I blinked. “Why?”
“Because you terrify me. The thought of being with you makes me feel…” He couldn’t complete his sentence. Instead, he let out a frustrated sigh.
“I’m a lot to deal with. A bit harebrained, I know.” My words sounded almost as clear and sure as my mother’s. She’d always warned me. Now, my not listening was biting me in the ass.
“What?” Leo shook his head. “No.”
“It’s not the first time I’d heard that,” I assured.
“Kira, you terrify me because I can see myself getting lost in you. I’ve desperately wanted to lose things to you,” he said the last sentence in a whisper. The words were soft enough to bring me up to the clouds where my fantasies lived.
“Lose things,” I said. “What things?”
He closed his eyes for a second. “This is hard. Being here is hard.”
“So go,” I dared with confidence because I knew he wasn’t moving an inch. Not when his dark eyes trained on my lips. Not when his fingers reached out to touch the hem of my shirt. His knuckles brushed the skin on my stomach. The solid door against my back contrasted with the soft feeling of fingers.
I could hear my family in the dining room below us. They were still arguing with voices raised. On a normal night, hearing their anger would have triggered my fight or flight. Tonight, all I worried about was how long I could keep Leo’s touch on me. I didn’t want to move, in fear of scaring him away like some lost animal. He inched his hand up my stomach like he was afraid of scaring me, too. I think we were both holding our breaths as his fingers traced a hot line up my middle.
“I don’t want to,” he said.
“What things?” I asked again, hoping he’d answer this time around.
“It’d be easier for me to show you,” he whispered. His fingers paused right where my bra met in the middle. Instead of moving under it, he traced his way back down my stomach. My shoulders sagged, partially disappointed.
“Will you let me show you?” His eyes searched mine for affirmation.
“I guess.” Speaking felt difficult. The words were too heavy to force across my tongue.
“I don’t do guesses, Kira,” he told me and pulled his hand away.
I reached up to grab his wrist. I forced myself to work through the nerves and said, “Show me.”
Leo watched me, wordless, for a second to give me time to recant. When he realized I had no intention of doing so, he closed the remaining distance between us.
The kiss was slow and careful like he was waiting for me to pull away. When I parted my lips slightly to prove I was here to stay, Leo committed without further hesitation.
He moved his hand to the back of my head to pull me closer against his mouth. I felt his other hand encircle my waist. Fingers imprinted on my skin and tugged on my body, pressing it against his.
I placed my hands on his chest, feeling the muscle I’d spent years admiring. My mind was having a hard time processing everything. The kiss deepened when I offered him the tip of my tongue. I felt his dick stiffen when I arched against him.
When we pulled away for a second, he whispered, “See what I mean about getting lost?”
I shook my head, feigning ignorance. But, yes, I felt like I was in the best kind of dream. The kind you’re upset about waking up from. “No.”
“Liar.” He chuckled and started kissing me again as if to prove what we both knew to be true.
After years of wondering, now his hands were on my body, I felt like we were making up for lost time. My family’s voices still rose underneath the floorboards, muffled voices in discussion and fully unaware of what was happening above them.
It felt wrong to do this now, to do this here. But damn, I didn’t have the willpower to be the first to pull away. Especially when I heard what Leo’s moans sounded like. The noise he made was deep and so achingly masculine I think the only foreplay I’d need was the sound of his pleasure.
He tugged one of my legs up, so it hooked around his waist. The move made him positioned perfectly so I could feel pressure on my clit. I sucked in a sharp breath when he ground against me a little. One of his hands gripped my hip firmly, making sure my body didn’t bump too roughly against the door.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, keeping him close. The building pleasure between my legs made it near impossible for me to stay quiet. I hoped his mouth would silence the moan rising in my throat. Unfortunately, I was mistaken.
“Not too loud, beautiful,” he murmured with a heavy chuckle. “Someone might hear.”
I nodded, biting down on my lip at the feeling of his mouth traveling down my neck. His hand shoved my shorts up so he could grip my ass tightly. I don’t know how he expected me to keep quiet when he did something like that.
