Page 59 of Owned
“You can have it back in a moment. But first…” He continues to trace circles on my shoulder, and I swallow down the lump forming in my throat.
“What’s on your mind?”
“God, you’re so beautiful,” he blurts out. “Shit. Sorry, that wasn’t what I was going to say.” He freezes, his eyes widening in pure shock. “I mean you are fucking stunning all the time, shit.” Removing his hand, he pushes the tips of his fingers into his eyes, groaning as his legs begin to bounce restlessly. “You’re so fucking hard to look at sometimes, and being with you all the time is messing with my head. I need to stop talking.”
Placing my hand on his knee and feeling the tremors rolling through his body, I know he’s fighting not to ramble. He does this when his thoughts get to be too much. “You don’t have to stop talking. Show me one woman who doesn’t like to be told she’s beautiful.” Bumping his shoulder with mine, I try to bring some humor to the moment as his safety net is always to get people to laugh. I’ve seen it all my life with him. He is the one person who can get a smile out of anyone when they are down. He refuses to see people hurt.
He huffs out a laugh and then he encases my hand with his, his legs still trembling even as his hands quiver in mine. “You aren’t just beautiful, you know. Your mind and your intelligence amaze me. You’re so strong.” His cheeks flush slightly and he lets out a nervous laugh, but I’m speechless when he gently wraps his hand around the back of my neck and presses his forehead to mine. “Sometimes I wish this wasn’t fake.” My pulse races as his thumb grazes up and down the column of my neck. “I wish you were actually mine, but I know we can’t.”
“Why not?” I say softly, pulling back so I can look into his eyes and hope he can see the truth in mine—that I want this. I wet my lips, and his eyes track the movement. His hand tightens around my neck, sending sparks through me as he lowers his face to mine. His unique woodsy-clean scent wraps around me, and his lips brush against mine. I can sense he is holding back. He says I need to relax in his hold, but I think he needs to do the same. Pulling back slightly, I study his face. His jaw ticks as I slide my hand up his side and curve it around his back, pulling him farther into my space. “It’s not fake,” I whisper against his lips.
This time I touch his lips with mine, and he doesn’t resist. The hand behind my head guides me to where he wants me. He demands and controls the kiss and I let him. His free hand snakes behind my back, gliding his palm along the exposed skin. The heat radiating from his palms sets a fire inside me, and I sink deeper into the kiss. There is no distance between us as the tip of his tongue swipes at my lips and I open for him. Our tongues glide over one another, tangling in the most delicious way as we moan into each other's mouths. The kiss becomes desperate as his grip on me tightens, and he groans into my mouth when I nip at his bottom lip gently.
The shrill noise of his phone blaring startles us apart, staring wide-eyed at each other and breathing heavily. “Don’t you need to get that?” I ask breathlessly, my chest rising and falling quickly.
Wordlessly, he takes his phone out of his jacket pocket. “Uber is here; Jade and Hunter are waiting,” he says quietly.
“Okay.” I nod but don’t make a move to leave. The shock waves of that kiss are still rushing through my body.
“Okay,” he mirrors, also not making a move to leave as he swallows roughly. “We good?” he questions, his brow creasing.
“We’re good.” I offer him a small smile.
“We should leave.”
“Yep.”
Neither of us make a move to leave; we just stare, gazes locking on each other’s lips. Just as we both lean forward, closing the distance between us, his phone beeps again, snapping us out of whatever trance we were under.
“We’d better leave.” He shakes his head and goes to stand, and I stand as well. Grasping his hand in mine, I pause his escape, confusion swimming in his eyes as he gazes down at me.
“Hang on.” I brush the pad of my thumb across the corner of his mouth, swiping the smeared lipstick off his lips. “You look good in red.”
He huffs out a laugh before cupping my face in both his hands. “You look good in any color.”
Chapter 29
Leo
The drive to the gala was a blur as I replayed the kiss with Ria on loop in my head. The softness of her lips and the way she melted into my touch, the slight hint of scotch on her lips adding to the heat that traveled through my entire body. Never did I imagine her lips would feel so right pressed against mine. Her grip on me felt desperate, which was mirrored in my movements. I was struggling with my control to not take it any further, but my head was gone. I’ve wanted this for so long that the small bit of control I did have was fraying, ripping apart with every swipe of her tongue. If Hunter hadn’t messaged when he did, I would have snapped and taken what I’m not entitled to. It was like a bucket of ice-cold water tipped over me, reminding me once again that no matter how much I want this situation tobe real, could it truly be real? When she whispered that it wasn’t fake, I could feel it, that kernel of hope blooming in my chest. We walked into the gala, her arm tucked in mine, and she was relaxed and happy, and that hope grew. Visions of a future I’d held back from played in my head. I could risk it for her; it would only ever be her.
“Is everything okay, brother?” Hunter slaps me on the shoulder before handing me a tumbler of scotch. “You’ve been quiet.”
“Have I?”
“Yes.” He frowns. “How are things with Ria? I know she can be hard to live with.”
She is, but not for the reason you think.
“No, no. It’s all good living with her. I’m just a little off since I know Ezra will be here tonight.” I’m not completely lying; I don’t know what I will do when I see him.
He grips his glass tighter. “Has Ria said much?”
“No. But she’s been a little off as well.”
“In what way?”
She kissed me like she needed my breath to breathe.
