Unraveled (Undone) (10 page)

“Facing me,” Leo says.

I swivel until I face him, kneel and blink up at him.

There’s already a crowd starting to gather, both men and women. All dressed in black, white, pink or red in honor of the Valentine’s theme, all watching me with intent, interested gazes. My stomach jumps, heats. I gulp.

I shift my attention to Leo, my anchor. I lick my lips. “Leo?”

He strokes a finger down my cheek and lowers his head until his lips touch the shell of my ear and whispers, “Haven’t you been wanting something just like this?”

My throat tightens, but I manage to squeak out. “But. You?”

I can’t help thinking of that time, not so long ago, where Leo pushed himself past his own limits trying to give me something he thought I wanted and how it almost ended us. Not that I have that worry now, because we are stronger than ever, and our bond is unbreakable. We made a promise to each other that night he sang under my window to always communicate and we’ve kept our promise.

But I’m still scared. Scared it doesn’t excite him as much as it excites me. I know how he is, how much he wants to give me what he thinks I need, even at the expense of his own comfort.

I don’t want him to do something he doesn’t want.

It’s not worth it.

He brushes his mouth over mine and strokes a finger over my cheek. “Trust me.”

“I do,” I say, because I trust him to do right by me. I just don’t trust him to do right by himself. I wind my arms around his neck and pull him close, so nobody can overhear what we’re saying. “But all I need, is you. I don’t need this to be happy. I’m already happy.”

He squeezes me tight and whispers back, “I know you are, Jilly. You’ve been working so hard at school and you’ve been such a good girl. I want you to have this.”

When I start to protest, he takes my hand and presses my open palm to his hard cock. “Does it feel like I don’t want this?”

I curl my hand over his erection. “No.”

“Trust me.” He takes my hand and puts it around my back. “We have one hour and the only reason I’m allowing this is because it’s a closed, private party with limited people. So enjoy it now. You may not get the opportunity again.”

My lashes flutter open and I take in the gathering crowd behind me, some of them I know from other events, some of them I don’t. But if Brandon has them here, I know they are safe. Leo is giving this to me, it’s his present, and he sounds sure. It’s only right to surrender to his will. I nod. “Okay.”

His teeth scrape over the line of my jaw. “Give them a show. Make them want you.”

Then he stands back, and assesses me like I’m up for auction. All my trepidation fades away and a new type of nervousness takes its place. Filled with anticipation and excitement. Before Leo, I never understood how that was possible, to be simultaneously scared and turned on, but I’ve learned it’s a powerful cocktail.

He taps my legs. “Open.”

I comply. While my dress looks like pure latex, the skirt is pleated and loose, made from a stretchy material that allows maximum give.

Leo gives me a hard-eyed stare that makes me shiver with lust. He looks at my splayed thighs. “More.”

My legs open obscenely wide and I can feel the air brush against my wet, slick, wanting folds. I can already feel the beginning of that special place I go to where I no longer fight. That switch being flipped in my head that makes me up for anything.

It’s when the Jillian I am to the outside world slips away, and the Jillian that belongs only to Leo takes her place.

He’s still not satisfied. He grips my thighs and presses them farther apart until my muscles strain. I suck in my breath as my dress slides indecently up my legs, the fabric bunching at my hips.

I gulp. This is happening. This is real. It’s not a dream I’m talking about and exploring on my couch while Leo plays over my clit, but real.

Behind him, I see people stopping to watch, enjoying the show.

My body clenches.

Leo smiles, and then turns to a guy standing next to him. “What do you think?”

The guy is handsome, blond and tall, dressed in a business suit. He steps closer to me, close enough to see the gold shards in his brown eyes.

“No touching,” Leo says.

The guy nods, puts his hands behind his back and starts to circle me.

I glance at Leo and his dark eyes are hot and hungry on mine, he nods.

I shiver, my brain caught in a suspended place between living my fantasy and uncertainty.

The guy comes to stand in front of me again. I give him a brilliant smile and he chuckles. “Having fun, girl?”

Am I? I lick my lips. “Yes.”

He shifts his attention to Leo. “She’s quite beautiful. But it seems like she’s missing something.”

“I agree,” Leo says and steps back up. “I know just the thing.”

Right in front of the stranger, he slides his fingers deep inside me, and I gasp at the sudden, forceful shock of his entry. When he pulls away, his fingers are slick with my wetness. He paints my lips with the evidence of my desire, the undeniable proof that I’m exactly this kind of girl. He does it again, his thumb on my clit. I pulse in his hand on a stuttery gasp.

He retreats, and once again paints my lips so my arousal fills my senses, making me feel like everyone in this room is experiencing it right along with me. It only heightens the exposure. Fuels my desire.

Leo once again steps back. “She’s still missing something.”

And suddenly, Brandon is next to him, looking me up and down. He shrugs. “She’s not very exposed, now is she?”

“Good point,” Leo says, as though he’s given the matter serious thought.

I wrinkle my nose at Brandon, who grins at me, steps up and whispers in my ear, “You don’t fool me, I know who you are.”

They don’t fool me either. I know how they operate. Leo knows exactly what he’s going to do, and how. He doesn’t leave important things like this to chance.

With Brandon standing in front of me, Leo comes to stand next to him. “This isn’t going to work at all.”

“Nope.” Brandon crosses his arms.

“If you’re going to be a cock tease, you might as well go all the way and do it properly, don’t you think?” Leo asks, his head tilted.

I don’t say anything. I’m not sure I can speak. I might hyperventilate.

Brandon smiles at me. “In the back, I have a room set up just for her. All it has is a table and a spotlight.”

Leo cocks a brow. “Sounds right up your alley, doesn’t it?”

I can only gulp. Is he really going to do this? Allow strangers to watch as he takes me? Do I want that?

Leo slides his fingers up my thighs, and he’s hitting slick flesh before he even reaches any place good. “Someone likes that idea.”

If I’m so aroused, I must, right?

“Why am I not surprised?” Brandon asks.

Leo hooks his fingers into the silver circle at my throat. “You’re mine. And you’re going to show every single person here that you perform for me. Understand?”

I’m going to combust. Right here at the table. In front of god and everyone. “Yes, Leo.”

He tugs and the leather band around my throat tightens. “Let’s go.”

And down the rabbit’s hole I go.

Ruby

Leo and Jillian walk away and I sit there, drink in hand, staring into the clear bubbly liquid. My heart is pounding hard, and my cheeks feel hot. I want to press the cool glass against my forehead to soothe my flushed skin.

“You okay there?” Chad asks, his voice thoughtful.

I jerk my attention to him, blinking back to the reality of my surroundings, surprised to find I’m in what now looks like a very upscale, expensive club. I clear my throat. “Yep, I’m good.”

“Are you sure?” Chad’s blue eyes peer into me, expression intent on my face.

I swallow and nod. “Yes.” But my voice doesn’t sound at all sure.

He smiles and slides his glass down on the table before taking my own from my fingers and placing it next to his. “It’s okay to be overwhelmed, you know. It’s normal.”

I want to object that I’m perfectly fine, but something stops me. Maybe it’s the set of his jaw. The way he’s looking at me, not with judgment or arrogance, but with what looks like genuine concern. I find myself asking, “It is?”

He nods then chuckles. “The first time I went to this kind of party I was in shock. It was like a train wreck where I couldn’t look away.”

My eyes widen and some of the tension knotting my stomach eases. “Yes, that’s exactly what it feels like.”

“You’re not alone, I think it’s like that for everyone.” He rubs his hand along the back of his neck and laughs. “The first time I went with a friend of mine, and I wasn’t into the scene at all. He took me to a hardcore leather club. My first and last trip.”

“You didn’t like it?”

He shudders before flashing me a grin. “I walked in, and it was dark. Like a cave. The first scene I passed was a woman sewing a guy’s lips together. I almost passed out from the shock.”

I cringe. “Oh my god, I’d have died.”

“I almost did.” He winces. “I’ve never been into that kind of extreme pain, needles and instruments.” He shivers. “I hate blood. Much to my father’s disappointment.”

“Why would your dad be disappointed?” It’s hard to imagine him being a disappointment to anyone.

He shrugs. “I come from a family of doctors. Being a computer geek is kind of a letdown.”

It’s something we have in common and it surprises me. “I can understand that. My family thinks I’m from outer space. Although, you’d be right up their alley.”

He grins. “Why’s that?”

I shrug and wave my hand over him. “You’re all clean cut and employed.”

He laughs. “That’s all it takes, huh?”

“They have simple requirements.” Whatever he’s doing is working, because I’m starting to relax. That horrible lonely feeling is starting to fade. I want to kiss him in gratitude. “So, if you weren’t into that scene, why did you go?”

He tilts his head. “Same reason as you, I was curious.”

I bite my lower lip and he tracks the movement. I contemplate, but find myself admitting the truth to him. “I wish I’d stayed home.”

He drains his glass and shifts to face me more fully, putting his arm on the back of the couch where we’re sitting. “Why didn’t you?”

I blow out a breath and shrug. “I guess I wanted to see what the fuss was about.”

“And do you? See the fuss?”

Do I? I shake my head. “I don’t think I get it.”

He nods, but doesn’t ask me more questions.

“Aren’t you going to try and convince me I’m wrong?” I’m not sure why I ask, maybe because everyone seems so sure this is better.

His eyes narrow on me. “Nope.”

I experience a stirring of awareness, not sexual, just… something. “Why?”

“If it doesn’t turn you on, it doesn’t turn you on.” Over my head, he catches the attention of someone in back of me, raises his hand and signals for two more drinks. “It’s not up to me to decide that for you.”

I drain my glass and stare into the ice cubes, glittering under the soft light. “It’s hard, you know, when they all seem so in love.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” He laughs. “Sometimes they are a bit sickening in their devotion.”

He understands. He’s listening. I can talk to him and I don’t feel like he’s judging me. It’s a strange experience, this notion I can admit stuff to him I can’t admit to my best friend. I clear my throat. “I’m jealous.”

“I know. I can see it on your face.” He puts his hand on the back of my neck, and his fingers are cool on my overheated skin. I meet his gaze.

As strange as it sounds, I get lost in the blue of his eyes. The soft understanding in them. “You don’t think I’m terrible?”

He shakes his head. “I think you’re human.” His thumb traces down the curve of my throat and tingles break along my skin. “Just remember, Ruby. It’s not the kink that makes them that way. It’s being with the right person.”

I nod, and as he stares into my face, some of my jagged emotions smooth over. I breathe in and out, slow and deep, and an almost meditative haze creeps over me.