When he knew she was close, he pulled free and eased her to her back on the bed.
He skimmed her panties off the rest of the way, stroked his hands over her body, down to her knees—and parted her legs.
Body flushed, lips parted, she lay there, waiting to see what he’d do.
Giving herself to him.
It wasn’t everything he wanted, but for right now, it was enough. He bent and kissed the inside of her knee, up her tender inner thigh, over her taut belly. Her hands tightened in the bedcovers—but she didn’t resist him.
“You smell so f**king good.” He brushed his nose over her curls.
She made a sound of excitement.
Settling on the bed between her legs, Logan used his thumbs to part her swollen lips, drew his tongue over her, up to her clitoris. She went still, held on a precipice of sharp pleasure.
And he covered her with his mouth.
They groaned together.
She tasted even better than she smelled, and the small, rough sounds she made, the way she moved under him, all worked against his restraint.
He wanted it to last, so when he felt her tightening, he changed tactics, licking into her instead. She groaned a complaint, then lifted her hips up to him when he returned to teasing her in just the right spot.
Again when she neared a climax, he eased off.
One small fist clenched in the sheets. “Damn you.”
He smiled and bit her gently. “Trust me.”
“Stop teasing.”
He hoped to tease her for the rest of his life, but he said only, “It’ll be better if you wait.”
“I don’t want to— Ah.”
This time she clamped her hands into his hair to keep him close as he worked her with his tongue. Her hold was tight enough to sting, but he didn’t mind; he liked knowing he’d gotten her to that point of desperate need.
Wanting to feel her release, he pressed three fingers into her, nice and deep, and the orgasm rolled over her. She squeezed his fingers tight, bathing them in silky wetness. She let him go to snatch a pillow over her face, trying to muffle her harsh cries. Her strong thighs tensed even more, her heels digging into the mattress at either side of his shoulders. It went on and on until she sank boneless onto the bed.
So overwhelmed he could barely draw breath, Logan sat up and grabbed for a condom. When he turned back to her, she had her eyes closed, her legs still sprawled.
He touched her knee. “Pepper.”
She drew one more big breath, let it out slowly, and opened her eyes. Three seconds ticked by and then… “That was worth the wait.”
He trailed his fingers up and down her thigh. “I’m glad.”
“If you’re waiting for an invite, you got it the minute I stepped into the room.”
A half smile hid his deeper thoughts. Truthfully, he didn’t want to rush it, because he knew she’d want to leave him again afterward. But telling her that would be too emasculating, so he lowered himself over her without comment.
“Mmm,” she said. “So you were waiting for another invitation.”
He kissed the side of the neck, her jaw. “I like how you taste, Pepper.” He drew on the soft skin of her throat, put a damp love bite to her shoulder. “And I love seeing you like this.” In his bed, soft and accepting.
The mention of love threw her for a second, then she teased, “Well-sated, you mean?”
He kissed her jaw again, the top of her cheekbone, the bridge of her nose and her forehead. “Not yet, honey.” Guiding his c**k to her, he sank deep, to be held in snug, slippery warmth. Emotion caught in his chest, stilling him, forcing him to take a moment to regroup.
A little breathless, she agreed, “Not yet.”
And that did it for him. He held her head and took her mouth in a deep, tongue-thrusting kiss. Locking her tight to him, he started the rhythm they both needed. Never in his life had he felt so connected to a woman. Less than two minutes later, she hugged him hard and cried out as another climax rippled through her.
His heart thundering, he put his face in her neck and gave in to his own release.
Minutes later, when his heartbeat finally slowed and his breath evened out, it struck Logan that she still held him. Every so often he felt the soft brush of her mouth on his shoulder.
The gentle touch leveled him as nothing else could. Hell, a sucker punch to the chin couldn’t have left him reeling the same way. He lifted up to his elbows to see her face, but the second her gaze met his, he knew.
She would leave him again.
He saw the regret in her eyes, felt the way she emotionally withdrew. Was it pride that pulled her away, even when she wanted to stay? Or did she not feel the same things?
Persuasive arguments formed alongside his hurt—a hurt he buried under irritation. “Damn it, Pepper, this is ridiculous. You know you want—”
His cell phone rang. Given her dark frown, the interruption had probably stopped him from saying too much.
Logan eased away from her and stretched out a hand to snag it off the dresser. In case she had thoughts of leaving before they talked, he held her ankle with his free hand.
She came up to her elbows. “My brother?”
“I assume so.” He flipped open the phone. “What’s up?”
“I’m sitting here with one of the traffickers.”
Logan straightened. “You’re okay?”
“He’s an ugly f**ker—more so now that we’ve finished our chat—but yeah, no problem.”
He relaxed and gave Pepper a nod, smoothed his hand over her calf. “Your sister is here with me.”