Free The One That Got Away by Kelly Hunter

get married. And it benefited me too. And it
wouldn’t have been a proper marriage anyway. It was more of a business
transaction. With a two-hundred-thousand-dollar windfall clause for the injured
party every time one of us strayed.’
    ‘Honour system?’ asked Logan with a touch of incredulity about
him.
    ‘No. The clause only kicked in if the straying became public
knowledge.’
    ‘And Max agreed to this?’
    ‘I know ,’ said Evie, making good
use of her eyelashes. ‘I figured Max would be up for at least a couple of
million before we were through, and that’s being conservative. Your brother’s
got a short attention span.’
    ‘And no contract sense whatsoever.’
    ‘I had his back though,’ murmured Evie. ‘If Max got too far in
debt to me I was going to start matching him, indiscretion for public
indiscretion.’
    Logan’s eyes narrowed. Evie smiled and sipped at her
just-arrived soda. ‘You’re pulling my leg,’ he said finally.
    ‘Someone’s got to. You take life entirely too seriously.’
    ‘No, I take contracts seriously.
There’s a difference.’
    ‘If you say so.’
    ‘You’re sunburnt,’ he said and Evie nodded agreeably.
    ‘That’s because I’ve been to the beach.’
    ‘Was it good?’
    ‘Very good.’
    ‘Maybe there should have been sunscreen involved.’
    ‘There was. Though possibly not enough.’
    ‘What else do you do in your down time?’ he asked.
    ‘I like to travel. Explore new places. Even a new-to-me suburb
will do.’
    ‘On your own?’
    ‘It’s better with friends. But sometimes on my own.’
    ‘Any special friends I need to know about?’ he asked.
    ‘You mean lovers?’ she said and he nodded, his eyes narrowing.
‘No. I may not be marriage-ready, but one lover at a time will do.’
    ‘Am I currently the one?’
    ‘I don’t know.’ Time for truth and if it burned then so be it.
‘I guess that’s what I asked you here to find out.’
    ‘I’m only here for a week, Evie.’ His voice held a quiet
warning.
    ‘Sounds familiar.’ Hers held quiet challenge. ‘I like you,
Logan, in case you hadn’t noticed. Baggage and all. It wouldn’t be a hardship to
spend another week with you. Might even be fun.’
    ‘As opposed to...’
    ‘Intense, confusing, and ultimately heartbreaking. I’d like to
think that we have enough experience between us now to keep those elements out
of play.’
    ‘You don’t like intense?’
    ‘You’re right. There’s a lot to be said for intensity. That one
can stay.’
    ‘You calling the shots now, Evie?’
    ‘Only some of them. Feel free to voice your requirements
too.’
    ‘I want exclusivity,’ he said.
    ‘The feeling’s mutual.’
    ‘And freedom.’
    ‘I’ll do my freely exclusive best.’
    ‘Obedience.’
    ‘And sometimes you’ll get it.’ Evie edged closer, elbows to the
table, so much for manners. ‘You don’t want to dominate me completely, remember?
Or am I wrong about that?’
    ‘Just keep reminding me when I forget.’ He had his shoulders to
the padded black vinyl of the booth bench and one arm stretched out on the table
towards her. He looked gorgeous and confident and he leaned forward with a look
that spoke of barely contained hunger. ‘C’m’ere.’
    Evie inched closer because she wanted to. Opened her lips
beneath his, because she wanted that too. The taste of him, not knowing what
type of kiss she’d get from him, and she wondered if he mixed his kisses up
deliberately—needy and greedy one time and slow and savouring the next. Whether
he ever had a plan...
    Evie never had a plan once he laid
siege to her, but that would have to change.
    Just as soon as this gentle whisper of a kiss finished.
    ‘You talk a good game, Evie,’ he murmured, and eased away
slowly. ‘I’m tempted to give you that week.’
    ‘This coming week is the one on offer,’ she said with a gentle
smile as she sat back and browsed the blackboard menu. ‘Let me know what you
decide. I think I’ll have the