Tatum: I’m home. And BTW, Leo is a demanding ass!
Her cell beeped an incoming text a second later.
Kiki: OMG. What happened?!
Ugh. She did not want to get into it right now but knew if she didn’t tell Kiki, she would be getting harassed all night. Typing out a condensed version of what happened, Tatum sat on the couch and waited for the reply. It didn’t take long.
Kiki: Girl! He wants you!! ;-)
Tatum: Maybe, but I don’t want him!
Kiki: LOL. Ur a bad liar, Tater! Let him take you to lunch, but make sure it’s a swanky place. God knows he can afford it!
Tatum: This is a bad idea, Kiki.
Kiki: Maybe, but he must really like u. I’ve never seen him go after a girl who works for him. That’s like a big no-no for him.
Tatum: Yay for me!
Tatum hoped Kiki picked up on her sarcasm.
Kiki: LOL. Seriously though. Have a good time. U can always say no if he wants more. Leo’s a good guy and won’t hold it against u. Besides, I saw the way u were checking him out! U want him 2!
Tatum: I plead the fifth. I think shit will hit the fan if I stop fighting myself on this.
Kiki: U can’t let the past control u being happy! She’s dead, honey. Let urself b happy for once. I love u and think u should go for it!
Kiki always had a way with words. She was the only one who knew how fucked up her childhood had been. She had also been the only one who didn’t care she had been poorer than dirt, didn’t have the name-brand shit, and had no friends. Kiki liked her for herself.
The few relationships Tatum had managed to have weren’t anything more than a couple of moments of lost pleasure. Her baggage always seemed to get in the way, which in all honesty was what she was afraid of happening with Leo.
Never had she felt anything remotely close to the sensations of arousal and want for a man like she felt for him. Fear of Leo seeing how damaged she was and realizing what a mistake it had been to want her in the first place filled her.5After Leo left Tatum, he made a phone call and sat across the street from her house until the black SUV pulled up behind his car.
Calling in one of his men to watch her and not tell her was a douchebag thing to do, but he didn’t want to take any chances when it came to the safety of his mate. The fact that she lived in a rundown part of the city didn’t sit well with him, but her safety overrode everything else, even her anger if she found out.
He only kept a detail outside her home. She still needed her privacy, and until he could convince her that she was his mate and she belonged with him, having someone watch her would help him sleep at night. He had no doubt she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Her arousal had been sweet and strong, and he knew her pussy had been wet. The only problem was she fought it while he embraced it.
The next day, he drove to her house, impatience filling him. He didn’t know if having a mate would fill some void in his life or be the death of him. He pulled into her driveway and killed the engine.
He knocked three times and took a step back. A look over his shoulder showed the black SUV in the same spot he had left it. The blacked-out windows made sure to keep the driver’s identity ambiguous.
The front door opened, and he turned back around. For a solid minute, all he could do was stare at her. The dress she wore was cut low both at the bottom and top. Her cleavage peeked above the lacy top, and the hem stopped at midthigh.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
His cock started to harden, and he thought about anything else to make that shit go down. “God, Tatum.” Scrubbing his hand over the back of his neck, Leo tried to calm himself down. “You’re gorgeous.”
She looked away, but he still saw the blush that covered her cheeks. She murmured her thanks. The aroma of her embarrassment was a baby powder scent that filled his nose.
Her hair was twisted at the crown of her head, and tendrils of curls cascaded around her face. Looking at her made him think of things other than fucking. He wanted to take her to nice places, to show her off while she clutched his arm. He wanted every fucking male to know who she belonged to.
Her bare neck called to him, and he could imagine his mark on it, warning others that she was his. His mating scent started to come out, and he felt his lion pace within him. It wanted out, wanted to press her against the wall, lift up her dress, and feast on her cunt. He knew it would be pretty and pink, knew from the tantalizing scent of her arousal that she’d be soaking too.