"I am not a virgin. I was married for seven years!" I exclaim, immediately regretting it when I realize that this is the first time I’ve ever mentioned Brett to Leo.
But he doesn’t even bat an eye. "Sarah, I’m a thirty-three-year-old man. A woman who hasn’t had sex in seven years is as close to a virgin as I’m ever going to get."
"Oh Jesus, Leo. You have no idea what you’re talking about. I could probably teach you a few things in bed," I huff, and it makes him laugh.
"Maybe. But not tonight." He reaches down and drags the blanket over us.
"What?" I ask, shocked.
Did he just shut me down?
"Don’t give me that look. My plan never was to have sex with you tonight. And especially now that I know you’re a virgin."
"Stop saying I’m a virgin. And you sure as hell could have fooled me!" I snap, catching a sudden attitude.
This sure stings like a rejection.
"Shhhhh." He wraps me in his arms, pulling me to rest on his chest. "I don’t have a condom. I really didn’t think things would go this far tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll hit the drugstore and we can spend the day in bed. But tonight, I want you to get some sleep.
Well, I guess that’s a little better.
"There’s other stuff we could do that doesn’t require a condom." I place a soft kiss to his mouth.
"There is. But right now, I have the sounds of you coming ringing in my ears. That’s more than enough."
"I want to hear the sounds of you coming." I lean forward and lick his lips.
"Go to sleep, ángel. Tomorrow."
Nope. Definitely shut down.
"Why do I feel like I’m missing something here?"
"Because you are. It’s called my cock, and tomorrow, I’m going to make you memorize every inch of it so you never have to feel like this again. Sarah, you have no idea how much I want to be inside you right now. Unfortunately, it’s not happening tonight."
"Jesus," I breathe at his words.
He kisses me tenderly then says, "Please just go to sleep. And take my word that this is for the best." He drags his nose up to my ear, sucking in a deep breath as he goes. "I could always make you come again if you think that would help you sleep."
Hmm. Well, that’s an interesting turn of events. It appears he’s not shutting me down completely.
"No, I’m good. I can’t let you be two orgasms up on me. I already owe you one."
He squeezes me tightly and chuckles in my ear, sending goose bumps over my skin. "Fair enough." He rolls to his back, dragging me with him. "Goodnight, ángel."
"Night, Leo."
And just like that, Leo James even makes rejection comfortable. He really does have a gift.
THE BUZZ of my phone vibrating on the table has me springing from a sound sleep. I was always a sound sleeper, but over time and out of necessity, I’ve taught myself to wake from that subtle buzzing.
"Hello," I bark into the phone as my heart pounds in my chest.
"Leo," I hear Erica whisper, and suddenly, I’ve never been more awake in my life.
"What’s wrong, babe?" I ask as I stride from the room. I snag a pair of sweats and a T-shirt and quickly glance back to find Sarah curled into a ball so far onto my side of the bed that I have no idea how I didn’t fall off. I quietly pull the door closed behind me but stop just before it clicks.
"There’s someone at the gates," she says in a shaky voice.
"Okay. Hey, it’s all right," I soothe very calmly even though my chest tightens and panic ricochets through me.
"I don’t think it’s paparazzi. It’s a larger male, and he just tried to climb the gate!" she cries into the phone.
"Where’s Slate?" I ask, quickly sliding into the chair in my surveillance room and remotely pulling up the security cameras for her house.
"He’s at the gym, hosting a lock-in for the kids."
I know she is trying to hold it together, but for fuck’s sake, she’s been through enough. No one should be forced to live with this kind of fear. Not even to mention that she’s pregnant. This kind of stress can’t be good for the baby.
"Okay, I have eyes on this asshole," I answer as the wall full of screens lights up, allowing me to see almost every inch of her house—inside and out. Then I press a single key on the computer and it flips on all the spotlights on her driveway. "Jesus Christ," I breathe out.
"Leo!" she screams, frightened and misreading my reaction. It’s a sound that still, to this day, guts me.
"You’re fine. It’s okay, babe," I quickly clarify. "Your gate’s not working. It’s just Johnson trying to get in." I flip on her gate intercom with the click of my mouse. "You are scaring her half to death," I tell Johnson, who is once again trying to scale her towering gate.
"Well, it’s about fucking time. I’ve been trying to buzz in for the last five fucking minutes. I got worried!" he shouts back.
"Yeah. I have no idea what’s wrong. Your code not working?" I ask.
"Nope. I’m not even getting a connection on the speaker," Johnson answers, notably agitated.