I raise a hand and brush it gently across her flushed cheek.

  “Perhaps I shouldn’t have taken a picture with those girls,” I say. “But they’d already recognized me. They’d already been snapping pictures of me even before I realized they were there. I saw no reason to be rude. A story about me blowing off some adoring fans would be sure to go viral, and that wouldn’t help our situation.”

  She rolls her eyes. “This isn’t about your adoring fans—”

  “You’re right. It isn’t.” I drop my face a little lower. “Right now, I don’t want to think of anyone or anything but you. I believe we left some business unfinished back there in your kitchen…”

  My lips slide over hers, and she softens against me, reacting immediately to the kiss. My tongue slides along her bottom lip before probing gently into her mouth, teasing her, and her hands slide up to my shoulders.

  One kiss, one touch, and our bodies are ready to melt together again. After stopping so abruptly last time, I’m quickly losing all sense of control. Both of my hands drop to her ass again, sliding over the soft curves and pulling her hips hard against mine. She whimpers softly.

  And then, abruptly, she pulls her face away.

  “We should go back to the house—”

  My mouth has already moved to the side of her throat. “Too…far…” I murmur between kisses. I nip lightly at the skin of her neck, and her fingers dig into my shoulders. When she speaks again, she sounds breathless.

  “But…what if…”

  “I don’t care,” I growl. I raise my head and kiss her passionately on the lips again, then pull back. “Let the whole world see. Let everyone know how much I want you.”

  As I say it, though, I pull her down to the ground with me, behind the growth of bushes. Now she’s beneath me on the ground, her chest heaving with her breaths as her wide eyes stare up at me.

  I shift myself over her, rising on all fours above her beautiful body.

  “Do you honestly have the strength to make it back there?” I ask her, and my voice sounds almost animal. “Do you honestly have the power of will to delay this even five more minutes?” I’m not sure I can delay it five more seconds. If she stops me again, I’m not sure what I’ll do. My body has never known a hunger this intense. It’s pure physical torture.

  Elle doesn’t say anything. Instead, she responds by reaching slowly between my legs. Her hand finds my arousal through the fabric of my pants, and her fingers slide slowly down the length of it.

  And I lose complete control.

  I’m fully on top of her again in an instant, my lips crashing down on hers with a force that draws a gasp from her throat. But she doesn’t push me away. Instead, her arms come up around my back, holding me against her, and her mouth presses hungrily against mine.

  I want to lose myself in her forever. Bury myself so deep in her that I lose all sense of myself.

  My body is in agony, I want her so badly. I can feel every sweet bit of her beneath me, but it’s not enough. I want to feel her skin against mine. I want to be sheathed in the slick heat between her legs.

  I push her pullover up her body, baring her stomach. Her hands tug at my shirt, sliding it up my back. We don’t bother trying to get either garment completely off—both of us seem to be focused on one thing and one thing only.

  I tear my mouth away from hers and sit partway up—just enough to undo my belt and pants. As my fingers fumble with the zipper, she pushes her leggings down over her hips. I yank them the rest of the way down past her ankles and push her knees apart. Then I lower myself on top of her again, unable to wait even a moment longer. My cock slides between her legs, seeking out her—

  “Condom,” she squeaks beneath me.

  Fuck, that’s right. I’m so eager to have her again that I’ve forgotten the whole blasted reason we left the house in the first place. Fortunately, she dropped the bag of condoms beside us. I lean over and grab one of the boxes, tearing it open like some sort of beast.

  I don’t think I’ve ever put a condom on so quickly. I’m shocked I even have the presence of mind to do it properly. The moment it’s done, I’m on top of her again, and I drive inside of her without giving either of us the chance to catch our breaths.

  The most beautiful cry escapes her throat as I bury myself all the way to the hilt. I pause on top of her—partially to ensure that I haven’t hurt her, and partially in response to the intensity of what I experience. My body is still in pain, aching for release, but I can’t seem to move.

  After a moment, Elle’s fingers dig into the bare skin on my back.

  “Please…” she whispers.

  I don’t intend to torture her any longer. I dip my head and kiss her again as my hips begin to move.

  I’m losing my mind. That’s the only explanation. She’s driven me mad, and I have no choice but to indulge in her, to feed this addiction…

  I kiss my way along her jaw to her ear and bury my face in her hair, which has come undone from its messy bun. God, I love the way she smells. I can’t get enough of the scent of her.

  I can’t get enough of her. Period.

  Her nails pierce the skin on my back, and the pain only excites me more.

  “Fuck, Elle,” I rasp into her ear. Even saying her name excites me.

  Elle.

  Elle.

  Elle.

  As my thrusts increase in speed, her grip on me continues to tighten. And her soft gasps and whimpers turn into louder cries of pleasure.

  “Careful,” I murmur roughly into her ear. “Someone might hear us.”

  I was honest when I told her that I didn’t care if the whole world saw us—but I also don’t want to be interrupted. The park was abandoned when we stumbled into this clump of bushes, but I don’t want to take any chances.

  I also don’t want to slow down, or to give her any less pleasure.

  I turn my face and kiss her again, swallowing the intoxicating sounds she’s trying so hard to hold back. Her lips war against mine, and our tongues tangle in her mouth.

  I reach down and hook my hand beneath one of her knees, pulling it toward her chest and allowing me to deepen my thrusts. She responds by biting down hard on my lip as she tries to choke back a moan. Sharp pain shoots through me—delicious, delicious pain—and seconds later, I taste the unmistakable metallic tang of blood.

  Bloody hell, she’s amazing.

  The still-healing wound on my chest is starting to protest, but I don’t care. Pain and pleasure have become one sensation in my body, and together, they’re about to push me over the edge.

  But not before she comes.

  I lift myself slightly so I can reach down between us and find her clit. She must have been closer than I thought, because no sooner does my thumb brush against that sensitive nub than she gasps and stiffens. I lean forward again instantly, my mouth closing over hers to capture the cry of pleasure tumbling off her tongue. Her body tightens around me, and my release quickly follows. I growl against her mouth as I fill the condom, sharing in her moment of pleasure.

  Dear God, if I had known it could be like this…

  I’ve had a lot of sex in my life. More than most people get to experience. But I must have been doing something wrong because I’ve never experienced something even close to this. What sort of spell has Elle cast over me, that even the sex is so different? So enthralling?

  I stay on top of her as we catch our breaths. Even though I finally got my release, need still hums through my body. The hunger never ends.

  “Yes,” I murmur to her, “I think we will definitely need all three of those boxes of condoms.”

  She lets out a breathless laugh. Her arms are still around me, but she loosens her grip on my back.

  I prop myself up on my elbows, looking down at her. Her face is even redder now, flushed from the exertion, and her eyes are both glazed and bright at the same time—no doubt in response to what we just experienced together. If that was even half as good for her as it was for me, then she is undoubtedly very satisfied.

  As I look at her, though, her sated smile falls into a frown. She reaches up and touches my mouth, and I wince slightly as a fresh sting of pain shoots through my lip.

  “You’re bleeding,” she whispers.

  I grin. “I have you to thank for that, you feisty thing.”

  Her eyes widen. “I didn’t realize—”

  I cut her off with a kiss.

  For a moment, we lose ourselves again. Even spent as we are, we still can’t seem to get enough of each other. I might have tried to persuade her into another round—no doubt my body would have been up to the task—but then I feel a slight rumbling beneath me. Her stomach is grumbling.

  I pull back, amused, and but she has a look of horror on her face. “I…I haven’t eaten anything yet today…”

  “Neither have I,” I say, delighting in her adorable embarrassment. “And we’ve certainly worked up quite an appetite, haven’t we?”

  She nods, but I can tell she’s still slightly mortified by the sounds of hunger emanating from her belly.

  “Come,” I say, sitting up. “Let’s get home and feed you.”

  We start to pull our clothes back on, and we’re nearly dressed again when we hear the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching.

  We both freeze. We both have our pants back on, but anyone who stumbled across us like this—disheveled and partway sprawled on the ground—could have little doubt as to what we were doing.

  The footsteps approach slowly, and I hold my breath. When I glance over at Elle, she’s chewing on her lip.

  I grin. I have half a mind to try and kiss her again. To hell with whatever unexpected company we might have.

  The footsteps, however, come and go without incident. Once they’ve faded into the distance, I reach out and grab her hand.

  “Let’s go feed that beautiful belly of yours,” I say.

  We both stand. Elle looks rather sheepishly around, as if she expects someone to be watching and waiting for us, and I find her modesty absolutely charming. As we begin walking back toward her house, I reach over and pull a bit of grass out of her hair.

  “You have a bit of something here,” I say.

  Her blush deepens. “Oh, God—my whole back must be covered.”

  I glance down her back—I’m always grateful for this view—and sure enough, there are leaves and dirt all over her.

  “Just a little,” I say.

  “How much is a little?”

  I laugh and sweep a hand across her. “Let’s just say that anyone who sees you can probably guess what we were just doing.”

  “Ugh.” Her entire neck is red now. “Let’s just get home. Quickly.” She hurries down the street.

  “There’s no reason to be embarrassed,” I say, grinning as I jog to catch up to her. “I think it’s a charming look.”

  “I don’t want the whole world knowing we just had sex!”

  “Why not? They should be happy for you. It was very, very good sex, was it not?”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “But it was, wasn’t it?”

  She fights a smile, even through her embarrassment. “Maybe.”

  “Just maybe?”

  “All right! It was really good sex. Amazing, mind-blowing sex. Are you happy now?”

  “I’ll be even happier when we do it again.”

  She doesn’t even try to hide her smile this time. “Forget insufferable—you’re insatiable.”

  “Why, thank you,” I say. “I—” I jerk to a stop.

  We’ve just turned onto Elle’s street, and my eyes go immediately to a large, white van driving toward us.

  “What is it?” Elle asks. “What’s wrong?”

  “We have to get to your house,” I say. “Now.” I grab her hand and move quickly down the sidewalk. I was hoping we had more time, but I was wrong. We shouldn’t have left the house. And we definitely shouldn’t have allowed ourselves to take our sweet time getting back.

  “What’s going on?” she demands.

  My eyes go back to the van. “They’ve found us.”

  “Who’s found us?”

  “The media. Recognize the logo on that van? They’re from that big celebrity gossip show.”

  She stumbles. “What do we—”

  “We get back to your house. If they’re here, the others aren’t going to be far behind.” I squeeze her hand. “Run. Now.”

  Elle

  We bolt the rest of the way to my house, Leo almost dragging me by my arm. As we reach the door, another van pulls up, then another and another.

  My hands are trembling, and I can’t seem to make them work well enough to unlock the door. Leo pries the keyring from my fingers, turning the key in the lock before he pushes me inside.

  He slams the door behind me, bolting it closed. He looks down at the keys in his hand for a moment before he slowly turns to me.

  I snatch the keyring from him, shoving it into my bag. The silence between us is almost too much for me to bear, but I don’t know what to say to him. It’s not like I’ve had to deal with the media before, and I know whatever I ask him is going to sound pretty dumb.

  After I set my purse down, I realize the bag with the boxes of condoms is still dangling from my arm and I set them down, too.

  What the hell are we doing?

  My cheeks burn at the sudden realization that the footsteps we heard might have been someone from the press. For all I know, they might have snapped pictures of us while we were… My God. Did I really just have sex in public?

  I don’t know what’s come over me. I have no idea why this is happening—I don’t do this. The new Elle—the one who picked up and moved seven thousand miles away to rebuild her life—does not lose control of herself over a man.

  There’s no way this is going to end well. Even if I do allow myself to enjoy the moment—to let myself have a little fun—I am the one who will end up hurt. Leo doesn’t get hurt. He doesn’t let his “relationships” go on long enough to cause him any amount of grief.

  He’s the exact opposite of me. At least as far as emotional involvement goes.

  I shouldn’t let this go any further, even if I have had the best sex of my life with him. That’s all this relationship is—sex. It’s not like it will ever be anything more than that—at least for him—and it’s best if we end it now. There’s no doubt it’s still going to hurt like a motherfucker when he leaves me again, but I’ll get over it. The longer he stays, the more difficult it’s going to be for me.

  “Leo, I—”

  “Well, now that we’re going to be here for the foreseeable future, aren’t you glad we bought the extra supplies?” He grins, lifting a brow suggestively.

  “What…?” My eyes dart to the door, then the closed curtains, before my gaze turns back to his. “What exactly do you mean by foreseeable future?”

  He shrugs, walking past me into the dining room. He turns back to look at me, extending a hand. “What does it matter? We’re here together. We have enough supplies for the next day or two—”

  “Uh, hopefully, a lot more than a day or two. I think I mentioned how I might not be able to walk…” And it’s not like I’m not already sore from being with him more times than I can count.

  “And I believe I mentioned how positively fantastic it would be to lie about in bed while you…recover.” He grins. “We could start now if you like. I don’t believe either of us is completely satisfied just yet.” He narrows his gaze a bit. “And trust me, Elle, I intend to leave you completely satisfied.”

  His words ring in my ears for a moment before I realize what he’s actually said.

  I intend to leave you.

  I’m not sure why I’m surprised he admitted it, or why I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach at the realization. I stare at him, unblinking for a moment. “How long?”

  He lifts a brow. “Hmm, I don’t know that I’ve ever timed myself, but I would guess at least—”

  “I’m not asking about your world record for how long you last in bed, Leo. I’m asking how long they’re going to be out there.” I motion toward the door. “How long are you planning to stay?”

  “Ah.” He glances over his shoulder at the door before he turns back to face me. “I couldn’t say how long they’ll be here. Perhaps only a few days, though it could be much longer. I was once trapped in a hotel in Rome for nearly two weeks, though I’ll admit I didn’t have nearly as pleasant a diversion as I have in you.”

  My mouth falls open for a second—it’s a little hard to believe he just said what he did. “A…diversion? So you admit it? I’m a diversion?”

  He shakes his head, taking a step toward me. “Of course not, Elle. I only meant that we don’t need to give the media any of our attention at all. We are each other’s diversions.” He closes the distance between us, placing his hands on my shoulders. His voice lowers to almost a whisper. “I can make you forget about everything else, Elle. Just as you’ll do the same for me.”

  My jaw tightens for a moment, but my flash of anger is nothing compared to whatever it is that’s making my heart flutter in my chest.

  But I shake my head, trying to clear whatever the hell it is that’s forcing me to lose all sense of control around him. “I can’t…I can’t stay here for two weeks. I need to try to find a job. And… And…”

  He reaches up and places a hand on my cheek. “You’ll want for nothing while I’m here, Elle.”

  While I’m here.

  I take a step back and he drops his hand. “And I can’t have them…” I wave a hand toward the door. “I can’t have them digging around for stuff. I…I don’t want them to. I mean—”

  “It’s a bit too late for that, though. Your name is the registered owner of this house and they’ve already tracked me here. I’m sure they already know your name.”

  “But there has to be something you can do. Something I can do. What if… What if I just go out there and answer their questions? Do you think they’ll leave me—us—alone if I do?” It has to be worth a shot—maybe if I tell them what they want to hear, they won’t try to dig anything else up. Maybe they’ll leave me alone. Maybe they won’t find out about anything.

 

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