Page 8 of Protected By Him

“Um, yeah, no. I can’t do that.”

“Laura…”

“Stop it, Leo. I’m an adult, I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can, but I also know damn well the kind of trouble you get yourself into.”

“How’s Ella?” I asked, making no effort to be subtle in my demand for a subject change.

Leo sighed heavily, but smiled as he always did when he thought of his little girl. “She’s great. Her newest obsession is dinosaurs. I swear, I don’t know how someone who can barely remember the whole alphabet can pronounce the names of all those animals, let alone remember so much about them. She’s a walking dinosaur encyclopedia.”

I laugh, easily picturing Ella, her brown curls bouncing around her shoulders, and her eyes, the same blue as her father’s, lit up with joy as she harasses Leo with dinosaur facts.

“Well, it's all about motivation, I guess. How do you remember all those laws and regulations?”

Leo smiled at me. “I guess you have a point. What else is new with you? Did you see Brandon’s email?”

My brother had copied us both on the same email, as he usually did to make the most of his limited time online. “Nothing new to report. And, yes, I did get his email. I can’t believe some of those things he said he has tried eating. I think I’d rather go hungry.”

“You can only live on MREs for so long before even the strangest things start to look good,” Leo said.

“So many more months before he comes home. It feels like an eternity,” I groused.

Leo’s eyes softened, and he reached across the table to take my hand. “I know. It’ll be okay. Brandon is smart and he’s careful. He’ll be home before you know it.”

I squeezed his hand. “Thanks. I know he’s doing what he loves, but it’s hard to be away from him. It feels like I’m missing something vital.” I paused to look Leo in the eyes; I wanted him to know how sincere my next words were. “I know I can be a brat sometimes, but I really appreciate you, Leo. Even when you’re overbearing, I know it’s because you care.”

Leo’s eyes grew darker and more intense. “I do care, Laura. It’s why I’m overbearing sometimes. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you and I could have prevented it.”

Trying to lighten the suddenly heavy mood, I teased, “How lucky am I to have two awesome big brothers?” It was the furthest thing from what I actually felt for Leo, but I couldn’t let him know that.

Leo flinched, then tightened his hold on my hand. “I’m not your brother, Laura. God help me, you've never felt like a sister to me.”

I swallowed, uncertain how to interpret his words. Before I could say anything, our waitress reappeared.

“Can I get you two anything to eat?”

Without breaking eye contact with me, Leo replied, “No, we’re ready to go.”

I was dumbfounded. He wanted to leave? After what he’d just said to me?

Leo reached for his wallet and extracted a few bills, which he handed to the waitress, all while maintaining a tight hold on my hand. When we were alone again, Leo used his grasp on my hand to pull me to my feet.

“Leo, what are you doing?” I asked.

“Something I think I should have done a long time ago,” he said, then grabbed his suit jacket and pulled me out the door.

My apartment was only a block away from the bar, so I hadn’t bothered to drive. Once we were outside, Leo pulled me in that direction. I still wasn’t sure what was happening, but the warmth coursing through my body made it clear what I washopingwould happen.

What had changed? Why was Leo suddenly acting this way? He’d never shown any interest in me before. Not that I noticed anyways.

We arrived at my apartment within a few minutes, but instead of following me inside, Leo pulled me around to face him. He grasped my waist with both hands and drew me against him, causing me to gasp at the sudden contact and clutch his shoulders.

“Laura, if you don’t want this, you need to tell me right now. I’ve waited too long, tell me now if you want to stop.” He murmured the words as he leaned in to run his lips along the column of my neck.

“I don’t want to stop,” I managed around a quiet moan. I wanted to demand he tell me what had changed, why he suddenly wanted me now after more than two decades of nothing but friendship, but I couldn’t. I was too afraid he’d come to his senses and stop what was happening between us.

That was all the confirmation Leo needed, and we pushed through the doors of my apartment building. We barely made it up the stairs to my second-floor unit when Leo pressed me against the hallway wall. My wrists were pinned over my head by his strong hands, and I arched against him. I could feel his arousal against my stomach, and my core tightened in response.

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