Repaying the Debt

Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Opening my eyes, I took in all his space. That was the only way to describe it.

It was warm. I could almost smell the fires that had been lit in the furnace. The room was large but simple. It had a few workbenches and was impressively clean. Off to the side was a small sitting area with a plush velvet couch, covered with a furry-looking throw. A leather apron hung on a hook against the wall, along with all kinds of tools that I guessed were used for shaping the glass while it was hot.

There was a large furnace that took up a good portion of the room, along with a winding staircase. I looked over at Leo. He stood in a small half kitchen with two bottles of water in his hands. He walked closer to me, his golden eyes pinning me in place.

I didn’t know what it was about him, but there was no denying the attraction that I felt.

This wasn’t real. It was all fake and I needed to remind myself of that.

I still wanted to touch his wavy hair and see if it felt as soft as it looked. If his cheekbones felt as sharp as they looked. He held out a water bottle to me and I took it. His fingers brushed against mine, making the butterflies flutter again.

“Thank you, it’s nice.”

“Nice?” He asked, twisting the lid of the water bottle off and taking a sip. I watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. What would he do if I nibbled along that flesh?

Would he moan, his fingers tightening in my hair, or would he tense up beneath me? Beg me for more.

“Nice,” I repeated, opening up the water bottle and taking a sip.

I must be exhausted to be thinking about being with him. That had to be it, well, that and the kiss. He dragged a hand through his hair, separating the strands, making it look all the more touchable.

“Where do the stairs lead?” I asked.

“Want to see?” Leo asked and I nodded, my curiosity getting the better of me.

He grabbed my hand, leading me towards the spiral staircase. His touch sent tingles down my spine. I watched the way his muscles shifted beneath his tight dress shirt, wondering how they would feel under my palms.

My cheeks heated up and I knew I needed to stop these thoughts before they ended up getting me in trouble. There was just something about him that made me wonder what he was like when he was in the throes of passion. All that careful control that I had seen tonight stripped away from him.

Our steps were loud on the metal of the steps. When we reached the top, I frowned, looking around him. It was a messy room. The large bed was unmade, sheets twisted up in a dark red heap. Like he had kicked them off of the bed during the night. The drawer was cracked open, a strip of condoms in their packaging hanging out with a clear bottle of lube setting out on the nightstand.

“Um, Leo.”

“Damn it, Ian.” He growled. Moving in front of me to hurry to the nightstand. Tucking the condoms and the lube into the drawer before reaching down to pick the blankets up off of the floor and toss them back onto the bed.

I crossed my arms over my chest, yes I had been having sexy thoughts about him. That didn’t mean that I was a sure thing. We barely knew each other and while I wasn’t going to judge anyone for a one-night stand. That wasn’t what I was looking for. It wouldn’t work out for our agreement.

“Do you entertain guests often?” I asked and he shot a shy smile at me.

“Not as often as the media likes to make it seem. Let’s just say it’s been a while, I think, my brother. Well, my stepbrother may have had a guest up here.” The tops of his ears heated up as he rested a hand on the curving metal rungs of the headboard. A set of leather cuffs was attached to the bars, catching my eye.

I couldn’t help but wonder how Leo would look spread out on the bed. His wrists bound above his head, the soft fairy lights that were wrapped in the bars glistening off of his pale, tattooed skin.

Leo looked away from me, back towards the bed. Following my gaze to the black leather cuffs. Maybe he was the type that would want to tie me down? To make me squirm until I begged him.

“There is a reason that I don’t sleep around.”

I swallowed hard, looking away from the cuffs. “Why is that?”

His lips twitched and gone was the man who had blushed at me seeing his space a mess. The look he gave me was full of heat. He moved over to me, his walk was almost a rolling prowl. “Limits need to be discussed.”

My hands tightened on the water bottle, making a crackling sound. He tucked his tongue behind his teeth, watching me as he came to a stop close enough for me to touch. He stood still, his golden eyes studying me in a way that he hadn’t before, waiting for me to respond.

“What kind of limits?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

“Why don’t we-”

“Leo, you here?” A deep voice called out from the studio below us. Breaking the spell that had seemed to come over me. I stepped back, bringing my hand up to my cheek. It was warm and I knew that my face would be flushed.

Leo closed his eyes, leaning his head back. He let out a low growl. Slowly, he opened his eyes, looking down at me. “We’ll discuss this more later.”

I nodded and he walked over to the stairs, calling down to the person who had interrupted us. Looking away from him, I studied the room. A row of hooks hung on the wall, each one containing a whip or paddle. How had I not noticed the whips and floggers that hung on hooks against the wall?