Chapter Ten CHIARA #2
His hand slid lower against my waist slowly, dragging my body flush against his beneath the sheets. The hard length of him pressed against my thigh. I sucked in a sharp breath. Leo groaned softly against my mouth, his eyes falling shut for one brutal second.
“See?” he muttered darkly. “This is exactly why I’ve been trying not to touch you.”
Heat flooded every inch of my body. His lips hovered just above mine now. Not kissing. Almost. Close enough that I could feel the warmth of his breath every time he exhaled slowly through his nose. It was torture.
“I can’t do this,” I whispered shakily. “You’re making me crazy.”
A low laugh escaped him, rough and sinful.
“Chiara,” he murmured. “You’ve had me losing my fucking mind since the second I saw you.”
For one endless second, Leo just stared at me. Then his eyes dropped helplessly to my mouth again. The tension between us became unbearable.
His lips hovered just above mine now. Not kissing.
Almost. Close enough that every breath felt shared.
Close enough that I could feel the heat pouring from his skin into mine, hot enough to make my entire body ache.
I wanted him so badly it hurt. And judging by the way Leo was shaking slightly above me, barely holding himself back, he wanted me just as much.
The room felt suffocatingly warm now, moonlight spilling silver across tangled black sheets while the city glowed faintly beyond the windows. Everything smelled like him. Danger.
My fingers curled tighter against his tattooed arm, tracing hard muscle beneath heated skin. Leo’s breathing hitched at the contact. That tiny reaction made something reckless unfurl inside me.
“You’re still holding back,” I whispered.
His jaw flexed violently. “Chiara…”
“You said you wanted me,” I whimpered.
“I do.” The words came out rough. Immediate. Honest enough to make my stomach twist.
“Then why won’t you touch me?”
Leo shut his eyes briefly like the question physically hurt him. Because he was losing control. I could feel it now.
In the tension vibrating through his body. In the way his hands kept flexing against the mattress beside my head like he was trying not to grab me harder. In the roughness creeping deeper and deeper into his voice every time he spoke. When he opened his eyes again, they looked almost black.
“You really want an answer to that?” he murmured.
“Yes.”
His gaze dragged slowly over my face. “You’re too fucking innocent.”
Heat rushed into my cheeks. “I’m not innocent anymore. You made sure of it. So take more, like you already said you did.”
The second the words left my mouth, Leo made a low sound in his throat that nearly melted me into the mattress. “Jesus Christ.”
The room somehow got even hotter. His forehead dropped briefly against mine while he inhaled sharply through his nose like he was trying to steady himself. “You have no idea what hearing you say things like that does to me.”
I swallowed hard. “Then tell me.”
“You want honesty?” His voice lowered dangerously. “Fine.”
His hand slid down my waist deliberately, fingers spreading wider against my hip now. The touch alone made my breath catch.
“Every time you walk around this penthouse wearing my clothes,” he said roughly, “I think about bending you over the nearest fucking surface.”
Heat exploded through me. Leo watched every reaction flash across my face. Every breath. Every shiver. Every tiny movement of my body beneath his.
“And every time you look at me with those big blue eyes,” he continued darkly, “I picture exactly what you’d look like beneath me, begging me not to stop.”
My thighs pressed together helplessly beneath the sheets. Leo noticed. A rough curse in Italian escaped him.
“See?” His voice sounded strained now. “We both know you want it. But you’re not ready.”
I could barely breathe anymore. Everything inside me felt hot and shaky and desperate for him.
“Please just touch me,” I whispered again.
His eyes shut hard. “No.”
The refusal sounded tortured this time.
“Why?” I whispered helplessly.
“Because once I start, I’m not stopping at a fucking kiss,” he groaned. The words slammed straight through me. My pulse fluttered wildly.
Leo lowered himself slightly closer until his body almost fully covered mine. The weight of him pressed me deeper into the mattress, all hard muscle and dangerous heat. God. He felt incredible. And he still wasn’t really touching me. That was the worst part.
Every movement stayed barely restrained. Barely controlled. Like Leo was fighting himself with every second he stayed above me without giving in. The tension became agony.
“Leo,” I whispered again.
His eyes snapped shut. “Stop saying my name like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you already know exactly how to make me lose my fucking mind,” he hissed.
A nervous little laugh escaped me. Leo’s eyes opened at the sound. And something about the way he looked at me changed. Softer for one dangerous second. Then darker and so much hungrier.
“You’re enjoying this,” he muttered.
“You’re enjoying it too.”
A rough smile pulled at one corner of his mouth. “That’s the problem.”
My hand slid slowly upward before I could stop myself, fingertips brushing over warm skin and dark ink across his chest. Leo went completely still.
The tattoos fascinated me. Sharp black lines disappearing beneath moonlight and shadow while hard muscle flexed beneath my touch. Beautiful. Sinful. Mine to touch. The realization sent another wave of heat through me. His breathing changed again.
“Chiara,” he warned softly. But I didn’t stop. I let my fingers drift higher, tracing the strong line of his shoulder before sliding around the back of his neck carefully.
Leo groaned quietly. That sound wrecked me.
“Fuck,” he muttered against my mouth.
Then his hand gripped my thigh hard enough to make me gasp. Not painful. Possessive. The heat of his palm burned through the thin fabric separating us.
“You keep touching me like that,” he said roughly, “and I’m going to stop being a gentleman.”
I stared at him breathlessly. “You’re not a gentleman.”
A dark laugh escaped him.
“No, sweetheart.” His nose brushed mine slowly. “I’m really fucking not, but I tried with you.”
The words should’ve scared me. Instead my body arched subtly toward him beneath the sheets. His expression tightened almost painfully. Then finally… His mouth brushed mine. Barely.
A soft drag of warm lips against my own that lasted less than a second.
But it still shattered me completely. My breath caught violently in my throat.
Leo froze too. Like he couldn’t believe he’d actually done it.
Then his eyes dropped to my mouth again.
And whatever restraint he’d been holding onto finally snapped apart.
The next kiss landed harder.
Leo’s hand slid into my hair while his mouth moved against mine slowly, deeply, like he was trying to taste every sound I made. Heat exploded through my body, sharp enough to make my back arch beneath him.
God. He kissed exactly the way he looked. Dangerously.
His stubble scraped softly against my skin while his tongue brushed my bottom lip, coaxing a shaky sound from my throat before he swallowed it with another kiss.
The room spun. Everything disappeared except him. His weight above me. His scent surrounding me. The rough sounds he made every time I kissed him back harder.
Because I was kissing him back now. Desperately. I couldn’t stop myself anymore. Leo groaned against my mouth like that nearly destroyed him.
“Fuck,” he muttered roughly between kisses. “You taste so perfect, baby.”
Heat flooded every inch of my body. His hand slid lower against my waist possessively, dragging me tighter against him while his mouth moved hotter and rougher against mine with every passing second. Like he was losing control exactly the way he promised he would.
My fingers tangled helplessly in his dark hair. Leo kissed me deeper. Until I couldn’t think anymore. Until my body melted beneath his completely. Until all I wanted was more.
Then his mouth left mine. I gasped softly, chasing after him instinctively. Leo stared down at me breathing hard, his lips swollen from kissing me while his eyes burned almost violently now.
“Jesus Christ, Chiara.”
My chest rose shakily beneath him. “What?”
His hand spread against my stomach possessively.
“What do you think happens if I get you pregnant?” he asked softly.
The words slammed into me and my breath caught. Leo looked almost dazed now. Gone. Like the kiss ruined his ability to think straight. His gaze dropped lower over my body beneath him.
“You’d look so fucking beautiful carrying my baby,” he murmured roughly, almost to himself. “Full of my seed. My child.”
Heat and shock crashed through me simultaneously. Leo’s eyes lifted back to mine slowly.
“I think about it constantly,” he admitted quietly. “Breeding you. Watching your body swell with my baby.” His hand tightened slightly against my stomach. “Keeping you so full of me you can’t think about another man again.”
My pulse went wild. The possessiveness in his voice should’ve terrified me. Instead it made heat curl violently low in my stomach. The dark smile that spread slowly across his face looked downright sinful.
Leo’s dark smile faded slowly. Not completely. Just enough for restraint to creep painfully back across his face. Like he’d remembered something important. Or dangerous.
His hand stayed spread possessively against my stomach while his breathing slowly steadied above me, but I could feel the shift in him. The tension. The effort it took to pull himself back under control after the things he’d just whispered against my mouth.
Breeding you.
The words echoed through my head hot enough to make my entire body ache. I stared up at him breathlessly, lips swollen from kissing him, chest rising too fast beneath his body. I could still taste him on my tongue. Whiskey. Sin. Heat. And God, I wanted more. I wanted everything.