Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

MIRA

J ude and Mickey had gotten married in the Hamptons at a house they owned with Jude's brother and his wife. As far as I knew, most of the guests were staying in hotels or bed-and-breakfasts scattered around town, but it turned out that Logan wasn't.

After I told him I was staying at a hotel, I'd wondered why he'd so quickly said we'd go to his place instead, but now I knew. I got out of the car and found myself standing in the nicely lit driveway of a sprawling bungalow right on the beach.

It looked newly built with modern design features such as large windows, stone cladding, and freshly painted white walls, and the landscaping was stunning. More impressive yet was that it was only a few blocks away from Jude and Mickey's place, with the landscaped garden out front, strategically placed lights that lit up the trees and hedges, and a surprisingly homey feel to it.

Logan took my hand as he led me up the flagstone path to the front door, and anticipation ran through me in pleasurable tingles at the touch of his skin against mine. His palms were smooth, warm, and dry, his fingers long and strong.

The men I worked with usually had calluses the size of rocks, and due to the humidity in most of the places we worked, it wasn't often that their skin was completely dry.

And even that I only knew from the exceedingly rare occasion that I'd let any of them touch me for more than just a handshake. All of which only served to ratchet up my anticipation a few more levels. Now I only had to hope that Logan would deliver.

I drew in a deep breath as he unlocked the front door, feeling uncharacteristically nervous about being here with him. There wasn't much that unnerved me these days—a natural consequence of never being able to show any vulnerability—but for some reason, this guy made me feel a little nervous.

Or maybe the more accurate word was giddy .

He and his angular jaw and clean-shaven, pretty face made me feel giddy. Just who the hell am I right now?

The thoughts swirled through my head until I stepped into the foyer ahead of him, but they dissipated as soon as I realized that this place didn't appear to be rented. As someone who spent a lot of time away from home, I'd come to know the differences pretty well.

The foyer had art displayed against the walls, and not the generic, cheap type, as well as a bowl filled with all kinds of different keys on the side table and even a photograph of a lottery ticket in a frame. I frowned, my feet carrying me further inside as my gaze zeroed in on more and more details that made me wonder if this was, in fact, his place.

Like, his actual home.

Or perhaps a holiday home, but certainly not a rental or a place that got rented out at any point.

The foyer opened up into a spacious, open-concept living and dining area with a modern, fully equipped kitchen off to one side. Luxurious furniture, more framed photographs, and even more art on the walls, as well as the worn, expensive rugs beneath my feet and the knickknacks all seemed personal.

In front of me, on the opposite side of the bungalow, was a wall of stackable glass doors that opened up to a deck containing a bar, a grill, an infinity pool, and even a hot tub. As I ambled over to the glass wall to look out at the beach and the dark ocean beyond, I suddenly became aware of Logan's presence behind me.

The heat he radiated came first, followed shortly by the masculine, whiskey and spice scent of him that I'd inhaled while we'd been on the dance floor. "You like it?"

I nodded without looking at him. "It's incredible. Do you live here? Like, really live here?"

"I'm living here right now," he said with definite humor in his voice. "We're not breaking into someone else's place, if that's what you're worried about."

"No, I…" I trailed off for a moment, blinking hard in an attempt to block out the view while trying to find the words I was searching for. "Is this really your place? Or did you just rent it to impress whichever woman came home with you at the end of the night?"

As I asked the question, I glanced at him over my shoulder just in time to see him wink at me. "That depends."

"On what?"

He flashed me a handsome, disarming smile. "Are you impressed?"

"Maybe a little." I couldn't help but smile back at him even as I rolled my eyes. "I've seen nicer places, though."

He laughed, and I found the sound pleasant despite how tedious I'd found his company at times until now. Logan reminded me a little bit of a cat, quick on his feet and with a sharp tongue that could scratch if I let it.

At the same time, he had this easygoing demeanor that allowed him to move effortlessly from one topic of conversation to the next. To bounce back as if it was nothing if he got shut down or contradicted, and be flirty one minute and serious the next.

It made him exhausting for me to keep up with. There was no pattern to his behavior. Instead, he seemed to just roll with whatever came his way, which was very much the opposite of how I liked things to be.

"What is your next move?" I asked as my gaze hooked on those warm blues.

Humor lit up his eyes. "What do you mean? "

"How do you get your conquests smoothly from point A to point B?" I clarified. "I want to see how a player operates."

Still amused, he shook his head at me. "I'm not exposing my secrets."

As I held that gaze, I thought it over for a moment before sliding my eyes away from his to take in the main living area again. "Let me take a guess."

"Go for it."

I looked around for another few long seconds before I nodded. "You pour a girl a drink. Something unexpected and rare probably, judging by the bottles that are on that shelf behind the bar. That gets the conversation going, and then you meander through the house after offering the girl a tour."

"What else?" he asked with a spark of heat in his eyes. "What happens next?"

"You show off the features you're most proud of. Considering that this place looks pretty new, I'm going to go ahead and assume you had a hand in the design, which means there are definite points of interest you like to draw attention to in the hopes of impressing the flavor of the day."

"It's a nice house," he said casually. "Still, how does a tour get me to point B?"

"By inevitably ending in the bedroom and feigning surprise, which naturally charms her."

He clicked his tongue. "Shit. That's my whole playbook. How am I supposed to convince you to sleep with me now?"

"You could start by kissing me," I suggested as lightly as I possibly could. I absolutely did not want him to know that my heart was pounding in my chest or that my panties were getting damp under the heat still sparking in those eyes. "You did want to earlier, didn't you?"

Logan nodded slowly, crossing the distance between us without once taking those smoldering eyes off my own. "You seem pretty smart."

"Thanks," I murmured, my heart now beating in my chest as I watched him approach with sure strides, but he was taking his time, like a predator circling its prey. "That wasn't your whole playbook, was it?"

"Nope."

"Damn it. Want me to try again?"

"Nah." He reached me then, but he didn't touch me at all, staying at least a foot away as he brought a hand to the already loosened knot of his tie and started sliding it free. "Sometimes, I do things mostly like that, except that I never feign surprise about ending in the bedroom."

"What about the other times?" My gaze locked on his fingers as he tugged the tie away from his neck and then slid his jacket off with precise, practiced movements.

He tossed both toward the nearest couch, and of course, the garments landed right on the armrest instead of simply dropping to the floor. He really is smooth.

As my gaze went back to his, a slow smile spread on his lips. "Other times, there is no routine."

"What do you mean ‘ there is no routine '?" I put the words between air quotes, conflicted between the confusion in my brain and the lust burning through my body now that he was so close again. "There has to be a routine. How else do you seal the deal?"

"I just seal it." With that, he closed the final bit of distance between us, one of his hands sliding around my neck to settle at the nape while the other gripped my hip.

Those eyes were burning into mine as he used his grip on me to tug me closer. Then his mouth descended to mine and he did what I'd told him to, kissing me passionately and almost possessively. At the first touch of his lips against mine, I knew I'd done the right thing by coming home with him.

Personality-wise, we couldn't be more different, but physically? He was freaking perfection.

Even the way he kissed was as perfect as his handsome face, all fierce and definitely possessive—not just almost anymore—but it made me feel wanted. Both desired and desirable .

As a result, I gave in instantly and completely, not fighting it simply because he'd annoyed me a bit at times during the night. This was what I'd come here for, and I had a feeling he wasn't going to be irritating me anymore.

Stepping into him, I felt his hard, hot body against my own, and I moaned into his mouth. I wound my arms around his neck, pushing my fingers into his hair and returning his passionate kiss. Knowing that this was a no-risk hookup helped me immerse myself in the moment, and I took advantage of it to the fullest extent possible.

Logan didn't really know who I was. He didn't know or care what I did for a living, and no one on the rigs I worked with was going to find out. None of my usual fears were present tonight, and it was such a freeing feeling that I tore my mouth away from his, throwing the gauntlet down at his feet.

"Are you going to get me naked, or am I going to have to do it myself?"

He grinned against my lips, immediately moving his hands to the zipper of my dress and pulling it down in one smooth movement as the dress pooled at my feet. "All you had to do was ask, Mira. Now tell me, how comfortable are you on dining-room tables?"

Shock filtered through me, but then I glanced at the table in question over his shoulder and smiled. "That one seems big enough to get pretty comfortable on."

"Excellent." He sealed his mouth over mine once more, the taste of tequila still lingering on his tongue. He walked me backward to the table and helped me on once my butt hit the side of the expensive, polished wood.

Without breaking the kiss, he spread my legs and stepped between them as I sat down. Then he angled my head up to give himself better access and he reached around to unhook my bra. My entire body was on fire, my nerve endings alive with need as I arched into him, wanting so much more.

Despite Tess and Mickey's warnings, I had never been more confident in any decision than I was in this one right now. I might not have liked everything about Logan while we'd been talking, but as he pushed me back on the table and ran a hand up the inside of my thigh, I already knew I was never going to regret this.

And that I probably wouldn't be forgetting about it anytime soon either.