Between You and Me(41)

"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."