Chapter 24 #3
I take him back into my mouth, and this time, I don’t tease.
I give him everything—my tongue, my hand, a rhythm that builds fast and deliberate.
His fingers find my hair again, gripping hard, and the sound that escapes him bounces off the walls of this tiny changing room in a way that is deeply inappropriate, given that an hour ago, this space contained a children’s entertainer and a man in a unicorn costume.
I don’t close my eyes. I don’t know why. Usually, I do because it’s easier, less personal, and keeps things in the territory of sensation rather than connection.
But I watch Leo come apart, and his face does something I’ve never seen before. All that control, all that careful composure is just…gone. What’s underneath is open, raw, and almost unbearably trusting.
He trusted me with this. With seeing him like this.
I file the image of his face away somewhere I won’t be able to delete it.
Leo takes a moment to collect himself. Then his eyes drop to me—still on my knees, still hard—and his expression changes.
It’s the look he gets when he’s identified a problem and already has a solution.
He drops to his knees and helps me sit back against the wall, pulling down my pants and spreading my legs. The care he takes with my injured ankle does something to my chest that I’m not prepared for.
Then he settles between my legs, and the sight of Leo Brennan on his knees, still flushed, his hair wrecked from my hands, looking up at me with that focused, deliberate expression…
The contrast between the man falling apart under my mouth a minute ago and this version is enough to make my head spin.
“You don’t have to—”
“Quiet,” he says, and his mouth is on me before I can argue.
And Leo approaches this the way he approaches everything. Methodically. Thoroughly. Like he’s been thinking about exactly how to take me apart and has already drawn up a project plan.
His tongue does something and my brain whites out. My hand flies to his hair, and I hear myself make a sound that would be humiliating if I could access the part of my brain that processes shame right now, which I cannot because Leo has found a rhythm that is—fuck—fuck —
I can’t stop my hips from thrusting to meet his mouth, and he lets me, his hand sliding to my hip, not to hold me back, but to guide the rhythm.
He glances up at me, and the eye contact nearly finishes me on the spot. There’s heat in his gaze, but there’s also something quietly intent, like my reaction matters to him.
His fingers press into the muscle of my thigh and his mouth does that thing again. My hips jerk forward, and I can’t— I’m not going to—
“Leo, I’m—”
He doesn’t pull back. He doubles down. Of course he does. Because Leo Brennan has never done anything by half-measures in his life.
It takes an embarrassingly short time before I’m coming, my fingers twisted in his hair, my spine arching off the wall, and I have just enough presence of mind to muffle myself against my own forearm because there is a non-zero chance the cleaning staff has left the building.
Afterward, he slides down the wall so he’s sitting on the floor next to me.
“That was…” He trails off.
“Incredible? Life-changing? The best experience you’ve ever had in a changing room?”
“Unexpected.”
I snort. “You literally said ‘Sparkle says.’ How is any of this unexpected?”
He turns his head to look at me. There’s something contemplative in his expression.
“What are we doing, Archie?”
The question lands heavier than I want it to.
“I believe they’re called blowjobs. I can draw you a diagram if—”
“You know what I mean.”
I do. That’s the problem.
“We’re…blowing off steam,” I say carefully. “Enjoying the perks of cohabitation. Having fun while the fake relationship lasts.”
“Fun,” Leo repeats in a skeptical voice.
“Fun.” I nudge his shoulder with mine. “You don’t need to make it weird. We’re two adults. We’re attracted to each other. We’re stuck in a fake relationship anyway.” I shrug, going for casual. “Why not enjoy it?”
It’s time to admit defeat. There is no way Leo Brennan and I are going to be in close proximity and not do that again and again.
It’s just too good.
He meets my eyes, his dark gaze serious. “Archie, if we’re going to continue, there’s…uh…something I need to tell you.”
Panic stirs inside me.
Shit. He’s going to tell me about Vaughn and the reasons behind my accident. I should have guessed that Leo’s moral compass won’t allow him to continue hooking up with me if I don’t know the truth.
But if he’s being honest with me, then I’ll need to be honest back and tell him I already know that he mistook me for Vaughn, which will lead me to tell him about my relationship with my brother.
And that would open a Pandora’s box that needs to stay firmly shut.
Locked. Buried under concrete. Possibly launched into the sun.
I need to put a stop to this. Fast.
“You don’t need to tell me anything. We’re just having some fun, okay? We’re not in a real relationship. We don’t have to spill our guts to each other. There’s nothing that you could tell me that would change the fact that I want to do this.” The desperate words tumble out of my mouth too fast.
Leo’s forehead creases, his dark eyes not leaving mine as he studies my face.
“Seriously, you could tell me that you’ve been writing fan fiction shipping Sparkle McHornface and Snugglesaurus in your spare time, and it wouldn’t change the fact I want to get off with you,” I say quickly.
“I mean, if you’ve murdered someone and buried them under a pile of unicorn onesies, we might have issues, but anything short of murder, you’re all good. ”
“‘Anything short of murder?’ You don’t have particularly high standards for the people you sleep with.”
“I have very specific standards, actually. Must be breathing. Must be willing. Must look good in an inflatable dinosaur costume.” I tick them off on my fingers. “You meet all three criteria. Congratulations.”
Leo gives a reluctant snort. “I’m honored to have cleared such a rigorous vetting process.”
“Speaking of vetting. I got tested at the start of the year. Nothing since. Happy to send through the results.”
“Same. I was tested last month. I’ll forward mine.”
“Excellent. Then we can dispense with the latex situation.”
Leo nods. “And we’re…exclusive? While this is happening?”
There’s something about the way he asks it. Too careful. Like the word exclusive costs him something.
“Makes sense from a health perspective,” I say, keeping my voice light. “But we’re getting off together. Not making any kind of commitment.”
He continues to study me for a long moment. I can practically see the thoughts churning behind those dark eyes.
The expression on his face is hard to read. Relief mixed with disappointment?
“If that’s what you want,” he says carefully.
“It’s what makes sense.”
“Sense.” He huffs a laugh that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Sure. We’re being sensible.”
“Exactly. Two sensible adults having sensible orgasms with no sensible emotional entanglements, which is fitting as I’m a sensible person.”
He quirks his eyebrow. “You own a purple dildo named the Destroyer.”
“A sensible choice in pleasure equipment.”
He shakes his head, but some of the tension leaves his shoulders. “Okay, Archie. No confessions. No complications. Just…this.”
“Just this,” I agree.
Even as I say them, the words taste like a lie.