The Right One - Felice Stevens Page 0,88
what you said. And she also said that it took courage to leave on my own.”
“It did. I’ve already told you you’re brave, but you don’t want to believe it.”
By this time the room had darkened, and Morgan reached over to turn on the light. He slipped on his boxers and sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at the floor. The mattress dipped beside him with Leo’s weight as he settled in next to him.
“You’re freaked out.”
Morgan gazed at his hands, the knuckles reddened from the punch. “I still can’t believe all that happened with Jeffrey.” He curled his fingers to make a fist. “I never thought I could do that.”
“Let me ask you something. Why are you learning how to box? I thought it was so you could learn to protect yourself. If that’s the case, why’re you mad?”
Again he flexed his fingers, and Leo, perhaps thinking they hurt, took hold of his hand and rubbed his fingers and knuckles. “It’ll make them feel better.”
“No, you don’t understand. They don’t hurt. They feel good, and so do I. I’m not upset about hitting Jeffrey; it felt…really good. I wanted to keep on hitting him, over and over again.” His voice dropped to a whisper as he stared at his hand, now curled in a fist in Leo’s palm. “I wanted to hurt him, like he hurt me. Worse.”
Leo held him by the shoulder, meeting his distressed gaze with determination. “You’re human. It’s only natural to be so goddamn angry, you want to hurt him. But you didn’t. And that proves—again—you’re a better person than me because if I had gotten to him, they’d be scraping him off the sidewalk.”
“If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”
“Sure you do,” Leo said gently with a smile. “You had it under control. You didn’t need me. I was just there for backup.”
“Oh, no. Hell, no. I needed you. I need you now. I’m always going to need you.”
The smile lighting up Leo’s face brightened the room better than any lamp. “No one’s ever said that to me before. No one’s ever needed me—I never thought I’d make a difference.”
Unable to hold off any longer, Morgan swooped in for a kiss. “Once I met you, everything changed.” Their kisses slowed to lingering touches of lips and tongues. “I became a new person.”
“I don’t want you to change. I like you exactly as you are. Except when you destroy my building.” Leo raised a dark brow. “That cracked wall you mentioned the other day? The one you tried to cover up with that ugly picture?”
His heart sank, and he jumped up, hoping to distract Leo. “I did get a good cross punch in, didn’t I?” Shaking off Leo’s hands, Morgan practiced several jabs. “I can’t believe how naturally it came to me. The moment he got close, I imagined you yelling at me to keep my left hand up and go with the right. Quick and powerful.” He feigned left and punched right. “Jeffrey never saw it coming.”
Leo snorted and dived for him, then pushed him back onto the bed. “Nice try, but you’re not going to wiggle your way out of this.” His eyes darkened as Morgan shifted under him. “You’re gonna have to help me fix it.”
Breathless, Morgan ran his hands all over Leo’s smooth skin and reached up to thread his fingers in the damp hair curling at Leo’s nape. “Okay. But you have to admit it beats my shorting out the building and burning more cookies. I didn’t set off any fire alarms.”
“You set off all my alarms. I’d walk through any fire for you.” Leo nuzzled his cheek, his lips curving in a smile. “Oh, wait. I think I already did.”
Morgan’s pretend outrage lasted only a second before he lost himself in laughter and kisses and forever.
* * *
EPILOGUE
* * *
One month later
“It’s really nice up here.” On their way to the forest at the far end of Morgan’s parents’ property, Leo tramped through the grass, still green beneath their boots. The beautiful autumn leaves were on display, and he loved the blaze of red, gold, and copper. “Before our first visit, I’d never been this far upstate. Oh, wow. You have apple trees!” He pointed to several directly in front of him, heavy with low-hanging fruit. “We didn’t get a chance to explore last time because of the rain.”
A few steps ahead of him, Morgan nodded eagerly, looking cute as hell with a