Page 77 of Sleeping with the Frenemy

“And I’d tip her enough to pretend like she didn’t see anything,” Leo pointed out as if that would magically make Sofi agree. He knew it wouldn’t, but he was getting desperate.

It had been a month since their last hookup, which ended with them fighting and Sofi kicking him out...again. All because he’d made the colossal mistake of saying that they should go out to dinner. Of course, that started their normal argument of whether or not they were dating, why they weren’t, and why they would never be. Leo still didn’t understand Sofi’s reasoning, but he’d let it go because it was either give in or have no Sofi and he was way too much of an addict to give her up. Hence his frantic search for a place private enough to get a taste of her without getting arrested.

“Ugh,” Sofi exclaimed. “I wish we had a car, we could just leave and then come back.”

Up ahead a sliver of light reflected off the shiny floors, barely illuminating the dark hallway. “I think there’s an open door up there,” Leo told Sofi. He picked up the pace, practically dragging her behind him. He could’ve slowed down, knowing that she was in some sky-high heels, but he wanted to get to the door before someone wandered along and closed it. He peeked through the cracked door to make sure no one was in their new hiding place and was overjoyed to see it was a decent-sized storage closet—an empty one. Well, empty of people at least. There were rows of stacked boxes on the metal shelving units along the walls.

“Get in here.” He pushed the door open and practically launched himself into the space, yanking Sofi with him.

Her body slammed into his. He didn’t even let her get acclimated to the space before he’d kicked the door closed behind them and pushed her back against it, sealing their mouths together.

Sofi wasted no time wrapping her arms around his neck.

He loved that she was just as desperate as he was. She usually tried so hard to pretend that he didn’t affect her in any way, but when her act slipped it was clear she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Anytime she gave in it never failed to set Leo aflame in something that was equal parts desire and triumph. She just couldn’t let him go and it turned him on like nothing he’d ever experienced with anyone else. Fuck. With Sofi in the picture there never really was anyone else no matter what Leo tried to do about it. “Turn around,” Leo growled against her neck.

Sofi, the brat, tried to act all innocent. “For what?” she asked in what no doubt would’ve been faux confusion if she weren’t panting so hard she could barely talk.

Leo wasn’t in the mood for games. Not after having to search the whole entire club while trying his best to hide a raging boner. “So I can give you the spanking you’ve been asking for all night.”

“The hell you will. I haven’t done anything wrong.” She decided to lean into the bratty role, but again, Leo was done with the games.

“I just had to sit there for two hours watching you rub your ass all over that douche in the fake Louis Vuitton,” he said.

“I can dance with other guys. I don’t belong to you.”

Leo bit back the urge to say,the hell you don’t, because he knew that was too far. She’d probably knee him in the balls before storming off and he’d deserve it. Instead, he called her out. “You did it for me,” he said. “You wanted me like this, nearly raging with jealousy. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have kept smirking at me like the brat you are. Now turn around and take your punishment like a good girl.” He watched with bated breath as Sofi slowly turned her body until she was facing away from him.

She rested her hands against the door and arched out her back. “I don’t know why you are so obsessed with spanking me. It’s not like I have enough ass to make it fun.”

Leo’s eyes jumped from the brightly colored tribal print minidress she’d been teasing him with all night to the back of her head. “What?” he asked, honestly confused, because she couldn’t be insinuating what he thought she was.

“I mean I’m basically as flat as a board,” she said, still facing the door. “I don’t have an ass and I barely have any hips. I’m pretty much shaped like a boy. Hell, I’ve seen guys with more ass than me.” She continued a very uncharacteristic ramble which just proved how drunk she was. “You probably feel bone when you spank me. You should wear padded gloves to protect your hands.” She snorted then blew out a breath. “That’s why, as soon as I have money, I’m going to the DR for a BBL. At least then I’ll look like an actual Latina instead of some malnourished preteen boy.”

Leo stood there like an idiot unsure of which of the emotions running through him he should prioritize. On one hand, he was still horny and more than willing to prove to her how perfect she was with his body. On a second hand, he was incredulous that someone as beautiful as Sofi would look at herself as less than, especially because she was usually so confident. On another hand, he was angry. How dare someone, anyone, make her believe that she needed to change her body to fit into some stereotypical idea of what a Latina should look like? On the other hand—that had to be too many hands, but he was too drunk to go back and count—he felt an overwhelming tenderness. Sofi never let anyone see her soft spots. She was basically an armadillo with diamond armor. It was extremely rare she let anyone see her soft underbelly, especially him. That was why he let the tenderness win out. He stepped up to her back, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her close enough that their bodies were flush. “If only you could see yourself as I see you, bombón.”

“How do you see me?” she asked. There was a heavy amount of sass in her tone, but under that he heard desperation. She needed him to tell her how much he was attracted to her. She needed someone to help her feel good about herself.

He turned her, so she was forced to look at him. “You are way more than a pretty face,” he told her. “You are so beautiful that sometimes it hurts me to look at you. It’s like staring into a raging fire, so intense but enthralling at the same time. I can sit there for hours following every blazing flame of you. I mean that, Sofi. Your skin, your eyes, that mouth, your chest, hips, thighs, ass, those long legs that I want wrapped around me at every minute of every day.” He shook his head at his inability to put in words what he was trying to express, but there were words strong enough to make her understand. “You’re a conflagration of perfection that makes my blood burn. There isn’t one part of you that doesn’t call to me on every single level. Not one single thing. This room could be a hundred times bigger, pitch-black, and full of people, and I’d still be able to find you without a problem. I’d just follow your brilliance. That’s how much you shine more than anyone else. So stop comparing yourself to other women, because no one can measure up. They are candles, you’re an inferno.”

She stared up at him in silence. “Thank you,” she whispered. He thought she might throw herself at him then, but instead she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. He responded in kind. When she tightened her arms, he did the same. When he felt drips of moisture on his neck and collarbone, he just held her tighter. He’d always hold her together when she needed to fall apart.

Leo wasn’t the most observant guy, but it had not escaped his attention that Sofi had never gone through with her desire to get a Brazilian butt lift. He couldn’t help but feel like he played some part in her accepting her body as it was. It made him feel good as fuck.

“What are you thinking about with your eyes closed that put that smile on your face?” Sofi’s voice came from behind him.

Leo opened his eyes and found hers in the reflection in front of him. His smile grew just looking at her. “I’m thinking about you,” he said.

One of her eyebrows went up. “Really?”

“That shouldn’t be surprising. I’m always thinking about you.”

Her gorgeous bee-stung mouth stretched into a smile of her own.

Leo couldn’t take it anymore, so he spun on his heels to face her. “Hey, bombón.”

“Hi.” She took a few steps forward and looked up at him through her lashes. “Sorry it took me so long to get here.”

Leo leaned against the statue behind him. “No big deal. I’m sure my sister had a bunch to say about you leaving early.”

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