Suddenly Famous (6 page)

My breath catches in my throat, making it just far enough into my lungs to keep my head clear. I take a chance and peek over my shoulder to see if anyone was brave enough to follow me into the street. Sure enough, a few daring women did, but not nearly as many as I left on the sidewalk. By the time I swing my head forward, it’s too late to stop for the car that’s barreling down on me.

The driver slams on the breaks, locking the wheels. A long, high-pitched screech tears out of the smoking tires and the back end of the sedan fishtails before righting itself. The acrid scent of rubber and brake fluid burns my nostrils. About one second before impact, I throw myself forward and fall to the ground, the air in my lungs punching out with a
whoosh
. My teeth snap together painfully as the palms of my hands and my knees take the brunt of the landing.

The bumper of the car missed me by less than a foot.

Motherfucker!

My heart is thrumming and my body is trembling all over, but I put it back into high gear and scramble the rest of the way across the street. Leah’s doorman must have been watching the entire scene play out, because he holds the door open for me, slams it shut, and locks it behind me.

Inside, it takes more strength than I thought possible to keep from collapsing on the floor of Leah’s lobby. My legs are shaking so badly that I have to lean against the cold marble wall for support. I bend over and put my hands on my knees, gasping for air, and start to count to try and relieve the pressure on my chest.

One, two, three… it takes until fifteen before I can stand back up without feeling dizzy and nauseous.

“Excuse me, Mr. Bancroft?”

I manage not to flinch at the sound of my name being spoken by Leah’s doorman. “Yes?”

“Would you like me to call the police, sir? That… well,” he shifts awkwardly as he tries to come up with the correct words to describe the chaos he witnessed, “that was just…”

I find a nametag on his dark jacket, “Gino, is it?” He nods. I point outside where crying women have grouped under the awning in front of the building, smashing their hands against the glass. “That is my life. Every single day. No,” I say wearily, running my hand through my sweat-slicked hair, “don’t bother calling anyone. I’m going upstairs now. Will you let Leah know that I’m on my way up?”

Gino can’t hide the look of shock on his face, but he does as I ask and doesn’t push me to call the police. “Yes sir. No problem.”

“Thanks.” I push off of the wall and head for the elevators.

“Oh my God, Ryker!” Leah comes flying out of her apartment the second I step off onto her floor. She’s a whirlwind of activity, talking non-stop while running her hands all over me to make sure I’m okay. The minute she touches me, the tense knots of stress begin to unwind.

Leah shuts the door behind us, gently shoving me towards a couch. “Go sit. I’ll get you something to drink.” She stalks off. I can hear her muttering under her breath. Something that apparently involves a lot of cursing.

I close my eyes and lean back on the soft cushions, suddenly feeling incredibly drained.

“Here, drink some Gatorade.” Leah sits and runs her fingers through my hair while I down half the bottle. Her touch feels so good I lean into her hand and I may or may not let out a moan.

“Jesus, Ry. You’re bleeding.” She grabs my free hand and flips it over to inspect my palm. The heel has deep scrapes in it, bits of dirt and asphalt stuck in places.

“Yeah, I guess I am.” I put the bottle of Gatorade down on the coffee table and look at my other hand only to find the same scrapes. I frown at the injuries.

“Fucking psychos. Wait here.” Leah gets up from the couch again, her blonde ponytail bobbing behind her as she disappears down a hallway.

I hadn’t realized I closed my eyes again until the cushion next to me sags down. Leah carefully picks up one of my hands. “I have to clean it up, or those bits of gravel will stay under your skin as it heals. It’s called road rash…” She continues chatting as she wipes my palms down with a cotton ball soaked in something cold, then squirts a good amount of ointment onto each one and covers them with large bandages.

Leah is still talking a mile a minute after finishing up with my hands. I smile, realizing that this is her way of coping with stress. She’s such a take-charge, fearless kind of girl, that it’s cute to watch her babble nervously on and on about nothing.

“Hey,” I interrupt Leah’s chattering and wrap my hands around hers, bringing them to my lips. Brushing small kisses over her knuckles, I murmur, “Thanks for taking care of me.”

“God, you could have been killed Ryker. Gino told me what…”

“Shhhh, I don’t want to talk about that. Not right now.”

I continue to place small kisses on her hands, sliding further up to her wrist. When I open my mouth and scrape my teeth over the sensitive skin there, her breath hitches. I watch, fascinated, as her eyes turn from worried to lustful. The bright blue irises become small slivers as her pupils enlarge with desire.

Leah shudders as I take her other wrist and repeat my actions, licking and biting and kissing my way to her elbow. When she whispers my name, it becomes too much and I fall off of the wire I’ve been precariously balanced on.

After everything that happened today, everything that happened with Leah’s friend Sydney, all of the anxiety and fear and stress I’ve had, right now I need to lose myself, and losing myself in Leah sounds like heaven.

Gently, almost reverently, I reach out and brush my thumb over her lower lip. Leah gasps softly, those perfect pink lips part, and her eyes flutter closed. I slide my hand behind her neck and lean in, scraping my mouth over hers gently, reverently. Teasing her, I nip and suck on those soft lips until she’s writhing. And me? I’m desperate for more… more kisses, more skin, more hands… more
Leah.

Shifting forward, I lean over her until she’s lying on the couch and I’m on top, using my elbows to hold up my weight. Leah is so strong and vibrant, but physically, she’s so small I’m afraid of crushing her. Giving in to my own fierce need, I capture her mouth once more, thrusting my tongue in roughly, tasting and exploring, our teeth clashing as we devour each other.

My cock is begging to be let out, to plunge deep inside Leah and pound away until it finds that sweet release. I ignore the twinge of pain from being trapped by my clothes, determined to go slow. Since my life changed so suddenly a year and a half ago, I haven’t found anyone who can calm my demons, who can let me be myself. No anxiety, no iron band around my chest, no noose tightening on my neck… I can just feel. And fuck, she feels good.

“Ry,” Leah whispers as I lick and bite the soft skin of her neck.

“Yeah,” I breathe into her ear, running my tongue back down to her collarbone.

“Bedroom.”

I stop what I’m doing, bringing my face back up to hers, staring into those lust-filled blue eyes, her pupils blown and glazed over. “Are you sure?” I don’t move an inch, wanting her answer to be based on careful thought, not carnal need. No regrets, that’s what I want from her.

“Yes.” She lifts her head from the couch and kisses my neck, pulling a long, deep moan from my throat.

Fuck.

So much for going slow. I jump off of the couch and hold out a hand. Leah’s gaze darkens and she takes it, letting me pull her to her feet. Grabbing her hips, I jerk her towards me so she can feel just how much I want her. The pressure of her body against my eager cock sends a jolt of electricity to my groin.

“God, I want you so bad, Leah. I have since you first spoke to me at the club.”

She pushes me away and takes my hand, walking backwards down a short hall while pulling me along. “Me too,” she rasps, her voice rough with desire.

When we get to her bedroom, she toes off her shoes. I do the same, cursing myself silently for wearing lace-up boots. By the time I get the damn things off, Leah is sitting on her bed, wearing only a turquoise bra and panty set that makes the blue of her eyes jump out against the stark white of the sheets.

“Jesus,” I mutter, hastily unbuttoning my jeans, tripping to get them off. I grab the hem of my shirt, ready to tear it over my head when Leah crawls to the end of the bed and stops me.

“Wait!” She reaches for my arm and pulls me until I’m standing with my thighs against the mattress, with her kneeling in front of me on the bed. Leah tilts her head up and stares at me. Her tiny pink tongue makes a quick swipe across her bottom lip. “I want to do that for you.” Leah’s hands bunch up in my shirt as she slowly, teasingly, lifts the fabric up, dragging her thumbnails over my ribs as she goes.

“God,” I whisper, shuddering from the scrape of her nails on my sensitive flesh. She releases me from her torture, pulling the shirt all the way over my head and carelessly tossing it to the floor.

“You’re perfect,” she murmurs, running her small hands all over my chest and abs, tracing each line carefully while I struggle to keep still.

“I was going to say the same.” Unable to keep our contact to these torturous light touches, I grab the back of her head and mash my lips to hers, tearing the elastic out of her hair so the blonde waves can cascade over her shoulders.

Primal groans fill the room, heating the air until it crackles with electricity. It takes me a moment to realize that
I’m
the one making those harsh noises. I release her mouth and climb up onto the bed, so turned on it feels as if my cock might explode from the slightest touch.

Leah shuffles back until she’s lying in the center of the king-sized mattress, her golden hair spread in a fan over the pillows.

“You’re so beautiful,” I tell her, running my hands up and down her gorgeous curves. I lift one of her legs to my mouth, licking my way to the back of her knee. She whimpers when I bite there, and then suck on the delicate skin.

“Ryker, please,” she begs, her hands fisting the sheets and her eyes blazing with need.

I release her leg so I can lie on top of her, slowly bringing my hips down to rest on hers. “Is this what you want?” I ask, rolling my hips so my hard length grinds against her hot core, the thin fabric of our underwear the only thing separating us.

“God, yes.”

I shift my hips again, harder this time, the friction so glorious that I nearly lose my ability to talk. “Are you sure?”

“God, Ryker, yes! Stop fucking teasing me!” she cries.

Lowering my upper body to rest on my elbows, I kiss her thoroughly. Less frantic than before, our mouths move in sync, hot and wet as we both moan in pleasure. I slide my hands under Leah’s back, unhooking her bra and slipping it down her arms.

Overwhelmed at the gorgeous sight of her, I quickly dive down, taking one of the tight buds in my mouth, nipping at it while I gently squeeze the other breast with my hand. Switching sides, I do the same to the other pink nipple, laving it with my tongue until Leah begs me to stop.

Frantic, she shoves me back until I sit on my heels. “Enough,” she says, her lips red and swollen, her eyes fierce with determination. She hooks her thumbs in her panties and yanks them down, tossing them over the edge of the bed. “Now you,” she demands, pointing at my red boxer briefs.

Shocked, but turned on at the sudden change in personality, I comply, sliding the briefs off while she watches. She stares at my cock with a hungry look in her eyes, that damn tongue darting out again to moisten her lips. Leah reaches over to open the nightstand drawer, tossing a condom onto the bed.

Sitting up, she grabs the back of my neck with one hand and my cock with the other. Leah falls back onto the bed, pulling me down on top of her, never releasing her tight grip.

“Oh my God, Leah,” I moan. She attacks my mouth and neck, raining dozens of sharp bites and soft kisses everywhere while stroking my cock in a perfect rhythm. My hips buck into her hand with a mind of their own, the pleasure so intense that I can’t think of anything but her, her touch, her mouth, her body. When she runs her thumb over my slit, swiping pre-cum on the engorged head, I nearly lose it.

“Stop.” Leah immediately releases my cock and lays back on the bed, a wicked gleam in her eyes and a tiny smirk on the corner of her swollen mouth.

I grab the condom, hurrying to get it on, making sure to give the base of my cock a quick squeeze to bring me back from the edge. Taking several deep breaths, I wait a minute, letting my body calm down enough to regain control of my actions.

“Sorry,” I tell Leah, my face flaming up with embarrassment at the close call. “It’s been a while.”

She looks at me incredulously, but thankfully, doesn’t say a word. Kneeling between her legs, I nudge them further apart before I cover her body with mine once more. I trace one hand down her side, skimming over her breast, her slim waist, her round hips, until I rest it at the apex of her thighs.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” I ask, swiping a finger into her slick cleft. “Fuck. Jesus, you’re so ready.” I slide my hand over every wet fold, finding the tiny nub and circling it gently, using the lightest of touches.

Leah’s body convulses and her legs stiffen. She hurriedly lifts them, wrapping them around my waist. “Now, please.” Her voice is barely a whisper, raspy and deep.

I remove my hand and trace a damp circle over her breast with my wet finger, then greedily lap up the moisture left behind. “God, you taste so good. Next time, I’m going to lick every part of you.”