Innocent (Inequitable Trilogy Book 2)

by Lesli Richardson

  Tonight is like mental sorbet for me. Between the walk and the music, I can unplug and unwind. If I was back at my hotel room, I’d end up looking through the furniture catalog, or my e-mail, and start working, anyway.

  Or I’d be masturbating to fantasies of Leo.

  I need tonight.

  When the second band starts playing, I head upstairs to my previous perch to watch. Unfortunately, some guy trying to sell drugs is making the rounds up here, walking up to people, and I don’t like the looks of him. I nonchalantly return to the ground floor and ease my way around the throng until I find a safe-looking group of older attendees I can join. They’re far enough from the mosh pit I have a buffer, and they’re all focused on the band.

  Before that set ends, I make my way upstairs, to the third-floor balcony. I want to be up there when the lights come up so I can take a look at the trim there. The last changeover took about fifteen minutes, and I’ll need to hit a bathroom. Plus, I want another soda.

  One of the things I’m really looking forward to is getting to roam the White House for a couple of days after the inauguration, and be able to study architectural elements I’ve read about over the past couple of weeks, like fireplaces, trim, and flooring. Even if I don’t stay here in Washington once I’m finished, this is the chance of a lifetime, and I want to make full use of it.

  After I’ve spent way too long looking around up there, I return to the lower balcony, check out its trim, and then I head downstairs again. There’s a smaller bathroom inside the auditorium space, tucked down a back hall. Except I wasted too much time dicking around upstairs, and the main act comes on stage and starts playing.

  Fuckballs.

  I really want that soda. I’ll need sugar and caffeine in me before the walk back to my hotel. The bar will probably be packed as people returning inside after smoking or vaping stop for a drink. So I hold off for a couple of minutes before hurrying out to the lobby.

  Yay, I timed it perfectly, and don’t have to wait to be served.

  When I yank open the door to the auditorium, I nearly smack into a guy exiting. A guy in a suit and overcoat, and…

  My gaze quickly rises, as does my shock. “Leo? What are you doing here?”

  He steps forward, grabs me by the upper arm, and practically yanks me off my feet as he drags me back into the lobby, off to the side and between a couple of columns.

  Somehow, I manage not to drop my soda.

  He plants a hand flat in the middle of my chest and pins me to the wall…which nearly melts my knees out from under me.

  Whoa, that’s sexy as hell.

  “Why didn’t you respond to my calls and texts? I’ve been fucking worried about you!”

  Confusion spins through me. I’m still trying to process he’s actually here. “What?”

  Then he’s kissing me.

  I mean, he’s fricking kissing me.

  Concert? What concert? The world has contracted and disappeared outside the warmth from his body enveloping mine as this kiss hardens my cock and makes me want to drop to my knees right here.

  Damn, can the man kiss!

  This is the kind of kiss I’ve fantasized about ever since I met him.

  Leo stares into my eyes with an intensity that’s turned his brown gaze nearly black. “Life is short. Fuck waiting. After the concert, you’re coming back to my place. With me.”

  My brain’s short-circuited by that kiss. “I-I am?”

  “Yeah, you are. Unless you don’t want to, then tell me, and I’ll see you safely back to your hotel. But you’re not leaving this place alone. Understand me?”

  I nod. “Yes, Sir.”

  Yeah, I mean it with a capital S.

  Leo kisses me again. “I mean it,” he rumbles against my lips. Then he draws back a little to stare down at me. “I will take you back to your hotel, if you ask me to. But I’m really hoping you want to go home with me tonight. We don’t even have to do anything but sleep, if you don’t want to. I just… I’m tired of being alone. And I was really fucking worried about you.”

  I’m already nodding. “I want to. Go home with you.” I still don’t understand why he was worried about me, but we can sort that out later.

  After more kissing.

  He kisses me again, this time taking his time and exploring. I’d be good with missing the rest of the concert, if he wanted to, and skipping ahead to the returning to his place part.

  Unfortunately, that’s not Leo’s plan. “Then let’s get back in there, baby.” Leo tucks me against him, his arm around my shoulders, and guides me through the door and inside the auditorium.

  Meanwhile, my brain is scrambled, my cock is harder than I think it’s ever been in my dang life, and I can’t stop thinking about how perfect it feels being snuggled against Leo’s side.

  Once we’re inside, he lowers his mouth to my ear. I think he’s going to nibble on it, but then I realize he’s speaking to me. “Where do you want to watch from?”

  I point up at the lower balcony and we head for the stairs. Leo takes my hand in his and guides me up them, pausing when we emerge from the stairwell to look around before he leads me to an open spot by the railing.

  “What’d you mean you were worried about me?” I ask.

  He arches an eyebrow at me and holds up his hand near his ear, pinky and thumb extended—he means a phone.

  I hand him my drink to hold for me while I dig my phones out and realize I have a bunch of missed texts and calls from Leo.

  My face heats even as my pulse pounds—he was worried about me. I’m torn between feeling guilty that he was worried and more than a little damned pleased that he came after me.

  When I look up again, he’s staring down at me with possessive heat that nearly sets my jeans on fire.

  Mine.

  That’s the word painted across his face.

  “I’m sorry.” I don’t know if Leo can hear me over the band, but he obviously reads my lips and leans in for another kiss.

  “Forgiven, baby,” he shouts over the music. “Let’s enjoy the show.”

  I tuck the phones back into my pockets, retrieve my soda from him, and enjoy how he possessively drapes his arm around me again, keeping me close to his side.

  This is…

  Damn. This is amazing.

  He sends a text, but I don’t ask or even try to look to see who or what. Not my business. From that point on, I have his full attention. It doesn’t take long before I’m standing in front of Leo with my back against his chest and his arms around me. He holds me pressed tightly against him and we’re grinding on each other. Even through my coat I can feel he’s hard.

  Maybe I won’t have to cook for him after all to get him to want to fuck me.

  He even rests his chin on my shoulder, and I could be wrong, but it’s like a contented peace settles over him.

  When he nibbles on my earlobe, making my cock throb to the point I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a wet spot in my briefs, I tip my head back to kiss him.

  This feels so damned…right.

  Is that crazy?

  I mean, of course this is crazy. It’s insanity.

  Still, you don’t see me fighting it, either.

  I’m slow to move once the band ends its second encore a little after midnight. This is perfection, and I’m afraid Leo might change his mind now that he knows I’m safe and he’s had time to rethink this.

  Except when I turn to him, that possessive heat still smolders in his gaze. “My place?”

  I nod. “Yes, Sir.”

  I’d kill to keep making the man smile like this—looking triumphant and relieved and downright horny, all at the same time. He holds his hand out to me and I take it so we can follow the crowd down the stairs.

  This is one of the most perfect moments of my life. He keeps smiling at me, playfully evil, as if he can’t believe we’re actually doing this.

  He holds open the door to the lobby with a smile. “After you, baby.”

  That flutter
in my stomach, it seems to be directly connected to how my cock’s throbbing, aching. Hopefully we’re going to sleep together tonight. If not, Leo better not mind I have to jerk off to rid myself of this case of blue balls.

  He starts to say something when, from outside, we hear people yelling and the sound of tires screeching. His head snaps up and I swear his feet don’t even touch the ground as he pivots, grabs me, and runs for the auditorium doors at the same time several loud bangs are drowned out by panicked screams from people outside and in the lobby.

  He’s somehow got one arm around me, running and half-carrying me. I mean, literally, maybe every third step, my feet actually make contact with the ground. I try to look behind us and stumble.

  “Keep your head down and don’t look back!” he snaps. Then two more gunshots sound behind us, and it’s finally dawning on me that we’re in serious danger.

  I’m aware that there’s a crowd swarming inside behind us, but Leo’s making a beeline for the back entrance and not even breaking stride as we reach the fire door.

  He turns, shifting me in his arms and hitting it with his shoulder and side, blasting through it into the frigid night air.

  We’re in an alley. I don’t even have time to get my bearings when Leo yanks me again, nearly pulling me off my feet as we run. I finally manage to keep up with him as we run through the night. I’m praying he knows where the hell we’re going. Around us, police sirens are howling and echoing off the buildings, mixed with the sound of people screaming and running, although no one’s caught up with us yet.

  He finally stops and pulls me into the doorway of a store that’s closed for the night. After peeking behind us, he turns his focus to me. “Are you all right?”

  Gunshots.

  Those were gunshots.

  I finally nod as I realize he’s waiting for me to answer. “Are we safe here?”

  He pulls me in for a desperate hug, his head twisting back and forth as he constantly checks the street in both directions. “Yeah, baby boy. We’re safe here.”

  After a moment, we break cover and with him tightly holding my hand, we set off down the block. He’s got his phone in his other hand, an app open. I think he’s trying to book a car, but we end up at a bar down on the corner.

  “Don’t say anything,” he orders, and while I think I might throw up from the way my heart’s still racing, something about his stern tone also comforts me.

  My teeth chatter, and not from the cold, although I am cold.

  Still, I can’t force myself to let go of Leo’s hand to dig the gloves, hat, and scarf out of my pockets.

  Gunshots.

  Another police car screams past, full lights and sirens, as Leo opens the bar’s door for me and practically shoves me inside ahead of him.

  Inside, we stand by the door with Leo’s arm around my shoulders and him still on his phone. A guy walks over and asks him a question…and that’s when I realize I’m…not…processing.

  The world sounds like it’s muted in a fuzzy static that threatens to knock me on my ass. I have to force myself to take slow, deep breaths, because I’m starting to feel a little faint. I’m shivering, panicked, my pulse refusing to slow despite the fact that we’re safe and no longer running.

  Gunshots.

  Those were fucking gunshots.

  People are wrong—they sounded nothing like firecrackers.

  I guess Leo books the car, because we step outside again, where Leo leans against the wall and pulls me into his arms, kissing my temple.

  “Hold it together for me just a little longer, baby,” he murmurs. “We’ll be in the car in a minute. I promise, I’ll take care of you.”

  My arms are wrapped in a stranglehold around him, under his blazer. He feels comfortingly warm, like a blast furnace. I’m afraid if I let go of him that a black abyss will swallow me whole. He sheds his overcoat and drapes it around me, holding me. Eventually, the car arrives, and we climb into the backseat.

  There, Leo pulls me over, so my head’s in his lap as he holds my hand.

  That’s when the dam breaks and I start sobbing.

  If he hadn’t been with me…I probably would’ve been out front.

  I could have been shot tonight.

  I might have…died.

  Leo comforts me all the way back to his place. Somehow, I manage to pull myself together enough to make the climb to his apartment. The whole way, he keeps his arm around my shoulders. I know he’s got old injuries from his plane crash, and this couldn’t have been easy on him. I feel him limping somewhat now, but I suspect if my knees gave out, he’d probably scoop me into his arms and carry me, no matter how much pain he’s in.

  After he unlocks his door and guides me inside, I pause while he disarms his alarm.

  I could’ve died tonight.

  We could’ve died.

  As stupid and trite as it sounds, I do not want to die a fucking virgin. I damn sure don’t want to die before I have a chance to sleep with Leo Cruz.

  When he turns from the alarm pad to lock the door, I’m already moving before my brain even registers what the hell I’m doing. I throw myself at him, jumping up, arms and legs wrapping around him as he catches and holds me and kisses me back.

  Because despite what’s happened, my brain has shifted and one incisive decision takes hold—there is no way in fucking hell I’m going to sleep tonight without making love to this man first. This man is mine, and I don’t give a flying fuck what his “partner” thinks about me in this moment.

  I’m going to let this man fuck my brains out. Hopefully, the last thought in Leo’s mind will be his partner, because he’ll be too focused on me.

  I also think it’s safe to say I’m not leaving DC after the inauguration.

  Chapter Eleven

  Do I wish my first time could’ve been romance and candlelight and slow, gentle teasing?

  Yeah, but I also wish my parents weren’t homophobic assholes. In other words, I have what I have, so I’m going to make the best of the situation.

  Delicious, frantic desperation engulfs us as we kiss and I shed clothes where we’ve ended up on Leo’s bed, with me on top. I’m already down to my jeans, and Leo’s still mostly dressed, when I manage to ask it.

  “Lube?”

  “Drawer.” He points.

  I dive for the nightstand. Then I stand on the bed, shove down my jeans and briefs, kick them off the bed, and straddle Leo again. Leo’s gaze hungrily devours me while his hands roam my body. There’s something needy and barely constrained in his every movement, like he’s holding back.

  I wish he wouldn’t. My first time or not, I don’t want him to hold back.

  I want him to consume me and shut down my brain, erase the sound of—

  gunshots

  —from my mind. I want him to anchor me to the here and now, to him and this bed.

  I fumble his slacks open and pull out his cock—hallelujah, the man’s hung!—and quickly slick him and my ass with lube.

  Then I’m impaling myself on him, his cock sliding inside me and feeling sooo much better than any toy I’ve ever had in there. My body engulfs him, and I don’t stop until my happy ass is pressing against his thighs.

  “Fuck, yeah!” I gasp before I lean in and eagerly kiss him.

  Leo wraps an arm around my waist and grabs the back of my neck with the other hand. “Wait.”

  “No, I’m not waiting. I want this.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  I laugh. “I appreciate your concern, except I have toys way bigger than you. I might be a virgin but I’m not celibate or unexperienced.” I kiss him again.

  I want to start fucking Leo, but he splays a hand in the middle of my back while the hand around the nape of my neck tightens in a way that makes my cock twitch with need.

  “I’m driving,” he growls, making me melt. “And don’t you dare fucking come before I let you, boy. You’d better obey your Sir, or I’ll redden your ass and you won’t sit for days.”
>
  Hell, that nearly pushes me over the edge. “Yes, Sir.”

  Leo bends his knees and braces his feet against the bed. Way too slow for my liking, he keeps me pinned in place and slows our roll—literally. Meanwhile, I’m kissing him, squirming against him, and there’s something incredibly erotic about him being dressed and me being naked. Heat radiates from him, and I know I’ll never forget the way the fabric of his suit feels rasping against me.

  Yeah, this is way better than any toy. With each slow thrust I can feel him respond, adjusting his angle, the depth.

  Oops—condom.

  As in, I didn’t stop to put one on him.

  Dammit.

  Mimi would have killed me over that, but if I can’t trust Leo in this way, I have far worse problems.

  So I shove it and—

  gunshots

  —out of my mind and enjoy this bit of heaven with him.

  After a few minutes of that he rolls us over, his cock still firmly wedged deep inside me, and he yanks his suit jacket off and drops it off the bed. His shirt and undershirt follow, and then he’s staring down at me with a gaze that’s every bit as hungry and determined as I feel staring up at him.

  Well, until he takes my glasses off me and sets them on the nightstand. Then, everything’s a little blurry. He’s still fucking gorgeous. He’s got a couple of scars I assume are from the plane crash he survived, and I want to kiss every square inch of his flesh.

  Except he lifts my legs over his shoulders and leans in.

  “You really want Sir right now, baby? Or do you want sweet and tender Leo?”

  Fuck me, I nearly come.

  I raise my hands over my head. “I want you to fuck my brains out, Sir.”

  His practically feral gaze sweeps my body before his eyes lock on mine again. He pins my wrists over my head with one hand, and with the other he reaches between us, rubs his thumb over the head of my cock, and then brings it to his lips to taste me.