“You don’t look happy about it.”

One corner of his mouth lifted. “Surprisingly, I’m kind of
annoyed.”

“Annoyed?”

“Yeah.” He shook his head. “Why won’t you go out with me?”

“Because you’re a hockey player.”

He choked. “Christ. What the hell does that have to do with
anything?”

She so did not want to do this. “Look. I’ve dated hockey
players in the past.”

“Cody Burrell.” He said the name as if he was spitting
something foul tasting out of his mouth.

“Yes. But not just him. I’ve had relationships with other
guys. Hockey players. It was never something I aimed for, it was just…those
were the guys I met. They were guys I liked, guys I had things in common with.”

“Who? I can Google it and find out in two seconds.”

She sighed. “Go ahead, if you want. Do we have to talk about
our past relationships? I don’t want to know every girl you’ve ever dated.” She
dropped her gaze, though, because she’d already been on Google and already knew
that.

“Bullshit,” he said. “But fine, never mind that. I’m not
interested in talking about them either. Just tell me what happened…what went
wrong? I know what Cody did to you, but what about the others?”

“They didn’t do anything to me. That’s not it. They were
good guys. Mark and I were together for a year. It just…wasn’t working. Do I
have to spell it out?”

“Ah.” He smiled and sat back into the cushions. “I think I’m
getting the picture.” He shook his head. “Some guys are tough and aggressive on
the ice. Not so much in bed, huh?”

Her cheeks heated. “You could put it that way.”

He nodded slowly. “Okay. What about Cody?”

She rolled her eyes. “Do we have to talk about him?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s a jerk.” She lifted one shoulder. “Yes, he’s into
kinky stuff. But he’s just kind of…cruel.”

“Fuck me.” He jerked upright. “Did he hurt you?”

“If you mean physically, no. I didn’t let things get that
far. But it was close.”

“That’s why you broke up with him.”

“Yes. And then he had to go and say what he did and tell the
entire world I’m a hockey whore.”

“He never said that.”

“Oh please. You know that’s what he was implying. Anyway,
after that I vowed I’d never get involved with another hockey player. I nearly
had to quit my job over that whole thing. In fact, I’m still not sure if I did
the right thing by staying, because look what happened.” She waved a hand back
and forth between them.

“Yeah. Look at that.” The corners of his mouth turned down.
“I guess I understand that. But you know, you can date whoever you want.”

“It’s just messy when it doesn’t go well,” she said. “Things
are awkward around Cody. Well, the entire team, really, now. I know it will
pass, but right now…” She sighed. “I’m sorry. You don’t want or need that
either, Logan.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I’m a big boy. I can decide what I
want or don’t want to do.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant…I’m trying to keep
myself out of trouble and I don’t want you getting into crap because of
associating with me.”

“Fuck! You’ve got to be kidding me.”

She studied him, her top teeth sunk into her bottom lip.
Color washed up into his face and his eyes flashed.

“Listen. You are not a whore or a slut or even a puck
bunny.” He leaned forward. “You’re a beautiful, smart, strong woman.
I’m…I’m…hell, Nicole, I…want to be with you.”

His words made her heart go soft and warm in her chest and
her eyes got hot. She blinked rapidly a few times. She wanted to be with him
too. So much. Her mouth went soft and pouty and she pressed her lips together
as her heart beat faster. When he reached for her and pulled her up against
him, she was a goner.

He slid his hands into her hair and kissed her, so gently
and respectfully, and she gave in to it, kissed him back, holding onto his big
shoulders. Her heart expanded so much she couldn’t breathe in, and heat washed
over her body. “Logan.” She murmured his name against his mouth. “I want to be
with you too.”

“Perfect.” His hands moved over her body and he shifted her
on the couch, lifting her legs across him, then turning her into the cushions
of the back of the couch and kissing her again. He cupped her face with one
hand, slid the other up under the hooded sweatshirt she wore to find her
breast. His tongue slid into her mouth and she licked him back, heat exploding
between them once more.

Then he lifted his mouth from her and rubbed his stubbled
face on her jaw. “But first,” he said, his voice velvet soft. “We have to have
another talk.”

She almost groaned. “More talking?”

“We need to talk about limits.”

“Oh.” She fought her way back through a cloud of lust to try
to focus on what he was saying.

“How much are you into, sweetheart?”

She knew what he was talking about. “Not a lot. I just
like…”

“Tell me what you don’t like.”

She peered up at him through her eyelashes. “I don’t like
knives.”

“That’s it?”

She smiled. “No. Seriously, I’m not into a lot of things.
I’m not into a master-slave thing, no collar, no leash, no humiliation. No way
in hell are you peeing on me and if you like to wear pantyhose, I don’t want to
know about it.”

He burst out laughing and pulled her head to his chest. “Oh
Christ, Nicole. You kill me.”

Warmth filled her. “What about you?”

“Hmm. I don’t like to wear pantyhose. But ladies’ panties,
on the other hand…”

Her head snapped up. “Seriously?”

“No.” He laughed again. “Not into cross-dressing in any way.
Water sports don’t appeal to me. I’m pretty open-minded about anything else.”

“What about pain?”

“Inflicting it or receiving it?”

She lifted her head and met his eyes. “Inflicting it.”

He held her gaze steadily, reassuringly. “I like to give
pleasure. If a little pain turns you on, I’m into it. But I’m not a sadist.”

She nodded. Swallowed. “Okay.”

“I’m big and strong and aggressive,” he said, still holding
her gaze. “I like to use my body. I play a physical sport for a living. I can
dish out body checks on the ice. But I never do it with the aim of hurting
anyone and I will never hurt you, Nicole.”

She nodded. “I know.”

She was strong and physical too. She’d also been an
aggressive athlete, but when it came to the bedroom, that wasn’t her. And she
was so, so grateful that he got that. She’d met too many guys who expected her
to be the dominant one.

“Mostly I like to tie women up,” he said. “I like to suspend
them. Have you ever tried that?”

Her pussy squeezed and heat rippled through her. She loved
to be restrained. But she’d never tried that. “No,” she whispered. “But I think
I’d like to.”

“It doesn’t scare you?”

There were times she’d been in this position and she
had
been
scared. Now she realized that what she’d been seeking all along wasn’t just
size or strength or control or even just domination―it was trust. It was
choice. It was power.
Her
power.

Because even as he held her down and did what he wanted to
her body, or hung her up and did what he wanted to her body, she knew she had a
choice. And even as he held her down and did what he wanted to her body, he was
doing it for her.

“No,” she said. “I trust you.”

He brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “Thank you for
trusting me.”

She did trust him. She’d already realized that the first
time they’d had sex. And that trust was what made this different than with
anyone else.

“I’m going to take control,” he told her. “But you always
have the right to say no.”

Again she nodded.

With firm but gentle hands, he moved her away from him, then
pushed her to the floor at his feet. He positioned her between his legs and her
heart picked up speed, blood rushing through her veins in heated pulses. Her
eyelids drooped and she stared at the bulge behind his fly. Her mouth literally
watered. She knew what was inside those jeans and licked her lips.

Then he paused. “Uh…I feel like we’re being watched.” He
jerked his chin toward Silvia, now lying on the couch with her chin on her
paws.

Nicole laughed. “She’s just a dog. Ignore her.”

As if sensing Logan’s discomfort, Silvia rose up, leaped
down to the floor and stretched, first backward, then forward, then trotted
over to a small dog bed in the kitchen.

“Better?” she murmured.

He smiled. “Yeah.”

His fingers undid the button of his jeans, then slowly parted
the fabric as he inched the zipper down. She watched expectantly, fascinated,
there on her knees between his big thighs. His hand disappeared into his pants
and he pulled his cock free. Her body continued to pulse with every heartbeat
and her lips parted as she studied him.

“Look at you,” he said hoarsely. “That is so fucking sexy.
Licking your lips, like you’re dying to suck me.”

She slid her bottom lip between her teeth and lifted her
gaze to his face. His cheekbones wore a flush of color, his eyes were dark and
heavy-lidded. “I am.”

He groaned and his hands lifted to her head. His fingers
threaded through her hair, playing with it a little, which sent sensation
cascading down over her body in delicious waves. Then his grip tightened, still
gentle but firm, and he drew her closer to his throbbing cock. She parted his
jeans more and tugged them a little lower on his hips and he lifted to help her
with that. Seeing him sitting there, T-shirt pushed up on his rippled abs, the
thick patch of rough hair at his groin revealed by his open jeans and his cock
rearing up, made her pussy clench and ache. The sight was decadent. Erotic.

She curled her fingers around the base of his shaft and he
moaned again, his fingertips on her skull inching her closer.

She took in the masculine beauty of his cock, amazingly
thick, the head so smooth with a pronounced ridge around the crown, his flesh
flushed with arousal. She traced over a vein with a fingertip, then rubbed her
thumb over the damp head and he sucked in a breath. And then her mouth was
there, and she rubbed the tip over her lips. Mmm. She put out her tongue to
taste him, breathing in his scent at the same time, his singular scent of male
arousal. His body twitched as her tongue swiped over him, and she swirled it around
and around tenderly.

“Oh yeah, baby.” His fingers tightened a little in her hair.
“That’s so good. Lick me…open up and suck me.”

She shivered at the erotic pleasure in his voice, but didn’t
immediately obey. Instead she studied his cock with her tongue, exploring the
ridges and veins, the smooth and weeping tip, then licked all up and down the
shaft over the bulging veins and velvety skin, getting him nice and wet. Then
she opened her mouth and took him in, letting the wet flesh glide over her lips
and deep inside.

“Holy fuck,” he gasped. “Oh yeah.”

She tightened her lips on him and slid them up and down,
loving the weight of him on her tongue, the salty taste of him filling her
mouth. When she sucked hard but let him pop out of her mouth, he moaned in
protest. She lost herself in all the sensation, the smell of him, the taste of
him, his groans of pleasure filling her head. She loved the velvety texture of
his skin, the throbbing hardness beneath. The praise he gave her filled her
heart, his pleasure filled her soul. She loved giving this to him, but had to
admit that she loved it for herself too, the ache between her thighs
intensifying.

“Your mouth is so hot,” he moaned. “Hot and greedy. I love
it.”

She worked the fingers of her other hand inside his jeans to
find his balls, curved her fingers around them and gently squeezed. Firm, drawn
up tight, the skin there baby soft, they filled her palm deliciously.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s good.” His hips lifted off the couch to
thrust into her mouth, gently but insistently, and she relaxed her throat to
try to take him deeper. “Feels so good, Nic.”