skin, and heard murmurs of approval in his throat.
No, she wasn’t sure about anything. Except the fact that she couldn’t do this. She couldn’t be thinking about twining her legs around his waist, or falling back on the plush sofa and turning it into a bed. If she had to think about beds, she should picture her sister lying in her narrow hospital bed, wires snaking in and around her body, with a sheet tucked in tightly, as if awaiting a corpse. The image chilled her, and she shivered. Would she allow an emotion as transitory as desire to sway her from her course?
His mouth moved down her neck as he pressed kisses both hard and tender to her. He bit her where her neck met her shoulder, just as his roaming hands feathered over her breasts. She stiffened and melted at the same time. A response that allowed her to both twine herself against him and to arch her back. Her purse fell to the floor, and the thump registered a wake-up call.
"Logan," she said, struggling to repeat the words. Lie or not, she had to say them to stop this dangerous madness. "I’m not attracted to you."
He released her just enough to look down at her. "So why are your nipples hard?"
"Because you’ve been manhandling them!"
His half smile showed, though his face looked a little strained. "Yeah, technically I suppose they have been handled by a man. With great pleasure."
"Look, I've had a long day." If she didn't get out of this room, she might grab him. "I'd like to retire to my room. Will you need me tonight for work?"
He raised his brows. "Yes, I will need you," he said firmly. "Perhaps you’d like to change into something more comfortable?" Dropping his hands, he glanced at his watch. "Shall we say half-an-hour?"
"Fine." She suppressed a sigh. He had told her this would be her first night on the job. "Though I don’t need to change," she added. "What will you want me to do?"
His gaze, which had been lingering on her breasts, snapped to her face.
"Amanda, you’re a sharp woman. Right from the beginning I liked that about you."
She took a step back. "Your point is?"
"Look, unless you’re wearing a plaid skirt and knee socks, the ingénue approach isn’t my thing."
"The ingénue approach?" He’d reduced her to a parrot.
"The dumb, innocent act. Even in the right outfit, it wouldn’t be my first choice."
"I …" She opened and closed her mouth. Words failed her. Had she taken a job with a pervert? Damn! It had seemed so perfect! "What are you talking about?"
"Are you new at this?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing as he looked down at her. "Because I’m sure I’ve told the agency I want only experienced women. And no games."
"You know exactly what my experience is." Amanda grabbed her purse from the floor. "But if you don’t like to play games, then stop speaking in riddles. Just tell me plainly what you want."
"Fine." He jerked his hand toward her. "Get undressed."
Her gasp boomeranged around the room.
"Are you crazy?"
He slammed his hand down on the sofa. "No, I am not crazy. I don’t enjoy being teased, annoyed and treated like an idiot. I just want a simple fuck, which you are being well paid to provide. Is that plain enough?"
She backed away from him, her eyes wide, one hand covering her mouth.
"There’s been a terrible mistake," she whispered.
Chapter 3
"Mistake?" Logan felt his eyebrows rise with his temper. "You don't know the duties expected of an escort?"
"Escort?" she whispered. "What are you talking about? Do you mean 'whore'?"
"That's an ugly word. It demeans both of us."
"It’s an ugly scenario."
"It's a business transaction." He stared her down, determined to make her face the truth. He hated playing games. He would never treat her with anything but courtesy and respect, but she had to know upfront that there would be no emotional component to their relationship.
"Wait a minute." Relief sparked in her eyes. "You told me five minutes ago that I wouldn’t have to sleep with you!"
"'Sleep' being the operative word!" He picked up his drink and tossed back the contents. "You weren’t under the impression I was paying you that generous salary merely to serve as arm candy?" He plunked the glass down on the table with a thump to punctuate his words. "I can get that for free."
"You can’t get sex for free?"
"Of course I can." Anger flared and he had to take a deep breath to