AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Once my thighs stop shaking and I regain control over my limbs, he releases me. Boneless, I tumble over to my side, still stunned by what just took place.
My gaze is drawn to the ring on my finger. Forget the orgasm—how on earth did tonight end with me wearing his ring? I quickly correct myself: his pretend ring, one for appearances’ sake only. Yet, in this moment, its weight on my finger feels incredibly real, as does its significance.
Beside me, Leo’s chest rises and falls with heavy breaths. He sweeps his tongue leisurely across his lips, his eyes closing as he savors the last traces of me.
My eyes drift lower to see his hard-on straining against his shorts. Whoa. I doubt he could walk comfortably without some relief. But I can’t be the one to provide that.
Coming all over his face tonight was a reminder I certainly did not need. The mistake of allowing him into my bed is magnified tenfold now that the orgasmic glow has faded. Because every man that came after Leo paled in comparison. He was my first, but he’s also the only man to ever make me come. Many have tried, and all have failed.
I can’t bear the thought of making small talk with him, so I close my eyes and pretend to be asleep. Maybe he’ll go away and leave me to my stewing thoughts. But he doesn’t go anywhere, just runs an exploratory finger up and down my arm that causes a sweet ache in my chest and the world to fade to nothing but his touch. I open my eyes a crack and catch him staring at me like he is cataloging each of my features, committing them to memory. Maybe he knows that this is a one-time deal, that I won’t make the same mistake twice.
Even if the sex was incredible, us hooking up is definitely a mistake.
Turning my back to Leo, I silently dismiss him, but he doesn’t seem to care. His arm, firm and strong, wraps around me as he spoons me from behind. I could just tell him to leave but… Maybe I can just enjoy this feeling for a little while longer. But seconds turn into minutes, and I can’t find it in me to move. Somehow, the warmth radiating from his body, his familiar scent, the power of my release—together, they act as a potent drug, and it’s not long before I’m drifting to sleep.
Moments before I go under, I’m vaguely aware of a kiss on my forehead. A hand brushing down my cheek. And then his voice whispers in my ear, “You’re still the only one. Always have been, always will be.”
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
ALYONA
The midday sunbeats down hard on my back as I lie face down on a lounge chair. A soft ocean breeze attempts to offer relief, but it’s just a tease against the overwhelming heat. It’s another idle day in paradise with nothing but time to get wrapped up in the thoughts swirling in my head.
Last night was unexpected.
The ring.
The sex.
Pulling me back from the edge of a panic attack.
Memories flicker into my consciousness of strong arms wrapping me from behind, the heat of his skin searing into my body. How he dragged me onto him and forced me to ride his face. The way his tongue worked my sensitive flesh, lashed over my clit, made me come so hard I may have entered another dimension.
When I woke up, he was gone. The only thing left of him was his musk on the sheets. And I may or may not have buried my head in the linen and inhaled deeply, reveling in the sweet smoky scent that is Leo’s and Leo’s alone.
But he hasn’t made an appearance on deck today, and it’s left me spinning. Are things going to be weird between us? Did I let it go too far?
I groan and bury my head in my folded arms. Three days ago, I woke up on this yacht hating him and now… the bitterness I once felt is losing its grip. I don’t know if it’s because he’s kept me safe or because I can still see glimpses of the old Leo, the one that cares, that I can talk to about anything.
Or because what I overheard him say to Kira… information that I’m still grappling with.I made the only choice I could to keep the people I love from getting hurt.I may never know what that means, but it has thrown a wrench into my I-hate-Leo narrative. And now I’m wearing his engagement ring on my finger. A ring I adore, and one he insisted very sharply I wear.
Everything is getting messy.
When we find the shitheads who are after me, I swear I’m going to castrate each of them with rusty nail scissors for forcing me back into Leo’s orbit. If it wasn’t for thosemudakys,I wouldn’t be here feeling confused and vulnerable. I would be in Paris, living my perfectly pleasant, uncomplicated life.
“Hope you’re wearing some sort of protection.” A deep male voice disrupts my train of thought. I push up onto my elbows and slide down my sunglasses, revealing Jack standing over me. “It’s hard to tell with the breeze off the water, but the sun is strong this time of day,” he clarifies.
Right, sun protection.I sit up fully, adjust my bikini top, then rise from the lounge chair, uncomfortably aware of his gaze tracing my form. “Thanks for the reminder.” I give Jack a tight smile. “I put it on this morning, but I’m probably due for a reapply.”
A playful smirk flutters across his lips watching me reach for the bottle of sunscreen on the small table next to my chair laden with drinks and a paperback Genevieve lent me.
“So, did your man finally show you a good time last night?”
I bristle at Jack’s veiled suggestion, the implication that Leo is a shitty fiancé.
“Actually, we had an excellent evening. Leonardo took me to a jeweler friend in Lipari.” With a playful flick of my wrist, I let the honking engagement ring catch the light. “I’m now an officially engaged woman.”
Jack whistles and grabs my hand for a closer look at the ring. “Quite the rock you got there. You sure he isn’t trying to make up for something?” He says it in a joking way, but it’s annoying nonetheless.
