by Laura Morgan
She immersed herself in the forgotten world she had left behind. Her creative spark quickly returned, and it wasn’t long before Cassie truly found herself on that stage again.
***
When Leo returned over two weeks later, his face was deeply tanned, and his hair incredibly scruffy. He had dark circles under his eyes and was obviously exhausted, but he was otherwise the same man who had left her after Jamie’s mishap. He wouldn’t let on what he had done or where he had been, only telling Cassie he spent the time away sorting out a misunderstanding between his men and their suppliers in the south, hence his tan.
“I came straight here from the airport. I’ve missed you,” Leo told her as they sat together in her kitchen, and she poured coffee, grabbing him some protein bars to replenish his lost energy.
“I’ve missed you, too,” she replied, and meant it. Despite her busy days at the theater and the few evenings a week she still worked at the restaurant, she still found time to be lonely, to miss his kisses and the feel of his hands on her body.
“Will you come and stay at mine tonight?” Leo’s face was calm, but his eyes were alight and excited. Cassie contemplated it for a moment, feeling surer than ever that she was finally ready for more, and so she nodded, smiling shyly and noticing the wide grin that spread across Leo’s handsome face.
Less than an hour later they arrived in the back of his limousine. The place was alive in preparation for his return. There were members of his staff already inside, eagerly awaiting Leo’s arrival, and many greeted him, but he shooed them away. Cassie counted more than a humble few; he had over a dozen people milling around doing one job or another. There were also numerous guards and even dogs patrolling the grounds, a fact that scared her, but Cassie didn’t let on.
Inside his home there were more guards, maids, a butler, and just inside the door waited Tina. Leo’s assistant greeted them both warmly and peered up at her boss as he quickly skimmed over his mail and caught up with her on the important things, leaving Cassie to wander around the vast hallway. She didn’t mind leaving him to work for a few minutes, understanding he must have some catching up to do, and happily took a look around.
Cassie recognized most of it from the night of the party, easily finding her way over to the pool and its impressive terrace where two employees were tending to the flowers and cleaning the pool with a netted pole. Her hand came up and she smiled a polite greeting, which was returned. Cassie thought how she’d love to dive in there, to feel the cold water hit her skin. She loved to swim, but hadn’t in years, her busy schedule always taking precedence over a trip to the local pool.
“Shall I give you the tour?” Leo asked, his voice right beside her ear. Cassie jumped, not having heard him approach. He laughed, burying his nose in her hair and taking a deep breath. “You smell wonderful, like shampoo and coffee. But there’s something new.” He inhaled again. “You smell of paint!”
Cassie giggled. “Wait until you see my fingernails. No amount of scrubbing seems to be getting them clean anymore.”
“I don’t care, I love you and your dirty nails. I can’t wait for you to tell me all about your new job.” She turned and peered up into his deep brown eyes, utterly transfixed, and she felt herself getting weak at the knees under his intense gaze.
“I’d almost forgotten how good it felt to be in your arms, Leo Solomon. Is there a way for me to enjoy my independence but belong to you at the same time? I don’t think I can give up either,” she whispered, stroking his cheek, and he shrugged.
“Perhaps. I’ll tell you what,” he replied, holding her tightly. “You tell me exactly what you want me to do to you, and I’ll obey your every command. That way you’re in charge, but you belong to me at the same time, and we’ll both get everything we ever wanted.” He was giving her the chance to take the lead, and Cassie jumped on it.
“I like the sound of that. Well, show me your bedroom. I want to watch you strip for me while I lie naked in your bed, in your own sheets,” Cassie said, eyeing Leo and feeling cheeky. He immediately gathered her up in his arms and carried her upstairs, their mouths devouring one another’s passionately.
Leo flung open the door to his bedroom. “I’ve never taken a woman in here, but it feels so right bringing you here.”
He placed her on the bed and then stepped back, removing his t-shirt as he went, and she did the same, but didn’t stop there. Once she was completely naked, panties and all, Cassie watched Leo like a predator ready to pounce, thinking to herself her analogy when she had spoken to Hanna had been correct. However, the tables were now well and truly turned, and she loved it. Cassie felt as though she was someone else, far from the timid victim she had once thought she was. Cassie felt powerful, commanding, and fiercely beautiful. Her entire demeanor had changed, and showed Leo she was ready to have him at last.
He slowly slid out of his clothes and awaited her command. A sudden flash of fear swept across her face, but she wouldn’t let it linger. She couldn't let herself lose the incredible prowess she had gained in the last few minutes. Leo seemed to sense it too. He flung himself into her embrace, kissing her lasciviously and running his hands over every inch of her body, including her cleft.
Leo touched every inch of her as though he didn’t care about her scars. She realized perhaps he had never cared about them, but let Cassie move at her own pace because he was scared of frightening her away. Now, though, she knew she needed to give him full control. By trusting him, she might finally be free of the restraints Jonah had put on her mind and body.
When his mouth closed over her throbbing clit and his fingers slid inside her wet opening, Cassie cried out for him, whimpering as tears rolled down her temples while she lay her head back on the bed and let go at last. Leo was not gentle, he was not being careful, and he certainly didn’t seem to pity Cassie for her scars. This man was a ferocious lover. He touched and nibbled her body into submission with an expert touch, never once giving her a moment to hesitate as she writhed beneath him. Leo’s mouth commanded her body effortlessly, and he soon orchestrated her most intense orgasm ever, his eyes sliding up her body to watch her come undone for him at long last.
Leo slid his fingers over her scars, delicately tracing the contours of the thin lines before kissing each one with a tenderness that nearly sent her over the edge again. Cassie watched him in awe, her tears gone, and her heart pounding in her chest, beating for him as though he were the only being that existed in the entire world. Leo was the air in her lungs and the blood in her veins. Cassie knew she belonged to him now and forever, and she didn’t care who he was or how he made a living one little bit.
“No matter what you are, Leo, you’re beautiful to me, do you know that?” Cassie whispered, her mind and body raw from their closeness, and he smiled as he climbed up over her.
“Don’t you get it? You’re the beauty, and I’m the beast. We were destined to fall in love eventually.” Leo grinned at her, and she laughed. Cassie arched her back, inviting his mouth to caress her tender nipples, and he obliged. Leo’s lips ran circles around each hard nub in turn before trailing up toward her neck and face. His erection lay against her folds, the tip nestled cleverly at just the right spot to dive in when she gave the word, and she gyrated a little, taking just the very tip of him inside.
“I’m ready for you to have the rest of me,” she whispered in his ear, and felt him shiver in response.
Leo immediately leaned in, pushing his rock hard length inside a little at a time. He pulled her hips up to meet his, opening her up even more, and held her gaze. He watched Cassie as she finally let go, and then kissed the last tear away she would ever let herself shed for those old wounds.
***
Leo knew he was done for. This enigmatic woman had not only revealed the last of her secrets to him, but had given him her trust. Leonardo Solomon, the unrepentant drug-lord who hadn’t earned an honest cent in the last ten years. He was gobsmacked she had given him this amazing gift.
; Leo gave her a silent vow as he made love to Cassie to never betray that trust. He had been away the last two weeks, having been given the go ahead to sleep with prostitutes behind her back, but her acceptance had worked only as a sort of reverse psychology. Whores had surrounded him the entire time while visiting his disgruntled associate, Victor Sanchez, and his even more powerful cartel brother, Luis, in central Mexico. They had out-and-out insisted he take as many of their girls to his bed as he wanted, yet he had not touched a single one of them. He didn’t feel the need for them that he felt for the woman who waited for him back home, and he was so glad he had resisted. This was the most perfect reunion he could have ever imagined, and Leo didn’t want Cassie to leave his bed ever again.
When he felt her body pulsate around him, her deep muscles clenching his cock, it drove him over the edge. She cried out, kissing him as her orgasm rippled through her body, and she held him close as he pushed himself deep and emptied into her. Leo collapsed on top of Cassie, their bodies still connected, before he slid himself out and lay to her side, pulling his lover close. Neither of them spoke, but their bodies lay wrapped in one another’s for a long while.
“It’s a good thing I started taking the pill, isn’t it?” Cassie mumbled into his hold, and Leo laughed. He had known she was taking contraception in preparation for their being together, just like he knew everything else she did, but he could not reveal himself or his intrusive protective methods to her just yet, if ever.
“That’s good. There was no stopping me from you today, not even to grab a johnny. I was gonna get you the morning after pill, but it seems as though I don’t need to worry now,” Leo replied, pulling her in for a deep kiss.
“Fiend,” she retorted, climbing up and running into the bathroom to clean herself up. Leo laughed, wandering after her to wash up too.
***
The pair spent the rest of the afternoon in bed. Leo was attentive and gentle, taking time to touch and kiss Cassie all over her trembling body, including her scars again, as though he wanted her to know just how much he loved every inch of her body, no matter what.
Cassie had been so scared to show him, and was glad now that she had gone for it. There had been a moment when she first stripped off that her confidence faltered, but she was grateful Leo had quite literally forced her to forget about her insecurities and not to hold back anymore. She’d needed that push. This had been the most wonderful day of her entire life, and when she was ready for him again, Cassie didn’t hesitate to proposition her lover, her confidence well and truly back where she needed it to be.
“I hope you don’t have any plans tonight, Leonardo Solomon, or you’ll have to cancel them,” she said, climbing on his lap and straddling him. She ran her hands over the rippled curves of his pecs and abs. Leo was so strong, she could feel it in every controlled movement his body made, and he effortlessly moved her slim frame as though she weighed nothing.
He lifted her up, positioning his already hard member beneath her wet opening, and then let go, both of them gasping as he slid inside her, and she began moving instinctively. Leo gripped Cassie’s hips, pulling her into him so each thrust nestled his hard-on perfectly into her g-spot. Her movements were primal, her body commanding his without words or force.
“God, I love you,” he moaned.
“I love you, too. Forever.” She tilted back, gripping his thighs as she moved, goose bumps rising on her skin while a contrasting bead of sweat trickled down between her breasts. Her nipples hardened, the tension almost painful, and Cassie welcomed Leo’s hands as they slid up her stomach and grabbed her heavy breasts. He squeezed them, hard, rolling each now softened peak between his fingertips. The movement sent a wave of pleasure down to her core, and Cassie teetered on the edge of her release.
A deep growl escaped Leo’s lips as she came for him, her hips bucking and her panting breath driving him to climax within seconds of hers.
Chapter 18
Cassie and Leo slept in each other’s arms that night, finding comfort in one another. When she finally drifted off, she did so with a contented smile on her face.
Cassie dreamed of Leo, the two of them walking hand in hand through the streets of London, just like she had done many years ago with another man she had once thought she would be with forever.
In the dream, she was happy, carefree, but before long she became scared, sensing crazed eyes on her. Suddenly rough hands found her throat, and cold steel pressed against her temple. When she looked back, she found Leo holding the gun to her head, not Otis. Cassie could tell he was frightened, terrified she would leave him, just like Jonah had been.
She winced as he whipped her with the cold barrel of the gun, and she fell to the ground, her cheek burning. She tried to cry out, but there was no sound. As she lay on the cold floor, Leo ripped off her clothes and forced his hardness inside. Her body trembled as he moved over her, and Cassie jolted awake as a very real orgasm shuddered through her body, waking her from the terrible dream.
She was aware how awakened she felt following the combination of fear and arousal inspired by the dark dream with its climactic ending, even if the combination did confuse her.
Cassie took a moment to calm down and get her bearings. Leo had her wrapped safely in his arms, his hands twisted in her hair again. She couldn't move, but didn’t want to. She loved his tight grip, finding herself wanting more, and she nestled deeper into his embrace. As she lay there awake in the early hours of the morning, she wondered if some of her darker thoughts had turned into something far more unnerving than mere fear. They seemed to have turned into a strange sort of sexual fantasy during that dream, and had manifested themselves in a very real physical reaction.
She eventually drifted back to sleep, waking up a few hours later in exactly the same position. This time, however, Leo seemed to sense her rouse, and immediately awoke, letting go of the fistful of her hair as he stirred.
“Sorry, Cassie. I honestly don’t know why I do that,” he mumbled, smoothing her hair. His eyes were only half open in the early light, but he still looked amazing. Leo’s stubble had come in, his rough cheeks just begging to be stroked, and Cassie couldn't resist sliding her fingers over his strong jawline.
“I love it how even in your sleep you want to keep me close, that you need to feel me next to you,” she replied, smiling up at him. “I feel safe in your arms, Leo. Don’t ever let me go.”
Leo smiled. He slipped his hand into her hair again and gripped it tight. He pressed his huge body against hers, and she snuggled deeper into his hold, willing him to own her. He accepted and glided his free hand down between them to stroke her clit. Leo then slid the same hand down to her no longer forbidden opening, groaning when he stroked it.
“You’re very wet,” he panted, his need showing on his face, and she giggled.
“Yep, I had a very sexy dream about you.” Cassie tilted her hips up to invite his fingers inside. He accepted, delving two at first, and then three, as she opened up for him even more and began grinding back and forth.
“Tell me,” Leo whispered, kissing her lips before moving to her neck while caressing her tender cleft with his fingers.
“You’ll laugh, or maybe even be a little bit disturbed. I don’t know,” she replied, groaning with pleasure as his fingertips pressed into her g-spot.
“Nothing you say could shock me. Tell me this, then. Did you like it?”
Cassie’s body and her resolve melted beneath him as he pursued her. “Yes, I did. That’s what was so disturbing.” She kissed him with a feverish passion that made him hard for her. He pressed it into her hip, and she giggled.
“Tell me, and I’ll do it,” he teased her. “I don’t care what it is.”
“You forced me,” she replied, expecting shock and horror on his face, but Leo didn’t seem fazed.
“I’ve had my suspicions for a while, and I’m glad you’ve proven me right.” Leo took a deep breath and kissed her intensely. “I won’t lie to you, I like it rou
gh in the bedroom. Making love to you last night was the most amazing experience of my life, but I am definitely up for some good old-fashioned fucking. I’m ready to do whatever you ask of me to fulfill your needs. Tell me what you want,” he whispered, pulling his fingers out from between her legs with a dark look that stirred her senses. “Show me.”
Cassie peered into his eyes, looking for the monster she’d been warned about so many times, but there was just her Leo. She flipped onto her stomach and pulled her legs closed. Leo seemed to know exactly what she was getting at, and he straddled her. He locked his knees firmly outside of hers and kissed her neck. His body pressed into hers, and she could barely breathe.
“I want you Leo, I want it hard and deep. I want you rough and animalistic. Don’t stop even if I ask you to.” Cassie shocked herself at the words that left her mouth. Leo literally growled as he nibbled on her earlobe, gently at first, and then he gave her one hard bite before grabbing her hands and holding them tight behind her back.
Cassie tested his hold, attempting to wriggle away, and playing the prey while her predator held her in his unyielding grasp. She bucked her hips, crying out when Leo delivered a hard slap onto one of her exposed ass cheeks. Cassie thought she might explode in orgasm from that alone, never having realized how satisfying that type of pain could be.
She had no time to recover. Leo forced his thick length between her tightly closed thighs and straight inside her soaking crevice. He thrust into her hard, making Cassie gush, and she came within seconds of his relentless pressure on her g-spot. He didn’t stop, though. Leo merely held onto her wrists tighter and kept going, pummeling Cassie until a second orgasm forced her into complete submission. She lay before him, limp and spent, while Leo released his own tension with one last, deep thrust. He fell onto her sweat-dappled back and gasped for breath. Cassie did the same beneath him.