Free Pursuit by Lynda Chance Page A

happy, but there wasn't a damn thing Lauren could do about it. It was a fact. She didn't like to travel, but she did like to eat. Her job paid well and she planned on keeping it. But she tried to steer the conversation away from her and onto him. "Do you travel much?"
    " Not usually," he answered flatly.
    " What, like, a couple of times a year?"
    " About that," he said.
    " Lucky you."
    " So, you don't care for basketball?" he asked, his tone colored in neutral shades.
    " Not really. Football's my game."
    " So why do you have to go?"
    " Ostensibly to make sure John doesn't promise the farm after he's had too many beers. But they like me to interact with the clients, as well."
    " The clients being men?" He asked in an almost bored tone, a tone that Lauren didn't believe for a second.
    " This trip will be comprised of men, but they aren't always." She spoke the truth, and why not? There wasn't anything she could do about it.
    Lauren felt the impact of her answer hit Logan as his nostrils flared and a subtle tension corded the muscles in his neck. As she assimilated the hostility that he tried unsuccessfully to hide, her nerves shifted restlessly. Thank God she was only messing around with this guy, and didn 't see him as a husband prospect. She didn't see him as a husband prospect, right? That would be insane . Heidi was absolutely right, a guy like this was only meant to be enjoyed, and Lauren had absolutely no intention of trying to tame him. She doubted she'd have any success even toning him down.
    He was just so freakin ' male.
    As she sat in silence, trying damn hard not to be titillated by his purely male responses, because that was just wrong, he stood to his feet in a rush of movement and grabbed her by the hand.
    Lauren almost lost her grip on the can she held, and he took it from her and slapped it to the coffee table next to his beer. With one hand wrapped around her wrist, he leaned down to take her mouth, but Lauren reared back from him, caught off-guard by his sudden move and her inappropriate sexual response to it.
    He stopped the forward motion of his head and his eyes caught and held hers. He bared his teeth and Lauren sucked in a breath. There was a warning in his eyes, and Lauren had the unmistakable feeling this was about to be an exercise in dominance.
    His, over her .
    A shivery feeling hit the pit of her stomach and moisture bloomed between her legs, much against her will.
    He lifted the hand he had wrapped around her wrist until it was mid-air and he took one step forward, propelling her backward, while his eyes, raging with an inner fire, held hers imprisoned. His expression was stamped with authority, and although Lauren's nerves were jolted, she couldn't deny that his aggressive force was intoxicating.
    Dangerously so; she could barely breathe .
    " Did you just turn down my kiss?" His question was a challenge, and Lauren struggled to understand his exact purpose. He was lethally intimidating, standing over her with his height and strength, and yet, no part of her was afraid that she couldn't control the outcome of this encounter.
    She just needed to decide how she wanted this to play out, and she needed to decide quickly or there wouldn 't be a decision to make.
    With her mind in a whirlwind of indecision, she shook her head infinitesimally. At her action, he took another two steps and pushed her against the wall. His stance was dominant, one sinewy thigh wedged between her legs as he stared down at her. "Lift your mouth to mine," he ordered.
    Lauren inhaled raggedly and lifted her chin only a fraction of an inch.
    His hand tightened around her wrist and he growled low in his throat, "Lauren."
    Lauren felt the exquisite pleasure of her name rasped in his fevered voice and knew her acquiescence was imminent. She couldn 't even fight it anymore. She lifted her face and waited.
    At her act of submission, she felt his tension come down a notch. "Don't push me like that again."
    " I didn't push you," she