Chapter 44
44
brIAR
M y lips meet Leo’s in a slow, deep kiss. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I curl my fingers into his hair, and my toes curl at the moan he lets out, his hands grasping my hips.
Pulling away, he looks into my eyes, a crease between his brows. “If we do this right now, there’s no going back. You’re mine, Briar, you got it?”
I freeze.
I wasn’t expecting anything he said in the past five minutes. Never expected to feel the way I do, either. Sure, I’ve wanted him. I’ve wanted him bad. And I’ve seen how much he’s grown as a person, too. I know that he’s been trying, I just didn’t quite know why. I thought maybe he was trying to get better so that eventually when our fake engagement fails, he doesn’t have to deal with what he did before. That I could be the villain of the story and he can go on his merry way, not getting in any more trouble. That I would be the lesson.
I could read the headlines in my head. Leo Warner Used by Ex-Fiance for the Money, Takes Off And Leaves Him Shocked. Leo Warner Changes His Ways After Ex-Fiance Leaves Him .
Sure, the media has never been kind to him. They always find something wrong with athletes, and they can never quite do anything right, no matter how hard they try. They could be doing a charity game with kids and an article will come out about how they shouldn’t be doing it because it’s selfish to put themselves in harms way before the season.
But the media has never been kind to women, especially when it comes to a golden boy.
“I want to love you,” I whisper, looking up at him.
“Then let me prove myself to you, okay?” he asks, dipping his head to look into my eyes.
I bite my lip, nodding.
His hands leave my waist, grabbing ahold of both sides of my face. “It’s you and me, Sunny. We got this, okay?”
“And Elara,” I tell him.
“And Elara,” he chuckles with a smile. “I love that kid, and I’ve loved you for a long time, Briar. It’s hard not to love you.”
I frown, attempting to look down, but his hands keep my face in position. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and I hope you know that you’re worthy of all the love I’m going to show you, okay?”
My lips thin. I want to say okay.
And I do.
I give him a small nod, and Leo takes it as permission to kiss me again, his fingers curling into my hair, pulling my head in the position he wants before settling at the top of my hips. I shift my body toward him, placing my hands on his chest, quickly getting swept up in the beautiful scent of him.
“I need these leggings off now,” he whispers, his breath fanning my lips.
I waste no time sliding them off, kicking them to the side.
Stepping back, Leo’s green eyes sear his name into my skin. He takes his sweet time drinking me in, and when I start to get uncomfortable and cross my arms, he stops me .
“Don’t you dare,” he says, shaking his head. His eyes burn with lust; it’s something I’ve still had to get used to. Someone wanting me like this.
“Leo—”
“There’s not an inch of you that’s not perfect, Sunny.” He moves closer, his mouth settling at the crook of my neck. “I just want to memorize every single inch of you.”
My heart squeezes in my chest as his hands roam lower, exploring the sensitive flesh between my legs. Nudging my legs wider with his wrist, Leo bites my ear at the same time as he plunges his fingers inside of me, and my head drops back in ecstasy.
Taking a fistful of his shirt, I pull him closer, forcing his mouth on mine as he strokes me, playing me like the finest instruments as I feel my nerve endings buzz with anticipation.
“Please tell me that you’ll have me, Briar. I know that I don’t deserve you right now. I may not deserve you for a long time. But I don’t want anyone other than you.”
“You have me, Leo. For as long as you want.”
“Forever, Briar. I want you for forever. Remember that.”
I nod, but his fingers cause me to not quite understand his words.
Forever is a long time, and I’m not even sure if he knows what those words mean himself.
Leo removes his fingers, and I instantly miss his warmth. Pouting, I look up at him as he pushes me gently onto the bed. Grabbing my leg, I gasp as he drags me around to the other side, my head falling to the soft fabric of the comforter.
He digs into his suitcase, removing a condom.
I prop myself up onto my elbows, curiosity eating at me. “Can I ask you a question if you promise not to be weird about it?”
“I think I can manage that,” he replies, a glimmer in his eye as he rips the package open .
“Why haven’t you asked me about, well, you know, not using those?”
Leo freezes, his brows furrowing as he looks down at his erect dick, a truly impressive sight, back up to me. “I didn’t want to make things awkward,” he says simply, shrugging his shoulders.
“Why would it be awkward?”
He looks around, biting his lip before letting out a small sigh. “You’ve made it clear, more than a few times, that you felt trapped by Tony when you got pregnant. I get that I trapped you into this predicament,” he gestures between us, “but I didn’t want you to think even for a second that I wanted to trap you in my life the same way.”
My heart completely melts, my shoulders relaxing in a way I didn’t even know they could as tears threaten to escape my eyes.
“I just wanted to make sure you feel safe and comfortable with me, Briar. I promise. But if you don’t want to use them, that’s fine with me. I haven’t had sex since you started working for me, and I got tested soon after.” He watches the way I purse my lips, trying to think of how to respond, and adds, “Not because I expected something to happen with you, but because I just, fuck Briar, you just made me want to be a better man from the start.”
Not wanting to waste another second without his skin on mine, I sit up, grab his arm, and pull him on top of me, his lips instantly capturing mine in one of the most thrilling dances I’ve ever experienced.
His hips rock as I lift mine, a silent agreement between us, and all it takes is an adjustment before he fills me, his warmth something I know my body is going to crave every day.
I know for sure that there can’t be anything better than this .
Pushing his shoulder back, Leo instantly understands what I want. Wrapping his arm behind my back and holding me to him, he flips us in one fluid movement, and I sit up, the angle hitting me just right as a wave of pleasure hits me like a tidal wave.
My eyes roll back as I rock back and forth slowly, giving myself time to adjust a little.
“You okay?” he asks, brushing my hair out of my face.
I nod. “Yeah, I just need,” I let out a satisfied whimper. “I just need a second to adjust, is all. I don’t know if you know this but you’re fucking huge, Leo.”
A huge grin spreads over his stupidly handsome face as he starts rocking his hips, his hands coming out to grab mine, threading his fingers interlocking them.
Lifting myself up, I slowly come down onto him, feeling every single inch as I go, my eyelids feeling heavy.
“Fuck baby, you feel so fucking good, riding my cock,” he groans before biting his lip and tilting his head to get a better look at where he disappears inside of me.
Letting go of my hands, his fingers flutter up my sides before cupping my breasts, his thumbs brushing over my sensitive nipples before massaging them.
I suck in a sharp breath, my movements coming faster and faster as the pressure builds at my core. Leo starts to mumble intelligible words, singing my praise as I lose myself further and further into my building orgasm.
“Come with me,” I hear him say finally, and he grabs my hips, helping me ride him faster as we both lose control, our moaning so loud I almost worry about the others.
But right now it’s just us.
“Come with me, please,” Leo whimpers, bringing me down on his cock with such force I feel like I’ll tear in two in the best way possible.
“Leo, I?—”
I clamp down around him, fire ripping through me as I come on his cock, and with a cry of pleasure, I watch as Leo’s eyes close, his whole body locking as he comes.
The picture is burned in my brain, and for the first time I feel an overwhelming sense of dread settle over me.
I’m absolutely in love with this man, and I hope and pray I can trust him with my heart.