Landon (Swanson Court Book 4) Page 16

  I should take her somewhere private and unreachable by anyone else…back in time, maybe, to an era of cavemen who took the women they wanted and never let them go.

  Just go away, Landon. Just leave me alone.

  I swallow, watching as she stops at the edge of the sidewalk. “Landon…” The uncertainty in her voice tells me her mind still isn’t made up, that she’s still confused, but I can’t bring myself to care. Not when I’m hopelessly consumed with wanting her, and I know she feels the same way.

  I’m barely aware of closing the distance between us. I take her in my arms, drowning whatever she planned to say in a kiss I need more than life itself.

  She kisses me back, hungrily. Her eyes close and she clutches at my jacket, moaning, her body pressed against mine.

  Please leave.

  I release her, for my own sanity. Any moment now, she’ll tell me again that she’s done with me.

  “Fuck!” My tone is much harsher than I intended. “What are you trying to do to me? What do you want from me?”

  Her eyes rake my face. “I want you,” she whispers.

  I feel like a puppet on a string, a piece of cork bobbing in ocean waves—helpless and out of control. “Stop playing games with me,” I warn. “Go back inside and join your family…or you can come with me, Rachel, and just so you know, I’m not going to stop until I’ve fucked you senseless.”

  Her chest rises, her eyes holding mine in a silent agreement. “Let’s go.”

  The words galvanize me into action. For now, at least, she’s mine, and I’m too desperate to question it. I hold the car door open for her before going around to join her in the back.

  “The Swanson Court?” the driver asks.

  “Just drive,” I instruct him, my voice lacking any patience. I have no intention of waiting long enough to reach my apartment. I raise the opaque and soundproof partition then turn to face Rachel.

  She’s watching me, waiting. I reach for her, unable to stop myself from touching her, devouring her.

  “God, I want you.”

  She licks her lips and I’m lost. I cover her mouth with mine, tasting her, filling my nose with her scent. Her body presses eagerly against mine. I can feel all her curves, but I want more. Her clothes are in the way, and impatiently, I push her dress up around her thighs, reaching under it to stroke her through her panties.

  Her moan is eager and uninhibited. How many times have I remembered this? Imagined this?

  I shove the lacy material of her panties aside, inserting my thumb inside her wet center. She makes a tortured sound of pleasure and I pull back so I can see the reaction on her face.

  “You want me.”

  “Yes,” she agrees, her hips undulating as she rubs herself on my fingers.

  I pull out my thumb and stroke it over her clit, sliding two fingers into her at the same time. She shudders.

  “Say it,” I demand.

  “I want you,” she whispers. “I want you so much.”

  A part of me wants to torture her, to arouse her body to a fever pitch until she’s begging me to fuck her, but I want her too much to hold back. Her hips move, her body clenching around my fingers, making me even more desperate to be inside her.

  Grabbing her by the hips, I position her to straddle me. She cooperates eagerly, undoing my pants. I push her dress up to her waist and rip her panties out of the way. She frees my cock, moaning as she takes me in her hands.

  “Oh, Landon.” Her voice is thick with desire.

  She sets her hips over me, bearing down enough for me to feel her heat around the head of my cock. I grab her waist, holding her in place.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yes,” she moans. “Yes, Landon. Please.”

  Satisfied, I push inside her, and she grips me tightly all the way in. Sweet Jesus. Air escapes my lungs in a weakening rush.

  She’s moaning my name, and I repeat hers like a prayer, my fingers digging into her soft flesh. I want all of her. I want everything.

  Bracing her hands on the seat behind me, she rides me up and down, gripping me with her insides and driving me to the edge of madness.

  My hands circle her waist. I hold her in place and take over our movements, thrusting my hips to meet hers and drinking in the low moans that escape her lips.

  I know when she’s about to come. Her legs stiffen and her arms tighten around me. I quicken my pace, pushing her over the edge. Then I roll over and set her down on the leather seats, burying myself deeper inside her with each thrust. Right now, I don’t care about anything apart from this. The world could end. The sun could die, and as long as I had this moment, I’d be satisfied.

  She moans my name over and over, meeting me thrust for thrust. Pleasure builds to a shuddering peak, and this time, we climax together, her wild scream filling the confines of the limo as I groan my release.

  After I catch my breath, I pull out of her, smoothing her dress before adjusting my clothes. Then, because I can’t stop myself, I kiss her again, slowly this time. “You okay?”

  She releases a soft breath and smiles. “Yes, I’m fine.”

  Her hair is mussed, and I smooth it gently. Sighing, she lays her face in my hand, her eyes closed. I take a deep breath. How soon before she tells me again that this means nothing and she doesn’t want to be with me?

  There’s a futile sort of despair in my chest as I instruct the driver to take us to my apartment.

  “My parents will be wondering where I am,” she says, her voice soft.

  “You’re in no condition to go back there,” I say, referring to her clothes. “Call them. Tell them you decided to leave.”

  She doesn’t argue. “What about Aidan?”

  I shrug. “I was already leaving when you saw me. Aidan has plans to indulge in the free champagne. He told me he doesn’t mind walking home.” I turn her face up to mine. “I’m not letting you go tonight.”

  She doesn’t reply, but she doesn’t argue either. At the Swanson Court, she takes my hand and allows me to lead her up to my apartment.

  Chapter 21

  It’s the first time she has been at my place since that first night. She walks through the living room, looking around while I take off my jacket and toss it on a chair.

  “Drink?”

  She declines with a small shake of her head.

  What is she thinking?

  I go to her and take her hands in mine. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  She gives me a tender look that warms my insides. “Me too.”

  “Come on then.” I lead her up to my bedroom. A part of me still can’t believe she’s here with me, that I can kiss her and touch her. “I’ve imagined you here so many times, it’s hard to believe you actually are.” I touch a finger to her cheek, just to make sure. “I’ve missed you.”

  She places her head on my chest. “I’ve missed you too.”

  My heart expands. Say you’ll stay. “I can’t stop looking at you. You have no idea how it’s been for me with you across town, so close and yet…so unwilling to have anything to do with me.”

  “I wasn’t unwilling,” she says softly. She lifts her eyes to mine, There’s something luminous in their green depths. “I just…I didn’t want things to get irreversibly complicated.”

  Irreversibly complicated? I laugh. “It’s too late for that.”

  She puts her arms around me, her eyes closed.

  Don’t leave me.

  “You sure you don’t want anything?”

  “Maybe some water?”

  I show her the bathroom then go to get the water. Back in the bedroom, I can hear her taking a shower. I consider joining her but my phone rings.

  It’s Aidan. “You home?”

  “Yes,” I reply. “You?”

  “Mhmm.” He pauses. “I forgot to ask earlier if you saw Rachel. She was there with her family.”

  “I saw her.”

  “And…”

  “She’s here.”

  “Oookay.” There’
s a smile in his voice. “Then I guess I better get my ass off the phone, huh?”

  I chuckle. “You guess right.” I unbutton my shirt, turning to see Rachel standing at the door to the bathroom, wearing one of my t-shirts, which, I have to admit, looks incredibly sexy on her. I pour water into a glass and hand it to her.

  “Good night,” I tell Aidan.

  “Good night,” he says in a singsong voice. “Have fun.”

  “That was Aidan,” I tell Rachel, smiling at Aidan’s parting words. “He managed to get home without falling down drunk somewhere.”

  “He’s lucky to have you,” she tells me. There’s a tender expression on her face.

  I smile. “And I’m lucky to have you here.” I take the empty glass from her and set it on the nightstand. “Nice t-shirt, by the way. Looks very sexy on you.” I trail my fingers down her arm and she sucks in a breath. “Can you guess what will look even better?”

  “What?” she asks.

  “The owner.”

  She bursts into peals of laughter, and it’s the most beautiful sound.

  Stay with me and I’ll make you laugh every day.

  “I’m going to take a shower,” I tell her. “Don’t fall asleep.”

  “I won’t.”

  When I return, she’s under the covers but still awake. There’s a small frown on her face, and I wonder what she’s thinking now. At the sight of me, the frown disappears.

  Her eyes skim my chest appreciatively. “Your workouts must be intense.”

  I follow her gaze to my pecs. Neither my looks nor my body make the list of things I’m very proud of, but if she appreciates them, I don’t mind at all. “I lift a few weights and do some martial arts training when I have the time.”

  “Yeah, me too.” She’s laughing again. “Totally when I have the time. Brett tried to get me and Laurie interested in working out when he started the gym.” She shudders. “I’m just destined to be fat and unhealthy.”

  Laurie and Brett. “How are they?”

  Rachel sighs. “It’s very complicated right now.”

  When isn’t it? “Emotions always get complicated. Some people make it work, but sometimes it just ends badly.” What was the phrase she used? Irreversibly complicated—but we can be more than that. We can make this work.

  I join her under the covers and take her in my arms. I can’t bear for her to walk away again, and I want her to know that.

  “You know I’ll give you anything you want?” I whisper. “You know that, right?”

  Her voice is tinged with sadness. “You don’t have everything.”

  I don’t, but I can try. “Don’t walk away again.” I’m begging. “Don’t.”

  It takes so long for her to reply, it feels like forever.

  “I won’t,” she whispers. “I won’t.”

  I sleep through the night and wake up with Rachel cradled in my arms. She’s sleeping like a baby, cute as a button in my overlarge t-shirt.

  I watch her for a long time. Then, since I don’t have the heart to wake her, I leave her in bed and get ready for work.

  She’s still asleep when I return from the closet, fastening my cufflinks. As I watch, she opens her eyes and stretches like a cat before giving me a happy grin. “Good morning.”

  I’m already smiling, just from watching her. “I was trying to decide if I had the heart to wake you. You looked like you were having a good time.”

  “I was.” She stretches again then grabs her phone and glances at the screen. “Christ! I’m going to be late! I have to get home to change.”

  I already took care of that. “Don’t worry. Joe already got your clothes. Laurie was very helpful.”

  She stops and gives me a warm look. “Really? What are you, some sort of super-boyfriend?”

  I hold her gaze. “I’d settle for boyfriend.”

  She doesn’t reply. I want her to be mine. I don’t want to spend the next days or weeks wondering if she will decide to walk away again. I need her to give me something, even if it’s just a title. “You never told me what it is you want that I can’t give.”

  “It’s not…” She stops, as if she can’t find the words.

  I swallow. “I know I have a lot of baggage…and all the other issues you know about.”

  She makes a dismissive sound. “I don’t care about any of that.”

  Then what does she want? “Every other woman wanted something from me…commitment, some sort of relationship…but I’ve offered you that, Rachel. I didn’t even have to try, because it’s what I want, more than anything, to know I can be sure you’re mine.”

  Her eyes dig into mine, searching. “And you…will you be mine?”

  If only she knew. I stroke her arm lightly and she pulls in a sharp breath. “I’m already yours.” It’s true. I am hers.

  She turns her face away. “It’s just sex, Landon. We’re still practically strangers.”

  “So, we’ll get to know each other.”

  When she lifts her eyes to mine again, there’s a sadness there that I don’t understand. I wish she would explain it to me, but she doesn’t. Instead, she rises to her knees and threads her fingers through my hair before pressing her lips to mine.

  She’s pushing our conversation away, unresolved. She’s choosing instead to focus on sex, the one thing we have that’s unquestionable. Despair settles in my stomach.

  She kisses me deeply, her hands exploring, moving from my hair to my chest. I can’t fight my reaction, the helpless arousal and need that pushes every other reservation from my mind.

  “I need you,” she whispers, her warm breath fanning the skin at my throat.

  My breath shudders out of my lungs. For now, she’s mine. Saving my questions for later, I pull the t-shirt over her head. Her naked body is like an invitation to worship. I reach for her, cupping her breasts then squeezing them just the way she likes, watching the pleasure suffuse her face.

  She strokes the hard ridge in my pants then undoes my zipper, freeing me from my clothes.

  In her hand, I have no thoughts at all, no desire beyond the two of us, together. She lowers herself slowly, her eyes holding mine as she continues to stroke me. Then she takes me in her mouth and pleasure rises like a wave.

  She sucks me hard, and after only a few moments, I can’t take it anymore. I pull her off me, pushing her back on the bed so she’s on her back. She’s gazing up at me with unconcealed desire. I spread her legs, pulling her hips toward me until I’m positioned right at the entrance to her body. With a rolling movement of her hips, she urges me inside, letting out a moan when I fill her.

  Her eyes fix on mine, so tender it makes me ache. She moves her hips in a slow grind, creating a delightfully tortuous friction. “Please, Landon,” she moans. “Fuck me now.”

  My chest swells. She’s so tight, so sweet. I move slowly, wanting to feel everything. Her hips rise to meet mine, and I stroke her thighs, aching to feel more of her skin. Still buried deep inside her, I find her clit, rubbing it in slow, gentle strokes.

  She’s saying my name, over and over, with a helpless desire that sounds like music in my ears.

  “You like it.” My voice is rough. “You like it when I fuck you like this.”

  Her muscles tighten. “Yes,” she cries. “Yes.”

  I thrust in deep and her legs stiffen. “Come for me, baby,” I urge. “Let it go.”

  She screams, clutching the sheets as her body convulses, sucking my climax out of me.

  “God!” I fall back on the bed beside her, breathing deeply. “Oh God.”

  She turns to me, flushed, her beautiful lips curved in a satisfied grin.

  “You should wipe that smile off your face if you have any plans of getting to work today,” I warn. “I could do this all day.”

  “Who’s stopping you?”

  I drop a kiss on her nose. “You’re insatiable.” Leaving her in bed, I head for the bathroom. “I’m going to repair the damage you’ve caused,” I say, pointing to my clothes. “A
nd I think I’ll definitely need a big breakfast after this.”

  She falls back on the bed, still smiling.

  I breathe. I’ll give you whatever you want, Rachel.

  Just don’t leave.

  Please.

  Chapter 22

  “What are you doing this weekend?” I ask Rachel later, after we have breakfast together. I have a work trip planned, but I’m not planning to be separated from her if I can help it.

  She grins wickedly, her eyes dancing. “You, if I’m lucky.”

  “If I’m lucky,” I correct with a laugh. “I have to work this weekend. I’m going to Newport to look at a property.”

  Her face falls. “So you’ll be gone the entire weekend?”

  I nod. “I want you to come with me.”

  “Oh.” She doesn’t look as excited as I hoped she’d be. “But you’ll be working.”

  “Not the whole time,” I say meaningfully.

  She raises her brow. “And when you are, what will I be doing with myself?”

  I flick a spot of sauce from her lips. “You’ll be waiting, naked, in bed.” It’s a particularly arousing fantasy.

  One she doesn’t find so appealing. Her lips purse. “I don’t think so.”

  “How can I convince you?” I try to paint a seductive picture. “Just me and you, alone, on the beach, the sound of the sea, the gorgeous sunsets…”

  She rolls her eyes, but I can see she’s coming around. “What’s in it for me?”

  “Rest and relaxation? And some poor schmuck who can’t look at you without getting a hard-on?”

  She bursts into a fit of giggles. “Fine. I’ll come.”

  “Good. Now we’d better go before I give in to my baser instincts and do what’s on my mind.”

  “What’s that?” she asks, raising her eyebrows as she rises to her feet.

  I smile. “Something that’ll result in neither of us leaving for work any time soon.”

  She blushes fiercely, and it’s satisfying to know she probably wouldn’t mind at all.

  It’s late at night when we arrive at the beach house in Rhode Island after a long drive. Rachel is asleep with her head on my shoulder.