Ava's Pleasure (Welcome to Paradise) (3 page)

"What happens that scares you?"

"I don't know. I can feel his touch in a way I've never been touched before." Something banged behind her.

Julie sat up straight. "Logan, come in. Let me introduce you to my niece."

Mortification swelled inside her stomach.
Oh, God how much did he hear.
She didn't want some stranger knowing her business.
Ava swiveled in her chair, and glanced into the same piercing blue eyes she looked into every night. Heat started in her toes, racing to her hairline, and lingered uncomfortably in her center.

Logan pushed himself off the doorframe and walked into the room. He extended his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Ava stood, her brain muddled. The guy even moved like the man in her dreams. Words escaped her. He took her hand.

Lightning ran up her spine and took her breath away. He felt like her dream man and, oh, God help her, he smelled like him too. "Oh, um." She looked over to her aunt for help.

"Enough, Logan."

He grinned and stepped back. Ava's brain told her to run, but something more powerful made her stay—probably her weak knees. Logan's heart-melting gaze locked onto hers, and took the air from her lungs, before moving to Julie. "You're wanted up front."

"What, now?" Her aunt rolled her eyes. "Can't you handle it? I need to get Ava settled in upstairs."

"Nope. I tried, Maggie said she needs you."

"Jesus Christ," Julie exclaimed and looked over at Ava. "Sorry, honey, I have to deal with this."

"It's okay." Ava sat down. "I'll stay in a hotel until I figure out what to do next," she said. Maybe she should go back home.

"Don't be silly. You know I'll love having you around." Julie grabbed her hand. "Besides, there are no hotels available in a fifty mile radius for the next month."

Julie had a point.

"I know. I tried to extend my reservation at the hotel I was staying at and was told the same thing."

Logan cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to intrude on this reunion, but Maggie's waiting."

"Oh crap," Julie said annoyed. "Logan, could you please take Ava upstairs, and get her settled in?"

He nodded. "Will do."

"We'll talk later." Julie hurried out of the room.

Logan walked over and picked up Ava's bag. "Is this it?"

Her gaze fell to Logan's delectable backside. She stood, straightened her skirt, and tugged at her blouse. Ava cleared her throat and forced out her most formal, "Yes."

He led her out of the office and down a narrow hallway before stopping at a solid metal door. Ava swallowed her unease as Logan opened the door and ushered her up the stairs.

Ava didn't know if what she felt was fear, embarrassment, lust, or a combination of all three. Her mixed-up emotions confused the hell out of her and did funny things to her sense of control.
Live a little, Ava.
Nick's words rang in her mind. Ava walked up the stairs and stood at the only door on the landing.

Logan came up behind her, trapping her. Ava's pulse pounded in her ears and breath caught in her chest. She straightened her spine and cleared her throat.

He reached around her, unlocked, then opened the door. "Let me show you around."

Ava almost jumped out of her skin when his well-defined arm brushed her waist
.
"Do you live here too?"

Logan set her bag inside the doorway and entered the space. His lips twitched. "Yes."

Could he and Julie be an item?
Some people were into kinky stuff like what she saw in the club. Case and point Nick and his friends, though what they did wasn't out on display for the whole world to see. Julie deserves so much better. She was one of the nicest people she knew.
It's none of your business. Keep out of it,
Ava told herself.

* * * *

Logan watched an array of emotions cross over Ava's expressive face. Her sweet, clean scent enveloped him, and his body responded. He stepped back. The stiffness in his chest eased up a little. "Julie and I are business partners. I live here when I'm in town
.
"

"And the woman you were with earlier?"

Shame swamped him. "Wanda is a member of the club. We sometimes hook up."

Logan forced himself to shut the fuck up so he didn't sound like a total pussy. The last thing he wanted was for Ava to know how much she affected him. Even though she had filled his dreams for too many nights to count, she didn't know him from Adam.

Ava blushed, clearly embarrassed.

Nope, the woman in front of him didn't dream of sex, and if she knew of the sexy scenes that played in his mind, she would run screaming.

"Let me show where you'll be staying." He led her through the spacious, comfortably lived in apartment. He bent, picked up a red throw pillow, tossed it on the sofa, and continued to guide Ava into his large, neat bedroom. The sparse space had none of the hominess the rest of the place had.

"So, tell me, Logan, how did you meet my aunt?"

When Ava spoke she stared at his chest. Logan flexed his pecks under his shirt and watched her eyes widen. He smiled to himself. "I met Julie ten years ago, at a club about an hour north of here." He grabbed the duffel on the bed and dropped it on the floor.

"Why would Julie drive so far to go dancing? This is Miami."

"It wasn't that kind of club."

Ava's gorgeous face turned a bright shade of pink.

"Oh." She played with her necklace.

He'd felt her skin warm to his touch in his dreams, had her breasts press against his chest, and watched her eyes fill with lust. He knew pretty damn well what hid under her prim and proper skirt and shapeless top. Logan willed his cock down and motioned to the room. "This is where you'll stay."

Ava stopped fiddling with the pendant. "But, this looks like your room."

"I'll take the couch. I ship out in two days anyway."

"Ship out?"

"Yeah. I'm in the Navy." For the first time in his adult life, his blood didn't rage at the anticipation of an upcoming mission.

Ava's gaze fell to the growing bulge in his pants. He cleared his throat. "I'll get your bag."

The next couple of days would be a personal hell for him. Logan would have to share an apartment with the sexiest woman he'd ever set eyes on. Unbeknownst to Ava, she'd saved his sanity—and possibly his life—on more than one occasion.

Chapter Four

Logan grabbed Ava's suitcase and told himself they would both be safer if he went back to base. He wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize his friendship with Julie and coercing her sweet innocent niece into bed might just be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Julie would forgive anything, except hurting her family. He could ask Maggie to stay with Ava until Julie came back from Vegas.

Logan stopped in the doorway and all of his good intentions flew out the window.
Ava sat upon the bed, weeping. His body heated.

The tears streaking down her lovely face had something opening in his heart.
Fuck me. A damsel in distress gets me every time.

He sat next to Ava, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Ava drew in a breath. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me."

Her body felt good and right as it pressed into his. He tried not to think about the way her breasts fit against his chest and forced himself to pull back. "So what brought you to our little slice of paradise?" Logan's thumb traced over the small scar on her jawbone.

She swiped at the tears on her face. "Nick." Ava took in a ragged breath and shivered. "He suggested I stop living like a ninety-year-old nun."

"Who's Nick?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"Nick is my best friend and my roommate."

Logan's hands stopped stroking. "Are you two—" He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Are you and Nick a couple?"

Her face lit with amusement. "Oh, God no. Nick is just a friend."

Relief flooded him and left him wanting to know one more thing. "Why didn't you run for the hills once you saw what kind of club this place was?"

He continued to caress her cute scar. Logan couldn't stop himself from touching her soft skin.

Ava's face turned bright pink again, and she lowered her gaze. "That doesn't matter."

He lifted her face and knew he had to have her. "Yes it does."

She shivered and squeezed her eyelids closed. "Because." Ava hesitated for a long moment, her face flushing. "I couldn't stop having sex dreams," she blurted. "And Nick said I needed to find my true self."

The gods finally smiled down on him. He chuckled. "You're beautiful. You know that?"

She opened her eyes and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I'm a mess."

Lust socked him in the solar plexus. "You're the prettiest woman I've ever seen. I've dreamt of you." He waited for her to realize the significance of his words.

Long moments passed as emotions fluttered across her beautiful face. "It's you," she finally said. "I dream of you—of being with you."

Air he hadn't known he held rushed out of his lungs "I sensed you when you walked into the club tonight. I'm sorry you had to see me with Wanda."

Ava focused on the wall behind him. "When I saw you, um, do what you were doing with her"—she swallowed—"I think it excited me."

Hope and lust surged into him. "If that excited you, just think of what I could do if you gave me some time."

"How much time would you need?" Her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my. I can't believe…"

Logan leaned close, relief swelled in his gut. He nipped at her ear. "I can."

Ava leaned back. "This is all too much! How can this be?" She gripped the heart pendant around her neck. "How can people who have never met dream about each other?"

"I don't know," he said honestly. "But, what I do know is I have felt your body against mine in my dreams. My hands have caressed you and felt your wet heat."

She jumped up. "I need space."

"Okay," he said and stood. "I'll give you 'til tomorrow."

Shock reddened her face. "What about Aunt Julie?"

He brushed his hand over her long golden curls. "She leaves early tomorrow morning for a BDSM conference in Las Vegas. She'll be back Monday."

Ava slumped. "They have conferences?"

"Yes."

"But, what do people do there that they can't do at a place like this?"

Logan tugged her into a hug. "We don't have time tonight for me to explain it and do it justice."

"I don't know if I'm ready for all this."

Logan kissed the top of her head and leaned back so he could look at her. "We won't do anything you're not ready for."

Ava's eyes glinted with hope, and she sent him a sweet smile. "So, if all I want to do is kiss." A flush rode up her neck. "You would be okay with that?"

He couldn't stop the mischievous grin from spreading across his face. "As long as I can kiss you anyway and anywhere I want."

Her lips twitched. "Well, how many ways can there be?"

Logan pulled Ava to him and pressed a soft kiss on her cheek.
Oh honey, I can't wait to press my mouth to your pussy and taste your sweetness.
"You
have
been living like a nun." He stepped back. "I have to get downstairs." Desire drummed through Logan's veins, burning him from the inside out. "I'll see you in the morning," he said quickly and hurried out of the room.

Logan bounded down the stairs before Ava's sweetness forced him to do something stupid. He wanted to think. The sweet, naive woman in his bedroom reeked of marriage and babies. Not sex clubs and kink.
Besides, she's probably a virgin.

He stomped into Julie's office and found Maggie sitting on the couch reading. "Hey, what's up?"

Maggie closed her book and smiled. "Just taking my break. I needed quiet."

"Did Julie fix whatever had a bug up your ass?"

She scooted over to make room for him. "I guess." Maggie looked like she wanted to say more, but didn't.

He plopped down and grabbed her book. The cover displayed a nude woman embracing a muscle bound naked man whose hands and arms hid the parts he wouldn't mind seeing. "What? You don't see enough of this here? You have to read about it."

"What I see in the club is sex. What I read about is love."

"I don't think you should mix the two." A pang of regret and doubt tugged at his chest.

Maggie rolled her big cornflower-blue eyes. "You would feel that way."

Logan tossed the paperback down. "Some of the people in the club are in committed relationships."

"Yes, they are, but…" She trailed off.

"But… what?"

"But, I don't think that's love. I think that's exhibitionism and voyeurism."

He grabbed her hand and squeezed. "You surprise me, Maggie. I would have never pegged you as the hearth and home type."

"Well, you don't seem to me as someone who would lose control over some timid woman who wandered in off the street."

He released her hand. "I didn't lose control."

"Like hell you didn't. I may have been manning the bar and dealing with assholes, but I didn't miss your reaction to Julie's niece."

The hair on Logan's neck stood. How many other people had watched him lose control? Too many emotions erupted inside him. "How do you know who she is?" he asked, confused.

"When I saw Julie, I got the low down. That's beside the point. I've seen you do a lot of things with a lot of women." Her cute face softened into a kind smile. "What you do in the main room is a performance. I don't know what happens in the private rooms, but in the public room, you and Wanda are like actors in a movie."

Logan thought about what she said. "I've never been in a private room with Wanda and Brian."

"I know. I've only seen you take one lucky woman back at a time."

"I didn't know I was so interesting."

Maggie winked and shot Logan a sassy grin. "When Logan Turner is in town, all the ladies take notice."

"Funny." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and yanked her to his side. "Maybe next time I'll take you," he teased.

Brian ambled in. "Take you where?"

"I think I'll take Maggie into a private room sometime." The expression on the other man's face had Logan biting back a chuckle. He watched Brian school his features into a neutral expression. The man really needed to shit or get off the pot when it came to Maggie. The girl wasn't going to be around forever.

"If you want to see what goes on in the private rooms all you have to do is ask."

Maggie's cheeks glowed. "I wouldn't go into the back rooms—or any other room—with you if you were the last hot male on this planet." She turned to Logan. "I have to get back to work." She planted an exaggerated kiss on the side of his mouth, stood, and rushed past Brian.

Brian walked in and sat in the chair next to the sofa. "What's with her?"

Logan had his own problems. He didn't have time to delve into the mind of another woman. The one upstairs had his gut tied up in knots. "Women," he said with a shrug and rested his head against the wall behind the couch.

"There you are." Julie rushed in and hurried to her desk. "Is Ava settled in?"

Brian shifted in his seat. "So, the rumors that your niece was here are true."

Julie moved the computer mouse off the piles of papers. "Yes."

"Is she single?"

She stared into the monitor and rapidly clicked the mouse, only half listening. "Um, yes."

"Good."

Rage erupted inside Logan. He stood. "What does that mean?"

"She's hot—in a sweet way."

He shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from ripping Brian apart limb by limb. "She's not for you to play with."

Julie's head snapped up at his tone. "She's not?"

He looked straight into her eyes and hoped he conveyed his intentions. "No."

Julie shifted her attention to the stack of papers on her desk. "There are plenty of ladies you can have fun with, Brian. Leave Ava alone."

Logan sat to keep himself from pulling Julie into a grateful kiss. The last thing he needed was to make more of a fool of himself in front of Brian.

Julie held out a folder full of papers to Brian. "Here is the tax info you needed."

Brian stood and took the folder. "Thanks. Did Logan tell you we gave Ava an eyeful?" He smacked Logan's shoulder and left the room.

Logan nodded as he thought about Ava's flushed cheeks and shocked expression.

"Logan." Julie's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Mmm."

"Are you okay? You seem…" She shrugged. "Off."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need a drink." He leaned forward. "I want to tell you something."

Julie tugged on her bustier. "What."

"Ava and I made a deal."

Julie's forehead creased. "What kind of deal?"

"She asked me to show her." He cleared his throat. "Um…"

"Stop, I don't want to know," Julie said and smiled. "Ava's a grown woman. If she asked for your help with her"—she lifted her fingers, curling them into air quotes—"decision, then I think she's in good hands."

Julie's words shocked and humbled Logan. To have her trust and acceptance made Logan want to be a better man. "I didn't expect to hear you give your blessing."

"You're a good man, Logan," she said as if she'd heard his thoughts. Julie stood and crossed to him. "Let's get one thing straight. Ava's not like the other women you know. If you hurt her, I will cut off your balls and feed them to you." Julie kissed Logan and walked out.

"Fair enough," he called after her.