Naughty, Naughty Prince Charming (Charming 1)

The corners of his mouth lifted. Unlike her, he didn’t hesitate to respond. “How much I enjoy being with you. How much I always hate it when our time together ends.”

She laughed, but without humor, averting her gaze. “Great sex will do that to a person.”

He used two fingers to capture her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Don’t do that. Don’t make us seem cheap.”

Her lips trembled despite her best effort to seem unaffected by his words. She didn’t want to think about sex or love or…any of this. She just wanted to feel. “Kiss me again.”

And he did. He kissed her and kissed her. A slow, sensual play of tongue against tongue. Yet…he kept it from deepening to a full-body impact. From turning into an act of sex. He gave her the soft, sweet, taste of seduction but held back from total intimacy. It confused her and made her want to take control. She found herself easing toward the edge of the chair, nipples tingling with the need to be touched. Thighs aching with the gathering moisture of her arousal.

Then, the doorbell rang and the moment was gone. Logan pulled his lips from hers. “The food,” he whispered.

She nodded. “Right. Food.”

He ran his finger over her bottom lip, wiping away the moisture there. “Grab the wine and let’s eat in the living room.” And then he was gone, leaving to stare after him and wonder exactly what was going on.

For several seconds, she simply sat there. Lucy knew she shouldn’t be here. Right. She shouldn’t be here. The words repeated in her head. Yet, still, she found herself pushing to her feet and reaching for the glasses. Moments later, she walked into the other room. She found Logan busying himself with the food, setting it out on the coffee table. He sat down on the floor and patted the ground next to him.

Logan watched Lucy, noting the hesitation in her eyes but he wasn’t about to back down. He watched her walk toward him, the soft sway of her curvy hips enticing his eyes. Stirring his lust. But, tonight was the real thing, not a fantasy. There was far more than his body alive with her presence.

Their hotel visits had never included food or serious conversation. Not that he hadn’t tried to get to know her. Every attempt had been smashed. He would order snacks from room service, but they rarely ate much. Conversation had been after-sex pillow talk. Yet, he was willing to bet that he’d pulled more from her in the brief encounters than she realized.

She let her guard down during those times, telling him her likes and dislikes. He knew about how she had always wanted a dog, never had a best friend until she was an adult, and how much she loved chocolate, crème-filled cookies. And he loved each and every one of those things.

He’d already hinted about tonight being different. Enough that she knew the game was over. “It smells good,” she said, kicking off her shoes, and then sitting on the floor beside him. And as he expected, she tucked her legs to the side, and tugged on her skirt. Always a lady. She could be so sexy and sensual, yet, so prim and proper.

The combination was one he found adorable.

“Um,” he said. “It smells better than good. I’m hungrier than I realized.” He took a bite of an egg roll. “So, Tyler said your mom’s a teacher?”

“Was,” Lucy said lifting the top off her paper bowl. “Cancer made teaching difficult. She’s never returned to full strength. They say she will but it’s been a year. I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

“And you single-handedly took care of her.”

She shrugged. “I did what anyone would have done. I love my mom.” Averting her gaze Lucy took a bite of her food.

“You put your career on hold from what I’ve gathered?”

Lucy shrugged. “Waited tables, took six years to finish college. I brought her to live with me.”

Her tone was matter-of-fact, but Logan sensed she felt anything but. “And now?” he asked looking at her over his wineglass as he took a drink.

Lucy picked at her food and avoided eye contact. “She moved in with a close friend, who happens to be a nurse. But they live in my building. It helps me to know I’m near if she needs me.”

“And now you’re starting your life all over again.”

She looked up at him. “Yes,” she said. “Which is why I don’t want to screw it up.”

He set his glass down, shifting so he faced her. She kept her side profile. “And you think sleeping with me is going to do that,” Logan said.

“Maybe,” she said, averting her gaze to the table.

Logan’s chest tightened at her words. Needing to comfort her, to offer reassurance, he ran his hand down her hair. “I won’t let that happen. You have my word.”