14. Fourteen

14

FOURTEEN

I n hindsight I shouldn’t have been surprised to find Leo with Jax. Daisy had been acting shifty in the run-up to their arrival. That was unlike her. Seeing him should’ve made me angry, but the nervous smile he shot me had me taking a step back.

Leo might not have been the easiest guy to get along with, but it wasn’t hard to gauge the trauma bubbling beneath his handsome surface. He had a hard childhood—and that was only what I’d read online—which meant the reality of his upbringing had probably been worse than anything I could imagine. It was no wonder he had a hard, crusty shell. That’s how he protected himself.

“Don’t be angry,” Daisy said in a low voice as I watched Jax and Leo hit up the bartender. “I just thought it might be good for him. He’s been a bit of a…” She trailed off without finishing it out.

“Donkey,” I supplied.

She smirked. “He’s a total donkey. The thing is, I don’t believe he does it on purpose. He just does it because…”

“Because he doesn’t know what else to do,” I finished.

She nodded. “He’s just an idiot. A lot of men are.”

“I heard that.” Levi appeared behind Daisy. His face was flushed with whatever he’d been drinking, and he looked to be having the time of his life. “What guy is an idiot now?” he asked. “Is it Jax? He’s kind of due to pull a boner.”

“Jax pulls a boner every night,” Daisy replied on a mischievous giggle. “We’re not talking about him, though.”

“Ah. That means you’re talking about Leo.” Levi bobbed his head as if he’d been expecting the news. “What idiotic thing has he done today?”

“He’s not an idiot,” I supplied automatically. Why I felt the need to stand up for him was beyond me. “He’s just a pain.”

“He’s both,” Levi said. “He’s an idiot for not recognizing why he’s tied in knots. He’s a pain because he deals with being tied in knots by being a douche canoe.”

“Do you know why he’s tied in knots?” I asked, curious despite myself.

“Seriously?” Levi broke out in a wide grin and darted a look toward Daisy. “Does she really not know?”

Daisy shook her head when I sent her a questioning look. “She’s clueless,” Daisy replied.

“Aw, that’s kind of cute.” Levi reached over and gave my cheek a squeeze. “I love a clueless woman.”

“I’m not clueless.” Unless I was. “Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s obvious that Leo is in such a bad mood because he’s got the hots for you.”

That was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard. “That is just complete and total crap.”

Levi’s eyebrows hiked toward his hairline as he sipped his cocktail and shared a speculative look with Daisy.

“She doesn’t see it,” Daisy said. “She’s oblivious to her own adorableness.”

“Oh, listen to you guys,” I muttered. “I am not adorable.”

“Honey, if I wasn’t allergic to vaginas—and vaguely scared of them—I would be all over you because you’re just so adorable,” Levi countered.

The words pleased me. “Really?”

“What about me?” Daisy demanded.

“You and I couldn’t live together,” Levi replied. “We’ve already come to that conclusion. We’re better off as friends. If we shared the same roof there would be bloodshed.”

“Well, that’s true,” Daisy agreed.

“On top of that, you were always destined to be with Jax,” he continued. “Isn’t that what you told me?”

“When I was drunk and feeling philosophical,” Daisy replied. “I also didn’t tell you that so you could use it against me.”

“I’m just saying … you’re right where you’re supposed to be.” Levi’s gaze was heavy when it landed on me. “Now we just need to figure out where Sam and Leo are supposed to be.”

“I’m supposed to be here,” I replied. “This show is going to be a big hit. So big, I might even be able to buy a house here. I absolutely love this town.”

“And Leo?” Daisy asked.

I shrugged. “He doesn’t strike me as the sort of guy who wants to settle down in a house and hit Essex Street to try on hats every Halloween.”

“I don’t know,” Daisy countered. “I think he might like doing exactly that.”

“No.” I shook my head, even as a wistful pang filled my chest. “That’s not who he is. He won’t last on this show. Even if it’s a huge hit, it’s not what he wants to do. He wants to be an action movie star. He wants to move from set to set every three or four months. He doesn’t want a home.”

“Everybody wants a home,” Daisy countered. “Leo is no different. He just doesn’t realize that’s what he’s looking for.”

“I don’t think so.” I had to be realistic about this. Yes, my heart did funny things around Leo. So did my lady parts for that matter. We were not meant to be, though, despite the hearts in Daisy’s eyes. “All I need for him to do is not be a jerk.”

“Have you ever considered that he’s a jerk because he has feelings for you and doesn’t know what to do with them?” Levi challenged.

The mere thought of that was hilarious. “Absolutely not. He definitely doesn’t have feelings. I mean … we barely know each other.”

“Fine. Feelings was the wrong word. He does want to get you naked and sweaty and see if you guys can rattle the headboard, though.”

“So I can be another notch on his belt? That would ruin the show.”

“Are you sure, though?” Daisy pressed. “Maybe if you guys give in to these urges?—”

“We’re not thirteen-year-olds playing kissing games in a basement,” I countered. “That’s the only thing I can picture when you mention urges.”

“I stick by my word choice.” Daisy was having none of it. “Maybe if you actually give in to your urges, you guys will find out that everything you think about one another is entirely wrong.”

“And what are the odds of that?”

She shrugged. “Probably about the same as the odds of a newly minted hotel owner falling for the party planner he thinks is overpaid.”

I sighed. “We’re not like you guys.” The next part was hard for me to admit because my heart kept trying to lodge regular protests, but I did it anyway. “We’re not destined for a happily ever after. At least not together. You need to let it go.”

“Fine.” Daisy didn’t look happy, but she nodded. “I still think you should give it a shot, though.”

“That would never work. Trust me.”

I HAD MORE COCKTAILS THAN WAS LIKELY smart. It didn’t help that I was a lightweight and four cocktails had me leaning against the wall that separated Salem Witch Village from the cemetery and staring down at the long-forgotten tombstones as I internally debated if I should head home and go to bed.

“What are you doing?” a familiar voice asked, practically jarring me out of my skin. When I looked up, I found Leo closing in on me.

“I’m having a heart attack,” I replied, rubbing my hand over my chest. The night had turned cool, and the dress I was wearing didn’t offer a lot of cover. That’s why my heart was pumping so hard, I told myself. It was trying to keep me warm.

“Sorry.” Leo offered up a small smile. “You’ve been gone a long time. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I mean … Salem isn’t exactly a hotbed of crime, but I’m sure bad things happen here too.”

I stared at him several seconds, then shook my head. “You came looking for me?”

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I knew you had a few drinks.”

“Why?”

“Why did you drink?” He shrugged. “I think you’re in a better position to answer that question for yourself.”

“No, why are you like this?”

He looked genuinely baffled. “Like what?”

“I want to hate you.” It was easier to admit than Miss Manners would’ve liked. “You’re a jerk eighty percent of the time. The other twenty percent of the time, though, you’re … nice.”

He chuckled. “If you’re expecting me to have insight into my own twisted brain, you’re going to be severely disappointed. I have no idea why I’m the way I am.”

“I thought we were going to be friends.”

“I thought so too.”

“Then why did you stop being friendly?”

He made a protesting sound with his tongue. “Um … I didn’t stop being friendly. You stopped being friendly.”

“I did not.”

“You did too.”

“No, I didn’t.” I moved closer to him. We would’ve been nose to nose if he wasn’t so many inches taller than me. “You were mean, so I stopped trying.”

“No, you were mean, so I stopped trying.”

“That is a bald-faced lie.”

He stared hard into my eyes, an emotion I couldn’t quite identify flashing red, then he grinned. “I might’ve been the jerk.”

“Might have?” I could breathe easier when I was a few steps away from him. My heart was still pounding from being so close, though.

“Fine, I was a jerk.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, almost as if he didn’t know what to do with them and was worried they would start wandering. “Being around you makes me crazy.”

“Because you don’t like me,” I surmised.

“No, that’s not it.” He looked annoyed with my response.

“Then what is it?”

At first I didn’t think he was going to respond. It would be just like him to do something sweet—like making sure I wasn’t dead—and then take off. He didn’t do that, though. Instead, he grabbed the top of the cemetery wall and rocked back and forth. It was as if he was having an internal debate with himself.

“Are you telling me you don’t feel it?” he asked finally. He almost sounded as if he was going through some sort of ordeal when he asked the question.

“Feel what?” I asked dumbly.

“That … spark … whenever we’re together.”

My mouth opened, but no sound came out. I was absolutely stunned he’d gone there.

“Whenever I’m with you, I want to see you smile,” he said. “I want to touch you. I want to do other things.” He smoldered as he stopped rocking and stared at me. “I don’t want to feel those things, and yet, I do.”

I didn’t know what to say to him. On one hand, it was nice to know I wasn’t alone with the feelings. On the other hand, though, if I admitted it, we were going to be in trouble. So, I just stood there like an idiot.

“Only me, huh?” The vulnerability I’d seen on his face disappeared in an instant. “Good to know.” He turned to leave. “Don’t stay over here by yourself. I know the town is safe, but something could still happen to you.”

I don’t know what possessed me to stop him. It was the wrong move. Deep down, I knew that. He’d been vulnerable, though, and I couldn’t leave him swaying in the breeze with no support. “Of course I feel it.”

He stopped walking and slowly turned. His expression was impossible to read. “You do?”

“I just said I did. I don’t really want to admit it either.”

“Because it’s a bad idea.”

“Such a bad idea,” I agreed.

He was quiet a beat. “It makes me mean. Not being able to control my feelings. I don’t want to be mean to you. You’re about the only person in the world I can say that about now. I just … can’t seem to stop myself. When I have feelings, I don’t know how to deal with, I get mean.”

“And I become a whiner,” I supplied. “Or what is it you called me? A professional victim, right? That’s me.”

“It’s not you.” He started moving back toward me. “You would be fine if I would stop being a jerk. I just can’t seem to help myself. You make me crazy.”

I huffed out a laugh. “You’re not a barrel of monkeys.”

“I’ve never understood that expression.”

“Me either.”

“The donkey thing I get.”

“You’re a total donkey.”

He moved until he was standing right in front of me, his breath coming out in ragged gasps. I started breathing the same way, as if it was somehow contagious. The closer he got, the less oxygen there seemed to be in the world, even though we were outside.

He didn’t speak.

I didn’t either.

We just breathed in each other’s faces.

Yup, now we were in a soap opera of our own making.

“I’m going to kiss you,” he announced finally.

I was convinced I’d heard him wrong. “What?”

“Unless you tell me no, I’m going to kiss you.” He almost appeared to be pleading when he held my gaze. Did he not have the strength to stop himself? Because I wasn’t certain I had the strength to stop him either.

“We’ll just do it,” he continued, as if he was talking to himself more than me. “We’ll do it and kill the spark.”

“Okay.” I was so far gone in the moment that I couldn’t come up with a reasonable argument as to why we shouldn’t do it.

“Okay.” He cupped my chin and leaned in, angling himself.

I was so far gone I could do nothing but anticipate the moment our lips finally touched. I wanted to smother the flame that was starting to build. It was the only thing that would save this production.

He changed the angle and held his lips over mine, just breathing me in for a long moment. Then, as if he couldn’t contain himself for a moment longer, he pressed his lips against mine in the softest kiss I’d ever experienced.

Fireworks went off in the back of my brain, and my stomach threatened to convulse. When his tongue tentatively went on a hike in my mouth, I met it with my own.

Then it was on. I gripped the front of his shirt and his arms went around my waist. Before I even realized what was happening, he was boosting me up so I had no choice but to wrap my legs around him and hold on for dear life.

I couldn’t breathe, and yet I didn’t care. I just wanted more of this, more of this fire creeping through me. I could never get enough.

I had no idea where he began and I ended for a bit. We could’ve been kissing for thirty seconds or thirty minutes for all I knew. I’m not sure which one of us finally pulled back, but my lips felt raw, as if they’d been chafed after hours of rubbing … which gave credence to the half-hour theory.

My face felt like it was on fire, and his was red from exertion as he stared into my eyes.

“Has the spark been smothered?” I asked hopefully.

“Not even close,” he growled, reaching for me again.

“We can’t,” I insisted.

His face fell.

“Not here,” I clarified quickly. “The others are going to come looking for us. If you think they were bad before, they’re going to be intolerable now. You know, if they find us having sex in their historical cemetery.”

Leo burst out laughing.

“What?” I was feeling self-conscious as I smoothed the front of my dress. I’d forgotten all about being cold. “It’s just the truth.”

“Fine.” He held out his hand to me. “We’ll head back to the hotel.”

“And then what?”

“Nothing more than you want.”

There was just one little problem with his chivalry. I wanted it all right now. I’d rubbed up against what I was dealing with when I’d been wrapped around him, and I was practically salivating.

“We should take the walk back to the hotel and see if the spark dies,” I said.

“Fine.” He dropped his hand. “After you.”

My legs were wobbly on the cobblestone walkway and he had to catch me twice in my heels as I tried to make it back to the festival area. Thankfully, he was far too much of a gentleman to comment on it.

When we rounded the corner to where we’d left the others, I was dumbfounded to find the entire area empty. “What the…?”

“I guess we didn’t have to stop,” Leo said grumpily.

“I can’t believe they left us,” I complained.

“I can. They set this up from the beginning.”

He wasn’t wrong. “Do you think we’re locked in?”

“I doubt it.” He held out his hand again and this time I took it, closing my eyes when the spark returned with a vengeance. “Come on. Let’s head back.”

Thankfully, the gate that closed off the property was still propped open—as if they knew we would eventually make our way out. Leo let go of my hand long enough to lock the gate behind us. Then he took it again for the walk back to the hotel.

Neither of us said anything. The walk should’ve been awkward. It wasn’t, though. It was sexually charged and … comfortable. Even though this man had spent the entire week making my life hell, for some reason, I was comfortable with him. How was that even possible?

We stopped holding hands when we got to the hotel and made our way to the elevator. Once we were on our floor, I was the one who couldn’t take the silence any longer.

“I still feel the spark,” I admitted when we were in front of our doors.

“Me, too.” His grin was wolfish.

I used my keycard to open my door. “Are you coming in?” I asked as I stepped over the threshold.

There was no doubt in my mind—or on his face—when he followed me. “Yup.”

“You realize this is going to be messy, right?” I was already resigned to my morning regret. I couldn’t stop what I was feeling, though. I just had to have more.

“It’s definitely going to be messy.”

“You still feel the spark, though?”

“Baby, I feel an explosion.”

I paused long enough to cock my head. “That was kind of corny.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.” With that, he strode into my room and shut the door. The time for talking was over.

The time for sparking was just getting started.