Chapter 25
MIA
My hands hang limply at my sides as I watch water pebble over my skin and drip into the drain of the black tiled shower.
It’s hard to appreciate the rainfall showerhead that cascades above me. It’s arguably the nicest bathroom I’ve ever been in, and somehow instead of enjoying myself, I’ve been blankly staring at my reflection as steam fogs up the glass around me.
Today was awful.
Probably the hardest day I’ve had in a while, and yet, I feel paralyzed with the premonition that the worst is yet to come.
I’m so lost in my pity party that I barely notice the door to the bathroom creak open, followed by the sound of clothes joining mine on the marble floor. I’m still as I feel another presence join the stall with me.
“What are you doing?” I croak, my voice dry and brittle.
“Taking a shower,” he says, casually reaching around me for a luxurious-looking bottle.
I lift my head from its hanging position. “It’s been a long day, Leo. I’m not in the mood.”
I feel his movements behind me as he sets the bottle down. His hand feathers over my hip and spins me to face him. I tilt my head up to avoid the water splashing down around us.
“Tell me, Tesoro, what are you in the mood for?” he asks innocently. The question has potential for a dirty innuendo, and yet his eyes are full of genuine wonder.
“Silence.”
The corner of his lip quirks as he reaches up to grip my chin. His eyes roll over my face, searching for something I’m not willing to give.
“Are you okay? Today was—”
“I know,” I say, cutting him off. I widen my eyes, hoping he’ll catch the silent plea, begging him to drop it.
And then his fingers smooth up my cheek, slowly caressing the curve of my face. My breath hitches. “You called me.”
“Yes,” I say, dragging my teeth across my bottom lip. “It’s not that big of a deal. I can acknowledge you’re useful in certain situations.”
“Oh really?” he asks, his fingers continuing to explore the side of my face and then down the slope of my neck. “I think it’s more than that.”
“Care to elaborate?” I challenge, barely getting the words out as his right hand begins to trace my collarbone and his left grips my hip.
“I think you needed me…and you hate needing anyone.”
“Can you blame me?” I ask.
Leo curls his bottom lip between his teeth, his face devoid of the tension from earlier. “Is it so bad that I want to protect you?”
The question unlocks something inside me.
Cracks spreading to the point of total combustion.
My breathing becomes shallow as the memory crashes into me without warning.
I look down at my hands and all I see is red. It soaks every inch of my skin, forcing me to remember how quickly the warmth seeped out of my father’s body while I screamed.
“Mia?” Leo asks, his voice sharpening.
I shake my head, squeezing my eyes closed until the pounding stops. “I can’t do this again.”
“Do what?”
I try to swallow, but every time my throat constricts, I remember how raw it was as I laid there next to him screaming for someone to help.
“I can’t watch someone I care about suffer while I can’t do a damn thing to stop it.”
Leo is quiet.
“My dad was shot and killed right in front of me,” I admit, finally gathering the courage to open my eyes and look up at him. “It’s been sixteen years and I still replay that moment in my head. I can’t stop wondering what I could’ve done differently.”
My vision blurs.
“I knew something felt off that night. If I had warned him or just—”
“Stop,” Leo says firmly.
I press the heel of my palms against my eyes, begging the tears to stay in place.
“Then Vince died. Alice almost died. And now the only job I feel like I can make a difference in is gone because I got too close to all this again.” The breathing becomes more rapid and soon I feel like I’m drowning in oxygen. “E—verytime I care about someone in this world, t—they—I can’t stop it.”
The words become jumbled and I feel like I’m about to fall over before Leo reaches out and forces me into his arms.
“It’s not your fault.”
“But I could’ve done something,” I sob against his chest.
His arms wrap around me, holding me in place as my legs sway back and forth.
“No,” he says immediately, a shared understanding flashing across his face. “You’re only one person, Mia. You can fight all you want, but sometimes life gets the best of us, and that is never your fault.”
My lip quivers.
Leo’s hands slide up and down my back slowly until he lands on my cheeks and cups my face. “Look at me.”
I shake my head, desperate to remain tucked against his chest.
“Mia.”
The softness in his voice bursts through my resolve, making me peel away as his hands guide me to the right position.
I look right into his eyes, and instead of panic or unease, I’m met with a caring look that makes me feel steady for the first time in days.
His thumb brushes across my face, brushing away salty tears mixed with water.
“You don’t have to carry all of this alone.”
A combination of a sob and a laugh comes out of my mouth. “That’s such a bullshit line.”
“No,” he says, his tone firm and void of any amusement. “It’s true. I know what it’s like to feel like you’re helpless. You don’t have to feel like that when you’re with me.”
I don’t want to admit it, but I can feel it in his words and the way he looks at me. Leo DeLuca understands me better than anyone ever has.
Broken people are the best at putting broken pieces back together again.
“I’m so tired,” I say, my palms pressing against his broad chest.
“I know, Tesoro.”
“And the worst part is you’re the only thing that’s felt right all day.”
Bright emotion flashes across his face. Not quite triumph or ego—two things I’ve become familiar with.
No, it’s more like hunger.
Need.
His hand slides around the back of my neck, gripping tightly. The water continues to drum against our skin, perfectly complementing the tension lingering in the air.
“Careful,” he sighs, skimming his nail across my cupid’s bow. “Don’t start saying things like that if you don’t mean it.”
“Maybe I do,” I admit, forcing myself not to look away.
My answer causes his control to snap, and soon he’s kissing me hard enough to steal my breath away.
Leo pushes my back against the cold tile of the shower before pressing his naked body onto mine. Soon his hands are tangled in my wet hair, pulling my head back and opening my mouth.
For the first time all day, my head finally goes quiet.
I kiss him back harder. Not for distraction or avoidance. Simply because he’s the only thing that makes me feel grounded in a world constantly trying to knock me over.
Leo groans, pinning my hips against the wall with his own. I can feel his throbbing erection teasing my already slick entrance.
And then he pulls back unexpectedly, resting his forehead against mine. “Is this okay?” he asks hoarsely.
I lick my bottom lip, considering the question.
He looks sincere—like I know he’ll walk away if I ask him, and honestly, that makes me want him even more.
I nod; my eyes glazed over with lust. And then I grab the nape of his neck and pull his lip back to mine, swallowing the sounds of his excited groans.
His hands slide down my body before arriving at their destination and gripping both of my breasts. I gasp at the intense sensation as his fingers feather over the peaks of my hardened nipples.
Electricity zaps across my body, meeting at the base of my core. I grind against his bare thigh, desperate for friction.
Leo attacks my neck with his mouth, leaving sopping wet kisses as he sucks and bites. Each kiss feels more erotic than the last.
His hand traces down the side of my body as he pulls back and makes eye contact. I brace for a cheeky comment or a dirty line, but all he does is bite his bottom lip and lowers to his knees. My heart sinks in anticipation.
Without holding back, his mouth goes right where I need him, lapping up the juices spilling out of my slit before settling on the sensitive bud at the apex of my thighs.
I cry out when his tongue hits the right spot, sending a tidal wave of warmth all across my body. “Fuck,” I say, no other word seeming like a right fit.
He laughs with his mouth still pressed against me, sending a delicious vibration all over my skin. I relax into the motion and grind myself against his tongue, desperate for release.
Leo meets my thrusts, swirling his tongue around my clit and applying the perfect amount of pressure. Then he thrusts two fingers inside me and with each movement I get closer and closer to the edge.
“Am I being too nice now, Emilia?” he asks, pulling back with his lips curled.
“Such an ass,” I whisper under my breath. A few more seconds and I would’ve been there. “Unfortunately for me, I like both versions.”
Fuck. Did I really just admit that?
He laughs again, apparently liking the answer and going back to work.
If I thought he was doing a good job before, I was wrong.
Leo’s mouth closes around my clit, sucking and licking until I’m whimpering against him. Right when I’m at my peak, he curls his fingers inside me, hitting the perfect spot to send my body into a convulsive fit.
He doesn’t give me time to come down from my high before he rises to his feet. He grips his cock, sliding his hand up and down his shaft. He steps forward, ready to enter me, but I stop him and push him back against the other side of the shower.
Leo’s forehead crinkles for a moment until I’m the one getting on my knees. I look up at him through a curtain of wet hair, and he looks genuinely surprised.
His fingers twitch at his sides as I wrap my hand around his pulsing length, catching a drop of precum and smearing it down his shaft. A low and dangerous sound releases from his throat as he throws his head back.
I smile to myself, wrapping my lips around the head of his cock and easing the rest into the back of my throat.
“You’re perfection,” he groans, bracing his hands against my shoulders.
Surprisingly, he lets me set the pace, taking him as deep as I can. A new determined energy lights up inside me with every sound of pleasure. I love having him at my mercy. I can stop at any moment, and I know he’ll be begging for more.
Leo’s hips start to lose their rhythm as his breath comes in ragged, shallow pants. “Mia, if you keep doing that, I’m not going to last much longer.”
I pull back, letting his dick slide out of my mouth. I peer up at him with a wicked grin. “Good.”
He squeezes his eyes closed as he shakes his head. “Not good. I need to be inside you. Now,” he explains, flattening the palm of his hand under my jaw and guiding me to my feet.
As soon as I’m standing, his mouth slams against mine, twirling our bodies so I’m pressed against the glass. Then he hooks his hands under my thighs, yanking me up and forcing me to wrap my legs around his waist.
I scream out in pleasure as he unexpectedly drives himself inside me in one unyielding thrust.
He fills up every inch, making me forget the pain and grief I’ve been drowning in all day. Every wave of pleasure makes my mind go blissfully blank.
Leo releases a husky sound, burying his face into the crook of my neck and increasing his pace. His hips slam against mine, the sound of skin slapping amplified by our soaking wet bodies.
“Leo—please,” I sob, throwing my head back.
He smiles, his thrusts getting harder and better with each new angle. I feel myself racing toward another release before his hand slides down between us and his fingers rub against my swollen clit.
That single touch causes something to burst inside me, causing a loud, guttural scream to echo off the walls.
Leo keeps barreling his hips into my mine, gliding through my orgasm and crashing into his.
He lets out a muffled cry and drives himself into me one last time before coming undone completely.
Water continues to cascade over us, washing away sweat and tears as he slides my body down his and rests his chin on my head. Sweeping, labored breaths mix together, and I feel the stress from the day melt away.
I know that everything that happened today won’t disappear after fucking Leo. When we both walk out of our little sex cocoon, the problems will still be there.
But now the weight on my chest doesn’t feel so debilitating.
And as Leo lathers soap to wash away our sins, I feel good.
He won’t fix my problems overnight.
Won’t even scratch the surface.
But just the thought that I don’t have to do this alone makes me feel a little bit closer to him.
And that scares the hell out of me.