He rested his forehead against mine. He took my hand and placed it over his heart. “I love you, Nora. Forever.”
“I love you, too,” I said, not caring one bit that people were drifting in and out of the room, some of them staring. He was finally mine.
He tightened his arms around me and kissed me deep, his lips angling over mine possessively, his tongue hot and wet. He kissed my jaw and down my neck, sucking and nipping at me as I clutched him tight.
We eased back, breathless. I said, “I’m not perfect. At some point, I’ll probably go to therapy,” I warned him gently.
“I hate perfect girls. They don’t read encyclopedias or think about how I’m a rat man.”
“Tiger, most days.”
He grinned. “I get you. You’re a little neurotic, but it doesn’t scare me. I want all of you. All the wacko things you do. Every last detail. And when I look into your eyes, I can see all the way to your heart, to the strong, beautiful woman you are. I want that for the rest of my life.”
He kissed me hard and fast. “And if you ever leave me, it will break me. Now come on, let’s get moving. I want you alone,” he growled, tugging me up the stairs.
Heat ran straight through my body as he led the way.
We walked into his bedroom, and he suddenly looked unsure. “With everything you’ve been through . . . shit, am I rushing this? We can wait, Nora. Just tell me what you need.”
I pulled the gold crown from my hair and took off the red corset and short cape, showing him my red lace bra. I unsnapped the gold belt and let it fall to the ground. I unzipped the flirty blue skirt with white stars on it and tossed it lightly at his face, giggling at his mesmerized expression.
He groaned loudly and adjusted himself. “Fuck, baby, I love it when you strip for me.”
I laughed. “Sex is no problem when it’s consensual, and if you don’t make love to me tonight, I’m going to die from being too horny.” I unsnapped my bra and dropped it on the floor, leaving me standing in my red string panties and red boots.
I cocked an eyebrow at his lusty expression. “What are you thinking?”
“That I want to kiss you, lick you, bite you, suck you. I want to eat you up until you scream my name so loud they’ll hear us over the band.”
I shivered.
“I’ve been dreaming about you for weeks. I need to make you mine. The thought of Drew with his mouth on yours . . . it drove me fucking nuts,” he said roughly, his hands clenching.
“I’m all yours, Leo. I was never his.”
“Yeah?”
I smiled. “I have something to show you.”
He sucked in a shuddering breath. “Does it involve you being completely naked, but maybe leaving the boots on?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Show me,” he ordered.
I put my naked back to him, lifted my hair and placed it over my chest, so he could see my wings.
He was silent for a few moments, but I could hear his breathing as it came faster and faster. He came up behind me, wrapped his hands around the tops of my arms and kissed my shoulders, tracing his mouth and tongue over the words on my back. I moaned out his name.
He whispered in a raspy voice, “This . . . this means everything. We are everlasting. Fucking forever. I love you so much. Seeing my words for you on your body makes me insane for you.” His hands snaked around my waist and untied the little bow on my panties. He slid his fingers down to my core and touched me as his tongue worked its magic across my wings. He kissed down my back, his hand rubbing me in hard and then soft circles. I gasped and spread my legs for him, my body clenching at the warmth that immediately gathered in my body. How was it possible to want someone this much? How did I ever think I could live without his touch?
“I don’t want to come yet, Leo,” I begged, leaning my head back against his chest, as he held my hips firmly, working his fingers, gently grinding into my folds.
He ran his nose along my shoulder, and I heard him inhale deeply and then moan.
“What are you doing?” I whispered, my body arching into his touch.
“Breathing you in because you smell so fucking good, like peaches. I want to eat you up,” he said softly.
I nearly came at his words. Reaching my hands up behind me, I ran my fingers through his hair, tugging hard on the ends as he pumped me faster.
“What you do to me is electric, and I’ll never get enough of you, of this. When you talked dirty for me . . . that was the hardest I’d ever come,” he said hoarsely.
He sucked hard on my neck, and I cried out, my hands clutching him, needing to hang on. My body soared, reaching for the sky.
“Come for me, baby, come all over me,” he commanded. He bit down on the tender place between my neck and shoulder, and I screamed out his name, making a keening sound as I came hard, the sensation rocking me and pulsating through my entire body.
He kissed my hair. “I’ve never felt like this, like I might die without you, if something happened to you,” he said fervently and turned me around to face him. His face was serious and maybe a little afraid, too, so I touched his lips and assured him. “We’ll make it, Leo. Together. No matter what comes, if we love each other, then everything else is cake. We never know how long we have, because life isn’t perfect. But this love we have, it’s something special. We have each other right now and that’s enough.”
“I’m afraid of losing you. It’s something I need to work on.” He tightened his hold. “I get freaked out thinking how I almost let you slip away from me.”
“Shhhh,” I said. “Nothing will come between us again.”
I eased away from him and smiled teasingly. “How did I end up naked, and you still have all your clothes on?”
He grinned. “I got skills?”
“Help me get this thing off,” I whispered, trying to unbutton his vest and belt. In five seconds flat, he had his costume and his underwear off and kicked out of the way. I sighed in contentment and put my hands on his hard length. He was heavy and thick, and I touched it lightly at first, wrapping my hand around the girth and sliding it down to the base while my other hand palmed him.
He spread his legs for me and hissed. “I’ve waited so long for you,” he muttered out as I made my strokes firmer.
“Do you want me, Leo?”
“Everything. I want everything you got. All the crazy shit you do.”
“I want you too,” I said, dropping to my knees, dying to do what I’d wanted to do the day I’d watched him masturbate. He moaned when I took him in my mouth, running my tongue over him in sensuous licks. Stroking him with my hands, I took as much of him as I could in my mouth, sucking to the top as he slowly spiraled out of control. He gripped my hair and pumped himself slightly into my mouth, and I encouraged him, putting my hands on his ass to hold him to a steady rhythm. He called out my name over and over, and he sounded so vulnerable, so needy, that my emotions overwhelmed me, my love for him filling me. He tossed his head back and made a low noise in this throat. “Gonna come,” he said in a gravelly voice, his big body shuddering.
I sucked harder, increasing the pressure until he came, spilling in my mouth.
He collapsed to the floor, pulling me on top of him and cradling me close. We were sweaty and tired and out of breath, and it was the best I’d ever felt. I pressed a kiss to his broad chest as his arms enfolded me tightly. “Never leave me, Buttercup,” he whispered in my ear.
“Never,” I said, gazing into his eyes.
We lay there and held each other for a long time.
WE BOTH JUMPED when someone pounded on Leo’s door.
“What the fuck?” Leo yelled out, searching for our clothes.
Boom, boom, boom.
They pounded again, louder this time, like they were trying to wake the dead. “Who is it?” Leo barked through the door.
“Sebastian. People are starting to leave. I thought you’d want to know.” I heard him chuckling. “Want me to come in?”
“No!” We both yelled at the same time. Leo hurriedly got back in his costume, and I watched, trying not to pout.
“This will be continued later,” he promised me with heavy, possessive eyes I felt all the way to my toes.
I arched my brows.
He kissed my lips. “I hate to leave you. Just give me a few minutes. And when I come back in here, I want you naked and in my bed.”
I grinned.
He traced his fingers along my face and said uncertainly, “You are gonna stay with me aren’t you?”
“Always, my love,” I told him, holding his hand next to my heart.
He searched my eyes like he was unsure.
I shook my head. “Go! Stop worrying, I’ll be fine. I’ll find Sebastian and Mila.”
I shooed him out and tried to fix my hair and costume. When I walked out the door, Sebastian was waiting, leaning nonchalantly against the wall, a happy smirk on his face.
“Band done?” I inquired.
He nodded. “Yep, all wrapped up. Vital Rejects was a hit.”
I sauntered over to him, and when I got close enough, I popped him a good one the arm.
“Ow, what was that for?” he whined theatrically, moving away from me and rubbing his arm.
“For banging on the door,” I said with a grin.
“But it was so fun,” he said, laughing. “And you know you got the rest of your life with Leo.”
We reached the end of the stairs, and my eyes searched the crowd until I found him talking with a group of muscled guys. Being a responsible business owner, he had commitments, and he couldn’t be my doting boyfriend all the time. We would be on different paths until I was done with college, and it wouldn’t always be easy.
Sebastian snorted. “God, you’re glowing with it. You guys are going to make me sick with all the goo-goo eyes and shit.” He made a gagging sound and grabbed his chest. “What if you guys get married! Holy shit, you’d be my step-mom!”
I rolled my eyes at him.
Mila came over and stood with us.
“Where did Tiffani go?” I asked her.
She snickered. “She got pissed and left as soon as Leo started singing. He loves you, Nora. I gotta say, I’m a little jealous,” she said with a sincere smile.
“Hey, you always got me,” Sebastian exclaimed, picking her up and swinging her around and around until she shrieked loudly.
I had an epiphany, staring at them. “Damn! It was right in front of me the whole time,” I said with excitement, while they looked at me in confusion. “Of course, all that blond hair, the cocky attitude. Yep, Sebastian, you’re the king of the jungle . . . which is a total misnomer . . . really, the lion is the king of the savanna, whatever . . . I digress.”
Sebastian sat Mila back on her feet. “This I gotta hear,” he said, walking over to me. “Okay, lay it out for me. You’re saying I’m a lion?” he said sarcastically, but I could tell he really wanted to hear it.
Mila gave him a hip bump. “At least you’re majestic. I’m a freaking rabbit. A scared bunny with a nose that twitches,” she huffed.
I chuckled and cocked my head to study Sebastian. “Like a lion, you’re dramatic, obviously, and regally handsome . . . don’t get a big head about that one. You’re tough and ferocious and protective when someone hurts your loved ones. But in the end, underneath all that hissing, you’re still just a big ole pussycat at heart.”
“Here, kitty, kitty,” Mila said, poking him in the ribs.
“Huh, not bad,” he said with a teasing smile. “You might make a good mom after all.”
I yelled and took off after him . . .
AROUND ONE IN the morning, Leo was still talking to his guests, yet periodically sending me hot looks. I’d send them back, my body throbbing with need.
Soon though, I headed back upstairs to get in his bed. Before I did, I opened the shuttered window in his room and gazed out at the stars. The sight of them gave me hope, and I thought of a quote by Van Gogh: “I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream.”
I didn’t know what the future held for us, but my dream was that we’d be together forever. I did know with certainty that life is full of bad people, broken people, sad people, betrayed people, twisted people, and people with secrets and scars the world never sees.
Yet, it is also full of people who love each other. People who are happy.
We all have a choice in life, to either quit or try again, and you can be sure I was going to try, try, try. Even though I was far from being what I wanted to be, my path would lead to happiness. Yes, life would suck and be scary sometimes, but I would keep going and searching for those happy moments, because in that direction lies grace and love.
I didn’t want to do bad things; I wanted to be true to myself. And being true meant I was not the bee champion, beauty queen, piano-playing genius my parents had shaped me into. No, I was just a simple, young girl whose love for a boy would last until the end of time.
IT WAS TWO o’clock by the time I got the last guest out, and I was exhausted, but all I could think about was her upstairs where she belonged. Mine. She was mine. Forever.
I tiptoed in the bedroom and remembered another time when I’d lain beside her in a bed. I’d tried so hard to distance myself from her then, but she’d broken through my defenses. Even at eighteen, she’d been smarter and wiser than me.
She was naked, lying on top of the covers on her stomach. Her red hair was spread out over my pillow, and I stroked my fingers down her luscious wings, tracing the tips over the script. She stirred a little, and I straightened up and took my clothes off. I pulled a condom from the side table and rolled it on my hard cock. I got in bed and straddled her legs and leaned down to kiss down her shoulders and back, my hands kneading her ass. I kissed behind her knees and down her calf. I kissed the arch of her feet. I kissed her sweet toes.
“Nora,” I murmured in between kisses and little nips. She whimpered out my name, and my cock got harder from the invitation I heard in her voice.
She turned, and I reached for her piercing and flicked it with my finger. I sucked each nipple in my mouth, my eyes narrowed in on her green ones shining like emeralds as she gazed at me.
“Tell me you love me,” I demanded as I played with her pink nipples, rolling them between my thumb and finger.
She smirked and arched her brow at me.
I tangled my hands in her hair and tugged gently. “Say my name, and tell me you love me,” I said in a low voice.
She touched my chest, her fingers outlining my dragon tattoo. I let go of her hair and cradled her face, my nose touching her nose. “Say it, and I’ll fuck you,” I growled, hearing the desperate yearning in my voice but not caring. She was all I wanted, and I wanted her to know it.
“You’ll do that anyway,” she retorted with a gleam in her eyes. Oh yeah, my Buttercup liked to play games.
“You asked for it,” I said, chuckling as I kissed her softly with little pecks and no tongue. She squirmed, grabbed my hair and tried to deepen my kisses, but I pulled away, shaking my head at her. She glared at me.
“Kiss me,” she said. “Give me an epic one.”
“As soon as you do what I want,” I murmured, pulling back to give her a hot look.
“I love you, Leo Jamison Tate, so kiss me, pretty please,” she said, her eyes heavy with emotion, letting me see the big love she had for me.
My heart sang, recognizing its mate.
I kissed her deep, and her hips arched off the bed, searching for mine. “Like that?” I asked against her mouth, my hands clutching her to me. I never wanted to let her go.
“Yes,” she whispered, the ache evident in her voice.
My cock brush her thigh, and I groaned at the contact. She wrapped her legs around my waist, and I leaned down to her breasts, massaging and sucking them, my need escalating. I kissed her stomach, around to her hipbone, and down to her thighs, inhaling her scent. I groaned and put a finger in her, the wetness cranking
me higher. I stroked her relentlessly, focusing on her sweet spot, on her pleasure.
“I’m the only one for you, just me. You’re my bad girl. No one else’s,” I told her possessively as her body strained for mine.
She closed her eyes and turned her head into the pillow, but I grasped her chin. “Don’t ever look away,” I said softly. “Lock your eyes on mine, Nora. It means everything to me. Let me see you fall apart.”
I took her hands and intertwined our fingers. Finally, I thrust deep into her, leaning my head back and crying out at the contact. She moaned as I set a slow pace, thrusting steadily into her heat.
“More,” she cried, and I angled myself closer to her and pumped faster, our skin slapping together, our hands clutching each other, like we’d die without the other. Sweat dripped from me as I took her, my eyes never losing hers. My cock pulsed with the need to come, but I held out, working her higher and higher. She met me thrust for thrust, arching her hips and spreading her legs wide as I worked. I hissed and tossed my head at the sight she made, her face full of love and wonder.
“I’m on the edge,” she said, gasping as I slid in and out.
“Wanna come?”
She nodded, and I disentangled one of our hands and thumbed her nub, circling her slowly, making her wild.
Her body tensed up, and it hit her hard.
“Fuck,” I muttered out, watching as she came apart right in front me, going stiff and arching her back, her cries like sweet music to my ears. My love for her slammed into me, sending me over as I came too, yelling her name.
Nothing compared to this.
I leaned down to kiss her lips tenderly and got choked up, thinking of how lucky I was, how much I loved her.
I pressed my forehead to hers. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that I’m going to wake up in the morning, and you’ll be here, in my arms.” I swallowed. “I love you so much, Buttercup, it hurts.”
Very Bad Things Page 25