Nine Times Out of Ten

"Whooaa, baby!" the bartender hollered as I approached. I didn't really notice at the time, but he was dressed very similar to the way I had seen Logan dress. His eyes nearly bugged out and I found his voice very annoying. "How's about I take you home and you and I can have some fun?" He wiggled his eye brows at me playfully.

"Excuse me?" I was taken back. No one ever talked to me that way and since I felt like I had been tricked, the banter was not received with a warm welcome. "Should you really be talking like that to customers?"

He threw a dish towel over his shoulder and offered a hand as I seated myself at the bar. I shook it, but was weary. "The name's Benny, and you're no customer. You're the dime that Logan told me about." He was smiling and handed me a drink as I got comfy. "Logan said that he had a goddess that would be coming in tonight and you're about the loveliest thing I've ever seen come through those doors, so I took a chance. I'm right aren't I?"

"Well, yeah." I was highly confused. I took a small sip of the drink and ran my fingers through my hair. For years I'd grown accustom to being the ugly duckling and it seemed as though the world just changed around me. Benny was still smiling at me and letting his eyes wander down my cleavage as I tried to comprehend everything. "How do you know Logan?"

Benny jumped back to work cutting some lemons and filling a few random beers as we continued on with our conversation. "He hasn't told you about me?" he scoffed playfully but continued, "We've worked together for two years now, but we were friends first." All the sleazy, annoying cadences in his voice were gone. He talked to me like I was a friend. "Speaking of work, things came up and he's gonna be held hostage for at least fifteen more minutes here."

I nodded in understanding. Thoughts were racing around my mind as I kept taking small sips of my drink. I should've still been angry or confused at the least, but all I could think of was the way I was suddenly being talked to. My first and last boyfriend was four years ago and he never gave me any pet names. I wasn't ever 'baby' or 'honey' but now that I had met Logan it was all different. Both he and Benny immediately gave use to all the endearing terms and I was at a loss as to why. There must've been a dozen reasons that I came across, but most of which left me with an unpleasant taste in my mouth.

I saw some movement from within a small room that was behind the bar. A set of arms reached to grab a box and I caught a glimpse of a familiar tattoo. The club had grown to make sense as I was talking to Benny, but now the clothes did as well. Logan was very obviously the bar manager for the club. I watched him as he shuffled some things around with his back to the door. As if in the coffee shop, I leaned over to get a closer look. When he'd turned around and saw me, I was biting my bottom lip again and looking through bedroom eyes.

He smiled, but as his eyes traveled down my neckline a possessive look sparked up. His nostrils flared a bit and his chest sunk deep with each breath he took. The smile only grew as he walked closer, abandoning all that lay behind him easily. With that short walk towards me, he made me feel like I was the only woman in the world. Wordlessly, he came to my side and every inch of my skin yearned for his touch. What was it about this man that tormented me so?

"What did I tell you, Benny?" Logan's voice was deep and extremely satisfying. He was looking down at me and I could see his hands flex at his side, wanting to hold me.

Benny looked up and smiled, "A goddess, indeed."

Logan's eyes never left me and I found myself growing warm under his admiration. "I'm sorry you had to wait for me and I'm terribly sorry that you had to meet me here in the first place." He shamelessly let his gaze lower, taking in the depths of my cleavage. "I wish I had been able to take you to a place worthy of the decadence you provide." His voice grew softer but each word trailed off his lips and poured over my skin. I had forever forgotten about whatever anger I had saved for him. I never imagined a man could talk this way or that he would waste such delicious talents on me.

Somehow sensing the magnificent sexual tension between the two of us, Benny spoke up, "Get out of here you two! Find some other poor sap to torture. I can't handle it anymore." Although hinting at truths, his words were playful and Logan acted upon them.

"Come now, beautiful," he demanded, taking me by the hand and leading me out into the dark night. Once outside he turned to me and held me at an arm's length. I realized that this was no joke. His eyes bore into every inch of me with lust, but something likened to caring or maybe kindness was there as well. The dress had worked and I was confident that I wasn't just a plaything. He wanted things from me, but I sensed it was more than just a good time.

I wrapped my arm around his and pulled him close to my side, cutting his viewing short and beginning our journey to wherever it was we were going. The smile he displayed was one of pure enjoyment. He stiffened his shoulders and made like a perfect gentlemen as we walked down the street. "You are truly wonderful, Arnie. You know that?" he whispered.

I gave a small laugh, shrugging off the compliment as I rested my head on his arm. He was my vision come to life and I couldn't help but melt beside him. Every sigh and moan was completely involuntary.

"I'm completely serious." I could hear him smile as he spoke and it had to be contentment that I felt radiating off of him. To think a man could be content with me. He continued, "I thought those looks you give me were intoxicating, but your touch is just extraordinary."

I patted his arm. "Hush. Just let me enjoy you while you're here." I sank into him as we continued to wander about. Even though he had been working, he smelt clean and of spiced soap. Every once in a while I'd look up at him and be tormented with the temptation to run my fingers through his hair, but I never left his side. It was so calming and peaceful just to hold him and know that he enjoyed it as much as I did.

We ended up at a small diner and talked for what seemed like hours over coffee and pie. I learned everything about him as he was granted the same pleasure from me. He said he'd been at the club for five years now, but ever since he started the job he hadn't been able to meet a woman who could stir up enough feeling inside of him to care. I'm sure he got invitations from young ladies more than he led on, but he told me that he just needed more. That as he got older the desire to come home to a warm bed and a hot meal meant more to him than one saucy night of pleasure. Of course I loved hearing those words.

I told him about my job at the bakery and how after my last promotion my need for the massages became overwhelming. I told him a little about my last boyfriend and how torturous it was for me to spend the last couple years alone. He listened intently and touched my hand now and again, signifying that he understood. It was lovely.

Suddenly, by some magnificent happenstance, the waitress that had been serving the few patrons in the diner tripped. The poor thing fell helplessly and the pile of food that she was carrying landing right in Logan's lap. There was pie hanging from his collar and pancakes slowly falling down his shirt. The poor waitress stood up quickly and waited for his rage to overcome her. She never had a chance though. Logan glanced down at all the food and started laughing. Soon enough everyone in the diner had joined in and the poor waitress ran to fetch some extra napkins.

"I hate to cut our evening short, but it seems as though I need to go home now." Logan looked at me with half a smile, but I could only see the opportunity he was handing me.

That ten percent of the time feeling bubbled up in me. Until now we had been chatting like old friends, and as much as I loved it, there were other things I was dying to love. "Nonsense," I replied more confident than I thought I could manage. "My place is just around the corner. I'll take care of you."

The waitress insisted that she cover our bill, so I stood up and took Logan's hand. There was no trepidation in his eyes as he received it and rose up beside me. I could only make out a glimmer of amazement and a whole lot of thrill. Before my brain had caught up with my libido I was fishing my keys out of my purse to unlock the door to my apartment. Even then, my brain couldn't come up with any reason as to why I should change my course of action.

Logan watched me kick my heels off and run around my small apartment. He stood silently in the middle of the flat, following me with his eyes as I got a washcloth to clean the syrupy mess off his face and neck. I darted into my room momentarily and came out with a pair or sweats and a t-shirt that my ex had left. Logan looked at me lovingly as I pulled at his shirt sleeve and led him to the kitchen.

"Where'd the clothes come from?" he prodded. "Was it your plan to have me covered in muck the entire night?" his words were playful and made me giggle.

"No, silly," I replied while loosening his tie and unbuttoning the first couple buttons of his shirt. I dampened the washcloth with warm water and he lifted his chin, allowing me unrestricted access to the mess upon him. "My ex left them here. He wasn't as tall as you, but they should do the trick while yours are in the wash."

"He lived with you?" Logan's voice gave way to a tinge of distaste. I grabbed his chin and forced his eyes to meet mine.

"Only for three months," I assured him. "He liked having a girlfriend but didn't enjoy that it was me. When he met someone else, he let me down gently and was moved out within the next hour. In his haste, he left a couple things."

"What an ass," Logan griped as I continued cleaning.

It made me smile. "It's ok. He wasn't a very good boyfriend anyhow."

Logan was clean now apart from his clothes and he began to strip right in front of me. I watched silently as each button was release and he shrugged off his vest and shirt. It was obvious his curiosity was peaked and he wasn't going to bother stopping the conversation for something as simple as changing clothes. "Tell me more," he petitioned with a brief hint of satisfaction.

I leaned back on the kitchen counter opposite of Logan and enjoyed the show while we spoke. "Well, for starters he never touched me. Every once in a while we'd be intimate long enough for him to get off, but then it'd be back to being platonic. I was never special, just the person who cooked and cleaned."

Logan's shirt was off now and I barely saw his furled brow with his beautiful bare chest demanding much of my attention. His skin was lightly tan all over with a small patch of blonde hair on his chest. I was granted the full view of his tattoo. It was a fairly large portrait of a lighthouse and the bordering cliff around it. It encompassed most of his bicep. I immediately loved it and desperately wanted to trace the crashing waves with my tongue. "You're right. He wasn't a good boyfriend at all," he said with distain.

It was hard to continue talking once his pants fell around his ankles. I had never fantasied about a man's thighs, but as I saw them I wondered what they'd look like squished against mine. Perhaps he'd press me against the wall and use his leg to part mine. The daydreaming started quickly with so much motivation in front of me. I had forgotten for a moment that this was real and not just another fantasy of mine.

"Arlene?" Logan bent his head to try and meet my wandering eyes as he spoke. I knew I blushed when he finally did because he broke out in a laugh. "You're starring again, sweetheart."

I covered my face with my hands, but he was closed in on me within a second and pulled them back down. He held my hands within his and looked down at them. "I take it's been a while since there's been a nearly naked man in your kitchen," he said right before kissing each of my hands.

It was a good thing I was leaning up against the counter. "Yes," I sheepishly replied.

Logan moaned into a second set of kisses, this time longer and more fervent as he pulled my hands up closer to his face. "It makes me rather angry that such a jerk had the privilege of sleeping next to a temptress as yourself and he just..." Logan lost his words as he unfolded one of my hands and kissed my palm before resting it along his cheek. "I want to make you feel special."

He could have done anything to me in that moment and I would have allowed it. I was looking up at him bewildered, jaw dropped, and holding my breath. He nuzzled into the hand around his face and continued to kiss the fingertips of the one that was still in his grasp. Never, not even once, did anyone ever make me feel as lovely and womanly as he did in that moment. It was spectacular and I was amazingly sad when he stopped.

"I'm not wearing your ex's clothes," he said while releasing my hands. He looked around the apartment and then back at me. "Where's your washer at?"

I took me a couple seconds to remember how to speak. My hands tingled from his caresses and the rest of me ached for the same special kisses. "Here," I picked up his clothes and headed to the washing room. "Let me."

He followed me and watched as I switched out the loads and started up the machines. I placed my hands on my hips and turned to face him, satisfied that he'd allowed me to take care of him. I was still in my tight black dress and stockings. My hair wasn't as lovely as it had been earlier in the night, but with the way he was looking at me, I suspected it didn't matter. He was watching very intently and I began to feel rather self-conscious. I lifted an eye brow and pursed my lips, wordlessly asking what he was thinking.

He leaned up against the door post and sighed. "I'm beginning to see the attraction in just watching. There's something so incredibly heavenly about watching you move about. It's..." he trailed off looking for the right word. His voice was deep and sexy as hell when he found it, "Inspirational. You inspire me, Arnie."

I was not lost on his implication. "Look at you getting cheeky with me," I tried to deflect the comment that I knew was meant to phase me. "Come on big guy." I walked towards the door and with both hands, gently pushed him out of the way. I reveled in the feeling of his skin in contact with mine and wondered when the temptation would prove too much for him. He was in his boxers and alone with me in my apartment. There was definitely temptation there.

I led him back to the kitchen and started to fix a pot of coffee, figuring we'd be up talking at least until it was time to switch the laundry loads. He moved swiftly up behind me and even though I couldn't feel his touch, I could sense the heat his body emitted. I'm pretty sure he leaned over to smell me at one point and it made me almost giddy. I barely knew this man and yet he had me smitten.

When the pot had started, I slowly turned to see him. His eyes were glazed over with lust and I could feel them roaming all over my body. I imagined the hunger in my face when I watched him undress was just as evident as the hunger in his as he looked at me now. It was breathtaking and I could hardly control myself anymore. I felt a heat generate in me with a great intensity as the seconds passed by. Something had to be done.

"Join me?" I asked, pouting a little. I slid by him, running my hand along the widest part of his chest. Somehow, he empowered me with such confidence and I had no clue as to how. I tried as hard as I could be the best little seductress that I could manage. I made sure that I rolled my hips wide and smooth as he followed behind, giving him the best view that I could. He moaned and reached out for my waist, but resisted. I realized it was because he hadn't gotten permission yet and I thought it almost sweet that he was waiting for the moment when I granted it to him.

I led him to the couch and gently eased him down. "Would it be ok if I sat on your lap?" I looked at him hesitantly. I had figured that because I didn't have a thirty inch waist it wouldn't be comfortable for him. Sure I wanted to plop right down and kiss him until his lips were blue, but I didn't want to crush the poor guy. I looked away and tried not to let him see how embarrassed I was at having to ask such a question. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Are you serious?" his reply was satirical and the look on his face did not suggest he was pleased by the reason behind my request. He reached up for my hands and guided me onto his lap. "Don't be like that, beautiful."

"Well, I just thought..." He cut me off, sealing my lips with his. His hands ran up my thighs and to my waist to pull me closer. His kiss was patient and incredibly sweet while everything else about him gave a sense of urgency. I felt so pliable and warm in his arms especially when his lips tugged so gently at mine.

We stopped to catch our breath and his hands continued to squeeze at my hips. He leaned in and started to trail hot, wet kisses down my neck and along the neckline of my dress. I was panting. Every time his lips touched my skin I grew more wanting of him. I had been silent, but with all the physical torture, I let out a small moan. He stopped and looked me in the eye before devouring my mouth again. I made a mental note of his love for vocalizations.

The apartment was quiet, so when the buzzer for the washing machine went off it shocked both of us. He looked over towards the laundry room and back at me. I could imagine the debate going on in his head and I made the decision for him. "Wait here, baby. I'll be right back." I kissed him lightly before easing up and running back to the laundry room.

He sat on the couch twiddling his thumbs and was rather excited when I walked back in. He started to pull me back down again, but I resisted him and was growled at. "Hush, baby," I cooed, trying to redirect his attention from my lips and to the rest of me. "I want to get more comfortable. Could you unzip me?" My lips gave way to a sexy smile and he was only too eager to yield with my request.

I turned and felt his hands ease up my side and towards the zipper on my back. He pushed my hair aside and kissed my exposed neck, sending shivers up my spine. "You're killing me, babe." Slowly he began the release the dress from me as he kissed the newly exposed skin. "You're so responsive to my touch. It's getting me all crazy."

I turned round and playfully smacked his chest. "And what do you suppose those touches of yours do to me?" I was holding the dress in my arms, waiting to see what he would do next. Would he want to see me or insist on getting under the covers first like my ex always did? The moments passed and he was kissing my face and neck, but never did he look down at the rest of me. I was swallowing my disappointment. He had given me every reason to believe that he was different and that he thought I was beautiful as I was. I had begun to realize that when the time came, every guy was probably going to be the same.

He sat back on the edge of the couch and guided me to stand between his knees. How surprised I was when he spoke. "Let me see," he demanded calmly. "I want to see you."

It was like the breath was stolen out of me. My lungs tried desperately, but nothing came. He reached out and tugged the bottom of my dress and I just let go. The black fabric fell and so did his jaw. It was the most wonderful thing I could've ever imagined. I was watching his face intently and nearly forgot about the lingerie I had been wearing. It wasn't until he ran his finger under the straps of my garter belt that I remembered I had it on. He looked at me with such an appetite, such craving, that I forgot all the hurtful looks and remarks that I'd dealt with all my life. He thought I was beautiful and he said so with his eyes and even more so with his hands.