He kissed my hair. “I’ve never felt like this, like I might die without you, if something happened to you,” he said fervently and turned me around to face him.
His face was serious and maybe a little afraid, too, so I touched his lips and assured him. “We’ll make it, Leo. Together. No matter what comes, if we love each other, then everything else is cake. We never know how long we have, because life isn’t perfect. But this love we have, it’s something special. We have each other right now and that’s enough.”
“I’m afraid of losing you.” He tightened his hold. “People can be taken from us so fast. My parents...” his voice drifted off as he ran his fingers through his hair.
“Shhhh,” I said. “There are no guarantees. We simply make the best of what we have.” I cupped his face, my fingers rubbing circles on his temples, trying to soothe him. “Life is fleeting, but that’s no reason to give up.”
I eased away from him and smiled teasingly. “How did I end up naked, and you still have all your clothes on?”
He grinned, seeming to relax. “I got skills?”
“Help me get this thing off,” I whispered, trying to unbutton his vest and belt. In five seconds flat, he had his costume and his underwear off and kicked out of the way. I sighed in contentment and put my hands on his hard length. He was heavy and thick, and I touched him lightly at first, wrapping my hand around the girth and sliding it down to the base.
He spread his legs for me and hissed. “I’ve waited so long for you,” he gritted out as I made my strokes firmer.
“Do you want me, Leo?”
“Everything. I want everything you got. All the crazy shit you do.”
“I want you too,” I said, dropping to my knees, dying to touch him. He moaned when I took him in my mouth, running my tongue over him in sensuous licks. Beautiful and edgy and dangerous. I wanted all of him. He spiraled slowly out of control, his hands gripping my hair, teaching me what he wanted. He tossed his head, cried out my name, and told me he loved me forever, and he sounded so vulnerable, so needy, that my heart flew. My mate. My love. My forever. His head fell back and he groaned. “Nora,” he ground out, his big body shuddering as he released.
We fell to the floor together, his warm hands cradling my fall, protecting me from harm.
“Never leave me, Buttercup,” he whispered in my ear. “It will kill me.”
“Never,” I said.
***
We both jumped when someone pounded on Leo’s door.
“What the hell?” Leo yelled out, searching for our clothes.
Boom, boom, boom.
They pounded again, louder this time, like they were trying to wake the dead. “Who is it?” Leo barked through the door.
“Sebastian. People are starting to leave. I thought you’d want to know.” I heard him chuckling. “Want me to come in?”
“No!” We both yelled at the same time. Leo hurriedly got back in his costume, and I watched, trying not to pout.
“This will be continued later,” he promised me with heavy, possessive eyes I felt all the way to my toes.
I arched my brows.
He kissed my lips. “I hate to leave you. Just give me a few minutes. And when I come back in here, I want you naked and in my bed.”
I grinned.
He traced his fingers along my face and said uncertainly, “You are gonna stay with me aren’t you?”
“Always, my love,” I told him, holding his hand next to my heart.
He searched my eyes like he was unsure.
I shook my head. “Go! Stop worrying, I’ll be fine. I’ll find Sebastian and Mila.”
I shooed him out and tried to fix my hair and costume. When I walked out the door, Sebastian was waiting, leaning nonchalantly against the wall, a happy smirk on his face.
“Band done?” I inquired.
He nodded. “Yep, all wrapped up. Vital Rejects was a hit.”
I sauntered over to him, and when I got close enough, I popped him a good one the arm.
“Ow, what was that for?” he whined theatrically, moving away from me and rubbing his arm.
“For banging on the door,” I said with a grin.
“But it was so fun,” he said, laughing. “And you know you got the rest of your life with Leo.”
We reached the end of the stairs, and my eyes searched the crowd until I found him talking with a group of muscled guys. Being a responsible business owner, he had commitments, and he couldn’t be my doting boyfriend all the time. We would be on different paths until I was done with college, and it wouldn’t always be easy.
Sebastian snorted. “God, you’re glowing with it. You guys are going to make me sick with all the goo-goo eyes and shit.” He made a gagging sound and grabbed his chest. “What if you guys get married! Holy shit, you’d be my step-mom!”
I rolled my eyes at him.
Mila came over and stood with us.
“Where did Tiffani go?” I asked her.
She snickered. “She got pissed and left as soon as Leo started singing. He loves you, Nora. I gotta say, I’m a little jealous,” she said with a sincere smile.