Page 161 of Her Wicked Plan

“It’s fine,” I tell the thoughts in his mind. “I’m glad this happened. Now, I don’t have to sit here wondering if things would be fine between her and me. I know they never will be.”

“I’m sorry.” He keeps his voice low.

Looking to my left, ready to be done with the conversation, I finally see where I am.

His bedroom.

He snuck me in here during the day.

“Why did you bring me here and not your office?”

“I don’t know.” He stands, goes over to the small desk, and rests against it. “I guess the other night when we were in here, it felt safe.”

“A different reality,” I say lightly.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“I enjoy being in here with you.” I turn the conversation around into something light.

“I do, too.” He massages the back of his neck. “It feels like we aren’t who we are here.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” I let out a small laugh. “Almost like play-pretend.”

He hums out his response, dropping his hand from the nape of his neck. He stays resting against the desk, eyes focusing on the bathroom.

“Do you think we could play-pretend more?” I keep my voice quiet.

He shifts his head in my direction. “What do you mean?”

Standing from the chair, having had enough fresh air for the moment, I go to stand in front of him. Dark eyes stare down at me, and if I gaze too long into them, I’ll get lost in the darkness. “Can we come here to play-pretend more?”

Inhaling a deep breath, he lets it go, then says, “It’s going to be harder than us being in my office. At least in there, we are permitted to be alone. You are permitted to be in there. In here?” He moves his eyes from mine to glance around the room.

“I’m not allowed.”

“It’s not only that,” he reiterates. “Sneaking you in here is risky enough. You can’t stay the night because they expect you to return to your room when the time comes.”

My head dips in understanding because I do. I understand completely.

“We can try to make something work,” he suggests, not clarifying what we would do to make it work exactly. “We have to get you out of here now, though. It’s during the day, and multiple people saw you storming off. If anyone tells Dr. Bennett, I’m sure he will look for you.”

“You’re right.”

Staring at each other, me not moving out of his way to let us leave. His eyes drop from my eyes to my mouth. Lifting his hand, Leo gently brushes the hair from my pale face, and I watch his stare coast over the freckles lining my nose and cheek.

“Breathtaking.” The compliment was only above a whisper, and the next thing I knew, he was dipping his head and capturing my lips with his.

The kiss is full of passion and heat. A perfect mixture, as he claims me to be his. Soft and sweet, he continues to move his mouth fluently with mine. It’s like we were made to do this. Our mouths were molded specifically for one another.

I don’t want to stop. I want to stay in this room for the rest of the day. I’m about to say screw it and wrap my arms around his neck. Pull him to the bed where we can get lost in the sheets but he is the one to end this magic. Resting his forehead against mine, we catch our breath, and I step back.

He closes the window and takes my hand. The door opens only for him to be seen. We hear voices at the end of the hall, but soon, the sounds grow quieter, and the coast is clear. It is empty when we enter the hall that leads to doctors' offices. How do we continue to get so lucky?

“Leo, there is something I need to tell you.” Scarlet comes to mind as we walk, and I need to let him know what happened between us before she tries to spin it around on me if she finds the courage to be in his presence again.

He freezes, tilting his head to the side to look at me. “Should I be worried?”

I shrug. “I might have overheard you and Scarlet talking the other day. I was on my way to the lobby for some alone time when I heard you talking.”