Leonardo

When I ran my fingers over her shorts to unbuckle the button, I felt her intense stare burning my skin. She eyed every move of mine, every pause. As I pulled her close to my body, hooking her legs around me, she chuckled.

"Not the reaction I was expecting for what I was going to do," I said, grabbing her messy bun into a fist. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because... it felt like a laughing moment."

In one quick spin, I had her turned around, her back resting against my chest. I gripped her perfect jaws, my index finger tracing the outer rim of her lips, sliding it.

"Bite it," I commanded. Zem didn't struggle, easing into my instructions. She took a soft, almost non-existent bite. "I said bite, not nibble."

She nodded. I could feel her thundering heart against my chest. This time she bit with all her might. I felt a sharp pulsation running from the tip of my finger to my elbow.

"Good girl." I turned her around and cleaned strands of hair cupping her face. "This was your last act of control. From now on, do as I command."

"Fuck you."

I grabbed Zem's hips, tossing her on the bed. My hands worked faster, tearing her parchment-like shorts and tossing them away. When she tried looking up, I pushed her down on the bed, my arm arresting her jaws. My perfect bird looked fragile, almost like an unadulterated maiden.

I knew deep down, she was struggling to let go of her commanding attitude.

"Now on, you'd only do what I ask," I said, unbuttoning her shirt before losing patience. Tearing it open, I heard her gasp.

"It's my favourite."

"Did I ask you to speak, woman?"

She leaned back, pink-hued cheeks turning red. In her lacy red lingerie, Zemira looked like a goddess who'd only be satisfied with me kneeling in submission. I wanted more. I wanted to test her. Us.

"Get up," I said. "Entertain me."

Zemira's head snapped up. In one quick motion, she moved close. 

My steps retracted, eyes instructing her to remain glued to her place. I dragged the chair closest to me, having no clue what she planned to do. Her soft grin conveyed, nothing less than devilish.

Unhooking her bra, Zemira let the slips slide off her shoulders, cupping them with her hands. In a slow, enticing turn, she rotated, revealing her perfect curvy back. 

The bra straps traced a faint line over her shoulder and upper back.

I wanted to kiss it. Bite it.

She displayed her bra, hanging it on her index finger. Then she proceeded to slide down her panty, deciding to break the process bust before her perfect, round ass came uncovered.

"Now," I growled. She hesitated yet remained silent. "Didn't you hear me?"

"I did," she whispered. "But..."

She turned, eyes narrowed on me, ready to tease me more. My dick twitched, eying her perkiness. I wanted to bite, suck, and knead them. Not yet.

Sliding her hand inside her half-removed panty, Zemira smiled. Her gaze remained fixed on me. Her moans accompanied her act as she ran circles over her clit, her free hand cupping her boobs. 

My erection tented over my boxer shorts.

Ummm

She moaned, eyes closed, teeth digging into her lower lip, head tilting back.

That's it.

I sprang up from the chair, dropping my boxers on the floor.

Zemira didn't register me till my lips crashed over hers. Her need to take control subsided when I slid her hand off her pussy, slipping mine inside. 

She gasped in my mouth, sucking my tongue and moaning some more.

I rubbed my erection over her lacy panty, dragging it down. She held my shoulders for support as soon as I lowered my body. I grabbed her legs, tossed her on the bed and flipped her over.

She chucked. Then silenced her laughter.

In one quick stroke, I slid inside of her. Grunting, Zemira bunched the covers into a ball, stuffing her face into it.

"Fuck, Leo."

Smack

Thrusting in and out, I slapped her round globes. Gripping her loose locks, I arched her backwards, choking her with my free hand. My tongue danced near her earlobe, tracing a path into the nape of her neck.

Slap slap slap slap

The room echoed with her muffled moans. My thrusts. Her grunts. My deep exhales.

"Leeeoooo..." She coughed. I unclasped my grip. She fell on the bed, realigning her position on all fours.

I drew my dick out. Then thrust it in again.

"Fuckkk," she growled. A moment of silence before I slammed back, harder. "Ye...yes, baby."

Her curved hips were my anchor as I began thrusting hard.

"Don't..." I commanded. She nodded.

I grabbed a condom from the drawer near the side of the bed and slid it over my erection.

"I don't want it. I want to feel you," she said.

"You will."

I inserted my erection. She cussed as I penetrated inside her anally.

"Ohgodohgodohgod..."

And a lot more prayers as I began the rhythmic moment inside her. Zemira arched her back, left hand supporting her spine. Right hand beating the side of the exposed mattress.

"Fuck..."

She tightened around me, making me feel the blood rush. I ran circles over her clit, sliding my fingers inside her wet folds. Her knees buckled, dragging me over her. 

My pace fastened, and louder were her moans as she released over my hand, panting for air. For a kiss.

Easing out of her, I turned her around. Heaving chest, messed up hair and sweat-slick skin tempted me for more.

"More..." she pled, gripping her hair and smiling into the crook of her elbow.

More it was. More it would always be.

"Lemme discard this." I pointed to the condom I'd taken off.

Her devious smile made me wonder what else she had on her mind.

"Come soon, or I'll start without you."

"Your hands better be where I left them," I yelled from the washroom.

Inside the fluorescent-lit wash, I stood peering at the mirror behind which my secret rested. My leg, the amputation had healed but my mind didn't. 

I pulled open the mirror cabinet, shifting bottles of pills, and navigating my way towards the plastic orange container. My elixir.

Popping two pills, I grabbed a towel and tied it around my waist, walking back to my room.

The moment I reentered the room, Zemira's dressed-up form surprised me.

"Darling...What happened?" I moved closer, seeing her reddened face. "Tell me what happened?"

She didn't speak. Turning her head towards the open drawer on the nightstand, she looked back. Half-filled orange containers of painkillers huddled inside.

My secret was out.

"Why the fuck did you open it?" I shouted. She had no right.

"I didn't." Her eyebrows bridged. "You did."

Condoms.

Zemira discovered what I hid from everyone. Even from her. Her dried-up tears were the mocking display of the times she must have wept for me; now finding it difficult to cry.

"I don't want to talk about it, Zem." Grabbing a shirt and my jeans, I began dressing up. I wanted to be fully prepared for when the real battle between us began. "Please leave."

"What the fuck." Her voice choked at the back of her throat. "You think I'd leave now? After what I saw?"

She moved off the bed to square my face.

"You think so less of me, Brenton." A shove on my shoulders boiled my blood. "You think I'll leave you because you're an addict?" Another shove. My fists coiled, teeth gritted. "Fuck you, Leonard Brenton."

Anger blinded me. I grabbed her jaws, hands, and whatever my eyes could scope before she assaulted me further. Heat radiated from her - of anger and disappointment.

She jabbed my shin.

Fuck.

I released her, only to grab her from behind. Our hearts thundered.

A while ago, it was aligned rhythmically. Now, it was in dissonance. Mine was beating to push her away. Hers, to hold onto us.

"I don't need you fixing me. So go away before you'd do that again."

I was selfish. I needed Zemira. I needed her like the air in my lungs, the blood in my body. But I needed those pills too.

Somewhere, the chemical composition of Vicodin overtook the composition of love. Of trust and companionship.

Zemira grabbed my arms, releasing herself. She turned around. Her glassy gaze hurt my insides.

She had no right.

"You've hurt me more than anyone, Leo."

Hurtful words were our thing. More like my thing.

In retrospect, I was a monster to assume I loved her. I didn't. Because loving someone meant cherishing them, not hurting them.

But there I was, proud of myself. So full of myself. Aware that I'd crossed the borders of love that could have saved us. I had ventured into the territory of hatred. And I saw it in her eyes.

"You've found ways to push me away." Tears affirmed her statement. "For you, I'm still some stranger that you fucked in a hotel. I'm still some random girl you've met to whom you can't tell your troubles."

She had no right.

I didn't know what Zemira's words triggered in me but the way she challenged me, I wanted to hurt her. I wanted to jam it inside her heart, she was wrong.

On that cold morning, when the weather outside tempted people to stay indoors, I wanted to leave her.

And I did.

Fully clothed, I grabbed my coat from the closet. I felt her annoyed, intense glare burning my back. Before I could take another step, Zemira's raspy voice halted me.

"You're killing us, Leo."

I didn't turn. Glaring into the hallway, I stood still. Soft sobs pricked me. It tempted me to turn.

"Please don't go." She pled. She asked me to stay. She still fought for us while I was ready to run...again. "We'd never be the same if you leave."

"Same?" I wanted to know. "I've hurt you, Zemira. I keep hurting you. I don't know why you still love me. What do you see in me?"

"Me."

That moment stretched for what felt like an eternity.

Easing her way towards me, Zemira took small, careful steps.

"I see me in you, Leo. I was broken. I was scared. I didn't know whom to ask for help. Not able to leave, yet unable to stay. I see a whole lot of me in you. That same me..." She took a deep breath. "Who once tried to end my life to end my troubles."

At the moment, I couldn't understand why Zemira kept forgiving. Everything I did to harm me, harmed her too. Yet, she persevered, unwilling to let us down. Let me down.

It took an insane amount of understanding and a whole lot of therapy to know why Zemira never left me. 

~

The final secret is out...

And with that, a lot more heartbreak.

Do you think Leo and Zem would ever be able to love each other like before...

Or will they always be two broken people?

Let me know in the comments.

Or simply, spam me with emojis and tell me if you liked this chapter