Leigha produces more shots, sloshing them a bit on the floor.
I take one.
“Sebastian!” she screams.
We all raise our shot glasses.
God, I wish Ava was here!
Then, I could ask her what she thinks.
I watch as Levi leads Leigha onto the dance floor as the music changes, and I wonder if he’s going to try to sleep with her.
They dance close, and Leigha tosses her hair over her shoulder as Levi’s hand rests on her hip and that familiar beast of jealousy rears its ugly head again.
I find myself a partner on the dance floor a few feet away.
Levi is stepping into my territory, and he’s smooth about it, too.
Leigha looks so comfortable in his arms that I barely pay attention to the woman with whom I’m dancing.
She’s attractive, too.
I’m hypnotized by the way Leigha and Levi dance, and I know I’d rather be the one dancing with her.
The song changes again, something a little sexier and it’s evident that Levi knows what he’s doing on the dance floor.
Impulsively, I leave my dance partner and whirl Leigha out of his arms and right into mine.
She looks shocked, but that quickly fades into a smile.
“Show off,” she whispers in my ear.
But, at least her arm is around my shoulder again.
Not anyone else’s…
I take her other hand and lead her to the beat of the music, her hips swivel against mine, and I dip her low.
Leigha’s hair cascades over her shoulders, and when I pull her back up towards me, the smell of her shampoo does something else.
I feel my pants shrinking.
To keep this cordial, I spin her around, and she effortlessly follows my steps before I spin her back towards me.
Her hand is warm on my shoulder, and I can feel the heat between us.
She’s right to turn her head away from me.
My head is buzzing with vodka, and it’s only a matter of time before I kiss her.
Then, mercifully, the song ends, and we return to the bar.
Levi has the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on his face as Leigha leans over the bar to order another round.
“What?” I ask him.
“You look like a cat who just caught a canary,” I add.
“Nothing,” Levi says.
Then he smirks.
“There’s nothing between us,” I tell him.
“Sure,” Levi says.
He smirks again.
“I mean it,” I tell him.
“Uh-uh,” Levi doesn’t believe me.
I’m not so sure I blame him.
“Here,” Leigha interrupts with another shot.
“You, too,” she tells Levi.
“The lady doth protest too much,” Levi jokes.
Leigha actually laughs and pushes her hair from her face.
“Oh, but she’ll keep her word,” she tells him.
I’m thoroughly confused.
“Did you just quote Shakespeare?” I yell over the music.
Levi just nods for Leigha.
“She does that when she’s drunk; I once had to listen to all of Macbeth,” I tell Levi.
“The Scottish play,” Levi laughs.
“Where did you go to school?” Leigha asks.
“Cambridge,” Levi replies.
“Masters?” she asks.
“Ph.D. in Psychology, from Columbia,” he replies.
Goddamnit.
The bloke is as smart as all hell.
I don’t stand a chance.
“You just graduated then?” Leigha asks.
“In 2016,” Levi responds.
“Good on you, I was going to do my PhD, but I ended up at my dad’s company instead,” Leigha explains.
“In psych?” Levi asks.
“Yeah,” she nods.
“At Columbia actually,” Leigha adds.
Great, something else they have in common.
“She was the CEO of Alexander Technical Institute,” I explain to Levi.
“I know,” he tells me.
“You did a fantastic job,” Levi tells her.
Leigha reddens at this.
“Except for the FBI part,” she tells him.
“Happens to the best of us, look at me,” Levi shrugs.
“I was a principle Human Resources analyst at Obscura. I know they’d love to get their hands on you,” he tells her.
I almost roll my eyes at this, even though I don’t even know what Obscura is.
“They’re the top psychological, medical systems company in the country, why would they want me?” Leigha asks.
“Because, you’re fantastic. FBI not included,” Levi replies evenly.
I want to seriously roll my eyes at Levi making the moves on Leigha, but instead, I wrap an arm around her waist protectively.
She barely notices as they continue their chatter.
Maybe he's just friendly?
He’s definitely my father Part Two, but only if my father had gone to Cambridge.
Levi orders another round of shots, and then finally Leigha notices my arm around her waist.
“Are you marking your territory?” she asks.
“I might be,” I admit.
Leigha just laughs as Levi orders a round of tequila shots.
“You have to do this right,” I tell him.
I hand Leigha my lime, and she rolls her eyes.
Then, she sucks in a breath as I run my tongue along her collarbone, and shake some salt across the wet spot.
“Are you really doing this?” she laughs.
“You bet,” I say with a wink.
Then, I take the lime from her, lean in, lick the salt off her skin and suck slightly before I toss the shot of tequila back and suck on the lime.
In response, Leigha simply throws her tequila back, and makes a face.
“You guys want some?” Lucius asks.
He’s got a joint in his hand, and the familiar smell fills my nostrils.
Leigha takes it from Lucius, takes a hit, and exhales right in my face.
“Don’t be mean,” I tell her.
“Don’t get mad,” she responds, right in time with the music.
Leigha takes one more drag, and hands the joint to me, before heading onto the dance floor.
I watch for a moment.
“What are you doing? Go!” Levi demands.
I take a long haul from the joint and hand it to Levi, on his command, before I follow Leigha out onto the dance floor and wrap my arms around her to pull her close.
“What are you doing?” she asks innocently.
I know it’s not an act.
Instead of an answer, I press my body against hers, and she follows my lead to the beat of the music.
I can feel the stress fade away under the beat of the music with arms around Leigha, and I know that I missed this terribly.
I kiss everywhere but her lips.
19
Leigha
March 7, 2018
Evan’s lips press against my skin, and every single muscle in my body decompresses under his touch.
It’s that simple.
I turn my head slightly, against my better judgment, and it’s apparent just how much we both want this.
Evan does not hesitate.
Evan’s lips press against mine.
An intense wave of heat comes over me.
His hand's cup my face; Evan deepens the kiss hungrily.
I thought his lips would be familiar. The same kiss.
But, this rocks my body right down to its core, and a shiver runs down my spine.
We’re both aware that we should pull away, just stop this madness; I can’t bring myself to prevent it from happening.
Instead, I relax, leaning into him, letting my hands wander through his hair, as Evan’s arms wrap around my waist.
When we do part, I’m dizzy and the only thing holding me up is
Evan.
This moment stands alone, aside from everything else.
Evan leans in to kiss me again, and I wrap my arms around his neck, but before I can get the sweet satisfaction of his kiss, there’s a tap on my shoulder.
“What?” I whirl around.
Merc.
He’s got a strangled look on his face.
“I need to talk to you,” Merc yells over the music.
Evan just shakes his head.
“We’re busy,” he says.
“It’s important,” Merc shouts back.
I hear Evan groan in my ear, but he leads me in the direction Merc walks, with his arms around my waist.
We step outside on the sidewalk, and its cooler compared to the heat of the club inside.
“What is it?” Evan snaps.
“I got word Elizabeth was seen in Venice,” Merc reports.
Evan presses his lips together.
“What is she doing in Venice?” I ask.
“Doesn’t your father have a place there?” Merc ignores me.
“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?” Evan asks.
“Is there anything there she would possibly try to get her hands on?” Merc insists.
“No,” Evan replies, still annoyed.
“Are you sure?” Merc continues.
“Of course, I’m sure! What? Don’t believe me?” Evan retorts.
“I didn’t say that,” Merc growls.
“You basically did,” Evan shoots back.
“I did not,” Merc argues.
“Both of you, stop it!” I say.
“Elizabeth is in Venice, so we go to Venice,” I tell them both.
“Well, we’re not leaving right this second,” Evan says.
“We should,” Merc responds.
I rub my temples.
Whatever Merc says, Evan wants to do the opposite and vice versa.
They never used to argue like this.
“Evan, give us a second,” I say.
Evan grumbles something I can’t hear under his breath and lets me go, then disappears back inside the club.
“What?” Merc asks after he’s gone.
Merc pulls out a pack of cigarettes and offers me one.
I’m just drunk enough to take it.
He lights it for me before I take a drag.
“You two need to put whatever it is behind you,” I try to explain.
“Whatever it is?” Merc asks.
He frowns at me, scowling back over his shoulder in Evan’s direction.
“Isn’t it obvious?” he asks.
He takes a deep drag on his cigarette, and exhales a long, thin stream of smoke.
He stares at me, looking for an answer.
“No,” I say.
“Well, if you don’t know, then I’m not going to tell you…” Merc starts.
“Mercutio Torelli! Stop being so Goddamn stubborn! You’re better than that!” I snap at him.
He hangs his head.
“Alright, so what am I supposed to do? Just go along with whatever Evan says, even though he has no idea what he’s doing half the time?” Merc asks.
“He knows what he’s doing. You might be with MI6, but Evan knows his own mother better than anyone, except maybe Noah. At least, I would think so anyway,” I tell Merc.
Merc considers this for a second.
“He didn’t know a lot of things, however,” he argues.
“Did you know Michael Bishop was behind the Ventrettis? Did you know Elizabeth was working with him, and Olivia was backing Elizabeth?” I point out.
“Fair points, all,” Merc admits.
“If it weren’t for Vic and Evan, you would’ve known nothing,” I add.
“Vic and Evan, Leigha? You do remember that? The little matter of Evan’s dead fiancée? The fiancée of the man you were kissing just now,” he snarls.
“Ugh,” I spit out.
There it is.
“That was nothing,” I lie.
“Nothing?” Merc asks.
He crosses his arms.
He looks me over, intently.
I try to read his mind, and I am not too sure if I like where he’s going.
I take a puff, spitting out some tobacco.
Not very lady-like, I know.
Fuck it.
I’m almost drunk…
“It was nothing, Merc, shit happens. One kiss doesn’t mean anything,” I say, making excuses for myself.
“Right,” Merc rolls his eyes.
I roll my eyes right back at him, beginning to realize what exactly is going on.
“If you’re fighting over me, don’t,” I tell Merc.
His eyes catch fire, glaring at me hungrily.
Shit.
“Do that later, we’ve got more important things to worry about and quite frankly your jealousy is unbecoming,” I snap.
“Jealous? Of Evan? Right,” Merc says sarcastically.
“Aren’t you?” I raise my voice.
I turn to face him, staring at those hot, blazing eyes.
His face is wolfish, and I can smell his scent.
Part of me knows what he is, and craves it.
The woman in me howls along with him, but I stay silent.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he says.
I have to pinch my nose for a moment.
“Merc, just stop, okay?” I snap myself back into the moment.
Was he hypnotizing me just then?
Or, is my need that strong?
“Then, don’t pick him! Leigha, don’t pick Evan like you always do!” Merc says, hotly.
His sudden passion stuns me.
He grabs my arms at the elbows, pulling me close to him.
The heat from his body is coming off him in waves, and I want to burn.
“What are you talking about?” I stammer, glaring at him.
“You picked Evan all those years ago! Now, here you are, picking Evan, over me, again! Why? He can’t possibly love you! Not when he’s obviously using you to get over Victoire!” Merc yells at me.
He never yells at me.
“Merc, I did not pick Evan all those years ago! You idiot! You weren’t even an option, if I remember, you had Tara!” I scream back at him.
“She was a distraction!” Merc roars at me.
“That’s all she ever was for me!” he adds, his hands tightening around my arms.
I feel his fingertips against my bare skin, and the electricity of our flesh touching arcs through my body.
I feel my nipples hardening.
“Well, I didn’t know that! You had plans to get married for Christ's sake!” I scream at him.
“No, we didn’t!” Merc yells.
“Yes! You did!” I yell back.
Then, I realize what Merc has said between the haze of the alcohol and the pot.
I pull away, clutching my arms beneath my heaving breasts, trying to get some space to breathe.
This is happening way too fast!
“What do you mean you weren’t going to marry her? She had a ring. She showed me, I saw it, I was there,” I ask quietly.
He turns and looks back into the lights of the bar.
“I gave her a promise ring because she begged me for it. I had to do what I had to do, but I wanted you. If you hadn’t picked Evan over me, I would’ve ended things with Tara in a second!” Merc snaps.
“And then, you and Evan…” he begins.
But, Merc doesn’t finish his sentence.
I know what he’s talking about.
Evan got me pregnant.
We had sex before Evan left for the RAF.
We didn’t know if he was going to come back, and in a moment of sheer desperation to see what we were, we just weren’t careful enough.
I don’t even remember how it happened because I was so enthralled with Evan, I was in a haze of lust, and I didn’t care.
Caution just didn’t occur to us.
I guess once is all it takes.
“Would you have picked between us?” Merc asked.
“I could never,” I tell him immediately.
My brows knit together as I remember that time.
Merc looks at me.
His eyes have lost some of that blaze, but he still is deadly serious.
“You were both what I needed, you were everything to me. Both of you. You hurt me so bad when you just left me here,” I whisper.
He’s watching me closely, hanging on my every word.
I turn to look at him.
The stubble of his beard stands out in sharp relief from the bar lights.
His lips are smooth and inviting.
I can’t believe what I am thinking, but my body has a mind of its own, and I can feel a deep need for this man.
I try to stay calm, and work through this.
It’s harder than anything I’ve ever done before, and me being half-drunk isn’t making it any easier.
“Merc, I never had a choice. Evan never wanted me the way he wants Victoire to be alive, and you never wanted me because you thought I belonged to Evan. That’s all it was. I was just the best friend, is all. Yours. Evan’s. I’m not girlfriend material for either of you,” I blurt out.
It’s the distillation of everything that I’ve been thinking since the day they left.
“What do you mean, you’re not girlfriend material?” Merc asks.
“Look at me. I’m nowhere near as perfect as Vic. She was tall and gorgeous, with a perfect body and a designer attitude. Me? I’m the smart one, I’m the tutor. I don’t wear dresses that often, I don’t have a perfect body, and I’m certainly not what Evan wants in a woman. I’m Leigha, the best friend, so don’t think otherwise…” I say.
Merc grabs me again, pulling me close.
“Leigha, you were perfect to me. You were perfect, to me,” Merc’s words are slow and forceful.
He gets right up to my nose, and I can smell him again.
My brain is ready to short-circuit itself, and I want nothing more than to have this man inside me.
“Leigha, I was so in love with you, it killed me when I found out about you and Evan. I thought we had something,” Merc admits in a whisper.
His mouth is close to my ear, and the hairs on my neck are standing up, a thrill running up and down my body.
My legs are quivering.
“You can’t possibly be serious, Merc?” I stutter out.
“I was in love you, Leigha, and I would’ve picked you over anyone. Anyone. Then. And now,” he whispers.
My mouth involuntarily opens, my eyes closing, ready for his kiss.
Secret: A Stone Billionaire Series Novel (The Stone Billionaire Series Book 5) Page 11
