“Then at least listen to my plan.”
“Go ahead. Tell me.”
“No, not here. I want you to hear it in front of everyone.”
His eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”
“Call the guys together at my store. I’ll explain what I think there.”
“We don’t do that very often. It’s too dangerous to have everyone in one room in case something happens.”
“Take the chance. We need to plan if we’re going to attack them.”
He shook his head nice and slow and took a step toward me. I didn’t move—only stared up into his eyes and tried to keep my heart from slamming itself out of my chest. He reached out and touched my cheek, fingers curling down my skin, and stooped forward, lips coming near mine.
“Since when did you turn into a little warrior?”
“Since you made me like this.”
“Oh, little diamond.” He smiled big and I could see the real joy in his eyes. “I didn’t make you like anything.”
“You made me want to fight.” I chewed my lip as he leaned down and kissed my cheek.
“I only showed you a path. You decided to walk it.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit.”
“It’s the truth. I talk about testing people, but my tests aren’t meant to shape or mold, only to show what’s already there. I call you my little diamond because I found you in the coal mine, but the truth is my darling, you’ve always been a hard thing. Maybe you hid it well and maybe you walked a straight path for most of your life, but inside that chest is pure steel and grit and killer instinct. You can’t hide it any more than a lion can hide its mane.”
He kissed my then and let it linger. I sucked in a breath then kissed him back, pressing myself against his muscular chest and letting the feeling overwhelm me. I felt like I was going insane, like I was shifting into an entirely different person and I had no clue who she really was—but maybe he was right and I always had this inside of me. I’d always been ruthless and hardworking and I never let anything stand in my way. I made my shop work where most people would’ve failed, and I rarely let my emotions get the best of me.
God, his taste flooded through me, and I was so scared that he was telling the truth—scared, but also excited. I needed him to be right, needed this to be the person I was always meant to be, because it felt too good to ignore. Standing here with him in his living room, knowing that I was about to suggest a dangerous plan that might very well end with my own death, I never felt more alive in my entire life.
It was because of him. He pretended like his tests didn’t shape and mold, but I saw through that. His tests took me and woke something up inside of me, something that might’ve never woken if he hadn’t guided me.
Now I was his, and I was going to use all my newfound strength to help hm.
I pulled back, breaking the kiss, and ran my fingers through his hair.
“Call the guys together. Call them into my shop later today.”
He let out a frustrated growl. “Make it worth my while.”
I reached down between his legs and felt his hard cock strain against his boxer briefs.
“Promise you’ll call.”
“I swear.”
I dropped down to my knees in front of him and slid his briefs down to the ground. His thick cock barely fit in my mouth but I sucked him anyway, let him slide his shaft deep into my mouth. I listened to his mouths as I pulled back and stroked him, staring into his eyes, and I knew in that moment that this was right where I wanted to be, the place I needed to be.
I sucked him faster, let him growl and grab my hair, and when he came on my tongue I swallowed every drop with a smile on my lips.
I got to my feet and he kissed me, slow and deep.
“This better be a good plan,” he whispered, giving me a lazy, drunken smile.
I laughed as he grabbed my ass then went off to make the calls.I stood in front of the crew and let my eyes roam over them. Danny sat toward the front of the room next to the windows eating a Snickers bar while the others stood in loose clumps around the shirt racks. I leaned back against the counter and Owain stood next to me, arms crossed over my chest.
“I know we don’t get everyone in one room like this often,” he said as the tense, nervous conversation died down. “But Leigh has something she wants to bring to everyone’s attention.”
I looked around and half expected Camillo to make some comment. Instead, he stared back at me with a flat expression, both his eyes covered in thick black bruises.