by Jenika Snow
He didn’t respond to her jab, just kept that damn smirk on his face. “I’ll pick you up at eleven. We can go to lunch then to Kiki’s. He caressed her cheek again, and before she could tell him not to bother, he strode out her front door, and his Corvette blared to life seconds later. Grabbing her cell, she typed out a quick text to Kiki, dumbfounded at the way her night ended.
Tatum: I’m home. And BTW, Leo is a demanding ass!
Her cell beeped an incoming text a second later.
Kiki: OMG. What happened?!
Ugh. She did not want to get into it right now but knew if she didn’t tell Kiki, she would be getting harassed all night. Typing out a condensed version of what happened, Tatum sat on the couch and waited for the reply. It didn’t take long.
Kiki: Girl! He wants you!! ;-)
Tatum: Maybe, but I don’t want him!
Kiki: LOL. Ur a bad liar, Tater! Let him take you to lunch, but make sure it’s a swanky place. God knows he can afford it!
Tatum: This is a bad idea, Kiki.
Kiki: Maybe, but he must really like u. I’ve never seen him go after a girl who works for him. That’s like a big no-no for him.
Tatum: Yay for me!
Tatum hoped Kiki picked up on her sarcasm.
Kiki: LOL. Seriously though. Have a good time. U can always say no if he wants more. Leo’s a good guy and won’t hold it against u. Besides, I saw the way u were checking him out! U want him 2!
Tatum: I plead the fifth. I think shit will hit the fan if I stop fighting myself on this.
Kiki: U can’t let the past control u being happy! She’s dead, honey. Let urself b happy for once. I love u and think u should go for it!
Kiki always had a way with words. She was the only one who knew how fucked up her childhood had been. She had also been the only one who didn’t care she had been poorer than dirt, didn’t have the name-brand shit, and had no friends. Kiki liked her for herself.
The few relationships Tatum had managed to have weren’t anything more than a couple of moments of lost pleasure. Her baggage always seemed to get in the way, which in all honesty was what she was afraid of happening with Leo.
Never had she felt anything remotely close to the sensations of arousal and want for a man like she felt for him. Fear of Leo seeing how damaged she was and realizing what a mistake it had been to want her in the first place filled her.
5
After Leo left Tatum, he made a phone call and sat across the street from her house until the black SUV pulled up behind his car.
Calling in one of his men to watch her and not tell her was a douchebag thing to do, but he didn’t want to take any chances when it came to the safety of his mate. The fact that she lived in a rundown part of the city didn’t sit well with him, but her safety overrode everything else, even her anger if she found out.
He only kept a detail outside her home. She still needed her privacy, and until he could convince her that she was his mate and she belonged with him, having someone watch her would help him sleep at night. He had no doubt she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Her arousal had been sweet and strong, and he knew her pussy had been wet. The only problem was she fought it while he embraced it.
The next day, he drove to her house, impatience filling him. He didn’t know if having a mate would fill some void in his life or be the death of him. He pulled into her driveway and killed the engine.
He knocked three times and took a step back. A look over his shoulder showed the black SUV in the same spot he had left it. The blacked-out windows made sure to keep the driver’s identity ambiguous.
The front door opened, and he turned back around. For a solid minute, all he could do was stare at her. The dress she wore was cut low both at the bottom and top. Her cleavage peeked above the lacy top, and the hem stopped at midthigh.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
His cock started to harden, and he thought about anything else to make that shit go down. “God, Tatum.” Scrubbing his hand over the back of his neck, Leo tried to calm himself down. “You’re gorgeous.”
She looked away, but he still saw the blush that covered her cheeks. She murmured her thanks. The aroma of her embarrassment was a baby powder scent that filled his nose.
Her hair was twisted at the crown of her head, and tendrils of curls cascaded around her face. Looking at her made him think of things other than fucking. He wanted to take her to nice places, to show her off while she clutched his arm. He wanted every fucking male to know who she belonged to.
Her bare neck called to him, and he could imagine his mark on it, warning others that she was his. His mating scent started to come out, and he felt his lion pace within him. It wanted out, wanted to press her against the wall, lift up her dress, and feast on her cunt. He knew it would be pretty and pink, knew from the tantalizing scent of her arousal that she’d be soaking too.
She inhaled, and Leo knew she was taking his scent into her lungs. That thought alone had a low growl leaving his chest. He couldn’t help it, not when his mate was so receptive to him. Yeah, he wanted to be gentle and coax her into his life, but he also thought about all the dirty things he wanted to do to her—things that required her to be naked and underneath him.
She stepped out of her house and shut the door behind her. When she turned around, she ran right into chest. He had been too focused on the way her ass moved under her dress to step back and give her room. Of course, with her pressed up against him, her lush curves forming to him, he didn’t regret not giving her the space.
He steadied her with his hands on her waist and stared into her eyes. Even if his senses weren’t heightened, he would have been able to see the changes in her, the increased pulse at the base of her throat, her pupils dilated from her lust, and the way her nipples stabbed through the thin material of her sundress. All of it had him wanting to rip that damn dress off of her, throw her on the ground, and show her exactly how good it would be between them.
“Ready?” That one word was breathy and low, and he forced himself to let go of her and take a step back.
Cock unbearably hard, Leo forced himself to lead her to his car. Once inside, he had to roll down the window. The scent of her pussy was so tantalizing and teasing that he feared if he didn’t clear his head, he would change right in front of her.
How bad would that be before he could fully explain what she meant to him and that he could shift into a lion? He needed to remind himself to go slow, because if she ran, all hell would break loose.
He would stop at nothing to find her, and that would be shitty all around, because forcing her to mate was not what he wanted.
6
Lunch was unexpectedly pleasant. Leo had taken her to a new steakhouse, one that had been opened by some famous chef. The drinks alone cost more than she felt comfortable paying, but Leo footed the bill, so she let herself indulge. At first, things had been a little uncomfortable, but that was mainly on her part, not his. He did everything right, said everything right.
He had been a perfect gentleman, and she wanted so bad to let herself fall into the sugar-coated bubble she pictured having with him. It would be so easy to put all her preconceived notions behind her, to forget about why she didn’t want a relationship. A man like Leo painted a beautiful picture.
He was gorgeous, successful, and powerful. He was the complete opposite of her, and once again, she felt all the things she shouldn’t. Why would a man like him be interested in a woman like her? He was constantly surrounded by perfection, yet his interest was solely on her. It made her wonder if all he wanted from her was a piece of ass.
Maybe he saw her as some kind of conquest, as the thick girl he wanted to experiment with. She refused to let herself think about the “what ifs.” In the end, it wouldn’t do her any good but make her feel like shit.
She drove her car home from Kiki’s, thankful her bestie hadn’t been there and therefore wouldn’t be able to grill her for details. Tatum knew she’d have to spill everything eventuall
y, but right now, she just wanted to go home and wrap her head around what the hell was going on in her life.
She swung by the grocery store and picked up a few things before going home. At a stoplight, she looked at all the people walking up and down the strip. The streets were packed despite the fact that it was the middle of the week. Every other person held some kind of alcoholic beverage in their hand, but that seemed to be the norm.
Tatum thought back to the conversation she had with Leo. He was forty, fifteen years older than her, but he wore his age extremely well. Even now, she pictured him sitting across from her, the sounds of someone playing a piano filtering around them. She had learned a lot about him in just that short time they spent together.
The conversation had been comfortable, but when he asked about her life, she closed up tight, not ready to tell him about how her mother had been an alcoholic, or how she had developed an eating disorder as a result of her mother’s abuse and the cruel kids at her school.
What would he think if she admitted she had spent a good chunk of her adolescent years in therapy? She may have stopped starving herself and now filled out her clothes, but a part of her still saw that fat kid in school who got made fun of by her peers and her mother. Even thinking about it now had her picking at her clothing.
Taking a deep breath, she didn’t want to ruin her afternoon by thinking about the hurdles she had gotten over in her life. She liked Leo, enjoyed his company, and saw him as a man she could possibly fall for, but her past was sticky and a ball and chain around her ankle, and she knew what the end result would be.
Not a lot of men could handle how screwed up in the head she was. Her past relationships, or lack thereof, were a testament to that.
Resting her head on the seat, she stared ahead again and let her mind drift back to Leo. God, even now, her panties were soaked. All her good intentions went out the window when it came to him. Her mind screamed at her to stay away, but her body demanded she let herself go for it.
Is this how it’s always going to be with him, or am I just the flavor of the week?
The temptation to quit analyzing it sat strong inside her, so strong that she found herself picking up her phone and sending a text to the man who invaded every single one of her thoughts as of late.
Tatum: Had a wonderful time today. Thank you for lunch.
She set her phone back down, and a second later, it vibrated with an incoming message.
Leo: Believe me, the pleasure was all mine.
Her body heated uncomfortably.
The stupid grin on her face would not go away, but at that moment, she didn’t want it to.
7
It was Saturday, and the club was packed with men and even several women. Music pulsed all around, the bass low, and the sultry voice a good sound for the girls dancing on stage. Tatum had been working at The Lion and the Lamb for over a month now, and although she hadn’t gone out with Leo again, his presence was a very big factor in her life. It seemed he was always there at the club.
Of course that wasn’t unusual, since he owned the place, but she did find herself very aware when his eyes always seemed to be locked on her.
No matter where she was, he seemed to always be there. A little unnerving? Not in the least, and that realization did not sit well with her. The heat in his gaze when their eyes locked reached out and grabbed hold of her. It seemed the sexual tension between them was going to explode at any moment.
It was because of her dodging him at every turn that had resulted in them not going out again, despite Leo asking several times. The man just didn’t give up, and Tatum didn’t know if she should be irritated or flattered. In all honesty, she wanted Leo with a passion that burned brightly inside her, but she was just too damn scared of what would happen if she let herself go there.
Tatum could admit she was a coward, but a part of her knew that if she let herself fall for her devilishly handsome boss, things would only go downhill. It was her curse to screw up the good things in her life.
The front doors were pulled open by Zeb, one of the beefy bouncers working the door. A group of sophisticatedly dressed men walked in. The man in the center of what looked like a protective detail was incredibly attractive in an exotic way. His green eyes were piercing as they scanned his surroundings, and his short dark hair and equally dark suit reminded her of an investment banker. It was clear he was the hotshot of the group by the way he held himself, especially given the fact that he wore a three-piece suit in Las Vegas when it was hot enough to roast an egg on the concrete.
She smiled brightly, putting on her sugary personality that made her seem like a good girl ready to do what she was told. She had lived in Vegas long enough to know men of power seemed to like a little submissiveness in a woman. It put them at ease and made their “he-man” personalities roar and beat their chests.
“Good evening, gentleman. How many in your party this evening?” The hairs on the back of her neck tingled, and she knew it was because Leo watched her. She always had that reaction around him, even if he wasn’t physically touching her. His eyes were like fingers from across the room, and the sensation of being touched had her instantly turning liquid.
The man with the emerald eyes snapped his focus away from his surroundings and looked at her. She wasn’t surprised when he let his eyes travel up and down her body. He either wondered why in the hell she worked at the prestigious gentlemen’s club—because obviously she was a hell of a lot thicker than the dancers—or he honestly liked what he saw.
When he slowly lifted his gaze to her face again, she didn’t doubt that he liked what he saw. A chill slid down her spine at the expression on his face. Oh, it was filled with a lot of promise, but whatever he tried to convey with that look was not something she was interested in. The man in front of her was not what she wanted to mess with.
The air seemed charged around him, but not in the good way that it was around Leo. Whereas Leo’s power and presence had her aching and needy, this man left a bad taste in her mouth. She always went with her gut instincts, especially when she lived in the City of Sin. Straightening her back, she continued to smile and refused to show her distaste.
“Five.” One of them men standing beside him answered. Staring at the green-eyed man was like watching a cobra dance, a slimy, evil cobra. This intense disinterest she felt toward a virtual stranger shocked her, but obviously something inside her recognized how dangerous he was.
She nodded and turned to lead them to one of the back tables, when a strong hand latched around her forearm. She turned and looked into a set of hard, cold green eyes. For several long moments, everything faded around her as his touch seeped past the cardigan she wore. Cold settled into her bones, and all she wanted to do was rip her arm away, but fear and unease had her frozen.
Snubbing a customer would not look good, especially one who clearly had the money to blow on three-hundred-dollar bottles of champagne and thousand-dollar private lap dances.
His nostrils flared slightly as he inhaled deeply, and she was struck by an image of Leo doing something similar. She had never seen one man, let alone two, do something like that. A wicked smile curved his mouth, and she forced the lump in her throat down. A glance down at her arm showed him stroking the covered skin.
She didn’t like it, and when she pulled her arm away, she was surprised he allowed it. A part of her knew a man like this didn’t allow a lot of things to slip through his fingers. Literally and figuratively.
“We prefer a private room. We want three dancers.” His eyes dropped to her chest, and she forced herself not to cover her breasts. “All of them are to be brunettes with dark eyes.” He lifted his hand, and Tatum held her breath. His fingers touched the end of her hair. He smirked again, but before she could do or say anything, someone gripped her waist from behind and pulled her back.
In the next instant, she looked at Leo’s wide back covered in expensive material. The tension grew thick in the room, but she couldn’t deny that h
aving Leo protect her instantly made her feel safe. Whoever that other man was, he had a bad vibe around him.
“I thought I made myself perfectly clear, Slade.” The way Leo said the green-eyed man’s name was low and rough and filled with hatred. He kept his hand wrapped possessively around her waist, and although Tatum had never been much of a woman who needed to be saved, she couldn’t deny she liked the way Leo watched over her.
His reaction proved that her instincts hadn’t been wrong. There was clearly something dangerous about the stranger.
“What kind of business are you running by discriminating against patrons?” Amusement laced Slade’s voice, which caused his men to chuckle. Tatum kept her hands on the center of Leo’s back. He was tense, and the muscles were bunched tight under her palms.
“We both know your words are bullshit and that you aren’t just any patron.”
A low growl came from Slade, and she sensed something inside Leo shifting. Looking past the thick arm Leo had pressed against her, Tatum saw the anger on Slade’s face. As if he sensed her stare, he turned his icy eyes on her. The lascivious look that crossed his face made her feel like ants crawled over her flesh.
“I see you’ve picked yourself up a little piece of ass.” Although she knew he couldn’t possibly see her body past the thick wall that was Leo, she felt dirty as he scanned his eyes up and down. He acted like he could see her, and that seemed just as bad as if he actually could.
“You’d do best to watch your fucking mouth in my house, Slade.”
The men standing beside Slade took a step forward, but their boss lifted his hand to stop their ascent.
Leo’s fingers tightened on her hip, and she looked up at him. His focus was trained on Slade, but she knew he was very aware of her presence.