Breathless (49 page)

He picked up my hands and held them tight. “It’s going to kill me slowly, but if Drew is what you want . . .”

“There is no Drew. I can’t live without
you
, Leo. I die a little every day because we’re not together,” I whispered, my eyes roaming over his face, letting him see how much I loved him.

I kissed his hands. “You’re my other half, and I thought I could give up on us and move on, but life is too short and too precious to throw away what we have.”

His eyes burned hot, thrilling me. I knew that look. “Come on, let’s get out of here,” he said, guiding me inside the gym.

“What about the party?” I asked, knowing the grand opening was important to him.

He didn’t stop walking. “The band will play, and the party will go on without us.”

He stopped at the base of the stairs, his face suddenly filled with worry. “I don’t . . . I don’t want to hold you back from anything. I want you to go to college wherever you want, no matter if it’s in another state, and I’ll be right here waiting for you. Always.”

“What about Finn?” I whispered, wrapping my arms around his waist and laying my head on his chest, hiding my face.

He tilted my chin up. “He’s gone, and I’ll always be here to keep you safe. Someday if you want, you can tell me everything, and I’ll listen, but
nothing
will ever change how much I care about you. If anything, the way you carry your pain, the way you’ve turned into this beautiful girl despite everything that happened to you has made me love you more.”

He rested his forehead against mine. He took my hand and placed it over his heart. “I love you, Nora. Forever.”

“I love you, too,” I said, not caring one bit that people were drifting in and out of the room, some of them staring.

He tightened his arms around me and kissed me deep, his lips angling over mine possessively, his tongue hot and wet. He kissed my jaw and down my neck, sucking and nipping at me as I clutched him tight.

We eased back, breathless. I said, “I’m not perfect. At some point, I’ll probably go to therapy,” I warned him gently.

“I hate perfect girls. They don’t read encyclopedias or think about how I’m a rat man.”

“Tiger, most days.”

He grinned. “I get you. You’re a little neurotic, but it doesn’t scare me. I want all of you. All the wacko things you do. Every last detail. And when I look into your eyes, I can see all the way to your heart, to the strong, beautiful woman you are. I want that for the rest of my life.”

He kissed me hard and fast. “And if you ever leave me, it will break me. Now come on, let’s get moving. I want you alone,” he growled, tugging me up the stairs.

Heat ran straight through my body as he led the way.

We walked into his bedroom, and he suddenly looked unsure. “With everything you’ve been through . . . shit, am I rushing this? We can wait, Nora. Just tell me what you need.”

I pulled the gold crown from my hair and took off the red corset and short cape, showing him my red lace bra. I unsnapped the gold belt and let it fall to the ground. I unzipped the flirty blue skirt with white stars on it and tossed it lightly at his face, giggling at his mesmerized expression.

He groaned loudly and adjusted himself. “Yes, baby, I love it when you strip for me.”

I laughed. “Sex is no problem when it’s consensual, and if you don’t make love to me tonight, I’m going to die from being too horny.” I unsnapped my bra and dropped it on the floor, leaving me standing in my red string panties and red boots.

I cocked an eyebrow at his lusty expression. “What are you thinking?”

“That I want to kiss you, lick you, bite you, suck you. I want to eat you up until you scream my name so loud they’ll hear us over the band.”

I shivered.

“I’ve been dreaming about you for weeks. I need to make you mine. The thought of Drew with his mouth on yours . . . it drove me crazy,” he said roughly, his hands clenching.

“I’m all yours, Leo. I was never his.”

“Yeah?”

I smiled. “I have something to show you.”

He sucked in a shuddering breath. “Does it involve you being completely naked, but maybe leaving the boots on?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Show me,” he ordered.

I put my naked back to him, lifted my hair and placed it over my chest, so he could see my wings.

He was silent for a few moments, but I could hear his breathing as it came faster and rougher. He came up behind me, wrapped his hands around the tops of my arms and kissed my shoulders, tracing his mouth and tongue over the words on my back. I moaned out his name.

He whispered in a raspy voice, “This . . . this means everything. Seeing
my words
for you on your body makes me insane for you.” His hands snaked around my waist and untied the little bow on my panties. He slid his fingers down to my core and touched me as his tongue worked its magic across my wings. I gasped, my body clenching at the warmth that immediately gathered in my body. How was it possible to want someone
this
much? How did I ever think I could live without his touch?

“Leo,” I begged, leaning my head back against his chest.

He ran his nose along my shoulder, and I heard him inhale deeply and then groan.

“What are you doing?” I panted, my body arching into his touch.

“Breathing you in because you smell so damn good, like peaches. I want to eat you up,” he said softly. “What you do to me is electric and incredible, and I’ll never get enough of you, of this. You’re my drug. And I don’t think I can live without you,” he said hoarsely.

As his fingers touched me, he sucked hard on my neck, and I cried out as a waterfall of sensations cascaded through me. My body soared, reaching for the sky. He bit down on the tender place between my neck and shoulder, and I screamed out his name, making a keening sound as I crashed, the sensation rocking me and pulsating through my entire body.

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.

“Hey, you always got me,” Sebastian exclaimed, picking her up and swinging her around and around until she shrieked loudly.

I had an epiphany, staring at them. “It was right in front of me the whole time,” I said with excitement, while they looked at me in confusion. “Of course, all that blond hair, the cocky attitude. Yep, Sebastian, you’re the king of the jungle . . . which is a total misnomer . . . really, the lion is the king of the savanna, whatever . . . I digress.”

Sebastian sat Mila back on her feet. “This I gotta hear,” he said, walking over to me. “Okay, lay it out for me. You’re saying I’m a lion?” he said sarcastically, but I could tell he really wanted to hear it.

Mila gave him a hip bump. “At least you’re majestic. I’m a freaking rabbit. A scared bunny with a nose that twitches,” she huffed.

I chuckled and cocked my head to study Sebastian. “Like a lion, you’re dramatic, obviously, and regally handsome . . . don’t get a big head about that one. You’re tough and ferocious and protective when someone hurts your loved ones. But in the end, underneath all that hissing, you’re still just a big ole pussycat at heart.”

“Here, kitty, kitty,” Mila said, poking him in the ribs.

“Huh, not bad,” he said with a teasing smile. “You might make a good mom after all.”

I yelled and took off after him . . .

***

Around one in the morning, Leo was still talking to his guests, yet periodically sending me hot looks. I’d send them back, my body throbbing with need.

Soon though, I headed back upstairs to get in his bed. Before I did, I opened the shuttered window in his room and gazed out at the stars. The sight of them gave me hope, and I thought of a quote by Van Gogh:
“I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream.”

I didn’t know what the future held for us, but my dream was that we’d be together forever. I did know with certainty that life is full of bad people, broken people, sad people, betrayed people, twisted people, and people with secrets and scars the world never sees.

Yet, it is also full of people who love each other. People who are happy.

We all have a choice
in life, to either quit or try again, and you can be sure I was going to try, try, try. Even though I was far from being what I wanted to be, my path
would
lead to happiness. Yes, life would suck and be scary sometimes, but I would keep going and searching for those happy moments, because in that direction lies grace and love.

I didn’t want to do bad things; I wanted to be true to myself. And being true meant I was not the bee champion, beauty queen, piano-playing genius my parents had shaped me into. No, I was just a simple, young girl whose love for a boy would last until the end of time.

Leo

It was two o’clock by the time I got the last guest out, and I was exhausted, but all I could think about was her upstairs where she belonged. Mine. She was mine. Forever.

I eased quietly into the bedroom, remembering another time when I’d lain beside her in a bed. I’d tried so hard to distance myself from her then, but she’d broken through my defenses. Even at eighteen, she’d been smarter and wiser than me.

She was naked, lying on top of the covers on her stomach, her body an honor, her love a gift. Full of light and optimism—even after her trials—her hope for the future was the beacon I would use to keep myself anchored. And now…now she was his. Her red hair was spread out over my pillow, and I stroked my fingers down her luscious wings, tracing the tips over the script.
Cherish
, a word not used much in my vocabulary, came to mind.