Chapter 11 Lust #3
“You’ve never…” He trailed off, biting his lip in a way that made it clear what he was asking.
“No. We had a strained relationship, mostly because I was acting like an ass toward him. Then I got jealous when he met Ernest, but only because I’d been looking for a mate for years and all Ernest had to do was walk in on my New Year’s gala and snatch up my assistant of all people.
In the end, the fact that Lawrence is a dragon mate and I don’t have to hide anything brought us closer together.
He’s become sort of a friend over the years, I guess. ”
“He’s very determined.”
“He is. Especially since he got together with Ernest. But I don’t mind. He gets on my nerves, but way less than most people.”
“You’re not a people person, are you?”
“Oh, darling, you have no idea.” In a sudden surge of playfulness, I waggled my eyebrows.
“I’m terrible. The worst boss in the whole city of Ardaine.
People cower behind their desks and jump into closets when I walk through the office.
” Leo snorted, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
It was so satisfying to make him smile. “Lawrence has saved my reputation at work. I used to be even worse.”
“How much worse?”
“Let me see if I remember some of the HR evaluations Lawrence has insisted on me reading. Irritable, unpredictable, aggressive, authoritarian, impetuous, demanding. A tyrant.”
Leo stared, mouth open. “People said that about you?”
“Those who quit because of me, yes.”
“You don’t seem too worried about it.”
“I’m trying to act less…cantankerous.” How come it was so easy to think and talk about it all?
Here I was, telling my omega about what a horrible employer I was, and my heart was light like a feather.
“I might have been bitter.” I brushed my hand around his throat, then placed it on his neck.
He leaned into the possessive grip, his expression soft. “Maybe I’ll get better now.”
“Why?”
“I think I might learn what it means to be happy, and then I won’t be so snappy all the time.”
Leo blushed. He looked into his nearly empty wine glass. I was already done with mine.
“Do you want some more wine?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I topped his glass off and put the bottle aside.
“Do you have family back in Dalton City?”
He jerked, and I regretted my question. Of course I was curious about him—he was my mate. But couldn’t I wait until he told me himself what he wanted me to know?
“There isn’t anyone.”
Way to kill the mood, Davidson.
Leo looked at the blank surface of the pool. I put my hand back on his neck, massaging it, and he sighed.
“I grew up with my grandparents. My grandpa died when I was little, and my alpha grandfather raised me. He was a busy man, working at a high position for a law firm in Dalton City, so I had a long string of sitters. Then he passed away when I was nineteen and left me everything.” He tilted the wine glass, watching the play of colors.
“Not because he thought I’d manage the estate well, but because there was no one else.
The first thing I did was quit college. He’d be so mad at me for that.
I’ve been stupid ever since, wasting money on parties and clothes.
Traveling. I met my first agent on a cruise.
” He grimaced and shrugged. “I would have run out of money eventually, and I knew that, so I took a job as a model.”
“You’ve lived alone all this time?”
“No. There were boyfriends. Partners. Um. My first serious relationship was with a finance shark, Richard Porter. We lived together for a few years, but then it fell apart. I dated for a while, then met Fabio. He insisted I move in with him after barely a month, and I did.”
“How long were you together?”
“Only six months. It took that long for me to realize he was dangerous for me, so I left.”
Instantly, anger bubbled in my veins. “Dangerous how?”
“He didn’t beat me or anything. Not outside of well-arranged role plays.”
“Then what happened to make you leave?”
Leo took two deep swigs of wine and rested his head back, leaning into my palm on his neck and staring at the ceiling.
“We played a lot, and he shared me with others. I liked it. I’ve always had a high sex drive and thought I needed the, um, variety, especially around heats.
Fabio had lots of hang-ups, stuff he wouldn’t do in sex, but he let me do it with others.
He liked to watch and then reclaim me, as he called it.
He would look on while others got me off, then punish me for cheating on him, but it was all a game.
He would tie me up, whip me, humiliate me…
I used to do similar stuff with Richard as well, but Richard never truly enjoyed it.
Fabio was full-on and quite hardcore. And I thought I was into it.
I thought it was what I’d always wanted. What I needed.”
My throat was dry.
“But most of the time, I felt like shit afterward. He’d always been lousy at aftercare, but later he stopped caring at all. When I used a safe word, he’d push me a little further, insisting I could take more. Until he didn’t listen at all. After one incident, I finally got scared enough to leave.”
Fury like never before ripped through me, making me see red. My mate. Mine. And someone else used him. I realized I was about to clasp his neck, so I pulled my hand away.
Leo glanced at me and paled. “I’m sorry. I…” He gulped. “I don’t need those things, I promise. I can be faithful. I know I can.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, gritting my teeth. Of course now he thought I was mad at him. Get a grip!
“I shouldn’t have told you, but I didn’t want to lie to you. I’m sorry, please forgive me. Sometimes I act like a stupid whore, I know. But I can do better. I’ll be faithful. I will. Please, Davidson, I can—”
“Stop!”
He sucked in a breath.
My spine prickled as if my wings were about to burst out of my body. Calm down.
When I looked at Leo, he was shaking, his eyes brimming with tears. Shit.
“Leo, stop apologizing, please,” I forced out, my voice hoarse. I cleared my throat. “I’m not mad at you.”
I took the wine glass from his trembling hands and hugged him. I needed to hold him.
“I’m not mad at you,” I repeated. “Not at all. I’m only horrified you’ve been through something like that.”
“I asked for it,” he whispered. “I’ve done so many stupid things, Davidson.”
“I’m not angry with you. And nobody is ever asking for it, darling. I’m furious because of what happened to you, but I’m proud of you.”
“Proud…” He scoffed, but it sounded a little like a sob.
“Yes. You left. You made a good decision in a difficult situation. That takes strength.”
He pressed his face into the crook of my neck, breathing deeply. “I was dumb to let it come that far.”
“Don’t ever insult my omega,” I said, keeping my voice soft. “My omega is clever, strong, and beautiful.”
Another half scoff, half sob.
“I mean it, Leo. It wasn’t your fault.”
“You can’t know that.”
“I can and I do. Stop arguing.”
Leo relaxed against me. In the end, it took another direct order to calm him down.
“Good boy.” Instinct told me he needed to hear it, and the way he burrowed deeper into my embrace confirmed it.
“And I will always stop when you ask me to stop,” I told him. “I swear.”
We sat in silence for a long while, and I listened to his heartbeat. Then he wriggled a little, humming.
“I like the plug,” he whispered. “The thought of your cum in me is super-hot, sure, but it’s like… The plug helps me to stay focused on you.”
I frowned. “Focused on me?”
“It’s easier.”
“What’s easier, love?”
“To keep the right mindset. I’m learning to be a good mate, and I like it.”
Oh hell. This relationship was a fucking minefield, and with how I moved forward, it was a miracle it hadn’t blown up in my face yet.
“Leo, no.”
He jerked into a sitting position. “I’m sorry?”
“I gave it to you for pleasure,” I said, struggling to keep the frustration out of my tone. “I thought you’d enjoy it.”
He stared at me with surprise, his mouth parted. Then he slowly shrugged, looking down.
“I do,” he whispered.
“I regret what I said that night so much, Leo. I’m so sorry I made you think you have to behave in a certain way. You don’t. I want you to feel safe enough to be yourself around me.”
“Okay.” Again, the weak, hesitant agreement. He still didn’t get it. Could I be any clearer?
There was no point in arguing with him. I’d just have to work on gaining his trust with time. Making him feel good physically was temporary, but it was a start.
“Sometimes, it’s going to be me serving you.” I winked, and Leo’s eyebrows flew up.
I pushed him off my lap so he landed on the sofa next to me, then gripped the hem of his sweats and pulled.
Immediately, he lifted his hips to let me take his pants and underwear off.
I spread his legs, holding them by his ankles, and propped his feet on the sofa.
The base of the plug was wet with slick.
I handed Leo his glass. “Enjoy your wine, darling.” That earned me a sweet grin.
Then I hid my face between his legs.
I licked his cock and suckled on his balls, moving the plug around.
I went slow, reading his body, and sucked his cock into my mouth when I felt him getting close.
After he came, I pulled the plug out and caught all the liquid in his cotton briefs.
I licked his stretched hole tenderly, not pushing in, until it slowly closed.
When I was done, I looked up at Leo. His wine glass was almost empty, and he wore the most adorably puzzled expression on his breathtaking face.
“I might be your Master, love, but you’re my everything.”
He bit his lip, his cheeks a warm shade of pink.