Ulterior Designs (House of Evans Book 1) (22 page)

I
f Logan were to create a schematic of character traits he most valued or wished he had more of, willpower would be right there next to honesty and loyalty. Admittedly, he had let his cock do the thinking too many times to count, but that was all the more reason for him to latch tightly to his control. However, as he watched Chloe rise to dress, his gut blazed with need and what reserve of willpower he had quickly dwindled.

He sat up on the edge of the bed to reach out and pull her close. "It's still early,
Minou
."

"I know, but I have so much to do."

She offered him an apologetic smile as she ran the pad of her thumb along his bottom lip. Something about her touch triggered primitive yearnings within him and before he could stop himself, his arms were around her waist, holding her tight.

"I can't allow you to leave yet—not before I at least feed you dinner and get you cleaned up."

He stood, took hold of her hand and attempted to lead her to the bathroom but Chloe objected. "I've already showered and anyway, I want to go home with your scent on me," she murmured as she smiled at him.

The thought of his scent lingering on her skin did things to him, and his insides rioted with the savage urge to ravage her body again and again until she screamed out for release like she had before. He watched her for several long seconds as he envisioned various ways of fucking her before he coaxed himself to pry his gaze away from her.

"Fine. While you get dressed, I'll run into town and grab us something to eat."

She freed her hand from his grip. "I appreciate the offer, but I really can't stay. My parents are coming out this weekend and I need to make flight and hotel arrangements for them."

She retrieved her duffle bag that was lying outside the bedroom door and began to dress, leaving Logan to only watch and imagine what Chloe's parents were like.
Were they kind and loving?
Undoubtedly, they must be to have raised such a vibrant and benevolent woman.
Was her father an honest man?
Logan hoped so—for Chloe's and her mother's sakes.

She bent down to tie her shoelaces and glanced up at him. "I'll be making a short visit out here to get some college students helping out acquainted with the layout and plans, but for the most part, I intend on working from my apartment over the weekend. There's plenty I can get done there. My dad is helping me out with the chandeliers, so that will take up a huge chunk of my time."

Logan's chest tightened at the thought of spending a whole weekend without seeing Chloe.

Straightening up, she continued. "I tracked your sexy-time furniture and a few pieces should be arriving on Friday. Speaking of furniture …" Her eyes widened and she darted from the room, only to return less than a minute later. She handed him three photos. "Which set do you prefer?"

Staring at the images, he tried to focus but all he could think about was spending several days without Chloe's company. He scanned the images over and over. They were all fantastic, luxuriously high-end—two leather; one velvet. He forced himself to concentrate harder and ignore the sick feeling in his stomach.

"This one," he whispered as he pointed to the dark-brown leather set.

She nodded and smiled. "That would've been my choice."

Irritated with himself for his budding feelings and his interior decorator's efficiency, he glared at her. "I thought we agreed that you wouldn't work so fast."

Chloe's smile faded in an instant. "I'm not working fast," she answered softly, as her eyes roamed over his face. "I'm working at a normal speed."

"Well, slow down," he barked.

Her brows pinched together and her body stiffened. "What would be the point of that?"

Damn it, he hated when she put him on the spot.
Like a jackass, he only stared back at her, speechless. What the hell was he supposed to say?

"Right," she sighed. Her eyes became glassy and she promptly looked away. "Until you can get back to me with an answer, I'll plan on working at my usual pace."

*

Chloe walked out of Logan's home with a heavy heart, and climbed into her car. She didn't have time for self-pity or to think about the
what-ifs
. There was too much to do.

The drive back to her apartment seemed unusually long and she regretted not having showered after sex because all Logan's scent was doing was reminding her that this thing with him would probably only last as long as the job did. The image of him above her as he thrust into her kept replaying in her head. That, along with the vision of him playing the piano and the pained expression on his face. He was holding so much back. And who was she to ask him to open up about his past? A few intimate scenes shared between them didn't give her the right to know his secrets.

She pulled into a gas station to fill up and before getting back on the road, she brought up the same music that had been playing while she and Logan had sex. She wanted to listen to the lyrics more closely and to relive their passionate moment again. With the music turned up loud, the rest of her journey was spent dreaming about Logan's hands and mouth on her.

****

Chloe had fallen asleep immediately after making travel arrangements for her family. After her morning shower, she was ready to take on the day ahead of her. Unfortunately, the majority of the day would be spent at her least favorite place, as opposed to decorating the House of Evans. Still committed to the coffee shop, she had a scheduled shift.

Dressed in the dreaded barista costume, she began work while thinking about everything except the monotony she was faced with. Most notably, her mind was on Logan and his home. When she remembered his comment about her wearing the uniform under different circumstances, a smile formed on her lips. Knowing him now and his sexual preferences, she realized he had been serious.

Near the end of her shift, a message chirped on her phone.

Logan
: My cock misses you.

Chloe
: Wow. You're such a gentleman. And so mature.

Logan
: Maturity is overrated. So is being a gentleman.

Chloe
: We'll have to agree to disagree on that.

Logan
: Shall I remind you how much you enjoy my ungentlemanly-like behavior?

Chloe
: Yes! REMIND ME!

Logan:
I intend to.

Logan's sense of humor was infectious—even if it was juvenile. Her phone went silent for several minutes leaving her to wonder if he had meant something more by his initial remark. She didn't particularly enjoy prodding him, but since he had a tendency to send confusing messages, she decided to get right to the point.

Chloe:
ONLY your cock misses me?

Logan
: What if I said NO?

Chloe
: I'd be so shocked I might piss myself.

Logan
: Wow. You're such a lady. And seriously, would it be THAT shocking?

Chloe
: I never claimed to be a lady. And YES.

Logan
: I never claimed to be a gentleman, even though it’s quite obvious that I am.

Chloe
: Ha! Your choice in kinky furniture and methods of fornication clearly show that you’re not.

Logan
: Fornication?! WTF? What is this—catechism? Anyway, I AM a fucking gentleman. Get it? A FUCKING gentleman?

Chloe
: Ha. Ha. Well? I'm waiting.

Logan
: For?

Chloe
: For you to admit that more than just your cock misses me.

Logan
: If I admit it, will you let me destroy that tight pussy of yours again?

Chloe's mouth dropped open and the heat of mortification rose to her cheeks. Her eyes darted to the customers nearby to ensure they hadn't seen the lewd comment. For a man who had an engineering degree, Logan had the same mentality as her sixteen-year-old brother when it came to sex. Well, certain aspects of it, anyway.

Logan
: I'll take your silence to mean that I just embarrassed the hell out of you. Bahaha! You're so predictable, Minou.

Chloe
: Considering you still haven't admitted to missing me, so are you.

Logan
: Fine. I admit it.

Sure, he admitted it, but he still couldn't say it—probably not out loud
or
to himself. Hell, he couldn't even
type
it. And what was the point of even admitting it if it wasn't true and it was only done in order to get back into her panties?
Whatever
. Baby steps. She would just have to reward his feeble attempt at communicating like an adult by giving him what he had asked for and hope that it would convince him to make a better attempt the next time.

Six tedious hours at the coffee shop had left her tired, but not so much so that she couldn't muster up the energy to freshen up at home and put on a clean uniform for her favorite, non-committal architect. Sadly, she hadn't heard back from him after his admission, but wrote it off as him being busy with his new project.

Each uncomfortable minute in the costume during the drive to Logan's home was made tolerable only by reminding herself of what the outcome would be: her pussy being
destroyed
.
She bristled at the crude thought only to laugh out loud. Logan was turning out to be the kind of bad influence that felt damned good.

Once at his place, she had only about two hours to make a set of roman shades for the French doors that led to the backyard before the Man of the House would arrive.

When she finished earlier than anticipated, she took it upon herself to move his piano and give it a good polishing. Still on the moving castors, it had taken minimal effort to reposition it below the stairs. It fit perfectly. All that was needed was a bookshelf against the wall next to it to complete the look. She retrieved her satchel and dug out her notepad to jot down a few notes and make a drawing of how she envisioned the shelf to look.

Just as she began cleaning the top, she recalled Logan's statement about it being out of tune. It sounded fine to her, especially considering he had played it in order to get her to stay longer. A brief phone call later, she was back to cleaning the instrument that he’d claimed his mother had gone into debt for.

With loud music from Logan’s stereo echoing off the high ceilings, she found her groove. There was no better feeling than what she was experiencing at that moment—contentment on every level. The joy of doing a job she loved and the anticipation of waiting for the only man she could imagine being with, made her insides sing. Everything else fell by the wayside. It was better that way. A future without Logan was too dreadful to think about.

Baby steps,
she reminded herself.

*

As Logan stood in the threshold of his door, he could see Chloe working arduously on his piano. Luckily, she hadn't heard him arrive. It was no surprise considering how loud the music was. He quietly closed the door and laid his belongings down. With soft, gentle footsteps, he approached so that he could more closely observe the stunning woman dressed in a barista outfit polishing his baby grand.

Christ, she was incredible
. And that outfit?
Holy hell
.

Damn straight his cock had missed her. And, yes, he had missed her, too, even if he hadn't exactly stated that. What was the point, anyway? And how the fuck could he
miss
her when it had been less than twenty-four hours since he last saw her? This all boiled down to the usual—his cock was doing his thinking—nothing more.

He blinked long and hard to try and clear his thoughts. The only thing he wanted to think about was what was standing in front of him: the sexiest, most willful yet charming woman he had ever had the pleasure of spending time with.
Or, banging
.

He inhaled deeply, absorbing the music and savoring her feminine scent. His body responded in typical fashion and within seconds, he was sporting full wood.

"I have something you can polish right here," he whispered into her ear as he gripped her waist and ground himself into her ass. Startled, she jumped and dropped the rag that was in her hand, but quickly pushed her bottom out to wriggle against him. "
Slow It Down
is right," he commented on the song just before he latched onto one of her earlobes and nibbled it. "I told you that you're working too damned fast," he growled.

He spun her around and sneaked a hand up her thigh to press his fingers against her mound.

"I commend your efforts, but you'll never get all the scratches out of my piano," he whispered as he circled his fingers over her panties to find her clit.