Loving Leo (The Romanovsky Brothers Book 3) (15 page)

She played her fingers against her knees.  “Do I flip your switch?”

He breathed in.  “Ashley?”

The sound of that name annoyed Jessica in a way it never had before.  Now that she knew what her real name sounded like spilling out of those lickable lips, hearing
Ashley
come out instead would simply never do.

“You flip them all,” he finished.

***

Their bodies inched closer as the moon rose high, melting into the playlist, and into each other.  Leo’s hand found solace on her lower thigh, hers on his tattooed arm, tracing the art.  The wind blew the empty bottle between them onto its side as Leo moved his hand from her thigh to her earrings.  Neither moved to steady it, and as it slipped through a crack in the wood and crashed onto the rooftop a hundred feet below, Jessica could only hope an innocent bystander hadn’t taken the blow.

She just couldn’t care.

Not when Leo’s hands were moving languidly through her hair, down her arms and back along her thighs.  She was in no hurry to get them off.  Neither of them were, finding themselves wrapped in each other’s arms again, watching life zoom by in a flurry of headlights on the Brooklyn Bridge.  They remained cuddled close long after the headlights began to die down.

Leo ran the tips of his fingers along her arm while she brushed his strong thigh with hers, stopping just short of the swell at the zipper of his jeans.  Their feet continued their play, and soon Leo learned how to pinch with his toes too, trapping hers, sending sharp giggles bubbling from her lips.

They whispered to each other, and his longing eyes searched hers, changing color under the rising moonlight as they fell to her lips.  He’d watch them move as she spoke, and then lick his own.  His gaze would take on a hunger that was indescribable, and then something would happen.  Something in his mind would speak to him, and he would breathe in deep, forcing his eyes away from her lips and back up to hers.

She caught his gaze, noticing his apprehension.  How could he be afraid when she sat there running her fingers along his thigh, mere inches from where they both needed it most, throwing herself at him, throwing her job down the drain, her professionalism to the wolves, just as thirsty for his lips as he clearly was for hers?

She shivered, and wasn’t sure if it was with blind need for his lips, or the soft chill that was settling in.

“Cold?”  He swept the tip of his nose along hers, smiling when she trembled again.  “Come here.”

She cuddled in when he offered the warm blanket of his arms, wrapping hers around his waist while pressing her cheek against his chest, feeling his heart pounding against it.  She sighed when he enveloped her completely, encasing her in the warm shelter of his embrace.  Feeling that deep warmth in an instant, and in every part of her body, she threw her legs over both of his to help keep him warm too.  When she did, he released a low, gravelly moan and then pulled her onto his lap completely.

She moaned as she slid on top of him and his solid desire hit her center.  She nestled into it, curling her legs and gasping as the hardness hit her entry, trailing her fingers down his chest when her body responded in kind.  She cradled her head on his shoulder, lips parting, flesh now primed for a release only he could give.  She fought the urge to grind against him, knowing she was already dangerously close to the point of no return.

He hugged her closer, and his breath warmed the top of her head.  For a long while, they breathed each other in.

“Can I take you home?” he asked.

She couldn’t help a smile.  Keeping her arms around his waist, she pulled her head back and met his eyes.

He drank her in with hooded eyes.  “I don’t want this night to end.”  He tightened his hold on her.  “I want to make love all night, and then again tomorrow morning in the shower.  I want to wake up and see your face.”

She listened to his words, the way they shook, and she damn near said yes.  “I don’t sleep with boys on the second date.”

His eyes jetted back to her lips.  “You’re just hurting me,” he whispered, smiling when she squeezed him in response.  “You just love hurting me.”

“I’m not trying to hurt you.  I think you’re amazing, and funny, and
incredibly s
exy.”  She smiled when he tightened his hold.  “I just have my standards as a woman.  Standards that I stick to.”

All bullshit.

Any other circumstance, and she’d already be jacking him off right there on that tower, getting his spunk all over her fingers, laughing as she threatened to slap him with it, or something equally vulgar.

He swallowed.

She watched his Adam’s apple move.  Sensing his nerves, and finding them adorable, she reached to cup the arm he had slung over her shoulder, but he stopped her, guiding her hand to the button of his jeans, pulling it in deeper, so close to his dick she was left breathless.  Her quaking fingers itched to cup it, stroke it, feel its hardness and let it confirm that he was feeling everything for her at that moment that she was feeling for him.  She wanted to stroke him to completion, show him the deepest depths of pleasure.  She wanted to be the one to give that to him.

Her eyes met his, and she realized she didn’t need to check if he was hard to know what he felt for her.  It was right there in his eyes.

“Do you kiss on the second date?” he asked.

The wire that was strapped under her dress felt like it was stabbing her. Chet was out there somewhere, listening, absorbing every word of this conversation like the latest episode of
Scandal
.

So, instead of answering Leo, her eyes fell to his full lips, and she nodded.  Her heartbeat picked up the moment she did, making her throat tremble.  Every breath she took wobbled, and when she found the courage to look up into his eyes, his were riveted to her lips too.

He leaned in and then stilled.

Her eyes were trained to his lips, tracing their shape, already aching to suck the bottom one into her mouth, brush it with her tongue.  It was so plush and pink, she feared she might bite it off in her desperation to eat him alive.

With a deep breath, he found the grit to close the space between them.

Their lips met tenderly, and the shot of feeling seemed to hit them both at once, causing a simultaneous gasp.  They held on until the lack of oxygen forced them to pull back.

He moved his arm from her shoulder and cupped her cheeks, watching her lips with a soft shake of his head before going in again.

She parted for him, catching the soft cloud of his bottom lip between hers.  A moan left her in unconscious reply to the thrill of feeling that lip between hers.  She hadn’t realized how much she’d wanted it until her pussy surged with warmth, the moisture causing her to cross her legs tight in an attempt to fight it, but it only put friction on her aching clit, turning her on more.  She released his lip with a smack, moaning as her center thudded in anticipation, just to go right back in and catch it between her teeth.

He breathed out a laugh as she nibbled his bottom lip, but lust took over in an instant, tightening his brows as she moved to his top lip and licked it with the tip of her tongue.

His tongue dipped out too, sweeping hers.

When he dove in for more, Jessica pulled away, turning her head away from him when a new song came floating through his phone.

The melody hit her hard and sliced through her senses, blasting her back to the real world.  She looked toward the phone with wide eyes, gasping for breath, even as Leo’s lips went to her neck, looking for any alternative to her absent lips, trailing a blazing fire up to her ear.

“This song,” she gasped, her heart racing.

Leo pulled back, taking her hand.  “You like this song?”

Her wide eyes met his. Once upon a time, she’d loved this song.  Now, looking at him, still feeling that delicious lip in her mouth, between her teeth, she’d never hated this song more.

He tugged her hand.  “Dance with me.”

She let him pull her to her feet and they faced each other on shaky legs, still moved by the soft kiss they’d shared.  Her knees wobbled, not because they’d been sitting for hours, but because her core was in shambles from the beginning strings of John Mayer’s “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room.”

The first verse
wafted through the speakers, and the moment Leo’s eyes softened, Jessica’s fell to the wood planks at their feet.

The sultry guitar strings clawed at her heart, and the smooth tone of Mayer’s voice sent a sharp sting blazing to her eyes.

Leo laced their fingers as the bass dropped in, pulling her.  When their chests tapped, another blast crackled through her.

Jessica went to step back, but Leo took her arm before she could and wrapped it around his neck.  He did the same with her other arm, locking them around his shoulders before he claimed the small of her back and pulled her in close.

Their bodies melded, rapid heartbeats thudding together until they were muddled, unidentifiable from each other.  Jessica’s eyes fell when his gaze only grew more intense, hiding her face in his chest, under his chin, pressing her lips between the strong collarbones jutting out of his t-shirt.  Her attempt at escaping the intensity of his eyes was squandered when she was re-claimed by his enticing scent.

She pressed her parted lips against his chest, eyes jammed shut as she breathed him in, moaning against his skin. She felt his heart slamming into her hot lips, and every lyric of the song seemed to take on an acute new meaning.

Her eyes fluttered closed when his warm breath tickled her hair, soothing her pounding skull as he pushed his lips against it.  She felt him breathe deep, pulling her in tighter as he did, his hardness clear against her stomach as he moved his lips to her ear, pressing the side of his head against hers.

“I really like you,” he whispered.

His fingers tightened around her waist, clawing the fabric at the small of her back, brushing his other hand up and down her arm.  He kissed her shoulder, his breathing ragged as he brought his lips back up to her ear, feathering a kiss to the lobe.

“My family and I are attending Governor King’s fundraising gala at the end of the month.  I’d like you to be my date.” He deepened the hold he had on her, fisting the fabric of her dress at the small of her back.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she tried to find her words, croaking, “You’re booking me a month out?”

“I know what I want when I want it.”

“King’s gala?  Your family’s worst enemy?  Why would your family want to be there?”

Leo pulled back and met her eyes.  “Val never turns his back when he feels a dagger coming down from behind.”

Her eyes searched his.

He sighed.  “Say yes.”

“I’d love to go to the gala with you, Leo.”

A wide smile lit up his face, and she zoomed back under his chin, pushing her lips to his chest, eyes out of sight, hiding her shame as he encircled her in his arms.  Her heart split as the last lines of the song floated out of the phone’s speaker.

She’d set out to watch his family burn, but she never imagined she’d be in danger of going down in flames with them.

“I don’t have a dress,” she said, only because she was willing to say anything to stop the stomach-churning thoughts in her head.

Leo pulled back, and cocked an eyebrow.

It was well past midnight, but the glass exterior of Dior’s flagship store on Fifty-Seventh Street remained illuminated, giving radiance to a block where every other store had turned down their lights.  The shop stretched from one end of the street to the other, comprised of glass windows flushed with white light.  The Dior sign glowed from the top of the building, demanding the unwavering reverence of anyone who laid eyes on it.

Jessica gaped out of the passenger side window as Leo pulled his growling Porsche to a stop at the curb in front of the store.

“Dior?” She flicked her eyes to the driver seat, the deep part in her hair falling into them.

Leo took the keys from the ignition and leaned back on the black leather driver seat.  He savored the sight of her before reaching over the console and pushing her hair out of her eye.

“Are you trying to buy my love now?” she teased.

“Who says I’m buying you anything?”

“If you’re not, then nothing is getting bought tonight.  You think I can afford Dior on an agent’s—”

Leo’s eyebrows pulled, waiting for her to finish.

“A graphic designer’s salary?” she corrected, swallowing hard.

Leo tucked her hair behind her ear and then threw his arm across the passenger seat.  “You said you didn’t have a dress, so I’m going to buy you a dress.”  He paused.  “Now I know this is going to be very difficult for you, being a hardcore feminist and all, but please know that I have no ill intention.  Just a debilitating need to scam a smile out of you in any way I can.”

Jessica looked away when his eyes fell to her lips.  She had a feeling he was going to kiss her, and she couldn’t allow that to happen twice.  The first time had almost ended her.

“No way they’re even open,” she said, looking back to the store.  “It’s past midnight…” Her words trailed away when the glass doors of the store swung open and a skinny man in a purple suit stepped out, eyes lighting up the moment he saw Leo’s Porsche.  He raised his arm high and waved, nearly hopping to his toes in thrill.

“Raul stays on call for me,” Leo said, opening the driver side door.

Jessica was still recovering from her shock when he circled around and opened her door.  He offered her his hand, helping her out of the car.  Her mind raced, and she didn’t even notice when he linked their fingers.

“Keeping Dior on call is a thing?” she asked.  “There are people in the world rich enough to utilize that thing? You’re one of them?”

“It’s not that serious,” he teased.  “Calm down.”

To a woman who’d spent entire evenings debating whether or not she could afford to add cinnasticks to her Domino’s order, it really was that serious to Jessica.  Because of his calm nature, easy mannerisms, and mischievous eyes—eyes that constantly seemed to be in the middle of a comedy routine in his head—it was so easy to forget that Leo was a multimillionaire.  Jessica nearly had.

He armed the car as they stepped onto the sidewalk, and Raul met them on the curb.  His black hair was impeccably neat, almost as pristine as the suit he wore.  It was a lavender most men wouldn’t dare. Raul pulled it off with zero effort.

Leo,” Raul greeted.

“Always nice to see you, Raul.” Leo smiled. “Your suit is very purple.”

“Thank you.” Raul’s eyes lit up as they moved to Jessica. “And you must be Ashley.”  Raul shook her hand.  “Just as beautiful as I imagined.  I just knew you would be utterly breathtaking.  Leo has
never
brought a female companion to me before.”

“How much did he pay you to say that?”

Raul covered his heart.  “Oh, darling, I am never for sale, and even if I was—not even Leo could afford me.”

“I didn’t realize he was going to force someone to come down here in the middle of the night during their time off.”

“Sweetness, I’m the store manager.  I don’t get time off.  I see this place more than I do my own apartment.  All I can do while I’m drowning in budgets and spreadsheets is remind myself that I work for the most fabulous designer in the world, and pray that my cats haven’t starved to death.”  Raul’s smile grew, making his kind eyes squint as they moved to Leo.  “Leo is our best customer. Sometimes I’m sure he’s single-handedly keeping us in business.”

“I still appreciate you taking the time,” Jessica said, feeling Leo tighten his fingers around hers.

“Follow me, it’s much warmer inside,” Raul insisted, making his way back to the doors and holding them open.

Jessica and Leo stepped into the store, the bright lights almost blinding them.  A glossy white staircase greeted them at the entry.  Lithe, immaculately dressed mannequins faced each other on each step, lining the staircase all the way to the top.  The architecture was sleek, with all modern finishes.  Every piece of furniture made a reflection, causing Jessica to fix her hair every few seconds.

“We’re looking for an evening gown,” Leo said.

“The
only
thing worth shopping for.”  Raul’s eyes became even more animated.  “The event?”

“A gala at the end of the month.  Governor King.”

Raul gasped.  “I have
the dress.”

“You always do,” Leo sang.

Raul was already sauntering away, climbing the steps while looking over his shoulder.  “I have your playlist ready to go if you’d like, Leo?”

“You have a playlist?” Jessica asked through clenched teeth.

“I’d love it Raul, thank you.”

Jessica and Leo turned to face each other once Raul disappeared onto the second level.

“Leo,” she chided, matching his playful smile.  “This is a little too much—”

A deep hip-hop bass made her jolt, the sound system filling the area so snugly she felt like she was at a club.

When Leo broke into dance before her, his face contorting with each move he made, she burst out laughing, covering her smiling mouth.

“‘Stanky Legg
,
’
Leo?  Really?  This is the first song on your playlist at Dior?”

Leo was too busy doing the “stanky leg” to answer, bent over at the hip while rocking his body to the beat, taking his bottom lip under his teeth when he really got into the dance.

Jessica was alarmed that he was actually a good dancer.  On par with most of the black boys she’d grown up with in Jersey City.  She kept forgetting that he
was
a Jersey boy.

Leo threw in a head sweep, never breaking his rhythm. “You don’t know nothing ’bout this, girl.”

“A mess.”

“What you know ’bout this?”

Never one to back down from a challenge, Jessica joined in on the dance, throwing in her own flavor, immediately having flashbacks to her club rat days, laughing along with him as a hoot parted his smiling lips.  Soon, they were in a dance battle, winding in a small circle as they attempted to out-stanky leg each other.

She found herself getting so into it, she didn’t even notice he was pushing closer to her, moving his body in time with hers until their gyrating chests were just inches apart, panting from the dancing.

When he covered her lips with his, breathing no longer seemed important.  Her shocked eyes relaxed and fluttered closed as she sank into the kiss.

His hand came to her waist and held her close as he parted his lips, moaning when she did the same, sucking his top lip.

“You taste so sweet,” he whispered.

“You too,” she breathed.  “But I thought you’d be salty.”

He smiled.  “Why?”

She searched his eyes.  When “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” came blaring through the sound system next, she actually cried out, pushing him away.

“Ohhhhh!” She beamed, jumping straight into the dance with a cringe on her face, looking like she was ready to murder him in the name of dance.

Leo was right on her heels, blasting her with his best moves, only stopping when he ran into a small table behind him.  It toppled.

Jessica raced over, catching his arms before he fell.  “Be careful in here man, good Lord.  That ugly-ass table is probably worth more than this building.”

“It’s imported from Madrid,” Raul chimed in.

They both turned, still panting from their dancing, and saw Raul come to a stop behind them cradling a green gown.

“I didn’t mean any offense,” Jessica said, still holding Leo’s arm.  “My condo looks like an Ikea showroom threw up in it, so I’m not exactly well versed in good furniture.”

The moment she said
my condo
, she was stunned at the slip-up.  When her eyes flew to Leo, however, he hadn’t noticed.

He was too busy watching her with a sweet smile on his lips.

She had to turn away.

Raul curled his lip.  “The table is imported from Madrid, but you’re right.”  He held a hand up next to his mouth, as if he had a deep dark secret.  “It’s ugly as sin.”

Leo took her around the waist, pulling her close while nodding to the dress in Raul’s hands.  “Green, huh?” he asked, looking at Jessica.  “You like green?”

“Her skin tone demands it.”  Raul became much less agreeable.  “It
must
be green.   It absolutely must.  It will look extraordinary.  There are very few women who will dare to wear this color, and even fewer who can pull it off.  We’re going to make sure all eyes are on her.”

Jessica couldn’t believe it when she felt her heart warming.  She didn’t even want to know the price of that dress.  She was afraid she might drop dead.  “Leo, you really don’t have to do this.”

His eyes fell to her lips.  “But I am.  I will.  And I want to.”

Jessica’s eyes fell to his lips, too.

“So let me, Ashley.”

Ashley.

Once again, her heart was at her feet.

***

“Wow,” Chet said, later that night, the moment Jessica stepped into the mansion with a large Dior dress box cradled under her arm.  “Just
wow
.”

“Fuck off.”

“You like this dude.”

“Fuck
off.”

“
You kissed him.”

Jessica dropped the dress box on the kitchen island before moving to the fridge and fishing out a soda.  “Ashley Williams kissed him.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t let him take you home.”

She took a seat next to him.  “I have to keep him close, and keeping him close means not sleeping with him for as long as humanly possible.   He will keep me in his life, for the
rest
of his life,
as long as he believes a piece of ass is on the horizon.”

“At the rate you’re going, he won’t have to wait much longer.”

She curled her lip.  Chet always told her the God’s honest truth.  She loved and hated that about him.  “Why don’t you ever want to talk about what I’ve done right?”

“I was getting to that.  An invite to King’s gala.  That’s pretty huge.”

“That’s all I need. Especially now that we know Reggie King used to be a friend of the Romanovskys.”

“Leo sounded pretty upset when he was talking about him at dinner the other night.”

“That’s what I’m saying.  Angie Colt called it months ago.  The Kings and the Romanovskys have a history.  Why do I have a feeling that history is tied to the Blacks?”

“Because there’s no way it isn’t.”  Chet laughed.

“Exactly.  Whatever happened that night caused a huge rift between them. They’re all bursting at the seams with hatred for one another, and the truth is one dramatic evening away from breaking free.  Something tells me that evening is going to come sooner than we thought.”

“Like, a gala at the end of the month, maybe?”

“Sir, yes sir.” Jessica nodded.  “I’m about to close this thing, so give me some credit, fucker.”

“Harp thinks it’s a great lead, too.  I’m surprised Leo trusted you enough to tell you Reggie used to be a friend of the family.”

“Leo told me that, because Leo has no idea what his brother has done.”

“We don’t know that.”

She jammed her fingers into her chest.  “I know it.”

“But you don’t.”

“If Leo knew Val killed the Blacks, and that King helped cover it up, he would
never
tell me Reggie used to be a friend of their family. 
Never.
  He wouldn’t risk me putting the pieces together.”

“But why would he worry about you putting the pieces together? He thinks you’re Ashley Williams, graphic designer extraordinaire.  He has no idea you’re a fed.”

“Neither does Val, but he is a brick fucking wall.  There’s a reason Val is so rude, short, and condescending.  It’s because he doesn’t want to invite dialogue with people he doesn’t know.   He has so many secrets eating him alive, he can’t even risk casual conversation for fear that he’ll expose himself.  But Leo is different.  He’s different, because he doesn’t
know
.”

“You seem very protective of your new boyfriend.”