Page 36 of Protected By Him

He unhooked my bra, and my breasts fell free against his chest. I felt him pant as he pulled me in again, his lips connecting to mine. His hands began to busy themselves with my skirt, pushing it up, so that his fingers traced the naked skin of my ass.

"I've wanted you all day," he said into my chest as he pulled me against his hardening cock.

I couldn't respond. He rolled me over to my back, his fingers traced a path towards the juncture of my thighs, sliding my wet thong to the side, then through my folds.

"Oh God. Leo, please," I moaned as I began to grind against his hand, needing him to bring me to completion.

"Tell me what you want."

I continued to grind against his fingers, greedily demanding more. He knew exactly what I wanted. He kept one hand inside me while the other found my breast. He pulled my nipple into his mouth and sucked while simultaneously bringing me to climax.

"Leo…" I moaned so loudly; I felt my eyes squeeze shut as my whole body tensed.

I had never come without penetration or clitoral stimulation before, but it seemed this moment changed my entire system of belief because I could feel an orgasm building as Leo's hands tweaked and squeezed my nipples hard, just the way I liked it.

"Leo," I called out again as a warning that I was so close. He pulled his fingers from me and crawled down my body until he was between my legs, going straight for my center, his lips closing around my engorged clit.

He immediately started licking back and forth, then sucking. My body lifted from the bed almost on its own as I crashed into the most intense orgasm I had ever had. I screamed with the release. My body was still tense as aftershocks coursed through my limbs.

When my body finally relaxed, Leo kissed the inside of my thighs, then he pushed himself up and collapsed next to my naked body.

"That was incredible," I panted.

"You are incredible." His voice was soft with affection.

I rolled over on my stomach to look at his face. "I think I have always loved you," I confessed, searching his eyes for a response.

"Good." He brushed the hair from my face. "I would have hated to be the only one."

Epilogue

Leo

Two months later

AsLauraandIwaited near the baggage carousel, I thought I might be more nervous now than I had been when James Harvey had a gun pointed at me.

It had been two months since that night in Laura’s apartment, and a lot had happened since then. James Harvey and Greg Holston had both been arrested that night and charged with a series of felonies that would see them behind bars for the rest of their lives. Grey Wilkins had fled Boston but had been apprehended trying to cross the border from New York into Canada. All three men were scheduled to go to trial next year. Laura, Emily, and several others had agreed to testify against them.

Rob had been so delighted when Laura had given him a copy of her interview with Holston and the altered evidence logs, that he’d quickly forgiven her for playing detective on her own. For my part, I still had nightmares over the memory of that night. Laura had her share of nightmares as well, but writing her article and starting therapy had both helped immensely. Her friend, Emily, seemed to be taking longer to recover from her ordeal. She’d spent several hours tied to that office chair and scared out of her mind before agents had gotten to her. I was certain her on-going divorce proceedings weren’t helping matters.

Following the publication of her article, my editor friend had offered Laura a position atSvelte, which she’d happily accepted, though she was taking a couple months off before starting her new job. We had committed to our relationship, and things between us couldn’t be better…or hotter. Ella was thrilled with how much more time Laura was spending at our place. After a little convincing—which I’d done mostly in our bedroom after Ella had fallen asleep—she’d agreed to move in with me, rather than trying to find another apartment.

Everything was perfect…Well, almost everything. There was one last piece of our puzzle that needed to be worked out.

Brandon.

My best friend, and Laura’s fiercely protective older brother, was still unaware of our relationship. Which was why I’d come with Laura to pick him up from the airport. We planned to tell him our news over lunch.

Laura was bouncing on the balls of her feet, clearly anxious to see her brother. We’d decided not to say anything about our relationship until he returned home, so he wouldn’t be distracted while overseas. We’d told him a watered-down version of Laura’s ordeal, in case he somehow saw her article or someone else mentioned it to him. The fact that she had made it through unscathed went a long way to calming his fears, though he’d still had a few choice words for both of us.

Brandon should have had four months left on his deployment, and neither Laura nor I knew why he’d been sent home early. His emails had been sporadic and light on details, which was a big part of why Laura was so anxious to see him. I’d have been lying if I said I wasn’t equally concerned.

A flood of people made their way toward us, and I craned my neck to catch sight of Brandon’s shaved head. He was tall and should have been easy to spot in the crowd, but I couldn’t see him. Laura caught my eye, concern bordering on fear in her gaze.

The crowd parted in front of us, and I finally saw him, but the sight wasn’t at all what I had expected. Brandon was in a wheelchair pushed by an airline staff member. Instead of his military uniform, he wore sweats and a long-sleeved t-shirt. One leg was propped up, and his arm was in a sling. Nearly healed scratches marred his tan face, and I could see dark circles under his green eyes. His normally neatly buzzed brown hair had grown longer than usual and gave him a disheveled look.

Laura gave a sharp cry and ran to him but skidded to a stop a foot away. She held her hands in front of her like she wanted to hug him but didn’t know if she could. Brandon smiled at her and extended one arm.

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