Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
Amelia watched Leo fetch the list from beneath the couch cushion before grabbing his laptop. He settled on the couch beside Amelia, his knee touching hers as he arranged the laptop and the list on the coffee table.
She wondered if she was making a mistake. None of this was supposed to happen. She was supposed to learn some tips about how to get over her crippling awkwardness, pretend to be Leo’s doting fiancée, then go on her way.
The worst part was Amelia was enjoying herself. She liked the way Leo glanced at her, eyes glimmering. She liked how he put his hand on her knee and squeezed gently, either to reassure her or himself.
Amelia licked her lips. “What do we do now?”
“Give me your phone.”
She straightened. “Why my phone?”
“They might be able to connect my number to the company.”
Amelia tilted her head from side to side, then tapped on the laptop a few times. “We’ll use an online phone service. It’s anonymous.” She set it up, then tilted the laptop toward Leo. Her heart thumped. “It’s ready. Who do you want to call?”
“Let’s just go down the list.”
The first two numbers had no answer. The third call was picked up by a woman.
“Heather Burton?” Leo said.
“This is she,” an older woman replied. “Who am I speaking to?”
“My name is”—a panicked look at Amelia—“Rod…Todd,” Leo lied. “I’m calling on behalf of Ari Ashfield.”
Rod Todd , Amelia mouthed, incredulous. That was nearly as bad as Kitty Catelli. Leo seriously had to work on his fake name game.
There was a brief pause. Then, “Ari? From Goodhew? Our account is closed as of three months ago. My assistant confirmed it. What’s this regarding?”
Amelia frowned, then listened to Leo lie through his teeth and ultimately accomplish nothing. They found no new information. Amelia slumped back on the sofa as Leo hung up the call. He scowled at the screen, then picked up the list to try again.
“Okay, hold up,” Amelia said. “You need to take a breath and come up with a better fake name.”
“What’s wrong with Rod Todd?”
Amelia smacked him on the arm, laughing. “Stop it.”
Leo didn’t, in fact, stop it. He kept calling himself Rod Todd in every phone call, grinning at her the whole time.
It was the tenth phone call that netted them some information. The man on the other side of the call sounded like he was in his twenties or thirties, and when he heard Ari’s name, he said, “Oh, great. I was going to give Ari a call, but I didn’t think he’d launched the new company yet. I’ve got a friend looking to book a yacht in Miami for a bachelor party. Will he be booking events by August?”
Amelia straightened. New company?
“Great,” Leo said, voice calm. How was his heart not thumping as hard as Amelia’s? “I’d love to grab the details now, if it’s convenient.”
“Sure,” the other man said, and he rattled off a name and phone number and a brief description of what they wanted for the bachelor party. Leo stayed calm through the call, then finally reached over and hung up the call on the screen when the conversation ended.
He met Amelia’s wide-eyed stare. “Ari’s poaching clients,” he said quietly. “Either he’s forgotten about the non-compete clause in our contract, he doesn’t care about it, or he’s trying to circumvent it somehow.”
Amelia blew out a breath. Her mind was spinning. That must have been what Vanessa was upset about in the hallway. She didn’t want to get in trouble when she needed to keep her job. But… “Why would he steal valuables from Fred? What about the watch?”
“Maybe he lied about the watch. Maybe he needs money to start his new company.”
“And he’s getting it by stealing?”
Leo leaned back on the couch beside her. His body was emanating warmth all down her side. He turned his head to look at her, then reached up to push a strand of hair off her forehead. “If he’s willing to stab Fred in the back by poaching clients, he might be willing to do something worse.”
“Twelve million dollars is a lot,” she said. “Would he even need to start a new company? Couldn’t he just go to Mexico and live on the beach for the rest of his days?”
“I don’t know,” Leo admitted. “Probably.”
A knock on the door interrupted them. Amelia frowned, then stood up and opened the door. Fred and Percival stood on the other side. Both of them looked grim.
“Amelia,” Fred said with a nod.
“What’s up?” Amelia pulled the door a little bit wider, once Leo had shoved the list of names on the laptop keyboard and closed the screen.
Fred looked over her shoulder. “St. James.” His gaze returned to Amelia as he stepped into their room, so chilled it made Amelia shiver. “Were you in the library today?”
Amelia nodded. “Yes. We spent a few hours reading.”
“Was anyone else in there with you?”
Leo came to stand beside Amelia, his arm a comforting weight across her shoulders. “No. We were there from about one until four p.m. and no one else came in. George is the one who recommended we check it out.”
Fred’s lips compressed as his eyes narrowed. He shifted his gaze from Leo to Amelia, who stiffened in response. “Some valuable rare coins have gone missing. We’re trying to determine a timeline. They were in the glass case on the southern wall, next to the writing desk.”
“I saw them,” Leo stated, his hand squeezing Amelia’s shoulder. “Displayed on blue velvet, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Someone stole them?” Amelia squeaked, then regretted her question when it drew Fred’s gaze back to her. His face was all hard lines and grim suspicion.
“Yes,” he replied, an odd weight to the word.
“They were there when we left,” Leo told his boss.
“I’ll be calling the police,” Fred said. “No one’s to leave the grounds until this is cleared up.”
“Of course,” Leo replied.
The two men left, and Amelia closed the door behind them. When she turned back to look at Leo, her heart cracked at the look of devastation on his face.
“He thinks it was us,” Leo said bleakly. “He’s going to fire me.”
“Hey.” Amelia grabbed his hand and pulled him to the couch. She sat down beside him, still holding his hand. “He’s just trying to figure out who took his stuff, same as we are. He didn’t accuse you of anything.”
“He knows we’re lying, Amelia. Fred’s not a fool. I saw the way he was looking at you.” He rested his elbows on his knees and dropped his head, gripping his hair with both hands. He tugged, letting out a low noise. “ Fuck . I never should have lied. This was such a stupid idea. Why didn’t I just tell him I was single?” He scrubbed his face, then left his hands there, covering his expression. Amelia had the horrible suspicion he was trying not to cry.
Not knowing what to do, Amelia put her hand on his upper back and stroked him in slow circles. Leo had been so confident in their time together. She’d never seen him worried—not like this.
“This job means a lot to you,” she said, and it sounded so pathetic in the heavy silence of the room.
Leo let out a bitter snort. He dropped his hands, letting them dangle between his knees. “I know what you’re thinking. I just want to party for a living, and I’m sad the gravy train is ending.”
“That’s not what I’m thinking at all.”
His lips twisted, but he didn’t look at her. “Forgive me for not believing you. I’m the guy who gave chlamydia to his entire college. The guy who can’t hold down a relationship. The guy who parties for a living because he can’t let go of his glory days.”
“That’s not what you do for a living.” The words came out heated—more forceful than Amelia had intended.
Leo finally turned his head to look at her. The green of his eyes was so bright, but his face was horribly drawn and tense. He said nothing.
She frowned at him. “You plan elaborate events for demanding clients,” she told him. “You take in information from them, coordinate multiple vendors and subcontractors, and deliver on their expectations in high-pressure situations.”
He blinked.
Amelia wasn’t done. “You’ve told me only a handful of stories, but I know you don’t party for a living, Leo. I just spent the last six months trying to get my sister’s wedding to go off without a hitch, and I know how hard that was. The last three weeks of planning were pure hell. And I did it in Stirling, where weddings are basically part of the town’s mission statement. It was still horribly complicated. I needed seventeen different spreadsheets to keep track of everything. So don’t give me that stupid line about you being a brainless playboy wanting to party all the time. I know it’s a mask, and it makes me angry every time you put it on. You’re more than your stupid college nickname, Leo, so don’t be a coward. Stop hiding behind it.”
Chest heaving, Amelia realized her tirade had ended shrilly, with her voice raised and her cheeks red. She glared at him and had the ridiculous, childish urge to stick out her tongue.
“You really believe that?” Leo grated.
“Believe what .”
“That I’m more than my college nickname.”
Anger rose in Amelia so fast she thought the top of her skull would fly off from the pressure. “Of course I believe that!” She poked him in the chest. “You’re smart and hard-working and so stupidly beautiful it’s hard to look at you sometimes. And, by the way, these are things you should be telling me because our agreement is meant to bolster my ego.”
“You’re smart and hard-working,” Leo said, eyes intent, “and so stupidly beautiful it’s hard to look at you sometimes.”
“Har-har,” she spat, making to get up off the couch. She shouldn’t have been angry. It was silly, really. Didn’t she know exactly how it felt to have her confidence dinged, even when it didn’t make sense on paper? She knew what self-loathing felt like. She knew what shame felt like.
But it made her so mad to see Leo like this. And it made her even madder to think about the way Trish and Lauren and Rinn had giggled behind their manicured fingers about him. How much ridicule had he endured? How long had it taken for him to believe it?
So she had to get off the couch and go stomp around in the bedroom or down the hallway or out into the flower garden. She had to get away and calm down before she yelled at Leo some more, who didn’t deserve to be yelled at at all.
Getting away from Leo was suddenly the most important thing, because beneath her anger was another emotion. One that had grown in her way too fast. One that would do nothing but hurt her in the long run.
But as she stood up, Leo caught her hand. She tried to tug it away, but Leo held on. He pulled, then caught her around the waist and dragged her down to his body, so she had no choice but to straddle his hips where he sat on the couch.
With one arm banded around her back, he lifted his other hand to cup her cheek. “I wasn’t lying, Amelia. You’re an incredible woman.”
“Yeah, well, you’re…” Her bitter words petered out. She wanted to push away from him, protect herself. Because that emotion in her breast was white-hot infatuation—or maybe something more.
His hand slid along her cheekbone and tangled in her hair, gripping tight. The arm around her waist was like a steel band. Immovable.
“Are we back to my spreadsheet now?” Amelia asked rudely, desperately scrabbling to regain control over the situation. Her body was heating under his touch. The pinpricks of pain on her scalp were quickly turning to liquid pleasure. She liked being held like this, being caught by him. “We could go over the intercourse section so I know what I’ve been doing wrong all these years.”
A low, rumbling growl rattled Leo’s throat. “This has nothing to do with your fucking spreadsheet,” he said, then tightened his grip on her hair, angled her face, and kissed her.
She fought him for a fraction of a second, then lust went off like a rocket inside her. Fingers curling around the back of his neck, she pressed herself against his chest and let him control the kiss. It was a punishing embrace. His stubble rasped against her skin, the slight burn of it a delicious counterpoint to his soft lips, the velvet stroke of his tongue.
They kissed like they were fighting each other, with an edge of anger and aggression that Amelia had never felt before. It consumed her, the lust and fury and passion of it all. Hips bucking, she moaned against Leo’s lips as the arm around her back slid down, his hand clawing at her dress. He finally reached up under it to grab a handful of her ass, kneading her flesh with his big hand.
“This dress has been driving me crazy all day,” he growled, pulling away to look at the offending garment. One hand was still twisted in Amelia’s hair, the other shaping her flank and bottom. Leo held her like that, then brought his mouth to her breast and bit her through the fabric.
She gasped, bucking her hips. Feeling his erection beneath her, Amelia moaned and ground down on it, drawing a hiss from Leo’s lips. She liked that noise, so she did it again. The placket of his zipper covered his arousal, and she angled herself on top of it and rocked?—
“Oh!”
A low groan escaped Leo’s lips. He slid his hand out of her hair and gripped her hip. “That feel good?”
“Yes,” she panted. “Yes.”
“You like riding my cock? Thinking about how it’ll feel once it’s inside you?” His hand was still kneading her ass, and he moved it up to clamp on her other hip. Holding her firmly with both hands, Leo helped her grind down on top of him, right where she needed it most.
Another moan escaped Amelia’s throat, her hands gripping Leo’s shoulders for purchase. She could feel how big and hard he was, the ridge of his shaft giving her just the right amount of pressure?—
“You’re so beautiful, Amelia,” he growled. “So fucking pretty when you’re about to come.”
When she was about to… “What?”
It was never this easy. She overthought things, became awkward, messed up when she was in bed with a man. Awareness prickled over Amelia’s body, thoughts filtering through her mind like wisps of smoke.
Leo guided her movements with one hand, then used the other to wrench her bodice down. Plumping her breast, he brought it to his mouth and sucked. A bright, blazing sensation ripped through her nipple as he laved it with his tongue.
Those wisps of thought disappeared. All that existed was Leo. His big, hard body beneath hers. His mouth, tongue, and hands. His hard cock pressing against her clit with every rock of her hips.
When she came apart with a cry, he groaned in response. His lips coasted over her throat and up to her ear as he pulled her close, whispering dirty encouragement in her ear. Not letting her ease up, he used his hand to grind her hips over his clothed cock over and over again until she shuddered and bucked against his touch.
Dazed, Amelia pushed herself off his chest, curling her fingers into his shirt. She wanted more, like her orgasm had only stoked her lust instead of sating it.
“How was that?” Leo asked, a cocky grin curling his lips. His cock was still rock-hard beneath her core.
She affected a casual shrug and said, “It was fine,” but the effect was somewhat diminished by the fact that her left breast was utterly exposed and still gleaming with Leo’s kiss, and she was pretty sure her cheeks were red, her eyes glazed.
But Leo chuckled darkly. “Just fine?”
“Good enough to take a few notes down for the spreadsheet, I suppose.”
His eyes sparked, and Amelia realized she liked teasing him. She liked poking at him, because it felt dangerous and exciting.
Her reward was a big hand between her legs, ripping her panties to the side. Without warning, he entered her with a finger, then immediately added another. “So wet for me,” Leo said, grunting as he thrust his fingers inside. “My girl wants more, doesn’t she?”
Amelia whimpered, and Leo added a third finger. They both groaned, Amelia’s head falling back, her eyes closing.
“Fuck this,” Leo said and took his hand away. Amelia didn’t have time to protest, because she was lifted into his arms and carried into the bedroom. Tossed unceremoniously on top of the blankets, Amelia bounced once with a girlish squeak, then watched Leo climb up after her. He reached under her dress and ripped her panties off, tossing them across the room.
His hands were hot as they spread her knees, his eyes savage when they landed on her core. A bolt of self-consciousness went through her, but it was banished when Leo said, “You’re so goddamn pretty, Amelia. Every part of you.”
“No one’s ever said that about my…” Her cheeks heated.
“About this beautiful pussy?” He pushed her dress up so it bunched on her stomach, then used his hands to stroke up and down her legs, his thumbs teasing closer and closer to her slit. It felt like fire coursing through her veins at every teasing touch. She wondered if she’d come apart from just this, from his hands on her thighs and his eyes drinking her in.
Then he made another pass, and when his thumbs got close to her core, a wet, squelching sound filled the room. Horrified, Amelia tried to clamp her legs shut. Embarrassment blazed through her. She squeezed her eyes shut, remembering the sneer on Josh’s lips whenever she was wet enough to make those kinds of noises. One time he’d actually gagged and refused to have sex with her, asking her to give him a blowjob instead. It had been utterly humiliating.
But Amelia’s knees made contact with Leo’s body and she couldn’t close them, couldn’t hide herself. His hands paused on her thighs. “Amelia?”
“I’m sorry,” she said in a small voice.
He froze. “About what?”
Her hands reached down to cover herself. “I’m too wet. I’m sorry. It’s disgusting.”
There was another pause, and Amelia didn’t have the courage to open her eyes. She hid herself with her hands, cheeks hot, wanting the moment to end. All the lust that had blazed through her body vanished in an instant. Then the bed dipped, and her throat grew tight. Leo was leaving. And why wouldn’t he? She’d ruined the moment, as usual. Was it even a surprise? This happened every time she got intimate with a man.
But Leo didn’t get off the bed; he came to lie down beside her. Tugging gently on her arms, he gathered her against his chest and held her, one hand softly stroking her hair. Tension drained from her muscles, and after a few moments, Amelia gathered the courage to open her eyes.
Leo was watching her, his brows drawn. “I’m going to kill him, you know.”
It was so unexpected that a laugh just fell out of her lips. “What?”
“That asshole who actually convinced you that your body was disgusting? I’ll find him and kill him.”
A whole new wave of shame crashed over her. “I feel so stupid,” she said, dropping her eyes to his chin. She couldn’t meet his gaze. “It’s been so long. Six years. I should be over it. I just…” She took a deep breath. “Look, I understand that I ruined the moment. I’m sorry. At least now you know why I agreed to this arrangement in the first place. I’m a mess.”
“You didn’t ruin the moment.”
She snorted. “Um, I’m pretty sure I did?”
He took her hand in his, kissing her knuckles. He placed her palm on his cheek, then ran his fingers down her arm, over her ribs, and down to her hip. “I’d like to touch you,” Leo admitted. “Can I do that?”
The thought of making more of those embarrassing noises made her chest feel hot, but Leo’s expression was so sincere. If she couldn’t do this with him now, when would she be able to? They lived in a little bubble at this retreat, away from the real world.
And, though she didn’t want to admit why, Amelia wanted to share this moment with him .
Unable to speak, she nodded. Instead of moving between her legs, his hand moved up to coast over her ribs, then to the back of her dress. He tugged her zipper down and helped her wriggle out of the garment. Then he pulled his own shirt off and shucked his pants off, giving her a clear view of his boxer-briefs—and the outline of his hard cock.
The sight of it shocked Amelia. He was still hard. He still wanted her. She let out a long, trembling exhale. He had his thumbs in the waistband of his underwear, but after a pause, left them on. Then he came to lie down beside her, his hands stroking over her naked body.
Kisses peppered her shoulder, her jaw, her lips. With every sweep of his warm, calloused palm over her skin, a bit of stress melted out of Amelia’s body. His kisses were like a calming drug, slowly untangling the thoughts and worries that had gripped her mind.
Spending time shaping her breasts and tracing her nipples, Leo watched the movement of his hand over her body, occasionally letting out short, deep noises. “I love your body,” he told her quietly.
“My boobs are on the smallish side, though.”
He cupped her right breast. “A perfect handful.”
A smile teased at Amelia’s lips, which turned into a gasp when he pinched her nipple. Leo let out a low rumble and did it again. He kissed her, his tongue soft against hers, his arm curling around her head so they were pressed against each other, facing each other as they lay on their sides.
When her body was languid, melting into the mattress beside Leo, he let his hands slip lower and pushed her thighs wide. But still he didn’t touch her center. He swept his palms up one thigh and down the other. He traced her hipbones down to the crease of her thighs, every touch feathery-light, teasing, until Amelia thought she’d lose her mind.
“I’d like to taste you,” Leo said, low and quiet.
She stiffened. “No. I’m not?—”
His hand slid up to her waist, soothing. “Okay.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing.” He kissed her temple. “Can I touch you?”
She nodded, heart thundering. This felt different than what they’d done on the couch in front of the mirror, or the frantic orgasm he’d given her earlier. Amelia was exposed now, and not just because she was naked. There was an intimacy to their touches, a depth to their connection that didn’t exist before.
Leo’s hand continued its soft torture, over her thighs, brushing her mound, teasing her hips until Amelia’s knees fell apart and she let out a low, keening noise. Then, with the barest tips of his fingers, he ran his hand down her slit. Amelia gasped, that soft touch rocking through her body until her hips bucked off the bed, chasing Leo’s touch.
His exhale was ragged as he touched her again, a little bit harder. His fingers slipped against her wet flesh as he groaned, dropping his forehead to her shoulder, his body hard and trembling like he was holding himself back with every ounce of control.
Lips brushing her shoulder, he touched and teased between Amelia’s legs until her thighs trembled. He slid his fingers inside her again and they both groaned in unison. He added a second, then a third. Amelia’s hips bucked off the bed, her heels digging into the mattress as her breaths came short and sharp.
“Leo,” she complained.
“Yes, love?”
“I want you.”
His fingers dove into her again, the heel of his palm pressing against her clit. He ground down on her as she moaned, and when their eyes met, his gaze was dark. “What do you want?”
Amelia wasn’t very good at dirty talk. She’d always been too self-conscious to ask for what she wanted in bed. She’d never felt comfortable enough to do anything but try to keep her whirling thoughts at bay. But now, with Leo, it was different. She ached for him, needed him, knew that he was right there with her. She felt safe.
“I want your cock, Leo,” she whispered. “Want you inside me.”
To punctuate her words, she finally gathered the courage to reach for him. Gripping him through his underwear, she squeezed his shaft as if there had been any doubt of what cock she’d been talking about.
Leo closed his eyes and gasped, then leaped off the bed and shucked his boxer-briefs off in less than a heartbeat. Then he pawed at his pants and came back with a condom. Watching him roll it on his shaft was erotic enough to make Amelia bite her lip.
Her heart thundered. Maybe it had been naive to think this wasn’t going to happen. Hadn’t she wanted to regain her confidence in bed with his help? Hadn’t his skills in seduction been the whole point?
Somehow, Amelia had never pictured it happening like this. She hadn’t thought his gaze would be so intent. She hadn’t imagined his hands would be so reverent as they coasted over her waist, her ribs, her breasts. She hadn’t imagined Leo would kiss her like this moment meant something to him as he notched himself between her spread thighs.
“You sure?” he grated, the muscles of his neck stark.
“Yes,” Amelia answered, and she smiled because it was the truth.
He kissed her once, softly, then reached between them to position himself—and entered her.