Forever Loved (Forever Lost Book 2) (18 page)

Cassie woke him later that morning by grinding against him, her hips stretching back to find the morning hard-on he always had for her, and he was surprised to discover her still asleep when he pried open his eyes and peered down at his hot and horny girlfriend.

Lying on her side with her back to him, Cassie was panting, trembling, and mumbling something he couldn’t hear. Leo stroked her face in an attempt to rouse her, but Cassie remained in the deep throes of her dream.

“I want you, Leo. I want you to own me,” she whimpered, sending his mind back to their rekindled night together. The memories of her request for him to own her came crashing to the forefront of his thoughts. She was dreaming of him, she had to be, and she groaned as if she was enjoying the vision playing out inside her subconscious mind. Cassie arched back against him again, and this time the tip of his cock ended up nestled directly at the apex of her thighs.

She needed him, Leo knew it, and he curled his hips up to meet hers while spooning around her from behind. His hardness found her heat and slid inside with ease. She was soaking already, and moaned when he drove himself home and started rocking. Cassie gasped and grabbed his hand, bringing it to her mouth so she could kiss his palm. He could tell she was now awake, and was glad she hadn’t minded him taking what her unconscious body had offered.

“I’ve got you, Cassie,” Leo groaned and he let out a hiss when she slid two of his fingertips into her mouth. She sucked them, swirling her tongue in the same way she’d caressed his cock countless times, and the motion sent his hips thrusting in a frenzy. He stilled, pressing himself deep inside. “I love you so damn much,” he whispered, and then slid his fingers from her mouth. Cassie groaned, but let him go, watching as he moved those same, glistening fingertips down to her clit. She whimpered as he teased it, bucking against him in her pleasure, and Leo started moving inside of her again.

When she came, he was right there with her, and he adored watching as she unwound whatever tension had been coiling in her belly while dreaming. They then fell back into a satiated sleep, and this time Leo had no problem drifting off.

Chapter Sixteen

After another busy night on the casino floor, Leo swung past his office on his way home, feeling more than ready to head off and wrap his arms around his stunning girlfriend. All he could think about was Cassie, and the baby growing inside of her—his baby. Could this really be happening? Was he, the big, bad gangster, finally going to be a father? All evidence pointed to yes, and Leo couldn’t be happier with where their lives were headed.

He took a seat at his desk and checked the casino’s security feed. All good. He then tapped into the feed for his office, finding the image of himself sat at the desk in real time, and hit rewind. There’d been a whole lot of nothing going on in his empty office, which was just how he liked it, and Leo reactivated the camera recording before shutting down and grabbing his jacket.

“Hey, boss,” a sweet, sassy voice welcomed him in the hallway, and Leo forced himself to smile even though the last thing he needed was to be dragged back into work.

“Evening, Suzie,” he replied, locking the door behind him and stashing his keys. Leo walked away, but she was hot on his heels, so he turned back to her, hoping to get whatever it was she wanted out of the way so he could get home. “What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing much, I just wanted to see if you fancied having a drink with me?” she asked. Leo had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He looked Suzie up and down, and pitied her. She’d kept her dark hair and now seemed to be dressed in the exact same outfit Cassie had been wearing a few days previously. He figured perhaps Stuart had been right to warn him about her after all, and maybe she was actually a little unhinged. Suzie was clearly emulating Cassie in a bid to catch his eye, but Leo couldn’t be less interested in playing games or indulging her foolish crush.

“I’m in a relationship, Suzie. And even if I weren’t, I’m afraid it’d still be a no,” he told her coolly, trying not to hurt her feelings, but at the same time wanting to make it perfectly clear where he stood.

She didn’t listen to his attempt at letting her down gently. Suzie burst into tears, screaming and wailing into her hands. When she pulled them away, her panda eyes were out of control, and Leo handed her a tissue from his pocket. He wasn’t a complete bastard, but didn’t much feel like taking care of a clearly insane woman, so rather than comfort Suzie, he did nothing but stand there while she dabbed at her eyes.

“What more can I do to get you to notice me?” she cried, sobbing harder. She was a mess, anyone could see it, but Leo didn’t really give a shit. He guessed he really was a sociopath after all, because he couldn’t care less how she felt or if he’d hurt her. All he was bothered about was getting home to his girl.

He stepped closer and put a hand on her shoulder, and Suzie peered up at him with a smile, clearly hoping he was going to say something gentle and romantic.

“You’re a fucking state and I’d never look at you no matter what. I’m not interested in being your sugar daddy, and I’m certainly not fooled by this ‘poor me’ routine you’ve got going on. I know psycho bitches when I see them, and you’re right up there with the best of them, sweetheart. Go home, sort yourself out, and stop copying my girlfriend in an attempt to catch my eye, otherwise you can kiss your job goodbye,” he told her, and then walked away without another word.

In the elevator, Leo grabbed his cell and dialed his cousin. “Bri, looks like Suzie’s going to be a problem. Full-blown-crazy-bitch-mode,” he said.

“Damn, I thought she seemed a little bit too interested in you,” Brian answered, and Leo heard him wince. He knew that tone. His dear cousin had clearly gotten too close to Suzie and it was going to be a problem Leo didn’t want to have to deal with.

“You got something to tell me?”

Brian cursed. “Yeah, I’ve been fucking her. She was asking me questions about you and Cassie, what she likes and dislikes. I thought she wanted to be her friend, but then things started seeming a bit less like she was merely interested and a bit more like she was obsessed. I told her to back off and haven’t seen her since.” Now it was Leo’s turn to curse.

“You sort her the fuck out, man, otherwise you’ll both become problems I’ll have to deal with myself, and you don’t wanna push me. Got it?”

“Got it, and I’m sorry,” Brian answered. Obviously he knew Leo’s threat wasn’t half-hearted. If he had to, he was more than willing to teach his cousin a lesson using his fists. They were incredibly adept at doing the talking for him whenever Leo was truly pissed, and he was more than willing to let off a little steam if necessary. It didn’t matter that Brian was family; if his men fucked up, they had to learn their lessons. “I’ll call her, tell her to back off,” Brian added down the line.

“You’d better. I don’t want Cassie getting upset over this,” Leo replied, and he abruptly ended the call. He cursed. Nothing ever stayed simple.

The drive home didn’t do anything to calm him down. By the time he got back to the apartment, Leo was still a tangled mess of anger and rage, so he grabbed his sneakers and gym kit from the trunk and went for a run. It didn’t matter that it was the dead of night; he ran like he wanted to stomp holes in the sidewalk itself. Suzie and her infatuation with him was nothing but a pain in the ass. He didn’t want anything to do with her, and yet she had somehow wormed her way into his thoughts rather than letting him carry on about his business as normal. He didn’t care about her, only the trouble she might cause him. It was a problem he really didn’t need, or want.

Leo ran harder, faster. By the time he rounded the corner back to where his car was parked, he’d already decided that she was Brian’s problem, not his. He’d have to get her in line or show her the door. Simple. Leo wasn’t getting any more involved with her, and Cassie never had to know a thing about his new stalker and her foolish crush. He’d known women like her in the past, and had done the same with them. After a period of stone-cold iciness from him, they always got the hint—even the really fucked-up ones.

Cassie was asleep already when he finally headed inside, curled into a ball beneath their huge duvet with a book lying beside her head as if she’d drifted off reading it. Just the sight of her calmed him some more, but she also stirred his other senses, and Leo knew he was still far too wired to sleep.

He took a shower, hoping the cool jets would help. They didn’t, and when he’d dried off, he turned out the light and climbed in behind her, kissing Cassie’s shoulder and neck in an attempt to wake her.

***

Cassie stirred when she felt lips caressing her skin and hot hands that turned her over onto her back. A rush of cool air hit her skin as the duvet was lifted, but was quickly replaced with a hot body, damp from a recent shower. She groaned, but didn’t stop him when Leo wrenched her thighs apart. In fact, in her half-awake daze, she lifted her hips up, attempting to meet him halfway. However, it appeared he had other ideas. Leo pushed her back down and she felt him dip beneath the covers. Hot breath met her even hotter core, and he pounced on her like a man possessed. His hands dug into her hips, keeping her in place, while his tongue and lips preyed on her, staking his claim. He was somehow inside, on top, and all over her body, while also inside her head and heart. He knew exactly what she needed before she even knew herself, and delivered her pleasure without a single word or command. Leo didn’t need to. Her body reacted to his touch on some primal level, and Cassie cried out as a wave of sheer ecstasy rolled over her from the inside out.

She was suddenly full, stretching and throbbing around the hard rod that’d plunged inside her soaked opening. Leo went hard and fast, as though he was on some mission to leave her nothing but mush when he was done. When he came, he collapsed on top of her, kissing and caressing every inch of her his hands could reach.

“Whoa,” she breathed against his temple.

“Yeah,” Leo whispered, rolling off her. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he checked, and she quickly reassured him that she was far from hurt.

“No, baby. I’m wonderful.” She turned so she could snuggle against him.

“Yeah. Yeah, you are,” he agreed, holding her back tightly.

Chapter Seventeen

After finishing up early at the theater, Cassie decided to head straight over to the casino to surprise Leo. The new play was going really well, as were his ventures, and business was booming for them both. The past few months together had been the best of her life, and as far as she was concerned, they could keep on going strong in the coming months and years stretched out ahead of them. A few weeks had passed since they found out about the baby, and the pregnancy was still a shock, but she was dealing with the surprise well, as was Leo. The world of diapers and sleepless nights seemed far less scary than the world she’d found herself in a few years before, and she honestly felt ready to take the next step. Cassie had already told him she didn’t want to get married again, but now their child was growing inside of her, and she had to admit, she was starting to rethink things.

Roger walked her to the doorway of the casino and waved goodbye as she stepped into the elevator, clocking off for the evening only after seeing her to Leo’s premises safely. As always, she appreciated his continued hard work. She rode up in silence, aware she had a cheesy grin on her face, but didn’t care. Life was good, and Cassie felt like nothing could get in her way.

That was until she rounded the corner and heard giggling coming from Leo’s office. It wasn’t the friendly sort, or the polite. It was lust-filled and teasing, the sort a girl threw at the man of her dreams over candlelight and wine. Her stomach dropped, but Cassie had to see for herself what was going on inside before she could react.
You’re such a fool. Of course you wouldn’t be enough for him. You were never enough before, why did you think things would change now?
Her brain teased and tormented her relentlessly, and Cassie had to fight the urge to scream or puke, or both. She reached out to grab the handle and noticed the door was open just an inch, so she peered inside.

“Come on, Leo. She’ll never have to know. I’ve told you before, I’m very discreet…” Suzie was inside, perching against Leo’s desk, while he sat in his huge leather chair across from her. Cassie couldn’t tell whether she thought he was enjoying her advances or not. His face was icy but his eyes seemed to be burning into her with a regard that made Cassie’s blood boil.

“Suzanne, I have told you repeatedly not to harass me. Your behavior is trashy, to say the least.” Cassie felt relief tinge the edges of her anger, and hoped with all her heart he was being sincere. “I told Brian to get you in check, and he’s clearly failed. You’re fired with immediate effect. Get your things and go.”

“I’ll tell everyone you fucked me anyway. Your precious girlfriend will leave you in a heartbeat, and then I’ll sue for sexual harassment. I’ll say I was too intimidated to say no,” Suzie bit back, clearly disgruntled that he’d refused her offer.

“You can say what you want. I have all our conversations on tape to prove exactly the opposite. We’re done here, you can leave.” Leo’s tone was vicious and stern. He’d never spoken to Cassie that way, and she hoped he’d never need to. She’d always known how scary he could be, but the man sitting behind that desk was something else entirely. His features and tone were calculated and malicious enough to send shivers down her spine, and she wasn’t the one he’d said it to. Mr. Solomon was clearly in the room, not her Leo, and part of her actually felt bad for Suzie. But then again, maybe not.

Cassie opened the door fully and walked in with a scowl. “Are you gonna get out, or am I gonna have to throw you out?” Suzie seemed startled by her entrance, whereas Leo didn’t appear fazed, and she had to wonder if he’d noticed her there already. She wasn’t completely sure of his innocence, but for now all she cared about was taking out the trash.

Leo pressed a button on the intercom, calling to his cousin, and Brian came rushing in. He took Suzie by the elbow, and didn’t say a word as he frog-marched her out the office. Cassie was glad to watch her leave. She just hoped Brian wasn’t planning on coming back until she’d completely left the premises, and for good this time.

Cassie was furious, and didn’t delay in making it known to her beau. Leo sat and took every vicious word she spat without retaliating, and when she finally started to calm down, he stood, walked around the desk, and wrapped her in his arms.

“I’m so sorry, love,” he whispered, running his hands up and down her back. “I promise you I didn’t do anything with her. She’s been stalking me and trying to get close, but I only learned the full extent of it recently. It seems she’s become a little too obsessed, and I’m sorry you had to hear her saying those vile things, but you know they aren’t true. You’re my one and only, Cassie. Us against the world, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember. It’s just hard to believe it sometimes. I’m sorry,” she replied, leaning into him. “What’s she been doing, then?”

“It started with flirting and harmless eyelash fluttering, but then I noticed she’d dyed her hair and styled it to look like yours.” Cassie looked up at him in surprise. She hadn’t even noticed, but now she thought about it, Suzie had gone from being a dye-job blonde to a brunette seemingly overnight. “She started to dress like you and listen to the same music. Even when she started trying to talk to me about plays and the theater it didn’t click. I’m not sure she was even aware of what she was doing, but it appears she thought that if she could look and act like you, I might fall for her.”

“Whoa, crazy bitch,” Cassie murmured. It all fell into place. There had been a handful of conversations during her visits when Suzie had asked her about herself and her hobbies, and Cassie had been polite and chatted back with her. She’d seemed perfectly harmless to her at the time, but she guessed that was exactly the point. Suzie had
seemed
harmless, when in fact she was an overdramatic lunatic who could’ve potentially driven a wedge between her and Leo forever.

Leo groaned when she pulled away, but Cassie needed some space. Just a minute so she could fully calm her fraught mind. She used the bathroom and reapplied her makeup to hide her panda eyes, all the while deep in thought. When her cell chimed to tell her she had a text, she jumped in surprise, but her anger soon returned when she saw what was written there.

Suzie: So, did he tell you a bunch of lies to hide the fact he’s been fucking me every day for the past few weeks? Don’t trust a word your player of a boyfriend says. He told me he loved me. He made me promises he didn’t keep. How long until he breaks your heart too? Luckily, I’m not upset, I’m angry. I just keyed his precious car, what do think he’s gonna say about that?

Cassie flung her cell back in her bag. She was ready to go out there guns blazing, but knew Leo wouldn’t let her if she told him about the text. She decided against letting him know that she’d even gotten the message. She wanted to deal with that stupid girl herself.

“I’m going down to get a drink,” she told him when she came out of his private bathroom a few minutes later. “You don’t need to come with me. In fact, I could do with a few minutes to myself.”

Leo looked hurt, but he nodded in understanding. She’d believed him when he said nothing had happened with Suzie, but still felt like the whole thing had put some distance between them. Cassie wanted to go back to how she’d felt while travelling up in the elevator, and forced herself to push her anger aside. Rather than hash it out yet, she just gave Leo a chaste kiss and left him to it while she headed down to take care of their little stalker issue once and for all.

She pushed open the back entrance door and stepped out into the cool night air. Cassie looked around but couldn’t see any sign of Suzie, so she grabbed the cell from her purse and called up the contacts list. Then, a soft whimpering caught her attention, and she followed the sound around one of the trucks, where she found Suzie lying face-down on the ground. Cassie leaned over to check her, but could already see blood trickling down her face from a wound on her head, as though she’d been knocked out.

She stood and turned to run back inside when she collided with a wall of a man who had seemingly been hiding in the shadows beside Suzie’s unconscious body. “Please, take my bag, you can keep all the money inside. Just don’t hurt me,” she pleaded. Rather than convince him to snatch her purse and go, her appeal earned her a deep laugh in response.

“I don’t want your money, Cassie.” Her blood turned cold, and she peered up at the man standing before her in the darkness. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew right away who he was. Her blood turned to ice as the hoarse voice sparked fearful memories that quickly came rushing back. She wanted to run, but was halted by the sound of the man’s voice and the overwhelming presence he had over her.

“GG? Is it really you?” she asked, stepping over Suzie’s outstretched legs as she stumbled further into the loading bay. “What are you doing here?” Cassie was shaking. This was far from the reunion she’d always hoped they might have.

“Don’t call me that anymore. I’m certainly no Gentle Giant. In fact, I’m far from the man you once thought you knew. And all of that’s thanks to you, though, isn’t it? In your bid for freedom you threw me to the wolves, Cassie, and now you’re gonna pay for what you’ve done.” His voice was bitter and cruel, Grayson’s words callously tormenting her in a way he’d never done in all their time together in Mexico. His icy demeanor made her crumble, and she shook her head. As much as she hadn’t wanted to turn him over to the police along with the rest of Victor’s crew, his arrest had been unavoidable, and she’d done her fair share of beating herself up about it since that day.

Realizing her cell was still in her hand, Cassie looked down at it, hoping she might have enough time to press the alarm that’d alert Roger she was in danger. “Don’t even think about it,” Grayson said, stepping closer to her.

Cassie didn’t listen. She unlocked the screen with a tap of her finger and hit the app that would send her protector an alert and their location. Cassie managed it just in time before Grayson reached her and threw the phone from her hand. She knew it had to have smashed on the hard ground, but hoped with all her heart that the cavalry would arrive regardless.

Grayson stepped closer still, pinning her to the truck behind, and a flicker of light illuminated his face. He’d aged a lot more since she’d last seen him. He had even lost the soft, caring look he’d always had about him where she was concerned, and all that was left was an empty, heartless shell. He’d once treated her like a sister and made her feel safe and protected with him, but the man standing before her seemed adrift. Grayson was nothing but a thug, and he was right, she was to blame.

He grinned maliciously and reached behind him, pulling a ringing cell phone from his back pocket, which he seemed to take great delight in showing to her. When the screen lit up, she blinked and focused. It took her a second to figure out what she was reading, and she sobbed when she realized what it must mean.

Alarm triggered. Location stored and ready for GPS navigation.

Grayson had Roger’s phone, which meant he’d also paid her bodyguard a visit, and she let out a cry for her dear friend’s safety.

“What’ve you done, GG?” she asked. “Where’s Roger?”

“I knew you’d have a way to contact him, so I went to his apartment and made sure he wouldn’t be able to respond to your alarm when you triggered it. In fact, he won’t be doing much of anything anymore,” he told her with a sneer. “You’ve become so predictable, Cassie. You played right into my hands.”

Cassie felt like she might be sick. Grayson hadn’t said it specifically, but he’d hinted that Roger was either in a bad way or dead. Her Gentle Giant was truly gone, and she tried to fight his hold over her, but it was no use. Grayson was twice the size he used to be, and overpowered her easily. He pinned her to the truck by her shoulders and stared her down.

“Okay, okay,” she conceded. In a moment of clarity, Cassie decided against fighting him. She knew she had to keep him talking in the hope someone would either stumble onto them or Leo would come looking. It was her only choice. “And what about her?” she eventually asked, nodding over to where Suzie still lay unconscious.

“I befriended her a while back, showed her a good time. She was incredibly forthcoming with information about the new boss and his girlfriend. I’d barely even got my dick wet before she was spilling the beans about you and your new life here in London,” he scoffed. “Oh how she went on and on about the gorgeous Mr. Solomon and how she wanted to be just like you. Deranged skank thought she could take your place, so I spurred her on. I knew I couldn’t get near you with Roger and Leo around, so I watched and waited. Bided my time. You made sure they kept you close, made sure you were safe.”

“Like you used to,” she tried, but Grayson’s scowl told her he wasn’t ready to reminisce about the past yet.

“I told Suzie before her shift tonight that she should try one last time to proposition Leo, that he’d kept her waiting long enough. I wanted to really rile him up, hopefully enough so that he’d forget all about taking proper precautions for your safety. I intercepted your precious Roger on his way home and took care of business the only way us thug types know how, and then I waited.” He grinned, and the sight of his hateful smile made Cassie’s blood run cold. “After that, it was a case of me sitting and waiting for the opportunity to get you down here. I figured you’d be furious that she’d dared try it on with him, and when she came storming out saying you’d thrown her out of his office, I knew exactly what to do.”