She (12 page)

He takes my hand and kisses my palm. His lips on my skin ignite the fire within me. Luckily our seven courses are finished, and though I’ve had a wonderful, sensual evening with Logan, we can go home now, back to bed, I think happily.
*
On Wednesday morning I wake with a start. My eyes dart open, but I relax immediately as I focus on Logan who is lying next to me, watching me sleep. He smiles when he sees I’m awake, looking wide-eyed as though he’s been awake for a while. I mumble an incoherent morning greeting, and then he moves over me, straddling me, and nuzzling into my neck. It’s a beautiful way to be roused from my sleep. Sweet and sensual. I smile to myself as I feel that Logan is hard. Morning wood: it’s a serious condition, one that I feel requires another day in bed, I think slyly.
“Good. Morning. To. You. Too,” Logan says between kisses. “You. Look. Beautiful. When. You. Sleep.”
He travels south a little, kissing and caressing my naked breasts. My nipples respond and harden effortlessly, as an erotic current shoots straight to my groin. I wrap my arms around his bare back, running them over his smooth skin. Near his shoulders there are red marks, imprints from my nails. Jeez… I must’ve made them last night! Last night, I smile, remembering the ecstatic pleasure that was had by us both. I trace the marks with my fingers.
“You’re injured,” I tell him. “You shouldn’t go to work today.”
He looks up at me. Wow, he’s gorgeous! “Injured?”

“Your back…it, uh, seems I marked you,” I say, digging my nails in once more.
“
Ah
…” he breathes, smiling, “…yes, that’s a familiar sensation.”
I stop digging and rub my hands over his skin instead.
“Would that have anything to do with that remarkable sound you made last night?” he asks, and I start to giggle. He kisses every inch of my skin from my breast up to my ear. “Music to my ears,” he whispers, and that erotic current shoots to my groin again. “I want to hear that sound again,” he says hungrily. He pins me down with delectable force, and uses one of his legs to part mine. I don’t need much persuading. I open wide, reveling in feeling him hard against my sex, and very much looking forward to feeling him in it. I reach down, grab his backside and squeeze. He pushes his hips hard against mine and I moan.
“I’ve no doubt you’ll hear it again,” I say, getting breathless. And I don’t doubt it. Last night Logan was
amazing
! I don’t know what he did, or how he did it, but I couldn’t keep from screaming. And all the while in the back of my mind I kept thinking: my poor neighbours! I wonder briefly what level of sound insulation Logan put in when he built the complex. “You’re very good at…
provoking
me, Logan,” I tell him.
“Do you feel that?” he asks, pushing his crotch against me, his erection digging in.
I smile and nod.

“That’s
your
provocation.”
I smile again and sigh in faux dramatics. “We’re just as bad as each other.”

Smiling down at me, looking completely enamoured, Logan places himself at my entrance and then slowly eases into me. I tilt my hips to meet his, both of us letting out low moans at the beautiful feeling. We stare at each other and then, unexpectedly, we both burst into laughter at the absurdity of it all. It
is
absurd how incredible this feels! Logan leans over me chuckling into my neck, before showering me with kisses. I push my head back into my pillow, closing my eyes savouring all of the carnal sensations. He pulls out of me, slowly, delectably, and then so slowly sinks back in. Holy shit! Every delicious inch stimulates me, building the intensity. My mind’s doing backflips.

“You feel
so
good,” Logan laughs, also unable to believe the pleasurable sensation.
He eases in and out at that torturous pace two more times, before his mouth claims mine and his hips start moving faster. I move my hips to meet his and we crush against each other, building in pace and pleasure. I wrap my legs around his back, and he pounds on, faster than any time we’ve done it before. That’s not the only thing that’s faster; I’m being pushed closer with every thrust. So quickly! So heightened! So, so close! I moan every time he enters me, forcefully and provocatively. I can’t concentrate on kissing; I can’t concentrate on anything. I’m vaguely aware that I was asleep only a few minutes ago!
My mind is gone, again. I can’t think about a thing except how good this feels.

“So. Fucking. Good!” I pant with each thrust.
Logan’s breath is ragged; he makes that guttural sound in his throat, his lips against my ear, letting me hear him as well as feel him. I reach my hands above me and hold onto the headboard as his relentless pace slows down. Oh, no! Don’t slow
now
, I reel!
Ah
!

This
is what he did last night, I suddenly remember. He’s pushing me to the very edge and then takes the last few steps in slow motion, elongating the incredible explosion. The intensity is so high!
“
Logan
!” I mewl. “
Oh
…”

He’s back to his original agonisingly slow pace. In and out and in… And it’s too much for me
Fuck
!
Far
too much! I don’t know how he has so much self-control but he does.

I climax. It’s powerful but slow; it goes on and on, probably because he doesn’t stop taking me. I call out again and again.
Shit
, he’s good! He got me to make
that
sound again.
He’s going to be so smug
, I smile to myself.

Logan stills finding his release. “
Ah
, Gemima!” he cries, before laying on me with his full weight, panting hard.
I relish his weight on me. I run my hands up and down his back. It’s moist with sweat.
“No nails that time,” he remarks.

“I was holding onto the headboard for dear life,” I giggle.
He laughs, and slowly and sensually kisses me. Our tongues brush against each other. Our heart rates begin to slow back down to normal, and Logan pulls out of me.
“I’m going to go ahead and assume we’re both too sick to work today,” he says.
“Good assumption,” I grin.
Like yesterday morning we take it in turns to call in our truancies, for both today and tomorrow. We’re really
very
sick. Two days should remedy us. While Logan is on the phone I dart out of bed to the kitchen to get us some sustenance. I’ve a feeling I might need it. I flip the switch on the kettle and take out two mugs. Coffee or tea?
Hmm
. I’m about to go back to the bedroom to ask Logan which he’d prefer, when I feel him behind me. Like me, he’s elected not to put on any clothes, and he hugs me tightly from behind to starve off the cold. He feels so warm. I lean my head back against his shoulder, relaxing, and loving the feeling of his arms around me. Mmm, what a beautiful moment; our two naked forms fit so well together.
“Coffee or tea?” I ask him.
“Coffee, please,” he says quietly.
He does not loosen his grip on me as I move from side to side reaching for the coffee pot and the sugar. Not that I want him to let me go.
“I’ve never had sex in a kitchen before,” he whispers into my ear, and I can tell that he’s smiling.

His words stop me in my tracks. My whole body shivers with desire. Logan holds me tighter. I rest my head against his shoulder again and he buries his face into my hair, breathing in deeply. My backside is pressed against his crotch. I tilt my hips backwards pushing hard against his penis. It’s an initiation, an invitation, a wanting. Logan jumps slightly, but his body responds immediately, his erection springing to life. I tilt my hips forward and then back several more times, using my backside to rub up against him.

“Let’s do it,” I whisper seductively.

He groans into my ear as I arch my back against him. It’s so hot, so erotic, so not something I ever thought I’d be doing in my kitchen!
“You’re a very good host,” Logan whispers back, and I turn my neck and smile up at him. His eyes are burning with the same desire that I feel inside of me. He wants me… now.

Quite suddenly Logan pulls me backwards from the hips, giving himself better access to my sex, and then he plunges himself into me. I gasp in surprise and joy, and I bend forward, lying over the edge the of the kitchen counter. Logan stops moving, steadying his suddenly rapid breath and perhaps feeling, like me, that the eroticism of the moment could make him come at any second.

Oh, shit! That was unexpected! My insides quiver deliciously, waiting for more. “
More
,” I beg him, feeling insatiable.

When he trusts himself to, he begins moving, taking me from behind. With every thrust I’m pushed forward slightly. Logan’s hands grip my hips firmer, holding me in place like he’s done many times before, forcing me to feel him fully. He likes me to feel him, I realise with a smile. He is perfection! I widen my stance and moan gratefully as he fills me. I feel him deeply, caressing me from the inside. I feel that familiar pulling sensation in my belly. I can’t believe how responsive my body is to him! Already something inside is building, beautifully.
I lay my forehead down on my arms, immersing myself into the exquisite feeling. Logan keeps one hand around my hip, while the other runs up and down my bare back.
“You. Look. Beautiful,” he says.
I turn my head and see something wholly erotic: it’s Logan, reflected in the mirrored splash-back that I have all around the kitchen walls. I can just about see his pelvis meeting with mine, but that’s not what has me enamoured and unable to look away. It’s the look on Logan face! A look of such unbridled satisfaction, that I feel my legs stiffen, and my toes curl into the ground. I let out a loud moan. His face responds to my moan, he opens his eyes and stares at his hand that’s on my back. He moves it over my skin, gazing at me lovingly, adoringly, besottedly. Holy
shit
, that’s hot! I moan again, and he groans and smiles, and I moan
again
. Oh,
yes
! He loves this! He
loves
making love to me! I can see it in his eyes; they’re warm and wanting, just like at out first lunch date a week ago.

Logan doesn’t notice what I’m doing, his actions and reactions are, as far as he knows, entirely unseen. That makes them even more arousing! He looks down at my backside, and watches himself enter me over and over. He thinks he’s got the best view in the room, but I think
I
do! He looks entranced, captivated, like he can’t quite believe he’s doing this… Fuck, he’s sexy!

“
Logan
!” I mewl. I’m about to convulse.

His mouth is open in an O-shape, his breathing laboured. He speeds up, calling out and scrunching his eyes closed. He’s in heaven…and he’s got company!
“Oh, baby!” he cries. His eyes dart open once more; they’re wide and wary and I know he’s about to come.
I surrender to his invasive touch, and we orgasm together, my backside shaking against him and my legs feeling like they might buckle beneath me. They don’t. I feel every second of our exquisite orgasm, moaning loudly. After several long, breathtaking moments we both still, and Logan pulls out of me and then leans forward against my back, breathing hard.
“That was astounding,” he says, kissing my skin, his eyes still closed.

I know
,
Logan
,
I saw you
, I smile to myself. “Yes,” I agree, still panting. My body feels tired but my muscles are loose and alive with adrenaline. My eyes finally leave the mirror splash-back and I see our morning coffee before me, standing all but forgotten.
When Logan stands, I turn immediately and lunge at him, kissing him hard. His mouth opens readily and I force my tongue against his. My arms lock around his neck, my hands loose in his hair. He falters slightly, surprised by my ambush, but quickly his arms tighten around me and he kisses me back with equal enthusiasm.
After a long, entwined moment, I whisper, “Thank you.”
He smiles, “What for?”
I raise my eyebrows at him, and he laughs.
“For the last week…the best week of my life,” I smile at him.

His eyes shine. “I second that notion.”

“And for being genuine, Logan. It’s one of the first things that struck me about you when we met last week.”

“Really?”

I nod. “I’ve never met anyone like you... You’re very affecting.”

He smiles. “So now I’m both provoking
and
affecting?”

“You are many things,” I tell him quickly. “Beautiful, gorgeous, thoughtful, kind, sweet, and...
patient
.”
He rests his forehead against mine, and his eyes pour into mine. He looks at me like he did when I saw him in the mirror, with adoration. “I would have waited an eternity for you,” he says to me, and my insides melt.

When I kiss him again it’s different. Not so adrenaline filled, not so sexual, but rather filled with emotion. Everything we feel we pour into our kiss; all the words we don’t say, despite knowing that the words are right there on the surface — we’re falling in love. Or perhaps we’re already there.

4. Domino

The rest of Wednesday passes in a sensual revelry. We skip lunch electing instead to take a long bath. The warm water laps over us, deliciously. I lean back against Logan’s broad torso, delighting in feeling his silky, wet skin against mine. He washes my whole body; slowly, gently, inch by inch.

“I must have had the gift of foresight when I decided to put baths in each house,” he says quietly. “They nearly didn’t make the cut.”

“I’m glad you did,” I say breathlessly as he runs his nose up the nape of my neck.

After a silence, he says, “You really are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

I smile. “
Thing
?”

“Yes. Animal, plant, or mineral.”

I giggle, and his breath hitches. He likes the sounds I make, I remember joyfully. He likes them a lot.

“Surely not more beautiful than a rose?” I question him.

“Unequivocally. You smell better, too,” he says, breathing me in.
A longing stirs within me. “But,
surely
, not more radiant than a diamond?”

Logan snorts. “A diamond is a mere rock next to you.”

I giggle again.
I like this game
, I smile to myself. I lean against the edge of his shoulder so that I am able to gaze up at him. He is breathtaking. Bright eyed and glistening from the water. I echo his sentiments entirely:
he
is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen! “Will you sit in front now, so that I can wash you.”

“I’ll squash you,” he says wryly.

I grin at him. “I like it when you squash me.”

His eyes widen in amusement.

“I like feeling your weight on me,” I tell him honestly.

“In that case,” he stands immediately and for the briefest moment I am faced with his penis. I feel a sudden carnal urge to take him in my mouth, something I haven’t done yet, but Logan moves too swiftly. He sits down once more, now in front of me, and then he leans back, pushing me against the side of the bath. I smile into his shoulder. He’s heavy, but he feels so good to cradle. I wrap my legs around his waist and he strokes my calves, slowly and relaxed, as I begin to wash him.

“We were having lunch this time last Wednesday,” he says.

Mmm, I enjoy the happy memory.

“I’d say it was a pretty successful date,” he grins.

I laugh, and confess, “I didn’t know it was a date. You never said so when you asked me.”

“I didn’t want to scare you off, baby. But it’s how I thought about it in my mind.”

“It’s how I think about it now,” I tell him. “Very successful indeed.”

“What did you do after I left Pierson’s that day?”

“I worked. Somewhat distractedly. And…oh, Clemence told me that I had enchanted you,” I say, giving his cheek a kiss.

“She’s a perceptive woman,” he grins, and then I remember something: Logan and Amelie talking about me during my session with Claude the photographer.
“You two were talking about me when I was having my portrait taken...” I remind him.

“You mean, when you were busy being
radiant
?” he says, copying Claude’s heavy accent.

I pinch his sides and he squirms and laughs.

“What were you talking about?” I want to know.

“She asked about our lunch, and mentioned in that sly way she does, that I’m not often seen out at anything other than business functions. I told her it was a special occurrence, and she obviously read more into my words. Rightly so. And then she talked about you.”

“What about me?” I ask wearily.

“She likes you, Gemima.”

“
Likes
me?”

“Yes, she said that you’re brilliant at your job, and have a very promising career ahead of you. And she said that you have a sweet temperament.”

“Really?” I smile, giddy. Aw, Amelie thinks I’m sweet!

“I disagreed with her,” Logan says, taking me by surprise until I realise he’s being sarcastic. “I told her you had blatantly and demeaningly ogled me in broad daylight in a crowded plaza.”

I pinch him again and he chuckles.

“You offered yourself up,” I say. “Very bravely, I thought.”

“Or foolishly. It could have gone either way.”

I run my hands over his perfect stomach. “No, Logan, not with a body like this. Or a face like this,” I say, kissing his cheek again. “I especially enjoyed your shoulders and your bottom…”

“I’ve noticed your affinity for my backside,” he says, playfully.

“It’s irresistible,” I grin into his shoulder.

Suddenly he smiles at something.

“What?” I ask.

He rests his head back against my shoulder, his eyes closed, his mouth open as he watches something in his mind. “I’m just recalling our encounter in the kitchen earlier…when you came…your ass was shaking against me.” He sighs. “That was
so
fucking hot! You’re so fucking
sexy
!” he says unexpectedly.

It’s possibly the dirtiest thing anyone has ever said to me…but it makes me smile. Logan’s words uttered by anyone but him would make me feel self-conscious. But Logan only makes me feel good. Wanted. Sexy. And aroused.

“I like the way my body responds to you,” I whisper. “And yours to me,” I say, eyeing movement beneath the water. Just thinking about my orgasm earlier has given Logan an erection.

We’re interrupted by my ringing mobile phone, which sits next to the bath on a wooden bench next to the towels.

“Take it,” Logan permits.

I look at the caller ID. “That’s weird, Amber usually doesn’t call ’til the evening.” I answer. “Hey, what’s up?”

“
Gem
! You were supposed to call me this morning!”

Shit
! “Ah, sorry, Amber, I forgot. I, uh…” was busy having the best sex of my life, I want to say, but I settle for, “…was busy.”

Logan twists around to give me a quick peck on the lips.

“I bet you were! I want to hear all about it! I’m near your work, I thought we could catch up over lunch?”

“I’m not at work. I haven’t been for the past couple of days. I’m at home...with Logan,” I say, kissing the back of his head. Amber is silent and suddenly I have with biggest smile on my face. I have done the impossible: I’ve made her speechless! “Are you still breathing?” I grin.

“Yes,” she says breathlessly. “I’m having a hot flash…give me a minute.”

I laugh heartily.

When she next talks it’s in a whisper, as though Logan might suddenly somehow overhear, “Is he there now? I mean,
right
now?”

“Yes, he’s right here. We’re in the bath…”

“
Oh
.
My
.
God
!” she shouts, and I hold the phone away from my ear. Logan hears her and laughs too. “I want to speak to him, put me on loudspeaker,” Amber demands.

“She wants to talk to you, is that OK?” I ask Logan. He smiles, nodding. I press the
speaker
button and then tell Amber, “OK, you’re live.”

“Hello, this is Amber O’Conner,” she says sternly.
So
sternly that I’m driven to fits of laughter.

Logan stifles his laugh. In a business manner, he says, “Hello, Amber, this is Logan Leary. How are you today?”

“I…I…I don’t know,” she fumbles.

Logan grins at me. “I’m enjoying a lovely bath with Gemima,” he tells Amber.

Amber is brought out of her humourous stupor. “
Aw
, you call her Gemima! That’s so
sweet
!” she gushes, making me laugh and Logan blush. Her usual confidence comes back to her. “Gem, you need to call me tomorrow! In private,” she adds. “You need to tell me
everything
. Sorry, Logan, it’s just something girls do.”

“I understand,” he says, though I doubt he does. By ‘everything’ she means
every
thing!

“Alright, I’ll call you then,” I promise.

“Bye, Logan, nice to talk to you.”

“You, too,” Logan says, handing the phone back to me.

I hit the
speaker
again so that it’s just her and I once more.

“Goodbye, Gemima,” she says and I can tell she’s smiling.

“Later,” I say, grinning also, and hanging up the phone. I put it back onto the bench and then sink my hand into the water. It’s so warm. “That’s what else I did after our first
date
: I called Amber on the way home.”

“Before you saw me?”

I nuzzle into his ear. “Mmmhmm.”

“Did you tell her about our date?”

“Yes, I told her I had a wonderful time, and that I was excited because of how much I liked you after only a couple of hours.”

He smiles at me and then sits up and turns around, sitting with his back against the other end of the bath, our legs entangled in the middle.

“And what will you tell her tomorrow?” he asks. Nervously, he adds, “Exactly how explicit does girl talk get?”

“It’s all-cards-on-the-table kind of talk.”

“Really?
Everything
?”

I shrug. “It doesn’t have to be. But she’s very detail orientated,” I confess. To put his mind at ease I say, “I will be as coy as I can be. Though, really, anything I say will only enhance your reputation,” I smile.

Logan laughs. “Baby, I don’t have a reputation to enhance.”

“Good,” I say immediately.

“Good?”

I nod, and then I move through the water so that I’m lying on him. He sinks down deeper, meaning my back isn’t bending uncomfortably. His shoulder is just above the water line. I rest my head down as his arms encase me. It feels divine to be in the water with Logan like this.

“I’m so comfortable,” I yawn. Too comfortable. “I could sleep like this.”

“Sleep,” he coos, stroking my hair with one of his hands and kissing the top of my head. “I won’t let you drown.”

*

By five o’clock Logan and I are famished. We learn from last night, and decide that going out tonight is simply not an option, so instead we order in. Chinese, our mutual favourite. When the doorbell rings I run to answer it, carrying my purse, intent on paying for our meal for the first time.

“Merci,” I say, exchanging the cash for the big bag of food. I set the bag on the floor just inside the doorway, then I step back out onto the porch, peering out at the glorious sunset. “Logan…” I call him outside. Swiftly he joins me. The sky is lit up for us in beautiful shades of pink.

Logan stands next to me, gazing up, impressed. “Sometimes I forgot how beautiful this city can be.”

I smile. “I know. Look at this endless sky.”

It may be breathtaking up there, but down here on earth, it’s freezing. My teeth start chattering. Logan takes my hand and pulls me towards the door.

“That’s enough fresh air for one day,” he says, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “If you stay out here too long you might freeze your tits off…” He remembers my embarrassing words from one week ago. “And that’d be a real shame,” he smiles.

In the doorway he stands still, pulling me towards him. I move easily, keen to make contact with his jean-and-shirt-clad body as soon as possible. I smile as I collide with him, taking in his still-damp hair that sits messily upon his head, and I instinctively reach up to kiss his lips. A too-brief moment later we’re broken up by the sound of shouting coming from the house opposite mine. A lover’s tiff. A man looks on angrily as a woman throws clothes and an assortment of other things onto the porch. They shout at one another in French, as we look on entertained. Logan’s body tenses when the man grabs the woman’s wrists threateningly.

“I should—”

“No,” I say, blocking his way. “Give her a moment…”

And sure enough, a second later the woman slugs him hard around the face and retreats into the safety of her house, audibly bolting the door shut.

“See, she’s got it under control,” I smile at Logan.

*

Despite the presence of my new and so-far unused dining table, Logan and I elect to sit on the living room floor, using the ottoman as our table. We eat hungrily. When we’re done Logan stares endlessly at his chopsticks, like he’s thinking about something amusing.

“A penny for your thoughts?” I ask.

He considers for a moment before revealing, “I’m just wondering what else I could use these for...” He smiles, cheekily.

My mouth drops open and he laughs.

“Those are not going in me,” I tell him, eyeing the chopsticks warily.

Logan laughs harder, and then assures me, “That’s not what I was thinking.”

He crawls around the ottoman, towards me, his eyes never leaving mine. I note my relief that he leaves the chopsticks behind him. He sits crossed legged in front of me, and then takes my face in his hands and kisses me tenderly. I love it! Slow, sensual, seductive. When we break apart I grin at him, a gesture that he reciprocates. His dimples grow pronounced in his cheeks, and I kiss both of them. How adorable you are, Logan!

He takes his index and middle fingers and runs them smoothly over my cheek. “What about these?” he whispers, his mouth close to mine. “Can these go in you?”

My belly clenches deliciously. My smile broadens. “Those are permissible,” I tell him. “But I want to do something else first. I want a…a dessert.” Of a popsicle-like nature, I smile to myself.

Logan’s eyes widen.

“Lie down,” I whisper to him. Desire surges in me. I’ve a lust and a longing to taste him in my mouth, and I’m dying to do it now.

Slowly he lies back. I climb over him and lean down to kiss him; a kiss that is more forceful than our last. I thrust my tongue against his. His hands move up my legs and under my dress. I stop kissing him and shake my head.

“Wait your turn,” I reprimand, playfully.

His hands drop to the ground. He looks frustrated. Good. He
wants
to touch me.
Good
! I kiss him again, this time simultaneously undoing the buttons on his shirt. When his chest is bare my mouth leaves his as I begin my descent. Logan groans as I kiss his skin; he knows where I’m going. I tease him, moving south slowly, kissing every inch of skin I pass. At his belly button I encounter his glory trail. I run my tongue from the top of it down to the bottom where I’m met by his low riding jeans. I’m eager now, and panting. So is Logan. I fumble with his jean buttons, wanting access to him as quickly as possible.