Seducing the Lost Heir Read online

  He swallowed against the sudden dryness in his mouth and stepped forward. He started to reach for her, his hands hesitating only an inch or so from her body. He could feel the heat pouring off her, a heat matched by his own body.

  “May I?” he asked.

  She smiled and ducked her head in a faint nod. It was all the encouragement he needed. He cupped her breasts through the lacy bra and thumbed the hard peaks of her nipples. A tiny gasp fell from the mystery woman’s lips, and he captured it in another kiss. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her. He eased the straps of her bra off her shoulders and pulled down one cup. Her nipple was a taut bud, and he pinched it lightly between his forefinger and his thumb. He felt the tremor that rippled through her.

  “Is that okay?” he asked, his voice little more than a growl.

  “More,” she begged him.

  He repeated the movement, then lowered his head to capture that deep rose-pink nub of flesh with his lips. Again, she shook and sighed. He laved her nipple with his tongue before nipping it lightly.

  “More,” she demanded now, her hands holding his head to her as if she couldn’t bear for him to stop.

  And nor could he. Everything about her called to him. Her scent, her taste, her husky pleas that were driving him mad. This all felt like some crazy dream, but he knew he didn’t want to wake up. Reality would come back to bite him soon enough. For now, he’d take what he’d been freely offered. And he’d give in return.

  Logan backed her against the bed and eased her onto the mattress. He stood between her legs and unbuckled his belt before kicking off his shoes and sliding down his jeans and socks. He didn’t trust himself to remove his briefs just yet. Right now he felt as though he was primed and ready to blow. Her slightest touch would be his undoing, and there was no way he was wasting this opportunity. First of all, he was going to make absolutely certain that his mystery woman was with him all the way.

  He hooked his fingers in the sides of her panties and slid them down her long, glorious legs. A neat triangle of dark blond hair nestled at the apex of her thighs; he hadn’t seen anything quite as sexy in a very long time. Logan lowered himself over her body and reached under her to unsnap the fastening on her bra before easing the confection of lace away from her skin.

  “Has anyone ever told you just how exquisitely beautiful you are?” he asked, skimming his hand lightly over the peaks of her breasts before cupping their full weight and squeezing gently.

  “Only you,” she said on a hoarse whisper, her eyelids fluttering closed as he began to kiss her breasts.

  She was writhing beneath him, her hips straining against his. It was all he could do not to unleash his arousal and take her right then, but he was determined to do this right. To ensure she found her pleasure before he even considered taking his. He kissed a warm, wet trail down over her rib cage and to the center of her stomach before drawing a moist line to her belly button with his tongue. He swirled the tip of his tongue in the neat indentation before continuing lower.

  He knelt on the floor beside the bed and leaned into her. His nostrils flared on the heated musky scent of her sex, and a pulse of demand bolted through him. He’d never been as completely aware of another human being as he was of this woman. He gently cupped the heated core of her body and felt her push against his palm, striving for more pressure.

  “Impatient?” he asked softly.

  He took his hand away and blew a stream of air over her mound and lower still. Her skin there glistened with moisture, and the waves of heat that poured off her almost scorched his fingertips as he let them drift around her entrance.

  “You’re torturing me,” she moaned as he dipped one finger inside her.

  “But it’s a nice kind of torture, right?”

  She clenched tight around him, and for a second all Logan could think about was what that tension would feel like around his penis. But it wasn’t his time yet. First, he had to have her trembling with satiation and then he would lift her back up to the heights of physical pleasure all over again. He pressed his nose against her mound and inhaled her deeply, feeling her in every part of him. Then, using his tongue, he began to tease at her clitoris. At first it was just small darts of pressure, but then he began to swirl his tongue around the tight bead of nerve endings. Her breathing grew more rapid, and he looked up at her. Her head was pressed back against the mattress, and a light sheen of perspiration made her chest glisten. A rosy flush was spreading there and her nipples had drawn even more impossibly tight than they’d been before.

  Logan eased another finger inside her, stroking her inside and driving her toward what he hoped would be her ultimate satisfaction. He never stopped with the movements of his tongue and then, when he felt she was on the verge of breaking apart, he closed his mouth around her clit and drew on it hard. She fractured beneath him. Her inner muscles squeezed his fingers in a rhythmic pulse that drove him wild. He waited until her body went lax before he moved.

  “I didn’t know you had that in you,” she said in a voice laden with satisfaction.

  “Oh, I’ve got more.”

  He reached for his trousers, slipped his wallet from his pocket and dragged a condom out. It might be a cliché, but it always paid to be prepared. He quickly slid off his briefs and covered his length with the condom before standing, hooking her knees with his hands and scooting her to the edge of the bed.

  “You still okay?” he said.

  He’d stop here and now if she said no. It would likely be the toughest thing he’d ever done in his life, but he’d do it.

  “Never better,” she answered. “Do it. Do me.”

  He smiled as he positioned himself at her entrance. She was slick with her recent orgasm, and he was inside her in one easy glide. Logan squeezed his eyes shut and held on to the last remnants of his control as he felt her body adjust around him.

  “What are you waiting for?” she asked, giving him a squeeze with her internal muscles.

  “This,” he said as he withdrew and surged back into her again.

  At that point everything blurred; there was nothing else in the world except her body and his, joined in the most intimate way a man and woman could be joined. He pumped into her, and she met his every thrust with one of her own. Her breath came in gasps and her hands clutched the bedding beneath her. Logan forced his eyes open, forced himself to look at her, to imprint her image—like this, beneath him, as lost in him as he was lost in her.

  He saw that flush creep over her chest again and knew she was close to coming. He had to see her into that sea of pleasure before he could let go. The pulse started deep inside her body, growing stronger with every surge until she peaked, and with it, he reached his climax, too. Again and again, his pleasure rocketed through him. Deep, intense and fiercely satisfying on a primal level.

  Logan lowered himself onto her and rolled them both onto their sides. He was still inside her, could still feel her body and his, hearts beating to their perfect rhythm as their pleasure began to ebb and reality began to take its place. The woman raised one hand to his face, tracing his features and looking deep into his eyes.

  “I didn’t know we could be like this,” she said. “That was—no, you—were perfect.”

  “We were perfect,” he agreed.

  He kissed her then, long and deep and slow. This wasn’t the kind of thing he’d ever done before, but they’d both been willing partners and together they’d found a perfection not many had the pleasure of reaching on their first time together.

  First and last, he reminded himself. He withdrew from her body and they lay there, their hearts and breathing returning to a normal tempo. He needed to clean up, so he rose from the bed and went through to the bathroom. When he returned, he noticed immediately that she had pulled the covers over herself and fallen fast asleep. While his instincts urged him to join her there, he saw the dismissal in her actions.
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  She’d had an itch, and he’d scratched it. No harm. No foul.

  Logan reached for his clothing and quickly dressed. Leaving her key card on the bedside table, he switched off the light before letting himself out of the room.

  He’d never see her again, but he’d never forget her, or this night, for as long as he lived.

  Two

  Honor woke early the next morning and stretched out in the bed. She reached across for Keaton and was disappointed, but not at all surprised, not to find him there. A large grin spread across her face. Last night had surpassed all her expectations. Even now her body tingled from the pleasure he’d given her.

  When she’d suggested spicing things up in their relationship, she’d never expected him to take the suggestion to heart. Oh, sure, she knew he’d heard her when she’d somewhat nervously broached the subject a week or so ago, but when he’d barely even acknowledged her, she had shelved the request in the back of her mind. Keaton was, well, Keaton. Calm, sometimes pedantic and always controlled. Even last night he had remained controlled, but the role play had definitely been something new. Sex between them had always been perfunctory at best. Not to mention infrequent. In fact, she’d begun to fear he was considering breaking off their engagement. Pretending to be a stranger had been a brilliant idea. The way he’d explored her body had been as if it had all been entirely new to him. He’d even put on a bit of a barely discernable foreign accent in the few words they’d exchanged.

  She brushed one hand across her breasts, remembering how his touch had felt. How the roughness of his beard had so deliciously abraded her skin. Keaton usually shaved twice a day and never went out with stubble, even though it had looked so darn sexy on him last night. She wondered if she’d be able to convince him to let himself go a little more often. To relax that incredibly strict control he had on himself. Maybe next time, she could play the stranger.

  Honor giggled out loud as she considered various situations where she could fulfill the fantasy. The idea of Keaton taking charge and making her an offer she couldn’t refuse, as she’d done with him last night, held massive appeal. She squirmed a little against the sheets, regretful that he wasn’t here. She had been the recipient of all his attention last night, and she’d unashamedly been the taker. Next time she would show him, using the full extent of her imagination, just how grateful she was that he’d made the effort.

  She turned her head and looked at the digital bedside clock. She’d have to get a move on if she was going to make her presentation this morning. She rose from the bed and went through to the bathroom, a new smile pulling at her lips as she spied the empty condom packet in the trash. Honor turned on the shower faucet and stepped under the spray without waiting for it to warm up. Right now, she needed to focus on the conference. Then, later today, she’d be back at work. Back to normal. Back to Keaton.

  Anticipation thrummed through her veins. Hopefully last night was the beginning of something new and exciting for them. Her concerns that Keaton had become disengaged from her emotionally had been valid, she was sure of it. But whatever had caused the distance between them no longer seemed to be an issue.

  If her worst fears had been realized and he’d broken off their engagement, she had no doubt she would have been expected to leave Richmond Developments. It wouldn’t matter how many years she’d worked there. Douglas and Nancy Richmond were fiercely loyal to their children, Keaton and Kristin. Everything they did, they did for them, and it was well-known that Keaton, as the eldest, would assume his father’s role as CEO when Douglas retired in two years’ time. And it was Honor’s hope that she would ascend the ranks to be his second in charge.

  Childhood poverty had driven Honor’s ambition. Watching her parents tear each other apart with their infidelity and then watching her mother’s subsequent spiral into despair and guilt after Honor’s dad had walked out for the last time had made Honor determined to never fall into that trap. It was why she had accepted Keaton’s proposal. He was steady. There’d be no rapidly flaring emotions that escalated into nasty and vicious arguments. Theirs would be a marriage built on having the same dreams and goals for the future. On living life on a continuous trajectory to success and security.

  She’d told herself she was happy with all of that. That it was exactly what she’d wanted all along. But with Keaton reluctant to set a date for the wedding, she’d begun to know fear, and with that fear had come the dreaded sense of insecurity she’d known all too well as a child.

  Honor stepped out of the shower and dried herself and reached into her toiletry bag for the solitaire engagement ring Keaton had placed on her finger six months ago. Even his proposal had been one of stolid, pragmatic discussion. Afterward, they’d gone out together to shop for the ring, again, an exercise in restraint, for although he hadn’t placed a limit on the price of the ring, he’d eyed it more as an investment piece than a declaration of undying love. She wore the large princess-cut diamond set in platinum with pride. To her it was another example of just how far she’d come.

  The ring stuck a little as she pushed it over her knuckle, but with a little coaxing it was back where it belonged. She didn’t know what had made her take it off last night after she’d given her room key to Keaton. Somehow it just felt as if it fit the fantasy.

  All in all, last night augured well for their future together, she thought as she quickly applied her makeup, brushed her hair into a French knot and slipped into the trouser suit she’d brought to wear today. The severe cut of the cream jacket, teamed with matching tailored trousers, gave her an edge of sophistication blended with a no-nonsense air of business. The beige camisole she wore beneath it had just a hint of antique lace at the neckline to soften the sharp edges. She gave herself one last look in the mirror and nodded. Yes, she’d do.

  In the elevator down to the conference, Honor slipped out her phone and keyed a message to Keaton.

  I miss you already. Can’t wait to see you again. Xx

  There was a smile on her face as she pressed Send and put the phone back in her pocket. She didn’t expect Keaton to respond. But after last night, it might have been nice to think he would. Before she went into the conference room where she’d be presenting her seminar today, she checked her phone. Nothing. She shouldn’t feel disappointed, she told herself as she hooked up her laptop to the system and loaded her PowerPoint display, but it didn’t stop her checking her phone once again before the first of the attendees began to wander into the room.

  Nothing. Pushing back the biting sense of letdown, Honor focused her thoughts on her notes and began her presentation. She’d have time enough to tell Keaton how much she’d appreciated his actions last night when she got back into the office later today.

  * * *

  Logan rolled over in his bed and stared at the ceiling. Jet lag was an utter bitch. Even though he’d tried to force his body to adjust to the different time zone, he still felt as though he’d need to sleep for a week before he’d feel halfway normal again. But then again, maybe normal was an aberration.

  “Too early to be philosophical, mate,” he told himself out loud and forced himself from the bed and into the bathroom.

  Last night certainly hadn’t been normal—not in any way, shape or form. In some respects, he felt a little disappointed in himself. He’d never used another person purely for pleasure before. Not like that. Not without at least getting to know and understand the other person a little better. Hell, he didn’t even know his late-night lover’s name, even though he knew exactly what drove her into a frenzy—knew exactly where to touch her to make her forget the world and feel pleasure so deeply the edges between where he’d ended and she’d begun had blurred into insignificance.

  Would he bump into her again tonight, he wondered? Or this morning, in the lobby downstairs? He studied his reflection in the mirror and shook his head. Man, he looked rough. His beard was growing in, and he needed to attend to that st
raightaway. He didn’t want to bump into anyone looking this disreputable.

  After showering, shaving and dressing, Logan headed out to find some breakfast. He had a couple of hours, at best, to get himself adjusted to the time zone and to consider how he was going to accomplish what he’d come here for. Hell, eat breakfast? His gut twisted into a knot and suddenly that was the furthest thing from his mind. Facing his birth mom and dad would be the hardest thing he’d done in his life, knowing they were the people who should have raised him. The people who should have shared each milestone in his life.

  Would they understand how, like them, he’d always been drawn to architecture, even as a kid? Would they value his ideals in his work and how he’d built a multimillion-dollar business gutting old buildings and rebuilding them from the inside to create eco-friendly living and work spaces all through Australasia? Would he fit into the family that he’d been born into but never known his entire life?

  He had no doubt they’d want proof he was who he said he was. Logan wasn’t stupid. He’d done his research. He knew Richmond Developments was on the cutting edge of property development here in the Pacific Northwest. It seemed to Logan that they were in the same kind of business. Except where his parents’ company bought old buildings in prime locations, razed them and built new, he preferred to pay homage to the historical character of his projects, preserving and repurposing special features while at the same time bringing them into the twenty-first century. No, his family would likely not immediately welcome him with open arms. Maybe since they were in the same business, they’d think he had ulterior motives. They’d be cautious, and rightly so. They’d need tests done, but eventually his link to them would be proven. And then what?