FOURTEEN

ESTELLA

Sense snapped into me with a sharp slap.

Holy fuck.

I’d let him prise an orgasm from me. His fingers were incredible, and I’d lost myself in the moment.

Shoving him hard, I righted my dress and panties, shame washing over me in tidal wave proportions.

‘You had no right to touch me,’ I hissed, trying to deflect my shame onto him.

‘You didn’t seem to be complaining when you were grinding on my hand.’ Leo gave a cocky grin, his tongue slipping out to lick my saliva from his lips.

It sent a twinge between my traitorous thighs.

‘You took advantage of my issues with Graham. You sick fuck.’

‘And I’ll do it again, and again, because you’re not happy with him. You’re cosplaying in your own life.’ His words cut .

‘At least I have a life. You sit upstairs and what? Stalk me? You're such a fucking loser.’

‘I don’t claim to be anything else. You know who I am Estella. I’ve never claimed to be anything other than obsessed with you.’ Leo looked utterly nonplussed at my words, his dark hair skimming his brow as he hungrily drank me in.

Heels clipped, and my cheeks heated afresh as my mom rounded the corner.

‘There you are, I wondered where you'd got to,’ she said, her words petering out as she looked from Leo to myself.

‘Sorry,’ I blurted, embarrassment filling every pore.

‘You two aren’t bickering again, are you? I thought you were past this.’ Mum sighed and settled a hand on her hip. ‘You’re both adults now. Grow up.’

‘Sorry Grace,’ Leo said, moving past her as she walked down the corridor toward me. ‘Old habits die hard and all that.’

‘I don’t want any of this today, okay? Our guests start to arrive and it will just make everyone uncomfortable.’

‘I promise I won’t bicker,’ Leo said.

‘Sorry Mum. Me neither.’

Mum faced me, Leo watching from over her shoulder. He lifted the hand that had been between my thighs, and slid his tongue over the sticky length of his fingers. They still glistened with my desire, and a ripple of filthy pleasure invaded my crotch.

Leo’s dark eyes fixed on my face as he sucked both fingers into his mouth, shame and lust battling for space in my body. My breath caught as he slid the wet fingers down his chest, over his stomach and outlined his hard dick with them.

Such a smug fucker.

But it left me wanting more. He’d lit a spark I’d pretended not to need. A spark that Graham told me to suppress. His expert fingers, his delicious lips, and his dirty words all make me weak.

So fucking weak

For him.

For the one man I wasn’t supposed to want.

Mum followed me into the garage, clearly believing I needed supervision to locate the syrup.

‘Graham’s so lovely,’ she mused.

‘He is,’ I replied, my head too full of Leo and the sordid act we’d committed in the hallway to focus on my boyfriend and our issue-laden relationship.

‘Do you think he’ll propose soon?’

I choked on my breath. ‘It’s maybe a little soon for that.’

‘Nonsense. He’s madly in love with you.’

Was he? Madly in love with me? With the absence of passion, it was a hard sell.

I turned to face her, bottle of syrup in hand .

‘Mom, how did you know Jack was the one? Did it feel the same as when you were with my dad?’

A flicker of pain filled her face before she could catch it. ‘I thought I loved your father, but he loved himself more than he could ever love me. Jack's different. He made me the centre of his world from the moment we met. Instead of trying to keep me at arms length like your father, he folded me into his life. He wanted me to be by his side.’

I smiled at the soft glow that filled her face.

‘And do you care that the passion goes after a few years? I know it’s normal, but don’t you miss it?’

My mum crossed the floor, reaching out and tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. ‘Darling, the passion changes, sometimes it softens, sometimes it lapses for a little, but it should never go away.’

‘What do I do if it was never really there?’ Tears pricked the corners of my eyes at her tender expression.

‘Then you need to decide what’s more important to you. The lovely life you’ve built, or the man you’re building it with. Why do you think half of the golf club are having affairs with each other? Sometimes no one can be all of the things you need.’

‘Are you?’

‘Having an affair?’ Mom laughed and shook her head. ‘Lord no, with Jack’s libido, he’s more than enough to keep me happy.’

‘Ew, Mom!’ I gasped, laughing along with her, happiness filling my chest.

‘Come on, darling, let’s get back to our men folk.’

Nearing the kitchen, I couldn’t get past the feeling that I headed back toward the wrong man.