"Is that good?" he asked.
"That's perfect." She reached out to stroke his beard. "Goddamn, Logan. You are good at your job. Lucky, lucky me."
He laughed and couldn't help himself, he leaned over to kiss her. "And here I was thinking I was the lucky one." He brushed a stray curl away from her eyes. "You're okay?"
"Are you kidding? You didn't hear me when I came? Both times? I must've scared away the deer outside."
He laughed even harder. "Made me feel like a superhero. I admit it."
"You are, Thor." With a wink and a smile, she took a deep breath and brushed all of her hair back with both hands, then let her arms flop to her sides. Her eyes closed and she took a few deep, cleansing breaths.
When he felt clear again, he leaned up on an elbow and watched her. "How long do you have to stay like this?"
Her eyes opened to look at him. "Dr. Fuller said ten to fifteen minutes is fine, not more than that."
"Huh. Okay." He eased himself down to lie beside her. They both relaxed; her eyes slipped closed again, and he let his gaze wander over her. In the dimly lit room, she looked serene, sexy, and sated. Like an absolute goddess, as far as he was concerned. "You are so damn beautiful, Tess. And passionate. That got a little . . . whoa."
"It did." Eyes still closed, she grinned. "Yay us."
He chuckled warmly. "This is going to be the best job I've ever had."
"I'm glad to hear it." She smiled wider. "You liked the lingerie?"
"Jesus. I almost fell off the couch when I saw you in it. Hell yes, I liked it."
"I can get more . . . Wear something different every time, if you want." She turned her head to look at him and reached out to gently stroke his beard. He liked when she did that, and that she seemed to like doing it. "I want to make you happy when you're . . . working with me. You like the lingerie? It's the least I can do."
Something warm flowed through him. He was doing this for her, and she was thinking of how to please him? "I appreciate that. And sure, you can if you want to. But you can wear a damn burlap sack and I'd still want to get into bed with you." He trailed the backs of his fingers down the middle of her body. Her pale skin was like velvet. "Besides, you look best like this. Naked. There's nothing more stunning than that."
Her eyes rounded and she smiled again, pure delight. "You're a flatterer."
"Nah, I tell the truth."
"Either way, thank you for the compliments."
He dropped a light kiss on her lips, then shifted to sit up. "I'm getting some water. I'll bring you back some. You stay put."
"That'd be fantastic, actually. Thank you."
He rose from the bed and padded out into the hallway. As he walked through the quiet house, it hit him that he was walking around naked, like he belonged there. He didn't. He'd do well to remember that. He was their house manager, and just a friend. They were having sex, but they weren't lovers. Shit. The lines were a little blurred right then...
As he grabbed two small bottles of water from the fridge, it occurred to him he wasn't sure what to do now. Probably time to leave. Surely she didn't expect him to stay the night? Or did she? Shit, this part was weird. Now what?
By the time he got back upstairs, he'd made up his mind. He'd go home. But in the door frame, he stopped cold at the sight of her. Her graceful, naked body stretched out sinuously on the huge bed, her long legs still curved up over the headboard. Her long mane of curls fanned out beneath her, the dark brown of her hair an appealing contrast to the caramel-colored sheets.
Damn, damn, damn. She was beautiful in every way. And she'd chosen him for this. Would he ever get over the wonder of that? He didn't know.
When he cleared his throat, she turned her head to smile at him.
"Here you go." He crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed, handing her a bottle as she sat up. Turning to position herself beside him, she thanked him as she took it and gulped half of it down. He grinned at her thirst, then worked to make his voice light as he said, "I'm gonna get going in a few minutes. Let you get some sleep."
She blinked, and he caught a split second of surprise in her eyes. Had she wanted him to stay longer? Then she covered quickly like the pro she was and said brightly, "Okay. That's fine." She flashed him a grin as she drank down more water.
He drank his too as his mind worked. "That's okay, right? I mean . . ."
"Yeah, it's fine. Logan. We're friends. That's it. I want you to be comfortable. You want to stay or go, it's up to you. Whatever you want to do, it's fine with me."
"I just figured . . ." He shrugged. Lovers spend the night wrapped in each other's arms. They weren't lovers. They were just friends, with a specific agenda that they'd successfully completed. "Seems like the right way. I'll come over every night if you want . . . but then I'll go home. Okay?"
"Okay. I told you, whatever you want," she said, no hint of ire or hurt in her tone. "Besides, I know you get up very early for work in the morning. It makes sense."
She smiled again and he relaxed a bit. She wasn't clingy, had no expectations . . . Goddamn, she was great. He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "How are you feeling?"
"Amazing, thanks. How about you?"
"Same," he assured her. "This was fantastic." He grinned again before rising to his feet. "So . . . how do you want to do this? Every night this week? Every other night? What's the plan? Your call."
"Well, I actually was at peak ovulation last week," she said. "Truth is, I don't know how effective this cycle is going to be. I'm already at day nineteen in my cycle; we might have missed the window. So . . . maybe the next three or four nights, and then we can start again in a few weeks, closer to my next ovulation start, like maybe day ten? That way, your sperm count will really build up again, and the timing is just right." She peered up at him. "Is that okay with you? Sounds so clinical, I know. Sorry."
The thought of not sleeping with her for a few weeks was disappointing. But this was a job, not a pleasure run. "Don't be sorry. Having to plan like this, of course there are elements that sound clinical. That's fine. It's whatever you need, Tess. You call the shots, tell me when to come over, and I'm on board. Okay?"
"Okay. Thank you." She raised her water bottle in a toast, and he clinked his to hers. "To the Dream Team," she said.
He raised his bottle in salute to her and drank down the rest of the water. "You stay here, stay warm. I'll get dressed and let myself out."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, of course. Um . . ." He winked and reminded her, "I do have the key. I can lock up."
She chuckled. "That's true . . ." She finished off her water, set the empty bottle down on the nightstand, and lay down. She grabbed a different pillow and pushed it beneath her head. As her curls spilled everywhere-over the pillow, her shoulders-he pulled the soft, thick comforter up over her, tucking her in beneath the swirls of rust, caramel, and brown.
"You're good to me," she murmured with a smile.
"You make it easy to be. And you? You just got tired, I can see it." Her eyes had grown hooded and heavy. "Get some sleep now. With dreams of that baby dancing in your head."
She smiled broadly. "That sounds perfect."
He dropped a kiss on her forehead as she snuggled into the pillows. She looked radiant, sexy, adorable, and just plain sweet. Something in his chest pinged as he touched her cheek. "Sleep well. I'll text you tomorrow."
"Sounds good. Good night, Logan. And um . . ." She bit down on her bottom lip. "Thanks again."
"Okay, that's the last time you thank me for this, got it?" He went to where he'd dropped his briefs and jeans. Pulling on the briefs, he demanded, "You are not going to thank me every time. In fact, you're not going to thank me again in the bedroom, ever."
"Jeez. I didn't mean to irk you," she said. "I believe in expressing my gratitude and appreciation whenever it's warranted."
"And I think that's great. A very admirable trait, really. But about this? No more." He zipped up his jeans and pinned her with a look. "I know how you feel about my help. I promise I do. So that's that."