“I knew he was going to come around again. I just didn’t think it would be this soon.” And in the library.
I haven’t let go of Leo’s face. I can’t. His beautiful eyes are trainedon mine, searching me. He’s holding me tightly around my back, supporting me with his strength. A rush of need sweeps through me, twisting in my chest and stealing my breath. I whisper, “I’m glad you were here.”
“I promised you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
Suddenly I stop caring that we’re in a public place. Ineedhim. I grab him behind his neck and kiss him. Hard. His hands tighten into fists as he kisses me back, like he’s struggling to stay in control. And losing.
We stumble into the book stack, but he somehow manages to cushion the impact, cradling my head so it doesn’t hit the shelves. He groans and snakes a hand into my hair, controlling the angle of my head so he can kiss me deeper and harder. The one cell in my brain still working warns me,Good god, ease up. You’re going to get arrested.But I can’t stop my grasping hands.
Leo pulls back and gasps for breath. “Let’s go.”
My gaze is glued to his perfect mouth. “Where?”
“My place.”
I barely have time to register his meaning before he’s handing me my open backpack and my book. Heart pumping and hands shaking, I drop the book inside and grapple with the zipper. He snatches it from me to finish the job, takes my hand, and rushes me out of the library.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
It’s noteasy to drive across town, navigate a parking lot, and climb three flights of stairs when you can’t let go of the person you’re with. Leo and I are nothing but a tangle as we stumble and kiss our way up to his third-floor apartment. He wrestles with his keys, missing the lock as he seeks out my tongue with his. At last, we make it inside. The slam of the door and the clatter of keys on the floor hardly make me jump. I’m lost in him, blind to the rest of the world.
It’s my first time in his apartment, but I couldn’t care less about my surroundings. All I can think about is the man whose arms I’m in. Between kisses, we strip off our jackets, leaving them where they fall, and mark a trail to his bedroom with our discarded shoes. He backs me up until my calves hit the bed and braces me as I fall onto a twisted pile of sheets and blankets.
His swallow is thick. “We don’t have to?—”
He’s on all fours above me, his dark, anxious eyes catching the light from the hall. I brush back the strands of his hair that tickle my forehead. “I want to.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” And just in case he needs the extra reassurance, I twine mylegs around his, forcing him down onto me. He sighs as the fight goes out of him. I match the force of his kiss as I slide my hands under his shirt, feeling the smooth skin of his back under my palms.
He pushes up on his knees and whips the shirt off over his head, right in front of my hungry eyes. Good god, all that corded muscle. I’ve felt it under his clothes, but toseeit—? I gulp as my hands splay across his abs, barely getting a taste of him before he’s tugging off my hoodie. My amethyst has fallen between my neck and shoulder, but he finds it, pulling it along its chain until it’s resting on my bare chest. His gift of protection, directly over my heart. With his lips he traces the V the necklace makes, lingering on the swell of my breasts. Teasing me. Driving me insane.
I wriggle to get my hands behind my back. One snap of my fingers and my bra contracts, one swipe of Leo’s hand and it’s on the floor. His eyes dilate and his tongue flicks across his bottom lip. Holding me under my ribs, he draws me up, arching my back and thrusting one breast into his mouth. Heat from his tongue surges to my core. My nails rake his shoulders as he draws a line of hot kisses from my chest to my belly. He hooks his fingers in my waistband, and I lift my hips, making it easier for him to peel off my leggings.
He murmurs against my hipbone, “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”
My heart chokes like it’s been grabbed and shaken. “Leo—” I reach for him, needing to be even closer to him. Needing him to soothe this burning ache in my chest.
He slides up to kiss me, but it doesn’t relieve my desperation. I push my hands down his hard flanks and lock my legs around him, holding him tight and sighing as he grinds his hips between my legs. I want him inside me. Now.
I start to unzip his jeans, but he takes over, standing upright and pushing them to the floor. I reach for him again, needy and wanting.Come back to me.Instead, he drops to his knees and tugs me by the hips to the edge of the bed.Oh god.As I squirm in anticipation, he kisses me higher, higher, higher up the inside of my leg.
Over the ridge of my belly I can see his eyes, midnight dark and hungry. “I’ve been wanting to do this since that night I saw you wearing faerie wings.” I feel his smile against the crease of my thigh. “And a very short little dress.”
He sneaks under the elastic of my panties and teases me with a single flick of his tongue. I whimper and writhe, fumbling blindly with the lacy straps around my hips. He gets the message, yanking my panties down with both hands and tossing them god-knows-where. In a breath, his mouth is on me, hot and firm, robbing my lungs of air. With one strong, merciless arm across my hips, he pins me down. I can’t arch into him or pull away. It’s too much and it’s not enough.Let me go. No, hold me tighter.When I grapple with his arm, he kisses my hand and takes it captive. I tremble and moan, coiling tighter and tighter.
Then he stops.
I whimper his name and my eyes, which were squeezed shut, fly open to find him right above me. He’s naked and between my legs and he’s so beautiful. I’ve never wanted anything, anyone, so badly. Greedily, I reach down and wrap a hand around him, making a thorough stroke of his hard length. Out of his mouth rolls a half-growl, half-groan. When he drops his head against mine and pushes into my hand, my tongue grows thick.
How would he feel in my mouth?
I push on his shoulder, trying to tip him onto his back, but he holds firm. “I can’t.”
My free hand finds its way into the back of his hair. “Please?—”
“I won’t last.”
