Vulnerable [Suncoast Society] (Suncoast Society #29)(51)

“I know. I just… Again, I was doing that stupid magic thinking. Trying to make things stay the same when they are changing around me despite my best efforts.”

She took a deep breath. “I’m going to call my attorney this week and tell him to push the divorce forward and quit stalling. To drop all the objections and the motions. It’s going to happen whether I want it to or not, and you’re right. Laurel is the important one. I’m an adult. If I fell in love with you, I can fall in love with someone else, right?”

He’d long suspected that delaying the divorce had been her plan all along, but to hear her finally outright admit it stunned him. “You will, swee—” He stopped himself. “You will. And maybe when that happens, it’ll be all five of us sitting down and having family dinners together. I want you to find someone who can be everything you need. Someone to make you happy. He’s out there. We just have to find him and rope him for you.” He smiled.

A sad smile curved her lips. “I hope so. I’m trying to get to a point where I can learn how to just be friends with you without it hurting so much.”

He didn’t know what to say to that, what wouldn’t heap more pain onto her soul, so he didn’t try. He gently squeezed her shoulder and turned to go.

“Leo?”

He stopped and turned. She stood there, arms crossed again, tightly hugging herself. “Did you really love me?”

He nodded. “I still do, and part of me always will. Unfortunately, I was too young and immature at the time to realize that I was lying to myself about the kind of love I felt for you. But we have Laurel, and I’ll never be sorry about that.”

“Me, either. Can I have dibs on you if you ever magically turn straight again?” Another faint smile curved her lips.

It was good to see her smile. This one looked genuine, healing, a step in the right direction.

“Sure,” he said. “I promise, if I ever want to be with a woman again, I’ll come to you first.”

Her smile widened, amused. She wasn’t hanging false hope on his words, but finally working her way toward being able to find the humor where she could.

That was also healing, a step in the right direction.

“Dibs,” she said.

He smiled back. “Dibs.”

He returned to his car. Eva stood on the porch, watching until he pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street.

As much as he hated having to say good-bye to Laurel, at least when he returned home, he’d have Jesse waiting for him.

And tonight they could catch up on some long overdue play.

Leo drove, his mind deep within his sexual fantasies, the things he planned on doing with and to the man now that they were once again a child-free house for the week. Maybe, eventually, they could actually afford a house with a pool of their own. So that when they were alone, they could have fun time in it.

He stopped for a stale yellow traffic light and let his mind drift. Yes, he was fourteen years older than Jesse, but the man had an old soul and definitely didn’t act like there was an age difference. Jesse had also perfectly keyed into Leo’s needs as a Dominant. Like he psychically fed energy into Leo’s soul without him even needing to say a thing.

Not just the sex, either. But the service. Leo knew he had a long way to go in terms of learning implement skills, and Jesse had flat-out stated he’d be patient. It was things like immediately tuning in to how Leo liked his clothes folded and put away, or how he took his coffee.

Hell, Jesse made him his coffee every morning before he left for work or classes and brought it to him. Presenting it, like it was the greatest honor in the world to serve him.

This. He’d been as aware as the next person about BDSM, he supposed. But he’d never really connected the dots before Jesse showed him how. Now, it all made sense.

Everything made sense.

Spending the rest of his life with Jesse made more sense than anything he’d ever known before. Especially considering how well Jesse got along with Laurel and how much Laurel loved him.

That was a happy bonus.

The light changed to green and with a smile he let off the brake and hit the gas, eager to get home to Jesse.

That was probably why he didn’t notice the driver who’d blown through the red light, his phone up and likely texting, until a split second before the guy plowed into Leo’s front driver-side quarter panel.





Jesse tried not to be impatient, but he couldn’t help staring at the time on the cable box as the minutes slowly ticked by.

He knelt in front of the door, wanting to surprise Leo upon his return. Naked, cuffs, and collar, with a riding crop laid out in front of him.

But ten minutes late turned into twenty, then thirty, and his legs were falling asleep from kneeling there. He didn’t want to play anxious boyfriend and start texting or calling him, but as he kept peeking out the front blinds for any sign of Leo, it turned into the man being an hour later than he said he would, which was totally unlike him. Leo always let Jesse know if he was running more than ten minutes later than he said he would. He was practically obsessive about being on time.

Finally, ninety minutes into his wait, Jesse texted Leo.

Sorry, just making sure everything’s ok.

Another thirty minutes later, he tried calling him and it went to voice mail after a couple of rings.

“Hey, I’m sorry, but I’m starting to get a little worried, buddy. I thought you said you’d be back sooner than this, and I tried texting you and haven’t heard anything. Let me know what’s going on. Love you.”