Loving Leo (The Romanovsky Brothers Book 3) (23 page)

Leo moved to her and took her wrists, entwining their fingers and pulling her hands away from her body, eyes falling to take her in.  His breathing picked up, and he released one of her hands, clutched her waist and pulled her in. Their lips smashed together.  With a soft tilt of his head, he deepened the kiss, moaning against the wet sweep of their tongues and falling to his knees the moment they pulled away.

Jessica clawed her fingers into his hair as he went to his knees, placing feather-soft kisses along her body the whole way down.  He tongued the stretch marks dashing down the sides of her waist, lapping a path across her stomach and over her belly button to get to the marks on the other side.  His fingers sank into the small of her back as he sucked the salty skin, warming it under his gravelly moans.

“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”  He looked up at her, dipping his fingers into her panties just as their eyes met, tugging them down her thighs.  He followed the fabric with his lips, pushing kisses into every inch of her skin until the lace was at her ankles.

She stepped out of the panties, one foot at a time.

He kissed the top of each foot, eager hands running a race back up to her calves, over her thighs, coming to a stop cupping her ass.

He clenched the plump globes, tugging her heat to him and burying his tongue between her wet folds, finding her clit in an instant.

Jessica’s hands went deeper into his hair, pulling it as she cried out.  She lifted her leg and wrapped it around his shoulder, tugging his head deeper into her wetness.

A purr escaped her swollen lips when he pushed two fingers inside her from behind, head rotating against her slickness as he licked and probed her all at once.

“Yes, Leo, God…” she whispered, gasping when he stood and swept her off her feet, moving her to the bed.

A pawn, Jessica. 
Her mind screamed messages her body was unable to receive as he laid her on the mattress. 
That’s it.  A pawn, a mark, a means to an… oh fuck yes.

She spread her legs and his broad shoulders pushed them even wider when he covered her heat with his lips and tongue once more.

He wasn’t just a pawn.  He was a man who’d whispered to her his deepest secrets and insecurities.  A man who’d opened himself up completely.  A man she could foresee
herself
spreading wide open for, and not in the physical sense.

He’ll never forgive you.

She knew he wouldn’t, so she vowed to enjoy this.  His soft tongue massaging her sopping clit, warm lips trapping her swollen walls, thick fingers circling an unbearable path at her entry, eliciting a raspy scream.  Her back arched off the bed, and she hoped this would be enough.

Having him once is enough.

It had to be.

So she took all he gave, the intense pleasure driving her hips into a slow grind against his busy lips, a grind he matched with a swirl of his head.  A devious smile spread on his lips, and his laughter warmed her pussy.

“You’re gonna make me cum, Leo,” she gasped, clawing at his hair.  “Don’t stop.”

And he didn’t, not when she released his hair and replaced it with his sheets, nearly ripping them off the mattress.  Not when her back left the bed once more, shockwaves rocking through her body.  Not even when her euphoric cries grew strangled, hoarse, until she couldn’t produce a single sound outside of the desperate gasps escaping her swollen lips.  Her juices took up residence on his patient, probing mouth, her flavor soaked his knowing tongue, and not until she’d collapsed onto the duvet, spent, legs spread wide, did he remove the rest of her clothes and his, crawling onto the bed after her once he was completely bare.

She pushed herself up to her elbows, bare breasts still heaving.  Her wide eyes drank in his hardness as it moved between his strong thighs, salivating to get her lips around it.  He’d already taken her breath away, so losing more air to the taste of him not only seemed a small price to pay, but one she was anxious to.  She wanted to feel the tip at the back of her throat, but he got his lips around one of her swollen nipples before she could make her thoughts a reality, eliciting another throaty groan from her as her hands went back into his hair.  Her body rebounded and recharged as he licked and sucked each nipple, fingering whichever bud went lonely while he sampled the other.

She took his arms and tugged, drinking in his soft laugh as he allowed her to flip him onto his back.

Their heated lips met, urgent moans dancing, and he played her nipples between his fingers contentedly, in time with their roving tongues.  The smile vanished from his face when she slid down his body, the condensation that had moistened their skin joining and mixing as she did.  His engorged dick came between her fingers, and she drank in his hushed gasp, licking her lips in anticipation.

“Yes, baby.”  His hand went into her hair as she moved, holding her eyes.  “Please, Ash.”

She jammed her eyes shut against the sound.  That sound.

Ash.

She suckled the head of his hardness between her lips with a vengeance, as if loving it with enough vigor would wipe that name away, and the feelings that ate her alive every time he said it.  She heard him hiss, felt his fingers clawing her hair harder as she took as much of him in her mouth as she could.  His size spread her lips to the brink, the biggest she’d ever had.  His girth was topped only by his length, and she moaned when the head tapped the back of her throat unexpectedly, leaving plenty of his shaft left to take in a full fist.  So she did.  She clutched him with eager fingers and worked them in sync with her lips and tongue, sucking, lapping, loving every inch of him with the same tenacity he had her.

His moans soothed her like a slow song, and she sucked to the rhythm he didn’t even know he was making, the tip of his dick swelling like a deep bass at the back of her throat.  Her pussy tightened with jealousy at what her mouth and tongue possessed.

She drew a hard suck, moving up his twitching shaft, and met his eyes, smiling around his column when his music grew stronger, darker, strangled groans scratching his voice.

“Not like this,” he begged.  “I need to be inside you.”

She released him from her lips with a plop, catching the weight in her hand and flicking at the tip with her tongue, loving the pained expression on his face so much she was sure she would never need anything else again to continue on living.  Not food.  Not water.  Not even air.  All she needed was that deep darkness in his eyes.  That undeniable relinquishing of all human control.  That love.  Those quaking fingers as they nearly pulled her hair from her scalp.

“Please,” he whispered.

She couldn’t help sneaking one last taste, licking the swollen tip.  A line of precum held on to her tongue as she pulled back and met his eyes.

“Jesus,” he hissed, eyes going almost black, as if he were moments from propelling himself back between her lips and cuddling his dick on the bed of her warm tongue, a tongue that was still soaked with his desire.

He tugged her back up, their moist bodies sliding together once more before their lips rejoined.

She kept greedy hold of his hardness as they kissed, giving him a taste of himself while stealing a taste of herself.

He gasped when the press of their lips grew passionate, flinching as she continued stroking him.  He slapped his hand to the dresser drawer to the side of his bed blindly, never breaking the embrace.  The crinkle of foil filled the air, and she stole it from his fingers when she saw they were shaking too wildly to get the job done in a timely manner.  She needed him now, and her years on the force had left her with a steady hand that he didn’t have. He couldn’t. Not when he was this deep in the throes.  So she claimed the condom and got it on him in seconds, straddling his hips and pressing the head to her soaking center with a desperate cry.

“Yes,” he breathed, jamming his eyes shut.

A whimper split her lips when he entered her, his size pushing her apart as no man ever had.

“You’re amazing, Leo.” She smiled at him.

“You take my breath away—” His voice broke, and something inside him sent his hips propelling upward, filling her to the hilt.  He screamed, taking her ass in his desperate hands.

“Yes, Leo.  Please.  Get it,” she begged, pushing against his hips as he fucked her, matching his thrusts.

They rocked for ages, sheets growing damp with their hard work.  Their sweat soaked bodies, their lips, and their moans became one.  Leo put her on her back without missing a thrust, filling her with deep strokes.  Their juices met and made music in the room, and she took his ass in her clawed hands, pulling him deeper, letting him know it was okay to get a little rough if that’s what he needed.

She knew it was what he needed.

She wanted him to have her until he hurt her.

She hoped, maybe, if he hurt her enough, they would be square.

But even as he pounded blindly, spreading her just short of ripping her apart, it didn’t hurt.

All she felt was love.

When Jessica stepped into the house in Westchester a week later, she avoided Chet’s probing hazel eyes, moving to the fridge.  His gaze annoyed her.  She could feel it following every move she made.

“I was acting,” she said, not even looking at him as she opened the fridge.  She didn’t even remove her purse from her shoulder.  She had a sneaking feeling she’d be storming out.

More silence.  She dared a look at Chet and found his eyebrows raised high.

She wasn’t in the mood.  “Please don’t tell Harp,” she begged.  “I was
acting.
”

“The fuck you were, Jess.”

“It was nothing
.
”

“You killed your wire. 
Again. 
For an entire week, you have consistently killed your wire within an hour of arriving at Leo’s apartment.  Gosh, I can’t imagine why.  Or can I?”

She scoffed.

“Jess, I have never, never,” he shook his head rapidly, “ever in my
life,
seen you purposely kill a feed.  Now I can say that you’ve done it
seven times,
in seven days.
”

“I know,” she cried, her hands going into claws.  “I am so completely… fucking
fucked
.”

“Why are you ditching your wire?”

“Why the hell do you think?” She surrendered.  “I’m sleeping with him, Chet.”

Chet looked away, running his hand down the front of his face.  “Stupid.  Stupid as hell.”

She seized the last beer from the fridge and ripped the top off. After several healthy swallows, she stared off into space and then turned toward the island, letting her head and her purse fall onto it.  “Fuck.”

Chet watched her.  “So what’s next?”

Jessica met his eyes.

“You can’t keep working this case now that you’re in love with one of the prime suspects.”

“Who the hell said I was in love with him?”

“Oh please.” He laughed.

“You’re wrong.”  Her voice shook, and she knew Chet could hear it.  See it.  The emotion had to be plain as day in her eyes.  “I’m about to close this thing, Chet, and nothing on Earth is going to stop me.”

Chet stood.  “I’m speaking to Harp.”

Jessica slammed her beer down on the counter.  Liquid came flying out of the rim.  She heard it slosh onto the counter as she stomped across the room.

“You wouldn’t fucking dare,” she seethed.

Chet turned to her, holding his hands out.  “You fucked him, Jess.  It’s done.  You’re no longer capable of being objective.  Every thought that runs through your mind when you’re with him, from this moment on, is completely tainted.  Clouded.  Can’t be trusted.”

“How dare you speak to me like that? I’ve been doing this job for a long time, Chet, and I have
never
blown an operation.  I have
never
been made, and I have
never
walked away until I got what I came for.  That is not going to change with Leo Romanovsky, or anyone else.”

“You’re putting yourself in danger,” Chet said.  “Why are you so upset right now?  Huh?  You say you’re in control, but I can see you’ve already lost it.  It is clear to me, but not to you, because your mind is not where it needs to be.”

Jessica turned away from him with a scoff.

“You don’t know what’s real anymore.”

She turned on her heel in a flash, the braid in her hair flying.  “I know what’s real, fuck you!”

“You know what’s real, huh? Okay…” Chet shrugged.  “Does
he
know what’s real?”

Jessica could feel her eyes growing vulnerable, so she covered them with her hands in the hope that he thought she was covering them in frustration, and not to hide the moisture.

“You are already
dead
to him, Jess, he just doesn’t know it, yet.  But he will.  Then what?” When she didn’t answer, Chet moved toward her.  “What’s to stop you from whispering words of warning in his ear while you’re lying next to him in bed?  What’s to stop you from losing sight of your goal in the interest of protecting him?  What’s to stop you?  How’s it going to look to the men down at the station when they find out?  You always talk about how badly you want to prove them wrong, how different you are, but you really aren’t, are you?  You’re just another female op
stupid
enough to fall in love with her mark.”

Jessica removed her hand from her eyes when she felt the heat of his body move in close.  She looked up at him while taking a deep breath, willing her voice and body to remain calm as she motioned between them with arrow sharp fingers.

“Cecilia is pregnant,” she said, not surprised when he laughed in response.  He’d just finished taking a dull blade to all her weakest spots.  He always forgot she knew a few of his hot spots, too, and his pregnant wife was his most sweltering one.

“Can you really afford to get me pulled from this operation?  The operation that is going to seal your promotion, your massive raise, and a brand new house for the wife and baby?”

Chet crossed his arms tight.

“If you tell Harp that I slept with Leo, he’ll pull me, and this case will
never
close.  Val, Tony and Roman know that something is off.  It’s all over them.  Roman hasn’t left his apartment in weeks.  They
know
a storm is coming, but they can’t figure out which direction, so they’ve isolated their family completely. It is too late to send in a new agent.  They are all surrounded by a moat with the drawbridge fucking lifted.  My sleeping with Leo seals my place on the inside. I’m on the
right
side of that drawbridge, you are not.”  Jessica bared her teeth.  “No one will
ever
get as close to this family as I have again.  Ever!  No one will ever have the tools to close this thing faster than I can.”

Chet’s breathing calmed, even as he watched her out of the corner of his eye.

“You have to trust me, Chet.” Jessica didn’t know when her chest had started to rise and fall, and she licked her lips as her eyes searched his.  “I will close this thing, and there is nothing in the
world
that is going to stop me.”  Her voice lowered.  “Not even Leo.”

***

Seven days.

Leo took hold of the doorframe, swinging out of his bedroom and into the hallway with a smile.

He’d officially been making love to Ashley for seven days.

He could hardly wipe the shit-eating grin off his face.  Goddamn it, he was proud of himself.  From the moment he’d met that stoic goddess, he’d been sure getting in between those thighs would be damn near impossible.  But he’d gotten there.  She’d let him.  Night after night, she’d spread herself wide, letting him take solace in her caress, cradling his dick in her warmth, tonguing him softly as she milked him dry—sometimes slow, sometimes fast and furious.

He exhaled as he stepped into his empty living area, sure he’d never cared for a woman so much.  Stunned that she’d picked him, and owned him so quickly.

He ached to call her and ask her why she’d left that morning without saying good-bye.  He’d grown accustomed to waking up with her in his arms, pushing into her heat from behind while spreading his lips over hers, morning breath be damned.

He really wanted to call, but he didn’t want to seem desperate.

She hadn’t told him she loved him, yet, even though he’d let the words spill from his lips more times than he could count, usually when he was inside her, on the verge of release, and unable to stop himself from moaning the admission into her parted lips as he came, emptying himself inside her in every way possible.

He breathed deep.

No, he wouldn’t call.

Because he knew one day she would admit she loved him, too.  Her eyes already said it.  The rock of her hips said it, when they slowed to a glacial pace during their love making, attempting to prolong the contentment. The whispered secrets that spilled from her lips in the dead of night said it most of all.

He knew she loved him.  She just needed time.

When he entered the living room, following the hum of the vacuum while scratching his bare stomach, Consuela’s head popped up from behind the recliner.

She kicked off the vacuum.  “Good morning!” A beaming smile lit up her face as she threw her hand up in a wave.

Leo froze in the middle of the room.

His eyes searched hers across the living area, and he pointed to himself in question.

Consuela?

His
Consuela?

Saying good morning?

With a smile?

He looked over his shoulder, sure she must be speaking to someone else.

Of course, his apartment was empty.  It had been empty for a week, save for Ashley Williams, who’d spent the last seven days on a one-woman mission to cover every inch of that apartment in his cum.

He looked back to Consuela, hand over his heart, and it hit him.

His maid was thrilled that she no longer had to trip over naked women, dodge empty liquor bottles, and breathe in scattered remnants of cocaine from every glass surface just to do her damn job.

“Good morning!”  Consuela’s Spanish accent rang out stronger than ever as she waved once more.

“Goo—” Leo looked over his shoulder one last time, just to make sure he wasn’t crazy, before throwing her a smile.  “Good morning, Consuela.”

Bright smile ever present, Consuela clicked the vacuum back on while nodding to the dining room table.

Leo followed her gaze and caught sight of a fully set dining table with two glasses of mimosas and a plate of hot French toast in the middle.

“For me?” he cried, shooting her a look.

Consuela’s smile brightened, and she continued vacuuming, motioning to the table with her free hand.

Leo went to the table and sat with a laugh, shocked to find that Consuela had even set out the newspaper.  He flipped the paper open, looked across the table to the second place setting, and it hit him.  Consuela wasn’t just happy that she no longer had to trip over naked women, dodge empty liquor bottles, and breathe in scattered remnants of cocaine from every glass surface just to do her damn job.

She was happy that Leo was happy.

For the millionth time, Leo knew, without a doubt, that he wanted Ashley Williams across that table from him.

He wanted it every morning.

He wanted it for the rest of his life.

***

By the middle of dinner the next evening, Jessica’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking.  It was all too much.  The deep love in this family.  The love that made these Sunday dinners a reality, week after week.  The love in Leo’s eyes every time he snuck a look from where he sat next to her.

Jessica could barely keep hold of her fork, the love was so strong.  She’d done a great job of fighting it, ignoring it, refusing to acknowledge its existence, but as the Romanovsky family joked and laughed around the dining table, recalling old childhood memories, and memories that had yet to be made, it was
too much,
because
Jessica realized she wanted all of this.

She wanted Leo, and everything that came with him.  She wanted his loud mouthed little brother, his brown-baby obsessed mother, and even his robotic twin brother.

Every few seconds, however, it hit her that there was no way to have him.  He would never truly be hers.   When the truth came out she would lose him forever.

The fork in her hand finally tumbled from her quaking fingers, clanking against her plate.

It was loud enough to catch Leo’s attention from next to her, and he picked it up, his smiling eyes meeting hers as the conversation around the table rose to deafening levels.

“Spaz,” he teased, holding the fork up for her.

Jessica took it from him, and she took the kiss he pushed to her lips, as well.

When he pulled back, their lips smacking in his retreat, he didn’t just take his lips with him, he took her heart, as well.

“Are you excited about the gala this weekend?”  His eyes ran over her face.

“I better be careful what I eat tonight if I’m going to fit in that dress.”

“Please.”  His eyes skimmed her body.  “You’re gorgeous. 
Gorgeous.
  You’re not even saving a sliver for the rest of us.  It’s disgraceful how little of a chance you’re giving everybody else.”

Jessica shoved him, lowering her eyes at his hearty laugh.  Her eyes came back up quickly, however, when Zoey cleared her throat across the table.

“I have an announcement to make, everyone,” Zoey said waiting patiently for the chatter at the table to die down.  “I was hoping Angie and Rome would be here… but I can’t wait another second.”  She looked to her left where Val sat, and smiled at him.

Food forgotten, every person at the dining table straightened up.  Conversation came to a halt.