11. Leo

11

LEO

I 'd never cried during sex before.

There was just something about the level of trust, the helplessness, how perfect Jacob's cock felt, how much I wanted all of him…

It'd been a perfect storm. I'd almost started to cry again when I'd nuzzled against him afterward, feeling so incredibly safe and secure that I couldn't express it with words. Jacob was unlike anyone I'd ever been with before, and I barely knew how to process it all.

Which was probably why I'd been hiding away in one of the many sitting rooms at the lodge, my attention glued to my laptop screen. I'd told myself that it'd be worthwhile to catch up on work, even though I knew I was just trying to distract myself from the whole Jacob situation. I hadn't spoken to him since this afternoon in the bonus gym room, and now, as nighttime rolled around, I was still struggling to handle all my thoughts about him.

"Is Diego behaving?" Mandi, the agent I was on a video call with asked, her tone bright. Mandi and I weren't exactly friends, but we often commiserated and caught up over a coffee every so often. "Although, who am I kidding? If anyone's going to get a little rowdy it's Chris, isn't it?"

"Don't forget about Keith," I joked, through gritted teeth.

"Oh, my God! You're so right!" She laughed. "I forgot he was there. Honestly, I think the only safe one is Andrew. He tends to not get involved in anything."

"Yeah, he's pretty much been a saint."

"And how are you holding up, Leo?"

"What?"

"Oh, please. Don't be so shocked that I'm asking about you." She playfully rolled her eyes. "I know how much this assignment meant to you. Are you handling the stress well?"

For a moment, my mind flashed to Jacob taking me on top of the bar, Jacob taking me in the bonus room, Jacob taking me in bed…

"Leo?"

"Yeah. I'm handling the stress just fine." I smiled. "Got to, right? Or else you just sort of crumble?"

"That's the secret to being good at what we do. Finding ways to not crumble." Mandi smiled back at me before she went on. "Keith's your ex, right? The one you were dating for a minute?"

"Oh, I don't think we need to get into any of that?—"

"I've been there." Mandi shrugged. "Dated one of my clients. His name was Gregory. And he sucked."

"Even while you were dating him?"

"Even while I was dating him, yeah." She laughed. "Don't tell me why that whole thing ever happened. I think I was just lonely."

A few seconds of silence passed between us. "Do you ever get lonely out there, Leo?"

Again, my mind went to memories of Jacob, kissing me, holding me, laughing with me.

"I used to feel lonely, all the time," I admitted. "But not so much anymore."

"Lucky you." Mandi smiled wide. "Keep up the good work, okay? Rumor has it that you're a shoo-in for that PR promotion in Roanoke. Fingers crossed!"

"Fingers crossed!" I said, while literally crossing my fingers on the video call. "Talk to you later, Mandi."

"Talk soon!" Mandi ended the call, her face beaming at mine.

When the call was finished, I leaned back against the couch, my eyes glancing over at the crackling fireplace.

Was I just lonely?

I let the possibility sink in as I thought back on my career in PR. I couldn't really think of any actual friends I'd made along the way, just acquaintances like Mandi and Tommy, people I respected a great deal but never really let into my life. Not to mention the clients I'd had that I could never let get too close to me, learning all too well what could happen if I ever crossed that line again.

Huh.

It was strangely comforting, actually, to consider that I wasn't being a needy sub or trying to make things into something they weren't with Jacob. If I was just lonely, then of course, everything felt so exaggerated and extreme. I was emotionally vulnerable, not used to connecting so openly with anyone, not used to anyone saying that I was theirs .

And if I was just lonely, then when it was time to say goodbye to Jacob, it wasn't going to break me.

Because we were just passing time with each other, and nothing else.

Hell, maybe Jacob was just lonely, too.

"Working hard?" Jacob asked, as he suddenly appeared on the other side of the room.

I motioned toward my half-full glass of wine. "Yep. Otherwise, I would've finished that like an hour ago."

"It's smart to pace yourself," he started, as he walked over to me. "But that goes for wine and for work. You're doing enough here with the photoshoot. Should you really be piling anything else on your plate?"

"I don't have much of a choice." I sighed. "If you're not overworking yourself in PR, you're never going to get anywhere."

"Un-huh." Jacob took a seat next to me on the couch before he pulled my drink into his hands. He then finished the rest of it, casually drinking it down. "Damn. This is really good wine. Too bad you can't enjoy it."

"Right?" I frowned. "It's just not fair."

"All right. Enough of that." Jacob grabbed my laptop and closed it. "You're coming with me."

"Jacob—"

"I have something to show you."

"Yeah, but I have more work that I should definitely consider doing?—"

"Or you could just do what I tell you and make this easier for both of us."

"You're seriously pulling the Dom card, right now?"

"It's a pretty good card. You're lucky I don't use it more often." Jacob smirked. "Seriously, though. Come on. Let me take care of you."

He stood up from the couch and he held out his hand for mine. "You trust me?"

"You know I do," I said, as I took his hand in my own.

As I let work fall by the wayside just this once.

"You wanted to show me another Jacuzzi room?"

It was the first thing I said, as I stepped into the room, taking it in as I looked around. I wasn't surprised that the lodge had several Jacuzzi rooms, although I couldn't quite figure out what was so special about this one. I'd checked out another one with some of the photographers a day or so ago, wondering if it would've been a good spot to set up for a shoot.

"You're looking. But you're not seeing."

"Was that a riddle?" I squinted in confusion. "Are you about to turn this place into an escape room or something?"

Jacob chuckled as he crossed the room, not stopping until he was standing in front of a large set of curtains. They seemed to cover the entire wall, heavy and dark. A few seconds later, Jacob was pulling back the curtains, revealing a floor-to-ceiling window, a perfect image of the night sky outside coming into full view. Moonlight spilled through the glass as stars twinkled against the darkness, the sight of it absolutely breathtaking.

"Whoa." It was the only thing I could think to say as I moved toward the window, my palms soon pressing against the glass. "This is…"

"The kind of view you can only get in Roanoke on a clear night?"

"I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before," I murmured. "All the lights in the city… everything's too bright to ever really see the sky like this…"

"So, you like it?"

"I love it." I was transfixed by the view outside the window, my eyes desperately trying to commit every bit of it to memory. "It's unreal." I turned to look over at Jacob. "Thank you. For showing this to me."

"Told you to trust me." Jacob smiled before he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to his side. "It is pretty beautiful, isn't it?"

I leaned my head against Jacob's shoulder. "Do you ever get used to it?"

"No. I don't think you ever get used to something being beautiful, not if you find value in it," he replied. "Not if it means something to you."

There was silence for a moment as Jacob pressed a soft kiss against my head. I forced myself not to melt at the implication of it, not allowing myself to consider that Jacob happened to have a wildly romantic streak that was showing itself more and more.

We were just lonely.

And soon, it would all be over, anyway.

"Take your clothes off." Jacob's voice was low as he issued the order.

"Wait. Really?" I was thrown off by the shift from romantic to dominant.

"Really." Jacob pressed his forehead against mine. "Take your clothes off for me right now, Leo."

"I'm just a little surprised—this was so—you're really not tired after everything we did earlier?"

"That was hours ago." Jacob chuckled. "I've had plenty of time to recover."

Jacob began to pull my shirt over my head as he continued, "Besides, who said anything about having sex right now? I like to take control outside of the bedroom, too, you know."

"Take control how?"

"In whichever way you might need." My shirt fell to the floor, as Jacob's hands went to my pants, pulling them down next. "However I think I can help."

I couldn't think of anything to say as Jacob finished stripping me, my body standing naked in front of him afterward. He didn't say anything to me, either, as he took off his own clothes, next, both of us soon bare and exposed. Once we were both naked, Jacob took my hand, and we looked outside the window at the night sky.

"Try not to think about anything," he said. "Try to just let it relax you. Get lost in the vastness of it, how majestic it is."

I took a deep breath as I tried to do as I was told, squeezing Jacob's hand as I stared out into the night.

I felt small.

But small in a way that was comforting, like all my stresses at work, with everything, were so minimal compared to everything else. It was refreshing, feeling like I wasn't at the center of the universe, like I wasn't consumed by everything swirling around in my life, always being so go and go and go.

I was still half out in space, when I felt Jacob gently pulling me toward the Jacuzzi. A few moments later, he was settling underneath the water, with me sitting right in his lap. I was still focused on the view outside, letting the stars sink in deep.

"Is it working?" Jacob asked, his hand moving across the water, letting the Jacuzzi jets hit against his palm.

"Yeah. I think so." I smiled over at him, just as something crossed my mind. "Are you sure we're going to be alone in here? No one else seemed interested in using this hot tub tonight?"

"If you're talking about the guys, I'm pretty sure they're preoccupied," Jacob replied. "I'm pretty sure I heard them talking about making hot chocolate so they could hang out on the roof later."

"Spiked hot chocolate?"

"Is there any other kind?" Jacob chuckled. "Anyway, yeah. I think their plan is to hang out on the rooftop, getting a little tipsy, and swapping scary stories."

"That sounds… unbearably cute." I hummed after I spoke. "I'm actually a little offended that my invitation got lost in the mail on that one."

"We could swap scary stories right now. Know any good ones?"

I held up a finger as I thought about the question. "Yes. Yes, I do."

"Go on. Lay it on me." Jacob smiled as he stared up at me. "Scare the living daylights out of me."

"Okay…" I took in a breath, before I got the ball rolling. "So, there was this group of friends who wanted to go on spring break together. They decided to stay at a cabin?—"

"In Roanoke?"

"Yep. And they decided to use Wild Woods to help book the whole thing."

"Seems a little close to home, but okay." Jacob chuckled again. "Go on."

"So, this group of friends, college kids, really, checked into their cabin. But little did they know that a masked killer was stalking their cabin. He was obsessed with keeping that cabin empty, because it's the last place he got to be with the love of his life."

"Ooh. Plot twist."

"He's a killer with a heart of gold." I playfully snapped as it came to me. "Anyway, the masked killer starts picking them off, one by one. When he gets to the last girl, he almost kills her, but then he realizes something."

"What does he realize?"

"That she's his lost love!" I held up my hands for the full effect. "She died a long time ago but came back as a vampire and has been posing as a college kid ever since. The lovers are reunited, one of them a vampire, and one of them a serial killer, and they're going to paint the town red with innocent blood."

"That's… not that scary. Sorry." Jacob shrugged. "It's actually kind of sweet? Especially if she bites him and then they can be together forever."

"But they're killing people, Jacob!"

"Sure, but they're killing people together ."

"There's something seriously wrong with you." I couldn't help but laugh at Jacob's casual acceptance of the killer couple. He laughed, too, right before he planted a sweet kiss on my lips.

At least, the kiss was sweet, at first. Somewhere between the second and third kiss, it deepened, with Jacob's tongue finding mine. I kissed him back, just as eager, my hands moving up to Jacob's hair, my chest pressing against his. I groaned into his mouth when I felt myself getting hard for him, my body heating up underneath the water.

"Wait, wait, wait." I held up my hands again. "We shouldn't—not in the Jacuzzi?—"

"Why not?"

"Because it's a public space?"

Jacob lightly chuckled. "The bar was a public space. So was the bonus gym room."

"Yeah, but someone else might swim in here or?—"

"I don't think you really need to worry about other people right now, baby." Jacob reached down between us, his fingers easily finding my cock. "Just focus on you, okay? All that matters right now is you and your pleasure."

"Jacob…" I groaned as I felt his hand go even further down, grabbing onto his shaft, too. A few seconds later, and he was pumping both our cocks at the same time, our shafts and tips rubbing against each other's underneath the water.

"Fuck. That feels so fucking good." I leaned back against Jacob's shoulder, as his fist moved up and down my throbbing cock. I whimpered, as I felt him move his free hand up to my chest, rolling one of my nipples between his fingertips.

"What are you thinking about right now?" he murmured. "Tell me exactly what's on your mind, Leo."

"I'm thinking about you…"

"Thinking about me, how?"

"I'm thinking about you inside me… how good it feels…" I moaned between my words. "I'm thinking about how much I want to come for you… because I know that you'll probably fuck me after…"

"You'd let me fuck you? Right here in such a public space ?" Jacob's laugh reverberated through his chest. "You sure?"

"I'd let you do whatever you wanted to me, Jacob," I admitted. "That's the problem. When I'm with you… I don't care who hears… I don't care who sees…"

"Because you like being mine."

"Yes. Because I like being yours." I nodded, a shiver moving through me, as Jacob increased his speed, his hand moving so much faster. "Because being yours feels so good… Fuck!"

I whimpered as I came for him, for what felt like the millionth time this week. I could feel Jacob coming, too, his shaft throbbing against mine, both of us exploding for each other at the exact same time. When I was finished, I closed my eyes, taking in deep breath after deep breath.

"You feel better?" Jacob asked. "Or are you still thinking about work?"

"I'm not thinking about anything," I lied, my mind racing with thoughts of Jacob, yearning for him even though he was right beside me.

"Good." Jacob smiled as he pulled me close to his chest. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear."