Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
JACQUELINE
I closed the door behind me gently, not wanting to wake up anyone else on this floor. I was surprised I could walk straight, considering everything he put me through last night. And technically this morning. I turned, ready to walk to the elevator, when I hesitated.
Should I leave him my number?
The impulsive thought made butterflies erupt in my stomach, but no, that wasn’t the deal. He was leaving later today, anyway.
So I forced one foot in front of the other until I could ignore the invisible tether in my chest that tried to tug me back. The ache that built every step that took me away from him.
This chapter was closing for the handsome stranger and me, but I was determined to believe that somewhere out there, the universe was starting another.
* * *
Much to Leo’s disappointment, before he got into the shower, I ripped that silly outfit off of my body as fast as possible. When we arrived at his apartment, we weren’t kissing and stumbling into each other. We weren’t frantic with our need to taste and feel one another. I wondered if it was because we had some comfort now. Security in the fact that we would satiate the other’s needs like this.
“Did I not make myself clear earlier?” Leo’s hands came up from behind me, halting my movements before I could bend down and slide out of this skirt, “I wanted a proper strip tease.”
“I—” I hesitated, “What if I did that another time? In a different outfit?” This skirt felt awful. Something about the fabric was horrible against my skin.
“Fine, join me in the shower, then,” Leo chuckled, as he headed toward the bathroom. He gave me one last smile as he pulled his sweaty jersey over his head and stepped out of view. The sound of water running echoed in the space.
I stepped out of my itchy skirt and tube top, stripping out of my thong and bra just as he instructed. His room was warm, allowing me to stand there freely to tie my hair up in a bun and soak in the joy of this moment, before following after him.
Leo was already under the stream, his face tipped back as he already lathered his shampoo, and used the same lather to scrub his face.
The sound of the glass sliding door opening made him glance at me with a smirk before he rinsed off.
I shivered, the steam of the room created a damp layer on my skin while he took over the majority of the spray. Right when Leo reached for his bar of soap, I snatched it first.
“Let me,” I whispered. Leo grasped both of his hands on either side of my waist, turning so that my back hit the spray of the shower now, but none of it touched my hair. The water warmed me up. He trailed his hands on my hips and waist as I began to lather him up with the soap. Scrubbing his arms and shoulders and chest and legs. Every inch of his skin until I started to reach where he was erect.
“You shouldn’t,” Leo murmured, halting my hand before I could touch him, “Otherwise this will be over before it starts.” After he took care of washing that himself, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck, turning us again so he could rinse his body off. Leo then took the soap and started lathering me up.
I had showered this morning, but I let him have the opportunity to roam his hands all over me again. It was as if he was surveying me, even though he’d already seen me like this. The way his palms scraped over my breasts, and my ribs, and shoulders, and neck felt like an imprint.
Like his hands were reuniting with my body.
“Stunning.” His eyes darkened, and a heated grin pulled on one corner of his lips. My heart thumped when the water turned off and he grabbed a nearby towel to dry us off. Standing in his bathroom, both of us finally dried, he leaned forward to kiss me. As his lips devoured, his hands on my waist guided us out of the bathroom.
Letting him lead us, I enthusiastically kissed him back. I wanted him to know he could kiss me like this, that I was here . That I loved him just as much as he loved me, if not more.
After taking time to properly reunite with his lips, I placed my hand flat on his chest and pushed him toward his bed.
“Sit,” I licked my lips after ordering him.
He lifted a brow, tilting his head to the side, “Are you in charge right now?”
“Yes.” I pushed him again, and he obeyed. He promptly sat on the edge of his bed, though he made me stay near him with his hands on my thighs, “At least, you’re going to let me pretend to be in charge until you can’t wait anymore.”
Leo’s hooded eyes landed on my naked breasts, puckered from the cool air of the room, “That’s not going to be for much longer, I’m afraid.”
I shrugged, “Let’s set a timer then.” I padded around for my discarded clothes to find my phone, and opened the clock app, “Let’s try making you wait for ten minutes.”
“Thirty seconds,” Leo countered, his fingers flexing into my skin.
“Five minutes,” I giggled.
“Forty-five seconds.”
“Three minutes?” I set the timer, not willing to let him push for more, “You can resist taking over for three short minutes, can’t you?” I brushed my fingers through his damp hair, loving how his head leaned back and his eyes fluttered closed from my touch.
“I’ll try,” Leo grumbled as I dropped the phone on the mattress next to him.
“Good.” I stepped back, out of his reach, and ran my hands across my collarbone.
“Fuck,” Leo leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, his hands balled into fists as his gaze locked onto where my hands were.
“You wanted a strip tease,” I reminded him, tracing the shape of my breasts with my index finger, “But I think I just want to tease.”
Leo groaned, scraping a hand down his face and keeping his hand over his jaw, his pupils expanding. I preened, loving that I had this effect on him. Leo Turner brought out a confidence in me I didn’t know I had, and I relished the feeling as I continued to trace the different dips and planes of my body, showing him everywhere he couldn’t touch me right now.
I traced the curve of my hip slowly, slowly, holding back a laugh as his gaze followed the movement. As if Leo was hypnotized. I glanced at the timer, only one minute had passed. I had two more. I stepped forward, batting his hands away when they reached up to grab me.
He grumbled, trying to grab my hips again before I locked my hands on his wrists and held them behind his back. It brought our faces close together, so I took advantage of my position to delicately lick up his neck.
Leo shuddered under me, and the heat of arousal burned in my lower belly from the knowledge that I could turn him on like this.
“You always take such good care of me,” I whispered in his ear. I followed him as he dropped his head back, determined to drive him as wild as he drove me, “What if I want to take care of you? Have you lay back while I do all the work?” I released his wrists to push him back on the bed. He obeyed with a dramatic thump against the mattress. I kissed his earlobe, teasing the flesh with my teeth, before sliding down his body.
His hands came up to cup either side of my face, which I decided to allow before I teased the tips of my fingers down the V-shape pointing toward my destination.
“Letting me take care of you,” Leo rasped, “Is taking care of me.” I had a feeling this was just Leo being Leo. That perhaps our dynamic was a habit, where he ravishes me and then gets his fill. We hadn’t ever had him finish first, and I wanted to use the opportunity as another form of appreciation for, well, everything he is.
Everything he’s done for me.
How much I love him.
I tsked my tongue at him before running a finger up his length just to watch it twitch. Leo’s hips flexed, and I stood up.
A disappointed grumble sounded in his throat, while I studied him. Prone on his back for me.
I was just leaning over him again, teasing him from root to tip with my tongue, when the alarm on my phone went off.
Without warning, Leo pushed me off of him so he could grab underneath my armpits and pull me onto the bed. I was laughing as he used his strength to flip us over. I was now the one on my back.
“Wait!” I laughed.
“Do you remember your safe word?” Leo asked, grabbing hold of my jaw to ensure he met my eyes.
“Yes, but I wanted you to go first—” Leo shook his head before slamming his lips over my mouth as he covered me with his naked body.
“I don’t want to go first,” Leo rasped the words against my open lips, dragging me farther up the bed so he could spread me out. He threw one of his legs over mine, grinding his erection against me as he sucked on a sensitive patch of skin between my neck and jaw.
“But—oh god,” I clutched his shoulders, an attempt to anchor myself as his fingers slipped against my aching center.
“You want me, and I want to play with you,” Leo murmured against my neck. He was able to tuck an arm underneath my shoulders, his fingers fisting in the roots of my hair. He angled my head exactly where he wanted so that his mouth could ravish mine. I was burning, my heart thudding at an erratic pace in my chest.
I wanted him so badly.
But this was supposed to be about him .
Right when Leo’s thumb started swirling in circles, tightening that invisible string inside of me, I mumbled out, “Glacier.”
And Leo froze, his hands halting exactly where they were. He leaned back, his brows drawn together as he studied me.
“I want you so, so badly,” I flexed my hips against his hand, in an attempt to reassure him that I still did want his touch, “But I wanted to do something for you .”
“You are.”
I shook my head, “No, I’m always taken care of first—”
“Do you not want my touch right now?” Leo interrupted, resting his forehead against mine. He kept his hand on me, his thumb scant millimeters from where I was aching for him.
“I always want your touch. I just…” How did I explain? “I want to show you how much I love you.” I inhaled a breath, wondering if getting emotional during this moment would ruin the heat of it, “That I can take care of you, like you take care of me.”
Leo nodded against my forehead, letting my words settle around us. I was still holding his shoulders. My fingers flexed their hold on him. I really didn’t want to stop anything, but my plan was currently derailing, and I wasn’t sure how to deal with it.
“I hear you,” Leo kissed my cheek, “But, Jacqueline, I am dying to be inside of you.”
I huffed a laugh at that, “But that means I go first.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I want,” Leo grinned against my cheek, “Love me, by letting me have you how I have been dreaming of having you.”
Warmth swarmed my chest with his words, “You don’t want me to take care of you first?”
“No, no,” Leo shook his head again, “I want you to go first, so I can fit in between your legs as fast as possible. I want to rock into you, holding you under me, while you tell me that you love me, and I remind you how much I love you.” He kissed my lips again, leisurely, adoringly, “Please, let me take over in this moment. I promise, later tonight even, you can play with me as much as you want.”
…That option really didn’t suck.
“Are you sure?” I lowered one hand from his shoulders to trail down his arm, the arm frozen on my body. I gently nudged his thumb closer to where I was most sensitive.
“Positive,” Leo groaned, “Can I keep touching you?”
I nodded, and before he could remind me, I vocalized, “Yes. You can touch me.”
His grin was wide and warm, making butterflies take off in my stomach as his thumb immediately went back to work.
“Do you want to use your safe word?”
“No.” I shook my head, biting my lip as the rest of his hand slipped under the material to where I was burning.
“Thank you,” Leo settled more against me, resuming the searing kisses. His tongue plundered my mouth, I almost couldn’t keep up with him. I was surrounded by Leo. His masculine scent, his hand pulling my pleasure to the surface, and his lips claiming mine in a way that felt almost primal.
I was barreling towards the edge, knowing that this was what he wanted. How he wanted to be inside of me “as fast as possible.” Usually, I didn’t perform well when there was pressure. I struggled in my past with feeling insecure about the fact that I didn’t get off as quickly as my partners, but that wasn’t a problem this time.
Leo loved me, and I loved him.
Leo wanted me, and I wanted him.
It was as simple as that.
My body understood.
So when I started gasping against his mouth, squeezing my eyes shut as my release throbbed through my core, I wasn’t too surprised I was able to get there as quickly as I did. Leo murmured encouraging words against my gasp, saying how well I was doing and how much he loved me.
I finally came down from the high, rubbing at my forehead as Leo went searching for a condom.
He shuffled around in his nightstand for a while longer than normal, before releasing a low, “Shit.”
“What is it?” I asked, opening my eyes to see his frown.
“I don’t have a condom,” he held the box upside down, dropping his head against the mattress when nothing fell out, “Fuck.”
I rolled over, drumming my fingers on the comforter in thought.
My legs squeezed together a moment later as if just realizing how devastating this was for me as well.
“Um…” I bit my bottom lip, almost distracted by the way Leo brushed his dark hair off of his face as he glanced at me, “We could not use one?”
Leo immediately slammed his face into the comforter and released the deepest scream. I was glad it was muffled because otherwise, that would have been very loud.
I frowned, but laughed, “You can just say no.”
“No, no,” Leo lifted his face again, his cheeks flushed and pupils blown as he crawled back over me to cup either side of my face with his hands, “Are you serious about not using one?”
I lifted a shoulder, “I’m not on the pill, but I’m not ovulating...if you want to risk it.”
“But do you want me inside of you bare?” Leo pressed, his eyes darting between both of mine. Something heated in my veins at his question. The ache that currently felt released was building. It was as if my body anticipated this connection with him, and desperately needed it.
“I’ve never not used a condom before,” I skimmed my hands down his sides, “But I want to with you.”
Leo shook his head, “We can use a condom again after this. Not using one right now doesn’t mean we can’t use one ever again.”
“I know.” I saw his neck and chest heat, and his erection twitched against my leg the more we delved into this subject. Leo wanted this. He was excited at the idea of having unprotected sex. It was thrilling, and I was happily getting caught up in it.
“I need your clear consent for this, love,” Leo bent down to kiss my lips once more, “Do you want me inside of you without a condom?”
I smiled, “Yes. I want you inside of me.”
“Do you want me to finish somewhere else?” he added. I immediately shook my head.
“Don’t you dare.” Leo wheezed at my response, before dropping his head on my shoulder to gather himself. I laughed, wrapping my legs around his waist and arching my hips up, “I have Plan B at home. Maybe we can go to my house right after so I can take it.” I didn’t love the idea of Plan B destroying my hormones like it had for me in the past, but it was worth it to me to not get pregnant.
“If you want,” Leo groaned, flexing so that the tip of his cock teased me where I was wet and ready for him, “But I also had a vasectomy a few years ago.”
Uhhh , “Pardon?”
“So I can’t get you pregnant,” Leo added, hoisting himself up on his elbows so he could look between our bodies, “I’ve gone to every checkup, and I’ve come back with the same results. No fertility.”
“Oh my god,” I groaned, dropping my hold on him to cover my eyes, “I didn’t think you could get any hotter.”
Leo laughed, kissing my hands until I removed them from my eyes so he could say, “Me having a vasectomy turns you on?”
My core throbbed at his words, “Yes—but why haven’t you mentioned that before?” I grabbed his waist, pulling him into me. Leo entered me slowly like he always did. I gasped through his intrusion, desperate to relax enough for him to sink as deep as possible, “We could have been going without condoms this whole time.”
“Vasectomies don’t negate the value of condoms,” Leo grunted, a drop of sweat building on his brow as he thrust his hips, inching farther and farther inside of me, “You can still take Plan B after, to give you peace of mind.”
“Oh my god,” I groaned, when he finally bottomed out. In a physical sense, there was no real difference between the feel of him with or without a condom on. In an emotional sense, I felt more connected to Leo Turner than I had ever felt with anyone else. That was what made me throb with want. That was what made me reach up to grab a fistful of his hair. My grip made him pull his gaze from where our bodies connected, to my eyes.
“Fuck me,” I instructed, “Fuck me like you’ve wanted to.”
Leo’s jaw clenched as he started moving, rocking inside of me at a rough pace that made me lock my legs around him.
“God, yes,” I wrapped my arms around his shoulders again, fully anchored to his body, “I love you so fucking much, Leo.” The sound he made in response felt tortured, but he picked up his pace, planking over me as he did his best to get me over the edge again.
“I’ve wanted you for so long, Jacqueline,” Leo grunted out, “I love feeling you bare like this. Feeling you take me so fucking well.” He was shifting us up toward his headboard, so I released one arm from his shoulders to palm the headboard, keeping me put while he thrust into me.
“I love you,” I breathed, “I love you.”
“I love you,” Leo moaned the words, his eyes filling with moisture as he looked down at me, “I love that you’re mine now.”
“I love—oh my god,” I squeezed my eyes closed, “I—it’s too much.”
“Look at me,” Leo demanded, “Open your eyes.”
I managed to obey, enough to see him studying me as if he couldn’t look away. He had a feral look to him, something deep in his core that was being revealed each time I rocked my hips in tandem with his.
“I want you to finish inside of me so badly,” I whispered, “I want to make you lose control.”
He whimpered even though the corner of his lip tugged up in a smirk, “Yeah?”
I was starting to forget to breathe properly. I was holding my breath and gasping for air, my orgasm building at a rate that almost terrified me. Leo could tell when it was about to happen, the look in his eyes darkened more as he pounded into me, desperate to bring me to the surface.
Right when I broke, so did Leo.
We groaned through our releases. It didn’t happen often, reaching our pleasure at the same moment, but I was so grateful that we shared this experience today.
I felt Leo pulse against my inner muscles, setting off aftershocks that made silent tears spill from my eyes.
Once we managed to catch our breath, he scooped me up in his arms and tugged me flush against his chest. Laying on our sides, he breathed me in, tightening his hold. Our legs tangled together; our arms wrapped around each other. My head rested against his shoulder and neck, and his mouth settled against my hair.
After breathing me in, Leo whispered, “…That was incredible.”
I couldn’t nod this close to him, wrapped as tight as we were, so I whispered back, “You’re incredible.”
“You’re brilliant,” I could feel his lips pull into a smile against my hair after his words.
“You’re all mine,” I replied, smiling against his warm chest.
“I am.”