Ulterior Designs (House of Evans Book 1) (21 page)

Completely exposed, his hands explored the soft lines of her breasts, waist and hips while she caressed the strong tendons at the back of his neck. His body and galvanizing stare ensnared her in a web of growing desire only for him to push away to stand at the side of the bed. With his pants hanging low on his hips and the sexy trail of hair showing only a hint of things to come, he eased his pants down his thighs and kicked them to the side.

“Don’t move,” he growled before he disappeared into the bathroom.

Chloe rose on her elbows to try to see what Logan was doing, but only the silhouette of his nude body and masculinity pointing skyward could be seen. The sound of things being shifted around in a drawer made her anxious. When he reappeared, he had a strip of condoms in one hand and his phone in the other. When he tapped the screen, a grin that spoke of wicked plans reached from ear to ear.

With a woman’s sultry voice filling the room with lyrics about
Decisions,
she leaned back in anticipation of what was to come next. He tore one condom free from the rest, and tossed the remaining five onto the nightstand.

He waggled his brows at her. “For later.”

“Only five more times?” she teased.

His smile widened as he brought the foil pack to his lips to tear it open with his teeth. With the wet skin between his fingers, he began to ease it over his rigid shaft, making Chloe squirm against the linens that she had made only hours before. As she watched Logan prepare himself for her, she lay panting, her chest heaving. Her impatience grew to unstable proportions when he pinched the end of the rubber and rolled it down slowly.

“Please hurry.” Her needy voice sounded foreign in her ears.

His tormented groan was a heady invitation and in two seconds flat, his hard body was hovering over hers. She writhed beneath him, eager to have him inside of her and feel the heat of his touch. Positioning himself between her legs and pushing her knees apart, he took her hand and guided it to his cock. He trailed tickling fingers up her stomach to her breasts as she maneuvered him to her entrance.

With one gentle thrust, he pushed forward and she welcomed him into her body.

The pleasure was pure and explosive, and with each subsequent penetration and kiss, waves of arousal and contentment throbbed through her.

Beneath him, atop him, her legs pushed against her chest … routine positions became new as he made slight adjustments. Reverse and inverse body ratios, abstract possibilities made into reality—Logan’s engineering skills transcended real-world applications and transformed her body into something for his pleasure.
And for hers
. As he manipulated her into different positions, his expert touch and commands sent her to even higher levels of ecstasy.

A different song about
Fire N Gold
began and only enhanced the mood as it played in the background. The scents of sex, cologne and perfume, his fiery touch, the music, the light shining all around his face, and his salty kisses—every one of her senses was being bombarded and dizzying her.

Lying on top of him with her back against his chest, his hands found the center of her pleasure. When his fingers began to tap and circle around her clit, her body jerked and she gasped in sweet agony. As she continued to quake from her release, she could feel the heat of his body course down the length of hers. She basked in his strength as he sat her upright to grip her hips and lift her as his passion mounted.

Another flip and she was pinned beneath his plunging hips. Her nails scratched into his shoulders as her body arched and her thighs opened almost of their own volition. When she rocked against him, he rolled in motion with her, his body quivering with strain. Shudders wracked his body and he called out her name.

Well, not really her name, but the name he had chosen for her:
Minou.

As Chloe lay beneath Logan waiting for her breathing to even out, her eyes drifted to the blue paint on the walls. It had been a good choice, after all. This man, the brilliant and charismatic one now collapsed next to her, could have performed any number of wicked acts on her and she wouldn’t have questioned his judgment. Instead, he had chosen to make their first time together something unpretentious, yet mind-blowing.

There was nothing dishonorable about this man or his intentions. Like the color of his eyes, the hue of Logan’s soul was
honorable blue
.

C
hloe had fallen asleep curled next to Logan. Despite her strong heartbeat beneath his hand, she felt small and vulnerable next to him. Like warm, pliant clay, he had molded her into something pleasing. Correction:
more pleasing.
She was already damn near perfect.

Her words pleading with him to
educate
her had nearly sent him over the edge. God, he would’ve loved to have educated her, too, but something in his brain said
not yet
. Not when she was so fragile.
Or, was she?
Perhaps he was just deluding himself. She was strong in every other sense. Anyway, their first time had been incredible, even if there wasn't any kink involved. Go figure.

As usual, he was over-thinking things.

Sapped of energy, he somehow found the strength to rise and dress in running pants. Descending the stairs, he picked up the items he had dropped in his haste to get to Chloe, and placed them on his temporary desk: the kitchen table. There was a lot of work to do, but poring over blueprints and trying to visualize and plot schematics was the last thing he felt like doing.

He poured himself a glass of Cabernet and stared out the kitchen window that overlooked the vineyard and rolling hills, taking note of the spectacular sunset beyond that. Chloe’s scent was permeating not only his skin, but the entire house, making the moment seem surreal. His home was on track to becoming what he wanted, and he was living the life he wanted; even if it wasn’t exactly the way he had planned it to be.

As for Chloe, it was better if he didn’t try to predict the future or scrutinize the situation with her too much. Things were good,
really good
, and that was all he could hope for. And Chloe was right, they could figure out the rest later.

He glanced over his shoulder at the stack of mail on the table and reached for it. He sifted through the bills, and when he found a large red envelope from the National Institute of Architects, San Francisco chapter, his heart leapt into his throat.

Tossing the rest of the letters aside, he tore the envelope open. Inside sat an official notice of nomination for him and his firm, along with an invitation to the nomination dinner in two weeks’ time. When he scanned the other nominees, his elation was quickly eclipsed by disgust.
Fucking Jess.
The firm where she was employed had also been selected for  consideration of a merit award and she was listed as one of the team members up for nomination. And he had no one to blame but himself. It had been on his recommendation that they had hired her. Of course, that was when he thought he had a future with her.

What-the-hell-ever.

His work in the Mission District, to bring affordable housing to the under-served area and renovation of a factory into a medical clinic, had been a project near and dear to him personally, as well as to his design team, and he wouldn’t allow the thought of Jess to overshadow his joy.

He tossed the invitation tossed aside and had almost gulped down the rest of his wine when he heard the tinkling of random notes on his piano. Spinning around, he could see Chloe seated on the bench wearing only his loose-fitting Clash t-shirt and panties.

He moved to the bench and seated himself next to her as he watched her inexperienced fingers glide over the keys.

“I wish I had the talent that you have.”

He placed his hand over hers. “You do have talent, just a different kind.”

With the quietness of the house urging him forward, he decided that it was as good a time as any to apologize for lying to her. Unable to face her, he stared down at the keys.

“I’m sorry I lied to you.” He could feel Chloe’s body shift next to him, but she said nothing. “I do have siblings, but I don’t know them nor do I have any intentions of ever getting to know them.” He heard her take a quick breath in, and when he glanced at her, her lips parted. He had an idea of what she was going to ask, so before she could speak, he cut her off. “Don’t ask me to elaborate.”

Her look of confused curiosity changed to understanding, and she offered him a weak smile. “Okay. Will you play something for me?”

He placed his hand into his lap and turned his head to gaze at her. Sincerity shone in her eyes, but the last thing he wanted was to play. He had been forced to do it for so many years, nothing about the piano appealed to him. Unless, of course, Chloe was spread out on top of it like a Thanksgiving Day feast.

He played a few notes of a song that lingered in his memory. “I don’t particularly enjoy playing the piano. Although, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate what it did for me or acknowledge that it served its purpose.”

“What purpose was that?”

Logan’s throat tightened. He had already admitted to lying to her.
Wasn’t that enough?
Conceding that he had siblings was more than he had done with Jess, and he had been engaged to her for fuck’s sake. Feeling like he did when his mother demanded he go to confessional, he snapped his mouth closed and only stared blankly back at Chloe.

Her eyes roamed over his face for only a few seconds before she stood and glided around to the other side of the bench. “I should go before it gets too late.”

The same sense of dismay he felt the previous night when she left him on the staircase inundated him. Just because he wasn’t in the mood to share didn’t mean he didn’t want her company. And why the hell was she always so quick to retreat whenever he didn’t give in to her relentless questions? Christ, she was obstinate.

*

Chloe took one step when Logan reached out and took hold of her wrist.

“I thought you wanted me to play something for you?”

She faced him and lifted her shoulders in a casual shrug to hide her frustration. “You said you don’t like to play.”

“I don’t, but I’ll do it if it means you’ll stay a little longer.”

It was always a battle to get Logan to open up and she wanted nothing more than to go home and relive what they had just experienced, without thinking about anything else. But with the way he was looking at her with those impossibly sad blue eyes, she couldn’t resist. When he saw her waver, he tugged on her wrist until she seated herself next to him.

“What are you in the mood for? Something poignant? Something upbeat?”

“Something full of passion—like you.”

Logan’s eyes shimmered with some indecipherable emotion as he stared at her. “I know just the song,” he finally said as his fingers began to caress the keys.

Closing his eyes, he gave in to the music, and it was an exquisite thing to see. He said he didn’t like to play, but the way his body moved, the way his fingers made love to the ivory, one would never know it. The notes, mellow and paced at times, boomed rapidly at others, only to slow again in tempo and soften. His foot tapping on the pedals and the vibration of the hammers against the strings reverberated through the floorboards and sent shivers of heartbreak shooting up her spine.

Whatever the purpose had been for making him learn the piano, he had excelled at it. Like architecture. Like making love. Like all things he did it seemed. As the melody played on and on, the notes came rapidly causing his breath to hitch. His brows pinched together, with an undeniable look of misery flickering in his eyes when he opened them, and Chloe felt guilty for having asked him to do something that clearly brought him pain.

"You're so beautiful when you play," she murmured, uncomfortable with her admission.

Logan glanced in her direction, his eyes wandering over her body. The pain that had been reflected on his face disappeared in a flash and the crooked smile that she couldn’t get enough of graced his face.

“You’re going to look so good in that leather,
Minou
.”

Chloe’s body tensed at his sudden change in mood and unambiguous statement.

“Strapped in. Buckled up. Legs spread wide.”

Would this song never end?
It was so unbearably long, and she was so unbelievably turned on. “How long is this song?” she whispered.

Logan’s throaty laugh only aroused her more. “In the House of Evans, good things
come
to those who wait,” he put emphasis on the suggestive word.

She pressed her thighs together, making the sparkle in his eyes shine fiercer than before.

He ran his tongue along his upper lip just before whispering, “It’s going to be
so good.
”

Just when she thought the song would go on forever, it ended with ten, drawn-out thunderous notes. Facing her, his smile vanished and his eyes darkened. With a finger placed to her chin, he directed her gaze onto him.

“Are you ready to be educated?”

****

Being educated couldn’t begin to describe what was happening to Chloe. As Logan buckled her into the leather, a softer, mellower version of
Sex on Fire
played. He adjusted the padded straps, two around her upper thighs and one behind her neck. The straps around her thighs pulled her knees apart while pinioning them to her sides and rendering her immobile.

With her legs splayed wide, Logan now had full access to every part of her. His intense gaze drew her forward and her pulse accelerated with each of his controlled touches as he readjusted her body on the bed.

On his stomach between her legs, Logan lifted her bottom, his thumbs spread her open, and his mouth captured her clit. Heated licks of fiery sensation tormented her with each flick of his skilled tongue, causing ragged whimpers of need to escape from her lips. Her hands were left unrestrained and she took the opportunity to let them roam over her body to explore her own sexuality and caress every sensitive part of her body.

When Logan's gaze darted upward to watch her squeeze her breasts, the look in his eyes was as turbulent as a violent storm. Her response to his blazing blue eyes was shameless, immediate and complete. She bucked her hips to meet his mouth when he briefly broke contact, his gaze fastening on the sway of her hips. Just as she scratched her nails into his messy hair, he rose on his knees to position himself between her legs. While he prepared himself to take her, she lay watching him, drowned in a floodtide of liberation of her body and mind.

With his cock sheathed by a condom, he tipped her pelvis and penetrated her to a depth no man had ever reached, each of them gasping aloud when she took him fully. Her body answered his intrusion almost instantly with a powerful clench as her muscles began to contract around him. When she cried out for release, a sensuous smile came to life on his lips. Slow and steady, his pace was sweet torture.

The angle of her hips left no part of her untouched, and the fabled G-spot she had only heard about began to throb with each of his thrusts. In only minutes, her body exploded with release in a downpour of intense sensations causing her to cry out. When Logan's groin jerked in greedy expectation and his body tensed above her, a feeling of contentment soared through her.

His deft fingers swiftly unbuckled the straps, freeing her to stretch out onto the bed next to him.

She had pleased him and in turn, he had educated her, though it hardly seemed like a fair trade-off for all that she had learned. In actuality, what Logan had done was more than educate her—he had
re-educated
her. All of her previous knowledge about sex had been obliterated, and Logan was to blame. It was both a blessing and a curse, because now that she knew what she wanted and required in a lover, there was no going back to the way things had been before.

While Logan's labored breathing slowed with each inhalation, she stared at him. He turned his head and when their gazes locked, desire sparkled in his eyes. Propped up onto an elbow, he pressed his lips to her forehead and delivered a kiss causing an unexpected pang of longing to shoot through her.

This beautiful, intelligent man didn't want anything more than a physical relationship—he had said as much via his actions and music.
Damn it, why couldn't she be one of those people who could separate her emotions from sex?

She averted her gaze to the ceiling and swallowed loudly at her childish response. No matter what she told herself, the one thing she had tried to convince herself not to do was happening, and happening rapidly:
she was falling for Logan.