The water was hot and the pressure was strong. It felt good and Logan took his time. He relaxed in its' heat and thought about how he would go about seducing Ari. He knew it was going to be touchy. He would have to be patient, but he had seen signs all day that she was interested in him. He usually ended up getting what he wanted when it came to women. He smiled, running several different scenarios in his mind.
When he was out, he put on fresh clothes, brushed his teeth and caught a quick look at himself in the mirror. He grumbled under his breath. It had been too long since his last haircut, and his hair stood up higher than usual. Oh, well, she likes animals, he told himself. He packed his things back into his duffle-bag and went out into her room. She had a big, antique four-poster bed that was very tall. Mounds of blankets and quilts and pillows covered it. It looked so inviting. He couldn't wait to feel her in it. -Grrr - Good smells from the kitchen were drawing him, but he went downstairs reluctantly.
She was still in the kitchen, so Logan decided to have a look around the main room of the cabin. It was mostly one large room, with a wall separating it from the kitchen and bathroom. It was lodge-style with a two-story high roof and a loft above. You could see into her bedroom above, behind a rough-hewn wood railing. The decorations were rustic and rather masculine in style. The colors were mostly deep reds and dark greens, and there was wood everywhere. There were two couches, sitting facing each other, in front of the fire. She obviously liked old things, there were many antiques in the house. Several small tables lined the other walls, some with books and others with pictures on them. She had bookcases, too, with lots of old books on them. Logan noted that she didn't have a television set.
- Mmm....She's a reader, and a thinker.Good -
He walked over to a small table covered with pictures. There were several of a handsome, rugged man with a young girl. Their ages varied from picture to picture. Obviously, it was Ari with her father. He had thick curly gray hair, a lot of it on his face. He had his arm around her, lovingly, in most of the pictures, and she was smiling up at him in most of them, too. They were obviously very close. In one picture, she was holding a huge fish, Logan recognized it to be a muskie. It was as long as she was tall. He looked up, noting that it was the same fish as the one hanging above him on the wall. Daddy had it mounted for her. He smiled, then frowned. - Hmm - No pictures of Mother. -
He moved on to the next table, which was covered with a small quilt and had a few very old books in a small bookcase on it. Two books were lying down in front of the others, obviously her favorites. He picked up the top one gently, as they were apparently quite old.
It was red and white, with a binding that was intricately embossed in gold. "Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter" He read. Good book. - He opened the front cover to see how old it was1892. Someone had written a note on the first page in pen and ink. It read " to Cousin Lillie "Man's inhumanity to man makes countless millions mourn." Burnt Oaks Farm , Dec. 2, 1912. - Mmm, Nice - Logan picked up the next one carefully. It was an old copy of "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau. It was dark green, and well-worn. He had read it some time ago, and recalled that it was the story of a man who was sick of the world, who went out to live completely alone and self-sufficiently for several years. Fascinating writing. The book had a bookmark in it, so Logan turned gently to that page. Ari had underlined the part that said "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation."
-Woah Deep. But I like deep. - He put the book down gently when she came into the room. He was growing more intrigued with her by the minute. He turned, slightly, in her direction and smiled at her, one eyebrow raised.
"Chili's ready. Did the shower help?" she asked, as she walked across the room toward him. His hair was still wet from the shower. It was pitch black wet, and curlier than before. It naturally curled up to points on the sides and several unruly strands hung down over his forehead. She was dying to touch it... to see if it was coarse or soft. He looked positively wicked, and he smelled wonderful. She had caught his scent the minute she walked into the room, and it only got better the closer she got to him. It was strong, natural and musky... it simply reeked ...of "MAN". A man unlike any man. It was totally and completely erotic to her senses. - Get a grip, Ari. - She licked her lips, nervously.
"I feel great, and I'm STARVED! It smells great!!" He growled, smiling.
"Good!" She laughed. "There's plenty."
Logan had to fight the urge to slap her ass as she led him into the kitchen. Ari had an antique restaurant table and booths set for dinner. She had some wonderful looking chili in deep bowls with vinegar, cheese and crackers to add, if he liked. She had made them each a small Caesar salad and had wine poured into two tall glasses. They each had a glass of water, and next to his water was also a beer. He looked up at her, nodding his head. "I could get used to this, Darlin'," he said winking.
She looked down, smiling shyly. "I hope you like it."
They sat down and ate heartily. He asked about the pup, and how it was going to work, taking care of him throughout the night. She said she thought they could take turns getting up and changing his IV bottles and cleaning up after his messes. She said she'd show him how to change the bottles. He had seconds, and thirds. The food was delicious, and he told her several times, which seemed to please her.
There was a lull in the conversation, and he sensed her becoming uncomfortable, so he mentioned having seen her books. Evidently, it was the right thing to bring up, because she was immediately comfortable again.
" I love old books. I go to antique shops and dig around 'til I find the crummiest, oldest books they have. I can look through old books for HOURS. When I find just the right one, it's the greatest thing! I love it when people have written things in them. I once found an old book about church history, and there was a chapter about hymns a woman had written on the edge of the page next to one of the old hymns "First sang in our church, on then she had some date in the 1800's. It was so neat. I have a "Child's First Reader" from the 1800's, too that has the little girl's name in it, that it belonged to and on the first page, she traced her little hand in pencil. I love that book."
Logan was alternating between eating and staring at her. She was completely at ease, and her words tumbled out effortlessly. He loved the sound of her voice. It was low, for a woman, and soft and just a touch raspy. She was so into her thoughts about books, he thought she might have forgotten he was there. She was looking just over his right shoulder with a far away look in her eyes.
She was intoxicating.
" I love to get an old, old book, that you can tell someone has read over and over and has loved it...... I love to curl up with an old book like that in front of the fireand smell it, and hold it, and think about who might have held it and loved it and read it before me. All down through the years, I think of the different times, their clothes and the different homes that they might have sat in, reading it. My favorite thought is of a woman, my age, long, long ago sitting before the fire on a cold night deep in the night reading the same book I'm reading holding the same book I'm holdingwhile nursing a newborn baby at her breast."
CLANG! Her startled eyes flew back to Logan, and to reality where he sat, staring at her open-mouthed. He had dropped his spoon into his bowl. "I'm sorry." He said hoarsely.
"Oh, my God I am so embarrassed!" she cried. A different feeling was coming across from him to her it felt like he had lost any interest in her he might have had. He had lost his teasing, confident tone, and he looked tired of her, she thought. "I've been sitting here blabbering forever you must think I'm an idiot!"
"No. I don't" he said quietly. "I think you're wonderful ... and different ....than any woman I've ever known."
" Yeh! You think I'm nuts!"
"No, I DON'T." Logan said, frowning. He HAD changed his mind about her, but not the way she thought. He had seen a glimpse into a beautiful, passionate, wonderful woman, maybe greater than any woman he had known before and he'd come to a conclusion.
She was way too good a woman to be seduced by a bastard like him, who only had one thing on his mind. Tonight was not going to end like he'd planned. She deserved more than that.
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