Ulterior Designs (House of Evans Book 1) (20 page)

"Since you won't ask, I'll tell you why I'm not up for whatever you have in mind: I'm tired. And not just from physical exhaustion, but from the emotional ups and downs that you're constantly putting me through. I want you, Logan. I've made that abundantly clear, but you …," she shook her head and gave his body a sweeping glance before she continued, "you can't seem to make up your mind whether or not you want me."

She spun around and took a step outside the door only to turn and face him again. "You know what else?"

Her tempered flared unexpectedly. "I don't appreciate being lied to. You said you despised dishonesty, yet that's twice now you've lied to me—at least that I know of. If I'm wrong, then I apologize, but I get the distinct impression that I'm not. You can bet your ass that I would never lie to you, so if you have lied, you'd better make it right."

With her wide brown eyes riveted on him, her body swayed as if waiting for some kind of response from him. Her brows drew together and an undeniable look of disappointment and frustration colored her high cheek bones when he stood staring back at her with narrowed eyes.

Her voice lowered when she finally spoke again. "I may be younger than you, but I'm not too young to know that you need to get your shit together before you try to engage in a relationship. And before you panic, I mean
any
kind of relationship, even if it is only sexual."

The door slammed behind her, leaving him reeling from her words and accusations, and more than a little upset from being chastised by a twenty-two year-old in his own home. The rev of the Mercedes engine and gravel kicking up behind it only drove home her point.

For all of Chloe's sexual naivety, she was damned good at reading people. Or, maybe just at reading him. It didn't make an ounce of difference which it was, because the only one who had gotten an
education
that night was him. He did despise dishonesty and for reasons he didn't feel like dredging up. When did he become
this
man? The one who could look a woman right in her eyes and lie? Jesus, for all his posturing, he had still become the one person he hated the most—his father.

Disgusted with himself, he took to heart the lesson he had just learned: never lie to Chloe again, and man the fuck up to let her know what he really wanted. Or rather, what he
didn't
want.

W
hen Chloe crawled into her bed to go to sleep, a knot of anxiety festered in her belly from having been forced to reprimand Logan. There was nothing worse than seeing a strong, confident alpha male being made to swallow his pride. She had seen her mother do it to her father only on the rarest of occasions, but each time it had broken her heart. This time was no different.

The drive from his house had been fraught with emotions ranging from remorse to disenchantment, and she was still feeling every bit of it as she lay there trying to fall asleep. She had probably overstepped her boundaries in her non-relationship with Logan by saying how she really felt, but his wishy-washiness had pushed her to the brink.

Just as she rolled onto her side to give her pillow an angry punch to fluff it, her phone chirped with a new message. She stared at her phone on her nightstand, but refused to pick it up. She already knew who it was from and she didn't feel like rehashing things with him when she should be getting rest for the next day's planned activities.

She closed her eyes and tried to picture anything but Logan's perturbed look just before she left, but it was no use. Her phone chirped again with a reminder and she gave in. The message, short and to the point, contained only a link to a song. This really had become a theme with them, and she had no one to blame but herself.

The title of the song should have been enough warning to not listen to it, but that gnawing curiosity that always seemed to get her into hot water won out.
Just Wanna
began playing and as soon as the heavy drum beat, deep bass and electric guitar riff hit her ears, a begrudging smile formed on her lips. She should've known it wouldn't be a sentimental song. Logan may have been romantic, but he was no sap.

But the lyrics?
Her smile faded in an instant. It was absurd that he was saying that he
just wanted to fuck
, via a song no less, when she had given him ample opportunity to do exactly that.

Fine
. She was young. He was attractive and virile. They were both adults. Why not? But she would give him only
one more chance
to follow through. And if he didn't, then she would finish decorating his home in record time, and be done with the House of Evans
and
Logan.

****

Chloe took a step back to admire her work and make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. It was. In fact, everything was perfect.

With the last coat of paint on Logan's bedroom walls drying, his furniture rearranged, and her decorative touches added, she placed his new linens on the bed. Earlier that day, she had purchased pricey luxurious bedding for her kinky and inscrutable boss, and had sewn his new reversible duvet and shams with the speed of an experienced seamstress. Considering her self-imposed time-constraints, she was proud of all she had accomplished in the ten hours since arriving at his home.

Honorable blue—
the official name of the paint seemed hugely ironic considering what the dirty-minded owner had planned for his home. A more appropriate name would have been
Dishonorable Blue
in this instance
,
but whatever the case was—the hue was comforting and looked beyond incredible in contrast to his meticulously buffed floors.

In addition to finishing Logan's bedroom, she had spoken with several students who had answered her college newspaper ad and were eager to start helping her with the larger projects she had planned. Also, her parents had gotten back with her to let her know that they would be there in a few days to spend the weekend with her. She had hoped her little brother would pass on the trip since he was like a thorn in her side, but there was no such luck. In typical Tyson fashion, he had relayed via her father that he was looking forward to seeing some ‘bikini-clad, California girls.’

The time was just after 5:00 p.m. She hadn't heard one word from Logan all day and was unsure what time he would be arriving, but she knew it couldn't be long.

Though there was a lot on her mind about her upcoming weekend, she was on a mission. She descended the stairs to retrieve her duffle bag when Logan's treasure chest caught her eye. Setting her bag down, she walked over to it and opened it. What was contained inside was like nothing she had ever seen. Sex toys and props of every sort were packed neatly within the old trunk, but something stood out—a leather contraption that reminded her of a set of stirrups or a sling. She pulled it out and inspected it. Like everything else in the container, it looked new. When she ran her fingertips over the shiny black leather straps, pads and metal buckles, arousal throbbed in her lower belly. She had no idea exactly what the item's purpose was except to say it was for sex, but she hoped Logan would instruct her on its use.

She closed the trunk, grabbed her bag and climbed the stairs to his bedroom where she laid the restraint on his bed.

A quick shower had her clean and shaved, and ready to make her final offer. An open-cup, crotchless teddy that she’d purchased that day and brought along, completed her look. Now she just had to wait.

When she heard Logan's car pull into the driveway, the confidence she had been feeling only moments before vanished.
What if he rejected her?
Maybe buying the sexy lingerie had been a bad idea. She had never done anything like this. Or
worn
anything like this. Granted, it felt nice and she felt pretty, but still …
what the hell was she thinking?
The vision of her fleeing from his house, half naked, made her nerve endings singe with fear.

What was taking him so long?

Maybe it wasn't too late to change her mind …

*

Logan's arms were loaded down and when he exited his car, he dropped his keys. The lights were shining brightly in his home and Chloe's vehicle was parked in its usual spot, making him eager to get inside. He'd been too busy to contact her, not to mention embarrassed, and he was glad she hadn't left before he arrived. All he wanted was to see her and apologize for sending that stupid link to that ridiculous song.
And for lying to her
.

Okay, so he
did
only want to fuck, but conveying that message through a song was a shitty way to go about it. He really was a jackass. If Chloe was still on speaking terms with him, he’d count himself lucky. Hopefully he hadn’t fucked up his chances of asking if she was amenable to some sort of arrangement outside of their professional involvement.

He no sooner got to the front door when he dropped his keys again. Cursing under his breath,
he fumbled for several seconds before finally accomplishing his goal of unlocking the door. When he entered the house, Chloe was nowhere to be seen.
But the smell
? Christ. Soap and Chloe's signature scent.

Three steps into the foyer, he dropped a blueprint. Just as he picked it up, he felt Chloe's presence at the top of the stairs. Still bending over, his eyes darted upward to a vision of absolute grace. Damp hair, perky breasts and labia peeking out from beneath black lace greeted him as he stood and gazed up at her, shocked and now fully erect. He didn't even know his dick could get that hard that fast, but there it was. And there
she
was.

"Damn."

It was the only word he could formulate without risking saliva pooling from his mouth like a starved hyena staring at its next meal. A flirty smile flitted across her lips, but the apprehension shining brightly in her eyes was unmistakable. It took several blinks before he noticed a duffle bag in her hand and her coat in the other.

"Change of heart?" he asked as he stared up at her.

"I wasn't sure …" Her statement went unfinished as she lifted her shoulders in a tense shrug.

He had done this to her—made her unsure of herself. It was upsetting to see a beautiful woman question her judgment because of his actions. It was also strange that she was offering herself up considering how she had reacted the previous night. Had the song he thought was a poor choice, resonated with her, or was she also interested in just sex?

He was too turned on to start analyzing things. All that mattered at that moment was what was in front of him: the sexiest damned woman he had ever laid eyes on. And he had
laid
eyes on a lot. But, it wasn't just her physical beauty that appealed to him—it was her zeal for life, her enthusiasm for all things design, her talent for making things extraordinary, and yes, her eagerness to experience the kinds of things he was into. Most of all, he was attracted to her strength, honesty, and unwillingness to put up with his shit.

Everything in his hands dropped to his feet, and slowly, he climbed the stairs toward her. When he reached the top of the staircase, he fingered her chin to draw her gaze fully onto him.

"You look fucking amazing."

She blinked rapidly several times as she took in a quick breath. He took the bag and coat from her hands and set them aside.

"I can't allow you to leave."

Her eyes zoomed in on his mouth and her brows slanted inward. "Can't?"

"I
won't
."

*

Logan's gaze darkened and his normal playfulness vanished to be replaced with unquestionable dominance. He wasn't going to allow Chloe to leave, and she liked that.

The words from his lips and the look in his eyes had reassured her that she had made the right decision, and a warm flush flowed over her body. As his gaze roved over her and lazily appraised her, his hands came up to graze her hardened nipples. With a stronghold on her waist, his mouth descended onto hers. As his tongue danced with hers inside her mouth, he backed her down the small hallway into his bedroom. When he opened his eyes and took in the full view of his bedroom and its changes, a look she couldn't decipher flashed across his rugged features.

His eyes darted back to her and a slow smile formed on his lips.

"
Minou
."

One word is all it took to set her body ablaze with desire so consuming that she thought she would combust.

He backed her up to the bed where his eyes shifted to the leather device. He gave her a questioning look as his eyes roamed over her face.

"Educate me, Sir."

The impassioned look on his face and low growl that vibrated in his throat said more than any words could have. He reached for the sling, but hesitated. His eyes darted from the item in his hands to her eyes as if struggling with something.

When he appeared to finally resolve whatever internal issue he was having, his crooked smile made an appearance. "I'd love nothing more than to use this on you,
and I will
, but right now I don't want any distractions."

He laid the implement on the nightstand and held her face between his two palms.

"First, I'm sorry about sending you that song last night. It was an awful way to tell you how I feel and what I want."

"So, you don't
just wanna fuck
?"

Chloe prepared herself for the worst, but when the same expression that he had worn with her on the
Tantra Chair
flashed in his eyes, a flicker of hope blossomed in her chest.

That hope disappeared in a flash, when he answered, "Yes." But in typical Logan fashion, he immediately contradicted himself. "And no."

Despite his inability to answer a simple question without analyzing every word, she smiled. He was always working things out in his head, always trying to foresee the next set of problems and find a way to resolve the issue. She suspected it was the engineer in him and that there was no hope for rehabilitation. Anyway, she liked that he was cerebral. Like a bright aura, his intelligence surrounded him in a dazzling display of light, stirring her to a degree she never thought possible.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her body against his. "Just take me, Logan. We'll figure out the rest later."

A swift shadow of authority swept across his face and in one smooth motion, he lifted her off her feet and laid her on his bed. The effect on her was powerful and the heavy feeling of longing weighted her down to the mattress, as the knot in her stomach unraveled under his intense glare. With trembling hands, she reached up to draw him close. Her breasts rose and fell under her excited breathing and when his mouth captured hers, the last traces of her nervousness vanished. They had kissed before, but this kiss was different—urgent and exploratory, demanding and forceful while at the same time, patient.

Breaking the seal of their kiss, he pulled back to unbuckle his pants. Shocked at her own eager response, she raised herself to meet his lips once again. A groan of frustration vibrated in his chest when she began to tug his suit jacket down his arms and fumble with his tie. With his shirt finally removed, his lips teased a taut pink nipple as one hand slid down her stomach to the swell of her hips. Gently, his other hand outlined the circle of her breast before reaching up to the strap of her lingerie. Instinctively, her body arched and shifted when his fingers tugged the black lace teddy down her arms and body.