Chapter 21
21
brIAR
“ I can’t believe you agreed to do this,” Zara says as she scowls at Leo from across the room.
I lean against the bar, watching him whisper amongst his friends. True to his word, Leo has been great tonight. He’s only had two drinks, which is hardly enough to do anything at all to him.
“I was already helping him with everything else. Honestly, it’s mainly for Elara.”
“I just hope you know what you’re doing, because that boy needs some work.”
I shrug, taking a sip of my drink, the amaretto smooth on my tongue. “He’s been good. Surprisingly. And I was with him the night of the last issue. It wasn’t as bad as anyone made it out to be.”
“When he was with the strippers?”
I nod.
Not that there’s anything wrong with being with strippers, but the idea of leaving a hotel with a few isn’t exactly something most people are going to be super pleased about. “It was Cooper’s birthday, and Leo was walking them to their cars. ”
“And they trusted him with that?” She looks skeptical, her beautifully sculpted brows furrowed.
“I mean, if you didn’t know a lot about the guy, don’t you think he looks kinda, I don’t know, dumb?”
She considers this, tilting her head as she stares at him. “I think he has some himbo energy if that’s what you’re saying.”
I nod. “Owen told me last year he dressed as Gollum for Halloween.”
Her deep brown eyes whip to mine. “You’re fucking with me.”
Shaking my head, I sigh. “I fear I’m telling the truth.”
It is. Leo Warner is sexy, that’s for sure. But if it wasn’t for his size, I wouldn’t exactly call him intimidating.
But apparently my brother would, so who am I to talk. I’m sure there’s sides of Leo I’ve never seen.
But I want to.
I wince, finding myself thinking that more and more lately.
“He has some cute friends though,” Zara mumbles as she takes a sip of wine.
I shrug.
Suddenly, the men look over at us before immediately turning away, as if shocked to find us watching them.
“That was weird.”
Zara tilts her head. “They’re talking about you, you know.”
“Why would they be talking about me?”
She looks me up and down. “Are you really asking me that? You look hot as fuck tonight. You’re—” she looks around, lowering her voice, “fake dating Leo. You’re Owen’s sister. Why wouldn’t they be talking about it? Gossiping like little girls, I swear. Men love to gossip. They’ll never admit it but they do.”
My brows furrow as I bite my lip nervously. “I’m not sure how much I like the idea of that. ”
“I’m willing to bet all the money in the bank that it’s positive.”
But I’m not so sure of that for some reason.
“You had fun tonight?” Leo asks me on our way home. I have a slight buzz, having had one shot and two more drinks after realizing that the boys were talking about me. Leo, on the other hand, limited himself to two drinks. That being said, I’m not too sure whether it was him intentionally being on good behavior or if he was too busy snickering with his boyfriends.
I sigh, my head feeling heavy on my shoulders as I turn to him. “I had a great time. I hope you did too.”
He looks at me, a small smile on his face. “I just want to put it out there that I’m the one taking care of you tonight after drinking, Sunny.”
I shake my head, my head spinning as I do so. “Nope.”
“Whatever you say.”
When we get back to his place, we make our way up to his apartment, and as Leo guides me along the hall, he places his hand in the middle of my back, and I despise the way I wish he’d lower it.
“You okay?” he murmurs as we get to the door.
“Never better,” I reply, leaning against the door as I watch him unlock it.
“Let’s get you into bed.”
I simply nod, thank god, since I’m really thinking will you be coming with me?
The last thing I need to do is say that out loud.
Leo peels off his coat, and I lean against the wall, attempting to take off my shoes. Losing my balance and stumbling, I catch myself last minute. But Leo is there in a second, holding me up.
“Here,” he says, his voice a whisper as he bends down. This mass of a man squats in front of me, his giant, strong hand gripping my calf as he unzips my boot, carefully slipping it off my foot before doing the next one.
As searing as his touch is, it’s only a friendly one. He doesn’t try anything, and even when he looks up at me, his eyes filled with something I can’t quite place, he blinks it away, standing up.
Swiping his thumb over his lips, he holds my gaze for a moment longer before pursing his lips, looking away.
“I can help you to your room if you need it,” he says, not meeting my eyes.
Closing my eyes, I stretch my neck, sighing. “I can get there myself, but thank you.”
Without waiting for him to respond, I set off through the kitchen, family room, and down the hall.
And when I walk into my bedroom, my heart melts.
Elara lays under my blankets, her arms folded under her head, her stuffed rabbit right next to her.
On top of the blanket is Heidi, who lays on her back, her red hair around her head like a halo, one hand in the bucket of popcorn between the two. Champ whimpers at the end of the bed, her eyes huge as she watches me enter.
The TV flashes with the Netflix homepage, Elara’s favorite kids movie in their recently watched.
I hate to wake her, but I have to. Rounding the bed, I place my hand gently on her shoulder, moving it just slightly. Heidi’s eyes open wide as she looks around.
“I’m so sorry I fell asleep, I was trying hard to stay up!” she whispers when she sees Elara asleep.
I shake my head. “No worries at all. But I don’t want you driving this late unless you have to. If you want, there’s a guest room right next to Elara’s room across the hall. ”
She nods, yawning before looking at her watch. “If that’s okay with you,” she looks toward the hallway.
“Totally fine. I’ll let Leo know you’re here.”
“Thank you Briar.”
She gets up, gathering her things and heading to the guest room. Turning the TV off, I kiss Elara on the forehead before heading into the bathroom.
For a moment I consider taking a shower, but the alcohol has settled within me, and I’m getting a burst of energy. Instead, I find myself at the bathtub, filling it.
I send a quick text to Leo letting him know that Heidi will be leaving in the morning, and to not disturb her before I throw my phone on the towel on the floor, peel off my clothes, and climb into the tub.
I wasn’t expecting to have so much fun tonight, and even though dinner started out awkward, and it was weird having Leo spend so much on my clothes, I found myself more relaxed than I’ve been in a long time.
At some points, it almost felt like he was treating this like it’s real. But I know it’s not, and I know not to allow myself to even consider that, so I wipe the thought from my mind.
And when we were asking each other questions at dinner? I’ve never felt so hot and bothered in my life. The thought of a man coming up behind me in bed, his large hands on my back as they work their way up, massaging me as his dick slides into?—
My head falls back onto the edge of the tub as my left hand cups my breast, my fingers gently plucking at my nipple while my right hand finds its way to my clit, lightly circling it.
His mouth comes down, kissing the sensitive sides of my neck as his hips retreat for a moment. His hands come under me to cup my chest before gently sliding back into me, all the way, filling me .
Lightly moaning, I picture turning my head as far as I can to try to look at him, and… fuck.
I want to picture some hot actor. Some singer maybe.
Not an athlete, and especially not Leo Warner.
But the way he talked about doing this?
The focus on him slips me out of it, and I open my eyes with a groan, annoyed.
I can’t remember the last time I was able to come. I’ve done it a few times myself, but never with a partner. At least, I don’t think so.
I’ve pretended plenty of times, that’s for sure. And eventually I was able to convince myself that I wasn’t pretending, and that they counted.
They didn’t
With one last sigh, I slip out of the tub, drying off and putting pajamas on before climbing in bed next to Elara and Champ, and falling asleep.