When Sapphire and Leo returned, both were in good spirits, though I saw some strain in Leo's smile as he acknowledged Cameron. Sapphire whispered to me again, asking me if Cameron spoke with me; I took that as her confirming that he'd informed me about her offer for help, and nodded.

We all departed at the same time, and in the car on the way back to West Village, Leo was silent. Not in a sulking, angry manner; he was pensive, looking out the window, pulling out his phone to type up notes.

Once inside the house, he kissed me, told me he loved me, and locked himself up downstairs in his studio. I wouldn't question him, because he did this when he was distracted. So I ate dinner alone, watched TV alone, and fell asleep in my slinky nightgown alone.

Whatever he and Sapphire had discussed, it had deeply disturbed him, and I wasn't sure what it meant. And it made it even more difficult for me to envision telling him the truth—that Sapphire might have given me a shot for my career. That she'd overstepped Leo's efforts.

I kept reviewing our quickie earlier, at the penthouse. How fast and hot it was, how we grunted and groaned at each other, all too pleased to give each other gratification while ignoring the real reason we were there: Sapphire. And then Cameron, and all that happened with him. And then—

I unleashed a sharp intake of breath as I sat up straight in bed, sweating profusely. Had I been asleep? Half awake and falling into a weird dream? I remembered seeing us fucking, like we did earlier; the same position, the same sounds, the same place. But the door opened and we were seen—and no matter how I concentrated on the door, I couldn't tell who it was who'd watched us. Dark eyes, potentially a whirl of dark hair; but I couldn't perceive the figure or the face.

"Shit." I threw the covers off, realizing in the process that Leo still hadn't come to bed. He got in his head when focused, but this was unlike him. He knew what time I tended to fall asleep, and he'd hate himself for not giving me a good night kiss and a late-night fuck.

He needed to know about the door, about the potential of being seen. I wouldn't fall asleep without telling him; I couldn't. We'd been all aroused at the notion of being caught, but who had caught us? He'd had no clue someone had peeped in, but I did, and to not say anything felt like lying to him. And Cameron told me not to lie...

As I creaked our bedroom door open, a soft sound of piano keys reached my ears. No one in the house used the piano except for him, so that told me where he was. He rarely played it in front of me, preferring to keep his music private but for shows and music videos.

I followed the sound into the smaller living room off to the right of the stairs. It was an area he reserved for meetings or night-caps with his band members, though those had stopped as of late, since he was on hiatus from SMASH.

The door was open—he wasn't hiding, then. When I slipped in, I found the lights dimmed and him hunched over the piano, fingers fluttering over the keys in a gentle tune. I didn't know it; it wasn't one of his, nor was it any song in my vast repertoire in my head. It was lovely, though. Soothing and almost sensual, in a way.

The room was like an ancient study, covered from wall to wall with bookshelves of dusty tomes and weird sculptures behind glass. Leo called this place the library, but the one time I'd been in it, I'd found nothing one would normally find in a library. Most of the books were encyclopedias, non-fiction novels, or...decoration.

The deep emerald leather sofas in the middle of the space blocked easy access to the back of the room, but he'd see me if he looked up from the instrument.

"Hey," he said, noticing me before I had a chance to announce myself, not wanting to scare him. He patted the spot beside him on the bench, behind the giant black-and-red piano.

I'd never sat there. I had no musical talent and it was no point trying to create a tune of any kind. Aside from the typical Chopsticks song all kids were taught, I'd never touched a piano. To creep behind this one and sit beside Leo felt like a privilege, a super intimate moment.

And I was about to ruin it.

I flushed as I lowered onto the bench. "Hey. Not tired?"

He closed his eyes, his fingertips drumming the keys in a melody that gave me shivers. "Exhausted, but I can't...can't stop thinking."

"Something I did?" I gestured at myself, and he shook his head. "Cameron?" He shrugged. "Oh, so...Sapphire?" He nodded. "What happened?"

"Nothing bad, but the ideas she shared with me..." He wrinkled his nose. "I want to make them work, but they're so not my style. And it put me off, made me question a lot."

The piece he performed now was certainly not anything I'd heard him compose before. Even in his crooner days, his sound was more electric, violent. This was soft and jazzy. He never actually played the piano for his records, as far as I was aware; one of his bandmates did. The fact that he, the singer, knew how to play so many instruments and played them well made him all the more attractive to me.

I couldn't lie to him. Not when he was vulnerable like this, his guard down as he tried to figure out how to work with Sapphire. He needed to know what she'd offered me, what Cameron had said, and what I'd seen—and before he got too wrapped up in this duet with Sapphire.

As I opened my mouth to speak, he snuck one hand down to my exposed thigh. His other hand remained on the keys, still playing. My nightgown was fairly short, but I didn't think he'd noticed, so busy with the piano.

Oh, he noticed.

"Nice," he said, fingers caressing my moisturized skin. "New?" He grazed the silky fabric of the nightgown and pursed his lips in approval.

"No, but I haven't had a chance to wear it for you, yet." I squirmed as his fingers started sliding under the delicate fibers.

"Oh, hello," he said, realizing I wasn't wearing any panties. Another thing I'd done for him: preparing for when he'd come to bed. "That's a lovely surprise."

The instant his fingertip touched my slit, I tensed. Moisture pooled inside, ready to coat him in my wetness.

"Mmm," he said, fumbling slightly with the melody he was playing one-handedly. "That's right, be wet for me, sweetheart. Get wet as I play this sexy tune for you."

The tune was...hot. A low harmony, only a few notes, in a rhythm that almost matched a woman's swaying hips as she walked. Almost sounded like hurried breaths, a sensual moan of pleasure. It sounded like sex.

"Leo, I..." I gasped as he went straight into my pussy, deliberately stroking up and down. "Fuck. Fuck." I panted. "Leo, I have to tell you something."

He focused on the piano, but licked his lips as he touched me. "I'm listening. Tell me how much you're loving this."

"I...I am, but..." It was hard to concentrate with his fingers on me like that, but it was now or never. I'd gathered all my courage, and I wouldn't let it fade because Leo was getting handsy. "As you know, I yelled at Cameron earlier," I breathed, each word straining as my thighs quivered. My center wanted him and wanted him immediately.

"You want to talk about Cameron? Now?" He didn't quit the stroking, but his voice was thick, displeased.

"No, not...no." I had to salvage this somehow while ensuring he kept touching me. He couldn't stop. I didn't want him to stop. Ever. "I wanted to tell you I also accused him of being the one feeding false news to Sfuria," I released, all the words smooshed into one.

I gulped, expecting the touching to cease; it didn't.

"And?" Leo's fingers on the keys accelerated, the tune taking a dangerous turn that remained sexy. Like the background music while a couple argued but everyone knew they were about to fuck. "That's fucking crazy, but did he?"

"He swears he didn't. It wasn't him." I fidgeted, holding in the urge to start fondling my breasts as he circled around my clit. My legs dangled off the bench and I couldn't feel them.

"Hmm," he said, the sound escaping his mouth between a moan and a growl. His cheeks turned red, and his eyes narrowed, but still, he touched me.

"He, uh..." I swallowed and fought the desire to set my hand on Leo's thigh and inch it towards the erection I knew was growing between his legs. "He said we'd better check within your staff, instead. Someone...someone," I bit my tongue to not scream out as he flicked my clit a few times and electricity shot through me, "might not be following the rules."

I wished this bench had a back cushion where I could rest, because keeping myself upright became more and more difficult. I wanted to fall back and spread my legs and let him have his way with me; but this conversation needed to happen. I needed to focus.

But his fingers felt too good for me to block him.

Leo gritted his teeth, both sets of fingers picking up the pace. The piano's melody grew haunting, and his fingertips lingered on my clit now, twirling, flicking.

"Also," my voice was way too high-pitched as I battled cries of ecstasy, "Sapphire might have offered me...an exclusive interview. And photo-shoot. For my career. To...help me. Ahhhh, fuck, Leo."

My heart slammed against my rib-cage and I wasn't certain I could sit up straight much longer. My legs parted wider apart and I scooched closer to his fingers, digging them into me, demanding more.

"Did she, now? And did you accept?" His words hissed through his teeth, and still, he continued on his mission to make me come all over his piano bench; or so, that was what I believed he was doing. How he was able to play one-handed and come close to finger-fucking me at the same time—

"Oh!" I reeled forward and my stomach muscles clenched as the actual finger-fucking began. One finger, first, slowly pushing into my opening, tentative and exploring. "Oh, fuck."

"Did you accept?" He was undeterred, though his features had morphed in the minutes since I'd sat next to him. He'd looked almost peaceful when I showed up, absorbed in his music. Now he was red in the face and flustered, and not only because his finger was inside my vagina.

"I-I said...I'd think about it."

He snorted, but kept up with the movement. "Not sure when she had a chance to..." He stopped, only for half a second, before resuming his pace, faster, deeper. My pussy muscles clamped around him and my breaths caught in my throat. "Cameron told you. Of course."

I nodded, containing a whimper. I couldn't do this much longer without screaming. Surely some of the staff would hear us; Nicky's room was on the ground floor, and security prowled around the house all night long...

Leo arched his spine, and I heard it crack. "Anything else?" His fingers hit the keys now, not delicately grazing them like before. The tune was sharp, piercing, and yet still so hauntingly beautiful.

"Yes," I managed to let out, my ass digging into the cushioned bench as his cadence picked up again; two fingers inserted. "I think—" I shriveled as I sensed myself approaching the finish-line. Between the digits in me and those still stroking my clit, I didn't know what to do with myself. But I had to tell him; one last thing and then I could sit back and unravel for him. "I think someone...someone watched us having sex earlier, at the penthouse."

Just as I'd reached my climax, my body capsizing and collapsing into a wave of pleasure, he extracted his fingers and got to his feet. By some miracle he'd stopped as I was already coming, so he didn't prevent me from releasing. But the abruptness of his standing up ruined the aftermath, the gentle pulsating of my pussy as it returned to normal.

"Huh?" I looked up at him, expecting to see him lick his fingers, taste me on his skin. Or for him to take my hand and lead me upstairs for an angry round of fucking, to blow off steam, like earlier.

Instead he frowned, shook his head while mumbling something under his breath, and stormed out of the room.

Meanwhile, I sat in front of his piano, my pleasure all over the piano bench, and my brain frazzled beyond belief.

What the fuck just happened?

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