Tsking, Logan pushed them down to her sides. “No hiding.”
He cradled her breast in his hand, thumbing her engorged nipple through the silk. Fresh pleasure arced through her body. Her head told her that she should be pulling away. She was engaged. None of the soft touches Logan lavished on her forwarded her training. But her body didn’t care. It wanted him.
“Yes, Logan.”
“Excellent, Cherry.” In reward, he eased the silky lapels of the robe apart, anchoring them on the sides of her exposed breasts. He leaned in and kissed one nipple, suckled and nipped it gently. More blood rushed to the tip in a flash of sensitivity. Logan did the same to the other hard tip. More desire gathered hotly between her thighs.
As she arched toward him in silent offering, he covered her breasts up and spun her toward the door.
“Still want a few minutes alone?” he murmured in her ear.
Distance between them would be good, but she no longer wanted it. But was it really wise to experience all that passion again when she was marrying someone else? Someone like Brad, whom her stepfather approved of. Brad shared her desire for marriage and children. He did absolutely nothing for her in bed and could never use sex to control her. Logan could do that twenty-four/seven. Tara sighed. Maybe she should ease her own ache in the bathroom and come back with renewed focus, a clearer head.
“Yes, Logan.”
“Ten minutes. No masturbating. Or that will cost you twenty-five swats and a whole lot of orgasm depravation. That would be a damn shame . . .” He smiled as if he knew that he’d thwarted her plans.
Damn him. He wanted her totally at his mercy. For the case—or for himself? Was he really trying so hard to train her simply for the mission? Did he want to talk about their past merely to clear the air so their rapport would be easier and facilitate the training? Or was this personal for him? His every touch seemed to say so. Tara had to ask herself why. And what was she going to do about the fact that both the scared girl and aching woman inside her wanted to cling to Logan and ask the answers to all her questions?
Tara drew in a bracing breath and opened the dungeon’s door. To her utter horror, Brad stood directly in her path.
Chapter Six
“B-BRAD?” Tara’s heart dropped to her knees. She had trouble drawing in a breath. “What are you doing here?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, anger radiating from his nearly black eyes, glittering with betrayal. “After the marks I saw on your body last night and our argument, I came to find out what’s going on.”
Tara swallowed. How much of this morning’s session with Logan had he seen? “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Neither should you.” Brad stepped into the room on heavy footsteps. “Why didn’t you tell me that your first lover was working you over—excuse me, working with you on this case? Did that fact slip your mind, dear?”
Crap. She’d stepped deep in it now, and had no one to blame but herself. “No. I was reassigned to Logan yesterday. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to overreact.”
“Or you didn’t want me wondering if you were having feelings for him again.”
Okay, that, too. Brad’s sarcasm made his fury painfully obvious. Maybe she should have handled things differently, but it was too late now. Clearly, Logan was always going to elicit some response in her. It was like her body was hardwired to his, and she’d been naïve to hope otherwise.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured.
“You’re damn right, you should be sorry! You took off every stitch of clothing and let him put his fucking tongue all over you. And you came for him like a bitch in heat. You begged for him. I have always treated you like a lady, been gentle and deferential. And this is how you screw me over?”
Tara felt two inches tall—and wished she could disappear altogether. “It—I didn’t arrange to have Logan as my trainer. That decision rests with my superior and the club owner. You know Darcy is in imminent danger. What kind of friend, what kind of FBI agent, would I be if I held up this case for my personal—”
“Our wedding is in eight weeks. Our invitations arrived yesterday afternoon. Now, I’m standing here wondering if I know you at all. I’ve always thought you were honest and forthright. That you’d never cheat because this bastard”—he pointed to Logan angrily—“taught you how much it hurts.”
Brad was right. The fact that he was a lawyer, capable of tossing together great arguments on the fly, didn’t help, either. Worse, she couldn’t say that she hadn’t cheated. She may not have had sex with Logan, but if he’d dropped his leather pants and crawled between her thighs ten minutes ago, would she have found the strength to stop him?
Tara feared she knew the answer.
“You’re right.” She shook her head, not knowing what else to say. “About everything.”
“Call Bocelli and tell him you need to be reassigned.”
“I did. Yesterday afternoon.”
“Damn it, Cherry,” Logan cursed softly.
Tara glanced his way. Hurt flashed across his face. And somehow, his pain hurt her.
Why? She didn’t owe him anything, except hard work on this case. But engaging in a bit of the power exchange today had reforged the connection she’d once felt with Logan. It was back—but stronger.
Damn. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Brad. If she’d seen him having oral sex with another woman, even for the sake of his job, she’d feel betrayed, too.
Pressing her lips together, she turned back to her fiancé. “Bocelli refused me. The club’s owner insists that Logan will get the job done, and my boss is sticking by that. Logan has a lot of valuable experience in this environment. I know what you’re thinking, but this is my job. I have to see this through. And quite frankly, I understand where they’re coming from. Look, Brad, I know this seems weird to you, but I’m about to go into a different world. These people are criminals and don’t play by the rules. If I’m going to do this job right, I have to fit into their world and that includes accepting certain things I might not like.”
Brad paced. “So I’m supposed to watch you walk out the door every morning, knowing that you’re strutting around naked for him, letting him touch you so he can dig his way back into your heart? He’s been a ghost between us since day one, Tara.”
She wished she could refute Brad.