Leopold: Part Five (3 page)

I turn back to speak to Leo, but he’s standing on the other side of the doorway.

He smiles. “I’ll let you settle in. Should you need anything, there are phones in each room. Simply pick one up and someone will see to your every need.” He motions with his arm. “Your things should be in the dressing room through there. I took the liberty of having Matthias choose some additional clothing in your size that will be appropriate for the remainder of the weekend. If you need anything else, though, don’t hesitate—”

“You’re not coming in?”

His gaze drops to the floor for a moment before returning to mine. “I would never presume, Elle, that my presence is requested—”

I walk back to the doorway, closing the space between us in a few steps. I stand in front of him and look up into his eyes for a long moment.

“Your presence is requested.” I reach up and place my hands on either side of his face, pulling his head down to my level.

And then I kiss him.

I
slide
my arms around her, pulling her hard against my body. The tension has been building all day, and from the way she kisses me—from the way she wraps her arms around my neck—I can tell her desire is just as strong. Whatever reservations she had before are gone. Without taking her lips away from mine, she takes a few steps backward, pulling me fully into the room. I reach behind me and grab the door, pulling it shut as I stumble forward with her.

We have a lot of time to make up for.
That’s all I can think about as I kiss her.
I can’t believe my foolishness lost me three months with this woman. How the hell did I stay away for so long?

Her tongue slips along my bottom lip, and need throbs through me. My fingers dig into her back, and I feel myself starting to lose control. With much effort, I pull my mouth away from hers.

“Elle,” I say, and my voice is so rough I hardly recognize it. “Are you certain?”

Her eyes are dark and heavy-lidded as she looks up at me. Her mouth is already swollen from my kisses.

“Yes,” she whispers as she pulls my face back down to hers.

She doesn’t need to tell me twice. She’s here. She’s mine. And we have a chance to make this work. Now I want nothing more than to make up for all the time we’ve lost.

She seems to have a similar idea. She’s already tugging at my shirt, and my fingers move to the buttons of her blouse. I want to feel her bare skin beneath my hands. I want to have her again and again until I forget my own name.

Our shirts are on the ground. Her bra goes next, and I slide my hands up over her bare breasts. She moans and fumbles for my belt.

I want her more now than I did even three months ago. That never happens—normally my interest in a woman wanes with time, but not with Elle. Is this what love does? I feel mad. Frenzied. Desperate to be closer to her—and afraid I’ll never be close enough.

She has my belt undone. My hands drop to her pants, one undoing her zipper while the other moves around behind her, sliding over the lush curve of her bottom. Meanwhile, our lips are still pressed together, our tongues tangling as if neither of us can get enough of the taste of the other.

I should get her to the bed before this goes any further
, I think. But the thought of pausing even for a second, even to take her somewhere more comfortable, seems completely unreasonable.
The sofa, then.
But even that seems so far away—too far.

I pull back. She makes a little sound of protest, but I ignore it, instead letting my lips trail across her cheek, her jaw, and down her neck. Her hands move to my hair as my mouth continues to dance down her body. Over her collarbone. Down her chest. Across the slope of her breast. She gasps when I take her nipple in my mouth, but I don’t stay there long. I move still lower, dropping to my knees in front of her as my lips trail down her stomach. When I reach her pants, I pull them down her hips. My tongue circles her bellybutton as I push them down her legs. I can already smell her arousal—almost taste it—but though part of me wants to bury my face between her legs, her hands are tugging at my hair, trying to pull me back up.

“Not now,” she whispers. “I… I just need you.”

On another occasion, I would take great pleasure in torturing her, in bringing her to the brink and back while she begged me to take her. But there will be time for that later. Right now, we both need the same thing.

I rise, sliding my hands up her body as I do. My mouth finds hers again, and I pull her against me, wanting to feel the entire length of her. She’s completely naked now, and once again I’m stunned by how exquisite she is. My cock strains against my pants—
why are my blasted pants still on?
—and I can’t wait any longer.

I slide my hands around her hips, thinking to lift her, to carry her those few meters to the sofa. But instead, I find myself lowering her to the ground, placing her on her back on the plush carpet.

I tear my mouth away from hers again. Her eyes open as I look down at her. She’s beautiful. Her hair is spread out around her head, the color warm and rich even against the fine, bright threads of the carpet. Her skin is flushed, her eyes bright.
The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

And she’s mine. She’s here in Montovia with me. Trying to tug my face back down to hers.

“Don’t stop,” she whispers with a smile. “I don’t think I can wait any longer.”

You have no idea, Elle
, I think.
You have no idea what that time without you did to me.
My brother is right—I
am
a changed man. Why, just last week, Lady Karina—my former flame and almost-sex-partner at that Adriatic resort last month—called me, and I deleted her number without a second thought. And she’s not the only one I’ve deleted. One by one, I’ve been removing all traces of my ex-lovers from my life, forever severing myself from former booty calls and casual encounters. I know, deep down, none of them will ever satisfy me ever again. There’s only one woman for me now.

I kiss Elle deeply, desperately, wanting to prove to myself yet again that she’s here. That she’s
mine.

My entire body aches with need as I push down my pants. My body feels like a coiled spring, tense and eager and about to come undone.

“Elle,” I murmur against her lips.

My tongue slips deeper into her mouth as I lower myself more fully on top of her. Her fingers dig into my back, her nails pressing into my skin as she draws me closer. Her legs wrap around me, pulling me right against her, and I growl against her mouth as my cock slides against the warm wetness between her thighs. All I have to do is reposition myself slightly, and I would slide right into her, finally be buried deep inside of her again. There would be nothing between us anymore.

Nothing.

“Shit,” I say, jerking back.

She blinks up at me. “What?”

“Condom.”
Fucking condom.
I fumble for my pants. There should be a condom in my wallet. But when I find the pocket of my pants, I realize my wallet isn’t there.

Shit. It’s with the rest of things in my room down the hall.

Elle sits up partway. “Do you have one?”

“I thought I did, but I forgot I didn’t have my wallet on me.” I run a hand through my hair. “Maybe Matthias had enough foresight to put some in the nightstand for us.” It almost pains me to pull away from her, so before I do I lean over and kiss her again. Her lips melt against mine, and the hunger takes over me once more. My hand slides through her hair, and my tongue slips deep into her mouth as I push her completely onto her back. The feeling of her bare skin against mine drives me mad, makes me forget everything else but my hunger for her.

And she seems to have forgotten everything else, too. Her hands are on my back again, pulling me closer. Her tongue wars with mine, and her back arches, her hips rising to meet me. The movement makes her body slide against my cock in a way that leaves me seeing stars. I grind my body against hers, aching for more of that friction, and she moans and tightens her grip on me. It would be so easy to slide into her, to forget silly things like condoms and submit to the demands of our bodies. I already know she feels exquisite around me—I can only imagine the effect is heightened when there isn’t a latex barrier between us.

Her body shifts again, leaving me right at her entrance, and the animal in me threatens to take over. One push of my hips and I’d be inside of her.

No.

With a groan, I pull myself off of her.

“I… I’m going to go look in the nightstand,” I say, my voice ragged. I drag myself to my feet. “I’ll be right back.”

My legs shake as I stumble toward the bedroom.
We need to get her some birth control. Immediately. Or I need to make sure condoms are stocked everywhere in this palace where we might have sex.
Elle getting pregnant would almost certainly violate the terms of our arrangement with my father—an illegitimate royal baby would most certainly be a scandal.

I’m dizzy with need by the time I reach the bedside table and yank the drawer open. I fumble through the contents, but there’s nothing inside resembling condoms.

You have to be fucking kidding me.

But I should have known I wouldn’t find anything. After all, I requested separate rooms. There’s no reason the palace staff would think to supply a guest with condoms, and Matthias wouldn’t have said anything out of discretion.

So what now?

I rub my face. I know there are condoms in my things—I just need to run down the corridor and grab one. Of course, that requires getting dressed—being caught running nude through the palace by one of the staff would probably violate my agreement with my father as well—but I can be quick. Perhaps I should suggest to Elle that we both go to my room. That way, if once isn’t enough, we’ll have plenty of—

“Leo?”

I jump at the sound of Elle’s voice.

She’s standing at the door, naked and lovely, and my mouth goes dry.

“I was just wondering what was taking so long,” she says, a hint of a smile on her lips.

In three strides I’m across the room and taking her in my arms again. I can’t help myself. She leans into me as I pull her close, our bodies melting against each other again. We couldn’t fight it if we tried.

I tilt her head back and kiss her. She kisses me back, her arms looping around my neck, and I twist her so she’s pressed up against the wall with me against her.

“There…are…no…condoms…” I manage between my attacks on her mouth.

She makes a sound of frustration but continues kissing me. Her leg slides up mine, hooking around my thigh and bringing our hips in line.

“I need to…go down…to my room…” I say. “Grab one there.” But even as the words leave my mouth, my hands are grabbing the backs of her thighs. I lift her up, keeping her back against the wall as she hooks her legs around me again.

My cock is right against her once more, and the way she writhes against me makes instinct take over. I slide partway into her, and we both freeze.

“Elle.” The sound I make is hardly recognizable as her name. We need to stop this now, or there’s no stopping it at all. We’re teetering on the point of no return—maybe already past it.

Her breaths are shallow and fast, and every one makes her breasts swell against my chest. I don’t know if I can stop now. I don’t know if I can pull back…

“I don’t care,” she whispers finally, pulling my face back down to hers. “I don’t care.”

I don’t know who shifts first, but as our mouths meet again, I suddenly find myself all the way inside of her.

Good God.

I don’t think anymore. I just let my body take over, let it slide into her again and again. Elle is everything I want. Everything I could ever need.

Judging by the way her nails dig into my back, the way she moves against me, her need is just as great.

My entire body is hot and tight and aching. My hands grip the backs of her thighs as I thrust into her, but this isn’t enough. I want to go deeper. Need to.

I pull her away from the wall, and her arms tighten around my neck as I move her toward the bed. The moment her back hits the mattress, I’m moving again, pushing into her as the desire takes over.

“Elle,” I rasp against her mouth.
God, Elle…

She moans as she lifts her hips to meet my thrusts.

I pull back, sitting up just enough to allow myself to hook my hands beneath her knees and push her legs up, giving me deeper access. We both groan, and I can tell by the way her eyes are fluttering that she’s getting close.

I want to feel her come with nothing between us.

As I continue moving, I let one hand slide down between her legs. She was closer than I thought—she jerks at the first touch of my finger to her clit, and she moans as her body starts to contract around my cock. I lean forward, kissing her again as her body pulses beneath and around me.

“I love you,” I say against her mouth.

Her climax is drawing me quickly to my own release. My whole body tenses as I imagine how it will feel to come inside of her, to fill her completely—to
have her
completely. I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life.

I almost do it.
God, I want to do it.
But at the last second, the possible consequences fill my mind, and I pull away from her with less than a second to spare, spilling myself on the bed instead. I’ve never known any agony in my life like that separation.

With a groan, I lower myself beside her.
Fuck.
This is both the most amazing and most agonizing thing I’ve ever experienced. I’ve never felt so close to someone and so far from them at the same time.

I pull Elle into my arms again. Her body is relaxed and molds easily to mine, and she smiles languidly before burying her face in my chest.

“I love you,” I whisper again.

I feel her lips part slightly against the skin of my chest, almost as if she’s about to speak, but in the end, she says nothing.

It doesn’t matter—she’s here and she’s mine. And nothing will ever take her away from me ever again.