by E. K. Blair
He groaned loudly and adjusted himself. “Yes, baby, I love it when you strip for me.”
I laughed. “Sex is no problem when it’s consensual, and if you don’t make love to me tonight, I’m going to die from being too horny.” I unsnapped my bra and dropped it on the floor, leaving me standing in my red string panties and red boots.
I cocked an eyebrow at his lusty expression. “What are you thinking?”
“That I want to kiss you, lick you, bite you, suck you. I want to eat you up until you scream my name so loud they’ll hear us over the band.”
I shivered.
“I’ve been dreaming about you for weeks. I need to make you mine. The thought of Drew with his mouth on yours . . . it drove me crazy,” he said roughly, his hands clenching.
“I’m all yours, Leo. I was never his.”
“Yeah?”
I smiled. “I have something to show you.”
He sucked in a shuddering breath. “Does it involve you being completely naked, but maybe leaving the boots on?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Show me,” he ordered.
I put my naked back to him, lifted my hair and placed it over my chest, so he could see my wings.
He was silent for a few moments, but I could hear his breathing as it came faster and rougher. He came up behind me, wrapped his hands around the tops of my arms and kissed my shoulders, tracing his mouth and tongue over the words on my back. I moaned out his name.
He whispered in a raspy voice, “This . . . this means everything. Seeing my words for you on your body makes me insane for you.” His hands snaked around my waist and untied the little bow on my panties. He slid his fingers down to my core and touched me as his tongue worked its magic across my wings. I gasped, my body clenching at the warmth that immediately gathered in my body. How was it possible to want someone this much? How did I ever think I could live without his touch?
“Leo,” I begged, leaning my head back against his chest.
He ran his nose along my shoulder, and I heard him inhale deeply and then groan.
“What are you doing?” I panted, my body arching into his touch.
“Breathing you in because you smell so damn good, like peaches. I want to eat you up,” he said softly. “What you do to me is electric and incredible, and I’ll never get enough of you, of this. You’re my drug. And I don’t think I can live without you,” he said hoarsely.
As his fingers touched me, he sucked hard on my neck, and I cried out as a waterfall of sensations cascaded through me. My body soared, reaching for the sky. He bit down on the tender place between my neck and shoulder, and I screamed out his name, making a keening sound as I crashed, the sensation rocking me and pulsating through my entire body.
He kissed my hair. “I’ve never felt like this, like I might die without you, if something happened to you,” he said fervently and turned me around to face him.
His face was serious and maybe a little afraid, too, so I touched his lips and assured him. “We’ll make it, Leo. Together. No matter what comes, if we love each other, then everything else is cake. We never know how long we have, because life isn’t perfect. But this love we have, it’s something special. We have each other right now and that’s enough.”
“I’m afraid of losing you.” He tightened his hold. “People can be taken from us so fast. My parents...” his voice drifted off as he ran his fingers through his hair.
“Shhhh,” I said. “There are no guarantees. We simply make the best of what we have.” I cupped his face, my fingers rubbing circles on his temples, trying to soothe him. “Life is fleeting, but that’s no reason to give up.”
I eased away from him and smiled teasingly. “How did I end up naked, and you still have all your clothes on?”
He grinned, seeming to relax. “I got skills?”
“Help me get this thing off,” I whispered, trying to unbutton his vest and belt. In five seconds flat, he had his costume and his underwear off and kicked out of the way. I sighed in contentment and put my hands on his hard length. He was heavy and thick, and I touched him lightly at first, wrapping my hand around the girth and sliding it down to the base.
He spread his legs for me and hissed. “I’ve waited so long for you,” he gritted out as I made my strokes firmer.
“Do you want me, Leo?”
“Everything. I want everything you got. All the crazy shit you do.”
“I want you too,” I said, dropping to my knees, dying to touch him. He moaned when I took him in my mouth, running my tongue over him in sensuous licks. Beautiful and edgy and dangerous. I wanted all of him. He spiraled slowly out of control, his hands gripping my hair, teaching me what he wanted. He tossed his head, cried out my name, and told me he loved me forever, and he sounded so vulnerable, so needy, that my heart flew. My mate. My love. My forever. His head fell back and he groaned. “Nora,” he ground out, his big body shuddering as he released.
We fell to the floor together, his warm hands cradling my fall, protecting me from harm.
“Never leave me, Buttercup,” he whispered in my ear. “It will kill me.”
“Never,” I said.
***
We both jumped when someone pounded on Leo’s door.
“What the hell?” Leo yelled out, searching for our clothes.
Boom, boom, boom.
They pounded again, louder this time, like they were trying to wake the dead. “Who is it?” Leo barked through the door.
“Sebastian. People are starting to leave. I thought you’d want to know.” I heard him chuckling. “Want me to come in?”
“No!” We both yelled at the same time. Leo hurriedly got back in his costume, and I watched, trying not to pout.
“This will be continued later,” he promised me with heavy, possessive eyes I felt all the way to my toes.
I arched my brows.
He kissed my lips. “I hate to leave you. Just give me a few minutes. And when I come back in here, I want you naked and in my bed.”
I grinned.
He traced his fingers along my face and said uncertainly, “You are gonna stay with me aren’t you?”
“Always, my love,” I told him, holding his hand next to my heart.
He searched my eyes like he was unsure.
I shook my head. “Go! Stop worrying, I’ll be fine. I’ll find Sebastian and Mila.”
I shooed him out and tried to fix my hair and costume. When I walked out the door, Sebastian was waiting, leaning nonchalantly against the wall, a happy smirk on his face.
“Band done?” I inquired.
He nodded. “Yep, all wrapped up. Vital Rejects was a hit.”
I sauntered over to him, and when I got close enough, I popped him a good one the arm.
“Ow, what was that for?” he whined theatrically, moving away from me and rubbing his arm.
“For banging on the door,” I said with a grin.
“But it was so fun,” he said, laughing. “And you know you got the rest of your life with Leo.”
We reached the end of the stairs, and my eyes searched the crowd until I found him talking with a group of muscled guys. Being a responsible business owner, he had commitments, and he couldn’t be my doting boyfriend all the time. We would be on different paths until I was done with college, and it wouldn’t always be easy.
Sebastian snorted. “God, you’re glowing with it. You guys are going to make me sick with all the goo-goo eyes and shit.” He made a gagging sound and grabbed his chest. “What if you guys get married! Holy shit, you’d be my step-mom!”
I rolled my eyes at him.
Mila came over and stood with us.
“Where did Tiffani go?” I asked her.
She snickered. “She got pissed and left as soon as Leo started singing. He loves you, Nora. I gotta say, I’m a little jealous,” she said with a sincere smile.
“Hey, you always got me,” Sebastian exclaimed, picking her up and swinging her around and around until she shrieked l
oudly.
I had an epiphany, staring at them. “It was right in front of me the whole time,” I said with excitement, while they looked at me in confusion. “Of course, all that blond hair, the cocky attitude. Yep, Sebastian, you’re the king of the jungle . . . which is a total misnomer . . . really, the lion is the king of the savanna, whatever . . . I digress.”
Sebastian sat Mila back on her feet. “This I gotta hear,” he said, walking over to me. “Okay, lay it out for me. You’re saying I’m a lion?” he said sarcastically, but I could tell he really wanted to hear it.
Mila gave him a hip bump. “At least you’re majestic. I’m a freaking rabbit. A scared bunny with a nose that twitches,” she huffed.
I chuckled and cocked my head to study Sebastian. “Like a lion, you’re dramatic, obviously, and regally handsome . . . don’t get a big head about that one. You’re tough and ferocious and protective when someone hurts your loved ones. But in the end, underneath all that hissing, you’re still just a big ole pussycat at heart.”
“Here, kitty, kitty,” Mila said, poking him in the ribs.
“Huh, not bad,” he said with a teasing smile. “You might make a good mom after all.”
I yelled and took off after him . . .
***
Around one in the morning, Leo was still talking to his guests, yet periodically sending me hot looks. I’d send them back, my body throbbing with need.
Soon though, I headed back upstairs to get in his bed. Before I did, I opened the shuttered window in his room and gazed out at the stars. The sight of them gave me hope, and I thought of a quote by Van Gogh: “I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream.”
I didn’t know what the future held for us, but my dream was that we’d be together forever. I did know with certainty that life is full of bad people, broken people, sad people, betrayed people, twisted people, and people with secrets and scars the world never sees.
Yet, it is also full of people who love each other. People who are happy.
We all have a choice in life, to either quit or try again, and you can be sure I was going to try, try, try. Even though I was far from being what I wanted to be, my path would lead to happiness. Yes, life would suck and be scary sometimes, but I would keep going and searching for those happy moments, because in that direction lies grace and love.
I didn’t want to do bad things; I wanted to be true to myself. And being true meant I was not the bee champion, beauty queen, piano-playing genius my parents had shaped me into. No, I was just a simple, young girl whose love for a boy would last until the end of time.
Leo
It was two o’clock by the time I got the last guest out, and I was exhausted, but all I could think about was her upstairs where she belonged. Mine. She was mine. Forever.
I eased quietly into the bedroom, remembering another time when I’d lain beside her in a bed. I’d tried so hard to distance myself from her then, but she’d broken through my defenses. Even at eighteen, she’d been smarter and wiser than me.
She was naked, lying on top of the covers on her stomach, her body an honor, her love a gift. Full of light and optimism—even after her trials—her hope for the future was the beacon I would use to keep myself anchored. And now...now she was his. Her red hair was spread out over my pillow, and I stroked my fingers down her luscious wings, tracing the tips over the script. Cherish, a word not used much in my vocabulary, came to mind.
She stirred a little, and I straightened up and took my clothes off. I pulled a condom from the side table and rolled it on. I set out to make her mine.
Getting in bed, I leaned down to kiss down her shoulders and back, worshipping her body. The sweet sensation of her soft skin underneath my hands nearly undid me. She was utterly perfect to me. She was the girl from the parking lot, yet she wasn’t. Sadness no longer stained those beautiful eyes, darkness no long haunted the shadows of her face. She’d grown along with me. Elated and light of heart, I kissed behind her knees and down her calf. I kissed the arch of her feet. I kissed her sweet toes. My body clenched in desperate need, and I prayed I could hold out and make it good for her.
“Nora,” I murmured. She whimpered out my name, and I got harder from the invitation I heard in her voice.
She turned, and I reached for her piercing and flicked it with my finger. Cupping her breasts, I sucked each nipple in my mouth, my eyes narrowed in on her green ones shining like emeralds as she gazed at me.
“Tell me you love me,” I demanded after I’d kissed her thoroughly.
She smirked and arched her brow at me.
I tangled my hands in her hair and tugged gently. “Say my name and tell me you love me,” I said with a hint of tease. But I wasn’t kidding. At all. I needed to hear her voice, needed to know that she ached for me as much as I did her.
She caressed my chest, her fingers outlining my dragon tattoo. I let go of her hair and cradled her face, my nose touching her nose in a gentle caress. “Say it, and I’ll fuck you,” I bargained, hearing the desperate yearning in my voice but not caring. She was all I wanted, and I wanted her to know it.
“Dirty talk. I like it,” she retorted with a gleam in her eyes.
Oh yeah, my Buttercup liked to play games. My excitement revved up.
“You asked for it,” I said, chuckling as I kissed her with little pecks and no tongue. Self-control kept me from taking her mouth like I wanted. She squirmed, grabbed my hair and tried to deepen my kisses, but I resisted, shaking my head at her. Bad girl.
She glared. “Kiss me. Give me an epic one.”
“As soon as you do what I want,” I murmured, giving her a hot look.
“I love you, Leo Jamison Tate, so kiss me, pretty please,” she said, her eyes heavy with emotion, letting me see the big love she had for me.
My heart sang, recognizing its mate.
I kissed her deep, and her hips arched off the bed, searching for mine. “Like that?” I asked against her mouth.
“Yes,” she whispered.
My cock brush her thigh, and I groaned at the contact, my need escalating. I kissed her stomach, around to her hipbone, and down to her thighs, inhaling her scent. I let my fingers trace the edge of her navel, my mouth not far behind. Being this close to her, made me crazy. Insane. She made me feel so much.
“I’m the only one for you. You’re my bad girl. No one else’s,” I told her possessively as her body strained for mine.
She sighed and turned her head into the pillow, but I cupped her chin and brought her gaze back to me. “Don’t look away,” I said softly. “Lock your eyes on mine, Nora. It means everything to me. Let me see you fall apart.”
We touched each other slowly, our hands learning the secret places that made the other soar. My need was sharp, but I ignored it to focus on her, to see what drove her to the brink, to see what made her gasp and shudder. I discovered the mole behind her knee and the ticklish place on her arm. She found my birthmark and traced it with her tongue, her mouth hot against my already feverish skin.
My need rose higher as her broken entreaties and little whimpers spurred me on. Our bodies rubbed and rocked faster and faster, and I didn’t want to be in a hurry, but I couldn’t wait any longer. I took her hands and intertwined our fingers, desperate to get as close to her as humanly possible, to be the only one she ever wanted again. She was it for me, and it freaked me out in the most fantastic ways.
She was a high I’d be addicted to for the rest of my life.
Finally, I thrust deep into her, leaning my head back and crying out at the contact. She called my name and we moved together, each loving the other.
“More,” she said after a while, her lips swollen from our kisses. I angled myself closer to her, our hands clutching each other, like we’d die without the other. Sweat dripped from me as I took her, my eyes never losing hers. Soft wonder came over her exquisite face.
“Nora,” I muttered in need, watching as she came apart right in front me, going stiff
and arching her back, her cries like sweet music to my ears. My love for her slammed into me, sending me over as I came too, yelling her name as we rode the wave together.
Nothing compared to this. Deep satisfaction settled in my bones. She was mine. We were united, one love, one body.
I pressed my forehead to hers. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that I’m going to wake up in the morning, and you’ll be here, in my arms.” I swallowed. “I love you so much, Buttercup, it hurts.” Truth.
She kissed me with soft lips. “Is it always like this? Like I just went to heaven?”
Smiling, I lay back and pulled her against me. “Never. That’s what happens when soulmates make love.”
I watched her until she drifted off to sleep, amazed she loved me after all I’d put her through. I promised myself that no matter what happened in the future, no matter the rough patches we might come across, I’d never give up on us. As long as we both lived, I’d be here. For her. For us.
Fate had known all along we were soulmates.
Now, I did, too.
Epilogue
Nora
“Sometimes, for no discernible reason, I wake up at 3:00 am and gaze at Leo. Without him knowing, I softly stroke his face and kiss his lips.” –Nora Blakely
A few days before Christmas
I pulled into the parking lot at Club Vita, my stomach fluttering at the thought of seeing Leo. I’d been gone for two days on a shopping trip to Austin with Aunt Portia, and even though I loved spending time with her, I’d missed him terribly. This was the first time we’d been apart since the Halloween party.
At least the gym was closed for the night and we’d be alone. But I’d arrived earlier than I told him. I nibbled on my nail. What if he didn’t like surprises? What if he had too much work to do and I’d just be in the way? I peered up at his bedroom window, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
I knew Sebastian was gone. He was out with Cuba at the Briarcrest Academy winter dance. It was the annual football and cheerleader formal, and while most guys took dates, Sebastian and Cuba hadn’t. I didn’t think for a minute those two would be alone at the dance though. Nope. They never were. Girls were always calling or texting or following Sebastian around, especially since he’d started doing band gigs at Gilligan’s. Cuba wasn’t any different. I’d watched him enough to know he had a new girl every month. My gut knew he didn’t care about any of them. My heart recognized that something in him was broken.
