“I-I…” His throat seized, and spots whirled in front of his eyes. God, he was going to pass out if he didn’t regain some measure of control. He tried to center himself. “The electricity in my apartment went out, and I thought I could find the circuit box and flip the switch.”
Beneath the stubble, a muscle worked in Leo’s jaw. Long ebony hair lay in damp waves, its glossy strands clinging to his cheeks and brushing the lobes of his ears. Leo stood close to him, and Morgan inhaled the hot scent of his skin and caught the gleam of sweat on his brow. Compared to Jeffrey’s neatly tailored suits, well-trimmed hair, and smooth jaw, Leo projected a raw wildness. Morgan’s breath caught. He was shocked by his body’s unexpected response, by the long-forgotten desire curling deep in his belly.
Oh, my God. This can’t be happening.
“You’re a tenant.” Leo’s low, dark growl twisted Morgan’s insides. “You’re not supposed to touch that.”
“I…I’m sorry,” Morgan whispered, trembling not with fear, but with something far more dangerous. “I d-didn’t mean to do anything wrong.” He swallowed. “I just wanted to get the AC back on in my apartment.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
Morgan licked his lips, and something flickered in Leo’s eyes. “I didn’t want to bother you. I thought I could handle it myself.”
At those words, Leo snorted. “You? What the hell do you know about electrical boxes or anything when it comes to a house?”
“Nothing.” Morgan hardened his jaw. “But considering how pleasant you are, knocking around in a dark, clammy basement seemed preferable to taking a risk on you.”
Icy-blue eyes narrowed before a wicked grin curved Leo’s lips. “Maybe you’re not as foolish as I thought.”
God, he was gorgeous. Morgan could sense the restrained power in those biceps and almost feel the rough glide of that jaw against his skin. If Leo so much as touched him, Morgan would shatter.
Weak-kneed, he gulped as panic joined the desire dancing on the edge of his jangled nerves. His fingertips dug painfully into the dirty cement wall behind him as he struggled to maintain his composure. From their first meeting, this man had set him on edge. He swallowed and punched through his nerves.
Never let them see your fear. They can smell your weakness.
He’d spent the past few months reading self-help books and almost a year in therapy. He wouldn’t let himself be caught with his guard down. Not again.
“Gee, thanks,” he pushed himself to respond. “Did something happen with the electricity?”
The grin vanished, replaced by the angry, taut face from when Leo first entered the room.
“Did something happen…? Of course it did, you damn fool. You cut off the electricity to my apartment.”
Morgan’s jaw dropped. “Yours? Are you sure? I thought—”
“Yes, I’m sure. Are you stupid? Why do you think I came here in the first place?”
“Stop yelling at me.” His temper flared. “And don’t call me names. None of this would’ve happened if you’d put in overhead lighting so I could see the writing inside the box. Treat your tenants better.”
Where the hell he’d gotten the courage to speak like that, Morgan had no clue. But he shouldered his way past a stunned Leo and out the door, not stopping to think until he’d reached the safety of his apartment, which was when he realized Leo was right. He was pretty fucking stupid.
The air conditioner had resumed blowing cool air, and the microwave panel light glowed. Legs shaking, he made it to the couch, where he sat with his arms wrapped tight around his waist. Trapped alone with Leo in that desolate room, anything could’ve happened after he’d called him out. Leo could’ve hurt him.
And yet, he couldn’t conceive of the man raising a fist to him. He might be gruff and brusque, but he didn’t scare Morgan.
Something else worried at his nerves at the thought of Leo DeLuca, something visceral that reached deep into his bones and ran hot through his blood. And that scared him more than anything.
* * *
FOUR
* * *
Muttering to himself, Leo stormed over to the breaker box, found the blown switches, and flipped both his and Cantrell’s to the correct position.
“It would serve the dumbass right if I taught him a lesson and let him sit and suffer for the night without his air conditioner.” Good thing Cantrell didn’t flip any of the switches for the other apartments, or he’d have an uprising. Nothing like no electricity on a hot-as-hell day to get his tenants riled up.
A trickle of sweat ran down his neck, and he grimaced. Another shower wouldn’t kill him, he reasoned as he entered his apartment, but he might need to read that guy the riot act about messing around where he didn’t belong. A tenant had no right sticking his nose into the mechanics of the building. He stomped around the apartment for a few minutes before remembering the microwaved meal he’d been heating up when the power went out. The dish smelled as bad as it looked, so he tossed it in disgust. When he opened his refrigerator for a beer, he spotted the package of ground beef he’d bought when Cantrell left the store yesterday.
Ran, you mean.
Leo had recognized the shadows in Cantrell’s eyes. He saw that pain and loss in the mirror every day, and every day he ignored it. If Leo were to hazard a guess, it must have something to do with his failed marriage. No one went from luxury to low-cost without a damn good reason.
“Well, Mr. Nosy Ass, you still have to eat.” He gathered up the items, put them in a bag, and left his apartment.
Trudging up to the fifth floor, he figured Cantrell would’ve had enough time to cool off and they could calmly discuss the reasons why he should leave the management of the building to the people who knew what they were doing.
He knocked on the door, and he waited impatiently as Cantrell unbolted the three separate locks he’d had installed. After all that, Cantrell still only opened the door as far as the security chain would allow, but even in those few inches, Leo could see the consternation filling Cantrell’s wide green eyes.
“What do you want? Did you come here to keep yelling at me? I already said I was sorry.”
“Actually, you didn’t.”
“I’m pretty sure I did. And even if I didn’t, you had no right to call me names.”
Cantrell’s stubbornness began to grate on Leo’s nerves. That was why he didn’t waste time with people. Inevitably, they pissed him off, like this guy.
“I call them as I see them. And are you going to stand there and say to my face you were right in fumbling around with the electrical system of this entire building that I’m responsible for?”
“If you came to berate me, I’m going to close the door. I have better things to do than listen to you.” True to his snooty words, he started to close the door, but Leo quickly stuck his foot in the narrow opening.
“I thought we could have an intelligent discussion, but obviously, that’s not happening. So here.” He held up the grocery bag. “I got the stuff you left behind when you ran away from me in the supermarket. I knocked on your door yesterday, but when no one answered, I didn’t want to leave it and have the meat spoil. You’re welcome.”