Very Bad Things (30 page)

He closed his eyes briefly as if in pain. “I wanted to
forget you so bad that I fucked someone else. I used her to hurt you, and I’m
sorry. The night you saw us was the last time I ever touched her. She catered
the party tonight, nothing else. She was never what I wanted. Only you.”

I bit my lip and nodded.

He swallowed. “I shut you down and tried to forget about
you. I’ve never loved a girl before, Nora. I was scared and made up excuses for
why we couldn’t be together. But from the moment I saw you, I knew you were
special, but I didn’t know what to think about all these
feelings
I had.
But now I know the truth. I know age is nothing and that being scared of
hurting you or losing you is taking the coward’s way out. You are
everything
.”
He sighed. “I had to lose you before I figured it out.”

He picked up my hands and held them tight. “It’s going to
fucking kill me slowly, but if Drew is what you want . . .”

“There is no Drew. I can’t live without
you
, Leo. I
die a little every day because we’re not together,” I whispered, my eyes
roaming over his face, letting him see how much I loved him.

I kissed his hands. “You’re my other half, and I thought I
could give up on us and move on, but life is too short and too precious to
throw away what we have.”

His eyes burned hot, thrilling me. I knew that look. “Come
on, let’s get out of here,” he said, guiding me inside the gym.

“What about the party?” I asked, knowing the grand opening
was important to him.

He didn’t stop walking. “The band will play, and the party
will go on without us.”

He stopped at the base of the stairs, his face suddenly
filled with worry. “I don’t . . . I don’t want to hold you back from anything.
I want you to go to college wherever you want, no matter if it’s in another
state, and I’ll be right here waiting for you. Always.”

“What about Finn?” I whispered, wrapping my arms around his
waist and laying my head on his chest, so he couldn’t see my face.

He tilted my chin up. “He’s gone, and I’ll always be here to
keep you safe. Someday if you want, you can tell me everything, and I’ll
listen, but
nothing
will ever change how much I care about you. If
anything, the way you carry your pain, the way you’ve turned into this
beautiful girl despite everything that happened to you has made me love you
more.”

He rested his forehead against mine. He took my hand and
placed it over his heart. “I love you, Nora. Forever.”

“I love you, too,” I said, not caring one bit that people
were drifting in and out of the room, some of them staring. He was finally mine.

He tightened his arms around me and kissed me deep, his lips
angling over mine possessively, his tongue hot and wet. He kissed my jaw and
down my neck, sucking and nipping at me as I clutched him tight.

We eased back, breathless. I said, “I’m not perfect. At some
point, I’ll probably go to therapy,” I warned him gently.

“I hate perfect girls. They don’t read encyclopedias or
think about how I’m a rat man.”

“Tiger, most days.”

He grinned. “I get you. You’re a little neurotic, but it
doesn’t scare me. I want all of you. All the wacko things you do. Every last
detail. And when I look into your eyes, I can see all the way to your heart, to
the strong, beautiful woman you are. I want that for the rest of my life.”

He kissed me hard and fast. “And if you ever leave me, it
will break me. Now come on, let’s get moving. I want you alone,” he growled,
tugging me up the stairs.

Heat ran straight through my body as he led the way.

We walked into his bedroom, and he suddenly looked unsure.
“With everything you’ve been through . . . shit, am I rushing this? We can
wait, Nora. Just tell me what you need.”

I pulled the gold crown from my hair and took off the red
corset and short cape, showing him my red lace bra. I unsnapped the gold belt
and let it fall to the ground. I unzipped the flirty blue skirt with white
stars on it and tossed it lightly at his face, giggling at his mesmerized
expression.

He groaned loudly and adjusted himself. “Fuck, baby, I love
it when you strip for me.”

I laughed. “Sex is no problem when it’s consensual, and if
you don’t make love to me tonight, I’m going to die from being too horny.” I
unsnapped my bra and dropped it on the floor, leaving me standing in my red
string panties and red boots.

I cocked an eyebrow at his lusty expression. “What are you
thinking?”

“That I want to kiss you, lick you, bite you, suck you. I
want to eat you up until you scream my name so loud they’ll hear us over the
band.”

I shivered.

“I’ve been dreaming about you for weeks. I need to make you
mine. The thought of Drew with his mouth on yours . . . it drove me fucking
nuts,” he said roughly, his hands clenching.

“I’m all yours, Leo. I was never his.”

“Yeah?”

I smiled. “I have something to show you.”

He sucked in a shuddering breath. “Does it involve you being
completely naked, but maybe leaving the boots on?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Show me,” he ordered.

I put my naked back to him, lifted my hair and placed it
over my chest, so he could see my wings.

He was silent for a few moments, but I could hear his
breathing as it came faster and faster. He came up behind me, wrapped his hands
around the tops of my arms and kissed my shoulders, tracing his mouth and
tongue over the words on my back. I moaned out his name.

He whispered in a raspy voice, “This . . . this means
everything. We are everlasting. Fucking forever. I love you so much. Seeing
my
words
for you on your body makes me insane for you.” His hands snaked
around my waist and untied the little bow on my panties. He slid his fingers
down to my core and touched me as his tongue worked its magic across my wings.
He kissed down my back, his hand rubbing me in hard and then soft circles. I
gasped and spread my legs for him, my body clenching at the warmth that
immediately gathered in my body. How was it possible to want someone
this
much? How did I ever think I could live without his touch?

“I don’t want to come yet, Leo,” I begged, leaning my head
back against his chest, as he held my hips firmly, working his fingers, gently
grinding into my folds.

He ran his nose along my shoulder, and I heard him inhale
deeply and then moan.

“What are you doing?” I whispered, my body arching into his
touch.

“Breathing you in because you smell so fucking good, like
peaches. I want to eat you up,” he said softly.

I nearly came at his words. Reaching my hands up behind me,
I ran my fingers through his hair, tugging hard on the ends as he pumped me
faster.

“What you do to me is electric, and I’ll never get enough of
you, of this. When you talked dirty for me . . . that was the hardest I’d ever
come,” he said hoarsely.

He sucked hard on my neck, and I cried out, my hands
clutching him, needing to hang on. My body soared, reaching for the sky.

“Come for me, baby, come all over me,” he commanded. He bit
down on the tender place between my neck and shoulder, and I screamed out his
name, making a keening sound as I came hard, the sensation rocking me and
pulsating through my entire body.

He kissed my hair. “I’ve never felt like this, like I might
die without you, if something happened to you,” he said fervently and turned me
around to face him. His face was serious and maybe a little afraid, too, so I
touched his lips and assured him. “We’ll make it, Leo. Together. No matter what
comes, if we love each other, then everything else is cake. We never know how
long we have, because life isn’t perfect. But this love we have, it’s something
special. We have each other right now and that’s enough.”

“I’m afraid of losing you. It’s something I need to work
on.” He tightened his hold. “I get freaked out thinking how I almost let you
slip away from me.”

“Shhhh,” I said. “Nothing will come between us again.”

I eased away from him and smiled teasingly. “How did I end
up naked, and you still have all your clothes on?”

He grinned. “I got skills?”

“Help me get this thing off,” I whispered, trying to
unbutton his vest and belt. In five seconds flat, he had his costume and his
underwear off and kicked out of the way. I sighed in contentment and put my
hands on his hard length. He was heavy and thick, and I touched it lightly at
first, wrapping my hand around the girth and sliding it down to the base while
my other hand palmed him.

He spread his legs for me and hissed. “I’ve waited so long
for you,” he muttered out as I made my strokes firmer.

“Do you want me, Leo?”

“Everything. I want everything you got. All the crazy shit
you do.”

“I want you too,” I said, dropping to my knees, dying to do
what I’d wanted to do the day I’d watched him masturbate. He moaned when I took
him in my mouth, running my tongue over him in sensuous licks. Stroking him
with my hands, I took as much of him as I could in my mouth, sucking to the top
as he slowly spiraled out of control. He gripped my hair and pumped himself
slightly into my mouth, and I encouraged him, putting my hands on his ass to
hold him to a steady rhythm. He called out my name over and over, and he
sounded so vulnerable, so needy, that my emotions overwhelmed me, my love for
him filling me. He tossed his head back and made a low noise in this throat.
“Gonna come,” he said in a gravelly voice, his big body shuddering.

I sucked harder, increasing the pressure until he came,
spilling in my mouth.

He collapsed to the floor, pulling me on top of him and
cradling me close. We were sweaty and tired and out of breath, and it was the
best I’d ever felt. I pressed a kiss to his broad chest as his arms enfolded me
tightly. “Never leave me, Buttercup,” he whispered in my ear.

“Never,” I said, gazing into his eyes.

We lay there and held each other for a long time.

WE BOTH JUMPED when someone pounded
on Leo’s door.

“What the fuck?” Leo yelled out, searching for our clothes.

Boom, boom, boom.

They pounded again, louder this time, like they were trying
to wake the dead. “Who is it?” Leo barked through the door.

“Sebastian. People are starting to leave. I thought you’d
want to know.” I heard him chuckling. “Want me to come in?”

“No!” We both yelled at the same time. Leo hurriedly got
back in his costume, and I watched, trying not to pout.

“This will be continued later,” he promised me with heavy,
possessive eyes I felt all the way to my toes.

I arched my brows.

He kissed my lips. “I hate to leave you. Just give me a few
minutes. And when I come back in here, I want you naked and in my bed.”

I grinned.

He traced his fingers along my face and said uncertainly,
“You are gonna stay with me aren’t you?”

“Always, my love,” I told him, holding his hand next to my
heart.

He searched my eyes like he was unsure.

I shook my head. “Go! Stop worrying, I’ll be fine. I’ll find
Sebastian and Mila.”

I shooed him out and tried to fix my hair and costume. When
I walked out the door, Sebastian was waiting, leaning nonchalantly against the
wall, a happy smirk on his face.

“Band done?” I inquired.

He nodded. “Yep, all wrapped up. Vital Rejects was a hit.”

I sauntered over to him, and when I got close enough, I
popped him a good one the arm.

“Ow, what was that for?” he whined theatrically, moving away
from me and rubbing his arm.

“For banging on the door,” I said with a grin.

“But it was so fun,” he said, laughing. “And you know you
got the rest of your life with Leo.”

We reached the end of the stairs, and my eyes searched the
crowd until I found him talking with a group of muscled guys. Being a
responsible business owner, he had commitments, and he couldn’t be my doting
boyfriend all the time. We would be on different paths until I was done with
college, and it wouldn’t always be easy.

Sebastian snorted. “God, you’re glowing with it. You guys
are going to make me sick with all the goo-goo eyes and shit.” He made a
gagging sound and grabbed his chest. “What if you guys get married! Holy shit,
you’d be my step-mom!”

I rolled my eyes at him.

Mila came over and stood with us.

“Where did Tiffani go?” I asked her.

She snickered. “She got pissed and left as soon as Leo
started singing. He loves you, Nora. I gotta say, I’m a little jealous,” she
said with a sincere smile.

“Hey, you always got me,” Sebastian exclaimed, picking her
up and swinging her around and around until she shrieked loudly.

I had an epiphany, staring at them. “Damn! It was right in
front of me the whole time,” I said with excitement, while they looked at me in
confusion. “Of course, all that blond hair, the cocky attitude. Yep, Sebastian,
you’re the king of the jungle . . . which is a total misnomer . . . really, the
lion is the king of the savanna, whatever . . . I digress.”