Page 61 of Sass

And the worst part was that it wasn’t the sex... or not only the sex. Or Leon’s glorious big body. Or the hair. Or the addictive gentle power of the man. It wasn’t any of that. The worst part was how Leon made me feel simply lying in his arms, like I was precious. It was how he made me laugh. How he had me talking before I even knew it, stripping me bare so I couldn’t even meet his eyes.

I’d told him about James, for fuck’s sake. Not even Rhys knew about that. And I hadn’t meant to. Leon was just there, all concerned and soft and aching over his sister, and it felt like maybe he could hold my words and they’d be safe with him. Whatever the reason, I was sure it would come back and bite me in the arse.

Because I could never be the man Leon was looking for. A husband, a father to his planned children, one half of a committed monogamous couple? Jesus Christ, I could barely think themword without sprouting hives.

And above everything else, it felt vitally important that I didn’t hurt him.

A weighty sigh broke my lips. Burnt fucking sienna. I should probably paint it white and be done with it. Erase the memories of Leon’s T-shirt riding up as he stretched to paint. The inviting peek of all that swirling colour. The hard muscle of his arse as he replenished his roller. The exhilarating rush of his clean scent. The soft scratch of his beard on my thighs. The feel of his arms—

And, oh my fucking god, I was getting hard.

I pressed my palm down on my rising dick and shook my head. This was getting ridiculous.

Drew rounded the corner into my office with a steaming coffee in each hand. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” Since I didn’t have my desk as cover, I discreetly crossed my legs, accepted my bright pink cup, and avoided his gaze. But before I got the cup to my mouth, I found myself on my feet. “On second thought...” I put the cup on my desk and grabbed my coat off the back of my chair. “I need to pop out for a minute.”

“But—” Drew shadowed me to the service desk looking every bit as confused as I was. “What about your coffee?”

“I’ll heat it up when I get back.” I waved to him over my shoulder. “Won’t be long.” I hoofed it to the front door before I came to my senses and changed my stupid mind.

“Butwhereare you going?” Drew’s shouted question trailed me onto the sidewalk, but I ignored it, hoping with everything I had that he didn’t actually follow to see me take ten steps past Flare and then hang a sharp left into The Tattoo House.

JJ glanced up from the reception desk, her eyes going wide the second she saw it was me. She shot a look to Tyson, who glanced over from where he was chatting with a client and instantly grinned. I ignored him.

“Kip.” JJ’s mouth curved up in a cute little smirk. “How delightful to see you again, and so soon.”

Cheeky tart.

“Leon is stocking out back.” Her gaze dropped to my hands. “What? No coffees this time?”

I wagged a finger at her. “Cute. But it’ll keep. Is the plumber here?”

She frowned. “No. He pushed the work back another ten days or so.”

“Excellent. Tell Leon I need to talk to him... upstairs.” I liked JJ and Tyson, although I doubted they had any idea, what with the whole Leon thing overshadowing bi-partisan relationships.

With that sobering thought in mind, I ran an eye over JJ’s bright orange dress and her swept-up fifties hairdo that popped her dark brown eyes. Curvy and with a ton of smarts, she was a genuine heartstopper. “That colour is hot on you, by the way. You should wear more of it.”

She blinked like a possum in the headlights. “Ah, thanks?” Her brows dipped. “Are you okay, Kip?”

“Couldn’t be better.” I brushed past and headed for the second floor. “Don’t forget to tell Leon.”

“Oh, right.” She made a beeline for the storeroom, while I took the stairs two at a time before turning left into the single large room just off the landing. I threw my coat on the only chair and walked to the window and briefly considered the dull sky, burdened with rain-heavy clouds. Then I began pacing.

What the hell was I doing here?Nothing sensible, that was for sure.

It wasn’t too late to change my mind.

Yes, that. Good idea.

I made for my coat.

“Chris?” Leon walked into the room, looking a million fucking dollars in soft caramel camo pants and a black T-shirt stretched tight across his broad chest. He looked like the absolute best khaki lollipop, and my dick was all about saluting that fucker in every possible rendition of the word.

“Stop right there.” I marched over and shoved him back against the wall, holding him in place. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

“Um, no?” He looked genuinely confused.

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