And God help me, I wanted to break it.
“I’m tired of you looking at me like you want to devour me,” I whispered shakily. “Then disappearing.”
His breathing changed slightly. Barely. But I noticed.
“You begged me not to touch you before,” he said roughly. “Now you’re begging for the opposite.”
Heat flooded my face. But instead of backing away, I reached for the buttons of his shirt. Leo caught my wrist. Hard. A sharp gasp escaped me. The grip wasn’t painful, but the warning in it was clear. My pulse fluttered violently.
“Dangerous game,bellissima,” he murmured.
I looked up at him through trembling lashes. “Maybe I’m tired of being scared of you.”
Something flickered across his face then vanished. Slowly, deliberately, I pulled my wrist free. Then I reached for the hem of the shirt I wore instead. The city hummed faintly beyond the glass while rain poured endlessly outside, but inside the bedroom everything went deathly still. My hands shook slightly as I unbuttoned the shirt.
One button. Then another. Leo watched every movement without blinking.
My breathing turned uneven beneath the weight of his stare. Fear prickled across my skin, but beneath it burned something hotter. Wilder.
Because this was Leo. The Serpent. The monster everyone feared. And right now he looked one second away from losing control completely.
The shirt slipped open slowly. Cool air brushed against my bare skin. Leo inhaled sharply. That tiny sound almost destroyed me.
My nipples hardened beneath his stare, humiliation and arousal crashing together so violently my knees nearlyweakened. I forced myself not to cover up. Forced myself to keep going.
The black cotton slid down my arms and pooled soundlessly at my feet. Bare. Completely bare beneath the penthouse lights.
My entire body erupted in goosebumps. Leo’s expression changed to pure hunger. His gaze moved over me slowly enough to feel physical. Breasts. Waist. Bare thighs pressed tightly together despite myself.
A low sound rumbled deep in his chest. My pulse nearly stopped. Fear tightened around my lungs. But my body… God. My body leaned toward him anyway.
“Leo,” I whispered. “Please, stop resisting me. Show me I’m not making a mistake by saying I do…”
He moved so fast I gasped. One second there was distance between us. The next his hand locked around my throat. Not squeezing. Holding me so tightly I was immobile.
My back hit the wall beside the bed hard enough to make me suck in a breath while Leo crowded against me completely, massive body boxing me in. Every inch of me lit on fire. His forehead dropped against mine roughly.
“Do you have any idea,” he said hoarsely, “how hard I’ve been trying not to touch you?”
A shiver tore through me. I could feel him breathing harder now. Feel the tension rolling violently through his body. His free hand slid to my waist like he physically couldn’t stop himself anymore. My thighs trembled.
“Then stop trying,” I whispered recklessly.
Leo’s control snapped visibly for one terrifying second. His mouth crashed against mine hard enough to bruise. I gasped into the kiss, fingers flying into his damp dark hair while his hand tightened possessively around my waist. Heat exploded through my body so violently it hurt. His mouth tasted like whiskey and anger and rainwater.
God, he kissed me like a starving man. Like he wanted to consume me. The sound that escaped me was humiliatingly needy. Leo groaned against my mouth. Then he stopped.
The loss hit so fast it felt like being thrown into freezing water. Leo ripped himself away from me abruptly, chest rising hard beneath his dress shirt. His eyes looked wild for half a second. Then cold again. The transformation terrified me. I stared at him breathlessly, lips swollen from the kiss, body aching everywhere.
“Leo…” I whispered. “Please. Show me. Tonight.”
He laughed once, but it was humorless.
“There she is,” he murmured darkly. “The greedy little thing underneath all that innocence.”
Shame flooded me.
“You practically throw yourself at me the second I stay away long enough.” His eyes dragged over my naked body deliberately now, crueler this time. “Christ. You really are desperate for it, aren’t you?”
