Page 44 of The Fixer

“Why? Because you’re attracted to me?”

“I’m not?—”

That’s it. My optimism gauge hits empty. First I get that mysterious phone call, then my brother gives me the run-around, and now this from Leo? I have officially run out of fucks. “Liar,” I snarl, a wounded animal fighting for its life. “Stop giving me that bullshit. I bet you a hundred euros that you are hard for meright now.”

He stares at me for a long moment, then he takes his wallet out, extracts a crisp hundred-euro note from it, and tosses it on the bed between us.

“So, what?” I give him a look of disbelief. “You’re just going to throw the money down and walk away? Just like that?”

“Yes.” He rakes his fingers through his hair. “It’s for the best. I told you once I was no good for you. That hasn’t changed, principessa.”

His damn nickname for me is what does it. It’s the last straw. “Fine!” I half-scream, half-sob. He’s walking to the door, his back to me, and it feels like he’s walking out of my life. “Make your excuses and run away. I’ll just stay here, fall asleep on your bed, and stay a fucking virgin for the rest of my life.”

He freezes. “What did you say?”

“Make your excuses and run away.”

“Not that part.” He sounds strained. “The other thing.”

“That I’ve never had sex before? I thought you knew.”

He turns around slowly. “No, principessa. Idefinitelydid not know. That’s not the kind of thing a man forgets.” His eyes are dark and unfathomable. “You’ve never slept with anyone? Why?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. “Trust a man to make a big deal out of this.”

“Why?” he repeats insistently.

Men.“Because I was never attracted enough to anyone to want to do it,” I say in exasperation. “I didn’t want to sleep with someone just to check it off a list.”

He swallows convulsively. “And you invited me to your hotel room because?—”

It’s perfectly obvious why, but Leo seems to need me to say the words. “I want you.”

“Still?”

Always.“Yes. But it’s okay,” I continue unwisely, goading him with every word. “I can wait. In three years, I’ll find someone else. Someone who will fuck me on the floor and against the wall.” I have notrouble remembering his words. They are permanently engraved into my memory. “Someone who will fuck me in the shower stall. He’ll push my legs apart and lick my pretty clit until I come.” I lift my chin and glare at Leo defiantly. “And when I come, it won’t be your name I’ll scream. It’ll be his.”

Leomoves.In two steps, he’s next to me, looming over me like a prince of darkness. “You want me to fuck you, principessa?” He pushes me against the wall and cages me in with the hard press of his body. “You want me to shove my cock into your hot, tight pussy?”

If he’s trying to frighten me away, it’s not working. “Yes.”

His eyes blaze. He lifts my wrists above my head and pins them in place with one hand. “Be careful what you wish for, tesoro.” His voice is low and dangerous. He drags his lips down my neck, his breath hot against my skin. “Walk away while you still can.”

“You think I’m scared of you?” I push against his grip, and he lets me go, taking a step back. “I’m not.” I whip my tank top over my head. “I’m not going to walk away. And if I run, it’ll only be because I want you to chase me.”

I didn’t put a bra on after my shower, and Leo’seyes lock onto my breasts. I feel his need like a shock on my skin, a restless, aching current in my bloodstream. He doesn’t move, not even an inch. Anticipation is a storm raging around us, and for a moment, we’re perfectly still, caught in the eye of the hurricane.

Then his lips crash into mine.

I was overwhelmed by Leo’s kisses Wednesday night. I thought I had finally discovered what passion feels like. But now, as heplundersmy mouth, I realize how much he was holding back.

He’s not holding back now.He’s all in.He wraps his hand around the back of my neck and coaxes my lips open. His tongue slides into my mouth, teasing, dancing, claiming. One ravishing, intoxicating kiss follows another, and desire explodes inside me.

I arch my head, stand on tiptoe, and return each hungry kiss with one of my own. His hands travel down my body, his palms closing on my naked breasts, and my nipples throb against his callused fingers. “How many men have touched you here?” he growls into my neck.

“This is a ridiculous discussion,” I gasp. God, the feel of him. Before, he kissed me through my bra, and I thought I died of pleasure, but today, skin on skin, I amablaze.Need rages in my blood, a thirstthat only Leo can quench. “I’m not going to tell you.”

He plucks my nipple between his thumb and forefinger, and I gasp at the sharp, raw pleasure. “How many?” he growls.

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