He ignored the warning in his head, the one that was telling him he was breaking all his self-imposed rules and he’d be much smarter to keep their association all about business, instead of pleasure.
But it didn’t matter what his logical mind was advising him, because he wasn’t even close to having his fill of her. And until he sated this deep, addictive craving he’d developed for Raina, he was going to pull out the heavy artillery and seduce the hell out of her mind and body and make sure she enjoyed what he already knew was a mutual, and undeniable, desire for one another.
They finally reached the lobby level, and as they walked out of the elevator, he deliberately splayed his palm against the small of her back, just because he wanted her to get used to him casually touching her. She didn’t stiffen or pull away, and he suppressed a smile, chalking it up as a small victory.
They stepped out of the building into the bright, warm sunlight, and he followed her to her car, realizing he didn’t even know where she worked or what she did for a living.
“Where do you work?” he asked. Since he’d be following her in his own car, it would be good to know what direction they were headed.
She hesitated a noticeable moment before replying. “At a store in Old Town called Sugar and Spice.”
The name was familiar, and it took Logan a moment to put two and two together and remember what type of business Sugar and Spice was. “Isn’t that an adult toy store?”
She stopped at a small compact car, unlocked the door, but didn’t get inside. Instead, she met his gaze straight on. “I prefer the term
adult boutique
,” she said, the defensive note to her voice matching the tilt of her chin. “And I
own
the place. If you dare to call it a
porn shop
, I’m going to have to knee you in the groin.”
He couldn’t have been more surprised, or intrigued, that she owned a place that sold erotic novelty items. And judging by her comment, her rebellious stance, and the fire in her eyes, she’d clearly expected some kind of crude or derogatory comment about her business, which was something she probably encountered often with more narrow-minded people.
“I’m not about to degrade what you do for a living,” he said, softening his tone, wanting to make sure she knew he wasn’t the type of person to judge or criticize. Considering he enjoyed incorporating various grown-up toys to increase sexual pleasure, he wasn’t about to be a hypocrite. “I’m actually fascinated. I’ve always wanted to check the place out but just haven’t made the time.”
She visibly relaxed. “Well, here’s your chance.” She opened the car door, then gave him a sly, teasing glance. “Just please, no playing with the merchandise.”
He feigned a sigh of disappointment when he really wanted to laugh. “You’re no fun. Do I at least get a discount on any purchases I make, because I’m sure there’s going to be
something
I won’t be able to resist?”
Like leather restraints or a spanking paddle
, he thought.
Or maybe use both on her at the same time
.
The corner of her lovely mouth twitched as she fought to contain her amusement. “Since you’ll essentially be working as security at the store, you can have the employee discount.”
“Excellent.” Feeling bold and daring, especially in a very public place, he reached out and skimmed his thumb along her smooth jaw. Satisfaction filled him when she didn’t jerk back or slap away his touch, and he tipped his head, pleased that all the awkward tension from the office upstairs had vanished. “And does whatever I buy come with a personal demonstration?”
Amusement danced in her blue eyes, and she shook her head. “Absolutely
not
.” The breathless quality of her voice underscored the conviction she no doubt had been striving for.
After tucking a wispy strand of hair behind her ear that had come loose from her ponytail, he let his fingers fall away and arched a brow. “I think I’m going to have to lodge a complaint with the owner about changing that policy.”
She laughed, the sound light and real and so damn sexy. “Good luck with that. From what I hear, the owner’s a real ball-buster.”
He grinned, thoroughly enjoying this light and easy banter between the two of them. “I guess I’ll just have to take my chances.”
* * *
By the time
Raina pulled into her parking spot at the back of Sugar and Spice, where all employees kept their vehicles, she was
smiling
and feeling light and flirty, something she hadn’t expected to feel considering how strained things had been between her and Logan when he’d walked into Dean’s conference room.
But somewhere along the way, they’d both calmed down and relaxed, and by the time Logan had escorted her out to her car, the intense, aggressive man she’d met the night before, the same one who’d all but glared at her when he’d seen her again at Noble and Associates, was playfully teasing her and coaxing her to do the same.
The man’s charming side was just as lethal as his bad-boy persona, but there was absolutely no doubt in her mind that the power and depth she’d witnessed at The Players Club, along with all that raw sexual energy he’d exuded, was barely leashed below the surface, just waiting for an opportune moment to assert itself.
She shivered at the thought as she slipped out of her car, even as she realized that she wasn’t completely opposed to seeing that sexy, dominant side to Logan again.
He met up with her at the steel door that led into the back of her boutique, where she swiped a key card, then entered a security code that allowed the door to give a quick buzzing sound and unlock.
“Who all has a key card to unlock the store?” he asked as he followed her into a sectioned-off area of the shop, where her office was located, along with a sizeable storage room she used for excess stock and inventory to fulfill the orders that came through on her website.
“Just the full-time workers, which would be myself, my manager, Aaron, and the assistant manager, Callie, who also handles the packaging and mailing of the Internet orders. Part-time workers don’t have key access. And my best friend, Paige, also has one, for emergencies.” Raina used the same key card and code to unlock her office door, then stepped inside and placed her purse in the bottom drawer of her desk, then used a small, regular key to lock it inside. “We all have our own card and code, specifically assigned to us, so there’s always a log of who came in the back door or the office, and at what time.”
He nodded approvingly. “That’s a solid security system to have.”
“I had a problem with an employee in the past who had a regular key to the store,” she said as she faced him again, his formidable size in her small office a bit overwhelming to her senses. “Security footage caught him coming in after hours through the front door, and inventory went missing on the night shifts when he closed up the place. When I let him go, it just seemed smarter to upgrade the security system and make everyone accountable.”
He glanced around the office, his sharp gaze seemingly missing nothing, including the security monitor on the wall that showed a live feed of different angles and sections of the store. “How long ago did you fire this employee?”
“About three months ago.”
“Do you think he’d be disgruntled enough to start threatening you?” he persisted.
“I’m pretty sure he didn’t leave the handcuffs and note,” she said with a shake of her head. “He moved to Vegas about a month ago.”
Logan let it go at that, but Raina had no doubt that he’d mentally filed away the information for future use.
“I’d like to get a key card for myself before the end of the day, so I have one in case of an emergency while I’m protecting you,” Logan said.
“Sure,” she said, understanding his reasons. “Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the store.” She led the way out of the office and through a framed doorway covered in a brocade curtain, used to separate the back of the shop from the boutique’s retail floor.
There were a few customers browsing in the store, her manager, Aaron, was up at the register helping a young man with a purchase, and Raina headed over to the lingerie section, where Paige was preoccupied with lacing up a mannequin in one of her newest corset designs—a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind creation made of sapphire silk, trimmed in black ruffles, and embellished with dark blue crystals.
As she made her way around racks of sexy negligees, lacy baby-dolls, and barely there panties, Raina was very aware of Logan just a few steps behind her, his wholly masculine presence such an extreme contrast against all the frilly, feminine items on display.
“I’m back, Paige,” Raina said as she neared her friend. “Thank you for opening the store and handling things for me until I got here.”
“Oh, hey, no problem,” Paige replied, and after tying the corset’s ribbon into a perfect silk bow, she turned around to face Raina. “I, uh…”
Paige’s words trailed off as if she’d forgotten what she was going to say, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets when she caught sight of Logan standing beside Raina. Her friend was rarely at a loss for words, but she understood the kind of impact Logan had on a woman’s brain cells. He was gorgeous, with seductive green eyes and a body built for sin.
After a moment of silence, she swallowed hard, gave her head a small shake to regain her train of thought, and glanced back at Raina. “I, um, called Aaron in early so he’d be here when you arrived.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” Knowing Paige was dying to discover who the man beside her was, she introduced the two of them. “Logan, this is my best friend, Paige Moore. Paige, this is Logan Cruz, a security agent with Noble and Associates.”
Logan extended a hand toward Paige in a professional greeting, but there was no mistaking the glimmer of amusement dancing in his eyes. “Nice to meet you.”
Paige slid her hand into Logan’s much larger one. “You, too,” she said so breathlessly Raina nearly laughed at her friend’s obvious infatuation with Logan.
Clearly, Logan was used to women falling all over him because he handled Paige with grace, charm, and an irresistible smile.
He tipped his head toward Raina, his expression back to business. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to go and introduce myself to your manager, Aaron, and fill him in on any details he might need to know about why I’m here. I’d also like to ask him some questions about that previous employee you let go.”
“Sure, go right ahead,” she said, waving her hand toward the front of the store, where Aaron had just finished up with the paying customer.
He walked away, and Paige blatantly stared at his perfect ass encased in a pair of expensive-looking jeans. Her mouth hung open, and when she looked back at Raina, her eyes were glazed with lust.
“Oh, my
God
,” she said, her whispered voice tinged with female admiration and awe. “I think my panties just hit the floor.”
The comment was so outrageously Paige that Raina could only laugh. “Well, while you’re putting them back
on
, you can put your tongue back in your mouth and wipe the drool off your chin, too.”
“I’d rather use my tongue to lick him instead,” Paige said, only half joking.
There had never been any kind of jealousy between her and Paige, but Raina had the sudden and odd urge to mark her territory—or at least let her friend know that she and Logan already had a history.
“Dean assigned Logan to be my bodyguard while they figure out who left the cuffs and note on my door,” she said as she rearranged a silk chemise on a hanger. “Logan is also the guy I was with at The Players Club last night.”
“
What
?” Paige shook her head in confusion. “But I thought the guy you were with last night was—”
“He’s not the stalker,” Raina clarified and went on to explain what had happened at Noble and Associates and why she trusted Dean and Mac’s judgment when it came to Logan.
“God, he’s so freakin’
hot
,” Paige said as her gaze went back to Logan again. “Please do
not
tell me that you’re going to let that fine piece of male specimen go to waste while he’s guarding your body.”
Raina wasn’t making any promises—either way—because while her head was telling her to keep her distance from this man, her body wanted to get as close as possible and do all sorts of down-and-dirty things with him. And yeah, she was leaning toward enjoying her time with Logan, because it was an ideal and temporary arrangement that suited her perfectly.
“I will keep your opinion under advisement,” Raina said with a grin. “Now, don’t you need to be somewhere? Like work?”
Paige made a face at her. “I’m my own boss, remember? I could stay here all day…”
“Not gonna happen.” Raina raised a brow and pointed toward the front door. “Thank you for your help this morning, but I can handle things from here.”
“Well, if you need help handling
him
, just let me know.” Paige gave her a sassy little finger wave as she headed toward the front of the store. As she passed behind Logan, who was still talking to Aaron, she placed the back of her hand across her forehead and feigned a swoon that made Raina laugh.
As soon as her friend was gone, Raina met up with Aaron and Logan. “Everything good here?” she asked, wanting to make sure her manager was comfortable with the situation since Aaron, who was a competing body builder and looked like a linebacker, normally provided security for the store.
“Absolutely, boss,” Aaron said, a troubled frown furrowing his dark brows. “Your safety is my main concern.”
She placed her hand on Aaron’s muscular arm and didn’t miss the way Logan’s gaze zeroed in on that familiar touch—though he had nothing to worry about. Aaron was like a brother to her, nothing more. “Well, with the two of you in the store, I don’t think I have much to worry about.”
Aaron excused himself to go and help another customer who walked in, and Raina turned to face Logan, who was still frowning at her, his chest puffed out a bit more than usual.
“Something wrong?” she asked, though she definitely had an idea what had agitated him. She just wasn’t sure if she was more amused or annoyed that he was suddenly asserting a bit of alpha dominance in her workplace, and in public.