“Shopping for anything special?” he asks.
“I got some new interview outfits and some new underwear.”
“Hmm… I definitely wanna see the underwear.”
I grin. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Do you have dinner plans tonight?” Why does he sound uncertain?
“No, what’s up?” I ask.
“Meg has invited us to have dinner with her and Will at their place.” He exhales deeply.
“You don’t want to go?” I ask.
“I’m fine with it, if you are.”
“Okay, I’m in.”
“Okay. I’ll pick you up at six.” He clears his throat, and I hear voices in the background.
“What are you up to?” I ask, my curiosity piqued.
“I’m hanging out with a few of the guys. We’re looking at song choices for the new album, and they’re being stupid.”
I laugh and cradle the phone between my ear and shoulder as I stand and begin hanging my new clothes.
“What are they doing?”
“Jake is substituting dirty words for the regular words in the songs. I swear these guys are ten years old.”
“You love them,” I murmur with a grin.
“They’re all crazy.” There is mumbling in the background, and I hear someone start to play an acoustic guitar, and I wish I was there to listen. “I’m gonna go finish with these guys, and I’ll see you at six.”
“It’s a date.” I glance down at the black panties in my hand and think about how far we’ve come since that horrible night in my kitchen.
“Good. And, baby?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not sleeping alone tonight.”
He hangs up, leaving me with a wide grin and wet panties.
Thank God.
***
“You look fantastic,” Leo mutters and looks me up and down appreciatively, taking in my red sweater and black jeans.
My red heels increase my height by four inches, and he’s still way taller than I am.
“So do you.” And he does, in his faded blue jeans and black button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing those hot tats on his forearms.
“Come on, Meg will kill us if we’re late, and if I come in, we may not make it there at all.”
He settles me in his car and pulls into traffic toward Will’s home.
“So, you bought interview clothes. I suppose that means you have an interview?” He raises an eyebrow at me and offers me half a smile.
“I do. Next week.” I clench my hands in my lap and pray that he doesn’t ask me where.
No such luck.
“Where?”
“In LA.”
His head whips around, and he stares at me with his jaw dropped, and then he scowls deeply and turns back to the road, his knuckles going white on the steering wheel.
“Why LA?” he asks, his voice deceptively low.
“Because they offered.” I shrug and look out my window, not paying attention to the landscape.
“But you don’t want to move out of Seattle.”
“Leo, sometimes what we want and what we get are two different things.” I take a deep breath and frown. “What’s the big deal?”
“You shouldn’t have to settle.” He glares at me.
“I need a job.” I say the words slowly and clearly. “I’m going a bit crazy here, Leo. I need to work. I like to work. No one in Seattle is offering.”
“I’ll help you until you find something here.”
He sounds so sure, and I want to soften, just at the thought that he wants to help me, but that is absolutely not going to happen.
“I don’t need any help.”
“Samantha…”
“Leo, I’m not thinking about the LA job because that’s where you’re based, if that’s what makes you nervous. I may not even get the job, but they called, want to fly me there next week, and I’m going.”
“That’s what you think?”
“I just…”
“Sam, I don’t want you to take a job that you don’t really want. There’s no reason for you to.”
I shake my head and rub my forehead with my fingertips. “I don’t do anything I don’t want to.”
“Yeah, no shit.”
“Like I said, I might not get it. It’s good practice for the interview process.”
“Hey.” He takes my hand in his and kisses my knuckles. “You’ll be great. They’d be stupid not to scoop you up.”
“Thank you.” I offer him a small smile. He still looks upset but not angry. “How did it go with the band today?”
“It was good to hang out for a while and talk shop.”
“How are they doing?”
“Good. Enjoying their time off.” He pulls into Will and Meg’s driveway and cuts the engine.
“Why did you sound nervous about bringing me here tonight?” I ask when he turns to me in the dark car.
“Because I’d rather be at your place, or mine, alone with you.” He runs his hand down my face and cups my cheek gently. “I missed you last night.”
“Me, too,” I whisper.
“Let’s get this over with so we can leave and I can lose myself in you for about ten hours.”
Damn, I love it when he says stuff like that. I feel the same way; when I’m with him, I lose myself in him.
“Can I lick your stars?” I ask and laugh when his eyes dilate and his breathing quickens.
“Fuck, you can lick anything you want.”
“We’ll start with the stars.”
“Get out now, or I’ll take you back home.”
He escorts me to the door, his hand on my low back, and as we wait for our hosts to answer the door, he leans in and whispers against my ear, “As soon as I get you home, I’m going to fuck you until you can’t walk.”
I swallow hard but grin sassily. “Promises, promises.”
He swats my ass just as the door opens then spreads his arms for Meg to give him a big hug.
“Hey, Meg-Pie.”
“Hi, jerk.” She snuggles into him for a minute, and then backs away and smiles over at me. “Any diaper mishaps lately?”
“No.” I shudder and follow her inside. “I think I’ll leave the babysitting to my mom.”
“You’ll learn.” Meg grins.
“Hey, you’re here!” Will looks fantastic in his jeans and football T-shirt.
Will looks fantastic in anything.
“Thanks for inviting us,” Leo responds and shakes his hand.
“Come into the kitchen.” Meg turns to lead us through the house to their pretty kitchen. “Dinner’s almost ready.”
I help her set the table and fill wine glasses.
“This smells delicious.” She’s prepared salmon with a rice pilaf and salad, and my stomach growls. “I haven’t eaten today.”
“Why haven’t you eaten?” Leo asks from across the room.
“Because I had the meeting this morning, and then I went shopping, and I guess I forgot.”
“I do that, too.” Meg nods. “I made a ton of food, so please eat it up.”
“You can count on me.” I assure her, and we all claim a seat at the table and begin dishing up.
“So, Meg”—Leo slides a big piece of salmon onto my plate and then one onto his—“what are your plans for your birthday?”
“The Montgomerys do a monthly birthday party for all the members of the family with a birthday that month, so we’ll do that.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal, but her eyes are happy.
She loves her birthday.
“I’m buying her a new car to finally replace that piece of shit that broke down on her a few months ago,” Will adds, and Meg shifts uncomfortably in her chair.
I feel Leo stiffen beside me.
“Why were you driving a piece of shit, Megan?” he asks, his voice low.
“Because it’s what I could afford.” She takes a sip of wine, not meeting anyone’s eyes.
Will f
rowns at her.
“That’s bullshit,” Leo snaps at her.
Will turns his confused gaze to Leo’s. “No, it’s not.”
Leo shakes his head and drops his fork to his plate. “Meg, I know for a fact that you could have bought anything you wanted. I made sure that you were set up to receive your fifty percent of the royalties from all the songs we co-wrote on the past two albums.”
I can’t help the gasp that escapes my lungs as my eyes widen. Meg’s cheeks go red with embarrassment.
“What?” Will demands.
“Where is the money?” Leo asks.
“I donated it.” She shrugs and continues to look down at her plate.
“Fucking A,” Leo mutters under his breath and runs his hand down his face. “You mean to tell me that I spent the better part of fifteen years of my life taking care of you, and I’m gone for a couple of years, and while I’m making millions, you’re living paycheck to paycheck? What the fuck, Megan?”
“I didn’t want the money!” she yells back at him and glares at him from across the table. “I just wanted you, and you left, and I was pissed!”
“So you gave away millions of dollars? Money that you needed?”
“I didn’t need it.” She shakes her head stubbornly.
“Babe”—Will drops his arm around her shoulders—“why didn’t you tell me this before?”
She just shrugs again, and Will’s face twists in pain.
“Okay, stop, guys,” I interrupt and three pairs of eyes, filled with hurt and love, turn to me. “It’s done. You can’t change it.” I take Leo’s hand in mine and stare up at him. “She loves you, and she missed you,” I whisper.
He clenches his eyes shut and then looks back down at me, his gray eyes full of worry. He releases my hand and wraps that arm around my shoulders and pulls me close to plant that magical mouth on mine, devouring me, and I forget that we’re not alone.
“That looks like a good idea,” I hear Will whisper, and assume he’s kissing the shit out of Meg.
Leo pulls back and grazes my bottom lip with his thumb. “Thank you.”
When we turn back to the table, Will plants a kiss on Meg’s forehead, and her lips are full and swollen from being kissed, her eyes glassy from desire and unshed tears.
Her gaze finds mine, and she gets a goofy grin on her face.
“What?” I ask.
“I’ve never seen Leo kiss anyone before.” Her voice is full of wonder, and her gaze travels between Leo and me.
“Never?” I frown at the man sitting next to me.
He glowers at Meg.
“Nope, he’s always had a strict no-kissing policy.” Her grin widens as he continues to fidget.
“Shut up,” he whispers.
“Interesting.”
“Very,” she agrees. “He always said, no kissing and no oral sex. Used to piss the girls off.”
“Shut the fuck up, Megan.” Leo’s pissed all over again, and I’m struck dumb as I remember the night on my couch when he kissed me for hours and held me and kissed me most of the night in my bed.
The times that he’s gone down on me, like he can’t get enough of me.
Megan laughs, and I swallow hard as Will catches my gaze. He smiles reassuringly and winks, and for a moment, I want to run. This is too much. I’m coming to depend on the affections of a man who never used to commit enough to a woman to kiss..
Why me?
What am I going to do when it’s over?
And then I feel Leo’s hand on my shoulder, his grip firm and warm, and I look up into his soft, sweet eyes, and I calm. I lean in and kiss him, pull on his piercing with my teeth and grin.
“He kisses me all the time,” I tell Meg smugly.
“Good. It’s about time.”
“You know, I have secrets I can tell, too, brat,” Leo reminds her, and Will comes to attention.
“Spill it.”
“No!” Meg shakes her head and giggles. “Story time is over.”
“It’s okay.” Will and Leo share a look. “I’ll get it out of him eventually.”
“I think that you guys can never spend time together again,” Meg decides. “Say goodbye now, and we’ll go our separate ways.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works.” I chuckle.
“Damn.”
“Come on.” Will stands and pulls Meg out of her chair. “Let’s go in the living room and have dessert.”
Leo pulls me out of my chair, too, but leans in to whisper, “You’re dessert.”
***
I wake with a start, sit upright in bed, and frown when I see that I’m alone. My eyes adjust to the darkness in Leo’s bedroom, but I don’t see him. He brought me here after our dinner at Will and Meg’s, and I was excited to see what he’s done with Meg’s place.
It’s small, messy and a total bachelor pad, but it suits him.
Where is he?
I climb out of bed and pull on his black button-down, fastening just the middle two buttons and, on a whim, tuck a condom in the breast pocket.
The house is still. No music.
Something is wrong.
I find him in the dark of the living room, rocking quietly in a big recliner. It’s too dark to see his face, but I know he’s awake because the chair is moving rhythmically.
“Babe?” I ask quietly.
“Come here,” he whispers.
I climb into his lap, and his arms close around me tightly, pulling me against him, and he buries his nose in my hair and takes a deep, deep breath.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“I thought I wore you out,” I respond with a smile. When he said earlier that I was dessert and he was going to fuck the hell out of me, he hadn’t been kidding.
I feel him grin against my hair. “I love making love to you.”
“Hey.” The wistful tone in his voice worries me. I lean back and take his face in my hands, making him look me in the eye. “Talk to me.”
He tangles his fingers in my hair and watches them comb through it. His knuckles brush down my cheeks. He’s softly touching me, and he’s quiet for so long I don’t think he’s going to talk at all, when finally he starts to speak, so quietly that if I weren’t just a few inches from his mouth, I wouldn’t be able to hear him.
“When I met Meg, she was tiny. Underweight. She was all red hair and long limbs. And she was so scared.” He closes his eyes and leans his forehead against mine, remembering the little girl he loved. “I was headed for bad things. Bad people. But then she came to the foster home I was in, and she became mine.”
He takes a breath, swallows hard, and keeps talking. “She followed me everywhere, and I didn’t mind. If my friends didn’t want her around, they weren’t my friends anymore.”
“You’re kindred spirits,” I whisper to him, and he nods.
“Yeah, and I knew what it was like to be thrust into foster care at her age. So I claimed her. I taught her how to play guitar. And when I got placed elsewhere, I made sure I always had a job so I could pay for her to have a cell phone.”
He brushes my hair back from my face as he speaks, his eyes distant, lost in another time.
“We’ve always looked out for each other. Even when things were really shitty, and they did get really shitty, we had each other.”
He swallows hard again and swears under his breath, and I feel his muscles tense even further under my hands.
“And now I learn tonight that she’s been struggling for years, and I wasn’t here to take care of her.”
“Leo, she’s a grown woman. She made her choices for a reason.”
“Yeah, because I hurt her.” He shakes his head and growls in frustration. “I knew it would hurt her to leave her here, but damn it, she’d just started her career, and chasing this music thing can be unpredictable and brutal. I didn’t want that for her.” He kisses my forehead, as though he just needs the contact, and runs his hands up and down my back. “I made sure sh
e was set to receive that royalty money so that I wouldn’t have to worry about her financial situation.”
“Meg doesn’t care about the money. She’s all about the people she loves,” I remind him.
“I know.” He sighs. “I love that girl more than just about anything. It kills me that she was driving an unsafe car.”
“Sweetie,” I whisper and kiss him softly, needing to comfort him. “She’s okay.”
His arms tighten around me again, and he pulls me into a hug, tucking my face against his neck.
“And now I have you.” His hands continue to run up and down my back. “Another stubborn woman.”
He grips my shoulders and pulls me up so he can look me in the eye again. “I know you’re strong and independent, and I respect that, but this is who I am, Sam. I take care of what is mine. You’re mine.”
He waits for me to argue, but I can’t. I feel tears prick my eyes, and I bite my lip.
“Don’t cry,” he whispers. “Just let me do what I do best, baby. Let me take care of you.”
“It’s hard for me to let people in, Leo.”
“I’m already in,” he reminds me. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
Yet.
His hands wander under the shirt, making my body come alive. He lifts me so I’m straddling his naked lap, and unbuttons the shirt, peeling it down my arms, but I rescue the condom from the pocket and grin at his raised eyebrow.
“I’m a planner.”
“I see.” He pulls the sleeves over my hands and throws the shirt to the floor.
“That’s better,” he whispers and leans forward to capture a nipple in his lips.
“God.” I grip his soft brown hair in my fingers and hold on as he wreaks havoc on my body. His hands cup my ass, his lips all over my breasts and neck.
Finally, he takes care of the condom, lifts me, and slowly fills me, kissing me gently.
“You. Are. So. Amazing.” His soft lips brush over mine, back and forth, over and over again as he begins to move inside me. “Rock with me, baby.”
And we begin to rock in the chair, so the chair is doing the work, pushing his cock in and out of me. Our arms wrap around the other and cling, our faces touching from forehead to nose, and we just lose ourselves in each other until I don’t know where I end and he begins.
“So close,” he whispers and bites his lower lip, and I feel my own climax approaching, my body tightening, thighs beginning to shake.
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