The Player + The Pact = I Do (New York City Billionaires #2)

Chapter 17

SEVENTEEN

Leo

Despite having to share air with Caroline Hammond, I had a great night tonight. I follow Jules out of the restaurant, enjoying the sight of her as I do. As soon as we get outside, she stops and turns so suddenly, I almost run into her.

“Can I suggest something?” she asks, her eyes full of mischief.

“What?” I ask.

“Promise you’ll say yes?”

Her smile is infectious and I can’t help but grin back. God only knows what she’s up to. But right now, I don’t care. I want to be carried along by her enthusiasm. “Okay, I promise.”

She grabs my arm and squeezes me, like I just told her the manager job at The Mayfair is hers permanently. “Tell your driver to meet us in a couple of blocks. Let’s walk for as long as these shoes will let me. I love these late summer nights. We haven’t got many left. ”

I chuckle. She gets an unrestricted promise from me and walking home is what she asks for?

Just as I press send on a text to my driver, asking him to follow us in the car, a boom of thunder sounds above us.

Jules’ eyes widen and she bursts out laughing. “Looks like we’re getting wet.”

I expect her to change her mind about the walk, but she just slides her hand into mine and we begin to stroll. It’s late, but New York doesn’t want to sleep tonight. There are people everywhere and the traffic is rush-hour heavy. Quarter-sized drops splat onto the pavement as we head west. I peek up at the sky, wondering how quickly we’re likely to be drenched.

“Why don’t we just drive with the windows down?” I suggest.

“Because we’ll be home too quickly and I’m not ready for tonight to end.”

Something pulls in my gut. I’m not sure if it’s because Jules just called my place home or because she wants tonight to continue some more. Maybe it’s because I feel the same way.

“We can do a circuit of the park,” I suggest.

She grins and her eyelashes flutter away the rain. “You promise we can keep the windows down?”

I nod and put a hand out to my driver, who’s just behind us.

As soon as we slide into the car, Jules lets down her window and glances as me. “Come on,” she says. “We need New York turned up to full volume tonight.” It’s exactly how I felt when New River’s first fix was complete. This is a city of so many possibilities. We just have to open our arms.

I stare at her, completely unable to reconcile the grumpy assistant she was in my office with the fresh, light, complex woman sitting next to me.

“A promise is a promise,” she says, reaching across me to hit the button that lowers the window. Our faces are so close now; she looks up at me, smiling, and all I can think about is how beautiful she is. I catch her wrist and I let the window down myself, but I don’t release her or take my eyes from her.

The light must change because the car jolts and Jules gets pushed even closer to me, her arms on my chest, her lips an inch from mine.

“I’m going to kiss you,” I warn, giving her plenty of time to object.

When she doesn’t, I cup the back of her head and press my lips to hers.

The scent of New York ebbs away as we kiss, the chatter of tourists on Broadway being accosted by street sellers turns to whispers, competing music from bars and restaurants and the inevitable honk of impatient New York drivers all fade into the distance. All I can think about is how she’s the calm in this storm—the light in this darkness, the sun to my frozen heart.

I slide my hand up Jules’ thigh and pull her onto my lap, our lips never parting. She tastes of honey and heat and evening jasmine. Her fingertips skim my cheekbones as my hand travels up her skirt. Not all the way, because that’s not how I want this to go. Not in the back of a car like this. But enough so I feel more of her, am surrounded by her.

Tonight, things have shifted between us, although maybe it’s not just tonight. Maybe this has been threatening for a while, like the storm waiting to break over the city. The more I get to know Jules, the more I want to know. The more every inexplicable thing about her becomes not only understandable, but compelling, the more I’m drawn in. I feel like I get her. And she gets me.

The car is stopped for a while and I glance out the window. We’re outside my building. We break our kiss and Jules goes to slip out of the car, but I grab her hand as she exits. I don’t want to let her go.

The big drops of rain have all merged together on the pavement, and the humidity has shifted up a gear. I’m not sure if that’s the entire city or just this stretch of sidewalk, where Jules and I are building heat.

We cross the pavement, ignoring the rain, and I press Jules up against the wall of my building. I kiss her again, relishing the way she gasps underneath me. My body begins to throb. I want this woman. I want her in the rain. On my lap. In my bed. I growl, deepening our kiss, frustrated by the lack of privacy on the street.

“Take me upstairs,” she whispers as I work kisses down her neck. “Please, Leo.”

The please is all it takes to make me shift gears. There’s no more holding back.

I march us across my building lobby, her hand tucked firmly in mine, and straight into a waiting lift. Our kisses are increasingly frantic, desperate and wanting. Her hands slide up my shirt, pressing against my stomach.

What happened tonight? Should we think this through?

Jules slides her hand over my dick. Thoughts about anything other than her hand and what it’s doing to me dissolve. She wants this just as much as I do.

There will be consequences. We both know it. But right now, I can’t think of anything besides sliding into Jules and feeling her tighten around me.

The elevator doors open, and we fall out. My mind is a blur of feeling and need. Our kisses are frantic and passionate. Her teeth graze my neck. My fingers pull at her dress. I want everything now and I want it to last all night.

The apartment is only lit by the city outside and somehow getting to those lights seems like where we’re meant to be. I want to fuck her with the city spread out below us.

I press her against the window, working my tongue down her neck, along her collarbone. She spins and lifts up her hair, revealing her zip.

I tremor with anticipation.

I’ve been waiting for this for two years.

I take the zip between my finger and thumb and begin to pull it down, tantalizingly slowly. As I reveal her soft skin, I trail my fingers over it, looking for… more of her. I want to know every bloody thing about her—body and mind.

Her breaths grow shallower the lower I go. I can tell she’s nearly as worked up as I am.

“I’m going to fuck you with the whole city watching,” I growl as I finish undoing her zip.

Her breath hitches, and she releases her hair, covering the skin I just revealed. Then she throws me a glance over her shoulder, shimmies, and her dress falls to the floor. I take a half step back to appreciate her ass in all its glory. Just as I reach for her, she turns back to the window, opens the pocket doors to my roof terrace and steps out.

She’s wearing panties and high heels and I follow her, like she has me on a leash.

The rain is still falling and it’s so hot, steam practically billows out as soon as it hits the stone floor.

“It’s a beautiful night,” she says, holding up her palms to catch the drops.

I pull my tie off and strip naked as she watches. We don’t stop grinning at each other. Her gaze catches on my cock, rigid and rearing for her.

She licks her lips, and I groan.

I don’t know where to start.

I take a step forward and skirt my fingers up the sides of her soft, hot body. She presses her fingers into my chest. We’re body to body, skin to skin, and it feels like we’re where we should have been a long time ago.

“I feel like I took a pill and now everything is… more ,” she says. “Like all my senses are amplified.”

I nod, unable to take my eyes from hers. She’s so beautiful and fascinating and?—

She leans forward and places a kiss on my chest. The world stops for a second as I relish the feel of her lips on me. Still holding her, I step us forward toward the stone balustrade and turn her around.

“Look at the lights,” I say, pushing my hand down between her legs.

“You have the best views,” she says on a sigh. “We can see everything, but no one can see us.”

“Would you care if they could?”

There’s a beat where she considers it before she says, “Yeah. This should be just you and me.”

It wasn’t the answer I thought I wanted. It’s better. The idea of her and me hits me in the solar plexus and radiates out. Just her and me. We.

I slide my fingers along her folds. She’s so wet it’s dizzying. My cock pulses into her back, wanting more of her.

“Do you have a condom?” she asks.

I take her wrists and place her hands on the top rail. “Don’t move.”

I go grab some condoms—because I know one won’t be enough. I want to fuck this woman at least fifty times tonight. She’s going to be coming so often on my cock, she’s not going to be able to walk tomorrow.

As I return to the terrace, she’s looking at me from over her shoulder, her hands exactly where I left them. Jules has turned me into a neandertal. The fact that she did as I instructed her to sends a rush of blood to my cock and makes my balls tighten.

“Please, Leo.” She twists her hips, impatient for me.

I hook my fingers under her hip bones and pull her back slightly. Her long dark hair falls to either side of her back, revealing more skin for the rain to wet. I trail my hand down it, forcing myself to take my time with her, prolonging these few moments before…

I roll on the condom and round my hands over her smooth, plump arse.

I look up and take a breath, letting the rain fall on my face.

She gasps as I press into her, just an inch.

“More,” she whimpers. “More, please, Leo.”

My jaw tightens. She can’t be begging for my cock. This beautiful woman up against my city can’t possibly want me as much as I want her. It’s doesn’t feel real.

Slowly, agonizingly, I push into her.

The city disappears and all I can do is feel. Her . She’s clenched around me, her breathing ragged, her body weak. Already. I fold over her, my front to her back, my hands covering hers on the stone, my breath on her neck, still. I need time to adjust to her before I can move. She’s just so much.

Is it the rain? The city around us? The gravity of this evening?

Why does everything feel so intense ?

I don’t need to ask myself the question. I know the answer.

It’s her.

“Leo?” she asks.

I grunt from behind and start to slide in and out of her. Slowly, unable to focus on anything but the grip of her around me.

“Leo?” she asks again, and I detect a note of panic in her tone.

“You feel so good,” I whisper to her.

“I don’t think I can?—”

I know without asking, without having had her before, that she needs me to reassure her. “You’re perfect.”

“But… I’m so full?—”

And then I realize what’s she’s trying to tell me. I haven’t learned how she works. Not yet. But I get that she’s close. Something primal booms in my chest—pride that I can get her there so fast.

“Let go, Jules,” I say.

She shudders beneath me, and I hook my arm around her waist to keep her from falling.

“So quickly, baby? You’re going to be exhausted by the time we’re done.” I wonder if we’ll ever be done. This feels so good, so right, so bloody destined.

I pick up my rhythm and my fingers dip to her clit. Her hands ball into fists against the concrete and she starts to whimper, punctuated by “ Please ” and “ Leo ” and “ More .”

My orgasm rachets up and I’m not going to be able to hold it off for much longer. I’m not ready for this to be over. But I don’t get a choice. The woman beneath me has me helpless.

I slide my fingers over her slick, throbbing clit and she writhes underneath me, twisting her hips one way and the other, grinding against my hand, changing the angle of my cock.

My jaw clenches. Fuck. She’s so sexy. How was I able to see past her for three months while she worked from me?

My movements become jagged and I push into her in needy, sharp thrusts, trying to get deeper and deeper and deeper.

“I’m coming, Leo.” She says it like she’s disappointing me.

Like that could be true, ever.

All I can think is thank god . Thank god I get to come. For the first time ever in my life, I have to fight the urge to pull out, rip off the condom, and come inside her. I want to be closer to her. I want to own her, mark her. I want her to be full of me.

Shit. What’s the matter with me?

A rumble of thunder passes above us, or maybe it’s from my chest. I groan as I fuck and fuck and fuck, as she quivers and shakes beneath me.

Her knees buckle, and I only just catch her before she collapses. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the energy to move. But I don’t think I’ll ever want to break the spell cast on us this evening.

My breath settles back into a normal pattern and the pulsing in my neck returns to normal. We shift and she turns in my arms.

“That was…”

She wraps her arms around my waist and rests her head on my chest as we stand in satiated silence. Rain continues to fall and it’s impossible to get wetter, but it feels good. Like we’ve stepped out of reality for a while.

Neither of us moves until Jules reaches around me and grabs a sodden cushion from one of the chairs on the terrace. I take off the condom as she drops it at my feet and it lands with a splat. She looks at me, her face wet from the rain, and the corner of her mouth turns up.

She sinks to her knees and grabs my thighs. I gaze down as she glances up at me before taking the crown of my cock in her mouth.

I’m not sure what’s hotter: the feel of her mouth on me or the visual of her at me feet, taking my cock inch by inch. She reaches up and takes my hands, putting one under her chin. Another on her head.

I’m as hard as fucking glass as I realize she wants me to set the tone, the rhythm, the pace.

I freeze, all the possibilities scrolling through my head. She swallows around me, bringing me back to the moment.

I increase the pressure in my hands, an indictor to her that I’m taking over. Holding her still, I move slowly at first. Her eyes flutter shut at the realization that I’m now in control. I slide out and then push back in, taking things carefully, wanting to make sure I don’t find her limits too quickly.

She opens her knees and her fingers find her clit.

My heart hits my breastbone, it’s beating so fast. She really is trying to kill me. But if she comes with my cock in her mouth, I will die a happy man.

She groans and the vibrations connect to my cock, making it buzz as I push into her. I’m not sure how long I’m going to be able to keep being as considerate and gentle. She tips her head back like she wants more of me, like she wants me to fuck her mouth so hard she’ll choke.

Something snaps within me and all my most base instincts take over. I need to give her what she seems to be craving.

I push into her, pressing against the back of her throat, the smooth wetness of her tongue. And my hands hold her still so I can get deeper and deeper. My vision drops to her fingers on her clit, then back to my cock sliding into her mouth, and I cry out, “Jules. Fuck.”

My legs weaken and I anchor myself to the ground. She’s going to have to come to me. I tighten my grip and guide her deeper onto me, pulling her forward, my cock disappearing into her mouth.

Her eyes open and I see the flicker of vulnerability I’ve noticed before. She’s worried. Worried that she’s going to let me down. She’s about to come again.

The thought of her being so turned on right now drops me down the well of my climax. I fall and fall and fall. I don’t even try to be polite and pull out. I erupt in her mouth, coming, coming, coming on her tongue, down her throat, across her lips.

I step back and try to catch my breath, but seeing her on her knees, her legs spread, her fingers circling her clit, keeps me weak. Her tongue sweeps over her mouth, taking in the drops of come smeared on her skin. The action gives me the strength to scoop her off the floor and take her inside.

I take her straight to my shower. I set her on the built-in bench and turn on the handheld spray. Neither of us speaks as I get to work, warming her, trailing the water up and down each limb, soaking her damp hair. I take the shampoo, wash her hair, then rinse it. Then I soap her entire body. I use a sponge and work fastidiously to clean her. She’s spent and exhausted, and I move her limbs like she’s a doll. I work down her body, over her shoulders, down her back, her breasts, stopping to drop kisses intermittently, wanting to resuscitate her, to care for her.

I help her to her feet and I work down over her hips, between her thighs, over her arse, down her legs and finally her feet. I wash myself quickly, and after wrapping a towel around my waist, I bundle her in a huge white towel and carry her to my bedroom.

I set her on the stool opposite a full-length mirror and kneel at her feet to pat her dry. She goes to help and I shake my head. “Let me,” I say.

She doesn’t put up a fight. I like the fact that she lets me care for her. Doing this unlocks something in me I didn’t know was hiding.

I comb her hair, then grab a white t-shirt of mine and help her into it. Then I find a hair dryer in the bottom of my closet and proceed to dry her hair. The long, dark, silky strands change as they dry, becoming softer. I can’t stop touching her. I’m behind her and she’s watching me in the mirror. Every now and then we lock eyes and there’s an intimacy between us I’ve never experienced before.

When her hair is finally dry, I lift her into my bed, discard my towel and climb in next to her.

My housekeeper always keeps my nightstand stocked with a water bottle, which I grab and twist open.

“Thank you,” she says as I hand it to her. “For the shower too. No one’s ever… done that.”

I don’t tell her that I’ve never done it before, never even considered it. But for her it’s different. I want her to be warm and safe and comfortable. “You were cold and wet and tired and… I wanted to.”

She nods. “I know, but… thank you.”

A smile threatens at the corners of my mouth. She slides her leg over mine, and I exhale at her touch. Like without it I’m not quite whole.

She sits up, pulls my t-shirt over her head and the sight of her hard, deep red nipples has the blood rushing to my cock .

She lies back down and we’re facing each other on our sides, our legs tangled. She presses her fingers along my jaw, down my neck and along my collarbones. The heat of her hands melts me. I need more of her, but I want to go at her pace.

Her hands slide lower, across the ridges of my chest. “I like this,” she says, and I’m not sure what she means, but I’m happy she likes anything. “The hair,” she adds, as if she knows what I’m thinking.

She dips lower and circles the base of my cock with her fingers. “And this.” She laughs. “I like this a lot.”

I growl and flip her to her back. “Oh yeah?” I ask. “You like my cock?”

Her eyes grow dark and serious and she nods. “And you,” she whispers. “I like you.”

I drop a kiss to her mouth. “I like you too.”

She spreads her legs and wraps them around my waist. She turns her head, and then reaches for a condom packet lying on the bedside table. “I also really like your cock.”

I chuckle, sit back, and roll on the condom.