Chapter 26 #2
"I am certain," Olivia said, her voice fiercely honest.
Leo kissed her deeply before she could say another word, swallowing her protest.
When he pulled back, his icy blue eyes were focused on her. "Until we reach that point," he said, his voice dropping into a dark, sensual register, "I can still give you something."
Olivia’s breath hitched as Leo’s hands moved to the button of her jeans. He popped it open, pulling the zipper down slowly.
"Is this okay?" he asked, looking up into her eyes, checking in.
"Yes," Olivia whispered.
Leo hooked his fingers into the waistband of her denim shorts and her panties, dragging them both down her legs. He tossed them onto the floor. He stepped between her bare thighs, his gaze dropping to her exposed center.
He let out a rough curse under his breath, his hands gripping the back of her thighs.
Olivia flushed hot with insecurity. She tried to pull her knees together, feeling suddenly exposed. "I'm sorry..."
Leo stopped, his hands holding her legs gently apart. "Liv. Do you not want this?"
"It's not that," Olivia admitted, her cheeks burning. She looked away, embarrassed. "It's just... I haven't experienced this very often. James never really cared about doing... this. I guess foreplay wasn't his thing, although he never shied away from asking me to—"
Leo’s grip on her thighs tightened possessively. His jaw locked. "I need you not to say that man's name right now," he ordered, his voice rough.
He looked up at her, his eyes blazing with a fierce, possessive heat. "Do you want me to stop?"
"No," Olivia whispered, leaning back on her hands.
Leo leaned down and pressed an open-mouthed kiss against her neck, sucking hard enough that she knew it would leave a mark. Olivia melted into him, a soft whimper escaping her lips.
Leo dropped to his knees on the kitchen floor.
He parted her folds with gentle, expert fingers. He looked up at her one last time, before he lowered his head and pressed his open mouth against her center.
Olivia gasped loudly, her fingers tangling frantically in his dark hair.
Leo was incredibly attentive. He didn't treat her like a task; he treated her like something precious and wildly intoxicating.
His tongue was hot and deliberate, finding her most sensitive point and swirling over it with a relentless rhythm.
His fingers slid inside her, stretching her slowly, matching the pace of his mouth.
Every time she whimpered, he adjusted, groaning against her skin, holding her thighs tighter, drinking her in.
It was an explosive passion that Olivia had never experienced before. She realized, thrashing her head back against the cabinets, exactly what it felt like to be desired with true intensity and absolute care.
"Leo, please," she sobbed out.
He sucked harder, his fingers plunging deeper.
Olivia screamed his name, her body bowing off the counter as a blinding orgasm ripped through her. She shook violently, her vision going entirely white, her thighs clamping tightly around his head.
Leo stayed right there, soothing her, tasting every last drop of her release until the violent trembling finally subsided.
He stood up slowly. They were both breathless. He stepped between her legs, framed her flushed face with his large hands, and kissed her deeply, tasting her on his own lips.
***
Olivia lay in the dark quiet of Leo’s bedroom.
After what happened in the kitchen, they had taken separate showers in separate bathrooms. Leo had told her he just needed a minute.
Olivia knew exactly why. She had felt how hard he was against her leg when he stood up.
She knew he needed to take care of himself since he had vehemently insisted that the night was exclusively about her.
Part of her had wanted to be with him in the shower for that, too. She wanted to touch him. But she understood why he was holding back. He was not rejecting her. He was protecting the careful pace they had agreed upon, even when she knew it was costing him a massive amount of physical control.
That restraint made her care for him even more deeply.
She had sneaked into his room after her shower, wearing one of his oversized t-shirts. When she pulled back the heavy duvet, Leo had opened his arms. No questions. No expectations. Just a warm, secure space carved out for her.
She climbed into bed, tucking herself into his solid chest. They had been lying in the same position for minutes now, his large hand gently, rhythmically caressing her skin in the deep darkness of the room.
"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Leo asked softly, his voice a low rumble against her back.
"Yes," Olivia admitted, her fingers tangling with his. "I'm so scared the signature issue is going to ruin everything. I'm scared James will find another legal loophole. I'm scared we'll get in front of the judge and discover that the truth isn't enough."
Leo pulled her closer, his arm tightening securely around her waist. "It is going to work out, Liv."
"How can you sound so sure?"
"Trust me," Leo whispered, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. "Everything is going to be okay."
Olivia desperately wanted to believe him.
Curled against him in the dark, held tightly in the safest place she had ever known, she wanted to believe him more than she had wanted to believe anything in a very long time.