Page 81 of Harnessed in Gold

But only if I can have Leo at my side.

He dips lower, his jaw grazing my cheek and his breath warm on my neck. He has one hand buried in the back of my hair, and the other tight around my back.

His lips graze the tender spot under my ear, and my fingers dig into his back. “L?—”

With a hard press of his mouth, he steals his name from my lips, and my words come out as a moan.

Oh god, yes.

He gives my hair a gentle tug, tilting my head to deepen the kiss. I free my arms from his coat and reach around his neck to pull him closer. When our tongues meet, a low sound catches in his throat. He brushes a hot palm across my cheek and down my neck before gripping my nape again and pushing my mouth hard against his.

We pull back, both of us panting as he sweeps his thumb along my lips. “I thought I’d never kiss you again.”

His hair and brows hide his eyes, but I can still see his lashes, black and thick and frantically flickering. With both hands, I tip his head up, gaze into those rich, warm eyes, and boldly declare, “You can kiss me all you want to.”

His smile squeezes the air out of my chest, and with his mouth on mine again, I can’t get a breath. I gulp in air when he breaks the kiss, then pull him down for another.

“I want you off this cold ground,” he says.

Cold ground? I don’t feel any cold ground; I’m floating.

He pulls me up as he rises, and that’s when I feel the chill on the backs of my thighs. To get the blood flowing, I give them several firm pats. My jeans feel like they’ve been in the freezer.

Chuckling, Leo takes my hand. “Come on. We’ll walk fast.”

When he says fast, he means it. We move at a clip that has my muscles thawing and my blood pumping. Just as the sun disappears below the horizon, we crest the hill to the practice fields. When I came to meet Leo a few hours ago, the fields were packed with people. Shouts and blowing whistles, the swish of nets and the crack of a bat. Now there’s only silence, and not a soul to be seen in the twilight.

Up ahead, Leo’s and one other empty car sit in the dimly lit parking lot.

“Okay,” I say, pulling up short. “So, I’ll keep looking for Avery’s window?—”

“Where are you going?” He tugs me in the direction of his car.

I jerk a thumb over my shoulder. “Newberry’s that way.”

“You’re not walking.”

I stumble after him. “It’s just on the other side?—”

“Nope.” He turns and walks backward, grinning. “I can take you closer.”

“But—”

Gesturing to his Civic, he commands, “Get in the car, Betts.”

A nervous giggle bubbles out of me, but I manage a straight face. “Yes, sir.”

He opens the passenger door and rounds the car as I get inside. I’ve barely settled into my seat before he’s in the one beside me, reaching for me.

Kissing me fiercely.

He slides his hands under my rear end. “Come here.” Next thing I know, he’s pulling me onto his lap and arranging my knees alongside his hips.

With a saucy jerk of his head, he tosses his hair from his eyes. A half smile plays on his lips. “You said I could kiss you as much as I wanted.”

I respond with another embarrassing giggle. Naughty, playful Leo whips my brain into cotton candy. Rallying my wits, I coyly ask, “What about me? Am I allowed to kissyou?”

He pushes on my hips, stretching my thighs wider and tugging me firmly against him. Voice thick, he replies, “You’re allowed to do anything you want.”