Thin Ice Read online

  Her hands clutched at his shoulders, her feet digging into his ass, urging him on. Lining his erection to her entrance, Logan looked down at her expectant face. Suddenly unsure, he knew it had been a long time since he had needed to finesse a woman—and he wanted that for her. “Tell me what you want, Viv,” he ordered, teasing her sex with the head of his cock. Moving it slowly through her wet folds, he closed his eyes briefly, forcing himself to go slow. Sucking in a deep breath, he opened his eyes, carefully watching her flushed face as she held his gaze.

  “I want you. Now,” she answered, her breasts heaving with each pant, her hips bucking upward.

  Dipping his mouth, barely touching hers, he whispered, “My pleasure,” before plunging his dick into her hot, tight channel and his tongue into her warm mouth.

  Moving both in rhythm, he started slowly, his cock stretching her as it hit every nerve along the way. In and out, creating friction that drove her to distraction. He moved his tongue along her neck, sucking on the tender area at the base where her pulse throbbed.

  Vivian’s hands wrapped around his back and her legs entwined around his waist, opening herself up more. She heard him groan as she met him thrust for thrust. Moving her fingertips over the ridges of his arms and back, she felt the power of his muscles as they flexed with each stroke.

  “More. Harder,” she moaned as the friction built to a crescendo. She squeezed her eyes shut as the world around her fell away, feeling only the rocking of her body as he powered into her. He changed the angle of his hips, grinding them against her clit. Feeling the world tilting as tremors began in her core and exploded outward, she suddenly felt his dick swell even larger inside her.

  Logan watched her perfect teeth bite into her kiss-swollen bottom lip, her head thrown back against the mattress as he felt his balls tighten. Her breasts moved with each thrust and her breath came out in pants.

  “Open your eyes, babe. I want to see you while you come,” he begged. Her dark eyes focused on him and she smiled. He felt her inner walls clenching on his dick. Reaching down, he tweaked her clit and watched with satisfaction as she cried out her orgasm.

  Vivian watched Logan’s normally stoic expression change as his orgasm rocked through him. With his head thrown back, the veins stood out on his neck as he powered through.

  A moment later, he fell onto his back on the mattress, trying to catch his breath, and she dropped onto his chest, not having enough room to lie next to him. Rolling to the side, he pulled her along with him. Their sweat-slicked bodies cooled slowly as their heartbeats continued to pound.

  “Wow,” she finally breathed.

  Chuckling, Logan leaned up just enough to stare down at her. Pushing her hair back from her face, he replied, “Yeah…wow.”

  Smiling, she drifted to sleep, his arms wrapped around her as he shifted to get more comfortable on the tiny twin-sized bed. She draped most of her body on his, her head on his chest, and as he tangled his legs with hers, he found they just fit. If neither moved. But soon, he joined her in slumber, pulling her in even closer.

  17

  Logan woke early to a warm body pressed against him. He grinned as he looked over at Vivian tucked into his side, her back against the wall and the rest of her draped on him. Her silky hair flowed behind her on his pillow, the tresses across his arm. Her black lashes formed little half-moons on her cheeks and her mouth was slightly open, her soft breaths tickling his chest.

  Carefully sliding his arm from under her, he chuckled, realizing zombie Viv would not move an inch. Padding to the bathroom, he quickly showered, working out the kinks from sleeping in the tiny bed, before moving into the kitchen, turning on the coffee pot. Sitting down at his laptop, he ate a bowl of cereal as he watched the comings and goings next door. It appeared the Zamans were having a busy morning.

  Stretching, Vivian woke slowly, as she did every morning, disoriented as her eyes took in the room. Logan’s room! And he’s not here. Her eyes cast downward, the morning chill sweeping across her body. Mortified at her state of undress, she felt the heat of a blush traveling from her chest to her hairline as she stumbled out of his bed and staggered into her room across the hall. Pulling on a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt, she knew she had to face him sometime, although the thought of hiding in her room all day had merit.

  Hearing her shuffling footsteps, he looked up as she rounded the corner, his initial grin at seeing her changing into a full-blown smile. He stood and poured her a cup of coffee, liberally adding cream and sugar. Pushing it toward her, he watched as she reached out blindly, circling her hands around the steaming mug.

  “Good morning, babe,” he said through his smile.

  As smooth as the creamy coffee, his words wrapped around her. Lifting her eyes over the rim as she sipped, her words of greeting stumbled in her throat as she stared at the masculine beauty in front of her, leaning his muscular forearms on the counter. T-shirt, tight across his chest. Finger combed hair, still wet from the shower. And the grey-green eyes that pierced her. A blush moved across her face as she swallowed the hot liquid awkwardly. “I…uh…I’m sorry about last night,” she mumbled.

  His brows drew down sharply. “Sorry?”

  Bobbing her chin in a jerk, she added, “Uh…about going to sleep. I should have gone back to my room. You could have woken me and…uh…you know…told me to leave.”

  His face relaxed as he watched her stumble over her words. “Why would I want you to leave?”

  Her breath left her lungs in a huff, irritated that he was going to drag this conversation out. “Look, I know what last night was. Uh…fun…right?”

  “Yeah, it was fun,” he agreed. “Was that all it was to you, Viv?”

  She opened her mouth but snapped it shut quickly, unsure what to say.

  “You told me you weren’t a fling kind of girl. I already knew that. So, you think I’m the kind of man who would enter a fling with someone who wasn’t on board?”

  Shaking her head slowly, she said, “No. I think you’re the best kind of man.” Shrugging slightly, unsure where the conversation was leading, she continued, “But, we had agreed to just work the job. No complications. And then, boom! We were kinda out of control. So, I figured…”

  “Well, if you figured I was just into having a good time with the most available girl, you figured wrong.”

  Setting her cup down onto the counter, she reached forward, placing her hands over his, wincing when he did not grasp hers in return. “I’m sorry, Logan. I seem to be making a mess of things.”

  “Why don’t you tell me what’s really on your mind, instead of what you think you should say,” he ordered gently.

  Clearing her throat, she nodded. “I…I loved last night. I wanted last night. Wanted you. But, when I woke this morning and you were gone, I realized I had fallen asleep in your tiny bed, probably making you uncomfortable. And, I guess I…no, I know...I was embarrassed. I slept like the dead and you probably didn’t sleep at all.” Snorting, she continued, “I’ve heard friends talk about the walk of shame when a guy kicked them out of bed. Or friends who complained about someone who wouldn’t leave when it was…uh…over.”

  His shoulders relaxed and Logan turned his hands over, clasping hers, giving them a little squeeze. “That’s better. I’ve grown used to not having to guess what’s on your mind.”

  She cocked her head to the side, unasked questions in her eyes.

  “Yeah, we were stuck with a tiny ass bed, but I was not uncomfortable last night. I got up this morning so I could shower and make coffee, so zombie Viv would have the bathroom when she was ready and some caffeine in her.” As her mouth quirked, he continued, “I made it clear that I wanted us, but I guess what I fucked up on, was not making it clear what I wanted after the sex.”

  He watched as she sucked in her lips, holding her breath. Leaning forward, he gave her hands a little pull, bringing her closer. “I wanted you. In my bed. In my arms. All night long.”

  Her eyes widened as he nea
red, her lips now only a breath away from his.

  “And I want that for as long as we both want it.” Closing the tiny distance, he latched onto her lips, suckling and tasting, swallowing her moans, his own rumbling from his chest. Pulling back reluctantly, he sighed, “I hate to stop, but—”

  “You’ve got to show up for your job and I’ve got to start watching what our neighbors are doing.”

  Nodding, he kissed her again, hard and fast, before rounding the corner. Vivian expected him to head out the door, but instead he stalked straight back to her, pulling her into his embrace. His arms wrapped tightly around her much slimmer body while hers rounded his waist. She rested her cheek against his heartbeat, closing her eyes as the steady beat sent its strength through her.

  “I’m working on a small plane that came in today, but I’m only a phone call away. If you need me, give me a call.” When he felt her head nod against his chest, he added, “Viv, babe. Do not do anything on your own. I don’t care if they come knocking on the door, you stay inside. Got it?”

  “Got it, boss man.”

  Pulling her shower-wet hair up into a sloppy bun, she focused on the camera angle that gave her the best view of what was in the Zaman’s room used for their makeshift lab. Scribbling on the pad of paper by the laptop, she wrote down as many of the chemicals she could identify, with her laptop opened to the side of Logan’s, searching the properties of each. She also made notes of other substances in labeled boxes and bottles.

  The work was tedious, but she methodically plodded onward, her interest piqued at what they were creating. Occasionally, she flipped the screen back to the other room, but Akram appeared busy at his laptop and Farrah stayed in the kitchen, first cleaning up from breakfast and then preparing their next meal. She had a small TV on the kitchen counter and would stand before it.

  Rubbing her eyes, she stood, moving to the kitchen to fix a sandwich. As she walked back with her meal, she heard the crunch of tires over the gravel. Sliding the curtain back slightly, she saw a car park outside the Zaman’s house. Recognizing Rashad and Malik alighting from the vehicle, both carrying boxes, she hurried back to the laptop and watched them enter the house.

  Akram greeted them with a cursory nod, his voice low and indistinguishable. Malik walked past Farrah in the kitchen without speaking to her, but Rashad nodded a greeting toward her. As Vivian changed the view on the cameras, she saw them enter the lab.

  With white lab coats donned, along with gloves and masks, the two men sat at the tables and began taking more test tubes from the boxes they brought. Zooming in, she was frustrated when she realized there were no labels. If only I could get in there. Knowing that line of thinking would get her nowhere, she continued to monitor their progress as she munched on her sandwich.

  Watching them carefully, she leaned back in her chair, sipping her tea as she analyzed what she was seeing. They are cautious, but not extraordinarily so. There is no way they can be working on deadly biologics or chemicals. Vivian knew bioterrorism did not have to cause immediate deaths, or life-threatening disease, to be effective. In fact, with a large gathering, such as the Olympics coming up, the only thing that the bioterrorism would need to do would be to cause panic, disruption and chaos. Categorized as 'incapacitating agents', they would be effective even if all they did was create a strain on a health care system by causing many thousands of sick patients to inundate treatment facilities that contained only limited quantities of drugs and only a few isolation beds.

  Turning to her laptop, she began to research the most common incapacitating agents. Hearing another car approach, she moved to the window, this time observing as Nafisa arrived. Curious, she watched Nafisa enter the house, barely speaking to Akram, ignoring Farrah, and walk directly to the lab room. Malik looked up, greeting her with a smile, but Rashad never acknowledged Nafisa’s entrance. Vivian watched with interest the relationships playing out before her.

  Malik continually glanced Nafisa’s direction. Nafisa ignored him, while appearing irritated at Rashad’s disinterest. A love triangle?

  Before she had time to process if that information was of any interest to anyone else, her phone rang, pulling her away from her personal soap opera.

  “Hey,” she said softly, knowing Logan was the only one who knew the number.

  “Babe,” he said, his voice still sending warm tingles down her spine. “You doing okay?”

  “Yep, I’ve managed to stay out of trouble and have been working on the video all day. Right now, the whole group is over there.”

  “Good,” he replied. “Listen, I’m finished here and will head home soon. Thought I’d stop at the grocery.”

  “Oooh, I’d love to make pizza tonight. Get whatever you like on it and some pizza dough.”

  “I can just buy a frozen one— ”

  “No! I want to dazzle you.”

  The phone went silent for a moment and Vivian wondered if the line went dead. “Logan—”

  “Viv, you want to dazzle me, all you gotta do is repeat last night.”

  Smiling, she said, “Well, I can certainly do that, but how about I dazzle you in the kitchen first?”

  “Kitchen, bedroom, living room…babe, you can dazzle me anywhere you want.”

  Now laughing, she said, “Stop it. Just bring the pizza stuff. I’ll make dinner and then…we can see what comes next.”

  “You got it. See you in a bit.”

  Disconnecting, she stood and walked into the living room, plopping down on the sofa. Leaning her head back against the cushion, she closed her eyes, a huge sigh escaping her lips. Girl, what are you doing? You never do flings. Opening her eyes, she knew he had said what they were doing was not a fling. So, what is it? What happens when he goes back to wherever he came from and I go back to California? The silent room gave no answers. It’s okay…I can do this for now…enjoy what we have for now. Standing, she walked back into the kitchen, hoping she was not lying to herself.

  18

  At the sound of tires crunching on the gravel drive, Vivian hurried to the window, her lips curving into a smile as she watched Logan’s old truck come driving up. Moving to the kitchen door to help him with the groceries, she watched as he came in, several bags in his hands.

  “Is there more?” she asked, moving to go outside.

  He caught her arm, gently halting her progress. “I got it, Viv. Stay in where it’s warm.” He kissed the top of her head as he moved past, heading back to the truck. Re-entering, he brought a six-pack of beer and a bottle of wine. “Got you some Reisling. Know you like sweet white.”

  Grinning at his memory, she said, “Go take a load off. I’ve been on my ass all day while working. I’ll get the pizza in the oven in just a bit.”

  With a nod, he stalked toward the bedroom and she busied herself with dinner. Half an hour later the pizza went into the oven and she realized he was still in the back of the house. Walking around the counter, she headed down the hall. His door was shut but hers stood open a crack. Peering in, she startled, seeing two twin bedframes stacked up against the wall.

  “Logan! What are you doing? Can I come in?”

  The door swung open just as her hand was reaching for the doorknob. His large body filled the doorway and any thoughts of what he was doing bolted from her mind. He had changed into sweat pants, hanging low on his hips, his bare feet peeking out from the bottom. With a clean, white t-shirt straining over the muscles in his biceps and chest, she stared, speechless.

  Logan felt her gaze as it roved from the top of his head to his feet and back again, her mouth hanging open and eyes wide. Reaching above his head, he placed his hands on the top of the doorframe, drawing her focus to his massive arms. Grinning, he asked, “Like what you see?”

  She blinked out of her trance and, blushing, replied, “You know I do.”

  He liked that there was no artifice with Vivian. No playing. Just honesty. “So, curious about what I’m doing?”

  “Uh…yeah,” she laughed. “Why have y
ou put the bedframes in my room?”

  “‘Cause it’s not your room anymore.” Stepping back, he stood to the side, allowing her to see into the room.

  Vivian’s eyes landed on the way he had arranged the bedding. He had gotten rid of the frames and placed the two twin box springs side by side on the floor, topped with the two mattresses, essentially creating a king-sized bed. With their combined blankets and pillows, she gasped at the perfect bed. Jerking her gaze up to his, her brow furrowed with uncertainty.

  Stepping up to her, his chest a breath away from hers, he cupped her face in his hands, lifting it slightly so her eyes were locked onto his. “This takes away all doubt in your mind as to where I want you to sleep. The room hasn’t got a lot of space, so the bed has to be pushed up against the corner but, if you need to go to the bathroom, you can just crawl right over me.”

  Smiling, she said, “I could sleep on the outside—”

  “Nope, Viv. It’s protection. I sleep closest to the door. No one can get to you unless they go through me…and no one can get through me.”

  “Oh…”

  Leaning down the rest of the way, his lips moved across hers, whisper soft. “Babe,” he said, his mouth moving over her lips as he spoke, “we got time to initiate the new bed arrangement?”

  “Pizza’ll be ready in fifteen minutes,” she mumbled against his onslaught, seemingly not caring if they ate pizza or not.

  “That’ll do,” he said, lowering her to the mattresses.

  “So, besides whatever they are concocting over there, it appears a love triangle might be happening.”

  While the pizza was being devoured, Logan listened intently to Vivian as she described what she had learned. “Huh?” Pausing mid-bite, he waited for her explanation.