“I don’t want anything else to do with that psycho bitch. Either of them. But little blondie will end up dead if you don’t accept the offer. I’m just the messenger. Next time there won’t be any warning.” He flicked a business card at me with a number printed on it. It landed in the dirt. “Text this number with your answer by ten tomorrow morning.”

I punched him in the face before I could consider what he meant by ‘either of them’. “I don’t like being threatened, and last time I saw you, I told you to stay the fuck away from me or you’d be drinking dinner through a straw.”

“You two deserve each other.” He spat blood on the dirt in front of him. “This job wasn’t worth it. Just text the fucking number and get your money. Then your little girlfriend doesn’t get hurt.”

“Tell Dick to go fuck himself. Now, get off my property.”

He scurried off up the driveway like the sewer rat he was. I watched him slip through the gate in the light of the half-illuminated moon.

The whole episode was over in minutes and it was only after he’d gone that I realised I had instantly discounted the sewer rat’s threat to her life. Should I consider the possibility the threat was real? Richard was money driven and money makes people do terrible things—desperate things. I could protect her when she was with me, but what about when she wasn’t? Juliette was far from defenceless, but she had a tendency to put herself in risky situations.

I had just enough time to pick up the card and stash the gun in the shed before Juliette returned.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“Absolutely. Let’s get out of here.”

“Are we going to stay with Bea and Angus?”

I stroked her face gently and felt my protective instincts take hold. I couldn’t let anything happen to her. “I really love you.”

Her eyes softened. “I love you too.”

“Do you mind if we head back to the city instead of staying with Bea and Angus?” I kissed her neck and whispered in her ear. “I want to hear you say that really loud over and over.”

“I can get us back to the city really fast,” she panted.

She wasn’t kidding. No doubt she broke the speed limits, but I had to admit, she drove with the precision of a pro, barely having to slow down to take corners. The gear changes were smooth and deliberate, maximising the small car’s power and agility.

When we got back to my apartment, I climbed out of the car and stretched my limbs. There was enough room for me to fit but not enough to be comfortable.

I met her at the front of the car and we walked in hand-in-hand, sexual tension crackling between us.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Juliette

The second we were in his apartment, I found myself being dragged to the bedroom. Not that I was complaining. He pushed the door closed with his foot, kicked off his boots and pulled his jumper and t-shirt off in one go. His lips were on mine in five seconds flat. His tongue pushed into my mouth and danced seductively with mine. I pushed him back, wanting to take some sort of control this time. Leo groaned, clearly frustrated to lose his grip on me.

I unbuttoned his jeans, swatting his hands away when he tried to pull me back to him. I slid his jeans down, bending lower and lower with them until they were pooled at his feet. When I tapped his ankle, he stepped out of them and I thought I heard a faint chuckle. Kneeling, I kissed the light smattering of hair just above his boxers and was rewarded with a low, drawn-out groan. I could see his boxers straining and I couldn’t resist running my hand over the tented bulge. I looked up, and his incredible eyes locked with mine, glazed with lust, desire and what I now knew to be love.

I pulled the boxers down over his impressive erection and he kicked them off without hesitation. Before I had a chance to make my next move, I was pulled up to him and kissed passionately. I was fully clothed against his nakedness and I enjoyed the sense of power I felt over this man.

“You have far too many clothes on.” Briefly pausing our kiss, his gravelly voice sent desire shooting through my entire body.

When he started to pull at my top, I halted his progress.

“Tell me you love me,” I whispered, placing my hands on his bare chest to keep him at bay.

“I love you.” His intensity was a major turn-on.

I took a step back and removed my layers of clothing one by one, not letting him help me, despite his best efforts. Reaching behind my back, I unhooked my bra and slowly removed it, enjoying the heightening sexual tension between us. Leo took a step towards me, but I pushed his chest gently with my pointer finger. “Patience.”

He shook his head and another frustrated groan bubbled from him.

I hooked my fingers into the top of my underwear and slowly slid them down, not losing eye contact with Leo, who looked like he might explode any second. I retrieved a condom from the bedside table and stalked back to him, ripping the packet open. “We really need to both get tested so we can stop using these.”

“Agreed.” His voice was croaky and barely a whisper.

Completely naked, but not feeling remotely vulnerable, I sheathed him with a confidence I’d never felt before. I wrapped my arms around his neck and crushed my lips to his. He lifted my left leg and placed it around his waist, and I felt his hardness rub against me exactly where I wanted it.

“I need to be inside you, Jules.” He picked up my other leg and carried me to the bed. I was no longer in control and I didn’t mind.

He lay me down on the bed and positioned himself between my legs then thrust into me. I opened my mouth to cry out, but his mouth swallowed the sound.

“Your turn,” he whispered mid thrust.

“Don’t stop, Leo,” I practically begged.

“Tell me you love me.”

I placed my hands on either side of his face and said the words I could only ever imagine saying to him. “I love you.”

He pushed into me deeper than ever before and my head arched back against the covers.

“I fucking love you, Leo,” I repeated as his mouth moved to my neck then to my breasts, where they roamed with an agonising slowness that drove me insane. He kissed them, sucked them and licked them as if he had a direct line to my brain and knew exactly what would send me over the edge. I couldn’t help repeating his name over and over as my body surged to climax.

The man I loved was a god in every way. For the first time in my life, I felt like my life was on track and I fell asleep, wrapped in his arms, with a smile on my face.

***

I woke up the next morning and was instantly aware that Leo wasn’t beside me. My watch on the bedside table told me it was just after ten.

I found one of his t-shirts to put on then padded barefoot into the lounge room. I found Leo standing by the window, staring at his phone. He was gripping it like he wanted to crush it with his bare hands.

“Morning,” I said softly.

He turned around, startled, and I saw pain in his eyes. He’d obviously been deep in thought. “Morning.”

I closed the distance between us and hugged him. “I missed you when I woke up alone.”

He kissed the top of my head then stepped out of my embrace. “I’m sorry.”

He appeared pensive and distracted. His body language wasn’t welcoming me the way I expected, particularly after last night. Something had changed, and a cold dread consumed me.

“Something’s wrong. Please don’t shut me out.” I reached out and touched his arm. “Not now. Not anymore.”

He stared back out the window as if contemplating the problems of the world. “I just have a lot on my mind.” He stuttered his words as if saying them out loud caused him physical pain.

Undecided whether to push him on the subject or not, I set about making coffee, because coffee makes everything better. When I handed him a steaming mug, he still wouldn’t look at me.