Southern Hospitality by Sally Falcon Read Free Book Online Page A

muffled by his mouth before she could utter a sound.
    The kiss took an eternity. Logan seemed to be a starving man, tasting her lips carefully at first as if afraid his long awaited sustenance would disappear like a mirage. Tory was paralyzed by the riot of fireworks that seemed to be exploding inside her head. When she didn’t resist, he grew bolder. His tongue licked at the sweetness of her lips before delving within to search for further delight. One of them made a purring sound of approval.
    Tory reached out to Logan to keep her balance because the carpet beneath her feet suddenly offered little support, but she found herself grasping empty air. Logan released her as abruptly as he kissed her. She swayed for a moment, attempting to clear her befuddled brain.
    “That, Tory Planchet, is what is between us,” he said in a clear, concise tone, although she noted he was having trouble steadying his breathing. He ran his hand through his hair in a nervous gesture. “Sleep on that, and I’ll get back to you around noon tomorrow.”
    He walked past her dazed figure, his eyes straight ahead, his step purposeful. The sound of the front door closing with a decisive thud brought Tory to her senses. On unsteady legs, she stumbled to the couch and dropped limply onto the satin covering.
    “He has the manners of a Yankee pig, but he certainly knows how to kiss,” she muttered, running a hand through her hair in almost the same gesture Logan used minutes before. She’d known he was going to spell trouble from the moment he walked out of the airport terminal, but nothing prepared her for the conflagration that he kindled within her with a simple kiss. No, not a simple kiss. A searing mark of possessiveness that made her want to beg for more and run away to safety as fast as she could—both at the same time.
    Sleep on that, he’d said. The arrogance of the man, Tory decided, sitting up abruptly as sanity returned to take a firm hold. She wasn’t about to be hornswoggled by any fancy city boy with a fantastic pair of lips. She groaned in despair. Hornswoggled? Her brain was going soft, or she’d been spending too much time around T.L.
    She jumped up and headed for the bedroom, determined to get a good night’s sleep. Not only did she have to face Logan with a clear head in the morning, she had to take on T.L. There was a reason for Logan being here, besides tormenting her. Tomorrow she was going to find out why.
    “Blithering idiot. Blundering fool,” Logan muttered under his breath as he crossed the moonlit lawn to the main house. He continued to berate himself as he pulled a battered baseball cap from his back pocket. He’d intended to return Tory’s cap during his visit. Of course, that wasn’t all he’d intended, but in what seemed to be a continuing pattern, he’d made a hash of the whole thing.
    Clutching the cap in his hand, he made himself a promise. He’d find a way to temper his impatience and discover a means to breach Tory Planchet’s defenses. He didn’t know why it seemed of tantamount importance. He just knew it was, almost as if she held the knowledge of an important secret. Whatever it was, he had to know what was making him behave with such uncharacteristic impetuousness.
    There was only one thing he knew for certain. He didn’t want Tory to know why he’d been sent here. Around her he felt almost ashamed of his exile, which was ridiculous, but he wanted it kept from her just the same. He’d tell her himself, in his own way, when he judged that the time was right. Certainly not before he saw her brown eyes in passion, soft and darkened to the color of semi-sweet chocolate, her face flushed with excitement.
    As he reached the steps to the porch, he ruthlessly erased the tantalizing image that would keep him awake all night. He needed a good night’s sleep to deal with this strange situation. Perhaps that was all he needed to release him from his obsession. In the morning, he’d discover that Tory