Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
JACQUELINE
“You have a freckle right here.” The pad of Leo’s fingertip gently tapped against the back of my shoulder, but I couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge the random observation. I moaned into the pillow, too focused on how his other hand gripped my hip just as he needed. I relished the feel of his wet tongue gliding over where his finger just was, followed by his warm lips pressing against my skin.
* * *
I was nervous, biting my lip in my office as I held my phone in my hands. It felt like another pinnacle moment. Something that started a new timeline. And yet, I didn’t think I was going to back down. It had been several days since Leo was here. Since I disinfected the surface of my desk immediately upon entering my office after…well.
I knew he was in a less-than-thrilling meeting today. I heard Brandon and Nikhil discussing it yesterday after the random all-hands meeting where we met his unexpectedly handsome brother.
I also had just walked past Leo’s meeting in one of the conference rooms with Brandon and some older men. Probably potential investors. Leo didn’t look as entertained as he usually did. He had dark circles under his eyes. His smile didn’t reach them like it normally did.
It bothered me.
And part of me wanted to shrug that feeling off. Remind myself that I wasn’t responsible for making him feel better or wondering why he wasn’t as elevated today. The other part of me, however, cared. I didn’t think too much about it. I figured it was normal to care. Signe would care if one of her friends was acting a little more lethargic or withdrawn. It wasn’t because I could still remember the feel of him inside of me.
I nodded to myself, clutching my phone in my hand and standing from my desk, leaving my office door open behind me in case I chickened out and wanted to dart back. I rounded the corner, leaving the upper management office wing. There was a vending machine just across the open concept area dividing the break room from where the conference rooms lined the perimeter of the building.
I stood near the vending machine, leaning against the wall and holding my phone to my chest. I nodded politely at some passing employees while I found the conference room Leo was in.
He was facing me, his back to the windows that let the cool morning light in. The marine layer hadn’t quite burned off yet, coating everything in a hint of grey. It was a sleepy morning for a lot of employees, based on the number of yawns I had heard already.
Leo didn’t see me across the way, though. His tired eyes were locked on one of the old men he was meeting with. His head would nod occasionally, but I noticed how he leaned to the side of his chair. How he rested one elbow on his armrest to hold his cheek in his fist. His brow had a small pinch in it, and his pink lips were in a line with a small curve in the corner. The man was struggling this morning but doing a decent enough job of looking engaged with the meeting.
I inhaled a breath of confidence and glanced down at my phone, pulling up my text thread with him.
Me: Were you serious about repeat experiences?
I sent the message off, holding my phone close to make it look like I was still doing important work things on it, even though my eyes kept glancing up at Leo across the way.
He shifted in his seat, using the hand that was propping his head up to reach into his pocket and pull out his phone. I could see him keep it under the table, in an attempt to not be too obvious about checking his messages during a meeting.
I held my breath while I waited for his reaction. Any sort of physical cue that he was excited to get a text from me. But after Leo took a moment to read what I assumed was my message, all he did was turn the screen down on his thigh as he lifted his head and started talking to Brandon and the potential investors.
My shoulders slumped a bit, disappointment making my stomach feel tight. Leo said something, his eyebrows raising and a smirk tugging on his lips as he engaged in the conversation.
And I felt like the biggest ass.
Why I thought a stupid flirty text from me would maybe help lift his spirits was silly.
I had just stood off from the wall, ready to sulk back into my office, when the older man laughed loudly and turned to say something specifically to Brandon. When the attention was no longer on him, I saw Leo flip his phone back over, keeping it close to his thigh as his thumbs tapped over the screen.
I froze, holding my breath.
Leo settled back in his chair, keeping his phone out of sight and face down when he was done, and locked his gaze on the men in the room with him.
My phone buzzed in my hand. I stepped back to lean against the wall once more and opened the message, my heart racing in my chest.
My nerves were so frantic, like I was a teenager texting her first crush again.
Leo: I was deeply serious.
My cheeks heated. I glanced up at him again, surprised at how he looked so professional and unphased. He even laughed at something Brandon said, multitasking like a pro.
Me: What would that look like for you, exactly?
I watched as he waited for the attention to be off of him again before he flipped his phone over and read my message. His face didn’t change at all. Leo had an excellent poker face as he tapped his response.
My phone vibrated against my chest right when he leaned back in his chair, looking a little more alert than he was before.
Leo: However you want it to look. You can call the shots.
I fought against a smile at that. My heart was still racing, because I couldn’t remember the last time that I had a discussion like this over text messages. It was fun, being able to have a secret conversation with him like this during the workday. Watching him play the role of a professional CTO while also discussing the terms of a sexual relationship with me.
He yawned a bit, covering his mouth with his hand as he nodded at something someone said in the room.
So I decided to kick it up a notch.
Me: I thought it was obvious how much I liked it when *you* called the shots.
I inhaled a breath and held it until I saw him flip over his phone again to read my newest message.
He stilled in his seat, before I saw him lift a hand and mindlessly drag his thumb back and forth across his bottom lip.
He focused on this message for a few seconds longer than the others. I could see a pinch in his brow as he stared at his phone. Forcing myself to release my breath, I tried not to spiral about how I may have made this a little too forward. Perhaps there was subtlety etiquette when it came to having text conversations like this that I didn’t know about.
Trust him to tell you when you cross a line, I silently reminded myself.
Finally, Leo thumbed away on his phone again. Mine buzzed in response, but I took a moment to watch him adjust in his chair. How he shifted his position so he wasn’t laying back as much. He was sitting straighter, and I thought I saw him quickly adjust how his pants folded in his lap.
I finally made myself read his newest message.
Leo: Be careful what you ask for, Jacqueline. I have quite an appetite when it comes to you.
Me: I know. I can still feel your tongue.
Leo glanced up at the ceiling after reading my response. The way his head tilted toward the overhead lighting let me see a very, very faint flush on his cheeks. I saw his chest expand as he inhaled through his nose before he dropped his head again to reread my text. As he thought about how to reply, I watched how Brandon and the other old men were deep into their conversation. Paying little to no attention to Leo during this part of the meeting.
Then I decided to send another text before Leo had the chance to respond.
Me: Let me know when and how you want me, Mr. Turner. I also have an appetite. One that only you can satiate right now.
Me: In the meantime, I can enjoy watching you get flustered during your meetings.
After that, I stood from the wall and turned to face the vending machine, giving the conference room my back. It wasn’t a clear view, but as I pretended to study the snack options, I focused on the reflection coming from behind me. I saw Leo shift forward to rest his forearms on his thighs as he read my newest message. I bit my lip to keep myself from grinning when I saw him slowly lift his head from his lap, not facing the men in the meeting, but facing where I was standing across the way.
I couldn’t stop my grin from peeking out then, because even through the glass wall of the conference room, across the way from the open hallway, I could feel his gaze on me. I could feel his eyes take in exactly what I was wearing today.
Another pencil skirt.
Something I now knew got to him.
So when I let him get his fill of me standing there, pretending to decide on my choice, I went the extra mile by bending a little at the waist, as if reading the names of the snacks on the lower levels of the machine.
Giving Leo Turner an unobstructed view of my ass in this skirt, my knees bending just enough to make the pose look less suspicious to anyone passing by.
I glanced up to the conference room’s reflection in the glass of the vending machine, just in time to see Leo rub a hand over his mouth. His eyes locked on me. Well, my ass, probably.
I stood tall again, propping a hand on my lower back as if pretending to stretch out, and I got to see Leo drop his head as he thumbed away on his phone.
Leo: You’re going to need to save up some money for a new wardrobe.
I frowned, keeping him at my back as I finally left the hallway and made my way to my office.
Me: Why is that?
Leo: Because after work I’m going to rip that skirt off of you with my teeth.
I gasped as I read his newest message, my hand coming up to rest against my racing heart as I entered my office. Heat coursed through me.
I didn’t think I could come back from this.
* * *
I had just locked my computer and shouldered my purse when my phone vibrated again. It wasn’t until I rushed it out of my bag and pulled open my newest message that I realized I was hoping it was Leo, confirming the plans we alluded to earlier today.
Instead, it was Marco.
Marco: I’m just checking in to make sure you’re alive since I’m single-handedly maintaining our sibling relationship.
I laughed as I left my office, but the sound of another door shutting across the way made me lift my eyes away from my phone.
Leo was locking the door to his own office, his eyes slowly dragging from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. I felt his gaze as if I was standing in front of a heat lamp, warming me up for him.
“Hi,” I whispered.
Leo’s lips twitched in the corners, “Hi.”
I pressed my lips together while scrambling to respond to my brother, then tossed my phone in my bag.
“Are you finished with your workday?” Leo asked, falling into step with me as we walked down the hallway. He kept about a foot of distance between us, but my heart reacted as if he was rubbing up on me in the office.
“I am.” I nodded.
“Are you taking the lift down?” His face was guarded, his expression perfectly masked. This was the face of a coworker shooting the shit with another coworker.
“I’m taking the elevator down, yes.” I fought against a smile.
His eyes danced over to me, narrowing as we turned the corner to find the elevators.
“You mean the lift ?” He emphasized the word, “No need to add more syllables than necessary.”
I snorted, pushing the button, “I’m not being lifted anywhere. If anything, I’m being lowered.” We both walked into the elevator, and Leo removed one of his hands from his pockets to reach his long index finger toward the buttons.
“Ground floor?”
“What? No, the first floor. I’m not trying to go to the basement.”
Leo smirked, “I keep misspeaking. Back home, what you call the first floor we call the ground floor.”
I widened my eyes, “Well, considering the button you want to push has a one on it, I’d say our vernacular makes more sense.”
Leo chuckled at my snark and looked up at the ceiling after hitting the button for the first floor. He tucked his bottom lip in between his teeth and shook his head once, closing his eyes along with the elevator doors. The cab started to descend when he asked, low and intimate, “Do you remember your safe word, Jacqueline?”
My heart skipped a beat behind my ribs; giddiness and excitement flooded my veins at his question before I replied, “Yes.”
“Good,” Leo reached forward to punch the emergency stop button in the elevator, jerking us to a rough halt in between floors, “Take off your panties.”
My breath caught in my throat.
My heart skipped a beat for another reason, and I found myself looking around to remind myself that we were, in fact, still in the elevator. At work.
“What?” I asked.
“Take off your panties.” Leo’s eyes lowered as if he could see through my skirt. I released a nervous laugh, before slowly resting my hand at the hem of the fabric.
Leo leaned against the wall of the elevator, crossing his arms as if he wasn’t staring at my skirt with a hungry expression. As if his eyes weren’t darkening when I tucked my fingers beneath my skirt.
“Are—” I swallowed around a dry, nervous lump in my throat, “Are you serious?” I asked.
“Extremely,” Leo replied, lifting one of his hands to rest his thumb against his bottom lip. He brushed it gently, and the view of his lip softly being tugged back and forth distracted me for a moment. Leo’s eyes lifted to lock on mine, the icy blue becoming less and less visible beneath his growing pupils, “I have all day, Ms. Williams.”
I bit my own bottom lip, wishing I was tasting his.
So I tucked both of my hands under my skirt, keeping my purse on my shoulder, while I dragged my skirt up, up, up.
Leo’s eyes stayed glued to every inch of exposed skin that was slowly revealed, his thumb continuing to tease his bottom lip while I curled my thumbs into the waistband of my lacy thong.
Because I didn’t want panty lines today.
Definitely not because I hoped Leo would see and appreciate the lace.
I had to bend to feed my feet through the holes, careful not to snag my sneakers on the lace as I finally pulled them off.
I stood straight and pulled my skirt back down, my panties bunched in my hand while I maintained eye contact the best I could. I was trembling from anticipation. What else did he have planned for inside the elevator? Why was I excited for it? We were still in the office. The elevator wasn’t in the plan to start anything physical with him.
Was it because he bent me over my desk earlier this week? Was my threshold for what I was willing to do with this man expanding the more time I spent with him? At what point would we escalate things to the break room? The sensory room? Who’s to stop us from doing it on Signe’s front desk at this point?
“Jacqueline,” Leo shook his head once, stepping forward and brushing his fingers over mine, uncurling my underwear from my hold, “I can see you overthinking this. Don’t.”
I stood stock still as he gently brushed his lips against my temple, taking my underwear and pocketing the lace in his jeans pocket.
And then Leo stepped back, pushing the button and continuing our descent.
I exhaled the breath I was holding, the sensation almost made me dizzy in his presence.
“Your flat, or mine?” Leo asked.
“Um. Mine.” I replied, gripping the strap of my purse for dear life.
The elevator doors finally parted, and I took the first steps out of the threshold as Leo said, “I’ll follow you.”
Something spiked in my pulse from his words. I hesitated in the building lobby, glancing over my shoulder at him. Leo’s hands were back in his pockets, his eyes lifting from where they were previously staring at my ass. He waited for me to either say something or keep moving forward.
So I turned and walked out of the building, calling over my shoulder, “I’ll see you there.”