by Erika Wilde
He let the words trail off, but Peyton understood without him finishing the sentence. She remembered Serena’s comment, how Amanda had given Leo every reason not to believe in love, and now she knew why. She couldn’t blame him for being jaded, guarded, and reserved with his emotions . . . yet she wanted so much to ease his pain… and yes, be the one who showed him that love could and did exist. Because there was now no doubt in her mind, and her heart, that she was in love with him . . . and that was a first for her.
She moved toward Leo and straddled his lap so she was facing him. He settled his hands on her hips, and she pressed her palms against his lightly stubbled cheeks and looked him in the eyes. “You are more than enough,” she said, wanting desperately to add for me. “Any woman would be lucky to have you for their own.”
Her emotions were right at the surface, because she so badly wanted to be that lucky woman, but the fear of him not reciprocating her feelings held her back. So, instead, she tried to show him. She softly, gently kissed his lips, slow and seductive, and when that wasn’t enough and she needed more, she gradually sank a little deeper. With a needy groan against her mouth, he skimmed his hand beneath the hem of her top, and at the first heated touch of his fingers along her bare skin, an uninhibited heat pooled between her thighs, stealing Peyton’s breath and replacing it with undeniable soul-deep longing.
No man had ever made her feel so much need and desire, except for Leo. He was everything she’d ever wanted, everything she craved, and the idea of leaving him in three days and returning to her life as it’d been before everything they’d shared this past week made her heart ache at the loss.
As if he was attuned to her thoughts, he flattened his hand against her back and hauled her against him, taking over and capturing her mouth with an unexpected passion that seemed to ignite a fire in both of them. The hard length of his erection pressed insistently between her thighs, and she pulled on his shirt, working it over his head, and as soon as it was gone, he yanked her blouse off, too. Their mouths met again, tongues tangling as his fingers unhooked the clasp to her bra. The straps slid down her arms and she dropped the garment to the floor.
His hands immediately cupped her bare breasts, his fingers tugging on her taut, straining nipples until she whimpered and arched toward him from the decadent pleasure of it.
“I want you so goddamn much,” he rasped against her lips. He gave her breasts one last sensual caress before lowering his hands to unbutton her capris. “I need inside of you so fucking bad.”
The honest emotion in his voice nearly slayed her. “I need you, too. So much,” she admitted, feeling just as frantic to be a part of him.
She stood up, quickly stripping out of her pants and underwear while he shucked his jeans and briefs and kicked them aside. As she moved to sit astride him again, her knees on either side of his hips, he grabbed her waist to stop her descent onto his cock and swore beneath his breath.
His eyes, when they met hers, were tortured from restraining himself. “I need to get a condom from the bedroom,” he said, his voice as rough as gravel.
She made a split-second decision and shook her head. “I haven’t been with anyone since my last physical and I’m on the pill. I want to feel you inside of me, with nothing between us.” It wasn’t the equivalent of I love you, but it was the first step in showing Leo how much she trusted him . . . with her body, her heart, with everything she had to give him.
She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed hard, his fingers tightening on her waist, not to push her away but to draw her irrevocably closer, his need for her unmistakable. “I’m clean,” he assured her, then slid his shaft though the slick moisture between her legs before notching the head right where he belonged.
There wasn’t any guy in her past that she would have believed so unconditionally or would have given this privilege to, because it was so intimate and deeply personal for her. But there wasn’t a shadow of a doubt that Leo was a man who was tried and true and one who would never deliberately hurt her. She’d never wanted anything more than to share this with him.
Grasping his solid shoulders, she sank down on his length, reveling in the smooth, thick, velvety heat filling her, stretching her. She dropped her head back and moaned at the exquisite sensation of having him bare inside of her, and the way his big body shuddered told her that the pleasure was equally acute for him.
He raised his hands to her face, tipping her head back to meet his intense stare as he pushed impossibly deeper inside her with an upward flex of his hips. “You feel so goddamn good,” he said on a groan. “Fuck me, Peyton. I want to know what it feels like to have you come all over my cock.”
His hot, dirty demand made her body burn bright with pure sensation, and she moved on his shaft, slowly rolling her hips forward and sliding back again before grinding down on him to create an exquisite friction against her aching clit. She did it again and again while rubbing her breasts against his chest. Their eyes remained locked, giving her a glimpse of what he was feeling, too.
They’d had plenty of lustful moments over the past few days, sex that was hard and fast and wildly explosive, but this . . . this connection was on a whole other level. His focus was on her, and not just physically. The way he was looking at her was like being bathed in warmth and affection and so much passion that she wondered if, possibly, this could be more than a one-week fling. That maybe she could give him everything that Amanda hadn’t been able to.
She moved on him a little faster, reveling in the incredibly erotic slide of their bodies, the darkening of his eyes as he watched her expression as she rode his cock. The way his jaw clenched as he held back, waiting for her to reach the point of climaxing first, which was already starting to happen. Her lips parted as her breathing escalated, and her lashes fluttered closed as the delicious tension inside of her loosened and began to unravel.
“Look at me, baby,” he demanded as he skimmed his thumb across her lower lip, still holding her face in his hands, his own body taut beneath hers. “I want to feel it all, and I want to look into your beautiful blue eyes as you come for me.”
She forced her eyes back open, losing herself in the depths of his hot, vivid gaze just as the last tendrils of her release broke free. Deep and intense, the orgasm quaked through her and pulsed around his shaft. He grunted as he thrust up into her in a long, hard shudder, coming right along with Peyton as her body splintered into a thousand tiny pieces of heaven, and sheer bliss permeated her entire being with equal parts pleasure and an overwhelming amount of emotion.
When she came down from the high and the adrenaline rush receded, Peyton knew one thing for certain. She was utterly and completely Leo’s . . . and knew she always would be, no matter how this upcoming weekend ended.
Chapter Eleven
Peyton sat on the bed and transferred a few things from her normal everyday purse to a small handbag she’d packed to use for the wedding, while Leo finished putting on his white dress shirt and tie in the bathroom. She’d deliberately chosen an angle where she could watch him for the pure pleasure of it, and she had to admit that he cleaned up very, very well.
She thought back to that day when he’d picked her up at the airport over a week ago, and how she’d been a little disappointed that he hadn’t been wearing a suit, like most driving services required their employees to dress in. And for as sexy as he looked in jeans, T-shirt, and his leather jacket, she had to admit that he looked drop-dead gorgeous in more formal attire.
Her cousin’s wedding today marked the end to Leo’s agreement to be her pretend boyfriend. Well, actually, tomorrow, Sunday, was officially when they’d part ways, when he drove her to the airport for her flight back to New York, while he stayed behind in San Diego. After a few weeks, she’d let her parents know that the two of them, unfortunately, had broken up . . . even knowing that the news was going to disappoint her mom and dad since they’d grown to like him so much.
At least, that had been the plan when they’d d
iscussed how the arrangement between them would go. But that had been before she’d fallen in love with Leo, which changed a lot for her in terms of what she wanted in her life and what she was willing to give up for a man who was everything she’d ever desired. But that didn’t mean Leo was on the same page as Peyton when it came to her feelings for him, and that uncertainty was what was holding her back.
She’d clearly seen a definitive change in him since they’d talked about what had happened with Amanda. He seemed lighter, as if a burden had been lifted, as if talking about the past had helped put a lot of it to rest . . . but that didn’t mean he was ready to jump into a serious relationship, or if he even wanted to make that kind of commitment to her. But on the flipside, what if he did but was wary about being jilted a second time, and they both walked away from a sure thing?
She stood up and moved to the dresser and put her dangling crystal earrings on, knowing what she had to do, or it would be her biggest regret in life. The hope that there was a sliver of a possibility that Leo would want more than just this one week with her cemented her decision to take a chance on him. Tonight, when they returned from the wedding, she was going to put her heart on her sleeve and tell Leo how she felt about him. As much as he was afraid of being rejected, her fear was the same, but she also knew that Leo was worth the risk.
Her Skype interview yesterday had gone well, but no firm job offer had been made. They’d promised an answer by Monday, and while she was hopeful for the position, she also knew that she’d give it all up for the one and only man who’d made her heart come alive whenever she was around him. Her life in New York had mostly been about being independent and having a life away from the constant meddling of her parents . . . yet she’d return for Leo if he gave her any indication that he wanted a future with her, too.
Leo walked out of the bathroom, stealing her breath with how hot and handsome he looked, forcing Peyton to put all those thoughts on hold for the next few hours. They had a wedding to attend and a reception to enjoy together, and she wanted their last evening as a couple to be fun and happy and openly affectionate, without anything distracting them. Later tonight, once they returned home and they were alone, she’d tell Leo she loved him.
She was either going to be the happiest girl in the world or the most heartbroken woman on the planet.
* * *
The last time Leo had been in a church for a wedding had been the day another woman had shattered all his hopes and dreams, right along with his heart. He’d been so relieved when Aiden and Daisy had decided to get married in a small ceremony in his mother’s backyard so he didn’t have to mentally relive the nightmare of being left at the altar and being publicly jilted by the woman he’d planned to spend the rest of his life with.
But now, a large church loomed in front of him, with a few hundred guests making their way inside to witness the ceremony taking place between Peyton’s cousin Candace and her groom-to-be, Jake.
Nearly at the front steps leading up into the sanctuary, Leo stopped in place, and Peyton did the same beside him. He was holding her small, slender hand in his as he thought about entering that church and finally putting that part of his past to rest for good. He’d expected nerves and anxiety today, but after sharing with Peyton all the bottled-up emotions he’d held inside of him for so long about what had happened with Amanda, he knew he was going to be absolutely fine walking into the cathedral, because Peyton was by his side.
“Hey,” she said softly, her voice so caring and understanding it made his heart swell in his chest. “Are you okay doing this? Because if not, we can skip the ceremony and just meet my parents at the reception.”
He glanced at her, bowled over by how stunning she looked in a silky-looking purple dress that she’d made herself that accentuated all her curves in all the right places. Her big blue eyes, filled with understanding and silent support, met and held his. She knew exactly what was going through his head, and the fact that she was willing to change their plans to spare him any pain made him want to conquer this moment with her.
He lifted the hand he was holding and kissed the back of it, letting his lips linger on her knuckles for a few extra seconds so he could breathe in the scent of her skin. “I’m absolutely fine because we’re doing this, me and you, together.”
The smile she gave him beamed brighter than the sun setting behind her. “You got this, Leo,” she said, making him believe her words. “My parents are waiting for us over there by the steps. Shall we go join them?”
He nodded and they headed in that direction, then the four of them walked inside and found a pew where they could all sit together. Leo waited for that twist-in-his-gut feeling he’d been anticipating, but it never happened . . . not when the music began playing and the wedding party came down the aisle, and not when the bride in her wedding dress appeared and walked confidently to where her groom stood at the altar waiting for her. The wedding vows were short and meaningful, and Leo squeezed Peyton’s hand as she dabbed at the corners of her eyes with the tissue she’d pulled out of her small purse.
He survived the entire ceremony without getting nauseous and without experiencing the urge to run out of the church, mostly because the oppressive memories of that day with Amanda were no longer tethering him to the past, and he had Peyton to thank for that.
After the bride and groom were pronounced husband and wife, all the guests filed out of the church and headed over to the reception, which was being held at the upscale Hotel del Coronado. Since Peyton and Leo had driven his Mustang separately from her parents’ car, they once again met up with her mom and dad at the venue. The cocktail hour was in full swing when they arrived, and Leo ordered a Jack and Coke at the bar while Peyton opted for a glass of champagne one of the formal waiters was carrying around on a tray.
“What an absolutely lovely ceremony,” Tawny said with a wistful sigh, seemingly caught up in the romanticism of it all. “New York is so far away, but whatever the two of you do, do not even think of eloping. I want the chance to plan my only daughter’s wedding.”
Peyton blanched and nearly choked on the sip of her champagne. “Mom, we’re not even . . . engaged.”
Leo wasn’t sure what she’d almost said . . . We’re not even dating? We’re not even together? We’re not even living in the same city? Any of those would have applied but would have also outed them and their week-long charade. One that had felt much too real.
“Well, after nine months, I’d think that things would be heading in that direction.” Tawny glanced at Leo, and for the first time in their presence, he actually felt uncomfortable.
Carson slapped him on the back. “I suppose this is where I should be asking you what your intentions are as far as my daughter is concerned.”
“Dad!” Peyton said, clearly mortified that her parents were putting him on the spot.
Honestly, Leo couldn’t tell if Tawny and Carson were joking or not. Considering how much they worried about Peyton’s welfare, they probably were being completely serious and he formulated the best response he could at a moment’s notice—while also knowing that Peyton planned to tell her parents that they’d split a few weeks after returning to New York.
He smiled at her mother and father, trying not to let guilt get the best of him for deceiving them the past week. “I care for your daughter and we’ll just have to see where things go from here,” he said, striving for honesty while answering their question.
Okay, Leo wasn’t being completely truthful, because there was no doubt in his mind that his feelings for Peyton ran much deeper than just caring, that the emotions she’d reawakened in him far surpassed fondness and affection and friendship. But she was heading back to New York tomorrow, where her life and career were already established, and where she had a possible job offer waiting for her, and he’d be left behind. He’d learned from cold, hard experience that even love couldn’t keep a person from eventually leaving if that was their intent . . . His dad was a prime example of that. And so w
as Amanda.
And Peyton had always intended to leave. He’d known that from the beginning, had agreed to this fake relationship with an end date in sight. No, he’d never expected to fall hard for his pixie, but that knowledge didn’t change the fact that they would go their separate ways tomorrow. But for tonight, all he wanted to do was enjoy every minute with her.
* * *
The wedding reception and five-course dinner were held in the biggest, most exquisitely decorated ballroom Peyton had ever been in. Clearly, no expense had been spared for the three hundred guests in attendance, and it showed in the delicious meal they’d just eaten that had been prepared by a Michelin star chef, the crystal vases with massive floral arrangements that were on each table, and the up lighting that gave everything a romantic glow.
A talented up-and-coming band played in the background, just loud enough that it was difficult to carry on a conversation with anyone at the table except for the person sitting beside you, which Peyton was grateful for. After the way her mother and father had put Leo on the spot during the cocktail hour with talk of an engagement and his intentions toward her, the last thing she wanted was another opportunity for them to bring up the subject again.
The wedding had made her mother sentimental and hopeful where her daughter was concerned, but until Peyton had the chance to tell Leo how she felt about him, she didn’t even know if the two of them had any future together. The comment he’d made to her father earlier, I care for your daughter and we’ll just have to see where things go from here, didn’t really inspire confidence that he was going to return her declaration of love, but it was the possibility that he might be on that same path that kept her optimistic.
Beneath the drape of the tablecloth, Leo’s hand caressed her thigh, his touch not overtly sexual but definitely making her incredibly aware of him sitting so close beside her. The last of the dinner dishes were being cleared from their table, and she glanced at him, her heart racing a whole lot faster when she found his warm, inviting gaze already on her. The man was so gorgeous he literally took her breath away.
