I waited to continue our conversation until she was out of earshot. “Vance, I’m really not going to discuss this with you. At least not right now.”
He sneered. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I am. Why would you think otherwise?”
His jaw ticked. “Okay, let me put it this way. Hypothetically, if I started seeing someone,” he said those last two words like he’d eaten some bad fish, “you’re saying that it’d be none of your business? You wouldn’t care one teensy bit that some other woman was in my bed?”
“Are you seeing someone?” Dammit! Why’d I let that slip out? I knew he wasn’t but I fell for his trap anyway.
He grinned triumphantly. “Exactly my point. Now answer the question.”
Leo and I hadn’t even had the chance to discuss our relationship status. I certainly wasn’t going to talk to Vance about it first. I stood up from the table. “Thanks for the lunch invite, but I’ve lost my appetite.”
“Karli, wait.” He grabbed my retreating elbow. “Dammit! This wasn’t supposed to be this way.”
My eyes watered as I turned to face him. “Life doesn’t always work out the way we thought it would.”
He nodded towards the booth. “Please, sit down. Don’t go. I don’t know what’s going to happen tonight or if we’ll get another chance to talk.” He sank into the booth and sighed. “I just traveled five thousand miles to be here. Can’t you spare a little time?”
I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d want me to stay if he knew that I’d slept with Leo. He certainly suspected it, but suspecting and knowing were two entirely different things. “I don’t know, Vance.”
He held up his fingers in a Boy Scout salute. “I promise no Leo talk. No Maria talk. Hell, I’ll even throw in no relationship talk.”
I slid into my seat. “Okay.”
Vance and I actually managed to have lunch without any further incident. Our conversation was surprisingly pleasant…some might even say friendly. He filled me in on what had been going on back home, his version of everything with Erica, and even some memories of his time spent on Faerie. He was really excited about the possibility of going back there again. He even spoke about my parents’ deaths, and how it affected him. Of course he’d be affected when he learned they had passed; we just never really discussed it. I was a bit ashamed of myself because I was so wrapped up in my own drama that I never really thought about his feelings. God, I really was an asshole sometimes.
He dropped me off at the hotel and agreed to return right after sundown. I stepped into my suite and stood there for a moment, confused. All of the lights were off and there were no sounds coming from anywhere. Weird.
“Leo?” I called.
“In here, my love.”
His voice came from the bedroom so I walked over and opened the door. “Hey, wha—”
He smiled as he pulled me into the room. “Welcome back.”
I stood there in awe as I looked around. There were at least two dozen candles on every available surface with red rose petals scattered across the bed. “Oh, Leo, it’s so beautiful!”
He trailed a finger down the side of my neck. “You’re so beautiful.” He studied me for a moment and frowned. “Is everything okay? You seem…preoccupied. How was your lunch?”
I gulped. “I don’t want to talk about lunch. I just really need to be with you right now.”
Without another word, we undressed one another, taking our time, tasting the salt on each other’s skin as each layer of clothing was removed. I arched my back as he dragged velvety soft rose petals over my sensitized flesh, and gasped when he took my painfully hard nipple into his mouth while kneading my breasts. I moaned when he entered me slowly, filling me so soundly I screamed in delight.
Leo’s movements were soft and sweet, much different than our previous encounters. It seemed like he was committing every second of this experience and every inch of my body to memory. He loved me and worshipped me with every ounce of passion he possessed. We maintained eye contact almost the entire time, making each sensation that much more intense.
As I came, a shadow fell over his face. He looked…miserable. He exuded deep pain, regret even. I couldn’t pinpoint where the sudden shift in mood came from, but it was breaking my heart.
“Are you okay?” I stroked his face, looking deeply into his eyes.
He searched my eyes. “I love you, Karli. More than anything. Don’t ever forget that.”
Why was he saying this? “Leo, what—”
He silenced me with a kiss more passionate than any before, his tongue mimicking his lower body. His thrusts became harder, faster, and deeper until he reached his own completion. My body was humming in pleasure, but I couldn’t help feeling like something was horribly wrong.
He stood up and started pulling on his discarded pants. “We have about an hour before we need to leave. Why don’t you get ready? I have some calls to make.” He blew out the candles one by one.