My jaw quite literally dropped when Lee explained that he and Layla had been involved, and that was why she’d extended her stay in this area. But the shocking part wasn’t that Layla had been sleeping with a man more than twice her age, it was that she and Leon had been dating at the time.
Leon was strung tighter than a piano wire as Lee told his story in an emotionless, matter-of-fact tone. It made me worried enough that I got up and seated myself directly in Leon’s lap instead. It surprised him enough that he seemed to snap out of the murderous rage he had going on, and his hand curled possessively around my bare thigh.
“I think it’s in everyone’s best interest if we wrap this up quickly,” I suggested with a pointed look at the Meow Lounge owner. “So let’s cut to the chase, shall we? Layla hid a data cache somewhere before she died. She told someone that it was in the last place the Guild would find it. Do you have it?”
Lee’s brows rose in surprise. “Do I—? No. No, I’m sorry she never even told me what she was working on. Have you spoken to her uncle? She mentioned he didn’t live far from here. There was definitely something shady with him too.”
Leon practically vibrated under me. He was so tense, his fingertips biting into the flesh of my thigh like it was his last grip on reality. I covered his hand with my own, attempting to soothe him while I pushed Sheridan for more information.
“What kind of shady?” I asked. “Why do you say that?”
He spread his hands wide in a shrug. “I truly don’t know much. Just that he was leaving her notes on a dead drop website.” With a sigh, he ran a hand over his head. “I swear, if I knew anything that could help, I’d tell you.”
Leon jerked beneath me, then carefully lifted me out of his lap before he stood up. “I think you’ve done enough,” he snarled, then stalked out of the office without a backward glance.
I frowned after him, then turned my attention back to Sheridan with confusion.
“She wasn’t in love with him,” he told me apologetically. “They were friends who became involved but never loved each other more than friends. She needed more.”
I wasn’t even remotely interested in casting judgment over ancient history of people I didn’t know, so I gave him a clipped thank you for the information.
At that, he smiled warmly. “I should be thanking you for that show out there.” He gave an exaggerated chef’s kiss, and I exited his office before I could take offense and shoot him. Layla was a fucking idiot if she shacked up with this guy over Leon.
I headed for the exit, assuming Leon had gone out to the parking lot, but a hand grabbed my wrist before I got there. A swift jerk pulled me off balance, and I tumbled into a tiny private room with nothing more than an armchair and a floor-to-ceiling one-way glass window.
The hidden door closed behind me, then Leon’s lips were on mine, kissing me like he needed to remember he was still human. I melted into his demanding hold, my hands cupping his face as he claimed my mouth, his searing kisses imprinting on my heart and soul.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered against his lips when the desperation eased off. “I wish she was still here.”
Leon shook his head. “I’m glad she’s not. Every day, I realize how blind I was. How naïve. What I had with Layla wasn’t love… this is.”
My pulse raced, and I licked my lips. “No, Bunny. I wish she was here so I could put her lying, cheating face through a fucking window, then slit her throat with the broken pieces. How dare she treat your heart with such disrespect?” I placed my palm over his chest, feeling the quick pounding of his heartbeat against my skin. “Whatever happened to her, she deserved it. And worse.”
He stared at me from just inches away, his emerald eyes studying my eyes like he was searching for something. Then he stroked the backs of his fingers down the side of my face.
“You’d kill for me, mon cœur?”
I frowned. “Of course I would.” Because the fiercely protective alpha bullshit was a mutual feeling. I would slaughter entire cities for hurting my Bunny, regardless of whether he needed my protection or not.
A dazed smile crossed his lips, then he kissed me again. This time his kiss was softer, sweeter, full of promises, and it made me feel like the most precious thing on earth.
“We should probably go,” I groaned when he hitched my legs up around his waist. I was still lacking underwear, so the only thing between us was his suit pants. “Kai will be out there keying your car or something.”
Leon scoffed. “Like I fucking care.” He carried me with him as he sat down into the armchair, his fingers making quick work of his fly to free his erection. “He can set it on fire if it makes him feel better. Because I’m in here fucking the girl he thinks he loves.”
My breath shuddered as his pierced tip pushed inside my aching pussy, and I sank down onto his length. The whole Kai versus Leon thing was apparently going to come to a head tonight, thanks to Kai’s surprise return. But could anyone really blame me for one last quickie before handling all those heavy emotions?
I had a horrible feeling that before the night was over, someone would have their heart broken. So yeah, I let Leon prolong our stolen moment, riding him hard and fast in the armchair. He played with my clit, his gaze intense as I came on his cock.
Barely a second after my orgasm started to fade, he finished inside me with a grunt, his hips bucking up into me. Then he shot me an evil smirk and lifted me back to my feet. The sudden absence of his dick combined with gravity meant his cum immediately started leaking down my thigh, and I made a sound of protest.
“Dammit, Bunny,” I snapped, “was that necessary?”
“God, yes,” he groaned, quickly fixing his pants, then dragged me out of the little closet by the hand. We hurried through the main club, and my wet thighs brushed together with every step as he pulled me out of Meow Lounge with his fingers linked in mine.
Kai was out in the parking lot, exactly as I expected despite having told him to go back to the house. He wasn’t keying Leon’s car, but I guessed he probably just didn’t know which one it was. Instead, he was leaning against the side of my stolen Stingray with his huge arms folded over his chest and a vein in his temple throbbing with fury.
His gaze locked on mine, then dropped to my undoubtedly swollen lips, then lower.
Great. Now I knew why Leon just rushed me out here so quickly, while his cum was quite literally dripping down my thigh.
“You two are as bad as each other,” I snarled, tugging my hand free of Leon’s grip.
“Me? What did I do?” Leon gave me a wide-eyed innocent look, and I narrowed my eyes back at him. He was fully fucking aware that he was being a brat, marking his territory in front of Kai.
“You both can go to hell right now.” I stomped over to the driver’s door of the Stingray and popped it open. “Last I checked, I wasn’t a piece of meat for you two feral dogs to fight over. Find your own way back to the house, I need some alone time.”
I climbed into the driver’s seat and slammed my door, hitting the central lock button when I saw Kai reach for the passenger side. He tugged on the handle, but it didn’t budge.
“Siren, come on,” he called through the window, but I just extended my middle finger and hit the gas. That motherfucker thought he could sneak off in the middle of the night, no calls, no texts, then show up and have the audacity to be hurt and offended that I’m screwing Leon. Nah, fuck that noise. He needed a lesson in who was in charge around here.
I glanced in the mirror before turning the corner and saw a powerful backfist from Leon slam into Kai’s face while the bigger man was still staring after me. Fair’s fair, I guess.
Speeding away from Meow Lounge, I tried to talk myself into some calm breathing. I wasn’t worried about either of them dying tonight, now that I had a second to really process the situation we were in. Leon knew, he fucking knew that he wasn’t allowed to kill Kai. And Kai… for all his attributes, I doubted he had the necessary skill to kill Leon, even if he wanted to.
Surely he wouldn’t be stupid enough to try, either. He knew Leon was an executioner. Ugh, the more I thought about it, the more I remembered Kai had an ego the size of Texas and a temper like a bull with a bee-sting. He would definitely try, so I just had to hope Leon respected me enough not to slit his throat.