Fixation (Magnetic Desires Book 3) (9 page)

Leo

My mind was still on this morning's workout, and the way I’d caught her at the top of the stairs and shown her I wasn’t finished with her, pushing her against the wall so she knew this game she played was by my rules. Her bent over my desk, where I was now trying to do paperwork, while I took what I wanted. It was supposed to be a simple matter of fucking her until I forgot her, but I already knew that I’d been naive to think it would be that easy. Not once in six years had I forgotten to wrap my cock, but she made me insane with how much I wanted to slide into her pussy.

Cleaning my cum off her thighs afterwards had been a moment of weakness. I should have let her go the way she was. Should have let her feel the shame of what I was doing to her, and yet I’d felt that connection between us, had wanted to take care of her like I'd planned to when I married her. If only it was as simple as forgiving her, I would, but she hadn't made a mistake. No, she'd planned to leave, had never been anything but honest about her intentions. Which was why when she finally told me she loved me, when she agreed to marry me, I had thought it would be forever. That was the kind of game a con played, though, and that was what I had to remind myself of now.

It hadn’t even been a week and I was addicted to her again. I could taste the craving. Could feel it in my fingers, and it didn’t help that my office smelled of her arousal and the tropics, which triggered old memories. But I wouldn't forget she was a cold calculating bitch underneath the hot exterior. Never again. If she thought there was anything she could say to change that, she was wrong.

The internal line rang and I picked up. "What’s up, Alex?"

"Your appointment is here," she sang through the phone.

"What appointment?" Propping my elbows on the desk, I scratched the back of my neck.

"The buyer for the streetscape."

Lola hadn’t even mentioned the streetscape when she’d been here. I wondered if she’d even saw it, or had her fascination for it only been a ruse to get me to think she was falling for me back then? At the time she'd seemed fascinated by the painting, and I, well I'd been fascinated by her. It was also the first time she let me wrap my arms around her, nestling her against me as I'd been dying to do from the moment I saw her. Had I been so enamored that I didn't notice how she played me?

"Leo?" Alex’s voice broke through the memory.

"I’ll be right down," I muttered and hung up.

Part of me wanted to tell the buyer I’d changed my mind over selling the painting. But if I was going to finish it, if I was going to let her go, then I couldn’t keep staring into the past. Besides, what did it matter what I did with the damn painting if it meant nothing to her? I paused as I hit the top step. I was thinking way too much about why it would matter to her. Straightening my tie, the tic under my eye jumped as I fought the urge to punch the wall. Damn her for managing to get under my skin again.

Alex stood with a woman in front of the streetscape, talking in quiet tones that I couldn’t make out as I approached them. The woman was a wraith, all fine bones and skinny jeans, until my gaze landed on her chest. They had to be fake, the way they spilled out of her top and lent an unbalanced appearance to her body. Lola’s were much smaller but they were perfect on her frame. The thought caught me off guard, and I squashed it.
Fuck, I’m more than just addicted to her sex.  

What had been between me and Lola was long gone. I had to remember that, had to keep it foremost in my mind while we played out this game between us. Anything more than sex was out of the question. She would not make a fool of me a second time.

I cleared my throat as I stepped into place beside the potential buyer. Whether I wanted to or not, I had to make this sale. "Hello. I’m Leo."

She turned to me. "I’m Mira. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." I offered her my hand and a grin known to charm the pants off any girl. "You’re looking to buy this piece?"

"I am." She pushed back her shoulders and tossed her hair.

I got the distinct impression she was interested in more than the painting, but only Lola had ever won me with that move. Why the hell had I thought I needed to handle this sale myself?

"The artist captures the atmosphere, doesn't he?"

Flicking a glance at her, I scowled. Was everything going to remind me of the past? Lola had said almost the same damn thing about the painting all those years ago. "He does. If you don't mind, I'm going to leave the details up to my assistant, Alex."

"That will be fine."

Alex raised her brows and gaped at me as I strode back to the stairs. Why, when I was supposed to be putting Lola behind me, did she infiltrate every part of my life? Pausing at the base of the stairs, I gazed at the photo of her and I locked in an embrace.
"You're mine, Leo."  
I had been, back then. Probably more than she realized. I would have done anything to win her love and keep it. That moment captured in black and white was scorched into my brain with vivid clarity. It hadn't only been the moment she recognized she was mine, but the moment I knew I would do anything for her. She'd owned me so completely and the echo of that connection lingered still. No matter how much I wanted to rip her away, she clung to my insides like an organ I couldn't live without. My anger was the only thing that kept her at arm's length and I called on it now to keep me from letting her in again. I’d give her the two weeks she’d asked for but after that… "You’ve got to go, too," I muttered to the picture, before I bolted up stairs.

Instead of my Cannon, I took out the Contax, a couple of film canisters, a lens, and my light meter and shoved them into my bag. Digital was smooth and easy, but what I needed now was the challenge of film and the relaxation that spending several hours in my lab would provide.

I hung the bag over my shoulder and stomped back down the stairs to find the painting already gone, and Alex sitting behind her desk. "She took it already?"

Alex glanced at me and shrugged. "She brought in some guys to wrap it properly, before they took it away."

I eased out a breath. The blank wall seemed to empty out my chest. It was supposed to bring closure. The only thing it brought was a reminder that once I'd been happy. "Good."

"Are you taking off for the rest of the day?" Alex asked, the click of the stapler in her hand punctuating the air.

"Yeah, I didn’t get to that shoot this morning. I’ll try and make it back before you leave for the night."

She snickered. "Mrs. Barclay sure seems to be keeping you on your toes."

"It’s Lola, Alex," I ground out. "Do not refer to her as Mrs. Barclay again."

Her forehead wrinkled and her hand hovered in mid air. "Okay, Leo, sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you."

I softened. Subjecting her to my anger over Lola made me feel like an asshole. "Have a good afternoon, Alex."

"You, too," she called out as I crossed to the door.

Outside, I could smell coffee roasting, and I glanced in the direction of Nat’s, my mouth watering. I hadn’t seen her since that night, and I wasn’t ready to yet. She’d want to know what was going on, and I wasn’t prepared to answer her questions about Lola and whether or not I could get it up. Grumbling, I stowed my equipment and climbed on the bike. In two weeks, I’d be a free man and I’d go back to boning Nat. At least with her, I didn’t have to worry about what she wanted out of the arrangement. We’d never pretended to be people we weren’t. With her, it was a mutual use of each other’s bodies that left us both satisfied and under no impression that it could be anything more.

Lola

A couple blocks from the studio I found the dark hole in the wall his assistant had suggested when I’d asked her if she knew where he was. Pushing open the door, I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the dim lighting. He sat at the bar, alone, and I made my way over to him ignoring the glances from the older men at a few of the tables dotted around the small room.

"What are you doing here?" He looked up from the beer nestled in his hand.

"Alex said I might find you here." Twisting my fingers together, I hopped onto the stool beside him. "You haven't called."

"I've been busy." He pushed a coaster around on the scratched mahogany.

"You said you'd give me two weeks."

"Couldn't stay away from this?" With a smirk, he cupped his crotch.

We need to talk.
My gut told me it wouldn't be smart to lead in with the obvious, not when last time had gone so well. Trying a new tact, I aimed to lessen his hostility before I broached the subject again. "I couldn't stay away from you."

"Every time you open your mouth, shit just pours out, doesn't it?" A deep chuckle reverberated through his chest and he cocked an eyebrow. The tic I’d noticed in his throat when we'd come face to face the last few times was missing.

"Two weeks, Leo." I held two fingers up in front of his face. "You made a deal."

Leaning against the polished wood, he lifted his drink and swallowed. "To get into your skirt."

I swiveled, crossing my legs and locking my jaw to keep from gaping. It was more than I'd hoped for, this answer that wasn't,
to get you out of my life.

The bartender stopped in front of us. "What can I get you?"

"Pina Colada, thanks." I placed my purse on the bar and rifled through it for my wallet.

Leo nodded at the man, one finger raised from the bar. "Put it on my tab, Oz."

"All right, Leo." His gaze drifted back to me, a slight dipping of his brow before he got to work on my drink.

"You're a regular here?"

He tilted his empty glass at the bartender. "And another of these, Oz."

"On it, Leo." He pushed my drink in front of me and went to get the beer.

"What are you drinking that crap for?" Leo asked, nodding at the creamy concoction in my glass.  

Every time he opened his mouth, I swear I held my breath, waiting for his anger to get the better of the situation, but it didn't. What the hell was going on here? "It's my favorite."

"I would have pegged you for something a little more tart."

Choosing to ignore the fact he was calling me a tart, I sipped the tropical cocktail. "Ever since…" I had no idea how he would react to my words, but it was worth a try, "… the cruise, I've had a hankering for one of these."

His brow furrowed. "So you don't drink? Or you're trying to lie to me?" The tic started again, very subtly under his jaw. A one two pulse beat as the angles of his face hardened.

"Don't drink. Haven't had a drink in six years."

"Norah would have something to say about this." Spreading his thumb and finger between us, he drained his glass in three large mouthfuls.

"She'd probably laugh." The motherly bartender would probably smack us both around the head and tell us to get our acts together, too, but I pressed my lips together and swirled the tiny bit of cream around the bottom of my glass.

Signaling Oz, he pushed our glasses out in front of him. "Same again."

"I shouldn't."

His gaze caught mine, and combined with the heat of the alcohol, set me on fire, leaving splotches of red on my neck and cheeks. My head swam a little as the effect kicked in, or maybe it was just him. "Don't
trust
me to look after you?"

The way he emphasized
trust
was another subtle dig at how he believed I had betrayed him, but the anger I expected each time he opened his mouth barely rippled under the surface. This was more than a dig. It was a way in, and I'd damn well take it. "Of course I do."  

Our glasses refreshed, he passed mine over and lifted his. "To the one thing neither of us could lie about. To Norah."

"To Norah." We clinked our glasses, and I clamped my teeth together to avoid sniping at his choice of words. One day he'd realize I hadn't lied to him. Not once.

"You're in an awfully good mood." I sipped at my drink. Any second now, bitterness would tinge the richness of his voice and leave me reeling as he pulled me apart yet again. We were in the eye of the storm. The peace a temporary thing. I wouldn't kid myself that it could be any other way.

"I sold a painting and I'm going to get laid tonight."

I glanced around, my heart sinking. So his good mood was due to another woman. "Oh."

His deep chuckle reverberated through my back as he hauled me against him, the stool almost tipping out from underneath me. "Two weeks. We made a deal."

"We did." My blood rushed at the roughness in his voice, tingles sparking between my thighs.

Twisting around again, I held my drink in both hands. This was almost the old Leo. The one I hadn't been able to keep myself from falling in love with, and I wasn't ready to give up the way we were simply enjoying each other's company, even for sex. Not yet, when this could be the moment he started to believe in me again. "Hey, do you still go climbing?"

"Sometimes." Skimming his finger around the rim of the glass, he shrugged. "Did you ever take it up?"

Brady barely let me out of his sight.
I bit back on the words, chewed them thoughtfully. "I've been a couple of times since I moved here."

"You were a natural." His fingers trailed over my thigh. "You had the strength for it."

"I had your faith in me." Shit, shit, shit, did I have to go and ruin the moment?

His face clouded, his gaze narrowing on me for a brief second. "Let's not talk about the past, Lola. Not while I'm in such a good mood."

"Okay." I was better at pole work than tightrope. "What should we talk about?"