by Diana Nixon
“Patience has never been in the list of your strongest qualities,” I said, slapping my things against his desk.
“When it comes to you, patience is the last thing I want to focus on.” His eyes purposely slid down my dress. “There are so many places I still need to explore…”
“For God’s sake, can we just…work?”
“Sure. Though I’d prefer working on you instead.”
I didn’t comment on that.
The rest of the day was more or less bearable. Leonel dived into his papers and didn’t pay any attention to me. Or at least he pretended he didn’t because now and then, I would catch him watching me.
When it was time to go home, he said, “How about a drink?”
“Bad idea.”
“Why?”
“Because I know that sharing a drink with you will never end well.”
He laughed and helped me with my jacket.
“Thanks,” I said.
“You are welcome. As well as you are welcome to change your mind and join me for a drink after all.”
“I can’t. I have other plans for tonight.”
Judging by the frown on his face, he didn’t like the sound of that.
“With whom?”
“Why do you care? My personal life is none of your business.”
“It wasn’t my business. Until last night.”
“What happened last night?” Of course, I knew exactly what he was thinking at that moment.
“I thought you felt something.” He leaned against his desk and crossed his arms, watching me pack my things.
“I did.” I looked at him. “I told you about what I felt – what we did was wrong and unprofessional.”
“Hope by unprofessional you don’t mean I’m a bad kisser.”
I closed my bag and said, “You are a great kisser, and you know it. And by unprofessional I mean we shouldn’t mix work and pleasure.”
“That’s why I asked if you wanted to share a drink with me.”
“And I told you – I have other plans for tonight.”
“All right… But if the someone you have plans with turns out to be a bad kisser, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I’ll remember that. Goodbye, Leo.”
“Till tomorrow, Liv.”
He didn’t try to stop me or kiss me, and I appreciated it. I really needed a break from his irresistible presence. Though it was much harder to get rid of the presence of thoughts about him in my head.
I didn’t know what was the right thing to do anymore. At first, I thought I would never tell him about Bella. Then I thought maybe I should have told him the truth about her. Then, after I talked to Winter, I was so mad at both of them. I was sure my decision to adopt Bella was a great idea. And then Molly’s words made everything a little more complicated again.
She said I needed more time to see a different side of Leo.
And I started doubting every step I took in his direction.
That’s why I needed to hear what Parker thought about it. She had always been my common sense. Unlike me, she thought that truth, whether bad or good, was better than lies. Because lies tied so many knots that made your road to the desired look like a never-ending obstacle race. And I was so tired of running it alone…
Chapter 12
“I still don’t get it,” Parker slurred, splashing a good part of her wine on the floor. “Shit… Do you like him or not?”
We were in the middle of our second bottle of wine, and I felt even more stressed than before the ‘party’ started. Mom and Bella went to bed early, because the little thing needed to rest, and mom was too tired to join Parker and me for a glass of wine. That turned into two, then three, and then we stopped counting glasses and opened another bottle.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, taking another sip of the red liquid. “We can’t be together anyway.”
“Why?”
“Because… Leonel Cohen is Bella’s father.”
“Whaaat?” My friend’s eyes never got bigger than now. She blinked a few times as if checking if I was real or just a part of her drunk-ass imagination.
“Wait here,” I told her. I put my glass on the table and went to my room to take a picture that marked the beginning of my revenge that wasn’t that much about payback anymore.
I returned to the kitchen and showed Parker the picture of Leo and Winter together.
“Holly fuck…”
“My point exactly – it’s even more fucked up than you think.”
“Where did you get it?”
“Definitely not from my sister. She would never show me his picture. She didn’t even give me the name of the man who dumped her.”
“He looks different from the man Google showed me. Same face, but the clothes, the way he looks into the camera – everything’s different.”
“It hardly changes the fact that I have fallen for him.”
Parker hiccupped and said, “I knew you were into him! Is that mutual?”
“I think so… Or maybe he simply wants to sleep with me. Which is not the same thing as being in love with me.”
“You think Winter still has feelings for him?”
“I’m sure she does. You should have seen her face when she spoke about him. Years passed, and her feelings for him haven’t changed a bit. That’s why she doesn’t want to see Bella anymore. Because the girl looks so much like her dad.”
“Are you going to tell Leonel about her?”
“It’s what I wanted to discuss with you. What do you think – shall I tell him the truth about Bella?”
She swirled the wine in her glass. “I think you should think about what’s best for Bella. If you think Leonel can be a good father for her, then yes – you should tell him the truth. And if you think he won’t change his mind about having kids – then you need to sleep with him because you obviously want it, and then leave.”
I giggled. “The second option sounds like a really good plan.”
“Unless you are scared to betray Winter’s feelings for him.”
I sighed. “Thanks for the reminder.” I drained my glass dry and poured more wine into it.
Hell, my morning was gonna be pure torture. But at this point, I didn’t really care about what was going to happen tomorrow. “You know, the day he came to take Bella from the hospital, he was so nice to her. And she liked him. Like really liked him. I think it was the very moment I thought they could make a great family. Then I talked to Winter and realized that she doesn’t care about Bella; all she wants is to be with Leo again. And I…”
“You want the same thing. For yourself.”
I nodded and cried.
“Oh, sweetie…” Parker wrapped her arms around me. “I always knew what to say when it came to brightening up your mood. But right now, I’m lost. Or maybe it’s because you never got into situations like this, and I didn’t need to make decisions for you. But you know what?”
“What?” I sobbed.
“I think you need to talk to Leonel. If this torture goes on, and you keep lying to him, he might never forgive you for keeping everything a secret. But if you put all tips on the table, you will at least know that you did the right thing by being honest with him.”
“But he left them, remember? It was his decision to walk away.”
“What if time changed everything, but he just doesn’t know how to get them back?”
“What if he still has feelings for Winter? Flirting with me doesn’t change the fact that he might be still in love with her.”
“Then there’s only one way to set things straight.”
***
One hour later, I stood at the door to Leonel’s private elevator, waiting for it to take me to his apartment. I wasn’t sure about anything, except for one thing – I needed to stop lying to him. But most of all, I needed to stop lying to myself.
I was in love with him – and that had never been a part of my plan. Maybe that’s why I would never come to his place again if I
were sober.
When the elevator finally arrived and the door opened, I stepped into the cabin and it moved up way too fast. Or at least it felt too fast, because my head was buzzing, and I really hoped I wouldn’t puke in the middle of my prepared speech.
But the moment the door opened, and I stepped into Leo’s apartment, all the words died on my tongue.
Fuck…
I ran one hand through my messy hair and just stared at him.
He was lying on the floor in front of the burning fireplace. He was wearing jeans and a black shirt that was fully open. His one hand was under his head when the other one was holding a glass of whiskey.
I shouldn’t come here after all. I told him I would never cross the threshold of this place again, and I should have kept my word.
I turned to the elevator again.
“Scared?” His word stopped me dead in my tracks.
Slowly, I turned my head and saw him watch me from across the distance. He didn’t move or stand up. He was still lying on the floor. Only now his eyes were on me instead of the fireplace that was the only illumination in the room, making Leonel look as dangerous as ever.
I swallowed hard. “I entered the wrong door.”
“Coward.”
Maybe if I were not drunk and thought twice about my reaction to his words, they would not bother me.
But they did.
“You are right. I’m a coward,” I said, walking closer to him. “I should have told this a long time ago...”
He put the glass on the floor, and rested the other hand beneath his head, still watching me intently. The closer I walked to him, the stronger my desire to tell him how much I hated him was. Weeks ago, when I just started working for him. As well as how much I was attracted to him. Weeks later, after I got a chance to know a little more about him. To my great disappointment, Madison’s files didn’t say a word about the Leonel I saw now. He wasn’t the son of a bitch she told me he was. And I was hopelessly in love with everything he was hiding in the darkness of his eyes that looked like the most magnetic thing in the world.
I stopped next to him and looked down at him. “There’s something very important I need to tell you…”
“Figures. Otherwise, you would have never come here again. Hope it’s something good. ‘Cause I’ve had one hell of an evening.”
I frowned. “What happened?” Last I checked, his evening didn’t promise any trouble.
“I don’t wanna talk about it.”
Unintentionally, my eyes slid down his naked chest; my palms tingled to touch it.
“Like what you see?” He teased with an unhidden smirk in the tone of his voice.
I stayed quiet.
Then he pulled the belt of my trench and untied it. “It’s a little too hot in here for that many clothes. Don’t you think so?” He pulled the hem of the trench to look at what was under it.
I wasn’t going to undress for him, so I hardly cared to check on my outfit before I left my apartment.
Though now I regretted I didn’t take a moment to put on something less…
“Sexy,” he said quietly, looking at my black, silk Pj’s which consisted of a pair of shorts and a matching top with spaghetti straps.
All of a sudden, I felt like I was completely naked, and there was nothing to cover myself with and hide from his hungry stare.
Still holding my gaze, he wrapped his fingers around my ankle and slid his hand up my leg, rising until he sat up and his palm reached the edge of my shorts. He stood up and wrapped one arm around me; his palm as if accidentally, slipped beneath the fabric of my top.
He pulled me closer until our chests touched.
With his free hand, he pushed my trench off my shoulders, and I didn’t even try to stop him, letting the ivory thing drop to my feet.
Our breathing was heavy; I could smell whiskey all around his lips. And maybe if it were not for the wine running in my veins, I would have pushed him away. But his closeness threw me into ecstasy even faster than wine did, and I felt like I was too weak to move, let alone to tell him I didn’t want it…
Because right there and then, I wanted him more than ever.
The next thing I knew – he bent his head and brushed my lips with his. “You smell like grapes… Looks like your evening wasn’t much better than mine.”
I didn’t deny it.
His thumb touched my lower lip, with the rest of his fingers feathering my cheek. “I want you, Liv. And I want you now. Right here, on this floor, with the fireplace to heat up your body and the shadows of flame to dance on your belly when I thrust you from the back.”
I shut my eyes tight as if shielding myself from the desire that his words made burn inside me.
“I want you so bad, I’ll die if I let you go.” His whisper was desperate. As well as my need to be one with him.
I had been pretending I didn’t want him for so long; I knew there was no turning back for this night. It had been decided. And there was no willpower in me to resist it.
He pressed his lips to my shoulder and then showered my neckline with barely tangible kisses. They were like butterflies, touching me with their thin wings. But the pleasant feeling they left couldn’t be compared to anything.
“Will you stay?” He breathed into my ear. Then his lips moved down my cheek and stopped at my mouth a second after I said my quiet ‘yes’.
And a million times yes, ran at the back of my mind.
“I want to drink every small drop of you,” he said, tightening his embrace. He pushed one of my spaghetti straps down, then he did the same thing with the other one. The silky top slid off my breasts, and Leo cupped one of them with his palm. “Perfect,” he said, circling my nipple with his thumb. Then his lips were on mine again; our tongues mingled in a sweet dance. For a moment I thought he was too much. Then again, not enough to give me what I desired.
Our kisses became deeper and longer. When our hands started a dance of their own. Mine slid up his chest, helping him get rid of his shirt. His – pulled the hem of my top and he took it off over my head. I reached for the zipper of his jeans and pulled the metal thing down. He quickly finished the job and a second later – stood fully naked in front of me.
“Come here.” He pulled me by the hand until our bodies touched and I felt the hardness of his cock press to my lower body.
With his hands on my ass, he kissed me one more time and then pushed my shorts down, until they joined the rest of our clothes on the floor.
I stepped off them, and his eyes darkened to pitch black as if he finally saw what he’d been dying to see for so long.
We kissed our way to the soft rag near the fireplace, and Leo carefully put me down, covering my body with his.
“God, is it just the fire that makes you look so hot, or am I losing my mind over you, Liv?”
It wasn’t a question that needed my answer, so I stayed quiet, eagerly waiting for his next move. Though the heat coming from the fire couldn’t be compared to the heat intensifying between us.
We were too lost for everything but us, enjoying this moment of pure pleasure caused by the closeness of our bodies and thoughts. He slid his hand in between us, until he found my clit, and rubbed it gently.
I moaned and arched my back as if begging for more.
His fingers moved even further and slipped roughly inside me as if he always had a right to touch me like that, without a warning or asking for permission.
“Fuck, Liv… You’re dripping.” His voice was shaking, and I knew it wasn’t from the cold.
He started kissing my chin, my neck, and shoulders, nibbling and sucking, when his fingers kept moving in and out me.
My body squirmed beneath him, waiting for the upcoming fulfillment.
I wanted him, so bad I was about to cry.
I caught his hand and begged, “Please… Stop.”
He looked at me; his tongue teasingly circled one of my nipples. “There are no stop words tonight, Liv.” His thumb found my clit aga
in, and he pressed it like a start button that would make me comply with his every dark wish. “I’m not done pleasing you, not even close.”
I growled. And he chuckled.
“There’s time for everything, baby. But first… I wanna make you come with my mouth.” Then he kissed my breast and belly, and then licked my pussy and sucked on my clit.
“Uh…” It felt good. So good, I wanted more of his mouth everywhere he could touch me.
“You’re soft and wet,” he whispered like a prayer. “Just exactly as I imagined you to be…”
His touches hurt pleasantly. I couldn’t wait for him to take me. But he seemed to be enjoying torturing me as if he knew I would explode any second, and he wanted to watch me come for him.
The orgasm didn’t make me wait too long. Just a few more strokes of his tongue were enough to throw me over the edge.
I cried his name, feeling my body spasm in ecstasy.
“Fuck, yeah… Give it to me, baby.”
And so I did.
I didn’t give him just that one moment; I gave my whole self to him…
“I want you to be mine, Liv. Mine only.”
He covered my body with his again and waited for me to catch my breath.
Only to take me the way he wanted to a few moments later.
His swollen cock easily found his way inside me, and he thrusted me hard and deep, increasing the rhythm of his moves with every small sound that he kissed away from my lips. He wasn’t going to stop until he got the desired. There was no mercy in his moves and no hesitation in his kiss. He knew what he was doing, as well as he knew how much I liked it.
He could feel it in the way my body responded to his, in the way my lips met his; he could hear it in the sounds that escaped from the back of my throat, shattering the silence of the almost dark room.
The familiar sensation started to build within me. I looked at Leo and saw so much passion in his gaze as if he were tranced by the dance of our bodies that seemed to be perfectly tuned to each other.
I tried to switch my attention to something else, but the building orgasm that I knew would explode and flood me any second. I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to prologue the moment the longer I could. But the faster Leo pumped inside me, the closer I got to the cliff.
