“Nothing,” I said, giving my head a shake. “I’m just wondering if you got chips and guac.”
He gave me a look and replied, “Can’t have El Toro and not have their guac. Everyone knows that.”
I felt my lips stretch up in a grin as I forced my feet to start moving, murmuring, “Smart man,” as I let him lead me into the house.
We walked in through the garage, which led us straight into the kitchen. I’d been in his house more than once, but this was the first time I was here when it was just the two of us. Without the buffer of having his kids there, I was suddenly feeling a little nervous.
Trying to calm the butterflies fluttering in my belly, I looked to the island and let out a low whistle at the spread he’d set up. “What did you do, order one of everything on the menu?”
There was more food there than two people could eat, even if they’d been stranded on a deserted island for a month, and this was their first real meal.
“Not quite the whole menu,” he returned. “But I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got a variety. Have a seat and dig in.”
I hopped up onto one of the stools, grabbed a plate, and started loading it with all my favorites. He took a seat next to me, turning catty corner to mine so he could face me, his feet on the rungs of my stool, caging my legs between his as we ate and talked.
He asked about my day, listening intently while I told him stories as though what I was saying was the most important thing he’d hear all week.
“What about you?” I asked after I finished recounting Candace’s freak out when the espresso machine had fritzed out in the middle of the morning rush. “How was your day?”
“Better now that you’re here,” he answered, reaching to my plate and snagging one of my jalapeno poppers. Teenage-Danika swooned that we were already at a place where he felt comfortable enough to eat off my plate, even though, if he tried again, I’d most likely stab him with my fork. I didn’t mess around when it came to Mexican food.
“Well, that’s really sweet of you to say,” I told him, swatting at his hand and giving him the stink eye when he moved to steal another one, “but why’s it better now? Did something happen?”
He chuckled, shaking out the hand I’d just smacked. “Just some shit with a case that landed on Micah and me. It’s frustrating as hell when you’ve got no leads and no jumping off point.”
“What’s the case?” I asked. “I mean, if you can talk about it. I’m not really sure what the rules are. Is this one of those situations where if you tell me you have to kill me?”
“Christ, you’re cute.” He gave his head a good-humored shake. “No, I wouldn’t have to kill you. Just some shit that’s resurfaced lately. We’re gettin’ more and more drug arrests lately. Seems like someone’s stepped in to pick up the reins on Malachi Black’s operation. Only we don’t have the first clue who it is. We’ve arrested a few dealers but can’t get any of them to flip on their supplier. And the users who get caught and locked up don’t know much of anything.”
Malachi Black was the bad-guy meth cooker who had been tangled up in Gypsy’s drama a while back. I didn’t know the specifics of the case that eventually brought him down, but he’d been well-known in Hope Valley and the surrounding towns for quite a while. Everyone knew what he did, but the police hadn’t been able to get anything on him to warrant an arrest for the longest time. With him out of commission, everything had gone back to normal. At least until now.
My fork froze midway to my mouth. “Someone’s dealing meth again? In Hope Valley?”
“And Hidalgo, Grapevine, and several other towns. We’re workin’ with the other departments, but so far we’ve got a whole lot of nothin’. Anyone who knows shit isn’t talkin’.”
His frustration poured out of him, and I hated that he felt helpless. “Leo, honey, if you don’t want to talk about this, we don’t have to. I just know how much you love your job, even with all the bad you see, and I wanted to know more about it. But if it’s too much—”
His hand came down on my thigh, stopping me mid-sentence. “I like sharin’ what I can with you, baby. I like that you want to know about what I do. Never had that before.”
I paused, unsure whether or not to ask the question sitting on the tip of my tongue. He must have read it on my face, because before I could say anything, he answered.
“She never asked,” he said, talking about Whitney. “Not about anything. If I came home after a particularly bad day, it was usually obvious. The kids would see it, and they’d do what they could to get me past it, but she never asked.”
“Did she . . . did she not want to know what you did?”
“It wasn’t about that. She just didn’t care what I did. All she cared about were the paychecks comin’ in on time so she could buy shoes or purses or some shit.”
God, even if I didn’t already have my own personal reasons to dislike Whitney Brown, how she’d treated Leo would have been more than enough. The woman had had it all. How she could look at her life with this incredible man and their two beautiful children and not count her blessings every single day for the gifts she’d received was beyond me.
I placed my hand on top of his that was still resting on my leg and gave it a squeeze. “Well, just so you know, I like hearing you talk about your job. But even if I didn’t, even if the stories you told me scared the absolute crap out of me, I’d still want to hear them, not only because they’re you, but because sometimes you need someone to vent to so you can get up the next day, go out, and do it all again.”
“Jesus,” he grunted, his olive-colored eyes going dark with something I couldn’t read. Thinking I’d said something wrong, I started to sit up straight and pull my hand back, but before I could, he flipped his over beneath mine and laced his fingers through mine. “Fuckin’ years. You were across the street from me for years.”
“Leo.”
“I seriously missed out.”
That big, goofy smile pulled at my lips. “Well, I’m here now.”
His expression warmed as he dipped his head, brushing his lips against mine. “Yeah, sweetness. You are. And you’ve got no clue how glad I am for that.”
Oh, I was pretty sure I did.
Chapter Fourteen
Danika
After dinner, Leo had moved us into the living room, stretching out in the corner of his big, squishy sectional and pulling me down so I was lying along his side, tucked firmly against him.
After finding out he’d never watched The Office—and letting him know that was a crime against humanity—I’d commandeered his remote and pulled up Netflix.
We lay there, watching the first three episodes, but I’d lost all focus on the show shortly into the first one when his hand settled on my waist, his fingers pushing the hem of my shirt up and brushing feather-light touches against my bare skin.
Occasionally his chest would rattle on a small laugh, which only made the pressure in my core build until all my senses had narrowed, my attention solely on that one spot where he touched me, snuffing everything else out.
He was turning me on and driving me out of my mind, and he didn’t even realize it.
When the third episode ended, he slipped the remote from my hand and paused the TV. “Okay, so you were right. That show’s pretty good.”
All my attention had shifted to the heat pooling between my thighs, so I hadn’t heard a word he said.
His fingers stopped their smooth, circular motion and his arm around me squeezed. “Danika, you okay?”
At that, I snapped back to reality. “Sorry.” I lifted my head, tipping it back so I could look right into those hazel eyes. “What did you say?”
I knew everything I was feeling was written all over my face the second a rough, intoxicating rumble shook his chest. His gaze grew darker and his arm tightened, shifting me up so I lay directly on top of him instead of along his side.
“Jesus, baby. You want me?”
I pulled my lips between my teeth, feeling tha
t blush bloom. It took a second to find my nerve, but I eventually gave him the truth he already saw in my eyes. “Yes, Leo.”
The television was suddenly flipped off, and a second later, I was on my feet. Leo took my hand and began pulling me down the hall.
And all I could think was, finally!
“Mmm. Baby.”
I lifted my eyes on an upward stroke, feeling a rush of wet between my thighs at the sight of Leo’s face. The heat in his eyes, the tension in his jaw, the strained cords in his neck. His chest rose and fell with each rapid breath as he watched me suck him off. I was doing that to him. It was heady and intoxicating seeing him like that, knowing I had the power to drive him wild.
He’d all but dragged me to his room minutes ago, stripping me naked. And after what felt like weeks of foreplay, I’d been more than ready to get to the main event. But then he stripped down, giving me my very first look at all that was him, and my brain instantly switched gears. I’d been on my knees in his bed, he’d been standing at the side, so I didn’t hesitate to bend at the waist, brace one hand on the mattress while wrapping the other around the root of his long, thick, extremely hard cock, and slide it into my mouth.
I became an addict with that very first taste. But I was even more addicted to the way he reacted to me going down on him.
I took him as deep as I could, my stretched lips meeting my fingers still wrapped around the base of him, and hollowed out my cheeks, sucking harder as I pulled back.
He grunted at the same time his hips twitched, pushing him deeper into my mouth.
“Christ, sweetness. Your mouth’s a goddamn dream, but I need you on your back.” I suddenly needed that too. Like, a lot.
My head hit the pillows as he pulled open his bedside drawer and removed a condom. My breath stalled when he climbed onto the bed, spreading my legs wide with his hands and coming to rest between them, sitting back on his haunches.
“Do you have any clue how beautiful you are?” he asked as he fisted his cock, stroking it up and down.
A sound akin to a whimper rushed past my lips. “Leo, please.”
He jacked himself again, this time harder, twisting his wrist when he reached the head. “You want this?”
“Yes.”
He moved fast then, ripping open the condom wrapper and sliding it into place. He hooked his arm behind my left knee, pushing my thigh up to my chest and opening me wider as he pushed inside on a quick, hard thrust. I cried out at the sensation the same time he groaned, planting himself deep.
“Fuck, Danika.” His breath whispered across my skin as he paused, allowing my body time to adjust and stretch around him.
The initial sting gave way to pleasure in a matter of seconds, and I squeezed my muscles, needing more. “Move, honey,” I panted. “God, Leo. Please.”
He didn’t make me ask again. Bracing one hand beside my head, he pulled out and slammed back in, forcing a moan from deep within my chest.
“So tight,” he gritted as he began thrusting, his big cock hitting my G-spot with every stroke. “Like a goddamn glove.”
My hands came up, my nails sinking into his shoulders as I held on, tilting my hips to take him even deeper. “Yes,” I panted, my breasts bouncing with each snap of his hips. “Just like that. Don’t stop.”
He adjusted his hold on my leg, bracing my calf on his shoulder so he could slide his hand down and squeeze my ass as he powered into me. “Fuck me, sweetness. You feel like a dream.”
My vision was hazy, my lids lowering to half-mast. The pressure that had started building back on his couch grew more intense each time he drove into me. “Leo,” I said, my voice pitching high as I grew closer.
“I feel it,” he grunted, picking up the pace. Sweat had beaded across his forehead. His pupils had blown, the black swallowing up all that beautiful olive green. “Give it to me. Want to watch your face as you come around me.”
Just like that, the pressure snapped. Grabbing hold of his hair, I threw my head back, squeezing my eyes shut as I cried out, moaning his name as a million explosions went off inside of me. My orgasm seemed to last forever, so intense I wasn’t sure I’d survive it, but damn, what a way to go.
My muscles clenched and my walls clamped down around him, and in a few seconds his head flew back, his throat working as he growled out his own release.
He grabbed my ankle, taking my leg from his shoulder and wrapping it around his waist as he lowered onto me, shoving his face in my neck as he worked to regulate his breathing.
I struggled to do the same as the seconds bled to minutes. I felt thoroughly exhausted in the very best way. My muscles and bones put up a fight when I lifted my limbs to wrap them around Leo, but I still managed to get it done. As soon as my arms closed around his neck, his head came back, and he looked at me with such warmth and tenderness that my throat tightened.
“That was so worth the weeks-long wait.” I let loose a giggle and smiled like a fool, only to be stunned speechless when he leaned in and placed a kiss on the tip of my nose, murmuring, “I love it when you give me that smile.” The way he said it, the sincerity in his tone, made my heart flip.
“It’s a goofy smile,” I whispered.
He shook his head, his tone serious as he replied. “Been watchin’ you for months. I’ve seen every smile you’ve given out in that time. All of them are beautiful, but the one you give me, my smile, is hands down my favorite.”
Oh man. That was nice. Really freaking nice.
“Your smile?” I asked, the confusion evident in my voice.
He grinned down at me, dipping his head closer so he was the only thing I could see. “I’m the only one you give that to, baby. That makes it mine. I’ve claimed it, so there’s no takin’ it back.”
Good Lord! This man couldn’t possibly be real. And it was that thought swirling around inside my head that made my mouth open and the words spill out before I could stop them. “You can’t possibly be real.”
Leo’s whole body shook on a quiet laugh. “Pretty sure I just proved to you I was, sweetness. But if you need a refresher, I’m game.”
He shifted his hips, his cock inside me still half-hard. My eyes went big and my lips parted on an exhale. “Already?” I whispered in wonder?
At that, his laugh was no longer quiet. It was loud and absolutely beautiful. “As much as I love that look on your face right now, I’m not nineteen anymore, so I’ll need a bit more recovery time.”
I twisted my face into a small pout and mumbled, “Well that’s disappointing.”
“Just made her come hard, and already she’s got jokes,” he said, a teasing smirk on his lips. “Guess I’ll have to double my effort next time.”
If he doubled his effort it was more than likely I’d slip into catatonia. As it was, I couldn’t fight back my yawn. Once I finished, he leaned in and brushed his lips against mine, then climbed from the bed to go deal with the condom. When he reentered the room, he bent to snag his underwear off the floor and drew them up his legs. Then he moved to his dresser, a large, masculine piece of furniture in a rich, dark wood, and pulled the top drawer open.
He came back to me, a faded tee in his hand, and when he reached the bedside, he shook it out and slipped it over my head. The way he went about it made it seem like such a simple thing, but the gesture rocked me to my core.
He moved to the door and flipped the lights, and by the time he got back to the bed, I’d already pulled the covers down and slipped beneath them. He climbed in beside me, hooked me around the waist and pulled me toward the middle of the bed. Wrapped in his strong embrace and surrounded by the heat of his body, it took only a second to drift off.
Chapter Fifteen
Danika
It had been a week and a half since that first night I’d stayed over at Leo’s. Since then we’d had two more sleepovers which had consisted of eating dinner in front of his TV, conversation, a ton of laughs, and both times ended in us having outstanding sex before we went to sleep—and again
when we woke up.
Each time was different than the last, sometimes he’d fuck me hard and fast, like he couldn’t get close enough or deep enough, and he was trying his hardest to embed himself beneath my skin. Other times it was soft and sweet, a slow coupling that took longer to reach its peak, but inevitably got there in the very best ways. But the one thing that was for certain was that each time was fantastic. Leo knew what he was doing. Hell, he could teach a doctorate course on giving a woman pleasure. He got me off—most of the time more than once—before allowing himself to have his own release, and after each time, he spent several minutes holding me to him, running his hands and lips across my body as we came down together.
It was sweet and affectionate, and it made me fall for him a little more every time he did it.
Aside from those nights spent with just the two of us, I’d also had another baking lesson with Macie, which meant spending quality time with the Drake clan. Like their dad had—easily—Macie and Hardin had quickly burrowed into my heart, carving out little spaces that would forever and always be theirs. The hours we spent together were quickly becoming some of my favorite times. Macie’s liveliness, Hardin’s humor, and Leo’s soft, secret looks were quickly filling me with happiness, making each day better than the one before.
“Mom. Dad,” I called out as I pushed through the door of their house and stepped inside. “I’m here.”
My dad met me at the door, taking the box of petits fours I’d brought for dessert from my hands so I could take off my coat and hang up my purse.
“Hey, Button,” he said, dipping his head to kiss my cheek. Before he pulled away, he leaned close to my ear, whispering, “I’m sorry, honey. I tried to stop her.”
I pulled back, my brows angling down in confusion. “What are you talking—?”
Waiting for Forever (Hope Valley Book 8) Page 11
