by Amy Daws
Ivan’s face went blank. A defense mechanism taught to the best performing arts majors. He was not happy about my threat, but didn’t want me to know what he was thinking. “I’ll be back later today for practice. I won’t be content to read about what happened in the papers like I had to this morning.”
“Fine.” I would have agreed to about anything. “Stop by my place later today, and I’ll tell you everything.”
With Ivan taken care of, I turned my attention back to the screaming match. I knew how Leo had found my place; nonetheless I hadn’t expected him to show up after I blew chunks all over his suit. Just thinking about it made my stomach churn. Gross. Gross. Gross.
I raised my chin and approached the very loud talking individuals. I was about ten feet away before Blake’s wife nudged the screaming blonde and nodded at me.
Leo followed their gaze to my direction. Twice. Was anything more complimentary than a double-take? His eyes crawled hungrily up my body, toe to head. It wasn’t like I was dressed to the nines, just a little makeup and hairspray. Perhaps he was just surprised to see me. His smoldering glower was lethal enough, but then he was dressed to kill on top of it!
“You!” the blonde snapped at me, like the three letter you word carried more weight than an actual curse word.
Along came her shaking finger. Who was I? A child to be punished? Holy crap was she melodramatic!
“You’re the reason the Richards family name is being dragged through the dirt right now!” She marched toward me, getting her face in mine.
Leo grabbed her arm, protecting me from jabs by her accusatory finger. “I’m the one you’re mad at Sasha, not Adeline!”
“Get off of me!” Sasha yelled and pushed Leo.
He didn’t back off. He kept his cool even though Sasha was testing his restraint. His chest swelled, in a rather distracting and not the right time and place sort of way.
“You’re the reason why Leonardo and his family are being forced into your public stupor,” she screamed. “They have legal reason to sue the tabloid for defamation. You’re the reason why everything went to hell!”
I didn’t deny it. It was the truth. If I hadn’t made that one horrible bad decision with Blake off stage, none of this would have happened. I couldn’t look at Blake’s wife, although I did glance at the ring on her finger. Rather, how could I not notice her ring? It was freaking enormous. She gave it a flick in the air so that it really sparkled and paired it with a vicious smile.
I wondered if Blake would have given her the much smaller ring he’d given me. The one he claimed to be his grandmother’s. If it’d been an heirloom, wouldn’t he have fought for it when he called off our engagement?
“That’s right, slut. Give it a good look because it’s the closest diamond you’ll see north of five carats outside a jewelry store,” Blake’s wife said.
“Felicia, shut up!” Leo growled and then turned his attention to the blonde barricaded in his arms. He grabbed her shoulders. “And you, for the last time, nothing happened between us, Sasha! Adeline just had too many drinks and needed a lift home.”
“Ha!” Felicia scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “If nothing happened then why did you lie about needing to study?”
“That’s none of your damn business,” Leo yelled.
“It is mine,” Sasha retorted. “You’re my boyfriend.”
I wanted to die. Death by mortification, that’s how I’d go. Of course Leo was taken—why wouldn’t he be? In one night, I slept with my married ex and managed to crush on someone else’s beau!
“We both know that we haven’t been serious for a while, Sasha. I let you drag me to the ballet, but I never said I wanted to go fucking steady.”
Oh thank goodness! They weren’t an item! Well, not a serious one. Even so, I was the last person to point out proper dating etiquette.
With that settled, everyone needed to chill out. If I had to speak in a soft voice so they could take a second to realize how juvenile they were being, I’d freaking whisper. So in a calm voice I spoke, “Sasha, Felicia, how did you find out where I live?”
“How do you think we did?” Felicia snapped back. “We have means of locating anyone needing to be found, even skanks like you. My husband is the heir to NetMapping. Ever heard of it? It’s only the most effective GPS in the world.”
I clenched my teeth to keep from calling her a liar. Blake had an older brother that was as power hungry as he. To say that Blake was going to be the sole proprietor of the company was a stretch. Nevertheless, I kept my mouth shut. What Blake told his wife wasn’t my concern. It begged the question: how long had Blake, or his family, been keeping tabs on me? Had he ever stopped?
“And so we were just going to tell you that Leo had a girlfriend and that you should back off when we caught him pacing in front of your apartment door!”
“We. Aren’t. Dating.” Leo’s cheeks turned red.
I took a deep breath and ignored everything I couldn’t deal with at this point. I’d just slept with a married man. Now I was getting the fifth degree from a ticked off ex-girlfriend, or friends-with-benefits, or whoever.
“My point was that if you two girls found out where I live, don’t you think that a paparazzi might have managed to locate me as well? One of their reporters stalked me last night. I wouldn’t put it past them to follow me home.” I glanced at the tipped over bike. “I might have put on the performance of a lifetime last night, but today it’s you making the show.”
Sasha exchanged a look with Felicia. I doubted their precious families would be pleased if they turned up in tomorrow’s smut paper. When Sasha took a deep breath, Leo let go of her. She straightened herself out and then turned her death glare at me.
“You have no idea who you’re messing with,” Sasha jeered, flipping her bleached blonde hair over her shoulder. “The Richards are powerful people. They will ruin you for tainting their son’s image. So don’t try to pull anything with Leo, because he’ll get sick of you and come running back to me like he always does.”
“That is his prerogative,” I said.
With her nose high in the air, she rolled her eyes. I was merely an obstacle who was getting in the way of her happiness. I bet it pained her that little, ‘ol me was disrupting her platinum lifestyle. I could practically see the contempt seeping from her caked-on makeup. From her artificial breasts, to her tattooed lip liner, to her fake oversized eyelashes, to her acrylic nails—everything about her was as fake as her high-and-mighty smile.
“You don’t belong in this world,” she sneered.
I held her gaze. “Thank God.”
“Bitch!”
She looped arms with Felicia and stomped off. They didn’t get too far before Sasha turned around and held her phone up in my direction, taking a photo of us on the sidewalk together. For what? I didn’t have the energy to care. All I could think about was how I just needed to apologize for…ugh! Everything a lightweight drunk could have managed in one night. The Rotten Apple’s bang-up article on us, ruining his good suit jacket with vomit, and we couldn’t forget screwing his friend, Blake.
And his motorcycle…
His motorcycle! I raced over to it, grabbed the seat, and pulled up. I wasn’t the strongest girl ever, but I was fit. However, the damn thing was awkward as hell! I managed to raise it a couple inches off of the ground before my grip slipped. Closing the distance, Leo caught the handlebars.
It took everything I could do to pry that metal beast up off of the ground. Yet, he managed to keep it upright with one arm. Squatting down behind me, he repositioned himself around me so that he could get a better handhold. My back was pressed against his chest, pinning me between him and the bike. We stood up together. Once it was upright, he propped it back on the kickstand.
His breath hit the back of my neck when he spoke, “This isn’t a danseur you’re lifting.”
He knew the proper terminology for a dancing partner? My interest was piqued.
Instead of steppi
ng away, he reached around and inspected the bike’s gauges. He leaned further to check the opposite handle bar for scratches or…whatever. I was sure there were all sorts of scratches here and there, costing a small fortune to fix, but all I could concentrate on was him pressed firmly against my back. His hips fit entirely too perfectly against my backside. The euphoric scent of his cologne made me not want to pull away just yet. That and I swore his chest didn’t move when I leaned back against him ever-so-slightly. He chose that to be the best time to check the cushion of the seat just in front of me. His fingers slid over the leather and somehow managed to graze my shirt. When I didn’t object, he stopped inspecting his bike and began an examination on me. He pressed his fingers against my shirt. My stomach did a flip when his hand slipped over it.
The pound of his heartbeat on my back might as well have been drumming in my ears. He wrapped his hands around my waist. They almost fit all the way around me. I never felt so petite next to someone like him. He towered over me, around me, like I’d been created to fit snuggly next to him. He breathed in the scent of my hair as he traced his chin down the nape of my neck.
“You have something I want.” His remark came out heavy with unspoken desire.
I looked over my shoulder so that our faces nearly touched. My question came out ragged as all I could think about was my desperation to lick his lips. “What?”
He suddenly tore his gaze from mine. “The helmet.”
Abruptly, he let go of me and walked up the apartment complex steps. The sudden vacancy of his warmth left me trembling against the early autumns air. It took me a moment—an embarrassingly long moment—to gather myself before I met him at the front door. Leaning against the doorframe, he watched me walk up next to him. He couldn’t take his eyes off of me, and I couldn’t figure out his strategy. Was he seducing me? No, that didn’t make any sense. No man in their right mind would return to a girl who did what I did to his suit jacket.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t deny, nor did I want to, the irresistible attraction between us. Just as mesmerizing as his russet eyes was the captivating grin he gave me when my door keys slipped from my grasp. My trembling hands were seriously calling me out. I was blowing my cool factor. I dropped my gaze and bent over to pick up the blasted keys.
“Fuck,” Leo whispered.
I swore his hand caressed my outer thigh. I paused, desperate to memorize his touch against me.
Oh, snap out of it!
If all he wanted was his helmet, then I could give that to him. And then be done with him. We’d never be anything more than two very different people awestruck in each other’s presence.
I managed to unlock the door just as my elderly neighbor with the shih tzu shouted to hold the door. She hobbled down the hallway as fast as anyone could in a walker with tennis balls on the bottom. Leo held it open for her. While I waited for him, I walked to my mailbox and tried to act like I had half a brain and could do normal things. I needed to focus. I needed distance.
Inside my mailbox, there was a stack of envelopes and a final notice lying ominously on the top. I shuffled them around, not wanting anyone to see, especially Leo. I definitely wasn’t going to tell him about my money troubles or family history in general, bring up the fact that his family funded my dance scholarship, or that I might not even need the funding if Joffrey kicked me out.
I turned around to show him up to my studio apartment, when I smacked right into his chest. My hand pressed flat against his leather jacket. I hesitated to move away…I couldn’t. He smelled so damn good. Even so, I mustered the strength to take a step back, uttering an apology about walking into him.
Without warning, he snatched my waist and pulled me hard against him. He stole a kiss—an impulsive kiss that I wasn’t about to deny him. His lips moved over mine, opening my mouth up to his. I whimpered. Heaven help me, I couldn’t keep my eagerness under control. Everything about him was so unpredictable. Still, there was too much space between us. I grabbed his jacket and jerked him against me. My mail scattered to the floor.
Just as I was getting into it, he broke the kiss suddenly but didn’t pull away. He leaned his forehead against mine.
“I wanted to kiss you the moment you basically told Sasha to fuck off.” He traced his nose next to mine like he couldn’t decide if he wanted to keep talking or…do other things with his mouth. “The paparazzi has ruined your reputation enough for one day. I wasn’t about to give them another story by doing this outside.”
The paparazzi—their ghostly presences cleared my head. I was standing in the City’s limelight. Blake would see my every move. Somehow I doubted that he’d take kindly to his friend pining on his ex.
“I’m no good.” My lips hovered just above his. I wanted more—needed more. However there were already too many things going against us. This would never work. “You have no idea how big of a mess I’m in.”
“I don’t care about those things anymore than you do. I know what I want, and I’m looking at her.”
I pulled back from him, just enough to see his eyes. He needed to hear me—see me. See that I wasn’t lying.
“You don’t understand. I don’t know how well you know Blake, I don’t know if you’re friends…but he…he can ruin people or make them. After he broke off our engagement, it was a miracle I was able to stay at Joffrey—that he didn’t ruin everything I’d worked so hard for. I’d hate to throw you in the middle of this mess. And if anything happened, he’d see it as a sign of betrayal.”
“Blake and I aren’t friends. I’m not afraid of an asshole like—”
“Just listen!” I surprised myself that I’d interrupted him but even more shocked that he listened. “He has connections, horrible vile connections of men just as powerful as he. They’re like these sadistic brothers who’d do anything for each other. They tell lies, spread rumors, do anything to protect themselves.”
CHAPTER 12 ~ Leo
Damn it, why is she talking about Blake again?
All I wanted to do was marvel about how her lips were the softest things I’d ever felt. As soon as I saw her outside her apartment, they were all I could look at. I hadn’t realized last night how desperately I wanted her. I thought I just wanted to protect her and make sure she was okay because she was drunk. But I was wrong. It was more than that. It was a weird, gravitational pull that I’d never felt with any girl.
Then again, I’d never been around a girl like Adeline.
When she told off Sasha and Felicia, I wanted to thrust my fist in the air and cheer. Fuck, I wanted to kiss her damn face off right there on the street. I barely knew her and already she made me proud multiple times over. Her dancing, her demeanor, her quiet power, her unique attitude against all the bullshit that comes with living in New York City. It was enthralling. I wanted it. All of it. Right the fuck now.
Waiting for her to unlock her apartment building forced me to exercise restraint like I’d never done before. When I slammed my lips against hers, and she reciprocated with equal vigor…I knew I needed more. I grabbed her and firmly tucked her against my body. She was so small but so powerful. Every muscle and ripple beneath her clothes felt smooth and plump in all the ways that made my dick hard. Finally I was able to put my hands on her the way I’d been fantasizing about from the moment she ran onto that stage last night.
Now she is totally fucking everything up by talking about Blake and his pack of fucking followers.
“I know all about Blake and the brotherhood, believe me,” I looked down on her with a determined set to my jaw. The last person I want to talk about right now was him.
“Brotherhood? You mean the frat?” Adeline asked, furrowing her brow.
I blinked, suddenly realizing what I had just said. “Yeah, same thing.”
I pulled away from her, annoyed at myself for not thinking straight. This girl was way too distracting. Use your fucking head, Richards! I almost revealed something that I’d been sworn into secrecy since freshmen year. I couldn’t get into this
. Not now. Not ever.
She eyed me curiously. “Why do I get the impression you’re hiding something from me, Leo?” she asked, crossing her sculpted arms across her chest.
A charged energy fired off beneath my skin and I shook my head nervously. I really needed to bolt. “Look, can I just get my helmet? I have somewhere to be.”
Her expression fell for a fraction of a second and then she straightened her already perfect posture and nodded stoically. “That’s definitely for the best.”
I scoffed, annoyed at her response and this situation. I was being such an ass right now. She continued to stare at me for another moment, obviously trying to read my mind. Damn this girl was under my skin. Two seconds ago I just wanted her under me and now I’m trying to leave? What is wrong with me! This was not how I saw my morning going down at all.
She turned and began ascending the steps, and I did everything I could not to check out her bare legs under that short skirt. Fuck, why did every part of her have to look sexy as hell? I even loved the way her toes angled out when she walked.
We reached her apartment door on the fourth floor and I followed her inside. My senses were instantly hit with the smell of fruity lotion and the remnants of a vanilla candle. Her studio was a tiny, one-room apartment. There was a small, messy futon, a mini fridge, and a window overlooking the brick building next door.
“I like your place,” I said trying to get back the casual vibe between us and alleviate this tension.
She strode over to her bookshelf and picked my helmet up off of the floor. “Just a dorm studio, Leo. I’m sure you’ve seen much better.” She returned and stopped directly in front of me, toes pointed out, helmet clutched tightly to her chest.
“Now what the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked. Damn she was fiery.
She squinted at me ever so slightly. “You seem to know more about Blake and his pack than you’re letting on, and I’m not sure I like being lied to.”