Page 44 of Willowbrooke
But the words died on his lips, because the moment he said my name, I couldn’t help but pull him back to me. I was unable to do anything but give in to my desires.
His hands were everywhere. I needed every bit of him, and he was willing to give me whatever I wanted.
Breathless, we separated for a moment, panting against each other, our foreheads still touching.
“I’m not trying to fuck up your life, Pen, but I can’t stay away from you,” he professed. “I can work on getting you legal, contractual job security, so you don’t have to worry about keeping the project. I’ll do whatever you want. I just—I can’t lose you…” I felt his lips graze my cheek.
“I need to take things slow…” I tried to find some part of my sanity to help me communicate properly.
Leo nodded against me. “Can I be close to you—when we’re alone?”
“Yes,” I said without hesitation.
I could feel Leo smiling against me at the speed of myresponse.
“But when other people are here…you need to be careful—we both do. How we are around each other—nobody can even get a whiff of anything going on between us,” I said more firmly. I didn’t like the idea of having to constantly be on guard when we weren’t alone, but it was a means to an end.
“I can do that…” Leo pulled back slightly, his palm cupping my cheek. “Any other terms?”
“I can’t think straight…” I didn’t mean to say it out loud, but the knowing smile it garnered from Leo was worth the admission.
He leaned down, kissing me gently one last time before releasing me. He sighed as he severed contact, taking a step back from me. “I should leave before I do something stupid to mess this up,” he joked, running his hand through his hair nervously.
“Wait—there’s something I need to talk to you about.” I didn’t want there to be any secrets between us. And in a matter of two days, this one had gnawed at me so profusely I couldn’t keep it to myself any longer.
Leo took another step back and gestured to the seating area beside us, inviting me to sit down.
Were his legs as shaky as mine?
I felt much more composed, sitting down, and at least a foot away from Leo.
The lust and tension between us was still palpable butdissipating as Leo seemed to read the urgency in my tone.
He leaned forward in his chair, his elbows resting on his legs. He was listening.
“I found something on Friday.” I hesitated, unsure of how to tell him exactly what had happened. I realized I’d just have to start from the beginning. “I was sorting through the library and I came across a journal.”
Leo raised a brow, intrigued.
“It belonged to your mom.” I swallowed, waiting for the anger to come.
“Really?” He sounded surprised.
“I tried to call you,” I said defensively.
“It’s okay.” Leo reached out, placing his palm on my forearm. “Where is it?”
I sighed. “I had it with me in my room when I fell asleep that night, but when I woke up, it was gone. I’ve looked everywhere, Leo. I’m so sorry.” I could feel my chest tightening with anxiety.
Leo gently squeezed my arm. “Pen, it’s okay. I’m not mad. But what do you think happened?”
“I don’t know. When I woke up, that shadow was in my room—”
Leo’s face paled. “There really was someone in your room that night…”
“I thought it was just my imagination—or a trick of the light, but it felt like something was in that corner—maybe it was a person…” I tried to run through what I remembered of that night, but it was all such a jumble of nerves I could only remember the fear I’d felt when I’d woken up and the relief when I’d found Leo downstairs.
We both took a beat.
