Chapter 13
Gage
The charming grin on Seth Colton’s face fades into discomfort. He not-so-subtly leans back from Leah, putting extra distance between them.
Too little, too late.
He’s lucky I’m not a violent man.
“It’s time to go home, Leah.” I hold out my hand.
To her credit, she doesn’t hesitate. But to add gasoline to the inferno burning in my chest, she says, “It was nice chatting with you, Seth.”
He gives her a slow smile. “You too, Leah.”
I don’t like the covetous way he watches her as she hops off her stool and takes my hand. I’m not beneath performing, so I wrap my arm around her shoulders and kiss her forehead. These are things I would do anyway, but right now they are especially for Colton’s benefit.
Leah stiffens against me, no doubt sensing this.
As I navigate her away from Colton, she nudges me with her elbow. “I thought you had work. Why are we going home so early?”
“Because apparently I can’t leave you here unsupervised.”
She frowns. “I know I’m your little girl, but you don’t have to treat me like a child all the time. I could handle Seth. We were only talking.”
We walk down the hall to the rear door. I open it and we step into the brisk April night.
Dmitri, working at the back door, turns toward us. As usual, he’s dressed to intimidate. His black pants and matching T-shirt showcase his muscular build. He frowns in concern. “Everything okay? I didn’t expect you to leave for a couple more hours?—”
I cut him off. “Everything is fine.”
Obviously not trusting the anger in my voice, he says, “Leah?”
She glances at me. “Seth Colton pissed him off, and now he’s throwing a little tantrum.”
“This is not a tantrum.” I resist the urge to wrap my arm tighter around her shoulders and hustle her into the parking lot. “He disrespected you.”
“He didn’t disrespect me?—”
“Then he disrespected me .”
Dmitri raises his eyebrows, but a grin plays on his lips. “I’ll let the two of you work this out on your own. Give me a call in the morning, Leah. I can bring over some soothing lotion for your ass, because you’re gonna need it.”
Shrugging me off, Leah gives him a hug, then a long, lingering kiss. Little brat. She’s trying to push my buttons. The thing is, I’m not jealous of Dmitri. Not even when his big hands are fisting the fabric of her sexy black dress.
But Seth Colton? I don’t want him breathing the same air as her.
Leah is quiet in the car, staring out the window. I want to take her hand in mine, to reassure her, but my arm won’t move. My throat feels like a cork is lodged within it.
The car’s speakers announce Colton’s name because they aren’t afraid of the elephant in the room. The robotic voice repeats, “Call from…Seth…Colton.”
I jab the navigation screen to ignore the call. The last thing I want is to hear Colton’s voice.
“Call from…Seth…Colton.”
I jab the screen again. Colton must give up, because the rest of the drive passes in silence. Leah doesn’t speak, and neither do I. Not even when we arrive at our building.
She doesn’t wait for me to open her door. She doesn’t reach out to hold my hand on the way to the elevator, but I don’t reach for hers, either.
Stop being a fool , I say to myself.
We get in the elevator and start moving up.
“Leah.” My voice cracks on her name.
Her blue eyes fill with tears, and she throws herself into my arms. “I don’t want you to be mad at me.”
“I’m not mad at you.” She feels so good against me. We fit together, and the sensation of her body pressing against mine is absolute heaven. Warm curves, full trust. She feels delicate and sturdy and perfect all at once.
The elevator reaches the top floor and we part. I keep hold of her hand as we go into our apartment. I can’t believe there was ever a time I didn’t live with Leah. This place wouldn’t feel right without her. When she was gone, it felt the same way my heart had felt: cold, empty.
Once the door is locked behind us, I face her fully. “Seth Colton wasn’t making idle chit-chat with you, was he?”
After a long beat, she lowers her gaze. “No, not entirely. But he was harmless.”
“You’re minimizing it. You minimized it when we were at the club, too.”
She shakes her head. “I didn’t want you to be even madder. But yeah, he came onto me. I shut it down, though.”
“Do you really think I threw a tantrum?” I tilt up her chin so she has to look me in the eyes.
Her gaze slides away. “A little?”
“Be honest, Leah.”
“Yeah, then. I do.”
My heart thuds heavily in my chest. “Were you afraid to tell me the truth?”
A nod. “I’m sorry. I forget, sometimes.”
“Forget what?”
She closes her eyes. “That you aren’t like my stepdad, or Mick. I couldn’t tell them what I felt or thought—it always came back to bite me.”
“There will be conflicts in our relationship.” I keep my voice low and steady.
More than ever, she needs to know I’m calm and in control of my emotions.
“We won’t always agree on things. We need to be able to communicate even when we’re upset.
I promise, I’ll still respect you even when I disagree with you. ”
“Okay.” She takes a deep breath and opens her eyes.
The little spots of amber mesmerize me, like sunlight hit the blue sky of her irises and decided to remain there.
“Let’s start over. Seth was flirting with me.
I did not entertain his advances. And when you came and hugged me, it felt like you were only doing it for his benefit, not mine. ”
“Thank you for being honest.” I lean forward and give her a quick kiss.
It isn’t enough, though, so I pick her up and set her on the back of the couch.
Now her face is level with mine. “For my part, I was insanely jealous. I know Colton wants you, and to see him pursuing you in my own club felt like even more of a slap in the face. I overreacted, I admit it, and I did put on a show of hugging you. I admit that, too, and I’m sorry. ”
She stares at me in wonder. “You were insanely jealous?”
“Yes.” I kiss her again, because those plump pink lips are irresistible. “Insanely, maddeningly, over-the-top jealous.”
Leah giggles and wraps her legs around me. “It’s not the best look, but…a sick part of me is kind of happy? Maybe because you like me enough to be jealous?”
“I can pretend to be more jealous, if you want.” I nuzzle her nose with mine.
“Nah, this was enough. Too bad you dragged me out of there before I could collect new ideas for us, though.”
“You didn’t see anything before Colton came up to creep on you?”
She bats her eyelashes, looking innocent and sassy all at once. “No, it was too early. If you hadn’t dragged me away like a caveman, maybe things would’ve gotten interesting.”
“How interesting?”
“Mmm.” She rolls her hips suggestively. The move rubs her cunt against my cock. “Probably not as interesting as the things we can do here.”
I breathe in deeply. I’m completely under her spell. Everything about this woman—is everything I want. Why do I keep waiting, putting off what I really need? My heart is already hers. Why not the rest of me?
“Gage? You okay?”
I exhale away the tension and nerves. Peace. Leah fills me with peace. “Yes. Let’s go to my bedroom. Are the condoms still in the nightstand?”
“Wait.” She pulls back, her eyes searching my face. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I want to make love to you, baby girl. This time, with my cock.”
Her soft hands touch my face. Just as soft is her voice as she says, “Yeah. The condoms are still there.”
I pick her up. She keeps her legs wrapped around my waist. Every few steps, I stop to kiss her, using her lips to allay my panic. This is fine, this is good. It’s progress. When we reach my room, I’m breathing heavily.
Leah squeezes my shoulder to get my attention. “Gage, we don’t have to?—”
“I want to.” I kiss her again. No more thinking. Only feeling what I can feel with my heart, my skin. “Do you still want to?”
“Yes. Yes .”
I stride into my bedroom. When I kick the door closed behind us, it plunges the room into complete darkness.
“How can you see in here?” She laughs. “Should we turn on the light…?”
“No. Lights stay off.”
She must be confused, but she nods. She doesn’t ask questions.
Perhaps she ought to. I want her to be comfortable enough to ask, but I also don’t want to explain my past or dredge up old history.
I simply want to move forward, with Leah.
This woman who brightens my world with a smile and sense of adventure.
Everything is new through her eyes. Everything is possible.
* * *
Leah
Gage doesn’t stop touching me. He lowers me to the bed and leans in. My dress has hiked up and my inner thighs rub against his slacks and belt. The fabric burns in the best way. I slide my hands up over his shoulders to cup his face. I want to feel him—strong jaw, whiskered cheeks—when I kiss him.
He groans into my mouth, a low sound of pleasure. My thundering heartbeat is so loud in my ears, I can barely hear myself think.
He pulls back.
I stare into blackness. “Everything okay?”
“Just putting my glasses down,” he explains.
I wish it weren’t so dark, but if this is the way he needs to do this, I’ll take it.
He kisses down my throat to the low neckline of my dress. I arch up, toward his mouth. His kisses are licks of fire, lighting me up.
“Can I touch you?” My voice is hushed because I’m afraid to break the spell.
“You can touch me anywhere you want, little girl. I waited too long to let you.”
“Now’s the perfect time.” I don’t want us to be filled with regret.
I run my hands over his shoulders and to his chest, where I unbutton his shirt.
He holds himself motionless above me. As I work the buttons free, I trace his skin, firm and smooth.
It’s a feast of texture. Warm skin, some chest hair, the ridges of his muscles that I follow down past his navel to the waistband of his pants.
He lets me struggle with the buckle, laughing when I swear at it because I can’t unfasten it at first.
“Need help?” He chuckles.
“No, I know how belts work.” I grumble at it, then finally get the buckle free. Next, the button and zipper on his pants. Then I’m reaching into the fabric and touching him through his underwear.
He’s thick and hard in my hand. I close my fist around his length, squeezing gently. Testing his reaction.
“Leah.” A rumble. A warning. An entreaty.
“I want you.” I give him an extra squeeze. “So much. Do you want me?”
He leans up and I’m forced to let him go. I feel the loss like a knife blade until his hands are on my legs, traveling up my thighs to grip the sides of my underwear. He yanks them down and off.
He skims his hands over my bare legs. “Take off your dress. I want all your skin against mine.”
I’m quick to comply, pulling the fabric up and over my head. The bed moves as Gage maneuvers out of his clothing. At least, that’s what I think he’s doing. I wish I could see.
His warm fingertips caress my skin, exploring me thoroughly. “I’ve wanted you since I first saw you, Leah. And I’ve wanted you even more as I’ve gotten to know you. I want you so much, it hurts.”
Feeling brave, I reach for him again. He’s on his knees next to me. I follow the strong lines of his thighs to find the hard cock waiting for me.
I grip the base. “Can I put you in my mouth?”
A low sound of assent. “But not for long. I want to finish in your cunt, sweetheart.”
Slowly, I maneuver around so I can take him in my mouth.
When I lick the tip, he groans and wraps his hands in my hair.
I part my lips to take more of him. He tastes clean and manly.
I love the feel of him, thick and heavy and hot against my tongue.
Opening my mouth, I pull in as much of his length as I can.
His heavy breathing is all I hear as I lick and suck.
My thighs clench together as I try to ease the aching need between them.
“Leah. Stop.”
I pull off of him immediately. I wish I could meet his eyes, see his expression. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s very okay.” He cups my cheeks and kisses me. If he has a problem tasting himself in my mouth, he doesn’t show it. One of his hands falls to my thigh and inches up. “How wet are you, baby girl?”
“I’m not sure.” It’s a lie. I’m soaked and slippery. “Are you going to check for me?”
“Spread your legs apart.”
I widen my stance. He trails his hands over my skin, up my thighs and to my pussy.
I moan at the way he works his fingers over my swollen clit.
The bed shifts beneath us and suddenly his mouth is at my breast, searching for my nipple.
He closes his lips around it and sucks hard.
At the same time, he thrusts two fingers inside me.
I cry out, grabbing at his arms. “Please, please, please .”
“Please, what?” His deep voice fills my ears, surrounding me like the darkness.
“Please fuck me, Gage. I need you.”
He lets me go. I hear the nightstand drawer opening, followed by the tearing of foil. Then he tugs me forward. I follow his guidance until I’m sitting in his lap, our chests pressing together.
“Put me inside you, Leah. Take what you need.”
I can’t believe we’re finally doing this. I reach underneath me to grip his base and line him up. “You’re sure?”
He strokes my back, massages my ass. “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”
My heart soars and my body trembles with anticipation. I lift up and give him a tender kiss, then lower down and impale myself on his cock.