Chapter Eighteen
“Maybe I should just torch it.”
“Yeah.” Annabelle’s voice was thick with sarcasm as she turned away from the front of the bakery to eye Leah. Her overly nice, walking-on-eggshells, bringing-breakfast-in-bed attitude had lasted a couple of days after Jude’s visit to the bakery, but now things were pretty much back to normal, except for the occasional times when Leah caught her roommate giving her the concerned, tragic look that Leah was convinced Annabelle had copied from Hamilton. “That’s what I always say: Whatever the situation, arson always makes things better.”
Blowing out a heavy sigh, Leah leaned against the warm brick of the building—her building. That was one of the worst parts of it, how it had shaken her feelings for her bakery, the shop that she adored, the success that she’d built from nothing. “I hate this.”
“I know. It sucks.” Wrapping her arm around Leah’s shoulders, Annabelle gently steered her toward the front door. “It could’ve sucked a lot worse, though.”
“Yeah.” Leah did know. She dreamed about those horrible alternative endings every night. “I’ll still pay you a hundred bucks to burn it down. Just make sure that Hamilton isn’t in his loft.”
“A hundred bucks?” Annabelle huffed, sounding amused. “You’re a cheap bastard.”
“Hey, you’re unemployed. I figured that you could use the cash.” She smirked until she turned back to the door and saw the familiar, yet oddly alien-seeming, dim interior of her bakery. Digging out her keys, she unlocked the door.
She stepped inside, feeling strangely timid. It had just been a few days, but it felt like so much longer. It was the same bakery, with the same speed racks and display case and check-out counter and cappuccino machine, but everything was different. Now the counter was where she’d faced off with Jude, and the kitchen was where he’d caught her and shoved a gun against her head, and the floor by the swinging door was where his unconscious body had fallen on top of hers.
Taking a deep breath and then letting it all out slowly, Leah moved around to the employee side of the counter. She needed to get over her nervousness or whatever it was and get back to work. Her customers weren’t going to wait forever for her to reopen, and she and Annabelle couldn’t both be unemployed.
“Where is Hamilton today?” Annabelle asked, leaning against the counter. “He’s been your shadow lately. I’m surprised he let you come here for the first time after the Jude thing without tagging along.”
“He had to meet with his boss.” Although she tried to keep her voice light when she talked about Hamilton, Leah could hear her words falling flat. “Something about his schedule. He was pretty vague. He’ll be annoyed I came without him.”
Annabelle, being Annabelle, immediately cocked her head and eyed Leah in that see-right-through-her way that she had. “What’s wrong? Is there something going on between you two? Something bad, I mean, not something-something, because that’s obvious.”
“He’s just being very...solicitous.” Tipping her head back, she resisted the urge to bang it on the nearest hard surface.
“Solicitous?” Annabelle repeated slowly, not dialing down the X-ray soul vision at all. “In what way? And why do you sound so annoyed by that?”
“Like you said, he’s been around a lot.” She searched for the right words, feeling like the world’s biggest whiner for not appreciating a solicitous friend. “During the day, at least.”
“Ah.”
“Ah?” Leah was being only partially sarcastic. She really did want to get Annabelle’s take on what was happening—or wasn’t happening—between her and Hamilton. “Why do you sound like a mad scientist who’s just discovered a new mind-control drug?”
“Wow.” Annabelle blinked at her. “That was very—and weirdly—specific.”
Leah circled her hand in a get-on-with-it gesture.
“He’s gone all brotherly protective on you.”
“Yes.” As usual, Annabelle had put her thumb right on the problem. “He’s acting like my brother, and I don’t want a brother. I want a...”
“Sex god?”
“Yes, but he’s more than that.”
“Orgasm friend?”
With a groan, Leah strode toward the swinging door. “Usually you’re very helpful, but sometimes you’re not helpful at all.” She couldn’t help but smile at the term, though, even as she wished Hamilton was her orgasm friend. Now, he was just a worried nanny who never, ever touched her. Her grin fell away as she shoved through the door into the kitchen.
“We don’t have to do this today,” Annabelle said.
“It’s okay. We won’t stay long. The longer I avoided this place because of what happened with Jude, the scarier it got in my head, so I needed to see it. This is my bakery. He doesn’t get to make me afraid of being here.” Looking around the kitchen, she tried to focus on those good things, on joking with Q and watching Hamilton create gorgeous sugar cookies and that first taste of frosting hitting her tongue. Still, when she looked around, it had that same alien feeling as the front had.
It was tidy. Even though nothing had been knocked over or torn apart, she’d expected the place to look trashed for some strange reason. Instead, everything was as it should be, tucked away in cupboards and coolers and drawers and bins. It was just that the memory of being chased by Jude—and then dragged back to the front—made it seem chaotic and messy.
“Sure you want to do this?” Annabelle asked again, and Leah stiffened her spine, pulling her shoulders back and raising her chin. Jude didn’t get to keep affecting her this way. He didn’t get to scare her anymore. Officer Castillo told her that he’d been admitted to a psychiatric facility. Although she was glad he was getting help, she was still completely furious with him for what he’d done to her. He didn’t get to take her bakery, too.
“I’m sure.” She walked through the kitchen, trying not to show her remembered fear or the almost overwhelming urge she had to run out of the bakery and never return. Annabelle followed quietly, staying close, as if she could read Leah’s thoughts and was on alert in case she had to chase her down.
Standing by the butcher-block table, she turned a slow circle, making herself look. She’d spent months and months in this space, and just a few minutes of that time had been the nightmare with Jude. She could work in this kitchen again, even if her panic was trying to convince her otherwise. Even though her brain was urging her to leave immediately, she forced herself to stand there until her heart rate started to slow. Once her panic ebbed, she blew out a long breath and turned toward the swinging door. “Okay. I’ve done it. First post-Jude bakery visit accomplished. Now let’s go.”
“You okay?” Annabelle asked cautiously, following her to the front.
“I will be.” I hope. “I have to be. This is my bakery, and I have to work in here.” She sent a sideways glance at her roommate. “We can’t both sleep on your parents’ sofa.”
Annabelle shoved her shoulder, forcing Leah to hop sideways to catch her balance. “Neither of us is going to sleep on my parents’ sofa. You’re going to be the tough-as-nails baking badass that you are, and I’m going to work for Louis-fucking-Dumont.”
Grateful for the distraction, Leah gave Annabelle a curious glance as she pushed open the front door. “He called you? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Not yet, but he will,” Annabelle said, making Leah snort a laugh.
“You sound so threatening,” Leah said, climbing behind the wheel of her car. She never let Annabelle drive if she could help it. “Are you going to track him down and cut him into small bits if he doesn’t hire you?”
“Quite possibly.” Although Annabelle’s tone was teasing, there was an anxious undertone that made Leah look at her more closely. She’d been so preoccupied with the Jude craziness that she hadn’t been paying close enough attention to what was happening with her friend. Instead of starting the car, she turned toward Annabelle.
“Are you okay?” Leah asked.
“I’m a little freaked out. It feels like I’m never, ever going to get another job right now.” She straightened in her seat and gave Leah a fierce grin. “Like you said, though, I will be okay. Eventually.”
Before she could respond, Leah heard a familiar masculine voice calling her name. Hamilton was striding toward her car, wearing his everyday scowl. Annabelle giggled.
“What?” Leah asked, rolling down her window without looking away from the approaching man. He was just so nice to look at.
“You get the dumbest, dopiest grin whenever you see him.”
Hamilton bent to look in her window, saving Leah from having to respond. She was relieved. There was no arguing the fact that she did get dumb and dopey when she saw him. She couldn’t help herself. He was just so darn pretty. And sweet. And hotter than a lit firecracker.
“Hi,” she said to her lit firecracker, knowing that her grin had just gotten even bigger and more smitten. Honestly, though, she didn’t care. “How was your meeting?”
“Productive. What are you doing here?”
She made a face. “Doing my first post-dickhead walk-through.”
“You should’ve told me so I could’ve been there with you.” The lines between his eyebrows deepened.
“It was an impulsive decision, and I was fine.” She jerked her head toward a smirking Annabelle. “My girl was there to hold my hand.”
His glance moved to Annabelle for a brief moment. “Hello.”
“Hey, Ham.”
Refocusing on Leah, he tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. A flash of heat rolled through her, and she cursed his chivalrous side for the thousandth time that week. He needed to drag her out the window, shove her up against the car and have his way with her. The flame in her belly blazed at the thought, and she had to force herself to concentrate on what he was saying. Frustrated lust was turning her mind to mush.
“Come upstairs?” he asked, as if he’d just peeked in her brain and read her dirty daydreams. She opened her mouth to eagerly agree, but then Annabelle cleared her throat, reminding Leah of her passenger.
“I can’t right now. Annabelle was nice enough to come with me, so the least I can do is give her a ride home.”
“That’s okay.” Annabelle unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car. “It’s such a beautiful day, I think I’m going to walk home.”
Tearing her gaze away from Hamilton, Leah frowned at Annabelle through the open passenger door. “What? Don’t be silly. You can take my car home. Ham can give me a ride later.”
“Ha! You must be desperate to stay if you’re willing to let me drive your car.” Annabelle grinned at her. “Like I said, it’s a beautiful day, and I want to walk.” Closing the car door, she started across the parking lot toward the park, giving them a wave over her shoulder. “You two have fun.”
Leah rolled the window back up and Hamilton retreated just enough so that she could get out of the car. His big hand enveloped hers, and a shock wave ran through her, pouring gasoline on the Hamilton-inspired lust-fire already raging inside her. As they walked toward the stairway door, Leah leaned into him.
“Does this mean we get to start messing around again?” she asked.
His head whipped around, and he stared at her, looking startled. “Do you... I mean, are you okay with that? Is that something you want?”
Stepping in front of him so they were front to front, she stopped, forcing him to do so as well. “I want it so badly that I’m pretty sure I will literally die if you do not fuck me soon.”
It felt like she flew. Her feet left the ground, and a half-second later, she was pinned against the stairwell door and his mouth was on hers. It was such a relief that she groaned against his lips and clutched two handfuls of his jacket.
In the next second, that wonderful body and mouth disappeared as Hamilton took a step back. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
“Ham.” She cupped his face with both hands and met his gaze fiercely. “I’m fine. Turned on beyond belief, but fine. Quit treating me like I’m fragile.”
He looked stricken as he gently gripped her forearms, holding her hands in place. “You are fragile. When I saw that asshole pointing a gun at your head...” He shook his head without dislodging her hold. “I’ve never been so terrified in my life.”
“Me either.” Her laugh shook as she stroked his cheeks with her fingertips. “But I’m safe now. The only thing that could hurt me at this moment is if you decide you never want to see me again.”
His body jerked. “I always want to see you.”
“Good.” Standing on tiptoe, she kissed his chin. “Let’s go inside, and you can see more of me.”
He smiled at that, a real smile, with dimples and everything. Reaching up, she stroked his cheek, sliding her thumb into the dent his happiness caused, the one she hardly ever got to see. As she grinned back, she felt something settle inside her, something that had been knocked out of place by the horrible events with Jude.
He looked at her steadily, sliding his hands to her elbows and then back up to her wrists. “I know I’m not good at interacting with people—most people.” She just blinked at him. That hadn’t been what she’d expected him to say. “Often, I say things that are not appropriate to the situation.”
He’d reverted to talking like the killer robot in 2001: A Space Odyssey, something that had pretty much stopped after he started working with her at the bakery and had almost completely stopped after they’d seen each other naked. She felt like she should say something, reassure him, but he looked like he was having trouble getting out what he was trying to say, so she just stayed quiet and listened.
“I don’t want you to think that I’m stalker-like, or in any way like... Jude was.”
Sucking in a breath, she started to tell him that she could never think he was like Jude, even if he hung outside her window on one of those window-washing scaffolds, but he kept talking before she could get any words out.
“However, I want to make this offer, and I will fully understand if you decide to decline. There will, of course, be no repercussions if you decide not to accept.”
Unable to take any more of the killer robot voice, she put up her hands. “Stop. Please. Just ask me whatever you’re going to ask me. You’re making me really nervous with all of these qualifiers.”
“I don’t want you to be nervous. That’s why I was reluctant to—”
“Argh!” Leah covered his mouth with her hands. Even though she was completely aggravated and still totally curious about what he was taking a million years to ask her, she couldn’t help but notice how soft his lips were against her palm. “Just ask. Please.”
At his slight nod, she moved her palm away from his face but kept it raised in case he started doing his killer-robot babble again. He held her gaze, still completely tense for no reason that she could tell. “Move in with me.”
She stared at him as her hands fell numbly to her sides. “That was not what I was expecting you to say.”
She’d thought he was holding himself as rigidly as possible, but he somehow stiffened even more. “There is no obligation. It could be temporary, if you wished, if you find that you don’t care to spend much time with me—”
Her hand covered his mouth again. Everything in her screamed to accept, to jump on this offer—and on him—without hesitation, but the tiny, logical part of her brain kept telling her that it was crazy. They hadn’t even had regular sex yet, or any kind of conversation about their relationship, and she had no idea what he thought of her or if she was just a giant walking cupcake to him, and now that previously logical part of her brain had just shorted out and nothing was making any sense. “Go back a little. What prompted this offer?”
His gaze flickered, moving to her chin and then her ear before returning to her eyes. “I’d know you were safe.”
She had to roll her eyes a little at that. “We’ve been spending practically every moment you’re not at work together. How would that be any different?”
He hesitated. “Sleep.”
“Sleep? As in, we’d sleep together?”
“No. If I meant that, I would’ve said sex.”
“Right. Sorry. So what exactly do you mean by ‘sleep’?”
He dropped her gaze again, this time glaring over her shoulder, looking so angry that she glanced behind her, half-convinced she’d see one of his mortal enemies standing there. The only thing there was her car. Even though it was a bit rough-looking, it didn’t deserve the fierce scowl he’d given it. “I don’t sleep very well.”
“Okay. I don’t know if I’d help with that, though. You’d probably have better luck with a white-noise machine or sleep-aid drugs or something.”
“You do help.” His gaze snapped back to hers. “When I stayed at your apartment and you slept at mine, that was the hardest and best I’ve slept in years.”
“Really?” She studied him as she thought. “It almost seemed like you were sleepwalking at one point—or sleep-cuddling, rather.”
His cheeks darkened with a flush. “I occasionally walk or talk in my sleep, but I never do anything dangerous. You wouldn’t have to worry about that.”
That made her snicker.
“What?” he asked.
“I wasn’t too worried about that. If the worst thing you do is snuggle me like a horny octopus and call me ‘LeeLee,’ I think I’ll live.”
He was definitely flushing now. “You’re considering it?”
It was crazy, but she was. The more she got to know Hamilton, the more she adored him, and the thought of living with him, of spending nights with him, was utterly tempting. “I’m considering it. Should we have a test-run tonight?” It was her turn to blush as she asked.
The tension left his face, and he gave her that small smile that always made her feel like they shared a secret. “I’d be amenable to that.”
“Amenable?” She couldn’t help but tease as excitement flowed through her, lighting all her nerve endings on fire. “I’m pleased you’d be amenable to testing our cohabitation experiment.”
His smile widened even as his eyes heated. As he leaned closer, so did she, until just a whisper of air separated their lips. “You can be a smart-ass,” he said softly, his breath blowing hot against her mouth.
It took a second for his words to register. When they did, she laughed and grabbed his head in both hands. Despite her hold, she was pretty sure he lunged for her first, and their mouths collided. All her amusement burned up in the heat of their kiss. She didn’t know how she’d managed to keep her hands off of him for a week, because now she felt like she had to touch him or she’d burn away to nothing.
He ripped his mouth away and turned. Leah was about to have a full-on, frustration-fueled temper tantrum before she realized he was unlocking the door with shaking hands. As soon as he somehow managed to get it open, he yanked her through, shoving her against a wall as the door closed and automatically locked behind them.
Gripping handfuls of his jacket, she yanked him closer, hating all the clothes that covered their skin but not willing to move away long enough to remove it. Instead, she slid her hands inside his jacket, pulling his shirttails free so she could slip her hands underneath. As soon as her palms pressed against his ridged belly, they both froze, breathing into each other’s mouths for a long moment.
Pulling back just far enough to speak, Leah made a sound that was part contentedness and part neediness. “I love how furry you are.” Her fingers caught a few of the wiry strands, and she gave a tug. Hamilton made a guttural noise that she interpreted as pleasure, rather than pain.
“Why?” he asked in a deep rasp, running his hands along the outside of her thighs, pushing the hem of her dress higher and higher.
“I don’t know.” She could barely talk, as everything inside her was focused on the hands as they palmed the backs of her bare thighs and then cupped her ass. “I just do. The same way I love seeing your dimple and watching you right before you bite into one of those cupcakes. Your expression... It’s like you have to eat it or you’ll die.”
Giving a low groan, he kneaded her ass cheeks, working his fingers into the crevice between them, blocked only by the delicate fabric of her panties. Leah gave thanks for her morning wardrobe decision. She’d hoped that the bright dress would cheer her up, and now she was eternally grateful she’d chosen to wear it. She wanted as little between her naked skin and Hamilton’s hands as possible.
As he scraped a blunt thumbnail lightly along the skin of her hip, just under her panties, she nipped his lip. Wrapping his other hand around the back of her neck, he pulled her into another kiss. She didn’t mind the slight roughness, the desperation. It was the same with her. She couldn’t get enough of his kisses, his tongue, his teeth, and his hands on her. Cool air brushed against her bare legs, catching on the wetness smeared over her inner thighs. Somehow, the contrast made her pussy feel even hotter.
With a hungry sound that sent pleasure pulsing through her, he picked her up so that they were face-to-face. She wrapped her legs around his waist and ground her pussy against his rigid abs. The light switch dug into her lower back, and she winced.
He immediately went still as he looked at her face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She moved to kiss him again, her body crying out for more touching, more of everything Hamilton could give her, but he shifted back. Knowing that he wouldn’t resume kissing until she told him, she sighed. “The wall’s just a little bumpy. It’s worth it, though.”
When she leaned toward him, he stopped her again, and then slid a hand behind her where her back met the switch. With a sympathetic frown, he lowered her to her feet. “Let’s go upstairs.”
As they moved toward the stairs, she leaned against him. It was impossible to keep her distance when he was right there, his gorgeous body basically begging her to touch him. He wrapped an arm around her, tucking her tightly against his side. It was, she decided, her favorite place to be. Her gaze touched on the back entrance to the bakery kitchen, and a cold trickle of fear slid through her. Hamilton tightened his arm around her, and she tore her gaze away from the door. When she looked at his face, all the residual panic and anxiety left her, and only desire remained.
He stared down at her as they climbed the steps, his eyes making the fire already burning inside her flare even higher. “I want to kiss you again, but I know we’ll never get into the loft if I do.”
“That’s probably true.” Her voice sounded husky, and he blew out a hard breath. His arm lowered to her waist, and he swept her up against him so her feet were dangling off the ground. With a laughing shriek, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, holding on tightly as he ran up the rest of the stairs.
She was breathless and giggling, even though she wasn’t the one doing the running. It was so unexpected when he did impulsive things like that, and the surprise made them that much more exciting. As he unlocked the door to his loft, she took advantage of her position, kissing a line up the side of his neck. When she reached his earlobe, she caught it between her teeth and teased it with her tongue, making him groan deep in his chest, so low it was almost a growl.
His desire turned her on even more, and she tightened her legs around him, grinding her pussy against his tight abs. As the door opened, he carried her inside, one hand on her ass pressing her harder against him. Slamming the door shut, he pushed her up against it, holding her up with the weight of his body.
She was pinned against the door, and she loved it. With anyone else, she would have protested the position, but Hamilton was different. He always made her feel secure, whether he was barely touching her arm when they were fully clothed, or when they were naked and he wrapped around her.
Shoving at his jacket, she pushed it off his shoulders. Holding her up with one arm and then the other, he shook the sleeves loose and let the jacket drop to the floor. His tie was next to go. Leah started to work on his shirt buttons, her fingers fumbling as they shook with need. Her frustration grew with each button, and she was tempted to tear it open and send buttons flying. Instead, she yanked it up, and he caught the hint, pulling it off over his head while keeping her pinned against the door.
She’d barely flattened her hands against his chest when he interrupted, working her dress higher and higher until it bunched under her arms and her bare back pressed against the cool metal of the door. As she raised her arms, he yanked it off over her head, leaving her in just her bra and panties.
There were still too many barriers between them, and she unhooked her bra and let the straps slide down her arms. Hamilton went still for a moment, his gaze fixed on her bare breasts, and then he was kissing her frantically. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she pulled him in close, loving the feel of his chest against her breasts, so hard and hairy against her smooth softness. He kissed her deeply, holding the back of her head as if making sure she couldn’t escape—but escaping his mouth was the last thing on her mind. If anything, she wanted more of him.
His other hand clenched on her ass cheek, his fingers digging deep into the muscle and yanking her hips flush against his belly. It wasn’t enough, though. Her pussy felt empty and desperate, and she needed him inside her. Pulling back her head, she groaned at the loss of his mouth, but her raging need to have his cock in her was greater than her want for his mouth on hers.
“Please,” she begged, untangling her legs so she could reach between them and unfasten his pants. He lowered her feet to the floor, moving back just far enough so she could have room to stand. Her legs shook as they took her weight, but she ignored that, intent on her goal of getting her hands on Hamilton’s cock again. As soon as she unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, they fell to his ankles. Sliding one hand down the front of his black boxer briefs, she closed her fingers around his erection. Even that was a relief, just touching his cock, and she moaned. “Please, fuck me.”
He hissed between his teeth as she slid her hand up and down his hard length, but the fabric limited her movements. Impatiently, she released him to shove his boxer briefs down his legs, revealing his pretty, pretty cock that she’d missed so much. Gripping it again, with both hands this time, she ran a thumb over the slick head.
“Why didn’t you stay over?” she asked. As desperate as she was to have him inside her, she really wanted to know the answer. After what happened with Jude, it had confused her and made her feel like Hamilton didn’t want her anymore. Now, though, it was obvious from the state of his rigid cock that he really, really did.
“You were...” He sucked in a harsh breath as she cupped his balls gently in one hand and ran the other one up and down his erection. “You were traumatized. I didn’t want to...fuck!...take advantage.”
Dropping to her knees in front of him, she admired his cock up close before flicking her tongue over the head, and he made another one of those wonderful growly sounds. “I wanted you. You wouldn’t have been—” she licked him again, and his hands knotted in her hair, pulling the strands just tight enough to be exciting without hurting “—taking advantage.”
Except for the sexy, excited sounds he made, he was quiet for a long moment while she played with him, his fingers working against her scalp. “I wasn’t sleeping. I didn’t want to bother you.” The last word was a groan as she took him deep into her mouth as a reward for telling her the truth—all of the truth. Pulling back, she kept her lips tight around him so his cock finally left her mouth with a pop. His fingers clenched in her hair, and she smiled, loving that she could make him as crazy as he made her.
“I wasn’t sleeping either.” She shoved his boxer briefs down the rest of the way and held them down as Hamilton stepped out of them, as well as his shoes and pants. “We could’ve had fun together, at least, rather than being sleepless and lonely apart.” Pulling off his socks one at a time as he raised them, she admired his feet. There wasn’t one part of Hamilton that was unattractive.
“Look at you.” His voice was rough, and she tilted her head to look up at him. From her angle, kneeling at his feet, he looked enormous, from his tree-trunk legs to his erect cock to his furry barrel chest. He was huge and hard and all hers to play with, and the thought—and view—made her smile. “You’re so beautiful.”
Her smile widened, and she stood, running her hands over his calves and thighs and ass as she did so. His muscles twitched and trembled under her touch, and it made her feel as powerful as he was, despite being a foot shorter and many pounds of muscle lighter. He cupped her face, leaning down to kiss her, and she stood on her tiptoes to deepen the kiss.
Immediately, just from a kiss, her desire blasted back, as strong and wild as before. She wrapped her arms around him, stroking her palms over his naked back, loving the play of muscles under his skin. His hands slid down her neck and over her shoulders. She thought he’d head for her breasts, but he skipped to her sides, instead, leaving her nipples pointed and aching for his touch.
His fingers slid into the sides of her panties, and he slid them down her legs, crouching in front of her to push them all the way to her feet. It was her turn to step out of them as he undressed her, and then his hands hesitated on the ankle strap of her shoes.
“I can’t decide if I want you to take these off or leave them on,” he said, and she laughed, surprised by this tiny bit of kink. The shoes were adorable, so she couldn’t blame him for his indecision.
“Leave them on, then.” Her voice was husky as she thought about the possibilities for dress-up later. For now, though, she was getting more than desperate. It felt like she’d waited forever to feel him inside her, and her patience was gone. She gave him a push, and he rolled onto his back. It was too graceful for a fall, so she had a feeling that he’d let her shove him to the floor, but that didn’t matter. He was down, and she was going to take full advantage of that.
She straddled him, ready to lower down on his hard cock, but he caught her hips.
“Condom.” His teeth were gritted, and he was sweating, as if it physically hurt him to wait.
She stared at him, a wave of disappointment and frustration flooding her. “I didn’t expect to see you here. Do you have any?”
“Yes. In my pants pocket.”
Relief hit her, and she scrambled over to his pile of clothes to dig them out. When her fingers closed on a packet, she grinned, holding it up. “Thought you were getting lucky today, did you?”
Before she could blink, he’d snatched it out of her hand and was tearing it open. “Yes.”
She watched him roll it on, and any urge to tease him about keeping condoms in his pocket disappeared, leaving only desire. Then he was on her, rolling her beneath him in a move so fast and effortless that it made her dizzy.
Finally, finally, he slid into her, and it was perfect. She was surprised she didn’t hear a click of two parts fitting together. It was like he was made for her, and she was made for him, and she wished one of them had figured it out months ago, because they’d wasted too much time sparring when they could’ve been doing exactly this.
Bracing his arms on either side of her head, he kept his gaze locked on hers as he pulled partway out and then thrust in again. “Fuck, LeeLee,” he said, his voice harsh but the words gentle. “You’re incredible. This is the best feeling in the world.”
Her legs wound around his waist as he slid out of her, only to drive his cock home again. Lowering his body down, he pressed her into the floor with his weight and another thrust, pinning her in that secure way she loved, and then he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer as his hips moved faster, his cock drove deeper, and she kissed him back, letting her lips and tongue and her clutching pussy tell him exactly how she felt about him.
She could tell that he understood, because his kiss grew more intense, more possessive, and his breathing grew rough and uneven. Every stroke bumped her clit and dragged his cock against her sensitive walls, driving her higher than she ever thought she could go. He broke the kiss, burying his face in her neck. Everything—the rub of his scruff on her throat and the brush of his wiry chest hair against her erect nipples and every pull and slide of that beautiful, huge cock inside her—wound her tighter until she climaxed. Pleasure buried her in wave after wave, aftershocks rippling through her as his thrusts grew frantic and fast, bumping against her ultra-sensitive clit and burrowing through her clenching, rippling pussy, stretching out her orgasm endlessly.
He stiffened, his body going rigid, and he groaned, a long, deep sound that came from the bottom of his chest, vibrating against her throat where his mouth was pressed. He seemed to come forever, and Leah held him close, not wanting the moment, the blissful, amazing moment, to end. Slowly, his muscles relaxed, and more and more of his weight pressed her into the floor. It felt comforting and safe, but there came a point where it was difficult to breathe. Leah pushed on his shoulder, and he seemed to understand immediately, rolling them over onto their sides.
His octopus arms wrapped around her, and one of his legs lay over hers, and she let out a small laugh.
“What?” he asked, pulling his head back a little to look at her, his mouth crooking up at the corners as if he was ready to smile at whatever she told him.
“I missed my horny octopus,” she said.
“Horny octopus?”
“That’s you.”
“I figured that, but why is that me?”
She smiled at him sleepily, still floating in the residual pleasure. “Because of the way you wrap your entire body around me in bed, like a form of aggressive cuddling.”
When he gave her a wary look, as if he wasn’t sure how to take it, she laughed again and gave him a pat. “I love it. It makes me feel safe. Besides, I think everything you do is adorable.”
“You do?”
“Yes.” Looking at him, she didn’t hesitate, didn’t agonize about whether to tell him or not. He was Hamilton, and she trusted him. “That’s how I realized that I love you. Even little silly things, like the way your left eyelid twitches when I annoy you, or how you put so much cream and sugar in your coffee. There’s no one else in this world, not even my grandma when she was alive, who I found universally adorable. Not until you.”
He went still for a long time, long enough for her to wonder if it had been too soon to tell him. She didn’t regret it, though. She’d never regret telling him how she felt.
“I love you, too.”
She tried to sit up, but his octopus limbs kept her down, so she turned her head to stare at him. “Really? You don’t have to say it back just because I did.”
“How could I not love you?” His face was more open than she’d ever seen it before. That look and his words made her heart squeeze in the very best way. “Even when you couldn’t stand me, you still fed me cupcakes.”
“With extra frosting.”
“The extra frosting is the best part.”