Only You (A Sweet Torment Novel) (18 page)

“I pick three.”

“Okay, but before I open the flap, you have to ask a question.”

“And the fortune-teller will give me an answer?”

I nodded.

She took a deep breath, and never took her eyes off the paper in my hand. “Does Ricky like me?”

I opened the flap with the number three on it and smiled when I read what I’d written.

“What’s it say?” She jumped a little.

I showed her and smiled. “It says ‘absolutely.
’
”

Lyssa shot her arms in the air and spun around, then came back in for another skull-to-the-gut hug. But I didn’t mind. For a kid, she hugged pretty tight. But there was something different about it. Something like sheer happiness behind her little arms clutching me.

“Thank you, Paige,” she whispered, and my chest twisted so tight, I thought my ribs were going to crack under the pressure.

“You’re welcome.”

When she let me go, I handed her the origami and she held it like it was the most fragile thing in the world.

“You should go show your friends. Show Ricky.” I winked and she smiled. Sticking her little fingers in it, she ran out of the kitchen, yelling for all her friends. But when I saw Leo standing in the doorway, my smile turned to shock and I blinked a few times.

“How long were you standing there?”

He grinned and leaned casually against the doorframe, looking all sexy and relaxed. “Long enough to know you’re magical.”

My blush got a little out of control so I smoothed my hands down my dress and did my best to will it away.

“If I were magical, I would have used my powers by now, trust me.”

“You just made Lyssa’s day,” he said.

I shrugged. “I folded some paper.”

“No, it’s more than that. Don’t you get it, Paige? It’s who you are.”

“I’m a secret origami expert?” It wasn’t a skill I could put on my resume so I didn’t count it as anything worthwhile. Up until right then when I had seen Lyssa’s face.

He gave a slight smile but shook his head. “You’re unique. Even with things you don’t feel comfortable with, you still manage to make them work. You’re capable of so much more than you give yourself credit for.”

I glanced at my feet. Hearing Leo say I was capable, stand there and dish out words like that, made confidence rise and bat away some of the doubt I’d been carrying around for so long.

“Yeah, well, I still think I’m in the doghouse for over-sugaring Lyssa last time.”

Leo smiled. “Nah, Regan is pretty easygoing. She was just surprised by you.”

Even though I wanted to correct Leo and inform him that Regan wasn’t my biggest fan, I decided against it. Because it didn’t matter. Regan made it clear where she stood about me and, in all honesty, she was never mean to me.

I shook my head, jarring the thoughts away, and looked at Leo.

“So,” he straightened and took a step toward me, “where did you learn to tell fortunes?”

“It was something Amy and I used to do as kids. It was our go-to game.” I thought about how many times I’d sat in her bedroom. Ten years old, talking about what our lives would be like someday. Who we’d be someday. It was before everything went to hell and there was still a child’s hope in me. The memories made me both so sad and so happy that I continued sharing. “We would spend hours laughing and asking that damn thing every question imaginable.”

Leo smiled. “What kind of questions?”

“The usual stuff. Did my crush love me? Would I move away and live in a mansion on a beach? Would I become an awesome career woman?”

My eyes shot to Leo that time and I realized I was babbling. He, however, looked interested in what I was saying. An invisible weight came over me, pressing down on my shoulders. “Looking back now, I think the origami fortune-teller was wrong.”

Leo closed the remaining distance between us and cupped my hips. “I don’t know about that.” Leaning in, he captured my lips in his, so softly, so sweetly that it knocked the breath from my lungs. Right then, I wished I had that damn piece of folded paper back, because there was one question I desperately wanted to ask it again.

Did my crush love me?

“You canceled on Cecilia two weeks ago and haven’t pursued any of the other women?” Kyros said as I approached Leo’s office. But the tone in his voice made me stop, and hover outside. Not eavesdropping . . . just hovering.

“My dating life isn’t really your business,” Leo snapped back. “Or Regan’s.”

“It is when I’m the one who deals with our family back in Greece. A family that constantly reminds us what’s at stake.”

“I’m very aware of what’s at stake. We don’t live in the dark ages, and settling down doesn’t mean what it used to.”

I heard Leo’s heavy stomps and knew I should go. But I couldn’t move my feet.

“You talk about this like you don’t want the same things,” Kyros said. “You want a family, a wife—”

“I had that!” Leo snapped, and what sounded like his hand came down hard on his desk. I jumped a little and clasped my palm over my mouth to keep from gasping. Leo
had
a wife?

“I know.” Kyros’s tone was softer. “And you haven’t been the same since. I just want you to be happy. I want you to move on from what happened. We all do. We’re just trying to help.”

I heard Leo laugh a little in the way I had seen. I could almost picture his face. “For the first time in a long time, I think I am moving on.”

My heart slammed into my chest.

“Miss Levine?” Sampson said, walking up to me.

I straightened. “Hello, I was just heading in to see Mr. Savas,” I clarified, hoping to hell he didn’t just catch me eavesdropping.

He just nodded and we both entered the room. Leo and Kyros immediately stopped their conversation and eyed us.

Leo smiled, like nothing in the world bothered him. I may have believed him too if not for what I had heard and the slight strain around his eyes.

“Paige,” Leo said. “I’d like you to join us in the meeting today.”

Kyros eyed Leo with surprise, just like I did. I didn’t need to look at today’s schedule to know what meeting he was talking about. It was the meeting to finalize details about the purchase of the slip from Jes Frolos. They had flown in specifically to close this deal.

“Okay,” I said, not sure what else to say. I had to calm my racing thoughts about the bombshell I’d just learned and focus on the present. Questioning his decision would be stupid, not to mention a waste of a good opportunity. Being a part of this transaction and seeing how these negotiations went down would be great for my resume and experience. Not to mention a good learning experience. I was an assistant, yet Leo made me feel part of his world.

“Is that necessary?” Kyros asked, not in a rude way. I couldn’t really blame him for his question either.

“With Jes bringing his son, Zander, we can use all the help we can get. Paige has been overseeing various aspects of this negotiation and I think she should be in there today.”

Leo kept his eyes on Kyros but my chest filled with something like acceptance. He was giving me credit. Thought me worthy. And it felt good. Beyond good. It felt foreign. But the piece of my chest Leo had been setting up shop in from the moment I met him was getting more and more deeply connected.

“Are you prepared, Paige?”

“Of course,” I said softer than I had meant. Because there was so much more I wanted to say. Starting with thank you and followed by a kiss. I never felt the need for something as simple as a look, a smile, any kind of light or nice gesture from another. Especially a man. But there in the middle of his office, with people watching, Leo spoke for me. Proclaimed his faith in me. And it was an amazing feeling.

I might have learned something about Leo’s past that he kept hidden, but I would have to respect him until he was ready to tell me. If he was ever ready to tell me. If anyone understood the desire to keep the dark parts of themselves tucked away, out of the light, it was me.

“Well, let’s get in there.”

Leo looked me over once more and nodded.

Chapter Seventeen

I
t had been a week since the meeting with Frolos regarding the London slip and the deal memo finally came in. I had about three weeks left before my job with Leo would come to an end and Cathy would be back. Leo had gotten more and more distant these past few days and it was eating me up inside. Something was clearly bothering him, and more than anything else, I wanted to help.

It was late, almost three in the morning, but Leo was adamant about finding out the moment the memo came in. Which meant when my tablet had dinged with an e-mail twenty minutes ago, I woke up, smoothed my hair the best I could, and threw on my long khaki trench coat over my thin cotton pajama dress and a pair of heels. I was only trekking across the massive lawn to let Leo know about the memo, then back to go to bed. Surely this would suffice as business casual in the meantime.

The Main House was quiet as I let myself in and my heels clicked on the marble floors. Up the stairs and to Leo’s private room, I stared down the massive door I’d seen only once before.

Knocking lightly, I was surprised when Leo’s gruff voice told me to enter. I had figured he’d be asleep.

I opened the door and stepped through. He was near the bar and, judging by the glass in his hand and the slight red around his eyes, that wasn’t his first drink he was holding.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he said, looking me over with an expression I couldn’t quite identify. For a moment I thought it was like awe. He shook his head and took the last swallow of his drink. “You’re like some angel from hell.”

“Ouch. Sounds like you need to brush up on your compliments.” If I didn’t know before, I was sure now, Leo was drunk. And not the fun kind from the bar the night I met him. Something sad marred his face.

He placed his glass on the bar and looked at me. The black T-shirt and worn jeans he wore looked comfortable. But his blue eyes were lit like a freshly blazing fire had just passed over them.

“That
was
a compliment, Red. Every time I see you, you bring the darkness and the light.”

I didn’t know how to take that so I just stuck with my purpose. “I came to let you know the deal memo is in.”

I swiped the screen of my tablet and opened the e-mail. Walking toward him, I held it out. He glanced at it and nodded, then placed it on the bar next to his empty glass.

“Is there something I can do for you?” I asked.

He looked at me, the tie on my jacket, then back to my eyes.

“Yes.”

And like the day I’d met him standing outside the governor’s office, that was all he said, letting my imagination fill in the blanks.

“And what can I do?” I whispered.

“Make today better.”

“Why is today so bad?” I racked my brain but nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Leo had been mostly MIA but no big issue with the company or anything.

“It’s my son’s birthday.” His voice was so soft I almost missed it. My heart stopped. Everything I had overheard, all the mystery regarding Leo’s past, not once had I thought of a child. And the sudden admission sent a strike of shock through every nerve.

“You have a son?”

He nodded, then shook his head. “I did. Thought I did. But not anymore. He was never mine. Nothing I can do . . . should have known . . .”

His broken sentences were tough to follow but the pain was there, on his face. And my heart split in two for him. I reached out and touched his chest.

“What happened?”

His hands fisted at his sides. “She cheated. Took him when she left me. I fought for him but had no ground since biologically he wasn’t mine.”

His eyes met mine. Pieces were coming together. “Leo, I’m so sorry.”

“I didn’t know living through a betrayal like that was possible,” he growled, and looked at something in the distance.

Everything in my body was reaching out for him. Wanting to console him.

I gripped his shirt in my fists, wishing I could take that haunted look from behind his eyes away. I knew all too well what deep betrayal felt like. It was life changing. Left you empty. Hollow. Especially when you lost something or someone you loved in it. Someone you thought loved you back.

“How do I—” my voice cracked. I didn’t know what to do other than ask him how to help. How could I take this from him? How could I be what he needed me to be? It was stupid. I should go, let him grieve. Because in the end, I could offer nothing, and I knew it.

I let go of his shirt and took a step back. “I should be going,” I whispered, thinking it was for the best. He didn’t need me, because there was nothing I could provide.

His eyes shot to mine with so much venom it could have poisoned me from across the room.

“Don’t you dare,” he growled, straightening his shoulders and taking one step toward me. “Don’t you dare walk away from me when you want to stay. Not again.”

I gasped and my whole body froze. “Leo, I don’t think—”

“Stop. You always think. If you leave, do it because you want to.” He took another step. “Do you feel anything?” His voice was harsh and made me shiver.

“Of course I feel.”

“Really? Because every time I think you do, you go and prove
me wrong.”

“That’s an awful thing to say.”

“It’s an awful thing to feel, Paige!” He ran his hands through his hair. “You have me chasing you and I should fucking know by now you’re a runner. You’re the very thing I learned not to pursue, and yet here you are, holding my damn heart in your fist like all this is a game.”

“It’s not a game,” I defended.

Heat surged from my toes to my ears and everything I wanted, everything I ran from, and all the emotions and fear and sadness I’d felt for years flooded to the surface.

“You’re the one who has me in your hands, Leo. I fucking hate it.” I stepped toward him. “What do you want from me to make today better? To admit I want to stay? I do! So much. All the time. You make me feel . . .” My throat closed a little and the next word hurt so much to say. “Wanted.” I shook my head. “But I’m not what you need. I’m . . . temporary.” And the thought made me sick inside.

He walked toward me and didn’t stop until his chest was against mine and his hand on the belt of my coat. “You have one thing right, Red”—he tore open my jacket—“I do want you. So much it actually hurts.”

Cupping my face, he seized my mouth and kissed me hard and deep. Shucking my coat off my shoulders, he gripped me tighter and my knees buckled. He followed me down, laying me across the plush rug in the middle of the floor.

I pulled at his shirt and finally got it off of him. He tossed my heels off and in one fluid motion, yanked my nightdress over my head, leaving me in only my panties.

His mouth fastened to my breasts and he sucked hard. Without leaving my skin, he got his pants off and kicked my legs apart with his knees. Everything about him was primal.

The last time we were together, I sated my lust and my emotions on him, and he let me. Let me take him how I needed. Let me feel that control. Tonight he needed me. I felt it deep in my soul. I wanted to be whatever he needed. Trusted him with everything.

Reaching for his pants, he quickly got a condom and put it on.

“Need you now, angel,” he rasped.

I nodded, needing him too. Ready to burst from the intensity. He licked his fingertips and touched my core, wetting me slightly. Then he was over me. His strong arms on either side of my head, biceps bulging, and in one powerful thrust, he entered me.

I cried out to the ceiling both with the shock of the tight fit and pure, raw lust.

He muttered something in Greek and I clung to him. There was nothing slow. Nothing sweet about this. It was raw. Hungry. Angry. Not with each other, but with the world. With things that couldn’t be changed.

I clawed at his back. Locked my legs around his hips and squeezed.

He growled and thrust harder, deeper, faster. But it wasn’t enough. For either of us.

As if reading my mind, he grated, “More,” and sat back on his haunches.

Never leaving my body, he straightened on his knees and gripped my waist. My shoulders were still on the rug but he lifted my hips off the floor and held them flush against his. At this angle, he hit me deeper than I ever thought possible. An instant zing of intense pleasure pulsed from the darkest depths of my core to my entire body. No one had ever been so close . . . in any way.

Holding me against him, he fucked me hard. Deep. Taking his time to stir his hips and hit every part of me. I reached out, panting and moaning, needing to grab onto him, but all I could reach was his stomach.

His abs flexed so hard he looked made of steel. I ran my fingernails down his torso, leaving a trail of red welts in their wake. He hissed and pounded harder.

“I love the way you reach for me,” he said, and I didn’t know if he knew he had said it out loud.

I looked at him, watched his strong body mold against mine as he entered and retreated over and over. A sheen of sweat covered his chest.

He had asked for more. So I continued to reach out and ran my nails over his abs again. He smiled a little and let my hips rest against the floor once more, then lay on top of me, covering my whole body. His chest pressed against mine as he worked my body over the edge, kissing my lips. I threw my arms around him.

“I feel you, angel,” he rasped against my lips. “All of you.”

The way he whispered the last part made another puzzle piece snap into place. He told me once he saw me. Really saw me. I never clung to anyone. Never clawed. Except for him. And he realized that before I did. More importantly, he realized why I did it: Because I was terrified of losing my grip. On him. On me. So I clung. Hard. With all my strength.

And he took it.

Love the way you reach for me . . .

I repeated his words in my mind and a sting threatened my eyes. Every time with him grew more and more intense.

“Please take me,” I said, and if I were honest, take was the wrong word. It was stupid, but pleading the one word that terrified me more than anything swirled in the back of my mind.

Love.

Love me.

I bit my lip, forcing that notion away, and merely clung tighter.

“Leo . . .” I gasped out his name. I was so close when he withdrew completely and spun me onto my stomach. The soft rug tickled my nipples. He grabbed my hips, hoisted me up and entered me again.

I cried out his name. Feeling him everywhere. Reaching around, he lifted me so my back was to his chest. Buried deep within me, one strong arm beneath my breasts, the other slid down my stomach and stroked the little bundle of nerves between my legs as he continued to thrust in and out. My head lolled back and rested on his shoulders.

I kissed his neck, his jaw, loving him with my mouth. Letting him take me. Wrapped in his strength, completely consumed from the inside out, the burn in my stomach shot out like fireworks to every nerve ending. I screamed his name and came so hard, my vision wavered for a moment.

“You’re everything,” he said and with a few more pumps, came right behind me.

His breath hit my neck, and his muscles were tight and hard as his chest rose and fell against my back.

Continuing to hold me, he slowly withdrew. When he left my body, I instantly felt cold. And for the first time, I wasn’t in a hurry to run off.

Leo took care of the condom, then came back to me. I sat on the floor, looking down at my flushed skin and buzzing body. When he stood before me, looking at me like a Greek god from the heavens, I said the only piece of truth I could, “I don’t know what to do.”

His gaze skated over my face. Without saying anything, he knelt, and picked me up like I weighed nothing. Cradling me in his arms, he carried me toward his room. My shins dangled and I clung to his neck. He laid me down on his bed, then crawled in next to me.

The thick blankets devoured me and his arms wrapped tightly around my body.

“Stay,” he said, and kissed my earlobe.

Taking a deep breath, I whispered, “Okay.”

He hugged me tighter and the warmth I’d been craving lingered. My eyes fluttered shut and all I thought about was what a wonderful moment this was, and that it had no chance of lasting.

But I desperately wanted to be lost in it. If just for one night.