Out of Control
Chapter 4

Something was bothering Logan only he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. His instincts were usually good but lately they’d failed him when he needed them most. Maybe he’d been at Cypress Glen too long. The sort of stimulation offered for the elderly was a little too tame for him. Even if his grandfather’s social life was a lot more active than his was at the moment, he needed something more electrifying than a night of bingo, which was exactly where he’d left his grandfather a short time ago.

Logan didn’t know why the thought of something exciting caused him to think about a little redhead in a tank top and cutoffs. Libby was trouble. He didn’t need instincts to know that. And he’d do well to stay the hell away from her. At least that might not be too difficult, unless she made a habit of visiting Margaret often.

The moonlight guided Logan directly to the gate leading to the pool. He turned the handle, swearing beneath his breath when he found it locked. Why the heck would they think it necessary to lock the pool when the whole darn place was surrounded by a high-tech security gate system? It didn’t make sense. He stared at the shimmering water, seeing the moon reflected upon the quiet surface. It was hot and he’d been counting on that swim. He wondered how much trouble he could get into disregarding the rules and going over the top. It wasn’t all that high. Tossing his towel to a nearby chair he grabbed the top of the gate, heaved himself over and landed spryly on his feet.

He went straight to the deep end and dove in without hesitation, taking several vigorous laps from one end of the pool to the other, before stopping in the shallows by the stairs to catch his breath. Swimming had been about the only exercise he’d been allowed since his accident. And being in the cool water felt damn well against his healing body. But lately Logan had been working out at the small gym on the property. Sooner or later he was going to be cleared to go back to work and he wanted to be ready. He was ready now. Mentally if not physically, though some of his doctors might argue that point with him. Being pinned beneath a burning tree could make some firefighters toss in their hats and walk away for good.

Logan was thinking about how close he’d come to making that decision when a small sound penetrated his silent musings. He was resting against the edge of the pool, water lapping around his neck. He turned his head enough to see someone doing the very thing he’d done a few minutes earlier, only with a little more grace. Damn, all he’d wanted was a nice quiet swim alone. Maybe with a little luck they’d never notice he was there in the shadows. He remained quiet.

It was too dark to see who it was but once they stepped into the moonlight and dropped their towel Logan got a clear view of a slim form and jutting breasts. As the woman continued to the deep end he sucked in his breath, his heart literally ceased beating. Without hesitation she reached behind her to undo her bikini top, letting it float to the pool deck before shimmying out of her bottoms with enough h*p action to make a belly dancer jealous. She stepped up onto the diving board, and for a moment she was suspended in a slim ray of moonlight.

He released a low whistle between his teeth, realizing at that moment the seductive nymph he was ogling was none other than Margaret’s granddaughter, Libby. He tried to swallow, almost choking on his tongue. Her form was willowy slim yet had all the right curves to tempt a man into losing his mind. Her long hair hid her breasts from his view, stopping just short of her belly button. The lower half of her body was hidden in the shadows. The fact he couldn’t see her clearly didn’t stop his c**k from swelling.

His body didn’t have any trouble recalling what her luscious bottom felt like against it. What her breasts had felt like smashed against his chest. His mouth ached to taste hers. Then suddenly she raised her arms and flipped that fiery mane behind her shoulders before diving gracefully into the cool water. It was the sound of her hitting the water that broke the spell Logan was in, and for the first time in what seemed a lifetime he sucked in air.

Damn! His hand moved down his body to adjust his boxer style swimsuit, but the wet material wouldn’t cooperate. It clung to his tingling shaft like a glove. He couldn’t remember getting a full-blown hard-on so fast. His gaze remained fixed on the water in front of him, wondering where Libby would appear. She surfaced about halfway in the middle, running her hands over her face to brush the hair out of her eyes.

Logan was mildly surprised she hadn’t spotted him yet. Maybe she had a lot on her mind. He watched her wade to the other side of the pool, where a large tree grew close to the deck. For a moment she disappeared in the dark shadows it cast upon the water. His eyes narrowed, adjusting against the darkness until he could make her out again. He watched as she hoisted herself out of the water and headed back to the diving board.

This time when Libby stepped into the moonbeam Logan clearly saw everything the lady had to offer. Her hair was wet and slick, sticking to her body. He took in her lissome figure again, her shapely breasts and slim waist, the graceful curve of her h**s and long, lithe legs. His eyes finally narrowed on the tuff of hair covering her mound. His shaft responded by throbbing painfully, hungry to slip inside her warm body. He had no doubt she’d sheathe him in tight, wet heat.

Hot.

As she dove a second time, Logan slowly waded forward until he knew he was in the moonlight when she surfaced. He sensed Libby’s awareness of him long before he heard her soft gasp of surprise.

“Oh my God!” She exclaimed. “I thought I was alone!”

Logan could make out the slightest movement of her arms as she fought to keep her head above water. “You could have warned me you were here,” she accused spiritedly.

“And miss the show?

”

There was a brief pause. “I hope I didn’t disappoint you,” she said with mild sarcasm.

“There’s nothing indecent about the naked body,” he defended himself, wading slowly closer. It was as though he was being guided by his rock-hard shaft as it strained toward the source of its hunger. “Are you ashamed of it?”

“No, I’m just not in the habit of parading around naked in front of strangers I haven’t slept with…yet.”

Her words enflamed Logan, which he was sure were her intentions. His breath turned heavy. “Strangers? We’re hardly that, or have you forgotten I’ve already held you in my arms?”

“Don’t remind me,” Libby said. “If you were any kind of gentleman you’d leave.”

“What makes you think I’m a gentleman?”

“You’re a fireman,” she reminded him curtly. “Surely firemen have honorable scruples.”

“I’m a man first,” Logan corrected softly, making certain Libby understood that. “Would it make you feel any better if I removed my trunks?” he joked.

Libby let out an unladylike snort that quickly turned into a husky laugh. Logan had the feeling she didn’t like the little sound of betrayal and ducked beneath the surface to cover it up.

He laughed, but didn’t follow her. She couldn’t go far, and a hunch told him she wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of viewing her shapely form again. The light of the moon was enough to reveal that Libby had swum back to the deep end. She reached for something near the diving board, reminding Logan she’d dropped her swimsuit there.

There was a trace of laughter in his tone when he realized what Libby was doing. “Need any help?”

“No!” She turned around as though to make sure he hadn’t moved from the middle of the pool. “Just stay where you are!” She quickly turned back toward the deck.

That was all it took for Logan to do the exact opposite. He didn’t like being told what to do, especially by some smart mouth troublesome female who was snapping at him as though he was a five-year-old in trouble for stealing a cookie. Her tone reminded him too much of what it had been like growing up with five older sisters who never wanted him around. He didn’t think twice about kicking off the bottom of the pool and swimming in her direction, surfacing right behind her.

A grin spread across Logan’s face as he watched Libby struggle to slip into her bikini bottoms with one hand while the other gripped the edge of the deck to keep afloat. He waited until she reached for her top and then let her know he was there.

“I told you I’d help you.”

“Oh!” Libby shrieked, and spun around. The bikini top slipped from her fingers and Logan watched it float away on the surface of the water.

The situation wasn’t so amusing anymore when he raised his eyes to realize the light of the moon was resting squarely on Libby’s breasts. The crystal clear water did nothing to shield how perfect they were, or the fact that there was enough flesh to fill his hands, and then some. And he’d thought her skinny? In spite of the cool water Logan felt his b***d pressure reach the boiling point, his heart rate skyrocket. He was about to explode and for a crazy moment he was tempted to reach out and touch Libby.

His balls tightened beneath his c**k, demanding release of the l**t bubbling there. A wise man would turn and swim away from her before he did something stupid. He’d made bigger mistakes but right now he felt like this was the granddaddy of them all. It wouldn’t take much to make him lose control. Damn…he wanted to lose control!

“Why don’t you just k**s me and get it over with?” She sounded angry but Logan quickly picked up on the huskiness of her tone.

He arched a brow. “What makes you think I want to k**s you?” he countered arrogantly, grinning in spite of himself. Kissing her wouldn’t do much to eliminate the l**t fire in his b***d. Contradicting what his body wanted, Logan retrieved Libby’s bathing suit top where it came to rest at the side of the pool. He held the tiny scrap out to her and she snatched if from his fingers with a grudging thank you. Instead of putting it on she held it against her breasts.

“How long are you going to be here visiting your grandmother?” he suddenly demanded. Maybe he could disappear for a few days. He had a friend in Ft. Lauderdale who’d been bugging him to visit.

“I, ah, on and off the whole summer,” Libby replied with clear reluctance.

Logan watched her carefully, interested in her slight hesitation and wondering at the reason behind it. His curiosity piqued when she refused to look him in the eye. Then her words registered and he frowned. Great, they were going to be running into each other on a fairly regular basis.

“Do you mind pretending you’re a gentleman long enough to turn around and give me a moment of privacy?” Libby questioned in a voice dripping with feigned sweetness.

“Who’s there?” A voice boomed out of the darkness without warning, startling them both. They’d been so absorbed with each other they hadn’t heard anyone approach. Then suddenly there was a flashlight beam directly on them, from someone standing on the other side of the fence.

“I bet it’s Ben and Maurine,” a feminine voice whispered half under her breath. “They’re always breaking the rules.”

Libby gasped and Logan moved until his body shielded hers from the light. But his chivalry cost him. He could feel her breasts brushing against his chest. Those hard little nipples were causing him a mixture of pain and sweet pleasure as they raked mercilessly across his scars.

“Well, speak up! We aren’t blind; we can see you!”

“It’s me, Mr. Kramer,” Logan replied, recognizing his grandfather’s poker buddy’s voice. “Logan.”

“Oh, it’s Vincent’s grandson, Harry,” the woman said with relief. “That nice, handsome fireman. Harry and I are on patrol tonight, dear,” she explained in a friendly tone.

Libby chuckled softly but didn’t remove her hands where they’d fallen on Logan’s shoulders. She was using him to stay afloat, and the buoyancy of the water caused their bodies to bounce against each other.

“We’re sorry about breaking the rules,” he offered.

“Who’s that with you?” the woman asked.

Logan glanced down into Libby’s eyes. “She’s a…friend,” he replied, not sounding too sure.

“A girlfriend, dear?”

“Well, she’s certainly a girl. I don’t know if she’s a girlfriend, yet,” Logan joked.

He couldn’t take much more. With her hands upon his shoulders Libby’s nipples rubbed along his chest like little fingers, keeping him aroused. “How long are you two on patrol tonight?” he asked, attempting to change the subject. Then he felt her pelvis brush against his hard-on and g*****d, a low sound like an animal in pain. His hands slipped down from her waist to her h**s until he felt the spaghetti thin straps holding her swim suit bottom in place. Logan was sure he felt her slight shudder when his fingers slipped beneath the tie, running along the edge of it. He couldn’t help wondering why she was allowing him such liberties. Could it be that she wanted him as much as he did her?

“From eight to ten.”

From eight to ten? Logan had no idea what they were talking about, acutely attuned to the tempting goddess in front of him.

“For goodness sake, June, let’s leave these love birds alone so they can get on with, ah, whatever it is they were in the middle of.”

They weren’t in the middle of anything, but before Logan could tell them that they turned off the light and left. He held Libby’s gaze, swallowing hard when she brushed against his e******n a second time. He wondered if she did it on purpose. His fingers continued to trail along the tie to her bikini bottom, all the way to where the tiny triangle of cloth covered her mound. She sucked in her breath. He hesitated, waiting for her to say no. When she didn’t he took that as an invitation and slipped his fingers inside.

Her gasp was sharp and telling. Logan felt her hands clench into his muscles. She arched her h**s against him. His fingers toyed with the soft curls covering the most private part of her before tenderly running along the velvet soft lips guarding the core of her. He ran his tongue from the base of her throat up to the sensitive spot behind her ear, and then suckled gently at the delicate lobe. His finger flicked across her clit.

“Oh!” She trembled violently against him.

Logan ground his h**s against her thigh, replaceing some relief at the contact, realizing it wouldn’t take much effort to make him come. He wanted to come! He lowered his head, fully intending to take her mouth. She made it easy by turning her face upward toward his. Then the inevitable happened. The sound of voices reached them as bingo had come to an end and everyone began leaving the community center next to the pool.

The moment between them was abruptly over and Libby pushed him away so she could slip into her top. Logan turned and headed for the shallow end, giving her privacy and proving he could be a gentleman when he wanted. “Thank you for, ah, shielding me,” Libby said from behind him.

Thank you for raking my chest with your hard little nipples and turning me on, Logan wanted to snap right back at her. But he wisely kept his mouth shut. He was glad when he turned again and she was in the shadows, where he couldn’t see her. He could at least pretend that she wasn’t there. Ignoring the ache in his c**k was another matter.

“I guess I’ll be going,” she murmured after a moment.

So much for pretending she wasn’t there. In the next instant Libby was in the moonlight again, swimming toward Logan until she could touch bottom. His eyes followed her when she slowly waded toward the steps, her enticing form becoming more visible with every step she took. He’d already seen her naked, so Logan wasn’t expecting much could top that.

How wrong he was. Libby’s curves outlined in the brief bikini whet his appetite more than he would have thought possible. The little scraps of nothing only covered what it needed to. With her long hair plastered to her body she looked like a mythical mermaid rising out of the water. And Logan nearly swallowed his tongue when she glided past him up the steps.

He closed his hands to keep from reaching out and grabbing her to him. And then what? Pull her down onto his lap and make love to her? His c**k twitched wildly with he thought.

“Don’t leave on my account,” he finally said, sorry he’d cut her swim short. He watched her grab up her towel and brings it around her h**s, hiding those magnificent legs from his view.

“I just wanted a dip to cool off,” she admitted, then paused, glancing down at him. Logan wasn’t sure but he thought he could make out the ghost of a smile on her face. “I was hot.”

Yes, so was he. When he didn’t comment she turned and walked away. And it was then that Logan took a deep breath, not realizing he’d been holding it until then. Damn… He hoped his run-ins with Libby were few and far between. For the first time he was glad his grandfather lived in a retirement community so Libby’s visits would have to be sporadic.

This meant, with a little luck, he could avoid her.