He crosses the deck, and I half expect him to throw me in the pool, but he carefully moves down the stairs to the ocean below. Warm water rushes around us. I worry about the condom breaking or coming off, but as soon as our bodies are submerged Leo positions himself at my entrance and pushes inside. I hang onto his shoulders and he moves in me with slow, languid strokes. I rock my hips in time with his and he claims my mouth again, sealing his lips over mine and thrusting his tongue in deep.
A beat later when I’m gasping for breath, Leo lowers his head to my neck and kisses my heated flesh. The first slow, delicious strains of my orgasm build in my core. “Jesus, Poppy, you’re so fucking wet.”
“Well,” I pant. “We are submerged in the water, and you know what they say about that—water is wet.”
“I’m gonna have a lot of fun filling your smart mouth with my cock later,” he says.
I smile and lie back in the water. Leo makes a face like he loves this new angle and he grabs hold of my hips, thrusting into me with slow, lazy strokes. I come hard, my back arching against the ocean, his strong hands digging into my fleshy hips. I cry his name, and he runs a hand over my breasts and down to my clit where he makes me come again as he spills into me.
“I don’t think you screamed loud enough for the whole resort to hear,” he says as he pulls me towards him. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and close my eyes as I catch my breath and bathe in the afterglow. “In fact, I think a pod of dolphins nearby heard you and are coming over to investigate.”
“If you hadn’t fucked me so thoroughly, I wouldn’t have had to scream so loud.”
“You’re right. Next time, I’ll totally fuck you only halfway, so we don’t risk a repeat.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He slides free of my body and I pout. “Don’t look so forlorn, Pop Tart. This isn’t the end, but if I fuck you again with the same condom we’ll likely be due not long after Chase and Claire.”
“No,” I say, thrusting my fingers against his lips. “Don’t mention their names. I don’t want to think about Chase and Claire again for the next ten years.”
“What about my cock? You wanna think about sucking it?”
I shake my head and swim away, but he catches up to me before I can make it to the steps and pulls me back against him, sealing his lips to my neck and sliding a hand over my stomach and between my legs. He brings me to the brink again and then stops just as I’m about to come. I squeeze my legs together, but his hand is already gone. I sink back into his chest, and groan. He grabs a handful of ass cheek and squeezes hard.
“Get that fucking sexy ass up on the deck and spread your legs for me, Pop Tart. I’m going to have you so often, and in so many different ways you’ll be begging me to stop.”
“Oh my God. You really don’t get any less annoying after an orgasm, do you?” I mutter.
He grins, his teeth flashing white in the moonlight. “Nope. Not even after ten.”
I do not doubt that at all.
Chapter Twenty-Four
A truly terrible idea
Poppy
In the morning, I wake to snoring. Lots of really loud, really obnoxious snoring. Always with the fucking snoring.
I throw the pillow over Leo’s head and hold it there. Not enough to harm him, just enough to suffocate him a little. He snorts and rolls over, and I’m greeted by his glorious morning erection. Katherine’s initial assessment of Leo was correct—he does look like Thor. The walking embodiment. And Leo was right, too. He does have a magical hammer. A long thick shaft, silky soft skin, and a rosy tip. I swallow hard and resist the urge to touch it. Though I want to—I really, really want to—I’m sore after last night’s love-making. And I think I have sand where there just shouldn’t be sand. Why the hell did I let him talk me into sex in the ocean?
I sigh, and ignore my protesting muscles, the way my entire body aches from misuse. Leo wasn’t kidding about having stamina enough to last all night. I’m pretty sure we saw the sun come up.
I throw the sheet off me and slide across the bed, but a thick arm wraps around my waist and pulls me back toward him. “I have to get up.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I need to pee, and then we need to get ready for brunch.”
“Fine, go pee but no brunch. Fuck brunch. I just want to stay here and eat you.”
“Leo,” I say, turning in his arms.
“Oh no. I know that tone of voice.”
“I’m just ... you and I are ... well, we’re a terrible idea.”
“We weren’t a terrible idea last night.” He slides his hand over the curve of my hip, down my thigh, and back up again, then he trails it over my lower abdomen and between my legs. All bets are off, all conversation ceases, and Leo and I find new ground. One where our bodies do all the talking and our mouths are oddly quiet.
***
When we do eventually make it out of my bungalow, we’re a good twenty-five minutes late for brunch. Leo can’t keep his hands to himself. I suppose it’s a little late to worry that everyone will know because ... hello, embarrassing sexcapade in front of the whole wedding. We both grab a plate and hit the line for the buffet, which of course means it’s open season where our mothers are concerned.
“Good morning,” Mrs. Nass says.
“Morning.” Leo kisses her on the cheek. I cringe a little when I think about where that mouth was a half an hour ago.
“Good morning, Mrs. Nass,” I say, almost asphyxiating when she squeezes me too tightly. I then hug my own mother, because it would be awkward not to. “Mom.”
“Poppy, you’re looking positively radiant this morning.” Mrs. Nass gives me the kind of smile I reserve for Magnolia cupcakes.
“Alright, ease up, Mother,” Leo says, snaking an arm around my waist. “Yes, Poppy and I had sex all night, and twice this morning.”
I groan, my mother chuckles, and Mrs. Nass slaps her son’s forearm playfully. “That’s quite enough, young man.”
“Well, it was what you wanted to know, wasn’t it?”
“Perhaps in much less specific detail,” she says.
“Come now, Mother. You know you love to hear all the juicy details. Then you can tell your friends about it. I know how you ladies behave at high tea.”
Mrs. Nass laughs, and even my own mother seems to find Leo hilarious. I shake my head and concentrate on the buffet. I take several pieces of fresh fruit, a muffin, and a slice of toast, then I head toward the bridal party table and set my plate down opposite Claire.
She smirks at me. “Morning.”
I fight my smile as I stare down at my plate. “Morning, Mrs. Vanderbilt.”
“Oh no, you’re not getting off that easily,” she says.
Leo sets his plate beside mine and flops down in the chair next to me. “That’s what I said this morning, but she came in thirty seconds flat anyway.”
Claire practically squeals. “Oh my God, this is so exciting. You have to tell me everything now.”
Jasper chooses that moment to sit beside Leo. He gives his brother a wry grin. “You dog. You know I’m broken-hearted that the prettiest woman I danced with last night wound up in your bed.”
“Actually, he was in mine,” I say, stabbing a forkful of cantaloupe and popping it in my mouth.
“And your couch, your bathroom, your back deck, the pool, the ocean—”
“Eww, remind me not to go swimming today,” Claire says.
“So, looks like Jasper will be joining us in making an honest living from now on.” Chase, who’s been awfully quiet since we sat down, throws his napkin on his empty plate. “How’s it feel to be going to work for dear old dad, huh?”
Jasper cringes. “Like I just sold my soul to the devil.”
“So, what was this? Some kind of revenge fuck for you?” Chase says, and his glare is directed right at me.
Leo stills. I take a deep breath and smile at my ex.
“No, Chase,” I say. “T
hough it may be hard for you to believe, not everything is about you.”
“Right, well I know it’s not the case for Leo. I mean, his apartment was at stake.”
“Dude, shut the fuck up,” Leo says, punching Chase in the arm.
I glance at Chase and then Leo, and finally to Jasper. They share the same guilty expression. I narrow my eyes and a strangled laugh escapes me. “Why would you go to work for your father, and what do you mean Leo gets to keep his apartment?” I glance at Leo. “Were you moving?”
“No, I’m not moving.”
“Only because he nailed you.” Chase leans back in his chair and wraps an arm around Claire.
“What?” I glare at them both.
“Chase, shut the fuck up,” Leo sneers.
“Not cool, man,” Jasper says.
I turn to Leo, demanding answers I know he has no intention to give. My stomach roils, and a wave of nausea rolls over me. “You bet on whether or not I was a sure thing?”
He grabs my hand. “Poppy, it wasn’t—”
“I was a bet to you?” I yank free from his grasp and stand, tears pricking my eyes, I swallow around the lump in my throat.
“Pop Tart, come on. It wasn’t like that.”
“Then why don’t you tell me what it was like?”
“I ...” he says and peters off, and that’s all the explanation I’m going to get, it seems.
“What was it like?” I demand. Several eyes turn toward us. I glance at Claire, Chase, Jasper, and Leo. “Did you know? Did everyone know? Was I just a joke to all of you?”
“I didn’t know,” Claire insists. “I would never be privy to this. I would never let Chase get away with this.”
Chase turns to his wife with a raised brow and scoffs. “Let me get away with it?”
“Come on, Pop Tart. Sit down. You’re reading too much into this.”
Jasper chimes in, “Poppy, it wasn’t—”
“I should have known.” I stare down at Leo, all cool, calm, and collected, and I laugh without humor. “I should have known better than to sleep with you. This is my fault. You fuck a man whore, you only have yourself to blame when you feel like trash afterward. Guess I shouldn’t have expected anything less, right?”
“Poppy—”
“Don’t,” I say, holding up my hands to ward him away.
“Poppy, it’s not what you think,” Jasper says, and I shake my head and turn from all of them. I don’t mean to run away like a little girl, but I do because I refuse to let that jackass see me cry. I run back to my bungalow and slam the door. Then I kick it, several times. God, I am such an idiot. How could I let myself get swept up in Nass the Ass? And as if ruining Claire’s cake, and having very public sex with Leo wasn’t enough, I’ve now become the woman who steals the bride’s thunder at her fucking post-wedding brunch.
From the other side, Leo says, “Let me in.”
“No.”
“Just let me explain. It’s not as bad as you think.”
“Not as bad as I think?” I turn and yank the door open, because yelling at him face-to-face is so much more satisfying. “You bet your apartment that you could get me to sleep with you.”
“Actually, I bet my apartment I’d have you naked beneath me before the weekend was out, but sleeping works too.”
“Not helping.”
“It wasn’t real. It’s just something Jas and I do.”
“So what you said to me last night before the fireworks—that was all just so you could win some stupid bet?” His guilty expression is all the answer I need. “You make me sick.”
I cover the sob that escapes my throat. How could I have been so fucking stupid? How could I have trusted him, trusted that he actually felt something for me? I should have known better. I should have never allowed this to happen. “I’m just a joke to you, is that it? One big fucking joke to all of you. Poor Poppy—she’s so pathetic.”
Leo flinches. I don’t know what it means, but it doesn’t look good.
I shove him hard. He stumbles back a few paces. “Get out.”
“Poppy—”
“No, shut your mouth. I don’t want to hear any more of your lies.” I lower my voice and imitate the Leo who was inside me this morning, “Oh baby, you feel so fucking good. God, I love the way you feel in my arms.” I choke back tears. “Do you have any idea how humiliated I am? This was all a game to you, but you hurt me.”
“God damn it, woman.” He rakes a hand through his hair as if he’s the one who has a right to be agitated. “It’s not what you think.”
“Oh, really? Then what’s it like?”
“I ... I don’t ...” he peters off and I just shake my head.
“God, you can’t even lie to me properly. Rot in hell, Leo.” I slam the door in his face and lock the deadbolt, then I throw all of my belongings into my suitcase. I can’t stay here, not with everyone around. I can’t have all of the guests knowing that I was a pity fuck, or worse—I was a bet, a dare. Nothing he said to me over this weekend can be trusted because Leo Nass can’t be trusted.
When I’m all packed, I stare at the bed we made love on. No, the bed he lied to me on. Because why would a man like Leo Nass ever want someone like me? The crazy cat lady. The control freak.
I wish I’d never agreed to come to this wedding. I wish I’d never laid eyes on Leo Nass.
With my suitcases in tow, I head to the hotel to check out but the woman on the front desk tells me that there will be no more planes leaving today on account of the weather, and since they’re charging me for my room regardless, I slink back to my bungalow with my tail between my legs.
Later, when the heat is stifling, and the air is still, I open the shutters and step out onto the deck as the rain begins to pour. It’s probably not the smartest move, but I lie on the wet sunbed and let the water wash me clean.
As my tears dry up, I forgive myself for being idiot enough to fall for Leo Nass.
I will never fall prey to men like him again.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Say it with me now . . . compartmentalization
Poppy
I set out for a run first thing the next morning. The island isn’t very big, and there are treadmills of course, but if I know Leo he’ll be hitting the gym and by his side is one place I don’t wish to be this early in the morning. It’s bad enough I have to share a plane with the man later. Try as I might, I couldn’t book an earlier flight because there is only one sea plane leaving the island today. No doubt Jasper will be returning home with Leo, and the two can sit side by side and laugh about what an idiot I am, how easy I was to fool, or how I was just plain easy.
No, Poppy. You will not think of him. You will not remember how it felt to be cradled in his arms, or how he did that thing you like with his mouth, or ... no.
My run hasn’t really gone according to plan. I’ve been stopped no less than four times by wedding guests to ask if I’m okay. Even Mrs. Nass apologized for her son’s behavior, then she asked how I was holding up after my ex married my best friend and my rebound turned out to be just as humiliating. I’m fine. I just wish everyone would stop damn well treating me like a child. Compartmentalization. I am a pro at it, and if I had a word of the day, this would be it. I can compartmentalize anything. Ex marrying my best friend? Great, what’s their wedding theme? Co-worker from hell bossing me around? Oh, I wonder if the mini bar in my bungalow stocks vodka? Thor just took his hammer and obliterated your heart into a million pieces? Great, fantastic, no problem at all. Now let’s go home and watch reruns of Supernatural.
I can get over Nass the Ass. I am running through a tropical paradise, the salt air in my face, the sand beneath my feet, and no Leo Nass in sight. I’ve already put him behind me, so when I feel someone breathing down my neck, literally behind me, I gasp and spin around with my hands slicing the air like a karate master. I make contact with a very nice, sweaty six-pack. A six-pack I want to run my hands over, all the way down to—no. Use the force you must, Pop
py.
Leo’s bright blue eyes burn with amusement. “Careful, Pop Tart, you’ll hurt yourself.”
“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Then you’d be able to laugh at me some more.”
He reaches out and places his hand on my chest, then pushes me firmly up against the tree. I scowl at the hand, wishing I could vanquish him like the Winchesters vanquish demons.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demand. His lips crash down on mine. His fingers reach up and pull my ponytail free, and he slides his hands into my hair, pushing his tongue into my mouth. I don’t kiss him back, but I guess that doesn’t matter to Leo. Finally, he pulls away and I shove him, hard. He stumbles. “Do not touch me.”
“It wasn’t a dare. I mean, that wasn’t . . . the sex was at first, but it’s not like I set out to hurt you.”
“You know, that makes it so much worse.”
“Poppy, I care about you. I know I went about it all wrong, but please, will you just let me explain?”
“I think you’ve said all you have to say, and I’ve heard more than enough.”
“No, see, I don’t think you have,” he says, forcing me back against the tree. I glare up at him. “I was an ass to take that bet.”
“No shit.”
“Would you just shut up? For one damn second, please?”
“No!”
“Oh my God, you’re impossible.”
“Says the man pinning me to a tree.”
“Poppy, it wasn’t a bet to me.”
I laugh without humor. “Oh, so you just humiliated me for fun, then?”
“I didn’t mean to humiliate you.”
“And yet you did? God, Leo, do you have any idea how difficult this weekend was for me? I let myself be vulnerable with you. Stupidly, I fell for it. I fell for everything, but to learn that I was a bet, or maybe even just a pity fuck so you and your bros could have a laugh? That makes it so much worse than anything Chase ever did to me.”
“It wasn’t a goddamn pity fuck,” he roars. I blink in surprise because I’ve never seen him rattled like this. “I wish . . . I just wish you would shut up and let me explain, but you’re too much of a ball-busting control freak to do even that. No wonder he left you. Just talking to you is fucking exhausting.”
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