Something Wet: Beach House Nights Book 2 (4 page)

So why was she kidding herself into believing
it was something more than it was?

She scrubbed the sand and salt from her skin,
washed her hair and towel dried off before putting on pair of khaki
shorts, a white tank, and flip flops.

In the kitchen, she found him scrounging up
food with Harper, Blake and Ian.

“Ugh, finally,” Harper said, waving her hand
toward the counter at warmed up hot dogs, hamburgers and bags of
chips. “Please tell these men they need more than meat and bread to
sustain themselves.”

Violet laughed, took a bag of chips, and
poured some out on a paper towel.

“Don’t forget the potatoes,” Blake said.

“You’re hopeless,” Harper said before she
tossed a dry towel at Blake that he caught before it smacked him in
the head. Then she rounded on Ian. “And you. I know Stella doesn’t
want a hot dog this late at night.”

Violet looked around. “Where is she?”

“In the attic,” Ian answered. “Dayna told her
that her grandmother had a lot of old pieces she brought with her
before she moved into the beach house that she couldn’t bare to
give away so she placed them in the attic. Dayna’s sure some of
them are antiques.”

“Oh boy,” Violet joked. “She’ll never come
down from there now.”

“Right,” Ian agreed. “So I volunteered to
help retrieve sustenance, but Ms. Chef over here won’t let me.”

“That’s not true,” Harper asserted. “I only
suggested you add some fruit and vegetables with it.”

Ian threw up his hands. “Fine. Make me a tray
and I’ll take it. Just don’t forget the meat. I need meat.”

“Fine,” Harper grumbled. “Just try a piece of
fruit. It won’t kill you.”

Violet sat on one of the bar stools and
snacked on her chips. She knew if she sat there long enough, Harper
would put a plate in front of her. Logan rounded the island, and
his gaze lingered on her crossed legs. It sent heat sizzling
through her veins.

He approached, leaned down to whisper in her
ear, and trailed the palm of his hand up her thigh. “I’m giving you
ten minutes to eat. After that, I’m tossing you over my shoulder
and we’re going to find a bed.”

His deep, dark voice poured over her like
warm milk chocolate. He was by far the sexiest man she’d ever come
across in her life. On one hand, what woman wouldn’t want to be
ogled by a virile, gorgeous man? However, when it was all over,
where did that leave her heart?

Logan moved behind her and surreptitiously
swiped his hand over her butt before he sat down beside her. The
wolfish grin he gave her made her stomach clench, and a heated
flush stole over her body.

As predicted, Harper placed a plate of fruit,
grilled chicken and vegetables in front of her.

“And here you go,” she said to Ian.
“Enjoy.”

He looked down at the platter and back up at
her. She’d given him two hamburgers with a glazed sauce dripping
off of them, no buns, fruit, vegetables and ranch dip. He glowered.
“Seriously?”

Harper pointed toward the exit. “Go.”

Ian turned on his heel and left, Logan and
Blake’s laughter following him.

“I’ll be back when I know you’re out of the
kitchen,” he yelled.

Harper pointed to Blake. “You. Sit. Don’t
think you’re getting off easy.”

He raised his hands, feigning mock innocence.
“Who, me?”

“I have something special planned for
you.”

Blake sat in one of the chairs at the table,
leaned back with his hands behind his head, and crossed his legs at
the ankle. “Your wish is my command, Princess,” he said softly.

Harper flushed.

“Um, I don’t think we want any part of this.
Plus,” Logan said, his gaze going from Blake back to Harper. “I
think these two need to be alone.”

Violet agreed. Sexual tension had been
brewing between Harper and Blake for months, and it was quite
palpable in the room. She picked up her plate and grabbed a bottle
of water out of the refrigerator. “We’ll see you two later.”

Logan followed her out to the deck where she
sat in a lounge chair. He moved between her legs and took her
plate. “Here, let me.”

“Didn’t I tell you I was quite capable of
feeding myself?”

He scooted closer. “And didn’t I tell you I
wanted to feed you,” he reminded her while placing a fork of
chicken in her mouth, “among other things.”

A shiver raced down her spine, and her
nipples puckered against the cups of her bra. She chewed and
swallowed with difficulty. Food became the last thing on her mind.
Drawing a deep, calming breath, she allowed him to feed her.

After giving her a few bites of the succulent
meat, he said, “Tell me about Violet Tanner.”

She chewed slowly. “What is it you want to
know?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Tell me a
secret.”

“I don’t have any secrets.” Nothing she’d
confess to him anyway.

After he fed her some more, he said. “Okay.
Let’s keep it simple then. Twenty questions.”

Violet shook her head. “Uh uh. One
question.”

“Damn, woman. Five questions.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay. Five. But I go
first.”

“Okay,” he agreed.

“Do you miss playing ball?”

A shadow slid over his face, and he lowered
the fork of food he was about to give her, but the look of sadness
disappeared fast. “Sometimes.”

“That’s it? Sometimes?”

He shrugged his shoulders and placed the fork
in her mouth. “I have a good life now. I like it. My schedule is my
own. I’m not bouncing from state to state six months out of the
year, getting pounded into the ground by three-hundred pound
linebackers. Plus, I’ve built a business I enjoy. It keeps me busy,
but I’m doing something I love. My degree in kinesiology ended up
paying off.”

In the distance she heard the waves of the
ocean crash on the sand. Sea salt air shifted in the wind. Logan
looked off, lost in his thoughts for a moment. “Yeah, sometimes I
do miss it, the other guys, the locker room trash talk, getting
hyped up for a game, running out there on the field. The fans. It
was fun.”

“I’m sure you still have plenty of female
fans,” she quipped.

Grinning at her, he fed her the last
vegetable on her plate, set it down, and leaned into her. “I’m only
interested in one female fan at the moment.”

While she chewed, he nibbled at her neck,
twirled his thumb around her nipple. The contact caused it to
pebble against her shirt. “What makes you think I was a fan?”

When he looked down, he smiled. “Oh…you were
a fan.”

Violet swatted his hand away but did agree.
From the beginning of his career she’d become obsessed with
football. She wouldn’t tell him that though. “Stop teasing. I
thought we were playing five questions.”

“Okay…then. My turn,” he said low and deep
before he nipped the lobe of her ear, sending a shiver cascading
down her belly. “Do you like it hard and fast? Or slow and
sweet?”

The moon was bright in the sky now, the only
light. Its reflection shimmered in the pool beside them. The
temperature had dropped a little, but the havoc Logan caused to her
body made heat infuse like a lit firecracker. He reached behind her
and lowered the lounge. “I think you know the answer to that
question already and, it really all depends.”

He licked a trail across her throat. “On
what?”

Wetness pooled between her thighs. She was
seized by a sudden urgency to flip Logan over on his back and
torture him the way he was torturing her.

“If I’m in the mood to be romantic, or if
it’s enough already and I just want to get some sleep.”

He barked out a howl of laughter and pushed
up. “Seinfeld? You’re quoting Seinfeld.”

“It’s one of my favorite shows. I don’t know
why that just popped into my head. I can watch reruns of it over
and over again.”

“You’re kidding? Me too,” he proclaimed.
“What are your other favorite TV shows?”

“Umm…Castle, Criminal Minds.”

She saw his eyes narrow. “You just watch that
show because of Shemar Moore?”

“What’s your point?”

Logan shook his head.

“Are you going to let me finish?”

He sat up and faced her, wrapping her legs
around his waist. “Uh huh.”

“NCIS Los Angeles.”

Blowing out a sigh, he said, “And you watch
that one because of LL Cool J.”

Violet leaned back. “Well, you know what they
say? Ladies love Cool James.”

He growled.

“Jealous?”

He feigned mock indignation, crossing his
arms. “Of course not.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about. But
if Shemar Moore walked down that beach…well.”

“I think I’m going to have to start
restricting your TV watching during the week. Do you like to
read?”

She playfully smacked him on the thigh. “Not
answering. That’s three questions back to back. It’s my turn.”

He got up off the lounge and held out his
hand. “Stand up.”

“Why?”

“Just stand up.”

Violet placated him and stood. He surprised
her by sitting back on the lounge, but he moved her in front of him
so they were front to back and he wrapped his hands around her
waist, his head resting beside hers on her shoulder. Ignoring the
way her heart thumped, she snuggled up close. From this angle, they
could see the tide wash up onto the sand. A cool breeze drifted up
from the ocean, the sky was a vivid shade of dark blue.

“If you get chilly,” he told her, “Let me
know and I’ll go grab a blanket.”

“I’m fine,” she assured him. Logan’s body,
not to mention her rising libido, created enough heat to keep her
warm. Need throbbed between her legs. She had to smolder these
feelings somehow and get her mind off of it. “Tell me about your
family.”

“That’s not a question.”

She nudged his leg. “Don’t be difficult.”

He laughed. “My mom, Margaret, and father,
Henry, have been married for thirty-five years.”

Violet laced their fingers together and had
that weird feeling again. She started to release him, but he held
on to her and brought their joined hands up to his lips and kissed.
She struggled not to succumb to the feelings bouncing around inside
her, to the sense of peace being this close to him produced. In the
beginning, this night had been all about sex and seduction. The
romantic perfection of this moment erased that intent. Why couldn’t
they have done the deed then gone their separate ways? Hell, this
evening was almost shaping up into a date.

“I have two older sisters.”

“Oooh. The baby in the family.”

Logan raised his knees and shifted in his
seat. “Most definitely. I was a spoiled brat.”

She glanced at him over her shoulder and was
struck by his smile, his even white teeth and chocolate brown eyes.
Sharing this type of moment with him was completely unexpected. “I
believe it.”

“When I was about six years old, the summer
after I turned six years old as a matter of fact, my father got fed
up with me. I was a whiner, especially when I didn’t get my way. He
told my mom he was taking me away for a while to straighten me up,
told her all he needed was two weeks and he’d bring me back a
changed child.”

Violet twisted around to stare at him. “Did
it work?”

Logan smoothed his hand up and down her bare
leg. “It did. Talk about tough love. All that stuff I was getting
away with at home, my mom and my sisters giving me everything, he
stopped it cold turkey. I remember it like it was yesterday.”

She playfully shoved him. “Wow. You were that
bad?”

Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “I don’t
think I was that bad per se, I was just spoiled. I was the baby. My
sister’s were so much older than me it was easy to either do it for
me or let me have my own way so I would stop whining or crying
about it. But when my dad took me away for those two weeks during
the summer, I really did come back a different little boy.”

She crossed her arms and nodded her head. “So
the world has your father to thank for the man you are today.”

He tilted his head to the side and quirked a
smile. “I’m not sure if you’re being serious or facetious.”

Lifting both her hands out, palms up, she
said, “Serious.”

“Actually, after that summer, my dad and I
started taking a trip together every summer. He called them our
father and son man trips. He taught me everything I needed to know
about being a man. A good man.”

Suddenly serious, she wanted to know the
answer to her next question. “And do you think you’re a good
man.”

Logan took her hand. “I do.”

“Examples?”

A sly, seductive smile slid over his face
when she glanced at him. “I thought I showed you that already on
the beach.”

“Ugh,” she grunted and twisted back around in
his arms, but her pulse quickened. Logan had definitely showed her
exactly what type of man he was on the beach. A generous lover, for
one. Kind, he made her laugh, and they’d had fun. In fact, these
last few hours were the most fun she’d had in ages. The lousy ex
had been too busy the last month or so to spend any quality time
with her. If she were honest, the last couple of times they’d
actually gone out on a date, he’d grated on her nerves and she
couldn’t wait to get away from him.

With Logan, she couldn’t get enough.

What did that mean?

“I’m waiting,” he murmured in her hear.

“For what?” she asked, momentarily taken
aback.

“Your next question.”

Crap. She’d forgotten about their game. She
was lying in the arms of the sexiest man she’d ever run across,
gazing out at an exquisite midnight blue sky, contemplating if
their liaison could be extended into much, much more. She asked him
the first thing that popped into her mind. “What else do you like
to do in your spare time? Besides working out and watching reruns
of Seinfeld.”

The rumble of his laughter felt good against
her back. Men loved women who could make them laugh.