Under Pressure (Body Armor #1)(77)
Taken aback, Leese said, “How the hell do you figure that?” Jesus, he’d given her no reason to cry. “I just told you—”
“That you owned up to things,” she finished for him. “And you corrected what you could. Very few ever do that. But even though she’d rejected you, you faced her boyfriend, explained what had happened and tried to help her.”
Maybe. But in his heart, Leese knew that didn’t exonerate him.
Sniffling, smiling at him with admiration, Cat asked, “Did it all work out for her?”
Leese occupied himself by cupping her breasts; it was easier than seeing her tears. “Yeah, it did.” No thanks to him.
“And the guy she married? How did he take it, when you told him your role in things?”
That was the part that had always stunned him the most. “Instead of being pissed and stomping me—which he could have done—he thanked me, involved me, confided in me, and his friends, her friends, made me a part of that group.” It had been a life-changing moment. “It felt good, being on the honorable side of things.”
“You know what I think?”
Given her starry-eyed infatuation, he could guess.
“You were always honorable. It’s just that sometimes we aren’t tested, so how can we really know? Most of us go through our lives with mundane problems that are easily resolved if we don’t dwell in melodrama. But some people face life-and-death situations, and they come away with proof of their convictions.” She searched his face. “You, Leese Phelps, now have proof.”
He’d never really thought of it that way. “Part of my learning curve involved admitting that fighting wasn’t for me. I’m good, but I knew I’d never be the best, so what would be the point?”
“That’s how I feel about art. I love it, and by teaching I can make a difference with it.”
So damned wise.
Prodding him, she said, “Sort of like you becoming a bodyguard, right?”
Made sense. “I do like protecting people. A few times in my life I was lucky enough to be around when someone needed me. And damn, it always feels good to know I could help.”
Pride gave her a small smile. “You’re a natural-born hero.”
“And you’re an optimist, determined to paint me in the nicest way.”
“Naked,” she quipped while bobbing her eyebrows. “I still say that’s the nicest way for you.” Then, more seriously, she added, “I see you as you are, Leese. Very smart and caring, capable, and most definitely honorable and protective. So yes, you’re a hero, and that’s that.”
Leese knew he’d happily spend the rest of his life doing what he could to live up to her expectations. But at the moment, the tightening of her nipples distracted him. And he could feel the damp heat of her open thighs. “Mostly,” he whispered, “I’m a man who wants you.”
Her gaze warmed and her breathing deepened. “Again?”
Always. “Yeah.” Reaching between their bodies, he opened her, not so he could sink in, but so he could rock his cock against her, spreading her wetness, slowly stroking over her clit. “What do you think?”
Her nails bit into his shoulders. “I think we can talk more later.” She kissed him, her mouth open, hot. Drugging.
Enjoying her escalating excitement, Leese kept the friction steady until she bowed under him.
He damn near came with her, but he held off, unwilling to take a chance without protection. This particular game was risky enough already.
When her harsh groans receded to soft moans, he moved away, grabbed the rubber and seconds later was ready.
“Over you go,” he said, turning her to her stomach, drawing her up to her knees, then opening her legs. Palming her ass, he growled as he slowly pressed into her.
So fucking hot.
He loved seeing her body accept him, the delicate pink lips glistening with her release, snug around him, taking him deep.
She clutched at the sheets, her hands fisted; all along his cock he could feel her squeezing him, the little aftershocks of her pleasure.
Holding her hips, he began a strong, heavy pace that rocked the bed, each thrust and retreat pushing him closer to release. Cat kept her head down, her bottom raised in a carnal position so erotic, Leese knew he wouldn’t last. When she cried out, the sleek muscles in her neck and shoulders strained.
He put a hand at the small of her back to keep her right where he wanted her. Awkwardly, she thrust back into him, taking what she needed to finish, and he liked that enough that he stopped trying to hold back and instead joined her.
Depleted, his body thrumming, Leese eased her flat and rested over her, his face beside hers. With his heart still thumping, catching his breath wasn’t easy. Damn, she pleased him.
She sighed. “Leese?”
Satisfaction leveled him, so he only managed to say, “Hmm?”
There was a moment’s hesitation, then she whispered, “Every time seems better.”
He gave her a squeeze, and wondered what it would be like...for a lifetime.
*
THE NEXT MORNING the weather finally cleared enough that everything returned to normal.
Leese stood at the stove cooking breakfast and Cat sat at the counter sketching. She wore thick white socks, yoga pants and an oversize pink sweatshirt.
She was the sexiest, sweetest thing he’d ever seen.