I smiled back up at him. “And I’m here to show you that not all women only want you for one thing. Although, well, I’m not going to say no to that,” I said quickly and then put my hands over my face, groaning.

  Leo laughed again, shaking his head. “See? We’re both awkward as hell. We’ll figure it out.”

  Thankfully, the waiter came back, and we ordered our meals after he refilled our water glasses. I settled in, watching Leo speak.

  “Now, are you going to let me have a piece of your kebab, or am I going to have to order a side of that?”

  I shook my head. “Of course, I am. And you’re going to let me have a bite of your salmon. We’re sharing here. We even asked for separate little plates.”

  “I didn’t order french fries, though. I feel like we should have ordered french fries.”

  “Next time,” I teased and then froze.

  I didn’t get next times. I shouldn’t have said that.

  But then Leo reached forward and gripped my hand, rubbing his thumb across my skin. “Next time. That sounds good to me.”

  My heart raced, the feel of his calloused hands on my skin doing something to me that I couldn’t name.

  “Leo. Why does this seem like this isn’t a first? Like it’s so much more? Though maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “I’ve been trying to stay away from you for far too long, May. Maybe that’s why. Let’s figure out what we want. Because I want that. I want to be in your life. So, let me.”

  I swallowed hard, looked at him, nodded, and knew that maybe, just maybe, we were getting it right.

  * * * *

  By the time we finished dinner, we were laughing, and I was full and slowly falling in love with the man who was my friend and might be something more.

  He tucked me against his side as we walked toward the front door, both of us still laughing. The hostess looked at us with wide eyes before giving me a thumbs-up.

  “Finally!” the other waitress said, then winced. “Sorry,” she added, a little cattily, and then stomped off.

  I winced, slightly embarrassed, but Leo just cupped my face and pressed his lips to mine.

  I could barely breathe, hardly think. I simply fell into him as he kissed me—strong, possessive, and mine.

  “I don’t think they will think about first dates and you ever again. We’ll give them something to talk about,” he whispered against my lips, kissed me harder, and then bent me back slightly so I was in his arms. People started cheering. I blushed but gripped him, my fingernails digging into his skin.

  When I straightened, I was a little dizzy. I waved at the hostess, who was, in fact, getting money from other people.

  I didn’t want to feel bad about that. Maybe I could think that some people had bet that I could actually have a first date that ended in something more than failure and humiliation.

  I didn’t know if I would ever be back to this restaurant again, but as I walked next to Leo out to the parking lot, I figured tonight was a success.

  “Well, that was an eventful dinner,” I teased, feeling awkward again.

  He tucked my hair behind my ear and looked down at me. “It doesn’t have to end now,” he whispered. “Or it can end for the evening, and I can see you again. Because I don’t want this to end, May. Don’t let this end.”

  I pressed my lips together, looked up at him, and swallowed hard. “I don’t want tonight to end, either.”

  I knew I had to leap. Because no matter how hard I had tried before, I’d held myself back. Because of fear, because of failure. But I wouldn’t do that now.

  “I don’t want tonight to end, either,” I whispered again.

  He smiled down at me, and I knew I was making the right choice.

  He followed me to my house, and I had second and third thoughts on the way there.

  I could be making a terrible mistake, but why couldn’t I make that mistake?

  Why couldn’t this just be what I wanted? What I needed? There was no going back to who we were before this. And, honestly, I didn’t want it to be that way. I wanted to see what happened in the future. I had told myself I wouldn’t date again, but here I was. But for the right reasons and not because I’d made a promise I should never have made in the first place.

  I pulled into my garage, and he pulled into the driveway behind me. I got out and bit my lip, looking over at him. He strolled toward me, purposeful, but I could still see the hesitancy in his gaze.

  “Are you nervous?” I blurted, and he laughed.

  He met my gaze, the look in his eyes intent. I wanted to reach out and bite his chin. There was something seriously wrong with me.

  “Fuck, yes, I’m nervous. You make me nervous, May.”

  That made me laugh. “I don’t make anyone nervous.”

  “That’s a damn lie. Of course, you do. You’re gorgeous and brilliant and a wonderful human being. Whenever I’m in your vicinity, I lose my ability to speak. It’s hard to think when you’re around, and now here I am at your house, and all I want to do is kiss you and press you up against the wall to hear you moan.”

  I licked my lips. “Oh. It’s a little warm in the garage, so if we’re going to do that, we should probably go inside.” I let out a little meep after saying that, shocked I’d even said that much. He grinned.

  “Yes, let’s get you comfortable, and then I’m going to kiss you.”

  “Okay. If that’s the plan.”

  We laughed, but before I could turn, he lifted me into his arms, and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

  “Oh!”

  “A good ‘oh?’”

  “The best,” I whispered, and then my lips were on his, and I couldn’t think.

  Somehow, we got into the house, the garage door closing behind us. He pressed my back to the wall just like he wanted, and I moaned into him as he continued kissing me, slowly running his hands up and down my body. I still had my legs wrapped around his waist, and I arched into him, needing him.

  He bit my lip slightly, then licked away the sting.

  “Good?”

  “The best,” I whispered.

  He continued to kiss me, slowly working his way down my neck and over my shoulder. He tugged the top of my shirt slightly so he could touch more skin, and it was hard for me to focus on breathing. I wanted to touch him, but in this position, he had me pinned. So, I squirmed slightly, and he moved back, letting my feet hit the floor.

  “Where do you want me?” he asked.

  “Everywhere,” I said without thinking.

  He grinned, and I led him into the living room.

  He sat on the couch, and I bit my lip before he patted his lap.

  I was blushing from head to toe, but I moved to straddle him, his thighs thick under me.

  “You’re stretching me out a bit this way,” I said and then groaned. “That’s not exactly what I meant.”

  “If we keep doing this, I’ll probably stretch you out in more ways,” he said and winced. “Okay, that was supposed to sound sexy but it just sounded weird.”

  “Kiss me. We can be weird together.”

  “I can do that.” Then his hands were in my hair, tugging my mouth to his. He slid one hand up my blouse, touching my skin. He was so hot against me that I gasped at the sensation, needing more. I pulled at his shirt, needing to touch him, and he grinned and leaned back so I could undo his buttons. My hands were shaking too much to be efficient, and we laughed, so he took over and slowly slipped out of his shirt.

  He was covered in tattoos, his skin tanned and muscled, and he was thick—all man and gorgeousness. I practically swallowed my tongue.

  He had a fine layer of hair over his chest, and I slid my hands through it. He groaned but didn’t move.

  That was when I noticed the two barbells in his nipples and licked my lips.

  “Oh. Did I know your nipples were pierced?”

  “Maybe. On a cold day, everybody can figure that out.”

  I met his gaze and laughed before leaning down and tentatively licking his nipple. The metal was cold against my tongue. I liked the sensation.

  “Hell, that feels so fucking good, May.”

  “I don’t have any piercings. And now I kind of regret that.”

  “We have a piercer. In fact, I’m qualified. Do you want your pretty nipples pierced? Just say the word.”

  “You pierce nipples?” I asked, my own tightening.

  “I do. I didn’t do mine. I don’t pierce myself and didn’t do most of my tattoos—though some guys do. I have friends I trust to do that. But I can pierce your nose if you want. Or other parts of your ear, your lips, tongue…your clit. Anything you want. Although, technically, I would pierce your clitoral hood.”

  I wanted to press my thighs together. The thought of him touching me? The thought of what that would do? I couldn’t handle it. “I’m learning so much information right now. I know one of our mutual friends has her hood pierced. Now, I’m wondering if you did it.”

  He laughed. “I don’t know who that is, but it wasn’t me. It was probably done at Montgomery Ink. We have good piercers with us. And I learned from the best.”

  I played around with the piercing in his nipple. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that. Does it make you feel good?”

  “Like fucking amazing. But it could just be that you’re touching me.”

  “Leo,” I whispered.

  “Keep kissing me, May. Please?”

  And because he’d said please, I couldn’t say no. I kissed him again. Somehow, my shirt was above my head, and he was cupping my breasts. He undid my bra, and it was on the floor, both of us leaning into each other as he cupped me, playing with my nipples.

  “See? Your breasts overfill my hand right here. And these nipples? They’d look beautiful with little hoops in them.” He groaned, flicking his thumbs over the peaks of my breasts.

  They tightened into little beads, and I sucked in a breath. “Oh.”

  “Yes, maybe one day.” He leaned forward, sucked my nipple into his mouth, and I groaned, rocking onto him.

  He shuddered beneath me, and that was when I realized I was grinding on his hard cock. Both of us shook, needing each other.

  He paid more attention to my breasts, both of us shaking, and then I was tugging on his pants, and he was doing the same to mine.

  Before I could blink, he was naked, and I was on my back, my leggings thrown over the back of the couch, my panties with them.

  He spread me before him on the cushions, and I moved my hands to my breasts as he looked down at my pussy.

  “Beautiful,” he whispered.

  I swallowed hard, blushing as I saw the barbell at the tip of his dick. I wondered exactly how that would feel.

  He winked as he stroked himself. “You’re going to like this, I promise. The piercing will touch you right in that perfect spot, and you’ll come hard. Just wait.”

  “I don’t know how much longer I can wait,” I teased, my hands slowly moving between my legs.

  “No, let me do that,” he said and cupped me, sliding his thumb over my clit.

  I bucked off the couch, and when he slid two fingers inside me, I came, just like that. A gentle touch, and I was coming.

  He groaned, bent down, and licked me.

  I couldn’t think after that, couldn’t breathe. Because he was licking and sucking and pressing into me. I rode his face, another orgasm quickly following the first.

  All I could do was focus on him. Focus on everything he made me feel.

  When I came down from my high, I looked up at him, and he smiled.

  “I need to get a condom. Are you ready, May?”

  I looked at him, at his cock, and couldn’t think. So, I nodded.

  Then said, “Please, Leo. Please.”

  He smiled and then leaned down to kiss me.

  “I’ll take care of you, May. I promise.”

  “I believe you, Leo. I trust you.”

  There was a moment of silence as we took each other in, and then he kissed me softly. I closed my eyes as he moved away. There was a rustling, and then he was situated between my legs again.

  “Are you ready?”

  “I feel like I’ve been waiting forever, Leo.”

  We both knew that I meant more than just now, so when he slid deep inside me, I let out a shocked gasp, feeling him stretching me, pressing into me.

  He kissed me harder, both of us rocking into each other until he was fully seated inside me.

  And after a moment of breathing, only breathing, where we took each other in, I knew there was peace and a future.

  In this moment, I knew. I just knew.

  When he started to move, I moved with him. Meeting him thrust for thrust as we kissed and sucked and licked.

  There were no thoughts. No needs or demands. Everything was merely sensation and desire. Everything was exactly what we needed.

  I came again, unable to believe it, and then he followed me, whispering my name against my lips as he filled the condom.

  My body shook against his as he cradled me on the couch, his length still hard within me.

  “Leo,” I whispered. “Leo.”

  “I’m here. I’m here, May.” He kissed me softly as I fully came back to myself and looked at him.

  “Wow,” I whispered.

  “I like the sound of that.”

  “So, May, what do you say about a second date?”

  Tears filled my eyes as I smiled up at him.

  I didn’t do second dates. But with Leo? I couldn’t wait.

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Epilogue

  Leo

  I gripped May’s hips and slammed into her again. She was on all fours in front of me, clutching the mattress pad. We had long since knocked off all the sheets, blankets, duvet, and pillows. We were down to just the mattress, and the bed kept making this odd groaning sound.

  Then she pressed back into me and squeezed her inner muscles to the point I crossed my eyes.

  I couldn’t think much about the bed after that.

  “Leo. Please.”

  “Getting there. Almost there. Come on, baby. Come for me.” I reached down and slid my fingers over her clit. She shook, her body undulating as she came, and I moved faster, squeezing her generous curves as I kept moving. My balls tightened, my lower back tingled, and then I was coming, filling the condom as both of us shook, shouting each other’s names.

  We slid onto the bed, and a creaking sound hit my ears. I held May close as we tilted sideways and rolled off the bed, the frame coming apart.

  Dust plumed as I shielded May from the falling headboard.

  I looked down at her, widened my eyes at the fact that my cock was still buried balls-deep inside her, and we both burst out laughing.

  “Did we just break my bed?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  I winced and looked around. “Pretty sure we just broke your bed. Fuck. I’m sorry, baby.”

  “It’s fine. It was an older one from when I first got out of college. I needed to update it. But, well…I didn’t realize we’d break it by having sex.”

  “Oh, that wasn’t just sex. That was glorious, hard fucking. Gymnastics and sex. Everything you could possibly think of. We did things in this bed and christened it more than you’d ever think possible.”

  We laughed before we slowly rose and cleaned each other up. I looked back at the bedroom and groaned.

  “I’m sorry, baby.”

  “Don’t be. Wow, we broke the bed,” she said with another laugh.

  I turned and pulled May against my side, kissing the top of her head. She laughed up at me.

  “What was that for?” she asked.

  “I’ve had the best two months with you, May. I want more. And us breaking beds and making messes? Pretty fucking amazing.”

  “So, what do you say about our forty-second date?” I asked and kissed the tip of her nose.

  “Are we really up to forty-two?” She smiled wide at me, and I fell more in love.

  “It may be more. Have we been writing this down? I feel like we should have been writing this down.” I reached around and smacked her on the ass. When she yelped, I grinned.

  “Okay, woman. Let’s go get this all fixed up, and then we’ll head into the tattoo shop.”

  May bit her lip. “Why am I nervous?”

  I frowned and looked over at her. “If this is too much, we don’t have to do it. The tattoo is only for you. You know that.”

  “I know. And I know we’ve talked about the sunset I want on my wrist for my dad and me. But I’m still nervous.”

  “I could be all protective and say I’m the only one who gets to touch your skin. But fuck that. It’s your skin. Do you want Leif to do it? Or someone else? Nick would do it in a heartbeat. He’s great with wrist tattoos.”

  She frowned. “That’s a thing?”

  “It can be. Some people have issues with their wrists, either from typing too much or autoimmune diseases. It could be any number of things. Your wrists take a beating, and they can get painful at times. And while the tattoo itself didn’t hurt there for me like it does for other people, the angle you sometimes have to hold your arm at can be a little annoying. Nick somehow finds the perfect way. I think I do a pretty damn good job, but Nick is the master.”

  May shook her head. “No. If anyone is going to stick a needle in my body over and over and put ink in it, it’s going to be you.”

  I grinned. “You say the sweetest things, baby.”

  “Okay, let’s head out so you can stab me a few times, and then you can get back to work. I’m meeting with Sebastian today to go over a few things.”

  I frowned. “Everything okay?”

  May nodded. “I think so. I don’t know. I love his daughter. But he’s going through so much, and I don’t think he’s sleeping. I probably shouldn’t be telling you everything.”

  “Tell me what you feel comfortable with. But Sebastian is my friend, too. If there’s anything I can do to help, you’ll let me know?”

  “Of course.” She rose onto her toes. “Of course.”

  We stood there, naked, in her broken bedroom, and I swallowed hard. “I love you, May. I just thought you should know. I’m pretty sure I’ve loved you from the moment I met you, you laughed at my cheesy jokes, and your eyes warmed. I’ve loved you since then. But I’ve fallen in love with you every day since.”

 

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