Read Online Leopold: Part Three by Ember Casey, Renna Peak - Free Book Online Page A

my chest, and gooseflesh ripples across my skin. My body has started to come alive again, aroused by her nearness.
    I let my hand slide into her hair. “I won’t leave you.”
    “You have to.”
    “No, I don’t. And I won’t. I refuse to make any decisions based on your unfounded fears about the future.”
    She lifts her head. “They’re not unfounded. How exactly do you suggest we make this work?”
    “There will be time to address any issues as they arise,” I tell her. “There’s no point in speculating about challenges we have yet to understand.”
    She presses her lips together. She must be running out of excuses, and her eyes glisten slightly as she pulls back. She doesn’t cry, though, and her hands remain on my chest.
    “Part of me wants to believe you,” she says. “But I’ve made too many errors of judgment around you already. I’m not one of those silly, naive girls who believes that I’m different. That I’m the one magical woman who can change you and cure you of your womanizing ways. That’s not how this world works. And it’s definitely not how my world works.”
    “Elle, you are different,” I insist.
    I can see in her eyes that she still doesn’t believe me. That she’s still determined to drive a wedge between us, to push me away before we’re drawn deeper into this madness. I thought I made it clear that it’s too late for me, that I’m beyond hope. But perhaps I need to make some grand gesture before she’ll accept the truth. I want to be with her, and I want the whole world to know it.
    I don’t think. Right now, there’s no thought for potential consequences. No concern for how my father or my older brother or the rest of the world might react. I care about one thing and one thing only—showing Elle that I will most definitely not be going anywhere.
    I yank her the rest of the way toward me, capturing her mouth in a kiss before she even has the chance to make a sound of surprise. She stiffens for the briefest of moments, then melts against me, kissing me with a passion that matches my own. Her response only encourages me. She may try to drive me away with her words, but it’s clear from the reaction of her body that her need goes just as deep as mine.
    Perhaps this is enough. Perhaps joining in passion again will make her see that this thing between us cannot be denied. But I suspect I need to do something more.
    Without breaking the kiss, I twist her slightly. One of my hands presses deeper into her back, while the other slips away and finds the handle to the door. I give it a quick twist, then kick out with my leg and send the door flying open.
    Exposing us completely to the paparazzi outside.

Elle
    H e slides his tongue deep into my mouth, and I swear every part of me melts. His hand presses against my back, pulling me impossibly close, and our bodies meld together again. It’s like he’s made for me, how perfectly our bodies fit together. There’s something about when he takes control that makes me lose my inhibitions—makes me lose all sense of reason. It’s like I’m transported to a different place, and I’m not one hundred percent sure I like losing control like this. This is how I get into trouble—when I leave reason at the door, things never end well.
    He pulls my hand into his, moving it to his bare ass. He stiffens slightly and breaks our kiss before he dips his head to whisper into my ear. “Don’t move.”
    My eyes flutter open, and I see the door is open behind him. It takes me a second to realize what’s happening—and it really isn’t until I hear the clicking of the cameras and the calls of “Eleanor! Eleanor!” from the sidewalk that I realize what he’s done.
    There’s not going to be any denying a relationship between the two of us now. And I have no idea what that means. Other than my stomach twisting itself into a knot and having a strong urge to puke, I’m not sure how I feel about anything that’s happening.
    My chest feels