Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Leo

I want to be pissed. Kim had my number this whole time and just never bothered to call.

And I just told her that I wasn't here to ask her out and yet…I can't keep my hands off her.

Her skin slides like silk under my palm as I trace her hip. It should be illegal for skin to feel this good.

"Do you want to get dressed and I'll take you out for coffee?" I hear myself say even as I pull her closer again, my other hand reaching out so I'm holding both her hips in my hands. Her body looks so small, then again, my hands have always been large. Her much paler skin glows against my darker tone.

Even now, I want to yank down those little panties and bury my face in her?—

"I don't think that's a good idea."

My chin snaps up as I glare. "Why not?"

"Leo," she whispers, her hands coming to her hips to cover mine. "Because."

"Because why?" Why is this girl giving me the cold shoulder? Does she know the truth?

"Because we said it was going to be a one-time thing and I told you…" She bends down to whisper close to my ear but the tank top gapes down, giving me an amazing view of her cleavage. I seriously love her tits. Not that big but just full enough to fill my palms with the prettiest rosy-pink nipples. "I don't do that sort of thing. Like ever."

I skate my hands over her narrow waist to her ribs, wanting to cup both those perfect tits in my hands. "What sort of thing?"

I know I'm playing dumb, but I want her to explain. I need to make sure she hasn't figured out too much about me or what I did.

"Look. Before you, I've only slept with one guy and…"

I hear a gasp from the hall and realize we've got an eavesdropper. "Chandra," I bark. "Get lost."

"All right," she says in a rush of breath before I hear her door open and close again. Chandra's been a wealth of information on Kim. Kim doesn't date, she doesn't work in clubs as a dancer, and she doesn't even really go out. It's work, class, dance, repeat.

Which only makes me like her more. "So am I only the second guy you've fucked?"

"What I did with Bobby could hardly be called fucking," she replies and then shakes her head.

I get the picture. He didn't make her scream his name. Which could only mean that she really enjoyed what we did…so…what the fuck?

I'm getting tired of the circles we're talking in, so I pull her down into my lap. She only resists for a second before she folds into me, sitting sideways across my legs.

I dip my chin to kiss the spot between her collarbone and neck. "I'm not sure I'm seeing the problem."

"We shouldn't have…" she whispers but she's arching her neck to give me more access. "I'm not that girl."

A frown pulls at my mouth. I've got a few choices here. I want Kim in my bed on the regular until all my plans have come to fruition. I know that much.

Normal me would go firing off and insist we go out, but I can sense that's not the way I get Kim, and besides, I'm trying for self-improvement, even if I'm failing.

Some deep part of me is surprised I'm softening for her. It's not like me…

Then again, enough dancers have passed through my doors for me to know, no other woman is going to scratch the itch I've been working up. And Kim needs a bit of gentle convincing. Just like last time.

"Which girl are you?" I murmur into her skin.

"I'm the girl who breaks the mold. Who does more than anyone expected."

Ah. She's that girl. "I think you're spectacular."

She shakes her head. "You think what every guy thinks about me."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"I get that you've got a better reason to think it than most."

Now we're getting somewhere, but I'm not sure I like it. "What do I think?"

"That I'm the trashy slut who just sleeps with a guy on the veranda at a wedding." I hear the tremor and I know we're getting to the heart of it.

"We did not do any sleeping." She shivers, her shoulders curling in and closing my access to her neck. I don't like it. "I think you're the woman that I can't stop thinking about," I answer because I've closed my fair share of deals, and all girls want to be told they're special. Though, Kim actually is.

She shakes her head. "I didn't get the job in New York." Her voice trembles and I can hear how upset she is.

My stomach bottoms out in guilt. "I heard."

"And I failed my class."

"I heard that too."

Her arms are wrapping around me like she's been drowning and I've come to rescue her. For whatever reason, that doesn't annoy me. In fact, I hold her tighter. Fuck. I'm such an asshole. "My scholarship has run out and I have to pay to retake the class out of pocket and…"

She's close to tears. I know she was just talking to her mom, but my guess is mom either doesn't know or can't pay. "You need money."

She jerks back. "I'm not asking you?—"

"I need a dancer," I say levelly. I'm not promising Kim to be her doting boyfriend. I don't think she'd take the offer if I did.

But five minutes with her and she's been against my body, in my lap. If I get her in my club every day, I'm sure I can get her back in my bed.

Kim still wants me, it's completely clear.

Even now, I skate my hand up her ribs, my thumb settling just under her tit and her nipple puckers, pointing out through the tank top.

I want to bend down and suck her into my mouth so badly, my cock is at full attention in my jeans.

She looks at me, her gaze level with mine and she nips at her lip like she can't decide. "I don't do gigs like that."

I study her for a second, ticking back through several of the things she shared. I'm one of two guys she's slept with.

There's a mom, no mention of a dad, and no money.

She said I thought about her what all guys think…

Is that what she thinks about herself? I've met a lot of women in my time and Kim, despite our hook up, is as far from trashy as a woman can be.

She's all class and it shows in everything she does. From her work ethic, to her morals, to the way she walks and talks.

"It's a thousand dollars a night."

Her eyes get so big, dilating so the green almost disappears. "What did you say?"

"I'll pay you a thousand dollars a night."

Her hands flex on my shoulders. "For how long?"

"As long as you want." And I mean that. Even if I manage to get my fill of her in a month or two, this is my sister-in-law's best friend and an all-around fantastic woman. I'll pay her to dance for as long as she needs.

"Do I wear clothes while I'm in the cage?"

I chuckle at that. "More than you've got on now," I answer and then stop laughing as I realize, I might have to buy her a full body suit. No other man is touching this skin.

She's melting into me again. Kim's drug is offering to do things for her. Take care of a need, even if she doesn't like taking charity.

Also noted…

I lick at that spot behind her ear and she hums out her pleasure, her arms fully wrapping around my neck.

Yeah, baby. That's it. Come to Leo.

She's skittish. Should have realized that the first night. But I know now. The trick will be just to keep her close, keep her happy. Give her enough to secure her wants and needs without it being so much that's she's suspicious or insulted.

"So if I only dance like five times, I can just quit?"

Hell no. "Yeah, baby, however long you want."

"And…" Her arms loosen from around my neck, her hands come to my shoulders again as she pushes back. "And I don't need to sleep with you to keep the job, do I?"

My teeth clench together. I should have seen that one coming. She's clearly worried about being a good girl. "No. It's not a requirement but it can be a nice side perk."

She frowns, pushing off my lap. "I don't sleep with my bosses."

My brows lift but I don't chase. I stay back in my chair, my legs spread wide as she balances on my lap. "Clearly. You don't sleep with hardly anyone. How long ago was Bobby?"

A flush rises in her cheeks. "We dated freshman year."

She's been three years without sex? What is she, a camel? "And what made you change your mind for me the first time?"

"The only time?"

I don't answer. That is not going to be the only time.

She sighs. "I wanted to know what it felt like for a man to actually give me an…"

That's got me on my feet, her in my arms, pressed down my length. "Was that your first orgasm, princess?"

Now her cheeks are flaming red and the color spreads down her chest, under her tank top. "Delivered by someone else."

The very idea of her touching herself, masturbating, makes me insane. I want to watch so badly that I grind my teeth to keep from adjusting my cock. Yeah, we're doing that very soon.

But it's made her shy again and she pulls away, creating space between us.

"Can you admit," I say low and deep, moving closer as she backs into the counter. "That it was good enough that you want it again?"

Her mouth opens and then closes, her nipples rock hard, her eyes dilate. "I can't…"

I place my hands on the counter on either side of her. "Come in this afternoon and audition." I'd have her come right now, this very minute, before she has time to think, but I've got plans to slink into a corner at Toni Carcetti's casino and watch the comings and goings.

She lets out a long breath, her arms wrapping around her own ribs, covering those nipples. "Fine."

A little triumph surges through me. No, I didn't convince her to go back into her room to let me eat her out until she screamed my name. But I am seeing her again.

Level one, complete.