Broken Course (13 page)

"I’m sorry I scared you."

"It’s okay, babe. I’m glad I could help." My attention is suddenly pulled to one of my own interior cameras. I watch as Sarah tiptoes out of the bedroom with only a sheet pulled around her naked body.

"I love you," Erica says just like she always does just before we hang up.

And I know the exact second her words make their way down the hall when I watch Sarah throw her hands up to cover her face.

"Erica, hang on for a second," I ask then call out the door, "Sarah, get in here!"

Her eyes go wide as she stumbles backwards, tripping over the sheet and trying to drag it back up to cover her body.

"Don’t pull it up!" I yell with a smile. She begins looking around the hallway for the obvious camera. "Open door on the left."

I watch on the monitor as she takes a deep breath, seemingly weighing her options. Then she squares her shoulders and glances back at the bedroom only once before heading for the security room door.

"Leo?" Erica’s voice rings through the room.

"Shh. Just a second," I hush her. Glancing back down, I see Erica rolling her eyes as she locks her front door with Johnson in tow.

Finally, Sarah’s blue eyes peek into the room and I know immediately that she is flat-out
pissed
.

"Hey,
ángel,
" I say with a huge smile, but her glare levels me.

Holy shit. Sarah’s not just pissed—she’s livid.

"Jesus Christ. What the hell, Leo?" she asks as she tries to contain her… Shit, is that disappointment? "What in the hell is wrong with you? I should have known you are too fucking smooth not to be up to some sort of bullshit. Fuck!" she screams.

"Uhhhh…" Erica says.

I try to stop her from freaking out but only come up with the most trite and incriminating sentence known to man. "It’s not what you think, Sarah."

"Oh really? You didn’t sneak out of bed with me at three a.m. to chat with another woman? All calling her babe and saying I love you." She says the last part in a ridiculous, deep voice that sounds nothing like mine. Suddenly, her attitude slips, her eyes sparkle with unshed tears, and her shoulders fall in defeat. "Of course this is happening to me. I’m not sure how I didn’t see this coming. Clearly, karma has finally caught up to me. I actually meet someone and…damn it!"

I was wrong. She’s not pissed—she’s hurt.

I know immediately that this is not a time for a joke. "Erica." I call out loud, never taking my eyes off Sarah.

"Shit. Yeah, I’m here," she answers uncomfortably over the speaker.

"Remember when I told you about that girl I was seeing?" I don’t pause to give her a single second to reply, fearful of what she might give away about the little secret I haven’t yet let Sarah in on. "Well, she spent the night tonight, and judging by the daggers she is shooting at me now, I’m reasonably sure she has gotten the wrong idea about our relationship."

"Shit!" Erica shrieks, looking up into her ceiling-mounted kitchen camera. "I need to see you, Leo."

"Yep. I’m definitely out of here," Sarah says, turning for the door.

"Switching now. Whoa, wait just a second,
ángel
." I grab Sarah’s arm to stop her retreat, all the while trying not to burst into flames under her relentless glare.

Erica forced me to install this two-way camera system as soon as I got back on my feet. She was worried about me back then. I can lie to her on the phone, but if she can see me, I don’t even bother trying. She can read my mannerisms like a book. She knew the only way to get honest answers about how I was doing was to be able to video chat with me.

I spin to the large flat-screen in the back of the room above my corner desk. When I click the icon, Erica’s living room flashes onto the screen. Not even a second later, she moves into the frame.

"Hi." Erica says, folding her obviously pregnant body onto her couch.

At the sight, Sarah once again throws her hands over her mouth in shock. "Oh, God," she breathes from behind her hands.

Laughing would definitely make me a dick, so I do my best to stifle it. I know she is thinking the absolute worst right now, and that bothers me on some level, but her expressions are priceless.

With her hands preoccupied, the sheet begins to slip from her body. I grasp the top to prevent it from falling to the ground. I should probably correct whatever nefarious ideas she has about me now, but the jealousy in Sarah’s eyes has me wishing I could play it off for a few minutes longer. I’m relatively sure, though, that, in a few minutes, she won’t still be standing here.

"Sarah, this is my friend, Erica Andrews. Erica, this is my girlfriend, Sarah Erickson." I slip an arm around Sarah’s waist.

"Don’t touch me," she hisses, quickly stepping away.

"Leo, stop being a dick. You know what she’s assuming," Erica growls at me before speaking to Sarah. "Hey, Sarah. Trust me. My relationship with the jackass standing next to you is
not anything
like what you are thinking right now. We’re just friends."

"Riiiight," Sarah drawls out sarcastically.

There are no adequate words for how much I am loving this flash of jealousy from her. However, I need to put an end to it, because against my better judgment, I have a strong desire to get between her legs again, and spending time talking to Erica is killing those thoughts.

"Okay. Okay. Seriously, Erica is like a sister to me. She is married to Slate Andrews…and pregnant with
his
baby, might I add. I had nothing to do with that." I grin as I hear Erica confirm it behind me.

"Wait. Slate Andrews the professional boxer?" Sarah asks, clearly confused.

"Well, Slate the ex-professional boxer. I run his security. And they had someone trying to climb their gate tonight." Watching for some sort of reaction, I can almost see her emotions rattling around in her head.

"Really? Well, does her husband know that you call her babe and y’all say ‘I love you’?" she snaps at both of us.

"Yes, he does," I say very slowly. "Hey." Stepping forward, I grab her hips. "I swear to you it’s not like that. I’ve called her babe for years. And I do love her, but not in any way that should possibly ever worry you. Erica is the only family I have." I shrug, not having any more of an explanation for her.

I really like Sarah, but this could be a very pivotal moment for us. I need to see her true colors in a stressful moment. I know about her past, but I need to know who she is
now.
This may have started out as entertaining, but now, I’m actually nervous about how this is going to play out. What if she can’t handle my relationship with Erica? Where would that leave us?

Come on, Sarah. Prove to me who you really are.

I plead with the universe that she’s the woman I think she is and not the person she talked about that day all those months ago. Jealous is one thing; irrational is something totally different.

"I know this looks bad. So I get that you’re upset, but you have to believe me. It’s not like that." Squeezing her hips tight, I beg for her to be the person I think she is.

Her eyes flash between mine, seemingly searching for the truth. She’s warring with her emotions, and there is absolutely nothing I can do to sway the battle.

Finally, her hard expression softens as she asks, "Promise?" Her cheeks heat in embarrassment.

Letting out a relieved breath, I hook an arm around her waist. "I swear."

Her shoulders instantly relax as she drops her head to my chest. "I’m sorry," she whispers. "I must look like even more of a crazy woman getting all upset over a man I’ve been out with twice. I just assumed…" She shakes her head, rolling her forehead over my chest.

I look up to find Erica leaning toward the screen, closely watching our interaction. Her eyebrow is lifted as she watches our exchange, but the side of her mouth is tipped in a small grin.

Remembering her words from earlier, I say, "Get out, Erica."

"Right. Yeah. Sorry." She grabs the remote and aims it at her TV, but pauses. "I’m sorry to interrupt your night, Sarah. But I have to admit, it was worth it just to see the way he looks at you. I’ve never seen him do that before."

I cock my head to the screen and give her a what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you look, but it only makes her laugh.

"Goodnight." She quickly flips off the screen, and I touch the button to fully sever the connection.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Sarah asks, lifting her head off my chest.

"It means Erica has a big fucking mouth." I smile and place a gentle kiss to her lips. "Hey."

"Hey," she responds, never truly meeting my eyes.

"You want to hang out with me for a few minutes while I close things down? I need to make a call and get Erica’s gate fixed."

"If you want me to," she says shyly.

"I’m sorry if you got the wrong idea tonight, but you getting all jealous while wrapped in my sheet is probably the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. And that’s saying a lot, because earlier, I watched you come on my hand."

"I’m in a sheet," she blinks rapidly.

"Yes, but we could remedy that." I start to drag it off when she suddenly steps away.

Her face is shocked as she says, "I just met your only family in a sheet."

"It’s just Erica. And don’t be too embarrassed. I accidentally tried to cop a feel of your sister the first time I met her. I think that might be worse." I wink and she starts laughing.

"COME ON." Leo leads me to his overstuffed office chair.

When he sits down, he pats his leg for me to join him. I drag up my sheet, but he stops me.

"No more sheet. It’s just me and you now."

"You’re wearing clothes," I inform him, wondering when he got dressed.

"Really? We’re still doing the tit-for-tat?" he asks then sighs before pulling his shirt over his head.

I once again catch a glimpse of the tattoo on his side. I’m dying to ask who Liv is, but tonight is definitely not the time. I’ve already shown way more than enough crazy for one night.

As I slowly let the sheet sag, exposing my breasts, Leo lets out an appreciative breath through parted lips. I can’t help but remember how it felt only hours ago when those lips covered my nipples and his hand teased my clit. My stomach flutters, wanting nothing more than to feel him again. It must read on my face, because his eyes immediately heat.

"I have to make a phone call, but I want you straddling my lap while I do it."

Like I’m going to say no to that
. "Okay."

Holding the sheet tight around my waist, I climb onto his lap, settling right on top of his surprisingly hard cock. It’s good to know I’m not the only one turned on here.

Leo closes his eyes and sucks in a long breath, which I feel over my entire body. Just this small connection and I don’t feel like a wreck anymore. I don’t feel embarrassed by my earlier jealousy or even nervous that, one day, he’s going to find out about my past. With Leo, I’m safe and sexy, but most of all, I’m just
me.
After too many years of not even knowing myself, I don’t feel the struggle when I’m in his arms. I know
Leo
…and that might just be enough. At least for tonight.

For the next few minutes, Leo is on the phone. His hands constantly slide over my breasts. He calls Slate Andrews and informs him that the security gate at his house is broken and Erica was afraid. I can hear Slate cussing at Leo over the line, but it’s obvious to even me that he respects Leo and is only worried about his wife. It’s an undeniably romantic response, but the real romance comes when Leo makes his move. Just before the two men hang up, Leo roughly pulls my nipple to catch my attention. Then he presses a single button on his cell phone, putting Slate on speakerphone.

"Anyway,
I told her that I loved her
,
and last I heard, she was heading to bed," Leo says, and I can’t help but bite my lip in embarrassment. His gentle reassurance makes me want to…well straddle his lap, among other things. He rubs a hand up my back and into my hair, using it to tilt my head back to expose my neck. Quickly, he dives in, raking his teeth across my skin.

"Good. She needs to rest," Slate responds while Leo ravages my throat. I’m sure he is leaving marks, and even though my turtleneck collection is not large enough to support his efforts, I still turn my head to allow him more access.