“Leo—stop. I wanna come while you're inside me.”
He stopped, his eyes studying me for a brief second, before he moved to cover my body with his. Then kissed me hard, the taste of my arousal on his tongue, and positioned himself between my legs. He brought his erection up to my entrance, carefully letting the tip penetrate me. I shifted, needing more of him inside me.
“Don't move, baby.”
His steel-blue eyes held onto mine and I froze.
“This part might hurt. I'll do it quick. When I get inside you, I won't move for a minute so you can get used to me. Okay, killer? Then we'll take it from there. I don't want to hurt you. And if you need to stop, tell me and we will.”
How did he know I was a virgin? I would have been embarrassed—I mean, seriously, was I that obvious?—but his words were soft and I'd never felt more cared for. Biting my lip, I nodded. “Okay, Leo. I trust you.”
“Good.”
His hands gripped under my thighs, angling my hips, and then he didn’t waste another second. I held my breath as I felt him rip through my virginity, but the pain wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be. Leo stopped once he was inside me, just like he promised, and hovered on locked arms above me. Maybe I should have felt more pain or even fear, but I could only focus on my wonderful reality.
Leo Maddox and all his sexy, naked, glory had his erection—his very big erection—shoved deep inside me, filling me to the hilt, and he wasn't looking at me like some asshole who only wanted to score. His breathing grew raspy and the veins in his neck bulged as he struggled to stay perfectly still inside me, but his eyes remained sweet and caring. He looked at me like I was his entire world and that this moment was everything he'd ever wanted. It was the hottest thing I'd ever seen. Needing to touch him, I raked my hands over his hard, naked chest, which was slightly damp with sweat. He quivered under my touch. Not moving seemed to be killing him. Actually, it was killing me too.
“I'm used to you now. You can move,” I urged.
He smiled at me but still didn't budge.
“Seriously, Leo. Please—start moving.” I grabbed hold of his firm ass and tried to move him myself.
Leo's eyes instantly took on a never-seen-before primal look and then he gave in—finally. He moved his hips back and then plunged into my heat again. Not so gently either. I yelped in surprise but loved the feeling. It hurt, yes, but it was a good kind of hurt.
“Yes! Do that again!”
He moved back and filled me again with another sharp thrust. Then another and another... until he fell into a rhythm that made the pain disappear. It felt way too freaking good and I locked my legs around Leo's waist, needing more of him. I lifted my hips to meet his next thrust, gasping when I did, and my movement caused a deep, animalistic grunt to break free from Leo’s lungs. That single noise made me crazy and I had no choice but to meet each of his movements so I could feel that connection over and over again. The pressure built until I needed more—I needed to come. Maybe I was feeding into his already huge ego, but I couldn't help myself.
“Leo, please,” I begged.
The fire in his eyes doubled as he continued pumping in and out of me. Then suddenly, he wrapped one of his arms under my lower back and pulled my body down to the edge of his bed. He stood on the ground, moving my right leg so he had something to grip, and instead of his movements growing quicker, they slowed. Softly, sweetly, carefully—he inched himself in and out of me. He reached one hand between my legs, touching me right where my body was screaming for it. And that one touch was all I needed. I opened my mouth to scream as I shattered, but the sound was robbed from my throat as wave after amazing wave of pleasure steamrolled over my body. The muscles deep inside of me contracted, clutching Leo hard. My back arched and Leo brushed both of his hands over my stomach and across my bare breasts, the feeling magnified in that heavenly moment. All the while, he continued to move in and out of me, riding out my orgasm. With one word on his lips—Clara—Leo plunged into me one final time before his body tensed and I felt his warmth spill inside me. My eyes never once left Leo's and it was the most intense moment I'd ever shared with another human being.
When my breath returned and the world started making sense again, Leo bent down—his sweat-glistening chest pressing against mine—and he kissed me. He was still hard and still buried deep inside me. A playful smile tugged at his lips.
“Thank the fucking Lord you hit me with that golf cart.”
“Anytime,” I joked, unable to keep myself from returning his infectious smile. “And I guess I got your pants off after all.”
He laughed and when he did, I felt him move slightly inside me. I knew we both felt it because the smile disappeared from his face and lust darkened his eyes. Electricity blasted through me and the muscles deep inside me clenched in an automatic response. I wanted him all over again. I may have been sore, but I didn't care.
Leo pushed up onto his arms, his hips rocking gloriously in the process, and he studied me, probably trying to do his mind-reading trick. “Are you okay?”
“Never better,” I whispered.
That must have been all the assurance he needed because, ever so slowly, he eased in and out of me. “My offer to play Monopoly still stands.”
“Shut the hell up, Leo. Don't be an ass.”
“I'm beginning to think every time you call me an ass—or some variation of the word—it's really just a term of endearment. Am I right?”
Cupping the sides of his face, I pushed my tongue deep into his mouth and kissed him with every ounce of my being. Something about what he said just jolted my world and I needed him. My legs wrapped around his waist and suddenly we were having sex again—the conversation, over.
This time was different though. I was very wet from where he had just come inside me. Leo could have taken advantage of that in a different way, but his movements stayed rhythmic, gentle, and extremely controlled. He focused more on kissing and touching me as he moved, and it was pure heaven. I'd never felt so sexy or loved, so cared for or happy. It didn't take long before I was falling apart again.
Leo found his release soon after me and then we lay there, unmoving—a tangle of limbs and sweat—until our breathing returned to normal. Leo eased himself out of me, grabbed the corner of his duvet cover, and yanked it on top of us. I felt raw, ripped open, and utterly exhausted. But it didn't matter. I was safe. I was home. And I quickly drifted off to sleep in his arms.
THE SHRILL BEEP-BEEP-BEEP of an alarm startled me awake. My bare legs were tangled up in Leo's sheets and when I dove, trying to silence that annoying sound, I fell straight out of bed and onto my ass. I scrambled to my feet, only to find Leo—one-hundred percent buck-naked in bed, lying on his stomach with his arms curled up under his pillow—laughing at me. I'd taken all of the covers with me when I fell, so there was nothing blocking my view of his drool-worthy buttocks and the angel wings that highlighted his strong, muscular back. I froze like a deer caught in the headlights, while Leo made zero effort to cover up. Seriously! Did his body have to be so freaking perfect? Between that and the unshakable look of his eyes as they took me in, it was unnerving.
Trying to snap out of my stupor, I pounded my hand down on the alarm clock to effectively shut it up. “Not funny!”
“Kind of funny,” he countered, his voice husky from sleep. “Now, get back in bed. Please.”
Nervous as ever, despite all the things we did last night, I crawled in beside him. He tugged at my waist and pulled my burrito-cover-self in under his arm, trapping me and then pressing his lips against my temple. “I was buried in you twice last night and today I plan on exceeding that number, so don't go backwards with me,” he said in a low, intimate voice. “And I’m sorry about the alarm, baby. I set it because I know you have your golf lessons today. Forgive me? I didn't mean to wake you up like that.”
“It’s fine, but help me out of these covers before I get claustrophobic.”
Leo started pulling me free. He t
ried to keep a straight face, but I saw one very sexy grin trying to break free. By the time he got me out of my confinement, my heart was racing and my breathing rate had doubled. We were now both wonderfully naked with our limbs tangled on top of the sheets.
“Are you okay?” he asked me. “You seem different today.”
“It's just...you make me shy,” I whispered into his chest, all of a sudden finding myself unable to meet his pretty blue eyes. “And nervous and scared and crazy-insane. And the last couple days, there's been this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach that won't go away. Fluttering. But please don't think I'm going backwards with you. It's just that…well, it’s daylight and I've never been naked like this with anyone before.”
He hooked his finger under my chin and tilted my face up toward him. “Trust me, the feeling's mutual. Remember that day at the pool last year when you asked if I was gay?”
I rolled my eyes. “How could I ever forget that?”
“Yeah, well neither could I. You marched over in your swimsuit and laid your fine ass down beside me. I'm not sure what you were reading, but you were biting your lip and blushing. I swear, I couldn't move or think or breathe. That's the real reason I never got up to change or swim. I had to picture my Great-Grandma Bunny the whole time just to keep from embarrassing myself. I couldn't even manage to have a normal conversation with you.” He swept a finger over my shoulder and down the length of me, stopping to trace small circles on my thigh. “So...I'm ecstatic that you're feeling some of the same things that I've always felt for you.”
His words made me feel ten times better. He was just Leo. Honest and sexy as ever, but still just Leo. My moment of weakness faded and I ran my fingers over his chest, something I was never going to get tired of doing. “I play up the indifference thing so people don't know what I'm really feeling,” I confessed.
“I know. But when it's just you and me, you don't have to do that anymore. To hell with the rest of the world—they don't matter.” He rolled us together so that I ended up straddling his lap. I rested my hands on his chest and his blunt fingernails dug into my hips. He lifted me up, positioned me just right, and I bit back a scream as he brought me down on his erection. His action took me by surprise on many levels. I'd been so absorbed in our conversation that I hadn't realized how wet and ready I was or how hard he was. Suddenly he was inside me and I bit back a moan.
“Last night, I was scared too.” His eyes bore into mine.
“You were?” I breathed. My body tried taking over all rational thought, but I wanted to know this. “Is that...um...why you froze up on me?”
“Yes. Then you dropped down to your knees and I realized I was your first. No man can ignore the gravity of those unspoken words.” Again, he lifted me up and lowered me gently back down so that he was deep inside of me. “Why were you still a virgin, Clara?”
“Um.”
“You're the most impulsive person I know, but you never felt the need to chase after that impulse?” He rolled us. This time, he was on top. He began easing in and out of me, as if he could no longer control himself to hold a conversation during sex, but still he said between ragged breaths, “Tell. Me. Please.”
“Because...” His movements continued. I didn’t know why, but everything seemed more real this morning. Like the light of day made it all so much clearer. I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. My body climbed higher and higher—a natural reaction to Leo—even though my mind was splintering in a million different directions. “Because...” Shit. It dawned on me exactly what Leo was asking. Why him? Why now? And I realized that there was only one answer. “Because I love you.”
An orgasm I hadn't been expecting devoured me. For a brief wonderful moment, I forgot what I'd just admitted and only felt the high. I felt weightless and happy and free. And then as I came back down, reality sunk in. Maybe Leo had already confessed it first and maybe it was true, but my words still terrified me. I knew I had to run like hell—this was just too much.
After Leo found his release, I scrambled out of bed and started getting dressed as fast as possible. My pants...I found those no problem and yanked them on. Forget the underwear. My socks and shoes were on my feet a second later. But where the hell was my shirt? I couldn't leave without a shirt.
“I have my lessons,” I mumbled, avoiding Leo's eyes. He'd gotten out of bed and I felt him watching me, but I couldn't look at him right now. I covered my chest with my arms as I searched the floor. “Dad's gonna kill me if I'm late again.”
“You still have thirty minutes.”
“Have you seen my tank top?” The stupid thing had to be here somewhere. “Or do you have some kind of shirt I can borrow? Like a white t-shirt or something?” Tears stung at the backs of my eyes, but I couldn't let Leo see me cry. Oh God, this was turning super embarrassing, super fast.
Leo rummaged around in one of his dresser drawers and pulled out a white shirt. He walked across the room to hand it to me, but when I went to take it from him, he didn't let go. Lord help me, the tears were threatening now. I had to keep it together. “Give me the shirt, Leo.”
“It's not going to fit you.” His voice came out all gritty, not even close to its usual calm and collected tone, but he let go, giving me the shirt.
I yanked it over my head and then dared a glance up at him. I expected to see him looking angry, based on the past alone, but his eyes were soft and even brimming with unshed tears. I'd been waiting for years for my perfect guy, my perfect romance, the stupid pet names, and the whole perfect future together. And now…all of it was smack-dab shoved in my face. Why—seriously, why—did it have to be Leo freaking Maddox?
Leo reached up as if to touch my face but dropped his hand. His jaw clenched and he said nothing as he turned to get dressed himself. He didn't bother with fresh clothes and instead put on his day-old clothes from the floor. After putting on his socks and picking up his shoes, he crossed the room to where I was still standing. “This is the part where I lose my temper,” he said, his voice even and controlled. “We just spent a great night together—the best of my life—and now you're being ridiculous. Fucking ridiculous.”
“Don't call me ridiculous.”
His eyes narrowed. “I call it like I see it, sweetheart. Is it really so terrifying to love me? If so, then go on—run off if that's what you have to do. But don't expect me to always chase after you when you pull this kind of bullshit.”
And there he was. The snake with blue eyes. The boy I grew up with. I should have known he was still buried inside, waiting to attack. I'd been distracted by all of his charm and the sex, but now I could see crystal clear. Mentally, my heart cracked apart and I fell to the floor crying, but on the outside I stayed as strong as ever. My best friend, indifference, came rushing in to save the day. The emotion slipped off my face and I gave him a small, I-don't-give-a-shit shrug. Maybe he could tell it was fake, but I did it anyway. “Whatever. Goodbye, Leo.”
With steady hands and my head held high, I turned and hightailed it the hell out of there. And, as promised, Leo did not chase after me. I should have never expected anything more.
CHAPTER 23
MAGGIE
Fifteen mosquito bites. I'd fallen asleep in my car with my window cracked, and it seemed as if I'd been an all-night-long buffet for the blood thirsty things.
I can't. Those had been Dean’s only words. I can't. No explanation. No apologies. Only two horrible words. I can't. I'd misread all the signals—for the second time in my life—and it had once again left me heartbroken. Ripped open. Crushed. Embarrassed. And I had a splitting headache on top of a stomachache to go along with my foolishness. After Dean said those two little words—I can't—I'd left his apartment and turned off my phone. Going to Blacksburg for the night hadn't felt like an option. I'd needed to be someplace comforting. That's why I'd parked on the banks of Blue Creek and stayed here for the night.
The early sun sparkled on the water. It was beautiful and reminded me of Leo. We used
to play in this very spot as kids. We'd skip rocks across the riverbed, try to catch tadpoles, and sometimes float a mile or so downstream on inner tubes. Clara always tagged along with us. Even though Leo and I were closer, she always was around too. There were even some days when the three of us actually got along. I missed those days.
Last night may have been a disaster, but I did learn one important thing. Even if Dean royally rejected me, our little almost-kiss told me everything I needed to know. I didn't—nor would I ever—love Leo in that way. How could I when I still felt so much for Dean? I thought I'd gotten over him years ago. I even thought I'd loved Andrew. But I hadn't. The rest had only been distractions—bandages to conceal the split in my heart—when in reality, I still loved Dean. Good thing I never kissed Leo. How awkward would that have been?
With a huge sigh, I started my car's ignition and headed home. As if the last couple of days hadn't been dramatic enough, I found that Dad wasn't alone when I got to the house. Anita's white truck sat parked—crooked—in our driveway. Please let her be over for driving lessons. I chanted the words on repeat in my head as I took the porch steps two at a time.
“Dad,” I called, once inside the house.
“In here, honey,” came Anita's soft voice. I found her perched on one of the bar stools, a plated waffled drenched in syrup sitting in front of her. “Your daddy is outside grillin' up some sausage.” She chuckled. “Does that man grill everything?”
A sliding glass door separated us, but I glanced up to find Dad outside, hovering over the grill like always. Was it happening again? Had Dad entered into another whirlwind relationship—one that would involve a quickie marriage and costly divorce—just like the one he'd had with Monica Harvey? “So, you and dad are together then,” I wondered out loud, plopping down on the seat beside her.
“Oh God, no.” She gently touched my shoulder. “Well, not that I'm aware of. I've always liked your daddy. He's an honest, kind man. I've dated too many men who ain't been those things to me. Reed just asked me over for breakfast and I came. I wanna hope that means he's wantin' more than a business relationship with me, but it's too soon to know for sure. And if that upsets you, then you best tell me now. I won't purse it further if you don't want me to.”
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