Leo squeezed my middle, and my insides turned to mush. “What Minnie says, goes. I like it; it suits you.”
“What’s going on with you?” I chuckled nervously.
I’d unlocked something in Leo, something that he desperately needed to let out.
“I have a headache,” he murmured. “I’m releasing dopamine.”
“So you’re using me?” I joked.
“Never,” he nearly snarled as he spun me. His eyes blazed red, and the stubble on his face curled with his scowl. He tilted my head up, searching my face. “Is that how I’m making you feel? I’ll stop?—”
“Don’t stop!” I rushed.
His face dropped with surprise, and my chest swelled. Blond brows scrunched together before they relaxed, and a smile crawled across his lips. He went from something needy to predatory and victorious.
“Alex,” my name came out in a drawl, his voice was ash and honey. “I’m having a hard time with restraint.”
“Elaborate, please.”
His fingers dug into my hips before he pulled back. “I made a promise to Joon, and I feel like I’m breaking it—” he paused, “—I’mdefinitelybreaking it.”
The words made me freeze. “What promise?”
Heat simmered between us, but he still didn’t flare up, even when his neck grew red. “He wanted me to stay away from you… until I could control myself.”
My hands started to go numb, and my heart raced as I scrunched my brows. “I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”
Joon warned me to stay away from Leo, too, but he never mentioned anypromisebetween them. Never the possibility of his even wanting to be near me. Until almost a month ago, I was convinced he hated me. Obviously, that had changed. Alothad changed. But Leo’s face flashed, caught between torment and peace.
Bittersweet.
A smile chipped onto his mouth as if we were discussing some inside joke instead of a secret that had been kept from me. “He figured it out the first time I saw you get hurt, your first year in the academy. He was always good at reading people, you know? But afterIwas the one to hurt you, he wanted assurances, I guess.”
“What did he figure out?” My mouth went dry.
I felt it — that pull between us — but I wanted to hear it. Ineededto hear it. Every memory between us started to warp, and I started to see things I didn’t recognize before. The way those eyes always watched me; not angry, butstrained,like he was always holding himself back. He’d flip between being nice and slinging harsh remarks. As if he realized he wasn’t playing the right part.
His next words nearly made my heart stop. “You’re my weakness, Alex. You’re the only one that can break me.”
Leo tucked my hair behind my ear, trailing his finger along my jaw, spreading his warmth through me. Everything broke down after that.My reality crumbled, and Leo was right there, ready to piece it back together again. I wanted him to—I needed us to create something new, something fresh. Joon haunted us both, and for a while, we hadn’t beenliving.
No more. No more pain, no more secrets, no more holding back.
“I don’t want you broken,” I said, conviction settling in my gut. I refused to let us be scared anymore.
Every new piece of him that I discovered made me want more. I wanted to be his weakness, but I also wanted to be the one who made him change, made him grow. This was the Leo that was always hidden, always stifled. Was that too bold, or selfish? This version of him, he only showed it to me, and it made me buzz.
That mess of light hair played over his brows, casting a shadow over his intense eyes. He was so tall I had to stand on my toes to get a closer look. His shoulders and arms swallowed me, and the scent of tobacco and cologne was intoxicating. Leo had always been handsome, but now… he was irresistible. Something I’d never wanted to touch before, but now was dying to wrap myself in.
“Tell me what you want, Alex,” he said, voice raspy. “Tell me to back off, and I will. Tell me you want more, and I’m all in.”
All in.
I reached my arms up, unable to resist anymore. My fingers played with the hair at the base of his neck. I wish I’d realized how gentle he could be sooner. A breath caught on his lips, and I wanted to press mine against them. I wanted to breathe air back into him again, and then take it all away. My body wanted to writhe, wanted to be consumed.
He’s still healing. Cool off, lecher.
“I want this,” was all I could manage.
