***
“What time do you have to leave?” I ask quietly, not wanting to disturb the sweet silence of the early morning. We’re curled up in bed. It’s not quite daybreak. The cat is curled up on Leo’s stomach, purring, and I’m draped against his side, my head on his chest.
We’re still sweaty from early morning sex, my skin is still humming, and Leo’s fingertips are brushing up and down my back.
“I have to be at the airport at nine,” he whispers.
“What do you want to do until then?” I ask and trace the letters tattooed over his chest.
“I think we should go for a run.”
My head whips up to look him in the face. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” He grins down at me. “I won’t get to run with you for two weeks.”
“I’m going to meet up with you in New York this weekend,” I remind him. Even five days seems too long.
“We won’t be running in New York, baby. We’ll be lucky if we make it out of the hotel room.” He chuckles and kisses my forehead. “Come on, out of bed. Let’s go.”
I follow him out of bed and we pull on our running gear and head down to the street. I realize he’s wearing the same shorts and t-shirts he wore the morning of our first run.
“You know,” I mention casually as we jog down our usual path through the city. “I can run farther than we normally do.”
“Just run. I’ll follow you.”
“You don’t want to know where I’m going?” I ask with a smile.
“Nope, I’ll go where you go.”
“Okay, but you’ll have to keep up. I’m not slowing my pace for you.” I throw him a mock glare as he laughs.
“So noted.”
Damn, he’s sexy. He’s just as sexy to me now as he was that first morning we ran together. Even more so now that I know the man beneath the tats and the piercings.
“So, who’s your favorite band?” He asks with a grin.
“I don’t know.” I shrug and keep my face neutral. “I like Daughtry a lot.”
“Try again.”
“Train.”
“I will spank you.”
“I might have a thing for Nash,” I reply, laughing.
“We’ll work on it.” He chuckles.
We run, side by side, our breathing and steps matched… thud, thud, thud, all the way to the park where he pulled me onto that picnic table to rub my legs.
“My legs aren’t shaking today,” I boast with a grin.
“I’m not inside you. Of course they aren’t.”
I raise an eyebrow and then burst into laughter, shoving his shoulder. “You’re such an arrogant ass.”
He nuzzles my ear, breathing hard, as we stroll down to our café. “Am I wrong?” he murmurs.
“No. Just arrogant.”
A waitress shows us to a booth, hands us menus and takes our drink orders of juice and coffee.
Neither of us needs to open the menu.
“How is your job going, baby?” Leo asks and leans his elbows on the table, his eyes happy, a half smile on those kissable lips.
“Good.” I nod. “No assholes named Bob at this one, and it’s unlikely they’ll want me to do a story on my family, given that we run exposes on wines.” I wink at him and reach over to grab his hand in my own so I can trace the ink on his fingers.
“Are you excited for the tour?” I ask and watch my finger on his skin.
“It’ll be fun to play and be with the band for a couple weeks, but I’m already looking forward to coming home.”
“It’s only for two weeks. That’s better than nine months.” I snicker. “Nine months would kill me.”
“Nine months isn’t going to happen unless you’re with me,” he states, as though that’s the end of the discussion.
I nod, just as my phone vibrates in my bra and Leo chuckles as I pull it out.
“I do love your storage system.”
I stick my tongue out at him and check the text. It’s from Caleb.
Family meeting, today, 6pm. Brynna’s house. Mandatory.
I frown and turn the phone to show Leo.
“What’s that about?” he asks, his eyes narrowed.
“I don’t know,” I shrug. “Probably has something to do with Brynna’s security issues. I wish she’d just tell us what the hell is going on with her.”
“It’s probably none of your business.” He reminds me with a smirk. “You’re just nosy.”
“I’m concerned,” I disagree and then laugh. “Okay, I’m nosy.”
“Call me later and let me know what’s going on.”
I shrug and frown. “The meeting is late today. You’ll probably be busy with the sound check.”
“You can and will call me anytime, baby. I don’t give a fuck what I’m doing. I need you to know that even when I’m not here, you’re the priority. I want to know what’s happening here.”
I shrug again and sit back as the waitress sets our plates before us. “It was good to see Lori last night, even if it was just for a few minutes.” I throw him a sassy grin and he laughs out loud.
“Way to change the subject, brat.”
I take a bite of my eggs and blink innocently, making him laugh more.
“She wouldn’t have missed the show last night for anything.” Leo nods. “Plus she wanted to meet your family.”
“Meg seemed over the moon to see her. How do you guys know her?” I ask and nibble my bacon. “Besides her being Gary’s wife,” I add.
“Meg and Lori always got along really well. It hurt Lori that Meg and I didn’t speak for a while.” He takes a bite of his bacon and a sip of coffee. “I’ve known Gary forever.” Leo begins. “Aside from Meg, and now you, he’s probably the closest person to me. We met Lori after a gig here in Seattle. She had been in town and came to a show, and being a celebrity, came to the after party to hang out with us. I was determined to fuck her.” He laughs and leans back in the booth, his face full of humor.
“What happened?” I ask and push my plate aside and lean on my elbows.