An Innocent in Paradise by Kate Carlisle Page B

what else we could share?”
    She didn’t answer, but he could see a faint blush rise on her pale cheeks.
    â€œBecause I’m thinking about it,” he said softly, touching her shoulder with his fingers, then trailing a path up her neck and along her jawline. “I can’t stop thinking about it. I want you in my bed, Grace, wrapped up in nothing but me. And once we’re in bed together, I’ll take my time with you. I want to touch and feel every inch of your body with my hands and my mouth and tongue. I want to make you feel everything I’m feeling. I want to make you hot. I want to make you scream.”
    Her breath shuddered out and she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She swallowed hard and murmured, “Oh, God.”
    He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “Say when,Grace. Tonight? Say the word and we’ll be together. Tomorrow night? I won’t wait much longer. I’ve got to have you soon.” Then he bit her earlobe and soothed the bite with his tongue. “Yes?”
    â€œYes.” She let out a soft moan. “Soon.”
    â€œGood.” He touched her cheek, then stood. His body was tight and hard and he knew he’d suffer for an hour or more because of this little seduction scene. But it had been worth it. Even with the dark glasses covering her eyes, Logan could tell she had been as affected as he and that was, after all, the point. Right?
    Smiling, he turned to leave. “You have a nice day, Grace.”
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    She watched him walk away and had to resist the urge to call the hotel doctor. Her heart was stuttering so wildly from his incendiary words—not to mention that nibble on her ear—that she wasn’t sure it would ever calm down again.
    â€œWow,” she whispered. The man was potent. Maybe too potent. Because now she had to ask herself, was she ready for someone like Logan Sutherland? She had barely dated in the past ten years and after the debacle with Walter, she’d lost some confidence in herself as a woman. Of course, Logan’s flattering words over the past few days had gone a long way toward helping her get some of that confidence back.
    He’d also confused her completely. A few days ago, he’d made it more than clear that he didn’t trust her. Lately, though, he seemed to have changed his mind. And today… She shivered again, then winced when her head pounded in response. Why had he chosen today of all days, to tell her he wanted her in his bed? She had been in no mentalshape to argue him out of it. She certainly would have, she consoled herself, if she’d been able to.
    But no, even she didn’t believe that.
    The memory of his mouth at her ear, his warm breath on her skin, made her feel nearly boneless with the want rampaging through her.
    So now the question was, did she trust him enough to, well, allow him to do all those things his whispered promise had suggested?
    Just thinking about giving herself up to him caused ripples of lust to waft through her stomach and roam even lower.
    Oh, who was she kidding? She wanted him so much, she could barely sit still. She’d never felt this way about a man before, not even Walter. And she had trusted Walter!
    â€œThat proves you’re a dunce,” she muttered. She had trusted Walter and he had betrayed her, so how could she base her feelings for any man on the amount of trust she felt for him? She couldn’t, so she might as well throw caution to the wind and do what she wanted to do. And, right now, all she wanted to do was Logan Sutherland. Heck, if she couldn’t have trust, she would settle for lust.
    â€œYes,” she murmured with a cautious smile. “Soon.”
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    â€œHe didn’t mean it,” she muttered to herself that night in the bar. She refused to be disappointed, chalking it up to her own naïveté when it came to men.
    After garnishing four mai tais with pineapple chunks and maraschino