Chapter 3 – Maddie
Those Who Wear Glass Houses Shouldn’t Throw Stones
Maddie
MY HEART IS in my throat as I follow Leo down a darkened hall branching off the main living area of the two-story house I spent more than a few days of my childhood visiting.
It’s been years since I was here, but even then, I was never in this area of his parents’ home, so I have no clue where he’s taking me.
And I don’t really care.
If I’ve learned anything from almost dying at the hands of my ex-husband, it’s that life is short and happiness is fleeting. So I’m going to grab every bit of good I can find in the days I’m still lucky enough to have.
And Leo is looking really good.
He’s filled out since the last time our paths crossed, but he still has that same crooked grin and easy demeanor I remember from when we were kids. They’re a big part of why I harbored a little bit of a crush on him when I was younger.
Based on what I know now, younger me was way smarter than older me.
“In here.” Leo’s voice is hushed as he pushes through a closed door, leading me into a room that’s even darker than the hall. I walk inside, blinking a few times as he shuts the door behind me, adjusting to both the difference in light and the change in volume.
After spending the past hour listening to loud men boasting about bullshit, the room seems stunningly quiet.
Quiet enough I can easily make out Leo’s movements as he comes closer.
The approach of his giant, well-muscled frame sends a zing of excitement sparking along my spine and warmth blooming in my belly.
“Better?” His voice is a deep rumble at my back.
I barely suppress a shiver at the way it flows through me. A soothing balm after the shrill cut of the inebriated voices I was subjected to in the great room.
I turn my head, peeking at Leo over one shoulder. “Better.”
My breath catches at how close he is. How good he smells. How much bigger he is than I realized.
Sitting next to him on the sofa hadn’t prepared me for how much taller Leo is than me. Or how broad his chest is and how thick his arms and thighs are. The man is huge. It should be unnerving. Terrifying even, since I know exactly what can happen when a man uses his strength against you.
But I’m not scared of Leo. If anything, being with him makes me feel safe. Safer than I’ve felt in a long time. He’s big enough to hold his own against just about anything or anyone, and that’s really freaking appealing.
Then again, most of him is really freaking appealing.
Everything except the ridiculous shirt he’s wearing.
I point at the cotton stretched tight across his pecs. “I didn’t realize you’d gotten into naked surfing.”
Leo’s chin tucks, eyes drifting down the faded logo printed into the worn knit. His blond brows pinch together. “What the fuck, Dan?” He sighs, head falling back, eyes pinching shut. “I should have known. My dad can’t own a normal freaking shirt.”
“That’s awfully judgmental for a man who was wearing a ‘Balls Deep in Christmas’ shirt when I got here.”
The words have barely cleared my lips before they automatically press together as my stomach turns. It's a habit—or maybe a trauma response—to instantly regret saying anything except the nicest of nice. To worry what might come back at me.
But the slow curve of Leo’s sinfully well-shaped lips has the tightness in my gut easing right away. “Is that your way of letting me know you were looking for me when you walked in?”
My eyes move over him, tracing Leo from head to toe, taking him in all on their own. “You are kind of hard to miss.”
Leo inches closer. “You’re not so easy to miss yourself, Miss Miller.”
It feels so good to be called that name again. To feel like maybe there’s a chance I might be able to be who I was before.
Even though I know I’ll never be that girl again. The one who thought people were good and love was simple and safe.
Pulling in a shaky breath, I lift my gaze to Leo’s face. “What should we talk about?”
The dim light of the room casts shadows across his handsome features, making them seem more angular. Harsher. On anyone else it might look a little scary. Possibly even sinister.
Not on Leo. On Leo it just makes him look like the sort of Greek god someone would want to carve into marble. Strong. Unyielding. Unbreakable. Steady.
His voice is soft when he asks, “Is that what you want to do? Talk?”
Honestly, I don’t even know what I want. I know what I wish I could want. But the rules of my life have changed, and I don’t know where the lines are. What is acceptable and what’s not.
Or if I even care.
Licking my lips like it will help ease the nerves making my mouth dry, I hedge, “I’m open to suggestions.”
“I’ve got a few ideas.” Leo gives me an easy smile that does nothing to prepare me for what he says next. “But fair warning, most of them involve taking your panties off.”
It’s probably a good thing my mouth is a little dry or I would have choked on my spit at the way he goes right for the kill.
No minced words with this man. Leo’s come a long way since his days of being an awkward, gangly, teenage boy sporting braces and a bad haircut.
There’s no hesitation in his game. No bashfulness. He just jumps right in and lays it out.
And while I don’t mind jumping, I’ve learned how hard landing can be, so I have limits. “I’m not having sex with you, Leo.”
My rejection doesn’t faze him. If anything, he seems happy about it. “No one said anything about sex, Miss Miller.” His tone is almost teasing. “I don’t plan on taking any of my clothes off.”
That doesn’t make me feel any better. “I’m not getting naked while our parents and everyone they know are twenty feet away.”
Leo lifts one hand, bringing a single finger to trace the line of my jaw. “No one said you were getting naked either.” Heat flares in the depths of his blue eyes. “I’m sure I can get my tongue around anything that tries to get in my way.”
“Oh.” I start to tip backward, head going fuzzy and knees going weak at what he’s implying. What he’s offering.
Leo moves so fast, I don’t have time to register the shift of his powerful form before one wide, warm palm stretches across my lower back, keeping me upright.
His chest presses against mine, the pressure sending my feet backward until the backs of my legs hit a bed I’d been too focused on Leo to notice.
The momentum of my upper half continues, taking my ass right down to the mattress.
Leo leans forward, one hand pressing into the blankets beside me as his lips brush my ear. “What do you think, Miss Miller? You feel like watching me spend a little time on my knees for you?”
I think I might have stroked out, because no way is Leo ‘The Lion’ Casselini offering to go down on me. In my experience, that’s just not something men enjoy doing. Especially if it’s not going to get them what they really want—their dick being wet.
“You want to do that?” I can’t get the words much louder than a whisper. Between the combination of shock and arousal slamming into me, I can’t believe I’m even upright.
“I’d fucking love to do that.” Leo’s gaze darkens as it pins me in place. “But only if you want it too.”
After spending years in a relationship where my wants, needs, and desires didn’t matter, Leo’s statement is a shock to my system. In a good way. A reminder of how much I sacrificed and how much I pretended was acceptable.
How much I gave up and how much was taken from me.
So I decide to grab a little of it back.
Nodding, I whisper. “I want that.”
Even though Leo sounds eager, a part of me still expects him to hesitate. Maybe even rescind his offer.
Neither of those things happen.
Instead, he drops to his knees in front of me, the eyes that were just on my face fixing on the hem of my Christmas tree printed dress.
For a split second, my brain registers the state of what he’s going to find under there.
But before I can get too panicky about my lack of landscaping, Leo’s palms meet the bare skin of my knees.
His long fingers grasp the hem of my dress, slowly working it up my thighs. He refocuses on my face, expression earnest. “If you change your mind, just tap me on the head and everything stops.”
I manage some semblance of a jerky nod as I watch the path of his hands. It’s been so long since another person got me off, and anticipation is throbbing through me. Making me lightheaded and dizzy.
And very, very nervous.
Leo stops when the tiniest peek of my coordinating Christmas panties is visible. His lips quirk as he smirks at the saying printed across the front. “Santa’s Little Helper, huh?”
A little of my anxiety dissipates at his teasing, reminding me how easy things used to be between us. I give him a shrug. “It was an impulse buy.”
Leo’s hands move again, this time sliding under my dress to trace the narrow straps across my hipbones.
“So far I’m a big fan of your impulses.” He follows the elastic edges along the crease of my thighs, tracing a path that leads to where they frame my mound.
“One more time, Ms. Miller. Tell me I can taste you.”
It’s probably weird how much I like him calling me that. It sends a throb of heat between my legs and a wave of relief into my chest. The combination is almost like a drug and has every inch of me is humming, primed and ready to receive the long unmet need Leo’s graciously offering to fulfill.
My fingers grip the duvet beneath me as I find enough air to create words. “You can taste me.”
Leo makes a sound that’s a cross between a growl and a groan as his hold on me shifts. “Thank God.”
His wide, calloused hands hook behind my knees, lifting both my feet off the floor. The move sends me tipping backwards, forcing me to brace one hand against the mattress so I don’t fall flat. One thick finger hooks in the crotch of my panties, dragging the already soaked fabric to one side.
“Fuck, you have a pretty pussy, Miss Miller.” As he leans in, draping one leg over his boulder-shaped shoulder, Leo meets my eyes again. “Don’t forget. Tap my head, and everything stops.”
It is a super sweet offer. One I appreciate so much more than he will ever know. But it’s not happening. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing in this world that would make me tap out of Leo’s tongue against my clit.
God I hope he knows where the clit is.
When I don’t answer, Leo lifts his brows. “Deal?”
“Deal.” I swear it takes every bit of the oxygen left in my lungs to form the agreement.
It’s been so long since I’ve wanted to be touched, and it’s like I’ve just been storing up all that need. Waiting for the right moment to let it all out.
And that moment seems to be now.
I’m so wound up, I can feel his breath against my skin. So desperate for his touch, I jump the second he makes contact, sucking in a sharp breath as the warm wetness of his tongue licks my clit.
Leo freezes, his big body going completely still as his eyes come to my face. “Too much?”
Is he genuinely asking for a critique? I’m not sure I’ve ever had a guy question his skills, or my response to them, but I think I might like it.
Not as much as I would like his tongue on me again, so it’s easy to shake my head and tell the truth. “No. I was just a little surprised.”
Leo makes a considering humming sound, like he’s not sure how to take my explanation. “That didn’t seem like a reaction to a good surprise.”
“I just—” I rub my lips together, not quite sure how to explain. “I’m just not used to…” My words trail off as I attempt to string a few together that might make sense to Leo. I can’t imagine he has a difficult time finding someone who wants to please him.
And admitting that not only did I marry someone who had no interest in pleasing me, but I stayed with him for years, makes me feel like an idiot. I know I’m an idiot, but I’d rather Leo didn’t.
“It’s just weird having you…” I wave in his general direction. “There.”
“Weird, huh?” Leo smirks. “Let’s see if I can change that to fantastic.” This time when he leans in, I’m a little more prepared. Instead of jumping and gasping, the sound that comes out of me is more of a whimper. Maybe even a bit of a moan.
His mouth is so warm. So wet. Each pass of his tongue against me is in exactly the right spot. Unerring in both location and technique.
I try so hard to be quiet. To keep the volume of the sounds coming out of me to a minimum. I’m pretty sure I fail, but hopefully the noise down the hall smothers out the worst of it.
Even though I started out a little jumpy and hesitant, Leo’s very skilled mouth soon has me working my hips against his face as one hand tangles in his thick blond waves.
It’s been so long since I’ve enjoyed myself this way, and who knows how long it will be before it happens again, so I don’t want to take a second for granted.
When Leo slides a long finger into me, I know I’m done for.
There’s no way I can hold out with how expertly he seems to know my body.
Between the steady flick of his tongue against my clit and the pad of his finger stroking that elusive spot inside of me, my orgasm is impossible to avoid.
It barrels down hard and fast, leaving me gasping for air as the world around me falls away.
For the first time in what feels like forever, my mind is quiet. Peaceful. I’m not worrying about the future or feeling guilty about my past.
I just feel… Good. Really freaking good.
I wish it could last forever.
But it won’t. I know that from experience.