Free LOGAN (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 5) by Marilyn Campbell Page A

and had begun thinking of hiring another young, trainable man.
    If only there was a way she could acquire one of the Earth men.
    Several of them had been especially appealing to her and the dark-skinned men were so different from any she'd seen before. Then there was that tall, dark-haired man with a scarred face and the larger than average manpiece. He would undoubtedly be the lead character in her fantasies for weeks to come.
    For now, however, Fulton and his limited abilities were all she could count on to ease the itch that the Earth men had caused.
    As soon as she entered her home, she let him know the mood she was in by her greeting. "Fulton! Where are you, you lazy creature?"
    "In the kitchen," he replied. As she strode into that room, he gave her a hesitant smile. "I've made your favorite sweet to go with your tea."
    "I don't want tea," she snapped. "I called to tell you I was coming home for a bath , not tea. If you don't start paying better attention when I give you instructions, I am going to replace you. Do you understand me?"
    Fulton frowned and bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Nadia. You didn't say how long it would take for you to get home and I was worried that the bath water would cool if I prepared it too soon. I'll get it ready immediately." He took a step then paused and looked back at the tea kettle. "Shall I pour you some tea—"
    "I said I don't want tea, you dolt! Go, before I lose my patience entirely." As Fulton hurried from the kitchen, Nadia's pulse quickened. He had been on the verge of tears. In fact, he was probably in her dressing room sniveling away while the water ran. He was primed to do anything she ordered and she was aching for much more than the usual bath. There probably wouldn't be a better time to try out her new creation.
    As she considered how she could introduce it to Fulton, she broke off a chunk of the sweet he had baked for her and placed it in her mouth. Rich chocolate superbly blended with black raspberry melted on her tongue. Though Fulton was beginning to bore her in some ways, his culinary skills assured him a permanent position in her household no matter how often she threatened to get rid of him.
    She finished the sweet and headed for her bath. She had designed the spacious dressing room with her unique needs in mind. The walls and closet doors were mirrored, and the floor was covered with plush black carpeting. On one side of the room was an oversized black tub with gold fixtures, and on the other side was a gold velvet chaise wide enough for two people to lay on at the same time. The few women who had seen the room questioned such extravagance for something so private. They preferred to show off their luxuries. But Nadia had always been a little different from the other women.
    As she entered the dressing room, she smelled the perfumed oil rising with the steam. Fulton stood next to the tub, awaiting her. As usual, he had undressed, so that his clothing would not get wet while he assisted her. She gave his ample body a lingering look. He was taller, heavier, and broader across the shoulders than she, but he lacked the hardness that she noticed about the Earth men. Looking at his short dark hair, she decided to focus her attention on that feature and pretend he was the scarred crossover that had fascinated her.
    "You may remove my robe," she stated in a harsh tone to remind him he had yet to make up for his earlier failure to please.
    In the mirrors, she watched him move around her, carefully drawing back the hood of her robe and untying the bow at her throat without touching any part of her. With the same caution, he undid the fastenings down the front of the garment and slipped it off her body.
    As he hung up the robe, she reminded herself that the longer she could put off the physical contact, the better the reward would be. "Now brush my hair out. Slowly."
    One at a time, he removed the pins that kept her waist-length black hair wrapped in a braided crown around her head.