6. Bigger is Better

Chapter 6

Bigger is Better

Libby

W alking into the condo, I stopped in the entryway and listened for any signs that Leo was there. After an interesting and awkward lunch, I’d had a great afternoon shopping with Ethan and now had a few hours to spare before my train left back to Connecticut.

I toed off my shoes and then headed down the hall to my new room with my shopping bags. There was no point in taking them back to Connecticut with me just to bring them back in a week.

I walked into the empty primary bedroom and stopped dead in my tracks halfway to the closet. Leo wasn’t gone. He was in the en suite and was climbing out of the tub.

Naked.

Leo was naked.

The sight before me left me frozen… but only my muscles. Other parts of me were not frozen. I didn’t know if it was the man himself or some post-breakup voodoo at play.

Sex with my ex had been decent enough, but never once had I looked at Justin and gotten turned on in the way Leo was turning me on at the mere sight of his dripping wet body.

Leo grabbed a towel and began drying off, oblivious to my stares. His back was to me, and I’d never seen such a glorious specimen in my life. My mouth hung open like a cartoon character as I took in his exquisite ass and the family coat of arms tattoo that spanned his entire back.

I’d seen him without a shirt the night before, but this was different. He was wet and his body was on full display.

Had there been some kind of fumes that had come from the spilled lube the night before that had altered my brain without me knowing? I didn’t walk around ogling guys. Yet there I was, being a voyeur and watching my boss without his permission.

With that thought, my legs started working again, and I went into the closet that was right next to the bathroom. The custom closet was the size of a small bedroom and had built-in cabinets, dressers, and custom hangers that matched.

Shutting the door most of the way, I got to work taking out my clothes and admiring them as I laid them across the center island. I couldn’t even remember half the things I’d bought. Between the wine at lunch and the complimentary champagne one of the stores had given us, I’d happily purchased almost everything I’d tried on. It helped that Ethan had an eye for fashion and what would look best on me.

My wardrobe had just gotten a major upgrade. I typically hated anything that wasn’t pants, but the dresses and skirts I’d tried on looked too good to pass on. Now that I was going to be working in an industry where my clothing might be the difference between someone giving us a donation or not, jeans weren’t an option anyway.

After folding my empty bags and leaving them on a shelf, I turned to grab a handful of hangers, only to find Leo leaning against the doorframe watching me intently, his arms crossed over his naked chest and a slate gray towel wrapped around his waist.

“Hi,” I squeaked, at least an octave higher than normal.

His lips turned up in a smirk. “Hi.”

He pushed off the doorframe and came toward me, causing me to hold my breath. He brushed past me, the faint scent of lavender wafting from him as he went to where my new clothes were laid out.

“Did you take a lavender bath?” Why was he even taking a bath anyway? He didn’t strike me as the relax in a bubble bath type. “Why are you in my room? There are other bathrooms with bathtubs.”

He delicately ran his fingers over a blouse. “I didn’t see your name on the door… plus it’s bigger. Bigger is better.”

“Right.” I wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing, but he looked through my clothes, stopping on the red dress and pulling it from the stack. “Well, um… I’m going to get going. I just wanted to drop off my new clothes.”

I turned to leave, not wanting to stay and watch the towel fall off him. It was perched precariously on the shelf of his toned ass, and all it would have taken was one small breeze or movement in the wrong direction and it would be a goner. The last thing I needed was to be face-to-face with his dick.

“Did Ethan pick this out?”

I spun back around, eyeing him suspiciously as he held it up. “Why?”

His green eyes met mine. “I find it curious that a man in love with you would pick something like this for you to wear to work when he knows I want you.”

“Wh-what?” I spluttered.

“Ethan. He’s in love with you.” He stepped toward me, and I stepped back but didn’t make it very far before bumping into the wall next to the door instead of escaping. He held the dress up in front of me, his brows furrowing as if he were trying to picture me wearing it.

I swallowed the shock of his words, my eyes falling to the floor. Ethan was my best friend. My ride or die. We couldn’t be in love with each other and still have that same relationship. Romantic feelings complicated things and love had the potential to destroy people.

It destroyed my mom.

“We’re best friends, and with that comes a certain level of intimacy,” I whispered.

Leo lifted my chin, the warmth of his touch sending a shiver through me. His gaze bore into mine, and I felt myself getting lost in his eyes.

“This is more than best friend intimacy… why do you think he hates me so much? I’ve done nothing to him.” He dropped my dress and leaned his arm against the wall right next to my head like Ethan had done during the impromptu photoshoot. “It’s in the way he looks at you... touches you... protects you.”

I gulped as he slid the hand that had been touching my chin to my hair. His fingers dug into my hair, angling my head slightly, his eyes on my lips.

I knew I should pull away, but there was a part of me—a very hungry part of me—that wanted him to kiss me. My heart was racing as he leaned in closer, his warm breath fanning across my face. Every nerve ending felt alive, hyper-aware of his proximity and the way his fingers were digging into my hair.

He was my boss and my brother’s friend. In the dictionary, his picture would be under off-limits, and yet, all of those rational thoughts seemed to melt away.

“I think you’re seeing things that aren’t there,” I whispered, focusing on the way his green eyes had darkened, the intensity of his gaze as it searched mine. “He’s only ever looked at me as his friend.”

I should have stopped this and found the willpower to pull away before we crossed a line that could never be uncrossed. But an even stronger, more primal part of me was aching for him to close the distance.

“It’s more than that… it’s the same way I look at you.” Before I could even process what he was saying, he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine.

The kiss was gentle at first, as if he were testing the waters, but then his body pressed me into the wall, his tongue sliding past my lips.

I gasped as his tongue tangled with mine. I was on fire, and the flames leapt through me like wildfire racing through dry brush.

My body trembled and my hands slid up his chest. He gripped my hair, angling my head to deepen the kiss even more. He groaned as my body made contact with his cock straining against his towel.

“Elizabeth.” The way he said my name as he moved his lips to my neck sent a shiver down my spine. “Just this once...”

He’d just told me he thought my best friend was in love with me and insinuated that he was too, even though we barely knew each other. I hadn’t even moved back to New York yet and my life was becoming a chaotic mess. What would it be like when I lived there?

I pushed at his chest to break the hold he had on me. “We can’t. You’re my boss.”

He sighed and took a step back. “You’re on the foundation board of directors, so technically, you’re my boss.”

The details of it didn’t matter. In the office, he would tell me what to do. There weren’t any guidelines for workplace relationships, but that didn’t mean it was a good idea to get entangled with each other.

I wasn’t the casual sex type like he was, and I had only been with three people—one of them not even all the way. He probably needed the hands of everyone on the block to count the number of people he’d had sex with.

“This can’t happen between us... not just because you just told me that Ethan is in love with me, but because you sleep around and the whole world knows it.”

He wasn’t a celebrity by any means, but his family was well known, and I’d seen his name come up in gossip columns over the years for various indiscretions. I didn’t want to be another conquest.

“The whole world is a bit of a stretch. Maybe the city, but I’m not like that anymore.” He shook his head in defeat. “There’s a chemistry between us that I can’t ignore.”

I bit my lip and looked down at my dress before bending down to grab it. “Chemistry is overrated.”

Leo’s towel chose that exact moment to come undone and fall to the floor, leaving me face to face with his glorious cock. The briefs he wore the night before really did a good job of containing him.

There was no way that would fit.

Wait, what? Why was I thinking about that? And why was I now imagining taking him in my mouth? There I was bent over, my hand poised to pick up my dress, but instead, I was staring like I’d never seen a dick before.

“Shit. Well, I guess we’re even for me seeing your nipples.” He chuckled and backed up a step. “Mind grabbing my towel?”

My face burned; I’d really hoped he hadn’t seen anything.

Before I did something ridiculous like grabbing his cock, I picked up his towel and looked away as I stood. Not that looking away helped—his dick would forever be in my head now.

I laid my dress across the island before running my fingers through my hair. “I need to get going.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” He adjusted his towel around his hips, notably tented.

My heart sank for no good reason at all. What did I expect him to say?

“Right.” I moved past him out of the closet. The sooner I got away from him, the better, because the last thing I needed was to be getting silly romantic thoughts in my head after a freaking kiss.