Free Diamond by Justine Elyot

were soulmates and nothing would ever come between us.’
    ‘And when was that?’
    She exhaled heavily.
    ‘Fifteen years ago. Then our careers started to take off and nothing was ever the same again. We were pulled in every direction, every waking minute of our lives. It changed us. We became different people.’
    Leonardo grimaced. ‘Life’ll do that to you. So, how are you different now, compared to what you were like at twenty-odd?’
    ‘I’ve lost my starry eyes. I’ve seen what’s in the stars, and it isn’t that great.’
    ‘Wow, that’s poetic.’ Leonardo nodded sagely. ‘So you used to be romantic, and now you’re not?’
    ‘I don’t know. Perhaps I could be again …’ She floundered. ‘This is why I’m here, Leo. I’m trying to find what I am, what I want, after it’s been worn away by all the glitter.’
    ‘Terrible stuff, glitter,’ said Leonardo. ‘Gets everywhere.’
    She laughed.
    ‘It’s corrosive,’ she said, suddenly serious. ‘Nobody gets that, until it’s too late. But don’t listen to me. I’m rambling.’
    There was a silence, strangely awkward.
    ‘You’re lonely,’ said Leonardo.
    ‘Yes. But I’m used to it now.’
    ‘You shouldn’t have to be. Someone like you.’
    He had a look in his eyes that liquefied her.
    ‘Someone like me?’ she whispered. ‘What’s that?’
    He cupped her cheek in one hand and she let out a breath, almost of relief. Yes, he was touching her. Yes, now she realised she had wanted him to all day.
    ‘Gorgeous,’ he said. ‘And amazing.’
    ‘Oh, don’t,’ she said with a laugh of terror. This had to stop, didn’t it? This couldn’t happen, could it?
    ‘I mean it,’ he said. ‘You’ve made something of your life. You’re special. If I were Deano Diamond …’ He looked away, as if he could scarcely believe what he knew of that individual.
    ‘Leo …’
    ‘Hush. When was the last time you were kissed? Properly, I mean.’
    ‘I can’t remember.’
    ‘That’s a fucking disgrace.’
    There was a moment that seemed to stretch forever, when his pupils were giant in his eyes and all Jenna could think was
Go on, then, if you’re going to. Kiss me!
    He tightened his hold on her face and tilted it up to him before ducking down to meet her lips with his.
    How can it hurt? It’s just a kiss. It’s all right to kiss
.
    It was more than all right. Leonardo knew how to do it. Just the touch of his skin was electric, and when hebrought his mouth to bear on her she thought she might swoon away into a froth of desire on the mattress. How had she forgotten the elemental pleasure of a warm, male, human body close to hers? She pushed her lips to his and gave him tacit permission to keep the pressure up, to increase it if need be.
    She placed her hand on his upper arm, making it clear that she wanted this togetherness. Her fingers curled tightly against his solid muscle, just about where his bad tattoo was. He, in his turn, circled her waist, keeping her pressed into him.
    His lips were fuller and more satisfying that Deano’s, which were thin and hard. There was a luscious softness to them that made the firmness of his kiss paradoxical and perfect. She could never tire of this feeling. It was better than wine and better than money and better than fame. If he carried on kissing her, she could be made to agree to anything.
    What kind of woman did that make her?
    She was slightly horrified with herself, but it still didn’t induce her to give up this glorious much-missed feeling, which was now spreading through her body like liquid flame.
    And why not?
Her inner voice still tormented her with apprehensions of how wrong this was.
Don’t I deserve a little human comfort, a little pleasure? After everything I’ve been through?
    The kisses were feverish now, hungry and all-consuming. Leo’s fingers raked through her hair, pulled at it, setting off little sparks in her scalp. He pressed and pinched and gripped her until they fell, sideways