Fixation (Magnetic Desires Book 3) (8 page)

Leo

"Good morning, Leo." Alex glanced up from her laptop as I crossed the gallery floor. "We have a buyer for the streetscape. I’ve set up a meeting for two."

"Sounds good." I dropped the mail on her desk. "I’ll be out on shoot this morning, but I’ll make sure I’m back."

She went back to her filing as I made my way to the stairs.

"Oh, there’s a woman waiting in your office." Her voice rose in amusement. "A Mrs. Barclay?"

I froze on the steps. Either my mother had decided to pay a visit for the first time since the gallery opening or Lola was sitting in my office waiting for me.

Alex chewed on her manicured thumbnail. "Any relation?"

Blood pounded through my cock at the thought of Lola coming back for more, and my reply came out gruffer than I wanted it to. "That’s none of your business."  

Taking the stairs two at a time, I threw open the door to find her sitting on my desk. "Didn’t get enough the first time, sweetheart?"

She crossed and uncrossed her legs, dragging my gaze to the gap that showed her panties. "We still need to talk."

"Sure." I dumped my bag on the desk beside her before running my hands up over her knees.  

"I’m serious, Leo," she murmured, though she gripped the front of my shirt.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear what she had to say. Her convoluted story, the note she'd left, and what the private investigator I'd hired told me had left me convinced she'd conned me. She'd concocted a story that dragged innocent people into a web of lies. Had she even known Brady O'Brien? The man was shady, but that didn’t mean there had been any ties between them. He'd been a convenient boogeyman to garner sympathy. "There isn't anything you can tell me that will change the past."

"But I want to tell you about Brady, the six years he kept me from you—"

Sliding my hands under her skirt, I squeezed her thighs and nipped her bottom lip. "Right now, I'm only interested in one thing you have to offer, and it ain’t whatever you're about to tell me. You've interrupted my ability to enjoy other women, so I plan on taking my pleasure in you."

"They're not lies. I want to tell you what happened."

"And I want to fuck you before you make me so angry that I'm not in control of my actions." I dragged my teeth over the bruise on her neck she’d hid so well behind a veil of makeup.

Her breath hitched. "Do you remember, Leo, that second day on the cruise when you told me I’d marry you?"

"Yeah." I growled, picking her up and stalking around the desk to sit in my chair with her straddling my lap. "You played a vicious game, Lola."

Cupping the back of her head, I pulled her in for a kiss, but she pushed at my chest with the flat of her palms and glared at me. "I know you don’t trust me, but I didn’t mean to hurt you."

"It’s done. Now are you going to let me get inside that skirt, or are you going to be a cocktease?"

She ground herself against my cock, which hardened with the movement. "Please let me explain."

"Your words mean nothing to me, sweetheart." My gaze narrowed on her, I clasped the arms of the chair. I wanted to wrap them around her neck for asking me to let her lie to me again. I tapped a digit on the black leather as I weighed my words. "They’re full of empty promises."

She schooled her features, but in the second before her mask slid into place, her gaze clouded with pain and the small lines at the corner of her eyes and over the bridge of her nose deepened. "I will make you trust me again. Underneath all this bullshit you still want me as much as you did six years ago."

I cupped her cheek roughly with my callused fingers and brought my face to hers. My chest ached at hurting her, though I needed it to be clear there was no love between us. Once before she’d ripped my heart out, but I wouldn’t let her get her claws into me again. "It isn’t going to happen. I’m using you the way you used me. Understand that."

"You can’t fool me, Leo Barclay. There’s a difference between what you feel and not wanting to feel it. I know you love me."

Lifting her from my lap, I took my time responding to her. "I’ll make you a little wager."

"A wager?"

I stood up and strode to the window, clasping my hands behind my back. "I probably need to join Gambling Anonymous for considering this."

"What?"

I turned to face her. "I bet you there’s nothing you can do to make me trust you."

Lips parted, her tongue darted out over the bottom one before the corners of her mouth tried to tug up. She thought she had me, but she’d never been more wrong. "How much do you want to bet?"

Stalking over to her, I leaned down so we were eye to eye. "When I win this little charade, you’ll sign divorce papers and walk away."

"You want a divorce? You haven't filed for divorce before now?"

"Of course. This marriage was only ever a sham." It was what I wanted, so why did the words feel hollow in my chest?

“Have you filed?” Her eyes widened, a brief flash of emotion in them. If I didn’t know better I’d swear she actually cared that I wanted to end it.

“I have now.”

She shook her head, her hair falling softly around her shoulders and I rubbed my fingers together behind my back instead of running them through her hair like I wanted to. “Why now? You’ve had years.”

"Well…" I could barely think straight with her scent tickling my nostrils and her skirt riding up her thighs. "It was a reminder not to get involved with another bitch like you."

"It doesn’t matter what you think right now, I’m going to prove to you that we belong together." She placed her palm over my heart.

"You’ll agree to sign the papers?" I growled.

"If that’s what it takes."

"Then you have yourself a bet. Good luck trying to convince me you’re not the con artist I know you are." I offered my hand and she shook it.

"Do we need a contract?"

"Are you going to back out?" I raised an eyebrow. Whether she did or not was irrelevant. I'd still get the divorce, like I'd planned to before she showed up. But another lie from those pretty lips would be one more nail in the coffin.

She took a deep breath. "No."

"Then may the best man win." Gripping her waist, I lifted her fully onto the desk. "Until then I’m going to enjoy what you’re hiding under that skirt of yours."

"Don’t you think we should talk about—"

"No." I’d have to let her tell me her lies in this game we were playing, but right now, I wanted nothing more than to slide inside her. Gathering her hair in my hand, I tugged her head back so I could crash my mouth to hers and show her exactly what I did want out of our little bargain.

Lola

When he kissed me, it was like the world stopped and then spun in reverse. His lips lingered, nibbling and teasing but beneath the sensuality were the tortured demands of a man who could not let go of the past. I clutched at his shoulders as he slipped his hand between my legs, the stroke of his fingers stirring my desire. Tilting my head back in submission, I opened up to the demands of his tongue, rasping against mine. I would never tire of the way the man kissed. From our first kiss on the cruise ship when he’d hauled me between his hard body and the wall, to the one we shared now, I was certain his feelings for me hadn’t changed. I needed to get him to remember, to open up to what we still had. But if I was going to make that happen I needed to do more than let him have his way with me. I needed to tell him about Brady, and about how the hope of seeing him again was the one thing that kept me going when it would have been so easy to give up. And Tia, I desperately needed him to know about Tia.

I gently pushed him away, disentangling myself from his hands. "Leo, there’s so much I need to tell you."

"It can wait," he said, his voice almost a growl. "My need to slide into that pussy of yours can’t."

He made a grab for me when I jumped off the desk, but I dodged out of his way. "It really can’t. How are you going to trust me if you won’t listen? I want you back, Leo, not just to fuck me but all the way back. You’re my damn husband. We have…" I slammed my mouth shut as his expression turned murderous. If looks could burn, I would have turned into ash right where I stood. His eyes turned steel blue, boring into me. His jaw clenched so hard I could see it in the way his neck tensed. My heart thudded as I clamped down on the news that he was a father. There would be time to tell him that, but not when he couldn’t trust me as far as he could throw me. Most likely, he wouldn’t believe me, and then I wouldn’t get another chance to make things right between us or for Tia, or worse, he would want to take her away from me. I couldn’t let that happen.

He tapped his fingernails on the desk as he stared at me. "We have what? You want to fucking talk, you better finish your sentence."

I gulped, but he kept tapping while he waited. "We have… a past that’s worth saving." The words felt like cotton in my mouth. Though not truly a lie, I wondered if he could see right through me.

Unbuckling his belt, he pulled it free of the loops on his pants. "We have a past worth saving?"

His eyebrows drifted down as he narrowed his gaze. "A past where you convinced me we had a future, before you blew it to fucking pieces." My stomach flipped when he cracked the belt in his hand. "Is that your piece de resistance in this plan to get me to trust you again? To fall in love with you again? To remind me of how you fucked me over the first time?"

I took a step back. "No, Leo. I didn’t mean…"

"You’ve got a better chance of getting what you want if you keep your mouth shut..." he advanced on me and I backed against the wall, my heart racing, "...and give me what I want."

A rush of heat left my panties soaked, and I rubbed my thighs together. Even when he looked like he wanted nothing more than to take that belt to the flesh of my ass like he had his hand, I couldn’t ignore how much I wanted him. I darted my tongue out over dry lips that begged for the sweet moistness of his kisses. "I would think you’d want to know what happened."

"I know what happened." He lunged at me, pinning me against the wall, the leather of his belt between my palm and his as he tangled his fingers with mine. "You took what you wanted. Now it's my turn."

"Not good enough, Leo," I whispered as his knee pressed against my thighs. "There are things that have to be talked about."

"Not fucking now." He growled and pressed his forehead against mine.

My lips parted as my heart sped up, and I knew I was about to give in to him.

"Run," he whispered over my lips, setting my skin on fire.

"Run?" I needed more than a whisper of his touch. I craved the roughness of his beard scratching my face. The bruising of his lips against mine as he took what he wanted.

"Yes, Lola. Run away." He stepped back, his gaze hammering into me. "Run like you always do."

His emotions flipped so quickly I got whiplash. "But…"

Opening the door, he held it open for me and leered. "You know you want to."

My heart dipped. No matter what he thought I’d done, this was beyond brutal. I glanced out the door. "No."

He raised both eyebrows. "No?"

"What are you trying to prove, Leo?"

"You haven’t changed, sweetheart, so why pretend you have?" Grasping my arm, he pulled me toward the door. "Now get the hell out."

Taking a tentative step, I glared back at him. "You’re right. I am exactly the same girl."

He was trying to prove to himself that the future was no different from the past, but he didn’t see either clearly, only believing what he thought he knew. Rushing toward the stairs, I tried to keep the burn behind my eyes from creeping to my tear ducts.

I managed to get one foot on the stairs before his arm snapped around me, reefing me back against him, his other hand in my hair, tugging my head back so he could savage my mouth. His tongue demanded my complete surrender and his beard tickled my sensitive skin. A whimper tore from me, part sob, part the intense desire. This game he played wasn’t fair, and yet I couldn’t drag myself away. He hauled me up and I wrapped my legs around him as we crashed back against the wall, my head hitting the plasterboard as he tore at my shirt, yanking it over my head. Nipping along my collarbone, he held my hands pinned above my head.  "You didn’t run fast enough."

"I didn’t run." I shuddered as he jerked my bra cups down, releasing my tits to his gaze. My nipples perked under his attention, yearning for his touch. His tongue lashed over one, spearing heat through me that made me groan, and I arched into him, wanting him to latch on to my body and never let go. His teeth grazed the sensitive nub, pulling it into his mouth as his grip on my wrists tightened. We slid along the wall and stumbled through the door of his office.

"I’m not letting you go until I’m done with you." It was a promise and a threat, and I didn’t know if he meant after he finished ravaging me, or if it was an intonation for something much longer.

Both hands grasped my thighs, lifting me so that his fingertips pressed against my core. Clutching his shoulders, I pressed my lips into his hair and whispered, "Don’t let go, Leo."

He didn’t react as he hooked a finger into my underwear and ripped it away before moving a digit inside me, reminding me of a time when even in this position I would have had him undone by now and he wouldn’t have been able to hold back. When he lifted his face, the anger that had been there when he told me to run was replaced by need, his eyes clouded with torment and tenderness that made my heart rate slow. "You won't last two weeks, Lola. You'll run again. That's who you are."

"I'm not going anywhere. You're mine, Leo." I bowed my head and covered his mouth with mine, darting my tongue over his, trying to ease the nostalgia that clutched at my throat. He slid me down, until my feet touched the floor, and I reached for the buttons on his pants. How I wished they were well-worn jeans. There had been something about the way he rocked denim that made my mouth water, but it didn’t matter when all I wanted was him inside me.

Palms pressed to the wall, he stared at me while I kneeled before him and dragged his pants down to free his erection. Locking gazes with him, I stroked his heated flesh. I watched him grit his teeth as I darted my tongue around the head and opened my mouth to take him inside, but he held me under my arms and pulled me up, sending me sprawling against his desk. The rawness of his emotions replaced by urgency, he pushed his knee between my legs, forcing them further apart as he grasped himself in one hand and teased my entrance. I could feel the roughness of his fingers on my slit with each slide of his cock against them, before he pushed into me. My knees dipped under the invasion, feeling him fill me the way I wanted to be. He grasped my hips, the sharp bite of his fingers on my flesh adding to the intense ache that made me surge back against him, impaling myself on his cock while he hammered into me. Driven by demons, the ferocity of his desire drove mine into a mindless rhythm fueled only by the need to be his. Growling against my shoulder, he sunk his teeth into my skin, leaving yet another mark of his ownership. And he did own me. Because, after him there had been no one else, and there never would be. He reached around to slide his fingers over my clit as he jerked inside me, and I ripped apart. Darkness defused my vision as my muscles tensed and spasmed and I cried out as I came, barely able to keep my grip on the desk. My body gave way to every feeling, every emotion he brought forth in me.

Slowly he pulled out of me though he kept his hands on my hips. I waited for him to move away, or to slap me, but he simply stood there holding me while his seed spilled down my legs. "Don’t move, sweetheart."

My heart dipped when he finally pulled away, and I lowered my head as tears pricked my eyes. I would go to the ends of the earth for this man, and in some ways, I had, but could it ever be enough?

He returned and patted my thighs with a soft rag, and I pulled in a shaky breath. I couldn’t let him see how much this act affected me. How in this precious moment he lifted my hopes higher than they had been since I’d found him again. When he finished he pulled me into his arms and nestled his chin in my hair for the briefest of seconds. I tried to turn in his arms but he let me go and stalked around to the other side of the desk.

"I need to get some work done, Lola, so if we’re finished here…" He glanced at the door making it obvious that he wasn’t giving me an option.

"I didn't run, Leo. Brady—"

"Not now, Lola." Glancing up at me for a bare moment, his pale eyes filled with pain. A slight tremble took over his hand as he picked up a pen and set it down again. Bowing his head, his shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath before the hardness returned and he glared at me. "Even if you didn't run, you still walked away from me. What the hell makes you think I want you back in my life?"

Other than the fact he couldn't keep his hands off me, there wasn't much. At this point, our relationship could have been solely in my head. "You loved me once."

"I thought I did. But I don't know who the hell you are." His sharp glance made me quiver, and then it was on the door. "Now, get out."

I took a deep breath and grabbed my bag from where I had dropped it when I first came into his office. Two weeks, I reminded myself. That had been all it had taken for him to make me fall for him. It had be enough for me to push through his anger and open him up again. Failure was not an option I was willing to consider, especially when he had a daughter who needed her father in her life. Opening my wallet, I pulled out my business card with my cell number on it and dropped it on his desk.

He darted a glance at it before going to work on his laptop. "I’ll call you."

Crossing the room, I closed the door behind me and smoothed out my hair with shaking hands. I had no doubt he'd call. We’d made a deal and neither of us was the type to back out. Now, I needed to work out how to get these meetings from the fucking that left me satisfied to the conversation that would get him back to me in the way I wanted. And give Tia the father she'd never known.

I hurried down the stairs, noticing his belt on the landing where he’d dropped it when he’d grabbed me. Had he planned on using it, or had he only been trying to scare me? Well, I didn’t scare that easily. It would take a hell of a lot more to get rid of me.