33. Leo
CHAPTER 33
Leo
As I walk inside my apartment, the silence is deafening. I figured maybe Veronica would have chosen to sit on the couch or at the island while waiting for me to return.
Assuming she decided to go back to her apartment to be alone, I glance back at her door before shutting my own and locking it. A puff of air leaves me once I’m locked inside my apartment.
What a fucking night.
I fill a glass with water, drink the whole thing in one go, and then put it in the sink. Sleepily walking to my bedroom, I halt when I see a lump under my covers. Heading to the right side of the bed, I see Veronica lying there with the comforter tucked under her chin.
Her eyes are still open, staring straight forward until I kneel at the side of the bed and come into her view. Her gaze snaps up to me, and she offers the tiniest smile.
“When I said we’d get you to bed, I meant your own.”
“I don’t want to be alone tonight,” she mutters quietly. A hand pokes out from beneath the comforter, clutching the top of it and pulling it back. Her naked body lies underneath, causing me to suck in a sharp breath. “Sleep with me. Like old times.”
I avert my gaze from her bare body, bringing it up to her face.
Like old times.
The countless nights I snuck her into my room at the asylum. Where I would fuck her senselessly and then cuddle with her for a little until she had to be back with the others.
Giving in, I slip into bed and cover myself up. Veronica scoots closer to me, getting so close that I extend my arm for her to lay her head on my chest. How have we gone from me stirring up her life with my antics to snuggling?
“How was your date ?” The distaste is evident in her sleepy tone.
After tonight’s events, I completely forgot about my date with Rachel. “It was fine.”
“Fine enough that there will be a second?”
“Would you be jealous if there was a second date?” As I ask, I realize my hand has blindly started caressing her back.
At the end of the date, Rachel and I agreed that this was the only one we would go on. She said something about me obviously still being hung up on someone. When she told me this, she meant with Veronica. Or Camille. She understands there is history, and I didn’t have the energy to tell her otherwise.
“Yes,” Veronica mumbles.
The truth leaving her mouth confuses me but also fills me with unwanted warmth. Veronica never admitted she was jealous in the past, so this new version of her peeking out from the shadows is surprising.
“Why would you be jealous when you have Slater?” The name rolls off my tongue with disgust, and I don’t miss how her body stiffens slightly. “Or you have the option of that douchebag that lives in this apartment building.”
She lifts her head from my chest, twisting it to look at me. “Aiden?”
“Fitting name.”
“When did you meet him?”
“In the elevator on my way back up here,” I inform her. “He told me all about you holding a knife to his neck.”
“He got touchy and wouldn’t take no for an answer.” She sighs. “Thankfully, the cameras in the elevator are broken.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I was the one to break them,” she responds casually.
“Why am I not surprised?” I laugh but then stop abruptly when the thought dawns on me. “Wait. Were there any cameras on the streets tonight? What if they caught you killing that guy?”
Veronica pushes herself up on her elbow, giving a cute smirk. “Look at you all caring.”
“I’m serious, Vee.”
“The only smart thing that man did tonight was take me into an alleyway. There were no cameras there. And then, on my walk home, I clung to the shadows just in case,” she explains. “This isn’t my first rodeo, Leo.”
“But it’s the first time you’ve been shaken up like this,” I remind her.
“Yeah. I’m still not sure what that’s about.” She sits up all the way, the covers falling from her body to expose the perfection sculpted by the angels.
Catching me by surprise, her body turns, and she flings a leg over my waist until she is straddling me.
“Veronica.” It’s embarrassing, but I’m immediately hard. A tantalizing grin forms on her face as she rests herself on my cock.
“You’re jealous of Aiden?”
“No. That piece of shit never stood a chance with you.”
“What about Slater? You’re jealous of him?” Her hips begin to rock back and forth. My jaw clenches, and my eyes close for a moment. “I always loved it when you would get jealous. You know why?”
“Why?”
“Because it shows that you want no other man touching me.” Another rock of her hips. A moan spills from her mouth as the friction stimulates her, causing my eyes to shoot open. “That you want me all to yourself.”
When I don’t respond, she pouts. It's not a fake one she uses to get her way—a real one.
“You do, don’t you?” she whispers the question. “Want me all to yourself?”
“It’s complicated,” I respond with the truth.
I do want her. I want to be the only one with her, but I’m still angry with her. I want to kill any other man that touches her, but I want to hurt her for betraying me.
“I only want you, Leo,” she confesses. “You didn’t believe me when I told you I came back for you, but it’s the truth. I had time to think about what I did to you. Time to realize how wrong it was to leave you like that. To hurt you like that. I’m sorry, Leo. I truly am.”
She leans forward, placing a kiss on my chest. Chills break out all over my skin, and I take a breath. “Sex isn’t going to fix this.”
“I know.” Another kiss on my chest before she presses one against my jaw. “I plan on showing you how sorry I am every day until you forgive me. I want that life we planned together, and I will spend my whole life proving to you that I’ve changed. That I’m capable of the love you offered me.”
With her on my lap, I sit up until I rest against the headboard. The sincerity in her eyes is unmistakable, but then again, she is a great actor, and because I can’t tell whether I should believe her, questions insert themselves into my mind.
Is a sociopath capable of change?
No.
Can someone who has done so many awful things in her life turn around to become a better person?
No.
Clinically, a sociopath could change if they get the right help—if they seek that help when they realize they want that change in their lives. But Veronica? She has been this way her entire life. She was always content with who she was, so why would she need to change herself?
“You were always capable of love. You just needed to accept that you could be loved,” I tell her, coming out of my thoughts.
“Do you think you’ll be able to forgive me?” Her voice is weary.
My hands find a home on her hips, fingers gently pressing into her flesh.
Can I? Is it possible for me to forget the past and forgive her for a better future?
I could forgive her, but it would take a while. But then, what about the revenge? What about everything she put me through? Do I push it aside and try out this life we originally planned for ourselves? My mind is racing, and my brain is exhausted from tonight's events, weighing me down.
“Maybe.” I watch Veronica’s eyes light up with hope.“It’s late, Veronica. You need to sleep.”
We both need to sleep.
She shakes her head, moving her hips again.
“We can’t.” I hold her in place, stopping her hips from rolling.
“Why not?”
“Because if we do, I’m afraid I won’t be able to tell you no.”
The confession is heavy between us.
The thing is, I wouldn’t tell her no because I didn’t want to sleep with her. God, I desperately want to fuck her again. I had my dick in her for all of two seconds and about crumbled. Besides the plotting in my head, reminiscing on the sex we had has been living rent-free in my mind.
But the thought of being inside of her for longer than those two seconds is what I’m worried about. I told myself I wouldn’t before that night, but it was like her pussy was begging for my cock.
Even though I was stupid and went against my brain telling me no, I held back the other night because I knew that once we had sex, it would be over for me.
It terrifies me that being with her intimately reminds me of being home.
A safe space. Somewhere I want to be all the damn time.
And if I give in right now… if I have sex with her, what does that say about me?
“Then let's be afraid together,” she whispers as her hands meet my wrists, sliding her hands up my arm.
Leaning forward, her lips attach to mine with softness, and right then, my chest deflates with ease—comfort courses through me as I hold her in my arms. I shouldn’t be feeling this way. This woman stabbed me. She left me for dead, and yet all I can think about is being with her.
I don’t think about the revenge I had planned.
I think about her and me.
Together.
Her honesty earlier struck something in me. Seeing her in such a vulnerable state after being attacked, which I’ve never seen before, did something to me.
It pulled at heartstrings tucked away, hiding for this exact reason. I was scared that one day, Veronica’s power over me would come back around. That it would hit me with a force so strong it would knock me down, and I wouldn’t be able to get back up.
And here I am.
Inches from hitting the ground.
Capturing her lips in mine, I show her how much I missed her when I shouldn’t. I pour all my longing and desperation for her into this kiss because if I’m being knocked to the ground, she is coming with me.
My tongue begs for entry into her mouth, which she willingly grants me. The warmth of her mouth cascades into mine. It lights my entire body up. I groan into her, squeezing her hips that have started rocking again.
I sense her hands getting closer to the hem of my boxers.
Stop her.
I don’t.
I can’t.
Veronica rises to her knees, tugging the boxers down my legs, watching my reaction. She’s searching for any change in my expression. When she sees only lust, she continues.
“We don’t have to have sex if you don’t want to.”
“You already took my boxers off,” I joke.
“We can do something else,” she begins to suggest. “Until you’re ready.”
Who is this woman?
“ And what’s that?”
She smirks. Flattening my cock onto my stomach, she positions herself just right, and then she lowers herself. I slide between her folds, and she immediately coats me with her arousal. Carefully, she rocks. Gliding back and forth as she rides me.
“Jesus,” I moan, head tipping back against the headboard. I’ve never done this with a woman before.
Never even thought about doing it.
It’s sex without it being sex.
And it feels so fucking good.
I watch her through hooded lids. Her eyes move from my face down to where she is riding me. With my hands securing her around the waist, Veronica places her palms on my shoulders and increases her movement.
“Dammit, Vee.” A curse that’s followed by a whimper. My fingertips dig roughly into her hips, holding myself back because this feels too good.
“I like it when you make that sound.” She smiles seductively. “Almost like you’re being tortured.”
“This is torture,” I clarify.
“Your fault.” She giggles, kissing my jaw before saying, “You don’t have to be jealous of Slater. I’ve never slept with him. He’s just a guy that owed me a favor.”
When she backs away from my face, I stare up at her in slight confusion. Her hips continue to move against me in a beautiful, tedious rhythm that would drive any level-headed man insane.
“You don’t have to be jealous of any guy.” Veronica combs a hand through my hair; the sensation is calming. It makes me want to shut my eyes at the relaxation, but I force them to stay open to look at her. “I haven’t had sex with another man since you.”
My breathing stops. “What?”
“They’ve tried, but I always put a stop to it. It didn’t feel… right .” She gives a half smile. “Do you remember what I said when you finally gave in to the temptation of us?”
I think back to that day in my office. It was the first time she ever wrapped her mouth around me.
Use me, ruin me. I’m completely at your mercy.
Coming back to the present, I nod. “Yes.”
“Well, you did just that. You ruined me, Leo, for any other man.” Her hands cup my face, making sure my focus is on her. “You’re the only one I want.”
I stare at her for a moment, letting the words she spoke absorb into my skin.
The woman I fell in love with just admitted wanting to be with me. Only me . And the honesty in her voice, true or not, is so thick that it suffocates me. It seeps deep into my skin. I swallow it down my throat, and it constricts around my heart like a snake.
The expression on Veronica’s face is soft and worrisome. It seems she is afraid I don’t believe her.
All I wanted was for her to feel the same way about me that I did for her. I tried to change her while she was in the asylum, and I thought it worked, but she was only showing me what I wanted to see.
That’s what she’s doing. She’s only saying this to get you to trust her again.
My eyes close, and I inhale a deep breath to silence the voice in my head. Part of me listens to it speak and knows there is a point to its words. But the other part of me wants what Veronica is saying to be the truth. When I open my eyes, Veronica is observing me.
She shrinks into herself, folding her lips together. “You’re right. We should sleep. It’s late and?—”
Veronica lifts off of me, about to lie back down, but the grip I have on her waist hardens. My fingers dig harshly into her skin, pulling a hiss from her. She looks down to where I am keeping her from leaving, then glances up to my face.
My breaths are heavy and uncontrollable as a mix of emotions takes over my body and tugs roughly at every inch of my being.
“Fuck it.”
Lining myself up at her entrance, I lower her onto my cock. A sudden feeling of relief burrows into my body, and I toss my head back with a satisfied smile—Veronica moans, stretching around me as she stays still. Neither of us moving. We take in the moment of being connected as one again.
Her breathing is loud, and she bends forward to place her forehead on my shoulder. “I forgot how big you are.”
My ego grows, the smile on my face turning into a smirk. “I was just inside you not that long ago.”
“Barely,” she says breathlessly. “Plus… I was on the brink of an orgasm. My mind was all over the place to feel how huge it is.”
“You feel it now. Show me how well you can handle my cock, little angel,” I demand. Veronica repositions herself, spine straight as she gazes down at me. “Ride me.”
Her hips move slowly. Teasing me. She smirks, knowing that I hate it when she does this. I tighten my hold on her in an attempt to move her faster, but she shakes her head.
“I didn’t tell you to tease me.” My eyes flash with a warning.
“But I’m on top, which means I’m in charge.”
I laugh, licking my lips before staring at her through my lashes. “Oh, how wrong you are.”
Picking her up a bit, she glides up my dick until the head is the only thing inside of her. Then, without any warning, I slam her back down. She gasps as I groan and repeat the action.
Tossing her head back, she cries out as I slam her down harder with each of my thrusts. Plunging deeper with every movement of my hips. With her bouncing up and down, I lean forward and latch my lips to her breasts. My tongue swirls around her nipple, and then I bite down.
Hard.
A yelp leaves her, hands wrapping around the back of my neck, and her fingers snake into my hair as she tugs my head away from her body.
“Leo!”
Hearing her scream my name only makes me go faster. Rougher. To the point I fear I may break her.
But nothing can break Veronica. Not even me.
“God, you take it so well,” I praise between the valley of her breasts. Flattening my tongue, I lick up to the divot in the center of her collarbone. I nip, lick, and kiss until I mimic her hands and wrap her long strands around my fist. Keeping one arm wrapped around her body, I continue to pound into her. “Such a sweet little angel. A perfect doll gifted by the Gods for me to ruin.”
Her only response is a hum because she can’t speak. She can hardly breathe at this point. Since this is our first time together again, I should take it slow, but there is no slow with Veronica. I also don’t think I have it in me to go slow with her.
She whimpers, her lips parting as she searches for air. I press my lips to her neck, breathing in her scent.
She smells like me.
Knowing that the smell of me is covering her body drives me wild. It’s like marking her as mine without having to touch her skin.
With the thought in my head, I bite at her neck and then begin sucking. She moans loudly as I mark her skin in ways that I wanted to when we were together in the past.
Once satisfied with the dark spot forming on her neck, I move up to her mouth. Giving her a punishing kiss, she whines against me. She is close. I can feel it.
Separating our mouths, I hover mine over hers. “Come all over my cock, Vee. Show me how bad you want it to be yours.”
It’s like I lit a bomb and stayed close to watch it detonate. She bursts apart around me, her voice so piercing that I have to clamp a hand over it to keep her silent. Tears form in her eyes as I send her somewhere she has been before.
A place only I can send her.
My movements become sloppy, and then I go still inside of her. I’m pulsing as I release everything in me, filling her up.
I curse, squeezing my eyes shut as the orgasm rolls on like never-ending waves.
I’m not sure how long the high we both experienced lasts. It felt like it would never expire, but at some point, it did, and Veronica returned to the land of the living. Plopping herself down on the bed beside me, her eyes remain shut as her breathing becomes shallow.
I watch as she falls asleep, the peacefulness and satisfaction lighting up her face. My eyes stay trained on her as I lie on my side until they become heavy, and I, too, slip into a dream.