Leopold: Part Three (3 page)

H
eat surges
through me at the first touch of our lips. She must feel it, too—she only hesitates for an instant before she grabs my shoulders and pulls me closer, deepening the kiss.

I wasn’t even gone an hour, but it feels like a lifetime since the last time I kissed her. What sort of madness is this? She’s truly an addiction, an obsession I can’t shake.

But no—she’s even more than that.
My first thought when Andrew told me the press knew about Elle wasn’t,
Oh, that gives me the perfect excuse to return to her.
Instead, it was,
I have to protect her.
I wasn’t thinking of my own needs when I returned here—I was thinking of hers. This situation could become messy very quickly, and I refuse to let Elle endure it alone. Andrew wasn’t very happy when I told him I was returning to her side, but frankly, I don’t care. No doubt he and my father will make me—or Elle—pay for this decision, but now I understand that the most important thing is to be with her. To protect her from whatever is to come.

Right now, though, my thoughts are on one thing and one thing only.

I slide my fingers through her damp hair and clutch the back of her head. My tongue slides deep into her mouth, drawing a moan from her. My entire body is tight with hunger. Not even an hour ago I thought I had to leave her forever, and now that I have her pressed against me again, I have every intention of taking full advantage.

Her hands slide all the way around my neck, and her breasts press against me as she leans into me. Her tongue slides against mine, and my cock throbs painfully against the fabric of my pants.

There are too many blasted clothes between us.

I drop my hands to her pants. She’s wearing a pair of those intoxicating leggings that American women seem to love so much—the kind that cling delightfully to the skin. They’re so thin I can feel the heat of her body through the fabric, and I let my fingers slide across her hip and then between us. When I reach the apex of her thighs, she lets out a whimper. My hand slides between her legs, grazing across the warm, damp fabric. I can feel every line of her beneath the material. My thumb finds her clit, and I press gently against it as my other fingers find her entrance through the thin layer of cotton that separates us. I curl my hand slightly, letting my fingers slide against her, teasing her through the fabric.

She groans and bites down on my lip. The sharp stab of pain sends a new jolt of desire through me.
Why am I wasting time taunting her through her clothes?
I need her. Now.

I pull my hand away—but not for long. I grab the waistband of her leggings and shove them down over her hips.

God, she’s not wearing any underwear…

I almost lose control right there. Instead, I continue to push her leggings down with one hand while my other hand slides between her legs once more. My fingers slip against her, sliding against that heated, velvety skin.
She’s so wet…

“Fuck, Elle,” I murmur against her mouth. “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anyone so much in my entire bloody life.”

I don’t give her the chance to respond. I kiss her again, biting down on her lip the way she bit mine.

She doesn’t seem to mind. Her hands slide down my body and grab my belt. I tear my mouth away from hers and kiss a line along her jaw toward her ear.

“There are still plenty of ways for us to explore each other,” I rasp against her skin. “Which would you prefer? Up against the wall? On the floor? Bent over the counter?” She’s managed to undo my belt, and I groan as her fingers brush against my cock through the fabric of my pants. “Or would you prefer all three?”

I suck her earlobe between my teeth, and she lets out a little gasp.

“I…I don’t care,” she says in a ragged whisper. “Just…”

She doesn’t even need to finish her sentence. I feel exactly the same way.

I slide a finger inside of her as she starts to undo my pants. She moans and squirms, so I add another, filling her as she fumbles with my zipper. She’s probably tender and sore from last night, but she doesn’t seem to mind.

With my free hand, I help her get my pants down past my hips. My cock finally springs free, and it’s painfully hard.

I’ll never have enough of her. I spent all night fucking her, and I still need more…

I pull my hand out from between her legs. My mouth finds hers again. God, who knew something as simple and mundane as
kissing
could feel like this with her? Every taste of her is sweet agony. Every brush of her lips against mine makes my cock throb.

“Please,” she begs between our kisses. “Please…”

I don’t want to wait any longer, either. My knee slides between her legs, nudging them further apart. But it isn’t enough—her leggings are still around her knees, restricting her movements.

I don’t have the patience to undress her completely. Not when she’s inspired this sort of need.

Counter it is.

I stumble back, pulling her with me. She clings to me, never breaking our kiss. When my back hits the counter, I pull my mouth away from hers. I twist us both around until she’s pressed against the counter. Then I turn her away from me so that her back is against my chest and the soft, luscious curve of her ass is right against my cock.

My lips slide across the side of her throat as I lean her over the counter. My fingers go between her legs again, dancing over her. She trembles beneath my delicate touch.

Fuck, Elle—you have no idea what you do to me.

I slide my arousal between her legs from behind, gliding it across her wetness. The skin of my cock is nearly as hot as the silken skin it touches—we’re two beings of heat, ready to be joined.

I know what it feels like to be overcome with desire. But there’s something more with Elle. With her, this is more than a taking of pleasure. It’s a
joining
—a coming together. She is the other half of my ecstasy.

My hardness slides against her, aching to be inside of her again, but I pause right at her entrance. I almost feel the need to take a breath, to prepare myself for what I know I’ll feel when we’re joined once more.

And then, suddenly, Elle stiffens beneath me. She says something, but bent over as she is, the word is muffled.

I frown, trying to understand what’s going on. My need has cast a haze over my mind.

She straightens slightly, and her voice sounds strangled as she says, “Condom.”

Oh.

I freeze. Honestly, condoms are the last thing on my mind.

“We’re out, remember?” My voice sounds strangely deep and raw. “We used all of them last night.”

For a moment we both just stand there, our chests heaving. She’s still bent partway over the counter, her back to me, and after a moment I lean down and touch my lips lightly to the base of her neck.

“We don’t need one,” I murmur gently. “I’ll stop before—”

“No,” she says. “I…I don’t trust us to do that.”

Honestly, I’m not sure I do either, but the thought of stopping now is physically painful.

She lets out a long, ragged breath. Finally, she straightens completely, pushing me away from her.

“We have to stop,” she says, her voice still shaky. “We have to.” Before I can argue, she reaches down and grabs her leggings, pulling them back up.

“Elle—”

“No arguments. I’m not having sex with you without a condom.” She turns slowly, almost as if she’s afraid to look me in the eye. When she’s finally facing me, though, I see that desire is still written all over her face.

“Elle—”

“No condom, no sex.” This time, it sounds like she’s trying to convince herself, not me. “But I do think we should go get some condoms. Right now.”

Well, I suppose that’s an idea I can support. I reach down and grab my pants, pulling them back up. This will be the fastest, most agonizing condom run of my life.

As I’m buckling my belt, though, a thought occurs to me.

“It might not be safe to go out there,” I tell her.

She frowns as she twists her still-damp hair back into a bun. “What do you mean, not
safe
?”

“I mean that we risk members of the press spotting us,” I say. “You never know when the paparazzi might show up.”

Elle walks over to the window and pushes the curtains aside, looking out at the street. “There’s no one out there. I don’t think they know you’re here.”

“We don’t know that, Elle. They might be on their way here as we speak.”

Her frown deepens, and she looks back out at the street once more before turning back to me.

“Maybe,” she says. “But I refuse to hide in my house because of the
possibility
of the press knowing about me. I won’t be a hostage in my own home.” She crosses her arms. “And we
do
need condoms. That was too close, Leo. We can’t… One of us needs to be the responsible one here. If you’ve worried about paparazzi spotting you, then you can stay here. I’ll go get the condoms myself.”

Now I’m frowning. “That won’t be necessary.
I
will go get the condoms. But perhaps you should stay here. If they see you with me—”

“I’ve already told you that I refuse to hide here. The media doesn’t scare me.”

Because you don’t realize how hard it can be. And if my father or brother get involved, we’re in even bigger trouble…

I shake my head. “You’ll stay here. I’m the man, and I should—”

“Oh, no,” she says, her eyes flashing. “You did
not
just try to order me around. I swear, Leo, either I’m going out there or we are never having sex again. I mean it.”

Judging by the look on her face, I know she does.

I let out a sigh, my shoulders sinking. This is not going to end well, I know. But as she said, it doesn’t seem like the media has found us yet. It’s risky, going outside…but if we’re quick about this little errand, we might be all right.

And God, my cock is still hard as a rock inside my pants. If I don’t have her—and soon—I may very well spontaneously combust.

“All right,” I say. “Let’s go get some condoms.”

W
hat the hell
is wrong with me? We’re going out for
condoms
?

At least I stopped him before it was too late. The last thing I need is some royal pregnancy scandal. I almost have to force myself not to roll my eyes at the thought.

And getting out of the house will be a good thing. I’m not sure I can handle being cooped up here alone with Leo for too much longer, anyway. I’m pretty sure he’s using his worry about the media as an excuse for something else. He might be saying he’s concerned so he’ll have a reason to leave me again. Or maybe he’s only pretending to be worried so we’ll stay holed up in my house and have sex for another twenty-four hours straight.

I’m losing my mind
.

I don’t even remember the last time I needed to make an emergency condom run. I almost feel like I’m in high school again, so damned overcome with hormones.

I have no idea what’s come over me—I should hate him for leaving, for walking out on me. But something inside me is almost
thrilled
that he came back. Part of me still wants to gut him open like a fish—it might even be the same part of me that wants to let him take me over my kitchen counter without a condom. But this other part of me… I can’t explain it. I don’t know what it is, and I’m not sure I
want
to know.

The only thing I’m certain of is that I’ve never felt quite this way before. I don’t remember ever feeling this fluttery feeling in my stomach—at least not to the degree it’s there now. I can’t recall my heart ever hammering this hard in the presence of any man. And I definitely don’t remember feeling like some piece of me is missing when he’s not here—like the way I did when he left. And I’m sure I’ve never experienced the near-euphoria I felt when he came back to me.

No, I definitely
cannot
admit any of this. Even to myself.

He’s leering at me again, but it’s more than him only wanting sex. At least, I hope it is. Part of me knows there’s a pretty good chance he could be using me, but I’ll be damned if I can figure out why. If it was only about sex, he’d already be gone. He could have easily found another willing woman eager to be with him, probably one with more experience than me and better in bed. He wouldn’t have come back to me if there wasn’t something more than just sex here for him, too.

Or would he?

I don’t really want to think about it. If I ponder on this situation too long, I’m going to change my mind about everything. I grab my bag and keys and start for the door.

“Elle, I…” He pauses, almost wincing. “This is a
really
bad idea.”

“You know, you
can
stay here. I won’t die out there. It’s not like I’m walking out into the jungle alone. I don’t need you to protect me.”

“Ah, but it is
very much
like a jungle. I wish you would understand—”

“Leo, I have lived in this house for a long time.” I motion toward the door. “I’ve lived in Santa Monica pretty much my whole life. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve walked out this
very
door, all by myself. I know it’s hard to believe—”

“It isn’t that I don’t believe you’re
capable
of walking out the door, Elle. It’s more about what lies
beyond
the door that I’m concerned about.”

“There’s no one out there. We already looked—”

“Just because you can’t see them, doesn’t mean they aren’t there. And when they
do
find us—and believe me, they
will
—they’re going to want to know everything about you.” His lips flatten into a line. “
Everything
, Elle.”

My heart skips a few beats at the way he says the word
everything
. Leo doesn’t know everything. He has no idea what’s happened. Why I
really
need to avoid the media.

But surely the paparazzi have better things to do than to bother some random, unknown woman. Or maybe they don’t. And maybe the threat of the media is a perfect reason to push Leo out of my life now—before he or the rest of the world find out what I’m really hiding. What my family is hiding. But for some weird reason, I don’t care. I don’t want him to leave again—not without me, anyway.

“Surely there’s a delivery service we might utilize, isn’t there?” He grins, taking a step toward me. “I’ll happily pay them to bring whatever supplies we might need—and I’ll be glad to offer them a premium to do so with some urgency.”

He closes the remaining distance between us in only a few steps, pulling me into his arms again. He slides his hand under my sweatshirt and up my spine. “It would be better to stay here. And I can think of a few things we can do that would be mutually pleasurable while we wait. Things that don’t require condoms. I’m certain you might think of a few, too.”

I take a step back, pulling his arm away from my body. “No. Sorry. I can’t think of anything. What I
can
think of is not being able to stop myself once we get started. I have a feeling you can understand my reasoning here, considering what just happened.”

“Ah, but we
did
stop, did we not?” He grins. “And I can assure you, I’m quite adept—”

“Leo, no. I know that isn’t your favorite word to hear—”

“Indeed, it is not—”

“But I am not changing my mind about it.” I point at the door. “You think whatever is on the other side of that door is bad? Imagine what would happen if…” I mock a gasp. “…I was to announce that Prince Leopold is the father of my child? What would the vultures do with
that
kind of information?”

He levels his gaze at me, his smile falling. “Say no more. But I will not allow you to go out there alone.”

“Fine. Then you’re welcome to come with me. There’s a convenience store about a mile down the street.” I point in the direction of the mini-mart.

He lifts a brow. “A mile?” He hitches a thumb in the other direction. “What about that way—?”

I tilt my head. “
That
way, there’s a mall and the beach. I’m sure we could find some sort of birth control there, too…maybe. But we’d also find a ton of people. Tourists. Many of whom will no doubt recognize you.”

“Ah. Yes. That could be a problem.”

“The convenience store is farther away, but it keeps us in the residential area of town, at least, and away from the tourist part. And it’ll be a lot less likely that anyone will recognize you. And even if they do… I mean, what would Prince Leopold be doing walking down the street in Santa Monica? I didn’t recognize you at first when you showed up in Rio de Campo. If it’s out of context, you’re less likely to be recognized, right? And the mall here—where celebrities go to be photographed shopping—is definitely
not
out of context for you.”

“You make a very good point, Doctor.” He smiles and extends a hand to me. “Shall we, then?”

I nod and take his hand, trying once again to ignore the thrill of electricity that bolts up my arm when he touches me.

We finally leave the house, walking for several minutes before Leo breaks the silence between us. “What are you thinking, Elle?”

I glance over at him. “Probably the same thing you’re thinking.”

He squeezes my hand. “I doubt that. The things I’m thinking are not very noble.”

I press my lips together to hide my grin, trying not to react to the comment.

A few children on bicycles pass us on the street. One of the boys does something of a double take, looking back at Leo. He shakes his head with what almost looks like disbelief before he turns back around and pedals down the street with the other children.

I look over at him again. “I told you people wouldn’t believe it was you.”

He smiles down at me. “Those were children. It might be a very different story with adults.”

I give him a small shrug, and we continue toward the store.

There are several bicycles parked outside the mini-mart. The door opens and the same children who passed us several minutes ago walk out with ice cream in their hands.

The same boy narrows his gaze at Leo but doesn’t say anything. He leans over and whispers something to one of the other boys, who then also turns his attention to the man holding my hand.

I tug at Leo’s arm and almost pull him into the store with me. After we’re inside, I spot the section where our needed supplies are stocked. I drop Leo’s hand and walk over to them.

Leo lingers behind, stopped at the large display of magazines at the front of the store.

I grab a box of condoms and walk back over to him. “It’s probably a little early for there to be any stories about you being
here
, isn’t it?”

He smiles but doesn’t look over at me. He has a tabloid in his hand, and he leafs through it slowly, almost as though he’s actually interested in whatever is written in there.

I grab it from him. “Here, I’ll buy it for you if you care about it so much.” I shake my head and lower my voice. “For someone who talks about the media the way you do, you sure seem to be almost as fascinated with them as they are with you.”

He drops his volume to match mine. “We do share some mutual interests, yes.” He smiles. “I was merely checking to see if my arrival in Rio de Campo had been reported yet. I’m trying to protect you, you see.”

I only barely stop myself from rolling my eyes. “Yes, I see how you wanting to check what’s been written about
you
is all about
me
. It’s so obvious.” There’s no way he can mistake the sarcasm in my voice.

He grins, pulling the magazine out of my hand and placing it back on the rack. “I can admit that I
appreciate
the press, at least from time to time.”

There’s no way I can stop myself from rolling my eyes this time, and I decide to change the subject. “I should probably get some food while we’re here.” I turn to walk over to the grocery aisle. “I’m not much of a cook, but I can put together a few things. I seem to remember you liking peanut butter well enough—”

He interrupts by grasping my forearm. “Elle, did I not mention I had your pantry and refrigerator stocked while I was waiting for you to return home? We’ll not be wanting for anything for days.” He glances down at the condoms in my hand. “Except for those.” He lifts a brow suggestively. “Perhaps you should purchase an additional box? Or three?”

“You are insufferable.” I shake my head, lowering my voice again. “You realize, of course, if we actually
do
go through another box or three, I won’t be walking very well by the time they’re gone.”

A slow grin spreads across his face. “Then you would have no choice but to remain in bed. I would remain with you, of course—”

“Insufferable.”

His smile grows impossibly wide. “I do try.”

“Fine.” I twist my arm from his grasp and walk back over to the condom aisle again, grabbing another two boxes. Just for safety, of course. There’s no way in hell I’m actually going to let him
use
all of them.

Probably.

I glance back over to where I left him, and he’s returned his gaze to the magazines again. He pulls a different tabloid off the rack and starts leafing through it, though more quickly this time.

Rolling my eyes, I walk over to the cashier and pay for my items. It takes a few minutes—just like it always seems to when I’m purchasing items like these—and I only barely notice the jingling of the door.

I try to ignore the judgment in the cashier’s eyes as he hands me the bag—it’s not like it’s any of his damn business what I’m buying. I’m a grown woman after all. A
responsible
woman, who won’t be contracting any diseases or acquiring any pregnancies while I have Leo in my life.

I smile to myself.
While I have the
pleasure
of having Leo in my life
. For as long as it lasts. I can do this—I can have a little fling with a prince. It’s not like I have anything else going on right now. And whatever this is doesn’t have to mean anything—I can enjoy him while I have him.

And I
will
enjoy him. Very, very much.

I smile again at the thought, but my stomach quickly hardens as I turn to Leo. Four teenage girls, probably no older than fourteen or fifteen, surround him. And I’m not sure what’s worse—that they’re giggling and cooing over him or that he seems to be enjoying their antics a bit too much.

It’s difficult to ignore the burning in my chest, and I’m not sure exactly what it is I feel until I walk over to the group.

One of the girls sneers at me. “Wait your turn, lady.”

My pulse speeds, my entire body tensing. I open my mouth to tell the girls to back off, but before I can say a word, one of them shoves a phone in my hand. “Will you take our picture?”

I have to blink a few times. And I’m not sure what comes over me, but I hold the phone up and snap a photo of the young girls with a grinning Leo.

After throwing the phone back at the girl, I edge myself around the group to get to the exit. I push the glass door so hard it sticks open.

I don’t even look behind me—I march across the street and head back toward my house, walking as quickly as I can without breaking into a full sprint.

I should have known he would do something like that if he was recognized. He’s a celebrity, after all. And he clearly enjoys his role. There doesn’t seem to be much room for
me
in that particular choice of lifestyle. And I’m not sure why I ever thought there could be.

I’m an idiot
. I never should have allowed myself to think for even a moment that I had a chance to mean anything to him.

I’m passing the park that’s only a few minutes away from my house when I feel a hand on my shoulder. “You’re jealous.” There’s a hint of amusement in Leo’s voice.

I stop, spinning to face him. “I am
not
jealous.”

He grins, nodding. “You
are
.” He reaches out to me, tracing a finger across my cheek. “Your face is a most intoxicating shade of pink.” He pauses, trailing his finger down my jaw, then my neck. “I rather like the color of jealousy on you.”

Growling, I spin on my heel and start walking down the street.

Leo catches me by the top of my arm, spinning me around to face him again. “They’re just
girls
, Elle. They mean nothing.” He shrugs. “
You
on the other hand…”