Chapter 28
PACE: SPEED RELATIVE TO COMPETITORS
Isee it in his eyes—the certainty. The way he’s standing in the middle of chaos like none of it matters except this moment. Except me. Us.
I lean up and press my lips to his.
His kiss is an outpouring of everything he’s kept hidden; mine is an attempt to make sense of everything I feel. The answers, the restoration of trust despite us breaking—it smothers every reason I gave myself to stay distant and gives life to what is now blooming between us.
My hand comes up against his jaw, anchoring myself to him as his other hand tightens at my waist, pulling me closer like he’s not willing to let even an inch of space exist between us.
The noise around us doesn’t disappear. It just stops mattering because for the first time since I came back into his life, I’m not analyzing but choosing.
When I pull back, it’s only because I need to breathe. “That was a strong follow-up,” I murmur, my voice softer than it should be.
His mouth curves slightly, but his hand doesn’t loosen at my waist. “I’m improving.”
“We should leave,” I say because if we stay here, this becomes something public before we’ve even defined it ourselves.
His gaze flicks briefly around us—media, team, spectators. Eyes that will absolutely notice if they haven’t already. Then back to me before he agrees, “Yeah, we should.”
His hand finds mine. I don’t even think about pulling away as we move through the celebratory chaos. We glide past people too distracted by revelry to notice what’s happening on the fringes of it.
Or maybe they do. Neither of us cares.
Outside, the car is waiting. The drive is short. Barcelona hums around us—beautiful as Monaco in a more earthy way. I barely register it before we’re pulling up in front of the W Barcelona, its glass reflecting the city lights.
We step out and quickly move through the lobby, his hand still wrapped around mine like letting go isn’t an option. I should be aware this is exactly the kind of moment I would normally dissect from every angle before stepping into it. I don’t care.
I’m only aware of Leo next to me and the way his grip tightens slightly when someone passes too close. The way he matches his pace to mine without a word.
The elevator doors slide open.
We step inside.
Once they close with no other passengers, every emotion intensifies.
He pulls me closer, his hands biting into my hips. I go willingly, my hands sliding over his shoulders, his pecs, recalibrating my senses to the feeling of his skin.
When he leans down, I don’t hesitate. I meet him halfway. I’m immediately devastated by the slow caress of his lips.
As the elevator ascends, our kiss changes—harder, hotter, like we’re both trying to possess the other. It’s beautiful because even without words, we’re saying the same thing.
We’re choosing each other.
When we step out at the penthouse level, he exhales softly against my lips. “We should—”
“Yes,” I say, already reaching for his hand again.
We don’t speak as we move toward his room. Any attempt at conversation would only shrink the vastness of this moment. But once the door closes behind us, he stops me.
I frown until I hear him ask, “What do you want, Chris? All you have to do is tell me.”
The world narrows to the chance I’m taking with my heart. “All I want is you. Right now.”
I reach for Leo at the same moment he does me.
He takes over our kiss—his mouth devouring mine. His lips slant for a better angle even as his tongue dips past the seam of my lips. Tasting me, letting me taste him, over and over again. It ignites a hunger I’ve only ever experienced with this man.
Even as his lips consume mine, his hands move over my body, igniting a fire that will only be put out one way—with Leo’s cock inside me.
One of his hands tangles in my hair, holding my head in place to accept his voracious kiss.
The other finds the hem of my shirt and slips underneath.
I feel the warmth of his palm against my waist, burning against bare skin and sending a shiver through me even as he tears his lips from mine to order, “Take it off.”
“Yes.” I pull back just enough to yank my shirt over my head and drop it to the floor.
His eyes narrow on my breasts before my arms lower. His hands frame them through the delicate lace, as he murmurs, “Beautiful.” He’s not rushing—just staring. Like he wants to memorize everything about this moment.
“Leo,” I breathe, moaning his name as his thumbs graze my nipples. My hands search for purchase where physical and emotional needs swirl together. Everything else fades away. My hands find his shirt, and I rasp, “Off,” eager to be rid of another barrier between us.
Leo stops his ministrations long enough to let me undo the buttons, my fingers eagerly working down his chest while his fingers clench my hips, as if he can’t hold back much longer.
I finally manage to shove the shirt off as he gazes down at me, his expression caught between adoration and an aching hunger.
The intensity in his eyes should make me nervous. Instead, it makes my pulse flutter.
The broad wall of his chest brushes against my breasts. The sensation pulls me deeper into the vortex of wanting him.
Needing him.
Leo walks me backward through the living area toward the bedroom. His lips find mine again, demanding. I moan into his mouth even as his nimble fingers unhook my bra, causing it to fall to the floor.
His lips pull back from mine before trailing down my throat.
He finds the pulse at the base of my neck, even as I hold onto his shoulders feeling the muscles beneath flex and ripple.
Then, against my skin, he lets out a quiet laugh.
I pull back just enough to narrow my eyes at him. “Did you just laugh at me?”
Leo lifts his head slowly, eyes glowing. “It’s either laugh or cry.”
“Over what?”
“Having you back in my arms.”
A smile tugs at my lips, even as my heart races. He briefly rests his forehead against mine, his expression softening. His fingers trace lightly up and down my back. “Not having you in my life was the worst thing to happen to me.”
I lean in, brushing my mouth softly against his. “I’m right here and I won’t leave.”
We land on the bed in a tangle, his weight settling over mine. The rasp of his chest hair against my nipples causes me to gasp.
I arch up into him, entwining my leg with his, lifting my arms to circle the back of his neck—holding him to me.
His lips burn a trail down my throat. Over my collarbone. Down, down, until his mouth closes over the tip of my nipple before he sucks the whole bud deep into his mouth—surrounding it with a wet, possessive heat.
His tongue drags over my nipple, back and forth. Until I beg for more. “Please…”
Once he releases the bud with a pop, he braces himself on one arm, freeing his other hand to cup my tender flesh. He repeats the same torment on my other nipple, causing my back to arch from the sensations.
I feel his hard cock rubbing against my spread legs and I know the only thing keeping him from sliding inside of me is the clothes we’re wearing. Squirming beneath him, I slide my hands over his shoulders, before scoring my fingernails down his back when he rolls his hips into mine.
I can’t wait much longer. What I’m feeling isn’t enough.
I want more. I want all of him. Desperately tugging at the back of his jeans, I pant, “Take them off.”
Lifting his body away, he shucks his pants and boxers. His eyes never leave my body as I kick off my sneakers and shimmy down my jeans in a slow, deliberate motion.
Once I’m in nothing but my panties, he rolls back toward me, letting his eyes drift over my nudity. His expression holds love and awe.
Not to mention raw desire.
Leo moves down my body, pressing soft, lingering kisses against my hip, before taking a nip of my inner thigh, until I’m lost, my fingers tangling in his hair, whispering his name in a voice I barely recognize.
As he eases himself down, he rips my panties away before settling himself between my thighs. His shoulders hold them open, head lowering.
My blood thunders in my veins when his lips drag hungrily up my thigh, teasing and tasting until he arrives exactly where I want him to be.
He’s unrelenting—reacting to every sound I make. His tongue slides through my folds in a sensual caress. He finds my clit, circles it with his tongue, before sucking it deep into his mouth and destroying my mind. This isn’t a man relearning me. It’s one who never forgot.
His hands slide beneath my rear to lift me closer, giving himself the leverage to feast on me until my thighs tremble. My hands are buried in his hair, my back arching off the bed as I fall apart for him. “Leo!”
Lying in the wake of pleasure, I glance at Leo through half-lowered lashes.
Wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, he crawls back up my body, pausing to place a gentle kiss over my heart.
His thick cock brushes against my thigh.
I reach for it, wrapping my fingers around the girth, causing him to exhale roughly against my neck.
“Feels too good,” he moans. “Won’t last long. Are you…”
I manage to rasp, “Still on the shot and there’s been no one since you.”
His eyes glint with a sharp brilliance in the shadows when he vows, “There’s been no one since you either, Chris.”
“Then, take me.”
The broad head of his cock brushes against my entrance.
My inner muscles clench, anticipating what it’s going to feel like to have him deep inside me again.
He laces his fingers with mine, pulling my arms up to rest beside my head.
“Just so you know, I missed this, but not a fraction as much as I missed you.”
That’s when he claims me in one thrust. Already anticipating him, my pussy immediately quivers at his invasion.
We both still for a moment once he’s fully seated. His forehead drops to mine with a groan. “I was afraid I’d never feel this again.”
“You’ll feel more if you move,” I pant out breathlessly.
He chuckles before thrusting his hips over and over. Every time his hips arch into mine, I rise to meet them. I don’t just need to be closer, I want to forget where he starts and I stop.
Our lovemaking is a collision, raw, yet somehow achingly beautiful. It’s born from us breaking before finding our way back to each other again.
Leo thrusts with a slow, deliberate rhythm, as if he doesn’t want to forget the feel of me along every inch of him. Like he wants to burn this night into his soul.
My hands run up his back, over his shoulders, relearning the shape of him. When he arches under my touch, the angle drives him deeper, causing me to moan in pleasure. My hips jerk, the sensation completely unravels me.
He slips his hand beneath my hip and slams into me. “That’s right. Take me deeper…”
I gasp against his jaw when his powerful thrusts hit a spot that causes me to clamp down on him. I writhe beneath him, “Don’t stop. I’m close.”
He increases his pace, knowing exactly what I need to fall over the edge. Every touch, every sensation, causes my body to hum with pleasure.
When I come, the intensity drives the breath from my lungs. My inner muscles caress every inch of his cock. “Leo!”
He’d been watching my face until then. He lets out a muttered curse before drawing back and plunging forward. My nails bite into his back as he quickly follows me over the ledge—burying his face in my neck. His whole body goes taut before relaxing.
We stay locked together for a long moment before Leo pulls out and rolls to the side. I roll with him, tucking myself against his chest. His arms wrap around me, like they’re never going to let me go.
And in the quiet of the moment, I slowly drift off.
I’m pulled from sleep, uncertain about how much time has passed.
Leo is asleep beside me. His breathing is even, his body relaxed in a way I haven’t ever seen, as if he finally let go of every weight he’d been carrying by himself.
I shift slightly, laying my head on his chest. My gaze is drawn to the window. I stare out the glass, taking the time to reconcile my mind with everything my heart has already decided.
There is no logic to it, and perhaps that is the beauty—finding serenity with each other amid chaos.
Maybe it’s as simple as us being two people who find the only place meant for us to belong is in each other’s arms. Somehow, despite everything, he is the one my heart keeps choosing.
It’s not because of grand gestures or impossible chemistry. Nor is it because loving him is easy.
We’re committing to each other and to building something honest, where trust has to be earned—piece by piece. Somewhere between the gala and last night, the bruise on my heart has eased.
With that, I close my eyes and drift back to sleep.