“It’s fine.” Her hand was suddenly on my arm. “Actually, it’s more than fine. Since we have time to kill… can I ask you something?”
I stared at her, then her hand, then back up at her. “Sure.”
She nervously licked her lips and then seemed to give herself a mental pep talk as her head bobbed up and down in a small nod. “Finn said some things… about your past. He said you’d understand more than I realize…”
I immediately stiffened. “Finn needs a muzzle.”
Her smile was soft as she leaned over the consul and pulled my hand from the steering wheel, and squeezed it. “Please?”
I switched lanes and then stared straight ahead, my left hand gripping the wheel like a lifeline as all the memories surfaced. Of course, we would be stuck in traffic, but at least that meant she couldn’t jump out of the car. Then again, we were going slow enough she could do it backward without getting injured.
“I—” Great, now my voice was cracking. “I dated a lot in high school—”
“I’m aware.”
I smirked. “All right, so I came to UW on a football scholarship.” I licked my dry lips. “And I was an idiot who had no idea that football basically made you a god at this school. I loved the attention a little too much, partied way too hard, and ended up getting in trouble when I puked my guts out at practice and couldn’t do the drills.” I still remembered the look of disappointment on my coach’s face. “My coach was less than enthused. I wasn’t the starting quarterback, but they were grooming me for the next year. I red-shirted my freshman year in order to get four full years of playing.”
“So, what happened?”
We moved another half a mile on the road.
“He got me a tutor.” Bile rose in the back of my throat. “She was extremely distracting and absolutely gorgeous but wicked smart. Not only did she help me with all of my papers, but she, er… let’s just say we started hooking up on a regular basis. I didn’t find out until a few weeks into our semi-relationship that she was one of the coach’s daughters and had just transferred from another school.”
Kora frowned and kept listening while I felt the trauma of the past making its way into the present.
“Anyway, she started getting really clingy, not the normal type of I miss you because you’re my boyfriend, but like twenty missed calls in less than an hour, hundreds of threatening texts if I didn’t get back to her right away. And when I finally did, I’d explain that I was in practice and every single time she didn’t believe me, so I started texting her a picture when I got there and a picture when I left, I mean I really liked her, but it was like she snapped. There was so much jealousy, so much anger on her end that made absolutely no sense.” I shuddered.
“Hey…” Kora put her hand on my thigh. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk anymore…”
“No, I’m doing this. If it helps you, and if it helps you understand why I do what I do, why I care about you so much, why for us to move forward, talking about the past is necessary…” I took a deep breath. “She was controlling, but it was in such a manipulative way that I started feeling like the crazy one. All my teammates were obsessed with her, and in public she was the life of the party. Everyone kept telling me I was so damn lucky to have her. Beautiful, smart, rich. And loyal. Don’t forget loyal, right?” I licked my lips. “One day I forgot my phone in my bag. She was waiting at the stadium in the parking lot. It was raining. She was pissed, yelling at me. In order to calm her down, I told her to get in my car.” I frowned at the memory of the rain pounding my car as she climbed in her side and glared. “But when we both got in, she just started hitting me. Not—not open-handed slaps but full-on closed-fisted punches. And here’s the thing: I was so shocked I didn’t even know what to do. I mean, she was hitting me. I couldn’t really restrain her without hurting her back. She scratched my cheek, caught me just above my left cheek, and the next morning I woke up with a black eye and bruises all up and down my arm.”
Kora jerked her hand away and gasped. “Oh, God.”
“It gets worse,” I mumbled. “She called me that next day bawling her eyes out, saying she couldn’t believe she’d acted that way. She woke up early to make my favorite breakfast and then started taking my clothes off, and that was that. I told her I forgave her, but never again.”
“Did it happen again?”
“It gradually got worse. She’d apologize, and I’d think we were okay again, I had somehow convinced myself that I loved her, that she loved me, we were just passionate, and I was clearly just not a good boyfriend, you know? It’s weird, looking back I’m like what the hell was I thinking? But when you’re in it, you become so used to it… My therapist calls it the frog theory. You put a frog in a pot of boiling water, and they freak, but if you slowly heat the water, you can kill them. Guess who the fucking frog was?” I snorted out a disgusted laugh.
“What made you finally break up?”
I shook my head. “I let her borrow my car one day. She came to pick me up from practice in it. We were headed to go pick hers up from the shop, and she saw a pink scrunchie on my wrist—we were wearing them for breast cancer awareness month, the entire football team—and she lost her shit.” I felt my entire body tense. “She got onto the freeway and started driving like a crazy person. Weaving in and out of our lane, buzzing around other cars. All the time screaming… like this high-pitched screeching and shouting. I couldn’t understand any of what she was saying. We cut cars off. I’m pretty sure at least one got run down an embankment. I kept—” Knots formed in my stomach. The cars ahead of us inched forward, and we followed. Sweat broke out across my upper lip. I concentrated on slowing my breathing. “I kept yelling for her to stop, and she just kept accelerating, yelling over me. I honestly thought I was going to die—”
Kora’s sharp intake of breath had me gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles whitened, and my fingers hurt.
I forced myself to continue. “We swerved around a semi, and that forced her to slow down, but on the next corner, she rear-ended another car. I saw a blur of color in front of us, and that’s all I remember. Then I woke up in the hospital with a broken leg, arm, two broken ribs, a messed-up face, and a punctured lung.”
Tears filled Kora’s eyes and spilled over. “You’re lucky to be alive.”
“I am.”
“What happened to her?”
“A few broken bones, but she was able to go home that next day. My car was totaled, but when the police went to investigate, they found some prescription bottles in her bag along with muscle relaxers and a few other things. The name on the bottles wasn’t hers, wasn’t anyone I recognized. She claimed they were mine and that I was threatening to kill her, and she got scared, that I took the wheel, and that’s why we crashed.”
“She’s insane!” Kora snapped. “What the hell?”
It was the first time I’d heard her curse. It at least numbed the pain a bit, I offered her a small smile. “You’re sexy, you know that?”
She glared. “Keep going.”
“Well, nobody believed me but my dad. Our saving grace was a nice little traffic camera that caught most of the chaos. Along with that, I had absolutely no drugs in my system at the time, and that she had elevated levels of Oxy and Adderall.”
Kora winced. “Do you think that’s why she was going crazy?”
“No, I think she was a classic textbook narcissist who needed professional help, and she started to self-medicate.”
“What happened to her?”
I shrugged. “Her father quit his job. They transferred to Idaho, and she was put in a mental hospital for teens.”
“Is she doing better?”
“I hope so,” I found myself saying. “Even though she could have killed me, I can’t imagine the type of pain or chaos that had to be going through her head to get to that place, you know?”
Kora was quiet as I took our exit. Finally. And made a right toward her street.
“You’re a kin
der person than I am,” she said quietly. “I want to fight her, and I’m not a violent person.”
I laughed. “Thanks for being my protector, but if I saw her, even I would run the other way. She’s craaazzzy.”
“Yeah, well.” Kora crossed her arms. “What about football?”
I shook my head. “Too many bad memories. I miss it like hell, but I can’t think about football without thinking about her. It messes with me up here.” I tapped my head. “And I needed a fresh start. Wingmen Inc gave me that.”
She nodded as I pulled into her apartment complex and killed the engine. The soft click of her seatbelt releasing filled the sudden hush, then she twisted in her seat and pinned me in a tender gaze. “I’m sorry, Leo. For what it’s worth,” She leaned over the console then cupped my face against her warm palms. “I think you’re very brave.”
I gulped, my eyes searching hers, maybe for permission, maybe for acceptance, maybe both.
“And I admire you more than you’ll ever know.” Our foreheads touched, and then my dream in real life lowered her head, and kissed me.
Chapter Twenty
“You should lose your entire soul and at the very least, a sliver of your heart every single time you kiss. If you don’t have a physical reaction along with the spiritual, then you’re not with your lobster.” — Leo Blackwood
Kora
His mouth was hot, his tongue slid past my parted lips, and my entire body sighed into him as he kissed me back with restraint like he was afraid to scare me away, or maybe afraid of the thick tumultuous emotions of our pasts colliding in our present.
I pulled away first, noticing how his green eyes seemed to swallow me whole with one lingering gaze. Mouth swollen, he tilted his head. “That was nice.”
“I can do better.”
His smile was everything. All white teeth and a small dimple near the right side of his mouth. “I wasn’t aware we were having a contest.”
“It’s always a contest.” I shrugged. “I can’t help that I’m competitive.”
“Too bad I always win.” He patted me on the head. “Let’s get you inside.”
“’Kay.” My arm shot out as he opened his door. “Leo?”
He turned.
“Thanks.” My breath came out in a relieved huff. “For telling me your story, even though it was hard.”
He locked eyes with me. “I would do anything for you.”
He walked around the car and opened my door, and my heart threatened to pound right out of my chest and jump into his arms.
This guy.
I mean, really.
I didn’t even know they made them like this anymore.
“You look confused.” Small frown lines worked across Leo’s forehead. “Something on your mind?”
I narrowed my eyes at him and jumped out of the car. “It’s just strange, you’re so…”
“Good looking?”
“Well yes, but—”
“Sexy—?”
“Leo!” I clenched my fists. “Stop, I’m trying to give you a compliment.”
“Mmkay.” He crossed his arms. “Go ahead.”
I opened my mouth. Closed it. And then glared. “Well, now there’s a lot of pressure.”
“God, you’re cute.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and walked me to my door.
I clung to his shirt, not even realizing I was doing it until he looked down at my fisted hand around the soft gray fabric and then winked at me. “So, what am I?”
“Well,” I was on my way to being completely flustered by this guy. “I was going to say you’re mature, but I may have to take that back.”
“Because I tease?” He leaned against the door, his smile sexy as sin.
My heart took off again as I pointed my key at him. “Because you’re arrogant.”
“Arrogance and maturity can one hundred percent go hand in hand. Besides…” He leaned down and tucked my hair behind my ear. “I like to see you smile.”
“Well…” I gulped.
“Let me.” He grabbed my key, shoved it into the lock, and opened the door for me.
My clothes felt heavy on me.
My body was buzzing with awareness of all things Leo.
And he just had to lock the door behind us.
Lock us in.
Logically I knew he was just trying to keep me safe, but all I kept thinking was that my apartment was too small for both of us.
And that I wanted to jump him so bad it was nearly indecent.
I turned toward the kitchen at about the same time he wrapped his arms around me from behind.
I felt every hard inch of him and nearly died on the spot.
“Here’s the thing…” he whispered in my ear, his lips pressing against my skin. “If you want me to leave, I’ll leave and pick you up in the morning, if you want me to stay, I’ll stay, and we can watch a movie, and I’ll attempt to impress you with my Door Dash skills.”
I smiled.
“Or, there’s always the last option.”
I went completely still. “What’s the last option?”
He was quiet for several breaths, and then, “Ladies choice.”
What he really meant was, your choice, you choose.
Choose him.
I turned in his arms. His green eyes were lit with lust, the room had a heartbeat, or maybe it was just mine, slamming yes, yes, yes against my chest.
I took a step out of his arms.
His hooded gaze was so dead sexy I started to shake.
I reached for the hem of my sweatshirt.
His eyes followed like he was hunting me. A slow swallow as his lips parted like he could taste my arousal in the air. And maybe… a man like Leo could.
Slowly, I lifted it over my head and dropped it to the floor. I was wearing a simple blue Victoria’s Secret bra, nothing fancy, but with the look on his face, anyone might think I was already naked.
His hands twitched at his sides as I moved to my jeans and slowly flicked open the button. I touched my tongue to my lips, and his jaw clenched.
Slowly, I inched my jeans down and stepped out of them. I was naked except for my bra and my pink cheeky underwear.
“Turn around,” he said in a low voice.
I turned, and then two palms were cupping my ass and squeezing.
I let out a moan I had absolutely no control over, and then his thumbs were in my panties tugging them down to my ankles, so painfully slow, I was almost embarrassed.
He was still dressed, and he was helping me—what? Striptease.
My pink panties dangled off my right ankle and dropped to the hardwood. His hands moved back to my ass, and he gripped my hips and jerked me back against him. I could feel the heat of his length pulsing through his jeans. Something so simple was driving me crazy, making my thighs quiver.
He rubbed himself against me, and then his mouth was on my neck, his hands on my breasts as he snapped my bra off.
Warm breath sent chills straight to my center of need as Leo kissed down my neck, taking small bites of my skin, soothing the same bite with his tongue before sucking on my collarbone, his hands moving down my stomach, sliding with such slowness that I clenched my teeth.
He gripped my right thigh from behind and lifted it, so my foot was on the kitchen table. Heart racing, I moaned when he inched his fingers down my lifted thigh to my core.
I jumped a foot when he touched me.
“Enjoy it,” he rasped in my ear as a large finger entered, and then his other fingers pressed roughly against me. “Time for a lesson, professor.”
“Oh, God,” I whimpered. “I thought we…” How was he doing this? “I thought I was done…”
“A-plus…” His moments went from fast to slow, his pressure increased and then left me wanting when he decreased. “But I want to make sure you’re ready… so I figured a little extra…” He pressed his fingertips against me. “…credit…” I started moving against his hand. “…would be a good idea.”
�
�G-great idea.”
I almost fell as he moved around me and dropped to his knees right in front of my lifted foot. With a gleam in his eyes, he draped my leg over his shoulder and gripped my hips. “I meant for me.”
“Wh-what?”
“I needed the extra credit.” He winked before his mouth replaced his hands, before spots appeared in my line of vision as his tongue flicked and sucked into oblivion.
I lasted less than a minute.
Could barely stand on two legs, let alone one as he quickly stood and picked me up only to walk us into the back bedroom and drop me onto my bed.
I bounced.
His shirt was already off.
Another bounce.
Unbuttoning jeans.
I gaped, my body still pulsing from the climax, as he shed every inch of clothing and showed me just how much he didn’t need any extra credit.
Ever.
“Now’s not the time for slow.” He hovered over me, kissing my mouth painfully hard as I tangled my hands into his long silky hair. It flopped to the side, covered part of his right eye, making him look even sexier as his massive body moved over me.
I must have missed the moment he grabbed a condom out of his pocket.
I stared it down. “Coincidence?”
“Never.” He ripped the foil with his teeth. “I’ve wanted you since I was eighteen…”
I didn’t need the age reminder.
His face softened. “I was a horny high schooler, give me some credit. You were, and are, one of the sexiest women I’ve ever seen in real life.”
My entire body relaxed.
“I bought condoms the first day I saw you, and I promised myself that one day… one day you’d be mine.”
“Let’s hope those aren’t the same ones,” I joked stupidly.
He just smiled and kissed the fear out of me, kissed me so perfectly that I couldn’t help but cling to his shoulders, hold on for dear life, and enjoy the way his heavy body felt against mine.
He was hot everywhere.
His movements fluid as he moved his mouth down to one of my breasts, then the other, sucking, licking.
“That feels good.” I clutched my comforter in my hands.
Seducing Mrs. Robinson Page 11
