Leif
With Harriet watching Isla for the evening, I put on a fresh shirt and make my way to my
apartment—Layla’s apartment. Layla opens the door for me and immediately leaps into my arms.
“Leif, oh my goodness, Leif. Your mom. I’m—I don’t know what to say. She wants me!” Her breath
ruffles my neck as she squeezes me tight, and I can’t help but laugh.
My arms wrap around her and my heart settles into a steady beat. Shaping her curves with my palms, I
let myself bask in the feeling of having Layla wrapped around me. Pulling back to kiss the tip of her nose,
the corner of her mouth, I tighten my hold on her and back her into the apartment.
“The other shoe is about to drop, isn’t it?” she says, her voice dazed, her eyes at half-mast. “Things
are going too well. It’s going to fall apart.”
“Or maybe it’s about to get better,” I answer, reaching into my back pocket to pull out a long velvet
box.
Layla inhales sharply, eyes bulging. I spin it around and open it, revealing a sparkling tennis bracelet
studded with diamonds.
“Leif,” she breathes. Her eyes snap up to mine, and she shakes her head. “No.”
“Yes.” I pull out the bracelet with one hand, set the box aside, and lift her wrist with my other hand.
“Are those real diamonds?” She stares as I drape the bracelet over her wrist.
I just laugh. “Of course they’re real. You said you wanted a diamond tennis bracelet, didn’t you?”
“I was kidding. I didn’t mean... Oh, Leif.” I fiddle with the tiny clasp, then slide my hands over her
hips as she lifts her arm and turns it about to watch the light dance on the gemstones. Meanwhile, I watch
Layla’s face.
She looks shocked. A faint blush swe eps over her cheeks, her lush lips open in awe. If all it takes is a
few sparkly baubles to put that look on her face, well, she’d better get ready for a very big jewelry
collection.
This is the woman for me. Kind, strong, generous, hardworking—she deserves to bathe in diamonds if
that’s what she wants.
Her eyes flick to mine and she shakes her head. “This is too much.”
“I’m taking you to dinner to celebrate,” I say, ignoring her protests. “You’re going to be the best event
manager in the city, and I’m the lucky man who gets to stand by your side.”
“Leif.” Her eyes shimmer and she blinks rapidly, her throat working all the while.
Something softens in my chest. I slide a palm over her jaw and bring my lips to hers, loving the way
she melts against me.
This is the woman for me. Not because she loves diamonds, and not because my mother believes in
her as much as I do.
Layla is the woman for me because she makes my life whole. She breaks down all the barriers I’d
erected and makes me want a real, fulfilling life. With her by my side, I see a future for me, for my
daughter, for my entire family.
My feelings are so strong, I’m afraid to think of them too closely. We haven’t known each other long
and it’s crazy how quickly things have moved, but the emotions are there. Stronger than I’ve ever felt
before. Truer than I ever knew was possible.
“I have to change,” she says, smoothing her hands over my shoulders to straighten my shirt. “You’re
all dressed up and I’m wearing jeans and an old tee. Give me a few minutes.”
Instead of letting go, I pull her close and close my lips over hers. “I’ll help,” I mumble, letting my
hands slide up underneath her top. She raises her arms and I remove the shirt. I lift her up and groan when
she wraps her legs around my waist.
It feels like the first night, when I was frantic and out of control. Exc ept this time, Layla is in no
danger of falling asle ep. She’s been tired lately, but nothing like when we first met.
The bedroom is too far. The nearest surface is the dining room table, so I set her down on the edge and
slide a palm over her breast. She arches into the touch, lids heavy, a daring smile on her lips.
That’s all it takes. No matter how much I get to taste her, I can’t help wanting more. Our clothes
disintegrate in an instant. My hungry hands touch her, mark her, possess her. I slip my fingers through the
sweet wetness between her legs and groan, cock throbbing, reveling in the fact that she’s mine.
When I taste her, she gasps my name. I groan against her center, enjoying this as much as she is.
Maybe more. This woman is my life. She tastes like sweet heaven, temptation, and sin all wrapped into
one. When I suckle on her clit and feel her writhe against me, I can’t help smiling against her flesh.
“Leif,” she pants. “I want you. Now. Please, now. Now, now, now.”
Her hips ride against my tongue and I groan, unlatching my belt with my other hand. Despite what
happened that first night, we’ve been responsible. I reach into my pocket and pull out a condom, groaning
when she takes it from my hands and slides it on.
Then all thought disappears from my head, because Layla is leaning back on the table and letting her
knees fall open. Offering herself up to me.
Groaning, I lose the last thread of control and thrust inside. It feels as good as the first time. Better. I
plunge inside her again and again, loving the way she runs her nails down my back, how she bites my
shoulder, how she screams my name and clenches around me.
My woman. Mine.
We leave for dinner eventually, but Layla is wearing a gorgeous red gown that dips low between her
breasts and I almost ask Elton to drive right back to the apartment. Her cheeks are still flushed, a
temptress’s smile toying on her lips.
She shifts her wrist to let her new bracelet fall against her hand.
“You like it?” I ask, intertwining my fingers with hers as we enter the restaurant.
“Stop, Leif. I love it.” We drink champagne and eat delicious food, celebrating my mother’s offer. I’m
surprised to hear she already has a lawyer who can look over the contract but nod, forcing myself to let
her handle her business herself. As much as I want to check everything over and make sure Layla has the
best, I know I need to let her spread her wings.
“I heard back from the city officials,” I finally say after the waiter clears our plates. “They’re worried
about your old building. It’ll take another while to get their engineers
to look at the building, but they think it might have to be condemned.”
Layla’s brows jump, then her eyes narrow. “This wouldn’t be some ploy to get me to stay at your
penthouse longer, would it?”
“You make it sound like some sort of torture to stay at my place,” I laugh. I lower my voice and lean
forward. “You didn’t seem to mind so much an hour ago.”
Primly, Layla folds the napkin on her lap and sets it on the table. “You fight dirty.”
I chuckle, then grow serious. “I don’t want you living in an apartment that has mold and structural
cracks and showerheads that fall off the wall, Layla. It’s not safe.”
“I was there for three years and survived. It’s how the ninety-nine percent live, Leif.”
I grit my teeth. “Still. I want you to stay at the penthouse until we get word about the building.”
“And if it’s unlivable? What then? Where am I going to live?”
I give her a pointed look, and Layla bites her lip, laughing. “You’re so overbearing it’s not even
funny.” She clicks her tongue but relents.
Satisfaction curls inside me. My woman will stay at my apartment. She’ll be safe. Provided for.
When we finally head home, I take my time unwrapping her like a present. Her red gown has driven
me crazy all evening, so it’s only fair I do the same in return. It’s not until we’re sweaty, wrapped up in
each other’s arms, moving like only lovers can, that I growl in her ear, “I want you to stay here for good,
baby. Right here in this apartment.”
I punctuate the words with a thrust of my hips, and Layla gasps. “You’re fighting dirty again, Leif.”
“Say you’ll stay.” I let my lips coast over her neck, biting down in that way that always makes her
moan. I grab her wrists and pin them above her head, loving the way her
back arches into me. “Say you’ll stay here and you won’t run away.”
“I won’t run away, Leif. You know I won’t.” Growling in satisfaction, I piston into her until I know
she’s satisfied, until her eyes go blind and her moans turn into wordless cries.
And when she’s asle ep in my arms, her ass tucked up against my lap, I feel like I can finally breathe
easy.