Nerds Are Freaks Too (13 page)

Roxanne winced.
Turn the knife why don’t you?

“Her generosity doesn’t surprise me. I know my best friend
like the back of my hand. I know what kind of person she is, and this act is
one of many reasons I’m in love with her. She might come off a little abrasive,
but she has a heart of gold.”

Keilani’s smile dimmed slightly. “Since the flowers are
still coming, I assume you’re still in love with her?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? Even if love is sometimes full of
thorns, I’d still embrace it—because in between those thorns, there’s a
beautiful rose worth all the pain.”

She
had
been a major pain in his side, Roxanne
acknowledged. All these years, the poor guy had quietly stuck beside her
through countless lovers and boyfriends—even her initial rejection of him.

And still he was lauding her like some crown jewel. True
blue, her Leo.

After the reporter signed off, Roxanne looked out the
boutique’s front window as if she expected Leo to come barreling in. Didn’t all
the heroes do just that after such a public announcement?

Roxanne had a feeling that day would probably never come.
Even though he’d started his crusade to win her back several weeks ago, he
hadn’t come by her apartment or made an appearance on Milwaukee Avenue. It
appears he’d thrown down the olive branch, or more like two thousand five
hundred and twenty olive branches, and was now waiting for Roxanne to take the
next step.

“You’re my hero and all, Miss Roxanne, but don’t you think
this has gone on long enough?”

Roxanne shrugged at Jessina’s question. “Maybe. But what do
you want me to do?”

Jessina smacked the side of her head as if saying
duh
.
“Forgive him before you’ll have to start calling the local cemeteries.”

Roxanne pinched the skin between her brows. She felt a
migraine coming on.

“You know what’s holding you back? P. R. I. D. E.” Jessina
wagged her finger. “Leo taught you a well-deserved lesson, one you admitted you
needed not too long ago when you were all gaga over lover boy. Now you sit here
acting like Mother Theresa, holding some unnecessary grudge. He’s shown the
entire
city
how sorry he is. What more do you want?”

Roxanne couldn’t deny the truth of Jessina’s words. They
were so on the mark, they practically slammed into her.

“I hate to interrupt your conversation, but do you have
these jeans in a size four?”

Roxanne looked at the customer standing outside one of the
dressing rooms. Slim and long-limbed, the girl had on a pair of newly arrived
Dumpling jeans in a dark rinse.

“I believe we do.” Roxanne’s cheeks blossomed with heat as
she rounded the counter. She’d been so engrossed in her thoughts, she’d
forgotten they had customers.

“I’ve got it,” Jessina volunteered, beating her to the jeans
table. She thumbed through the neatly folded inventory, peeking at Roxanne at
intervals. “He still loves you. He just admitted it on television!”

Despite her best effort to thwart it, the four-letter word
triggered a throbbing ache in Roxanne’s chest, instantly souring her recently
returned appetite. She hadn’t eaten much since her showdown with Leo. As a
result, she’d lost seven pounds.

“And you still love him,” Jessina continued. “So what’s the
problem?”

Apparently her assistant didn’t expect a response, because
she snatched the size four jeans and moved away to help the customer.

Leaving Roxanne to dig for an answer.

* * * * *

The rest of the day plodded by like the thick-skinned
Chicagoans who braved the harsh elements outside the boutique’s front window.
Overnight, Chicago had turned into a winter wonderland, with several inches of
snow that was replenished every few hours.

In spite of the weather, Chicago still ran like clockwork,
including Roxanne’s business. Her loyal client base was one of the reasons she
hadn’t driven herself crazy. Still, she was stretched tighter than a piano
string. She fumbled a major merchandise order, losing the sale entirely. And
she’d lost her train of thought so many times, several customers had to repeat
themselves and one had to remind her she hadn’t paid for her items.

“Can we check out now?”

“I-I’m sorry,” Roxanne blinked down at two college-aged
girls at the front of the queue. She’d been thinking of then discarding dozens
of excuses she could use to show up at Leo’s office unannounced. “I’m ready if
you are.”

“We are,” they both gushed. As if stunned by the
coincidence, they glanced at each other then burst into giggles. Before Roxanne
could reach over the counter and strangle them both, they placed their
purchases on the counter.

The shorter of the two, a squat brunette with a muffin top
hanging over her jeans and heavy mascara, placed her elbows on the counter.
“Excuse me, but are you the chick giving away all the roses?”

Roxanne stiffened. Even though she could’ve ignored the
girl’s question, she couldn’t find it in her to be rude. “In the flesh,” she
mumbled then waited for the axe to fall. Chicagoans were notorious for their
honesty.

“What you’re doing is really nice, but…”

“But what?”

“I mean, it’s pretty obvious that maybe you were never true
friends. If you were, you wouldn’t have allowed things to go on for so long and
probably wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to donate your friend’s
flowers.”

Well, the brunette definitely wasn’t her cheerleader.
Roxanne couldn’t blame her. She’d
been stubborn, foolish and
egotistical. It wasn’t the first time.

However, this
was
the first time her
self-centeredness might have caused irreparable damage to a friendship she
valued over anything else in life, including the boutique.

Then why am I still here?
she wondered suddenly.

As a fire ignited under her feet, Roxanne reached over and
locked up the cash register. “We’re closed. Everybody out!”

Chapter Ten

Opting for the fastest transportation, Roxanne took a cab.
Instead of heading to Leo’s offices in the business district, she directed the
driver uptown. Leo usually worked at home when it snowed.

Roxanne kept her eyes straight ahead. No reason to look out
the windows. This time of year, Chicago was a cold and dreary place devoid of
any color except for varying shades of gray. And on a snowy day like this, you
couldn’t tell where the sky began and Lake Michigan ended.

Since it was midafternoon, traffic was substantially
lighter, so it didn’t take the cabbie long to reach her destination. Once she
alighted, she bounded up the stairs then used her key to let herself in.

As expected, Spiro came running into the front foyer.
“Where’s your daddy?”she asked, scratching him behind the ears.

“Here to return your key?”

Leo stood just inside his home office, barefoot and sexy as
hell in a pair of jeans and a gray Chicago Bears t-shirt. Seeing him ignited a
girlish excitement Roxanne hadn’t experienced since she’d abandoned pigtails.
It took everything in her not to run over, wrap herself around him and beg to
start over.

“Just put the key in the bowl and make sure you lock the
door behind you,” he said, then retreated back into his office. If his frown
was any indication, he wasn’t happy to see her. Roxanne had half expected an
open-armed reception, after seeing the morning show segment.

Oh well, this just meant she’d have to worker a little
harder.

Despite his chilly treatment, she followed him. “I’m not
leaving.”

Leo turned. With each passing second, neither of them saying
anything, heat pooled in the apex of Roxanne’s thighs. Even at an impasse, he
could affect her libido.

Finally, Leo smiled. “What took you so long?”

If she could faint from sheer relief, Roxanne would’ve been
stretched out over the threshold to his office. She almost wanted to do just
that as he retraced his footsteps and took her in his arms. She settled on
melting against him.

“Being hardheaded as usual?” he asked, nuzzling her neck.

“I’m so sorry for how I acted.”

“You had a perfectly good reason to be mad. I acted like a
douche. I was wrong. And I wouldn’t have blamed you if you couldn’t forgive
me.”

“But I do, Leo. I do forgive you.”

“Enough to still marry me?”

“More than enough.” Roxanne rose on her tiptoes to kiss him.
Leo met her halfway with a kiss that flowed over her like a steamroller. As if
he could kiss the love out of her. The way his lips and tongue devoured hers,
he probably could.

His commanding insistence made her body heat up faster than
a hot plate at a PTA meeting and her mind turned a little fuzzy.

Leo trailed his tongue down her throat. He stopped here and
there to trace hearts or suck on her neck. By the time he reached her
collarbone, Roxanne was holding on for dear life.

“Do you mind if we consummate the marriage before the vows?
Or do you think we should wait?”

The idea of waiting made Roxanne groan. “If you leave me
hanging one more second, I’m walking out the door.”

“Just like a woman.”

“Can’t help it when I’m around a beautiful man.”

“I’m not beautiful. Cute maybe, but definitely not
beautiful.”

Roxanne cupped the sides of his face, his five o’clock
shadow tickling her fingers. “You
are
beautiful,” Roxanne whispered,
taking a serious turn. “You’re an extremely selfless person who would gladly
calculate my projected revenues for the next twenty years without my asking.
You’re a saint who allowed me to run roughshod over you while decorating this
place. And you’re a great friend who, in spite of his love for me, signed me up
for a dating service. Bundle them all together and you’re the most gorgeous man
in the world to me―both inside and out.”

He nipped her shoulder, bunching her sweater set between his
teeth. “You have no idea how hard your little speech has made me.”

“What are you going to do about it?” Roxanne asked,
channeling her inner vixen. His confession had jumpstarted her libido in a
matter of seconds and now a keen ache pulsed along her erogenous zones.

Without any warning, Leo tore at her sweater and cardigan.
“Even though I love the naughty librarian look on you, it’s got to go.”

Roxanne wanted them gone like yesterday. She couldn’t wait
to feel him, skin to skin. His movements were jerky and hurried, but he divested
her of her pencil skirt and sweaters in short order. As his fingers brushed
against her tan-and-brown argyle stockings, he hesitated.

“Take them off if you want to keep them.”

Roxanne began to remove them but she must have taken too
long, because he ripped them from her, along with her bra and panties. Ruined
beyond repair, he threw the scraps aside like an afterthought. Seeing him in
such a manic rush had her trembling and her breath rushing past her lips in
short, harsh bursts.

With record speed, Leo undressed.
Lordy, lordy! The man
is
fine. Unclothed, he appeared taller and broader, his wide shoulders
blocking out anything else but him as he pressed her against the wall to
capture her lips in another jarring kiss.

“Aren’t we going upstairs?”

“Can’t wait,” he mumbled against her lips.

“What about condoms?”

“No need. You’re clean and I’m clean. And If I get you
pregnant, we’ll be married anyway.”

The idea of having Leo’s babies sent a shiver of excitement
through her body. “One more question. Are we doing this up against the wall?”

“Right here, right now.” Leo gripped her ass and hauled her
up. “Wrap your legs around my waist and hold on.”

Roxanne followed his orders to the letter. “You’re such a
freak.”

“You love it.”

More than he would ever know!

He positioned the broad crown against her sex, thrust
hard—and both of them immediately moaned.

“
Fuucckk
, Roxie! You’re so hot and tight.”

Even in her kinkiest wet dreams, Roxanne would’ve never
guessed Leo was packing like this. He completely stretched her walls, so much
so she wondered if he had any room to move.

“Are you sure you’re only eight inches?” she croaked.

Leo tongued one of her nipples until she writhed against
him, sending his cock deeper. “Give or take.”

“Give or take?” she panted. “Either you are or you’re not.”

Half-lidded, lust-induced eyes bored into hers. “I can stop
if you want.”

“Not on your life! I want you to fuck me.”

“Now look who’s the freak.” Leo grabbed a hold of her wrists
and hauled them over her head against the wall. The position stretched her
torso like a canvas that he proceeded to paint with his mouth and tongue as his
dick plowed her pussy.

Roxanne’s head fell to the side to rest against her arm. She
could barely think straight. Every deep-seated, hard thrust robbed her of her
sanity. All she could do was feel, while sensation after sensation ripped
through her.

Leo watched their joining, his cock, though flushed, still
so pale compared to her dark. He’d never seen anything so beautiful in his
entire life. He dipped his head and licked a path between her luscious breasts,
even more perfect than he remembered. More perfect than he could ever imagine.
And he’d done a lot of imaging over the years.

He could barely believe this was happening. But it had to be
real, no dream could replicate the way her pussy squeezed and milked his cock.
She was so tight, he couldn’t tell where he ended and she began.

Leo bucked against her, again and again, until he
established a maddening rhythm. If he could fuck her to oblivion, he would.

Roxanne groaned and writhed with each thrust, her legs
locked around him so tightly he’d probably have leg burns in the morning. Leo
didn’t care. The marks would be a reminder that he finally possessed the only
woman he’d ever loved.