help. He didn’t like what had happened to humankind. Didn’t like what he’d become, either. Wasn’t proud of the kind of work he had to do in order to help the less fortunate. Unfortunately, his work was illegal and now he was a wanted man.
He inhaled sharply as cold water dashed onto his hand. Fuck! But it was like ice! How in the world had she been able to wash her hands and face earlier? Hell, if she could do it, so could he. Determination made him pump harder. Grabbing a nearby basin, he filled it with water and dumped the wash cloth in.
Removing his jacket, sweater, and T-shirt, he shivered in the cold air, inhaling and cursing as he slapped the wet washcloth and bar of soap against his skin and began washing himself. It was the middle of June, and it felt like a mild winter day.
Cold weather year-round. It was another drawback of the Catastrophe. The weather had changed worldwide. They were calling it the Little Ice Age, compliments of the lack of sunspots, which, after the explosion of solar flares burned out those sunspots that gave the Earth its added heat, had lowered temperatures on Earth. So much for the greenhouse effect.
Logan frowned and reached for the towel. He didn’t want to think about the Catastrophe and what happened right after. That dark time had changed him and made him bitter. He did, however, want to think about that sexy piece of lady in that farmhouse. Right now, she was the one bright spot for him over the next couple of days. He would lose himself inside her.
At the thought of all the sweet things he would do to her tonight, his cock hardened. He was going to enjoy taking her. Enjoy it a lot.
Teyla was trembling as she slowly moved to the bedroom window again. He’d seen her watching him earlier, and getting caught had sent the oddest tingles of excitement through her. There was something about him that made her breathless, but in a good way. Something that made her want to watch him. Maybe because now that she was a little less freaked out by his sudden appearance, she realized he was the handsomest guy she’d seen in a long time. Or perhaps because that smile of his when he’d caught her spying on him made her feel so happy-giddy. Made her believe he wouldn’t hurt her.
She peeked out and watched him as he washed his upper torso in the twilight. Muscles rippled across his shoulders and arms as he soaped his hairy chest. He was a big man, she thought as she licked her suddenly dry lips. A very tall man. And he wanted her services.
She hadn’t slept with a stranger since first starting out as a pleasure girl more than two years ago. And even those men had been familiar to her. She knew them from church or church gatherings or from the hardware or grocery store. Some had been friends of her husband. Some just acquaintances. Those had been the lucky ones who hadn’t disintegrated, just like her. Sometimes, though, she wondered who exactly had been lucky. The ones who’d gone poof in a second to ash or the ones left behind to mourn and struggle?
She blew out a tense breath as she watched the newcomer’s hand draw toward the clasp on his jeans. His head snapped up, and before she could move away from the window, his gaze captured hers again. Once again, the wicked tingles zipped through her at getting caught, and that cute smile of his as he looked at her made her cheeks grow totally hot.
Chastising herself for being a peeping Thomasina, she moved away from the window. She needed to hurry and get ready. Rushing back into the kitchen to the woodstove where she’d left some water to warm, she grabbed the pot and headed back into her bedroom. She’d wash up in a minute. First, she wanted to take another peek at Dr. Liz’s note.
Liz said he was a friend of a trusted friend who vouched for him and he was looking for her services. Liz explained she’d given him the required physical exam and gave him a clean bill of health. Because Teyla had been so flustered at the stranger, she hadn’t read the rest of the note explaining to her that Dr. Liz would also give his two friends physicals, too, when they showed up and would send along another letter. It was the last sentence that totally caught her attention. Liz asked her to let her know if size really did matter.
Goodness, couldn’t Liz have been more specific than that? Size meaning he was too small? Too big? Too long? What?
Dammit! As if her heart wasn’t racing now at the thought of finding out. She glanced out the window again, and a very erratic butterfly feeling splashed through her lower belly upon discovering he was now totally naked. While washing his lower half, he’d turned his back to her, revealing a very cute ass. She hoped he hadn’t been offended at her gesture of leaving the soap and other items out for him, but he’d looked dusty and she figured he’d like to wash up before…
Oh, lord, Teyla! Stop delaying.
She really needed to hurry and get herself ready. Ripping her gaze from him, she quickly lit some of her oil lamps on the shelves in her room, undressed and washed herself, and gave her wrists and neck a few delicate squirts of her precious perfume.
Then she opened the package he’d given her and gulped at the gorgeous white lace material. It looked beautiful, she thought as she lifted it up and gazed at it. It was sexy. Smashing. He’d given her a sheer floor-length negligee set. By the fresh smell and look of it, it was brand new.
Whispering the delicate material through her fingers, she moaned at the silky softness. She hadn’t touched something this soft in years. She also noticed the side slit would reveal her left leg and hip. A thong panty accompanied the garment, too. The panty had a large hole in the middle, allowing him access to her…
Another shot of warmth into her cheeks made her swear softly beneath her breath. Oh, boy. Could she go through with this? Could she let a complete stranger have sex with her? Share her? She should be running in the other direction, not getting all these mixed emotions raging through her. Want, need, a craving to be loved.
Slipping on the panty, she sighed at the velvety feel against her skin, then moaned as she put on the negligee. It melted against her curves like liquid milk. Admiring the garment’s beauty in the mirror, Teyla smiled. It looked awesome.
The top clung to her breasts like a glove, illuminating them, making them look bigger, and the waist was gathered, making it appear narrower than it really was. The lower part shimmered like ribbons of silk over her hips and legs.
Having something new made her feel almost normal again.
She jumped as a noise at the side of the house snapped her back to reality. He was coming! The sound of stomping feet ascending the outside stairs and crossing the wraparound veranda planked floor had her biting her bottom lip with a sudden bout of anxiety. A quick knock and a creak of the screen door followed by the sound of the other door opening had Teyla hurrying to sit on the bed. Normally, she climbed naked under the covers and waited for her clients that way, but this man was different. He’d given her something to wear, and he would like to see it on her.
Her anxiety mounted, and she clasped her hands into her lap as she heard him enter her home. Her sanctuary.
Chapter Two
Indecision continued to snap through her. Should she go out and meet him? Check if he had the money? No, he would have the money. Dr. Liz said he came recommended. There shouldn’t be a problem, so she would be the demure sexual object he wanted.
Something heavy hit her kitchen table, making her tense. His saddlebag? Her money?
She could hear him breathing in the next room, the sound loud and raspy, as if he were aroused at being in her home. She’d left the bedroom door open, and she listened intently. There were a few moments of silence, and then her heart picked up a magnificent speed as his boots thudded against the wood planks of the old kitchen floor.
She thought he was coming into the bedroom, but then she relaxed again as she heard the creak of a couple of cupboard doors opening. She almost called out to him to ask if he needed something, but then the tinkle of glass
