Page 10 of Leo, My Partner

“Thank you for saying yes,” he says, turning his big body to look at me. Seriously, how could a man be this big without making me feel overwhelmed? He takes up a lot of space but doesn’t intimidate me. God, he’s fucking perfect. “I’m sorry I kept you out so late.”

Cheekily, I ask, “Are you really?”

“Not at all.”

We both chuckle, which helps relax me for the first time since we got in the car to head home.

“Come on. I’ll walk you to your door,” he says.

Leo hops out and rounds the hood before opening my door. I grab the hand he holds out for me, giddiness threatening to take over my body. It’s a near thing that I don’t lace our fingers together like a weirdo.

We walk up the flight of stairs, and I turn around when we’re in front of my door. “This is me.” I thumb toward my door unnecessarily. “I had a great time tonight. Shit, I already said that. But it’s true. It was fun. This is the best date I’ve been on. Not because you took me to a fancy restaurant, but because of our talking and stuff. We had a?—”

“Tyshawn,” Leo mutters, stepping into me.

“Hmm.” I snap my mouth shut, glad he cut my rambling off before I could really get going. My body weaves closer to him of its own volition.

“Be quiet for a second.”

Before I can take offense to him hushing me, Leo plants his lips on mine, soft and gentle. A needy whimper drifts up my throat, and Leo opens me with his tongue, taking the sound for his own. My head swims as he kisses me slowly and thoroughly. All my nerves flee as I follow his lead, letting him take my mouth how he wants.

A strong arm wraps around my waist, and I gasp at how good it feels to have it there. I’m not used to a man holding me so tightly but with so much care. My dick takes notice and lengthens behind my zipper. There’s no way Leo doesn’t feel it. I would be embarrassed if his own dick wasn’t a hard rod in his pants, pressing against my belly.

Leo doesn’t try to crowd me. He lets me come to him, and I do, greedily. Pushing up to my tiptoes, I lean into Leo and wrap my arms around his neck. He groans, sliding his hands down to rest just over my ass. I want him to go lower, to grab my ass in those big hands. The scent of his cologne encircles me like a hug, burrowing deep into my senses. God, I wish we were in my bed, Leo over me as he kisses me until my toes curl. I definitely need to invite him in so we can finish what he started.

Everything happens so fast, I wouldn’t have believed it happened if I wasn’t there.

As if from far away, a throat clears, and my name is called. Then I’m left stumbling forward, my lips and body feeling cold without the heat of Leo’s body.

“What the fuck?” Sam croaks. Shaking my head to clear it from the lust haze, I zero in on Leo with his hand around Sam’s throat, a purely evil look on his face.

“Who are you?” Leo roars, almost picking Sam off his feet.

Moving between them, I place a hand on Leo’s chest and try to get him to remove his from my roommate. “It’s Sam! Leo, it’s my roommate, Sam!”

As if a light clicks in his head, Leo drops his hand and steps back, putting his hands behind his back. “Sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Of course you didn’t, you fucking maniac,” Sam rasps, rubbing his injury and giving Leo a dark look. “You just go around choking people?”

To his credit, Leo looks a little chastened. “No. I didn’t know who you were, and you were behind me. My self-defense training kicked in.”

My mind goes back to dinner where Leo said his grandfather taught him self-defense while he lived in Russia. That’s some training. I don’t think I could have reacted that fast.

Sam stands up straight, still eyeing Leo. “You okay?” he asks me.

“I’m fine.” He has angry red marks around his neck. “Fuck, you’re going to need ice.”

Sam shakes his head. “It’s okay. I’m not fragile.”

Sighing, I turn to Leo. “This is Sam, my roommate. Sam, this is Leo.”

Neither man reaches for the other. They just stare, Leo with a hint of amusement and Sam with a look that’s a cross between apprehension and anger.

I’m not sure how long we stand like this, both men staring at each other and me in the middle. Finally, Leo smirks and gazes at me. “I’d better go. I’ll call you later, kotenok.”

Like Sam isn’t even there, Leo grabs me by the waist and brings me close to him, nuzzling into my neck. I’m helpless to do anything but hug him back. “Okay,” I whisper.

With one last kiss on my cheek, Leo breezes out, his amazing smelling cologne lingering in the small hallway.

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