Leo (Vigilance 3)

I stared at him like I was sure he knew I would. I marveled at his shoulders, which had to be twice as wide as mine, and the tattoos across his chest. I studied the swirls and curves and the way the colors flowed into each other. I wanted to run my tongue over all of them.

He grinned at me when he ended the call.

“You’re shameless,” I said.

He shrugged. “Come on. I’m going to cook us some bacon.”

“The waffle will really be enough.”

“Ezra, I said I was making bacon. Do you want to stay in bed, or do you want to come talk to me while I do it?”

I took a shaky breath. “I want to be wherever you are.”

His expression softened. “Let me spoil you.”

“I don’t—”

He walked over to the bed and took hold of my shoulders. “I hope you weren’t about to say you don’t deserve it, because you absolutely do.”

I thought about how scared I’d been last night when Leo had been out there alone in the dark. I’d known he was more than a tattoo artist, but I also knew he was human and not quite invincible. Swain was still out there. What else would he do to get to Leo, or his friends, or me?

“Ezra, are you ok?”

Leo’s voice jolted me from my thoughts.

I nodded as I ran a hand over my hair. “I’m fine. I was just thinking about what happened last night.”

“Before or after we got here?”

“Before.”

“Good. I’d hate to think that worried expression came from what happened in my bedroom.”

I shook my head. “No way. Every time I think about being with you, it makes me smile.”

“That’s good, sweetheart, because I want more.”

“Me too.” My ass was sore as fuck, but I didn’t even care.

“I’ll go easy on you today. I promise.”

I didn’t need that. “I told you I’m not—”

“You’re not fragile. I get that. But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to damage you.”

What had I done to deserve a man like this? How could any of this be real? “Are you sure I’m not dreaming?”

“I’m very sure. Now come on, let’s enjoy this moment. In my line of work, you never know how long the quiet’s going to last.”

I looked around the room, then remembered my clothes were somewhere in the living room, and I didn’t have any others. “I don’t have anything to wear.”

“I’d be fine with you being naked all day, but I’ll loan you something until we can pick up some things from your house.”

I shouldn’t care about being naked in front of him after what we’d done the night before, but for some reason I did. “None of your clothes are going to fit me.”

“I believe I have something that’s at least close to your size.”

I frowned at him. “I really don’t think…”

He pulled open a dresser drawer and extracted a pair of dark blue sweats that actually looked like they’d fit me. They might even be a little tight.

“Where did those come from?” My voice sounded snippier than I intended, but if they’d belonged to some little twink who’d—

“They’re my nephew’s. He left them here a while ago.”

“Oh. I didn’t know you had a nephew.”

“He’s fifteen, and sometimes he hangs out with me because his dad can be… difficult. Where did you think they came from?”

“Um… I…”

“No man but you has ever spent the night here, remember?”

“I know you said that, but…” Shit, I was about to reveal more gossip from my aunt.

“Yes?”

“Cathy said you brought men to breakfast sometimes.”

I thought he’d be pissed off, but he just smiled. “I didn’t say I hadn’t slept with a hookup. I just didn’t do it here, and sometimes breakfast comes before there’s been any sleeping.”

After last night, I didn’t doubt that.

“I would never ask you to wear something a rando left here.”

“There’s really no reason not to as long as you washed them.” I could try to act like a reasonable adult.

“Isn’t there?”

“Fine. I fucking hate thinking about you with someone else.”

He grinned. “Then don’t.”

I pushed back the covers and reached for the pants he’d laid on the end of the bed. I pulled them on as I stood, foregoing underwear since the briefs I’d worn the day before had gotten rather sticky and I didn’t want to put them back on.

Leo gave me a slow once-over. “I’m not going to be able to give those back to my nephew now. I’ll have to buy him some more.”

He turned to head to the kitchen quickly enough that he didn’t see me blush. Would I ever get used to his open appreciation of me?

As I followed him to the kitchen, I took better stock of his apartment than I had the night before. The whole place was very tastefully decorated. Nothing about it was ostentatious, but nothing about it was personal either, with the exception of a few photographs in frames sitting on surfaces here or there. It would be interesting to see how much some Christmas decorations changed the feel of it.