23. Leo
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Lights illuminate the front of my house and it casts their beams through the windows, dancing across the floor. My breath catches in my throat and I pull two wine glasses from my cabinet before setting them down on the island. The light disappears and I hear the sound of her car door shutting a few moments later. The sound of my heart pounding drowns it out, filling the silence that surrounds me. There's a soft knock on my front door and I slowly turn on my heel, willing my heart to get itself under control as I walk to let her in.
My heart stops and my footsteps momentarily falter when I see her through the glass panes in the door. The front porch light shines down upon her and I drink her in as I take my time walking to her. Her midnight-colored hair falls in soft waves that frame her heart-shaped face. A black dress hugs the curves of her body and the hem falls just above her knees.
She's absolutely breathtaking.
She's fucking perfection.
My feet carry me closer to the door and I'm about five feet away when Aria's eyes meet mine through the glass. She shifts her weight on her heels and wraps her arms around her body, most likely in an effort to shield her bare arms from the cool ocean breeze. Where the hell is her damn coat? Her lips lift upward into a soft smile when she sees I'm here to let her in. Reaching for the door handle, I push down on it.
I step out of the way and motion for her to come in. "Hey."
"Hey," she says around a shiver as she steps into my house. My chest brushes against her arm and I inhale the scent of her as I close the door. "I didn't know it was supposed to get cold tonight."
I lift an eyebrow, my eyes raking down the length of her body before resting on her gaze again. She went out with Griffin in that dress. Irritation and jealousy mixes with lust. I want to take it off of her. "It's usually a few degrees colder here because of the water."
Aria nods and slips her feet out of her heels. Her toes are painted a soft pink. A sigh slips from her lips and she doesn't look as uncomfortable as she did when she first walked in. "I hate those things," she mutters, shaking her head.
"Come with me," I tell her as I begin to walk deeper into the house. Aria follows behind me, her bare feet padding against the hardwood floors. She follows me into the kitchen and leans against the counter of the island. Her eyes dance under the soft lighting above. Leaving her standing there, I walk into the living room and grab a blanket from the couch. Aria turns around, watching me as I walk back over to her.
Opening the blanket up, I step into her space and drape it around the back of her body, wrapping it around her shoulders. "I wasn't sure you were going to come."
She tilts her head to the side, her long hair falling down her back as I hold the blanket in front of her chest. "Should I not have?"
I shake my head, my tongue darting out to wet my lips as my gaze drops down to her mouth. "I'm glad you did."
"Me too."
My hands are still holding the ends of the blanket together by her chest. I look into her eyes and find her looking at my lips before her gaze collides with mine. Every molecule of oxygen is sucked from the room. My lungs burn, screaming for air, but my throat constricts. Aria Reed has a vise grip around my goddamn chest and all I can think is I want her to squeeze harder. Slowly lowering my face to hers, I feel her breath across my lips. My eyelids close and my lips are just about to touch hers, when there’s a loud crashing sound behind her.
Lifting my head, I see Penny falling off the counter, knocking over the surviving wineglass with her. “Shit! Penny! What the hell!”
Aria spins around to see what is going on as she grabs ahold of the blanket when I let go of it. Penny runs away with the hairs on her back raised, like she’s not the one who just did this. “Oh my,” Aria breathes as she walks over to me and sees all the glass on the floor.
Shit. My hand darts out to stop her from walking any closer. I whip my head to the side to look at her before making up my mind. Aria lets out an audible gasp as I lift her into the air and set her down on the counter. “What are you doing?”
“Your feet,” I tell her as I take a step back. “I don’t want you to step on any glass.”
Aria laughs quietly as she shakes her head. “I can sit on a chair like a normal person.”
“Don’t you dare move,” I warn her as I narrow my eyes at her. “I will be right back.”
Aria’s laughter follows me as I walk over to the closet and pull out a broom. She surprises me as she obeys me and stays seated on the counter. As she sits on the island, she studies me as I begin to sweep all the pieces of glass into a pile. She’s quiet as I clean it all up and throw it away. “Can I get down now?”
“If you must,” I tell her with a smirk as I reach into the cabinet and pull out two champagne flutes since the other wine glasses are in the dishwasher. I look for a bottle of wine, but all I have is sparkling and champagne left. I pull out a bottle of bubbles and pop the top off before pouring the clear liquid into the glasses. I hand one to her move to stand across from her as I lean back against the counter.
She takes a sip and gives me a small smile. Hesitation dances across her features before she speaks again. “Thanks for letting me come over.”
Something in her tone has my heart clenching. I want to reach out for her and pull her flush against my body as I wrap my arms around her.
I take a sip of my own champagne. “You’re always welcome here.”
Holding the blanket with one hand, she holds the stem of her glass with the other. “I went out to dinner with Griffin.” She pauses and lets out a breath. “I never should have agreed to it.”
My spine straightens and my body is suddenly on alert. If he did something to her…
“Did something happen?”
Aria frowns and looks at her glass for a moment. “You were right about him. He’s not a good guy.”
I swear to God, I will kill this man if he did anything to her.
I don’t bother trying to stop myself as I close the distance between us. My feet are right by hers. There isn’t much space left between us. My hand slides under her chin and I tilt her head back. Her gaze instantly finds mine.
“Did he touch you?”
She stares at me for a moment before shaking her head. “Thank God, no. He was under the assumption we were on a date and then he said some things I didn’t like.”
Relief washes over me as I realize I won’t have to remove his hands from his body. However, he said something to her that has her feeling unsettled. I don’t like it at all. My blood boils at the mere thought of someone making her feel uncomfortable.
“What did he say?”
“It was nothing, I promise. I left before we even got our food.”
The muscle in my jaw tenses. “Aria, what did Griffin say to you?”
“Please, Leo. It’s not a big deal.”
“You have three seconds to tell me what he said or he can tell me himself.”
She narrows her eyes on me. “A threat isn’t going to get you your way, Leo.”
A smirk pulls on my lips and I take the champagne flute from her hand and set it down on the counter behind her. “It’s not a threat, baby. I’ll be paying him a visit either way.”
“He said some things about you that I didn’t appreciate.”
My head cocks to the side and my stomach flutters. “Did he say anything about you?”
“No,” she admits as she drops the blanket. It falls away from her body and pools on the floor around her feet. “It was just about you.”
Relief settles the rage that threatened to bubble over inside me. I still don’t like that he made her upset, but I’m glad to hear he didn’t say anything directly about her.
Wrapping my arm around her lower back, I pull her body flush against mine. “I don’t give a fuck what he says about me, as long as he doesn’t say anything about you.”
“I care what he says about you,” she argues as she lifts her hands up to link her wrists behind my neck. Her words warm my heart. She shouldn’t care, but I love that she does. I set my glass down beside hers as my face dips down to hers, capturing her lips with mine. I run my tongue along the seam of her mouth, urging her to open them. She parts them, letting me in, and I want to drink from her until she runs dry. She tastes like champagne and sunshine. Our tongues dance together and I press her against the island with my hips.
Her hands drop down to my waist and she tries to push my pants down before I grab her wrists to stop her. I take a step back as I slide my hand down to hers. "Not here," I murmur as I pull her toward me. "Do you trust me?"
Aria nods. "I do." She pauses, pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth before she releases it. "And not just on the ice."
She lets me lead her through the dark house. With the full moon outside, I left the window treatments open, so it casts its light across the floor, illuminating the way for us. The skylight above the stairs lets the light in and the hall is dimly lit, but I lead Aria to my bedroom. She follows me into the room and I step around her, pushing the door shut behind us. Aria steps farther into the room, looking around.
She walks over to the built-in bookcase along the right side of the room. It's the largest room in the house. The far wall is made up entirely of glass and leads out to a balcony that overlooks the ocean. I watch her as she walks along the bookcase, dragging her fingers along the spines of the books. She stops and pulls one out, flipping through it as I walk over to her. Turning her head to look at me, I reach for the book and pull it from her hands before I slide it back into its place.
Aria turns to face me. "I didn't know you liked to read."
Sliding my hand along her throat, I wrap my hand around the back of her neck as my other arm goes around her torso. "There's a lot you don't know about me."
"What if I told you I want to know everything?" she asks me as she lifts her hands to hold on to my shoulders.
I slowly begin to back her across the room until the side of my mattress hits the backs of her thighs. My lips find hers in the darkness of the night as I silence her. There isn't a single thing I want to keep from Aria Reed, not even my heart. Whatever she wants, she can have. I don't want it. It never was mine to begin with.
Abruptly, I pull away from her and trail my fingers along her collarbone, slowly making my way down her sides. "I like this dress on you," I tell her as I reach for her shoulders and begin to push the straps down her arms. "But I think I like it better on my floor."
She hums in approval as I begin to strip her clothing from her body until every shred of fabric is on the floor. Aria's completely naked, fully exposed under my gaze. She doesn't shield herself from me. Instead, she takes a step closer, her hands reaching for me as she begins to remove my clothes. I don't protest and I don't fight her. Instead, I let her have her way, stripping me bare, literally and figuratively.
I take a step back, allowing myself the opportunity to fully consume her. "You take my fucking breath away, Aria." I inch closer to her, gently pushing her down onto the bed. I stare down at her and I'm obsessed with how she looks right now. Spread out on my bed, ready for me to devour her.
Her breath catches in her throat. "Leo," she murmurs, my name sounding like a plea falling from her lips. I crawl onto the bed with her, settling between her legs as my cock throbs against her damp pussy. Dipping my face down to hers, I steal the air from her lungs as I kiss her deeply.
Pulling away again, I shift my weight as I'm about to begin my descent down her body, when her arms dart out and wrap around the back of my neck. She lifts her legs and hooks them around my waist, pushing me back toward her.
I cock my head to the side and lift an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"I need you, Leo," she breathes, applying as much pressure as she can with her legs. The tip of my cock presses against her center and I revel in her warmth.
"What if I told you I wanted to taste your pussy first?"
She shakes her head at me, biting down on her bottom lip as her fingernails scratch against my flesh. "I want you now. I want to feel you deep inside me."
My face dips back down to hers and I pull her bottom lip between my teeth. Aria lets out a sharp exhale as I dig into her flesh, leaving half-moon marks along her lip. My tongue slips out and I run it across them, soothing the small wounds as I sink deep inside her. Aria lets out a moan as she takes every fucking inch. This is what she wants and I'm never going to be the one to deny her that.
Her wish will always be my command.
I begin to slowly pump my hips, easing my cock in and out of her. "God, you were made for me," I tell her as I plant my hands beside her head. "So fucking perfect. You take my cock so well, baby."
She stares up at me, her lips parted slightly as I continue to pound into her. I love the way she looks right now. Her pussy clenches around me, gripping my cock as I stroke her insides. We stay in this position for a little bit before I pull out of her and rock back onto my knees. Aria watches me, a slow smile curving her lips as I grab her ankles. Straightening her legs against my torso and chest, I pull her feet up until they're on either side of my head as I sink into her once more.
Aria hooks her ankles around the back of my neck and I reach down to hold her ass as she lifts it off the bed. I slam into her again, watching the way she's coming apart as I fuck her slowly. "You're so good," I groan as my balls begin to constrict, drawing closer to my body as the warmth begins to blossom across my lower abdomen.
"Oh my god, Leo," she moans as I reach down between her legs and my fingers dance across her clit. I press down on it, rolling my thumb over the bundle of nerves. Her eyes practically roll back in her head. I watch her back as it begins to arch from the pleasure that ripples through her body. Goddamn, she's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
This isn't the first time I've been inside her or seen her naked, but fuck… this is the first time I've seen her like this.
"That's it, baby," I murmur as I pound into her, filling her to the brim with my length. "Take every fucking inch like you were made for my cock and no one else's."
Her hips buck involuntarily. "Don't stop, Leo," she moans, completely breathless. "I'm so close."
"Let go," I urge her, thrusting into her harder and faster as I work my fingers over her clit. "Come for me, Aria."
As I thrust into her once more, she inhales sharply before crying out. She loses herself around me as her orgasm tears through her body. Her pussy tightens around my cock like a vise grip as she drives me past the point of no return. I'm right there with her, falling over the edge as I breathe her name. We're free falling together, plunging deep into the abyss of ecstasy. I'm not sure I ever want to resurface from this. I want to be lost in her for the rest of eternity.
My name falls from her lips like a breathless chant, like she's praying for my soul.
If only she knew, she's the one who now possesses it.