Page 26 of Proposition 2

17. Leo

Lust still hummed through my veins, my cock hard despite the release I’d had. I was disappointed that Cadence wouldn’t stay, but I knew she felt like she needed time to think.

I wished she’d stop thinking so much and start letting herself feel. I knew she was as drawn to me as I was her, but she was still trying to deny it was more than just a physical craving.

I knew what she was trying to do with her rules. She was trying to build a wall between us. To protect her heart by keeping our relationship purely about sex. I wasn’t going to let that happen.

Peeling my eyes from the door she’d closed behind her, my lips ticked up when I caught sight of my desk again. With the light hitting it just right, there were two perfect, round prints from her breasts. The flush that lit her skin when she’d seen it was something I’d never forget.

As much as I enjoyed seeing it, I moved to pull a wipe from the drawer to clean the evidence away. I told her I would, and even if I hadn’t, I found myself not wanting anyone else to see it.

By the time my desk was returned to the state it had been before our tryst, my erection had eased enough that I wasn’t worried about my slacks splitting at the seams. Cadence thought I would grow tired of her once I’d had my fill, but each taste of her assured me I only wanted her more, not less.

The tent in my pants was proof.

Buttoning my suit jacket, I ran a hand through my hair again before stepping out of the office. My men knew to keep an eye on Cadence and be sure she wasn’t bothered inside the club, but I wanted to be sure she made it home safely.

Slipping out the back, I got into my car and pulled around the building to watch the parking lot. I wasn’t sure where her car was, but she’d come early enough that she should have been in the main lot, and I could see the exit from where I idled in the alley beside the building. It didn’t take long until her old Toyota came into view and turned down the road.

I gave it a few seconds before pulling out behind her, keeping my headlights off until we passed a few blocks and she turned another corner. It was strange driving the speed limit when I was so used to blowing through the city, but Cadence was cautious, and I kept to her pace.

I had to hang back farther once we left the city proper and entered the suburbs where she lived. I didn’t want to scare her, but I also wouldn’t be able to rest until I knew she was safe at home.

Once she turned onto the stretch where her car had broken down only a couple nights ago, I turned off my headlights again. There were few streetlights, and my black car was difficult to notice on a dark road.

I slowed further as we approached her street, hanging back until I was sure she should be in her driveway. Crawling to the corner, I stopped and watched her porch.

That neon yellow dress was obvious even without any light, and I couldn’t help smiling. As awful as it was, she pulled it off in a way I doubted many women could.

I waited a few minutes once she disappeared inside, watching her house and the surrounding area. She was right that being associated with me could put a target on her back, but everything looked calm, and I had people who would let me know if they heard anything about another family moving against us.

A light came on upstairs on the east side of the house. The rest remained dark and quiet, so I assumed her family was asleep and she’d made it in without issue.

Shooting her a quick message I turned the car and headed toward my father’s compound.

“Sleep well, Blossom.”

I put my hands behind my head as I sat across the desk from my father. The man was in his office so many hours of the day I didn’t think he ever slept. When I asked him about it once, he told me the wicked never slept because their deeds haunted them in their sleep. While I wouldn’t consider my father wicked, the comment convinced me he still had a conscious buried in there.

Leaning back, he sighed and ran a hand down his face.

“These little shits keep nibbling at us. Taking a small bite here and there, then disappearing before we can track them down and do anything about it.”

I knew he was talking about the Walkers. They’d been making themselves more of a nuisance over the past weeks, but nothing was big enough to call up all the forces to move against them.

“Maybe they’re looking to get your attention. Maybe they want to deal?”

My father snorted, giving me a stern look from beneath his bushy brows as he lit a cigar.

“I don’t deal with upstarts. If they’d come to me as was proper, I’d have considered an arrangement, but I’m not going to look the other way as they start pecking away my borders.”

I let my arms drop as I leaned forward. It sounded like he was considering going all out after all, but I didn’t want that to happen. Especially not while I was trying to win Cadence over about it not being too dangerous to be around me.

“Starting a war with the Walkers is going to cost us more than what they’re doing,” I said as I rested my arms on his desk.

He grunted, pulling the cigar from his mouth to let out a cloud of smoke.

“I didn’t say anything about a war. I’ve got Dimitri breathing down my neck, and he’d take a war with those upstarts as an excuse to attack me from the back.”

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