Fixation (Magnetic Desires Book 3) Page 14

  "Leo, you bring that sweet little girl over here and let me see her," Mom said as she started toward us.

  I kissed her on the cheek. "Hey, Mom. How’s Dad doing?"

  "He’s getting worse. He struggles to remember." Pain lanced across her face. "Let’s not talk about that now. Introduce me to my granddaughter."

  "Okay, Grandma, this is Tia. Tia this is your grandma."

  Tia hid partially behind my leg until my mother crouched down. "Don’t be going shy now. I have a present for you. Will you come inside with me?"

  Tia’s eyes lit up and she took Mom’s hand. They walked ahead while I turned to Lola. "Come on, they won’t bite."

  She took halting steps and I placed my palm on the small of her back to usher her forward. Birdie grinned as we approached. "Come on, Lola. Let’s leave these boys to their own devices."

  I followed Drake around the house to the back porch, and we snagged a couple beers from the bar fridge mom kept stocked for the times her boys came home.

  "I never thought I’d see the day you’d settle down and be a family man." Drake knocked the top off his beer.

  If anyone could make me feel like a failure, it was Drake. All our lives it had seemed he had what I wanted. It had never been a competition between us. Drake wasn’t like that. But still, there’d been a lot of jealousy on my part when we were growing up. "I’m working on it."

  "When did you find out?"

  "About Tia? A few weeks back. It was… a surprise."

  He chuckled and lifted his beer. "I bet. It’s a good look on you."

  "She’s amazing."

  "And Lola?"

  "She’s amazing, too." Putting my beer down, I stuck a cigarette between my lips and fumbled for a lighter.

  "Are you going to give that up?"

  I stared at the smoke and then ashed it out. It was time I started setting a good example. "Yes, doctor."

  "Good. Let’s go inside. I want to meet this little girl who's stolen my brother’s heart."

  "Watch it man, she’ll steal yours, too." Clapping him on the back, I led the way into the house.

  He grinned. "I’m counting on it."

  ***

  "So what’s going on with you and Mellie’s sister?" Birdie asked while we sat outside after lunch.

  I pulled a cigarette from my pack and lit up, drawing back on the butt while I slouched down in the chair. Drake's question about when I was going to quit hounded me. I took another drag, and butted it out in the ashtray. It would take baby steps to put this bad habit behind me, and baby steps to win Lola back.

  Birdie and I had cleaned up while the others had taken Tia to a nearby park. It was unusual for Drake to leave me alone with my soon to be sister-in-law, but he was as enamored with his niece as I was. It had taken time to prove to him that I wasn’t the same guy I’d been when he’d first left us behind.

  "Remember when we first met?" Recalling how she’d put me in my place within minutes of meeting had me grinning.

  "I don’t think I’ll ever forget." She chuckled and fiddled with the end of her braid. "You were kind of an ass."

  "That’s a nice way of putting it." Over time we’d become friends of a sort. "Well, you hit the nail on the head that day. She’s the girl. The one you said had ruined me."

  "Oh." Her mouth formed a circle, drawing the word out slowly, and she leaned forward with her elbows on her table. "Is she the one who you were going to marry?"

  "He told you about that?" Turning the lighter end over end, I tapped it against the metal arm of the chair.

  "Drake tells me everything." She lifted a shoulder and dropped it.

  "Well… I’ll remember not to tell either of you any secrets."

  "I didn’t say I told him everything." Crossed her legs, she leaned back in the chair.

  "Of course you do. You two are practically one person."

  "That’s fair."

  "Okay." I sat forward, hitching up one pant leg. "That girl I was supposed to marry? Well… I did marry her."

  "So, Lola’s your what… wife?" Both eyebrows raised, she reached for her cup of tea.

  My legs jiggled. She was the first person I’d told. I’d been so angry and so embarrassed when I came back to Carlton six years ago that I hadn't breathed a word of it. Now, I wasn’t sure where things were going. "Yeah. In a manner of speaking."

  "What do you mean?"

  "She’s got the divorce papers. They were out on the counter when I went to pick up Tia."

  "She wants a divorce?" Leaning forward, she rested her hand on my arm. "Are you sure about that?"

  I bowed my head, too heavy to hold up, the buzz of anger I had been so used to coursing through me. "I fucked up big time. She doesn’t want to give it another shot."

  "You believe that? I mean she’s here, with your family. That’s a pretty big thing."

  "I pushed her hand."

  "Oh, Leo." She patted my arm and sat back. "You should know by now you can’t force a girl to do something she doesn’t want to."

  And how many times had I broken that unwritten rule when it came to Lola? "Yeah, it was a shit thing to do."

  "No, I mean, she wouldn’t have come if she didn’t want to be with you." Rising to her feet, she scooped up both our empty mugs.

  The others were back. I could hear them moving around inside. Tia’s voice carried through the open windows. Getting up, I strode to the back door. "I hope you’re right."

  "Leo?"

  Pausing, I glanced over my shoulder. "Yeah?"

  With a smile, she joined me. "Maybe she’s scared."

  "Maybe," I conceded.

  "Some of us need a good strong man to guide us to where we want to be. You’re a good man, Leo. Maybe you need to take charge." She jabbed me in the ribs with her elbow, and I opened the door to let her pass.

  Maybe Birdie was right and maybe she was wrong. I didn’t know which, but I couldn’t let Lola sign those divorce papers. Not after we’d had so much time to let go, and yet neither of us had taken the final step to end it. I needed to get Lola alone, convince her we were worth another try, and I couldn’t do it here. "Are my girls ready to go?" I called out as I went inside. The sooner we got back to Reverence, the sooner I could get Lola to agree to give us another shot.

  It took far longer than I expected to get them back in the car. Tia had two new bags I needed to pack into the car beside the one she’d brought with her, and mom wasn’t happy until she’d shoved several casserole dishes into the cab as well. Then there’d been hugs and kisses, and I’d grinned as I watched Lola fidget with the hem of her shirt when it was her turn to be embraced. Finally, we’d backed out of the driveway, after I’d promised to bring them back next week for lunch. I didn’t know if it was a promise Lola would let me keep but it had been enough to get us out of the driveway and speeding toward Reverence.

  Tia fell asleep in the back seat on the way home, and I thought over what Birdie had said while Lola played games on her phone. I’d pushed her when we’d first met, but I’d been so certain that she was the one, I hadn’t been able to hold back. I’d pushed her again when she’d come back into my life, when she was willing and wanting to be with me, even though I couldn’t see past my misconceived belief she was everything I hated in a woman. But this was different. She’d shaken me up, left me rattled and uncertain and making moves I didn’t understand. Pulling into the driveway, I turned off the ignition and simply sat beside her while I tried to work out how I was supposed to climb the mountain between us.

  "I had a good time, Leo. Your family is wonderful."

  Unclipping my seatbelt, I gripped her knee. "They’re your family, too, Lola. You’re my wife."

  She sighed. "How many times do we have to go through this?"

  "As many times as it takes you to realize it." I growled and twisted to pull her in to my chest and claim her mouth. Showing her how much I wanted her.

  Her palms on my chest, she pushed at me. "We can’t go back."

  "The
n we don’t. We go forward. You, me, and Tia. We go forward."

  "I can’t be with you for her."

  "I didn’t mean that, and you know it."

  Opening the door, she jumped out. "You do things to me, Leo. You make it so damn hard to think."

  "Then don’t think." I bolted out of the car, raced around to catch her up tight against my chest, and consumed her mouth. She gasped under my demand, opening up so I could pour everything I had into the move of our lips against one another, the stroke of my tongue against hers. Tasting her sweetness, I devoured the small whimper that escaped her throat as she clutched at me. If I could have her like this forever then she’d be mine. When I took her like this, she couldn't say no. Lifting her up, I braced us against the hood of the car, gripping her ass as I pressed between her thighs.

  The sound of crying pulled us apart, and Lola scrambled for composure. I ran my hand through my hair and stalked around the car to open Tia’s door. As much as I adored my little girl, her timing couldn’t have been worse. I unclipped her seatbelt and lifted her out. "Did you have a good nap?"

  She rested her head on my shoulder while I carried her inside and laid her on the couch. Her eyes shut again, and I stalked back outside. Lola had her arms full of dishes and bags and I rushed to lighten the load. A vivid vision of me throwing the bags and dishes to the ground and gathering Lola up instead assaulted me, but I kept myself in check long enough to carry the stuff inside.

  The moment she dropped the bags on the floor, I scooped her up and took to the stairs.

  "What are you doing, Leo?"

  "You’re mine, Lola. Maybe we can’t go back but I certainly intend to go forward, starting right now."

  "But, Tia."

  "She’s sleeping."

  "No, I mean this isn’t a good idea. She’s the one that will get hurt if we fuck up again."

  "I can promise you, sweetheart, she isn’t hurting as much as we are right now."

  "Put me down." She pushed against my chest.

  Letting her slide to the ground, I pressed her into the wall, my hands either side of her head, trapping her against me. "How many times are you going to use that excuse to keep us apart?"

  "It’s not an excuse."

  "It is, Lola. I get it. I mean I truly get it. You’re scared to let me back in. Twice I’ve destroyed us, and you have every right to protect yourself."

  "You didn’t destroy—"

  I put a finger to her lips. "I did. I let you go, and then I pushed you away, because I couldn’t see past my own pride. But, sweetheart, I'm done with letting you be scared. I’m done with keeping my distance."

  "This isn’t distance, Leo."

  "We might be standing here, together, but you’re not with me. You’re still running scared. You’re still fighting what’s between us."

  "There’s nothing between us."

  I grasped her chin in my fingers. "There’s a bloody big something between us, and I am done pussy footing around it. I want you."

  "I… don’t want you."

  "Liar." Pulling her leg up around me, I pressed the bulge of my cock against her core. "Don’t you think I can smell it when you’re wet for me? Don’t you think I can see it in your eyes and the way you slide that sexy fucking tongue over your lip, like you’re looking to devour something? I know when you’re hungry for me, and I’m the only one who can give you what you need."

  She groaned as I slipped my hand under her shirt and cupped her tit, grinding my palm against it. Her back arched, pushing her more firmly into my grasp. Hooking my fingers into her bra, I tugged it down until I could scrape my thumb over the areola. The nipple puckered and hardened under the attention.

  "Okay, I’m a liar, but this...it can only be once." She moaned as I slid my other hand into the front of her jeans, my fingers slipping through her wet heat.

  "Once every day for the rest of our lives. That’s as low as I’m willing to go." I dipped a finger into her slit, and her hips rolled to pull me in.

  "I’m not sure. I don’t… I need time."

  "All the time you want." Running my teeth up the column of her throat, I nipped at her jaw. "As long as it's with me."

  "I can’t even…" She closed her eyes as I massaged her clit, her breath coming in jagged bursts.

  "I’ll be patient, sweetheart, but I’m not going to let this go. You know I’m right." I fumbled with the zip on her jeans in my haste to have her. The sound of metal snagging as I reefed it down barely punctuated her sharp intake of breath. I pushed the denim off her hips. "I like it better when you wear a skirt."

  "Why do you think I chose pants?"

  "If you were in a skirt, I would be tasting you right now. I’d be on my fucking knees, my mouth between your thighs."

  "Leo." She squirmed and rubbed her legs together.

  Grinning, I slipped my fingers inside her again. "Easy, sweetheart. I didn’t say I wasn’t going to give you what you wanted."

  She clutched my shoulders while I fucked her with my fingers, her hips bucking, her inner walls clenching at the little I was giving her. My cock craved her, wanted to slip between her pussy lips and feel her tighten around me.

  A door downstairs slammed shut and we froze. Heavy footsteps sounded on the wooden floor. Drawing back, I couldn’t bring myself to let go of her. "Dammit."

  "We can’t do this." She shifted, her hands going to her pants.

  "The hell we can’t." Setting my mouth to hers, I used my tongue to keep her quiet while I plunged my fingers inside her, working her clit with the pad of my thumb.

  She whimpered into my mouth, her hips bucking as she tried to climb my body, tried to get closer to what she wanted. Her orgasm tore through her. I could feel it in the way her legs tensed and her knees buckled as I captured her quickened breath and the deep throaty moan that ripped from her lips. Gently, I eased out of her and did up her pants while she sagged against the wall. Grasping her hips, I pressed into her letting her feel how hard I still was for her. I took her bottom lip between my teeth and tugged at it. "This is what you do to me every damn time I'm near you. And it’s not just the sex, love, it’s the way you handle me at my worst and the way you make me need to be the guy who wants to win you over every single day. I’m going to convince you I’m not going anywhere. That I'm not going to be stupid enough to let you go again."

  "Leo, please." Her voice cracked.

  I let her go. "Just think about it."

  She nodded, and I stroked her cheek before turning and running down the stairs. Mike glanced up from his paper as I passed him in the kitchen. He tapped his fingers on the envelope beside him. "You saw these?"

  "Yeah," I muttered, not wanting to talk about it.

  "Good luck," he called as I let myself out the back door.

  I didn’t need luck to get her back. I was going to make her realize that we were us for a reason. But luck wouldn’t hurt. Darting a glance at the sky, I crossed to the truck. We’ve been through enough. Just let us be happy.

  I knew it wouldn’t help. It was all on me, and I was damn well going to show her we could be happy again. Jumping into the truck, I headed for home. Being so close to having her and not being able to sink into her had left me with a problem I needed to take care of on my own.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Lola

  I smiled as I walked into the kitchen. Leo sat beside Tia at the counter while Mike, sleeves rolled up to his elbow and a tea towel over his shoulder, worked over the stove. Leo nursed a beer as the two bantered back and forth and Tia colored. Crossing the room, I hung my jacket and bag on the hooks near the back door. "Hey, princess, Mike, Leo."

  Mike darted a glance between the pot he was currently stirring and me. "Hey Lola, how was work?"

  "Good." Sniffing the fragrant air, I joined him at the stove and checked the pots. My stomach growled in appreciation. "God, I love when you cook."

  Leo cleared his throat in the background, and Mike winked as he pecked my cheek. I squeezed his bicep.
"Did Mellie drop in?"

  "Yes. She left before this sod showed up." He cocked his head in Leo’s direction. "She will get over it in time."

  I skirted the counter to wrap my arms around Tia and plant a kiss on the top of her head. "How’s my baby?"

  "Good, Mom." She kept coloring, and I glanced at Leo, wondering if I would ever get her undivided attention again.

  "What about me?" Swinging the stool to face me, he grinned. "Everyone else gets a kiss."

  Carefully keeping my distance, I swatted his arm on my way past. "You’re here late."

  Mike lifted his head. "I invited him to stay for dinner."

  "Did you, now?" I raised an eyebrow as I took the spoon out of his hand and tasted the sauce he’d made for the chicken. "This is… Marry me?"

  Mike laughed and dipped his head to whisper in my ear. "You, my girl, are playing with fire. There’s a man over there who looks like he’s ready to launch himself over here and pull me apart with his bare hands."

  I glanced back to find Leo staring at us, his body tight as he practically levitated off the chair, his gaze narrowed under drawn brows. My heart leaped, and I stifled the grin that threatened to split my face, keeping it to a lift of one corner of my mouth. "I guess you can stay...for Tia. Do you need me to set the table, Mike?"

  "No, it's done. Why don’t you go shower and by the time you’re finished we’ll be ready to eat."

  I nodded and scooted out of the kitchen. My first week fully back at work had been both a relief and intense. My hands no longer hurt but I’d lost some of my fitness in those weeks, and I hadn’t seen Leo since the day we went to lunch with his family, since he’d had me up against the wall and ... I bounced up the stairs and into my bedroom, stripping off my clothes as soon as I closed the door. Five classes back to back this afternoon had left me more than a little sweaty and on the nose. In the bathroom, I turned on the shower and stepped under the spray. It streamed over me, obliterating the accumulation of dirt, and clearing my mind. I thought better in the shower, but tonight the only thing that came to mind was Leo’s face when I’d asked Mike to marry me. Mike had been right about Leo looking ready to pull him apart, but it wasn’t that or the hot shower which had my body temperature rising. I hadn’t been able to get him out of my head all week. Hadn’t been able to shake off his words or the way he’d taken control, showing me he meant them. With how busy I'd been at work, my mind shouldn’t have been consumed by him, but it was. Now, he was here, staying for dinner and staring at me like he wanted to devour me. Getting that image out of my head was impossible.