by Laura Morgan
“Oh really? Well in that case…” She leaned down to suck his hard-on. He groaned loudly as she swirled her tongue over the tip, trailing her mouth up and down his thick shaft, and taking him as far back as she could. When he was nearing his end, Cassie quickly pulled it out and let his hot offering spurt onto her bare breasts.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Leo whispered when he was finished, smiling down at her as she grabbed his t-shirt and used it to wipe herself clean with a cheeky grin. “I’d forgotten how good it feels to do that, especially on tits as beautiful as these.” Leo kissed her forehead and lay back down on the bed, drawing Cassie into his arms and pulling her on top of him. She followed his lead, his bulge pressing into her mound as she straddled him, but thin material of her shorts restricted his pressure from penetrating any higher than her folds. Cassie groaned, kissing him deeply, and she pushed down onto him, her cheeks turning a delicate shade of rosy red as she gyrated.
“Touch yourself for me,” he murmured, feeling her wetness through the shorts, and Cassie immediately followed his order. Leo watched her unravel atop him with a satisfied smile. He loved that she did as he commanded without hesitation or fear, and wondered if perhaps he should be more persuasive with her pleasure in the future. Part of him wondered if Cassie enjoyed the dangerous side of him as well as fearing it. She openly enjoyed being alongside him when he was the fear-inducing Leo Solomon at his gatherings. He had noticed she was quicker to bed on the nights she had seen him exert his power over his men. The two of them had barely made it into the limousine one night when he’d had to be tough on one of his guys in front of her before she had released and devoured his cock with her eager mouth. Cassie had also confided in him how she had grown excited rather than scared when Otis had first held that gun to her head. Leo enjoyed thinking that perhaps her past trauma had left her with a lust for the powerful, forceful lover he knew he could easily be, and he hoped that time would prove him right.
His reflections were derailed when Hanna burst into the bedroom a few minutes after Cassie had finished, her hands covered in blood, and her eyes wide with shock. Both Cassie and Leo stared at her in surprise before Leo sprang from the bed, grabbing his pants as he did, and sliding them on.
“Hanna, what the hell is going on?” he asked, stepping over to the frightened woman. She jumped, as though having zoned out for a few seconds.
“Jamie. He’s been shot,” she replied, the color draining from her face. Leo pushed her aside and raced out to the living room where Jamie lay sprawled on the floor. The pale man was gripping his side while writhing in pain. Leo grabbed the cell phone from his pocket and dialed Tina.
“I need a doctor, quickly,” he barked, pausing to listen to her reply before he turned fierce. “No, not for her, you presumptuous bitch. It’s for Jamie.” Leo hung up the phone and turned his attentions on his employee, propping him up on one of the pillows from the sofa. Cassie and Hanna joined them, Cassie having pulled on a t-shirt, and they had cleaned up Hanna’s hands before heading back out. Leo had hoped she hadn’t heard his call to Tina, but her face said otherwise, and although she was trying to hide it, she was clearly a little taken aback that his assistant would assume he needed a doctor for her following a night together.
***
Cassie shook it off, focusing instead on the matter at hand, and she deposited Hanna beside her barely conscious boyfriend before running to the kitchen for water and towels. As she came back, Jamie was talking to Leo, both of their faces pained.
“The deal went sour. Victor said Luis decided your offer wasn’t good enough. He said you should’ve thrown in extra for their efforts,” Jamie said, likely being careful not to say too much in front of the girls.
“Looks like he’s going to be a problem. I’ll take care of it Jay, I promise.” Leo applied pressure to his wound while Cassie held a water bottle to his lips. The doorbell rang, and after Leo giving her the go-ahead, Cassie quickly answered it. On the other side were two of Leo’s men and a tall, wiry man who dragged a small suitcase on wheels behind him. He nodded to her and made his way inside, his sights set on the patient.
“Mr. Solomon. What do we have here?” he said, looking down at the two men.
“Bullet wound to the abdomen, looks clean but no exit wound,” Leo informed him, stepping back so his two henchmen could take over.
They lifted Jamie and placed a plastic sheet beneath him, which was no use as the rug was already soaked with blood, but Cassie was sure it meant they were planning on him losing more in the process of his care. His shirt was cut open, and the doctor injected Jamie with an anesthetic. He was out cold within seconds, and the bloody scene before her enthralled Cassie. She sat down on the armchair, wrapping Hanna up in her embrace, but watched with interest as the man slid a scalpel across Jamie’s entry wound and pushed his gloved hand inside. Hanna yelped and buried her face in Cassie’s chest, unable to watch, but Cassie’s eyes remained fixed on Jamie while Leo watched her. She could see him from the corner of her eye, and he seemed surprised, intrigued, and almost beguiled by her lack of fear.
Blood poured out of the wound, making it impossible for the doctor to see, but Cassie got the sense he was simply feeling around at the moment, checking for damage and seeking out the intruding bullet. When the man finally pulled his hand free, the small piece of metal was clasped between his fingers, and he placed it on the plastic sheeting beneath them.
“He’s clear. I’ll patch him up, but it’s fifty-fifty. He needs rest, ideally in a hospital, but I guess that’s out of the question?” The doctor looked up at Leo, who nodded.
“These two are his friends, they’ll take good care of him,” he assured the doctor, and the man looked over at the women with a warm smile, addressing Cassie as she was clearly the only one ready to hear his instructions.
“The dressing will need changing twice a day at first, then once every day. Keep him comfortable, warm, and try to get him to drink plenty of water. I will put in an IV, and leave you with antibiotics and saline. You will know within a few days. If he improves by day four, he’ll make it. Otherwise, he’s a lost cause,” the doctor said, not bothering to sugar coat it, and Cassie nodded, grabbing the now sobbing Hanna tighter.
“Very well, if you’ll excuse me a moment,” Leo said. He moved toward the kitchen, and Cassie assumed he must need to make some phone calls, but he didn’t leave without first placing a tender kiss on her forehead, silently telling her he was here if she needed him, and she was grateful.
It seemed to take hours, but eventually Jamie was sewn up and cleaned before being placed gently on the sofa to rest. His IV was in, and Cassie was given her instructions again along with the necessary bandages and bags for the drip. Everything was ready, and the doctor left with the two cronies. Leo also left them for a while, after the many terse phone calls she’d heard from the kitchen. Cassie knew whatever had gone down last night was serious. It was all over his face, and she hoped he would have it cleared up soon.
Even when they were finally alone, Hanna still could not bring herself to look at Jamie. Her face stayed buried in the sofa cushions. As soon as Cassie had said her goodbyes and checked on Jamie, she quickly scooped her friend back up in her arms and held her tightly.
“He’s gonna be okay, he’ll make it through this, I just know it,” Cassie mumbled, unsure of her words, but she wanted to help her friend cope, so she tried to remain positive.
“I was going to stop, we were going to be together properly,” Hanna replied, finally looking up into her friend’s face. “He asked me to marry him.”
“You will still have all of that, sweetie, I know it. He needs you to be strong for him now, though.” Cassie kissed her forehead affectionately. Hanna snuggled into her, her sobs and tears having ceased for now, and she held onto her dear friend as though she would fall apart if it weren’t for her. Cassie found herself thinking of Leo and this world he had drawn her into, a world where deals went sour and his employees ende
d up with bullet wounds. It was all still very scary when she let it all in.
In an attempt to swallow her fearful thoughts, Cassie instead mulled over her wonderful evening she’d had in Leo’s arms the night before. She remembered his hands on her body, and the way he had tasted her after she had finished using him for her release. It was the first time since Jonah that she had let anyone touch her, and she felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders thanks to the trust she now felt in Leo.
Hanna seemed like she was dozing in her arms, but then stirred, breaking Cassie’s reverie. She peered down at her and Hanna planted a deep, sultry kiss on her lips. She slid her tongue into Cassie’s mouth before she could resist. Hanna gripped her tightly, her hands stroking Cassie’s hips and breasts.
“No, Han. This isn’t what you really want. You’re just confused, and scared,” Cassie said, pulling back. She didn’t let go or stop Hanna’s hands from touching her. They had been intimate with one another the night of the party, and she didn’t feel uncomfortable with her advances, but this felt very different. Hanna was looking for some affection in the only way she knew how, sex.
“I just want to feel good, to feel happy. Please Cassie, I need this,” she replied, blushing at her request, and kissing her lips again lightly.
“This won’t solve anything, trust me,” Cassie replied, pulling her mouth away but being careful not to reject her harshly.
“Fine, I’ll just go and book a client who will,” Hanna snapped, still angered by her refusal, despite Cassie having been gentle.
“That’ll be even worse, sweetie. Jamie needs you here. He deserves for you to keep your word, and if you let him down now he’ll never trust that you can be faithful. Show him you meant every promise you made, and you’ll be a good and loyal wife to him. Show him how much you love him and will always take care of his needs, in and out of the bedroom.”
Hanna burst into tears, cuddling back into her friend. She didn’t say another word or try to proposition Cassie again, seeming to have taken her words on board, and she appeared willing to at least try and follow her advice.
The two of them sat quietly and soon fell into an exhausted sleep, still wrapped in each other’s arms while Jamie slept soundly on the sofa, the rhythmic sound of his breathing bringing both girls comfort.
Leo returned hours later and found them that way. Cassie woke to the sensation of his fingers lightly stroking her cheek. She smiled up at him, but was not pleased to see how rough he looked.
“Hey. I’ve got a nurse coming to look after him,” he told her. “She’ll be here in a couple of hours, and will stay as long as he needs.”
Cassie smiled up at him in thanks. She had been more than willing to help Jamie recover, but was glad the responsibility had been placed into more capable hands.
“Thank you. How are the other men?” Cassie asked, and her concern appeared to take him by surprise. No matter who his men were, and what line of work they were in, she cared for their wellbeing. But she had a feeling Leo saw them as expendable.
“They got off much better than Jamie did,” he replied casually. “I need to sort this out, and I cannot have you distracting me. I’m sorry, but I have to step away for a few days. I need to have my boss-head on, otherwise I’ll make mistakes, and there’s no room for error in my line of work. I’ll be back when it’s over. I hope you understand?” Leo asked, his face serious but clearly saddened by his words.
“I tell you what, when you’re off being big, bad Mr. Solomon, I am nothing to you, just as he’s not anything to me.” Cassie climbed out of the seat carefully so as not to disturb Hanna. She stood before him, peering up into Leo’s eyes as she spoke. “When you come back to me, you come back as Leo, and that’s when we have this.” She kissed his mouth gently.
“I like the sound of that,” he replied, smiling at last. “The two people cannot safely overlap, except for the parties and stuff, but we can figure that out over time.”
“Good. It’ll be easier this way. I’ll be me, waitress or otherwise, but you need to know I won’t be at your beck and call. I have my own life, Leo, and that will include you, but will not revolve around you. I won’t stop living my life, just as I’m sure you won’t stop living yours. I know fucking hookers might be part of that life. You have needs I cannot fulfill, and I’m no fool.”
Leo’s face paled with shock. He seemed genuinely caught off guard. He stroked her cheek and pulled her mouth up to meet his own, devouring her.
“Mr. Solomon fucks whores, Cassie, not Leo,” he promised, not looking into her eyes as he admitted it to her. “Leo is going to worship this waitress who stole his heart for the rest of his god-dammed life.”
“Good to know, and Leo’s girl is only going to let that one man touch her. I will give myself to you fully eventually, and when I do, I want you all to myself. But in the meantime, we will have our happy medium. It’s hard for me to share you, but I know your reasons why.” Cassie felt sad, but she was determined to let him know she was on to him, and that it was okay. Lots of men used prostitutes to fulfill their sexual needs in a way their partners could not, she knew that all too well from her short time as an escort, and she had seen the signs in him early on in their budding relationship. Sharing Leo had never even occurred to her at the start, but as long as she was denying him his satisfaction, Cassie knew she needed to understand he had to release that need in other ways. As long as he was taking faceless women to his bed rather than someone else to kiss and touch the way he did with her, Cassie was determined to be okay with it.
“I’m going to look at working back in the theater, obviously not with my ex-husband, though. I need my life back the way it was before Jonah ruined it. If I’m to let you have your life, I will need my own. I will be me, I will earn my own living while you go be the big, bad drug-lord and earn yours. When we are together we will just be us, Leo and Cassie.” She felt more settled with this idea than she had ever thought she could be.
“That’s a wonderful plan. I’ll let you go back, but only if you promise to stay safe, and don’t get close to any actor types,” Leo said, plainly annoyed she wanted to go back to that world.
She nodded. “I’m all yours. I promise.”
“Good. And I promise to send Leo back to you as soon as I can,” he said, stepping away from her, and she saw him growing colder, his mob-boss façade creeping back in.
Cassie watched him go, feeling lost despite their agreed compromise. She had hoped, deep down, that she was wrong about the hookers, but he had told her the truth, a fact she both respected and hated.
“Is it just me, or did that feel like he was saying goodbye?” she mumbled after the door had closed, knowing full well that Hanna was awake, and had been listening to them.
“Kinda, but he’s right to push you away. He needs to keep his head straight. Having you around has affected him, and when you think about it, you’re actually a liability. Those who don’t like him, which is likely to be many, might try and use you to hurt him. It’s either separate the two lives he’s living, or he goes crazy with paranoia, and you both could get hurt in the process. Jamie and I went through this. He would go mad with jealousy, or worry himself sick for me, and I couldn't stand it. His feelings nearly drove us apart, but eventually we found our way.” A sob caught in her throat as she spoke of him, and she was finally able to take a look at her frail, motionless fiancée. “I love him, no matter what, that’s all I ever need to know.”
“Damn right, sweetie,” Cassie replied, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I guess I can try and lead a double life. He’ll do it with ease, I have no doubt, but at least this way I can still be me. I can find my way to being the person I was before all of this, at least he didn’t disapprove of that.”
Chapter 17
By the next day, the nurse, Imelda, had settled in and was taking great care of Jamie. Hanna stayed by his side and even helped to feed him ice cubes when he roused. His throat was terribly dry, and he was despe
rate for water, but couldn't sip it properly, so they had settled for her giving him ice chips. Cassie was sure she caught a wry grin on his face as Hanna tended to him, letting her know he was enjoying having her full attention for a while.
In those solemn few days, Cassie decided the time was right to start out on her own, and rang around all the theaters she could think of, skipping the one where Jonah worked, of course. She managed to get a few interviews set up, and was so excited to get back to the job she had loved more than anything else in the world. Art was her calling, and Cassie vowed never to let it go again.
After setting up her appointments, she grabbed her old portfolio from her drawer and flicked through the pages. They were pictures of her set designs and costumes from London, as well as her first few years in New York City. They brought back many memories and were a stunning and accurate portrayal of the shows she had worked on. Cassie also found a few old photos of her and Jonah inside. They were snapshots of a time when they were very much in love, happy, and so carefree. She immediately threw them away, unable to look at them for more than a second, and she knew she never would.
Within a few days Jamie was on the mend, a clear sign he would pull through, and they all calmed down a little. Imelda did her work while the girls kept him company and fussed over him, much to his enjoyment. None of them had heard from Leo, not even Jamie, so Cassie kept her promises and waited patiently for him to make contact when he was ready. In the meantime, she had a lot on her plate and busied herself with planning her next move back into the world of set design.
After just a few interviews she was offered her pick of theaters, her reputation preceding her. Cassie reveled in their praise and generous offers of work. She eventually decided on one of the larger venues New York City had to offer, catering to anything from operatic theater productions, to strippers and traveling circuses. The variety was what swayed her final decision. The prospects there were limitless, and Cassie knew her portfolio of work would dramatically increase during her time there.