Chapter 12
TWELVE
Heath
I don’t know why I’m so nervous about Leo’s mom coming to my office for her interview. I can’t believe she even agreed to this, but now that she has, I want to make a good impression.
I straighten my tie and tap my fingers against the desk.
I haven’t seen Leo in a few days, mostly due to our schedules not lining up, but we do chat on the phone each day whenever we have the chance. He’s also been busy working on getting more views on his videos for that exclusive site. He really wants to make that work in his favor. It’s a once in a life time opportunity and he wants to capitalize on it. Apparently, the owner likes our collabs so I plan on making sure he has plenty of content for that.
And the best part of today…I get to see him tonight. I’m having him over for dinner and fuck, I can’t wait to kiss him again.
I can’t believe how much I love kissing him. How much I miss his mouth on mine. Who would have thought.
Not me .
Never in a million years did I imagine myself obsessed with a person like Leo.
“Charlotte is here,” my receptionist says through the speaker on my phone.
I reply that I’ll be right out, my heart thumping nervously in my chest.
But I school my face and set my shoulders, walking out to meet her with purpose. I told Leo I wouldn’t interfere in the interview and I won’t. Donna from HR will be conducting it along side Heather, who is the executive looking for a replacement.
I won’t be anywhere near the room, but I may have said that this woman is important to me. May have caught Heather’s eye when I said it.
She gave me a knowing nod. “I’ll take that under consideration, but it’s my choice, and if she’s not a good fit then I can’t hire her.”
I know that and yet I don’t want to dangle this in front of Charlotte only to take it away.
“Hello, Ms. James. I’m glad you could make it for the interview.” She looks professional in a dark gray pantsuit, her hair pulled up in a French twist. She’s even wearing lipstick.
She grins at me and then holds up her cast. “Broken and all. I never miss a shift.” She lowers her voice and leans forward slightly. “And it’s Charlotte, don’t forget.”
I nod and then clear my throat. “Did Leo tell you I won’t be in the interview?”
She bobs her head. “He did and I’m glad for it.” Her voice lowers once more. “I don’t like charity. And I have a feeling this is exactly that.”
“I haven’t interfered in this at all,” I lie. I mostly haven’t. Heather always makes her own decisions anyway. Like she said, she won’t hire Charlotte if she doesn’t feel it will be a good fit.
“I’m glad. If I get this job, it needs to be because I’ve earned it.”
I nod, running a hand down my tie. Just as I do, Donna appears .
“Ms. James?” When Charlotte nods, Donna waves towards the conference room.
“Good luck,” I say and Charlotte nods at me, following Donna to the interview room. I try not to linger, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I really want her to get this job so that Leo can have some peace. I want him to feel like his mother is taken care of.
Fuck, I’m crossing all sorts of lines with this. What if Leo and I don’t work out? What if things end between us? I don’t even know what this is between us. All I know is that I like spending time with him. I like being with him. In all the ways.
I force myself to go back to work and stop thinking about this interview.
I don’t do a great job, fidgeting around my office and then puttering around until Heather puts me out of my misery by appearing at my door and leaning against it.
“How was it?” I ask, trying not to sound as desperate as I am.
“She was very nice.”
Oh, that’s never good, I think, but then she adds, “And tough. She’s a hard worker, I can tell. And underneath those smiles she takes no shit, which I need. I’m going to hire her for a probationary period, see how she does.”
“Great,” I say, the sigh of relief evident in my voice.
Heather arches an eyebrow at me. “And who is this person to you? This isn’t going to come back and bite me in the ass is it?”
“No. I won’t interfere.”
“Good. Stay out of it and we will be fine.”
I nod and she turns and leaves, letting me sink down in my office chair in relief. My hand moves up to my mouth, rubbing against my lips.
Leo is going to be so fucking happy about this.
And that makes my heart so pleased.
Leo is not happy. When he shows up at my door, he’s frowning, his eyes narrowed.
“Did you have a hand in her getting hired? Did she only get the job because of you?”
I pause in my doorway and then reach out, pulling him inside.
My hands move to his waist, his hips connecting with mine. His eyes meet mine and I see fire in those depths.
“Fuck, you’re pretty.”
“Stop changing the subject. Did you interfere?” I wasn’t really trying to change the subject, it just sort of came out. Because he is indeed pretty.
“I didn’t,” I say. “I promise. Heather makes up her own mind and she wanted to give your mom a shot.”
Leo looks unsure and then he seems to sag in my arms. “Thank god. It’s really hard to be mad at you when you look so hot and sincere.”
“I am very sincere.”
“And hot. I like the apron and the sweatpants.”
“I’m making you dinner. I don’t want to ruin my shirt.”
His hands slide up my back and his touch alone makes my cock perk up in anticipation.
“I missed you,” I whisper and Leo’s cheeks pinken.
“Ditto. Can we kiss for a bit or will dinner burn?”
“I think we can make time for it,” I say, my head tilting down to meet his lips. The kiss instantly turns heated, our mouths meeting, our tongues sliding against each other.
We’re both hard, our cocks grinding together as our fingers grapple to find purchase. My hands are everywhere, in his hair, on his shoulders, sliding across his back and then settling on his ass, pulling him into me. It’s been so long. So damn long, and I missed him.
I fucking missed him. I lift a leg up and he wraps it around my waist and the tantalizing way he arches into me pulls a moan from my throat .
“Oh fuck,” he murmurs, leaning back and exposing his neck to me.
I can’t help but lean down and lick up his Adam’s apple.
“I’m so horny,” he adds and then groans when I pull his shirt off and pull him up slightly, sucking on his nipple. “It’s been like a year since I saw you. And I haven’t gotten off. Nothing. Just…oh fuck.”
His fingers thread in my hair, holding me there, my teeth plucking at his puckered nub until he’s gasping.
“Wait. Wait ,” he gasps. “I’m going to come and…oh fuck.”
He shudders, his movements growing frantic and I don’t let up, just continue to grind our bodies together until he shatters, my name exiting his lips as he comes. I watch it all, the way he shuts his eyes, the tremble in his body as he almost falls from the force of it.
“Fuck, I was saving that up,” he groans, his eyelids fluttering open. “Two days and it’s gone in a minute because of you.”
“I thought it was a year.”
“Felt like it. Felt like forever.”
I puff up at his words and squeeze his ass gently. “It doesn’t matter. It was hot.”
“It was juvenile. I haven’t had such a hair trigger since I was thirteen.”
“Seems I’m potent then.”
He rolls his eyes and then stares down at his pants, a wet spot starting to form on the front of them.
“I need to change.”
“Hm,” I murmur, grabbing onto his hand and leading him to my room. “I think I’ll like you in my clothes.”
“Pervert. I bet this was your plan all along.”
It wasn’t, but now that I think on it, I think it’s a pretty solid one. When he emerges from the bathroom wearing a pair of my athletic shorts and one of my shirts, I find my semi-hard dick perking up even more. And my chest swells in contentment.
I like this look on him.
He wears me well .
“I meant to say, it smells delicious,” he adds as he slides onto the stool at the kitchen island.
“It’s nothing fancy,” I lie. It’s fucking fancy. I’ve been working on this all afternoon. Even left work early to impress him.
“What is it?” he asks.
“Venison steak with a bordelaise sauce, garlic frites and asparagus.”
“I don’t know what any of that is.”
“And creme brulee for dessert,” I add and Leo pretends to swoon.
“You could have just fed me your dick and I would have been happy,” he says and I bark out a laugh. This man is fucking ridiculous.
“No dick yet. Would you like some wine first?”
“I bet it is expensive too, huh?”
“That’s all relative.”
“Well, I guess you’re going to insist, so fine.”
“White or red.”
“Um, you tell me. I don’t know.”
“How about a Cabernet Sauvignon. That should pair well.”
I grab a bottle and pour him a glass. He stares at it and then takes a sip.
“Oh, this is nice. Much better than the box stuff I buy.”
I grin at that. “I like spoiling you, I think.”
He blushes at that, wiggling in his seat.
“I’m fine with that as long as I get to spoil you too. Probably just in the bedroom since I can’t afford things like this.”
“I don’t want you to afford anything. You don’t need to earn my affection. I like you just the way you are.”
His cheeks darken and he peers at me over his wine glass. “You like me?”
I arch an eyebrow at him and he grins saucily.
“Seems I do, Leo. It seems I quite like you.”
His grin widens and he sighs. “This is so romantic. I can’t believe you did all of this for me. ”
“You deserve it. Plus, I haven’t seen you in a few days and I wanted to impress you.”
“You impress me just by existing, but this is definitely in the plus column.”
I turn my back on him, biting back the stupid smile on my face. Leo fucking gets me and it makes me ridiculously gleeful.
When I turn back around, the glass of wine is empty and Leo is smacking his lips.
“Jesus, did you breathe when you drank that?”
“It went down so smoothly. I gulped it down.”
He looks sheepish, so much so in fact that I walk over to him, setting his plate down in front of him and pressing a deep kiss to his lips, tasting the wine lingering there.
“I’m glad. I’ll pour you another.”
After I grab my own plate, I pour him a second glass and myself one as well before sitting next to him at the island. I could have had a candlelit table set up, but this almost seems more intimate, more personal.
Domestic even.
“Oh god, this is divine,” Leo groans and the sounds make me hornier than I should be. “Fuck, marry me. Tonight. Let’s go to Vegas.”
I peer over at him, my heart thumping in my chest at the declaration. I know it was made in jest, but still, something about the thought of it makes me warm inside. And afraid.
“Oh fuck, this is so good,” he continues to mutter, shoveling food into his mouth and gulping down the wine in the process. He’s eating like a barbarian, but the way he’s moaning, just completely enjoying it, makes me happier than I should be. Lana would always pick at her food.
I love the gusto with which Leo seems to do things.
He is so full of life. He’s exciting in ways I didn’t know I needed. Everything with him is fun and not boring at all .
“Oh shit, I ate that so fast,” he groans, leaning back and letting out a small burp. “I may want seconds.”
I stare down at my full plate and then back at him.
“Did you breathe?”
“No. I only exhaled. Now I feel like I might pass out. Since when did you become such a good cook?”
“I took some classes in France.”
“Shut up. You are shitting me, right?”
“No, I’m serious.”
He groans and then points to my plate. “Please eat that. The entire thing so I don’t feel like such a pig.”
“You’re a very cute pig,” I say and he kicks lightly at my leg.
“Shut up. I am not.”
We grin at each other and he sighs, relaxing while I eat my food slowly. As I do, he chatters on about his day before getting up and scooping seconds onto his plate.
He finishes that before I can even finish mine and he also finishes the rest of the wine.
“Are you drunk?” I ask when he leans forward on the island and rests his head on the cool granite.
“I just need a nap. I’m in a coma. A wine and food coma. DNR me, unless you want to make out, then you can plant that pucker on my lips.”
I huff a laugh and then stand up, grabbing the dishes.
“No, I can do that. Just need a minute. I’m not dead yet.”
“Let me just throw them in the dishwasher and then we can go relax. We can have dessert later.”
He nods and I get to work. When I’m done, the plates put away and my apron sitting on the counter, I lead Leo out onto the balcony overlooking the city and settle down on a lounger, spreading my thighs and pointing to the space between them.
“A post dinner snuggle, oh god,” he moans and then climbs between my legs, resting his back against my chest. “You’re really spoiling me, Heath. ”
“Good, like I said, you deserve it.”
I press a light kiss to the side of his neck and he shivers. My fingers slide under his shirt and touch the warm skin of his stomach as we both just sit in silence, watching the lights flicker before us.
In this moment, I’ve never felt more content.
I don’t want this feeling to ever go away.