He slides his tongue deep into my mouth, and I swear every part of me melts. His hand presses against my back, pulling me impossibly close, and our bodies meld together again. It’s like he’s made for me, how perfectly our bodies fit together. There’s something about when he takes control that makes me lose my inhibitions—makes me lose all sense of reason. It’s like I’m transported to a different place, and I’m not one hundred percent sure I like losing control like this. This is how I get into trouble—when I leave reason at the door, things never end well.

He pulls my hand into his, moving it to his bare ass. He stiffens slightly and breaks our kiss before he dips his head to whisper into my ear. “Don’t move.”

My eyes flutter open, and I see the door is open behind him. It takes me a second to realize what’s happening—and it really isn’t until I hear the clicking of the cameras and the calls of “Eleanor! Eleanor!” from the sidewalk that I realize what he’s done.

There’s not going to be any denying a relationship between the two of us now. And I have no idea what that means. Other than my stomach twisting itself into a knot and having a strong urge to puke, I’m not sure how I feel about anything that’s happening.

My chest feels tight, and I can’t breathe. My mouth is hanging open and I’m looking out at the sea of cameras—there are so many, I can’t even see the people behind them. I can only hear them calling out my name.

Leo whispers to me again. “If you move, they’re going to see exactly how I feel about you.” He tips his forehead to mine and grins. “Hold on.”

I slide my hands up to his neck and lace my fingers together. I tip my head to his chest—and I do the last thing I would have ever expected to do in this situation. I start to laugh.

He turns his head to the cameras, flashing one of his famous smiles. “This is Elle—the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Have a nice day, everyone.”

He lifts me up, pulling my body into his again, and he walks me back into the house, pulling the door closed behind him before he sets me down.

I press my lips together and cover my mouth, trying not to giggle. But I don’t want to lift my gaze to his—I can only stare down at the floor. I still can’t really believe any of this is happening.

“Do you believe me now?”

“Believe what? That you’re insane? Yes, I suppose I believe that, Leo.” I finally look up at him. “You’re definitely crazier than I gave you credit for. What was that for? You think embarrassing yourself is going to save me from the humiliation they’re about to dish out to me?” I shake my head at him, my smile falling. “You don’t need to do that—to try to protect my honor or whatever. There’s really nothing to protect.”

He stares at me for a long moment, smiling. “I wanted them to know. I wanted you to know I have every intention of being seen with you. Every intention of acknowledging our relationship to the media and anyone else who will listen. And yes, I suppose a nude photo of me will relieve some of the pressure that is sure to build around you now that they know who you are. Not that I haven’t been photographed in the nude before…”

I look up into his eyes for a moment before dropping my gaze back to the floor. “You’re sure that little show wasn’t meant to embarrass me?”

He reaches out and tips my chin so I look into his eyes again. “Hardly. I want to be seen with you. I can think of nothing that would please me more.” He pauses for a moment before he grins. “Actually, I can think of many things that would please me more, and considering my current state of disrobe, perhaps we should take advantage—”

I lift a brow. “So you thought baring your ass to the world was going to make me want to drag you back to bed?”

He gives me a shrug that I’m sure is meant to convey his innocence. “Not at all.” His grin widens. “Though, it does appear you are wearing far too much clothing, at least for the moment—”

“Oh, I’ll be clothed for longer than a moment, Leo. After that little stunt? I’m not sure this is such a great idea. What if they can see in? What if there’s some way they can hear us?”

He smiles, tilting his head. “No one will be seeing or hearing anything unless we want them to. Though I have heard your cries of pleasure, Elle, and I must say it’s certainly possible someone might be able to hear them from the street. Not that I’m complaining, of course. I welcome anyone and everyone to know how pleased you are with our current arrangement. And I’m perfectly willing to tell them I am equally pleased. Perhaps more so…”

My eyes roll to the ceiling before I look back at him. “My God, you never stop, do you?”

He grins at me for a moment. “My stamina is world class.”

“Insufferable.”

“No, I believe we established the proper word is insatiable. Though you’re hardly one to talk, Elle. You’ve kept up with me better than I could have ever hoped—”

“Oh my God, stop. Please.” I resist the urge to put my hands over my ears so I don’t have to listen anymore. “We have to stop.” I motion between us. “All of this really needs to stop. Now. It’s been fun, but honestly, this is getting out of hand. I mean, the sex is one thing, but the thought of hundreds of reporters out there, waiting for any salacious detail they can get their hands on…” I shake my head at him. “We really, really have to stop.”

His smile falls. “Elle, I don’t believe you understand that it’s far too late for that. As I’ve been trying to tell you, something has happened to me. I can’t explain it. But nothing is as I expected it to be.” He takes a step toward me. “And it’s not only about the sex, though I’ll admit it is glorious.”

“But it is only about sex, Leo. There can’t be anything else between us. Haven’t you been listening to me? We live in completely different worlds. They…” I motion toward the door. “They don’t care that I need to have a life after this. They’re perfectly willing to try to ruin it for me because I decided to pursue this little fling between us. What am I supposed to do now? Now that they know who I am? How am I supposed to make a living after this? And what if they…” My breath hitches in my chest and I pause, looking up into his eyes. I only barely stopped myself from asking him what would happen if they found out what Owen did. What happened in my personal life before I left for Rio de Campo was bad enough. The last thing I need is for anyone to go digging anything else up about me.

I can’t run forever. And I can only run so far.

“Elle…” He reaches out for my shoulder.

I flinch away. “You should probably cover yourself up. They might be able to see through my curtains. They’re pretty sheer.”

He looks over at the curtains before he turns his gaze back to mine. His lips curl into another smile. “If you’d rather I be clothed, I have no objection. I seem to remember we’re fairly adept at accomplishing our goals while relatively clothed—”

“Leo, please stop. You say I don’t understand the gravity of this situation or how it’s affecting you, but I think maybe you don’t understand what a problem this is for me.”

“Ah, but I do. Which is why I suggested our clothing is merely a hindrance, not an obstacle. If done carefully, we can both remain fully clothed—”

I throw my hands in the air and groan loudly. I shake my head and walk to the couch, sitting before I look at him again. “I’m not talking about any of this again until you have your clothes on.”

He smiles, staring at me for a moment before he walks toward the hallway without another word.

He must know I have zero self-control when it comes to him. I don’t know what I can do to get the balance of power to shift back to my side. Considering he can get me to melt just by giving me one of those looks—I know I’m done for. I’m in too deep.

After I sit, wondering how the hell I’m going to get myself out of this mess, I remember how I was interrupted earlier by his return. It seems like it was so long ago, but he did leave me. And I know he will again.

He’s in the bedroom for a long time, so I decide to finish doing my laundry before I return to the living room. I need to keep myself busy so I don’t have to think about how the stunt he’s just pulled with the media has probably ruined any chance of my having a normal life ever again.

He returns a few minutes later dressed in a white button-down shirt and gray slacks—he looks almost exactly like he did on the day we first met.

He grins at me and holds his arm out like I’m supposed to get up and take it. “I thought we’d have a proper first date.”

“You thought we’d…what?” I blink at him a few times. “Are you insane?”

“I believe we have already determined we are both a bit out of our minds, Elle. Something about you makes me forget how things are supposed to be.”

“Well, I guess we’re in agreement there. But I do believe there is a way things are supposed to be. And how the hell can we have a proper anything with a thousand cameras in our faces? How can we ever leave this house again?” I can feel my breaths coming a little too fast again—nothing about this is remotely how I planned. I was supposed to come home and try to rebuild my life. I spent a year in Rio de Campo to get the crazy out of my life. Not to bring more of it back in. And this…whatever the hell is going on here is more than crazy. It’s batshit insane.

Leo drops his arm and comes to sit next to me on the couch. He sits on the opposite side, too far away to even reach over to me. He stares at the wall for a long moment. “Tell me, Elle. What is your worst case scenario? You seem very concerned about what the future may hold. I have to wonder why you’re trying to destroy what seems to be to be a very fine present moment.”

My brow furrows and I turn to face him. “I… I’m not trying to destroy anything.”

“Really?” His gaze snaps to mine and he lifts a brow. “You fear what may happen tomorrow or next week. That outweighs your ability to enjoy this moment. And this moment is pretty splendid from where I sit, Elle. I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

I can’t deny he’s right—I have spent a lot of time trying to plan an uncertain future. But he doesn’t understand—having control over what’s going to happen is the only thing that’s kept me sane. Preplanning every moment of my life for the past year—at least, everything that could be planned—has been the only thing that’s allowed me to go on living at all. His presence in my life has thrown a giant wrench into everything I had already planned out.

My voice drops to a whisper. “I can’t go out there with you. I mean—I don’t want them even to know I exist. If I could go back in time—even a few hours—I would have run the hell out of here.”

He nods and rubs at his chin. “But the fact is, they do know you exist. You’ll have to factor that into your plans for the future from now on, Elle. I’m not going to lie and tell you it will be easy—it won’t. But you don’t have to deal with them alone. I’ll be here with you.”

He sighs. “Tomorrow is going to come. And we don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow—no one does. Not even you, Elle. Trying to plan for an infinite number of possibilities is impossible. So why bother? Why not enjoy a perfectly pleasant situation? We’re here together now and this is what we both wanted. We have all the privacy we could ever want here, as long as we stay inside. And there’s no reason for us to leave until we run out of food. And I can assure you, I’ve had enough peanut butter delivered to this house to sustain us for a month if need be.”

A smile comes to my lips despite my best efforts to cover it. My smile turns to a laugh only a moment later.

“Good. Now, as I suggested, I believe we should have a proper first date.” He holds his elbow out to me again. “If you would be so kind…”

“Leo.” I shake my head. “I can’t go out there with you. I mean, I know you’re experienced with dealing with them, but I’m not. I thought I might be able to go out there and talk to them before, but there are just so many of them—”

“Elle,” he interrupts. “I never said anything about going outside. I want a proper date with you, but that doesn’t mean we have to leave this house. In fact, I would suggest we don’t leave, at least until the uproar tapers off somewhat.”

I nod. “Okay. Then what the hell are you talking about?”

He grins. “A second chance. You believe in second chances, do you not?”

“I… I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it.” A second chance for a guy—probably not. For me, though? I don’t know. I’m not sure I deserve one. I’m not sure it’s even worth discussing.

He lets out a long breath. “A first date. We never had one—I was injured when we shared our first meal together. And you were merely doing your duties as a professional—I’m not sure you even remember how charming I was that evening.”

“Oh, I remember.” Fuck, how could I forget? How he sat across from me, shirtless. How he smelled when he held me that night. How he kissed me.

I stare at him for a moment, unable to read what it is that’s going on behind his gaze. “How are you?” I motion to his torso. “That should have been the first thing I asked you when I came in last night. As a professional, I mean.”

He grins and rubs the spot just below his chest that I cared for last week. He closes his eyes for a moment before meeting my gaze again. “I’m fine, Elle. Better than fine, actually.”

“It still hurts, doesn’t it? You really should have a scan done—just to see. X-rays, at least.”

He smiles and shakes his head. “I love that about you—your compassion…” The smile falls from his lips and his mouth clamps shut. He blinks a few times, the panic in his expression more evident than he probably thinks. “What I meant to say was…you are a fine physician. When…when you decide to return to work…I’ll…I’ll be happy to provide a personal reference…” His cheeks turn a shade of red I can’t even name. “You’re a fine doctor, Elle. That was all I meant to say.”

I stare at him, my jaw hanging open a bit. My pulse is racing in my chest so quickly I’m pretty sure I’m going to need medical treatment if it doesn’t slow down. Heat rises in my cheeks, but I’m not going to go anywhere near that comment. He clearly didn’t mean to say it—the words fell out of his mouth without him thinking. I’d be a liar if I said that kind of thing never happened to me. I do that sort of shit all the time—I say too much without thinking. Say things that come out wrong.

That’s all that comment of his was—just an expression that came out wrong. There’s no way he meant anything else by it.

I decide to change the subject—as much for my sake as for his. “What did you have in mind?” I smile and draw in a long breath, trying to collect myself. “For our date, I mean? If we aren’t going to leave the house?”

“Ah, I procured some supplies, as I mentioned. I had some particular ingredients delivered that I believe you may enjoy. Perhaps I can surprise you in the kitchen.”

“I see.” I lift an eyebrow and look into his eyes. “You realize, of course, that I don’t put out on the first date.”

He smiles and his tongue trails along his bottom lip for a moment too long. “You realize, of course, that you may have—how did you say it? Put out before our first date, then?”

My cheeks burn again. “Only because…” I clear my throat, trying to regain my composure. “Only because we’d already had a first date.” I nod, mostly to myself. “Peanut butter sandwiches—first date. A full night of cuddling—second date.” My eyes go back to his and I almost have to bite my lip to try to hide my smile—and my embarrassment. “Last night would have been our third date. And a lady never puts out before the third date.” I have to press my lips together to suppress my laughter.

He lifts a brow, his eyes never leaving mine. “As I recall, the first two dates you mention happened on the same night. A long night, granted.” He narrows his gaze playfully. “But that would mean, Elle, you may not be as genteel as you tell yourself you are.”

“Mm. I don’t think I’ve ever used that word in my life, actually.”

“But I suppose that also means that we can have multiple dates on a single day. Which would mean that perhaps by tonight, we could be on our third official date—”

“Slow down there, friend. You’ve already scored, so I’m not sure why you feel the need to woo me now…”

He grins. “Ah, but I have much more to show you than what I already have. And I need to prove to you that I can be a gentleman, do I not?”

I only lift a brow in response.

“A gentleman could most definitely give a lady a kiss after their first proper date. It would only be fair, assuming things go well. At minimum, a kiss on the hand…” He scoots himself toward me and pulls my hand into his.

I yank it away before he can bring my fingers to his lips—I can already tell he has no intention of stopping with a kiss on the hand, and we’ve already gone too far with whatever is going on here.

The smile falls from my face. “Look, Leo, I’m not going to deny there’s some weird chemistry between us. But that’s all it is—chemistry. It’s not like this goes anywhere—once those cameras are off my sidewalk, you go back to your life and I get to try to go back to mine. If that’s even possible anymore. I mean, I’m probably going to have to join the military or something to be able to get a job. I’ll probably have to deploy to a war zone to be able to work as a doctor anywhere…”

He groans and closes his eyes for a moment. He looks back over at me after a moment. “Again, you’re worrying about the future, when there is no need. Let me make you a late lunch. Allow me to surprise you—I actually have more skill in the kitchen than you might think.” He lifts a brow. “Not that I’m not also quite skilled in how to make you come multiple times while bent over the kitchen counter…”

My cheeks burn at his words. “Leo, I understand the main objective here is to see how many times you can sleep with me before the paparazzi outside leave—”

“That is not my main objective. My main objective at this moment is to convince you to come into the kitchen with me—”

“Where you just happen to have wanted to bend me over earlier. Which was why we had to go out for the stupid condoms in the first place—”

“Where there just happen to be gourmet ingredients in your refrigerator for our lunch. Toss the condoms in the rubbish bin. It’s where they belong, anyway, in my opinion.” His eyebrows lift. “If it were up to me, Elle, there would never be anything between us again.”

I roll my eyes. “Fine, remind me to go on the pill when we get out of this mess.”

“Go on the pill when we get out of this mess.”

“Funny.” My lips curl into a half-smile. “In the meantime—”

“Condoms, I know.” He rolls his eyes. “Not that we need to worry about—”

“We absolutely do need to worry about it. I’m not giving those reporters anything else to dig up.” I let out a sigh. “And I’m not convinced any of this is a good idea. And I’m definitely not convinced you’re here for anything more than taking me over the kitchen counter.”

He tries to hide his widening grin by breaking our gaze and smoothing his pants. He looks back over at me after a moment. “And what, darling Elle, is going to convince you that I returned because I want to be with you? Do I really need to take you home to meet my parents before you’ll trust that I want to be with you? That my intentions are only noble—?”

“There was nothing noble about what happened at the park. Or what happened last night.”

He frowns. “You enjoyed both the park and last night as much as I did. More than I did, if we’re counting the number of times you—”

“Whoa. Line crossed there, Leo.”

He grins, holding his palms up to me. “Apologies.” He puts his hands in his pockets. “And if what I mentioned is what it takes for you to believe me, then we’ll go to Montovia so you may meet my family properly.” He shrugs. “As soon as the press leaves, at least in sufficient quantity, I’ll take you home. I have no objections.”

I lift a brow. “Right.”

“Name your terms then, Elle. Tell me what you want me to do to prove to you that I’m only thinking of you. Of us.”

The truth is, there’s nothing he can do to convince me. I feel like I’m standing at the edge of a cliff and I have no idea what it is that’s below me. I only know I have to jump—and if there’s nothing below to catch me, I’m not going to survive. Leo is telling me there’s a net, but there’s no reason for me to believe him. No reason to trust him but his word. And I’m not sure I can trust him—I almost believe him when he says he left me this morning to protect me. That his intentions were only noble. When I think about what he’s already done—how he defended my honor in Rio de Campo and what he just did in front of those cameras to take the attention away from me—I’m not sure how I can’t believe him. There have just been so many times in my past—so many things that have happened when I’ve allowed myself to trust someone. So much humiliation and pain. I’m not sure if I can take the last step off the cliff to see if maybe… I’m just not sure it’s worth it to try. To risk being destroyed again.

He said he loved me. I mean, he didn’t say it—not like that. But there has to be something going on in his head that would make him use the word love at all. There must be something here other than lust. I want to believe him when he says there is, but it’s going to hurt so much if he’s lying to me, whatever his reasons are. I don’t think I can survive another betrayal of my trust again. I snapped so hard after the last time—Owen was right to come with me to Rio de Campo. He was right to worry about me then, and he’s not here to protect me now. Even if his gut does tell him he trusts Leo, there’s nothing in my gut telling me that. It’s only telling me to be very, very cautious—just like it always does.

And there’s nothing here for me now to cushion the blow if Leo should decide to stomp on my heart the way it’s been crushed too many times before.

I look over at him and let out a long breath, extending my hand.

He lifts it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to my fingers.

I smile. “Surprise me, Leo.”

* * *