by C. A. Harms
Suddenly and without warning, I was on my back, and my shirt joined his on the floor. I looked up, Landon hovering high above looking down at me, his chest rising and falling in deep breaths. His hard-on was unable to be hidden as it pressed against the unforgiving denim of his jeans. He looked like a god.
Lifting my hands, I began to unfasten his belt, and he watched without saying a word. Then I unclasped his button, lowered his zipper, and the control he had been showing broke.
His body covered mine, his lips taking mine in a deep, consuming kiss.
“This happens and you’re mine, Kitten.” It wasn’t a question but a statement that I had no intention of arguing with. I wanted to be his.
He pulled one bra strap free, lowering it over my shoulder, kissing along the way. The cup of my bra sagged, and his gaze shifted downward.
I could almost feel his mouth on me.
Then the worst possible thing that could happen did. My buzzer sounded, and then my father’s voice on the other side echoed loudly. “Open up, girl.” I heard the sound of the door handle rattle. “Before I drop all this shit.”
I looked up at Landon, seeing him staring at the door with wide eyes. Like he was frozen in fear. I gave him a nudge, and he fell back, scrambling to buckle his jeans.
We were both a crazy display of panic as we searched for our clothes in a rush. My father’s voice still echoed as he knocked loudly.
“I’m coming.” The second the words left my mouth, I looked at Landon to find him with his body shaking from laughter. Yeah, ha ha, real funny.
Chapter Twenty
Landon
I felt his eyes boring holes into the side of head. I swore I could feel my junk shrinking and shriveling at the idea of what this man could do to me.
“Sorry to interrupt your dinner.”
“Don’t think it’s dinner we interrupted,” Ben piped in, and I seriously felt as though I shrunk another six inches. I couldn’t look at him. I knew if I did, I would immediately start to apologize for violating his daughter. Or almost violating his daughter. My pulse was fucking racing.
“Benjamin.” I looked up to see Leann, Chloe’s mom, nudging her husband. “We just wanted to bring the remaining stuff you had in the attic. We should have called first.”
“Call before I visit my daughter?” Ben boomed.
“Dad.” Chloe sounded embarrassed, and I wanted to step up to her side to comfort her, but I knew that would only make matters worse. He was in protective father mode, so remaining distant was for the best. “I’m not a child.”
“You’re my child,” he corrected her.
“Oh my God.” Chloe looked at her mother for help. “Will you make him stop, please?”
“We’re gonna go.” Leann offered her daughter a hug and whispered something to her.
“Do you and I need to step outside so I can remind you to respect my daughter?” Ben said low enough that only I could hear.
“No sir.” I finally gave in and looked at him. A stern look on his face directed only at me. “I do respect Chloe, very much. I also care for her very much.”
“Care for her?” Wrong choice of words, I guessed.
“She is amazing, and I can assure you that I would never willingly hurt her. I can also guarantee you that her happiness is all I care about. Her smile means more to me than anything else.”
“I’m leaving only because pissing my wife off is not an option.” He stepped back, still watching me closely. “But in no way does that mean that I’m not waiting for one little screw up that gives me the chance to show you how much my daughter’s happiness means to me.”
“Noted.” I gave him a firm nod. “I have no intentions of screwing up, though.”
We stared at one another, each refusing to look away.
“Will the two of you stop acting like a couple of children?” Chloe grabbed her father’s arm and gave it a tug. “It’s time for you to go home. I love you, Dad, but I am a grown woman who can fend for myself. So please, go.”
Her father pulled her in to his side, giving her a hug, still watching me with a warning stare. I could read it loud and clear. Then together they walked off, sharing a father/daughter moment.
“You’ll have to excuse my husband.” Leann offered me a kindhearted smile. “When it comes to Chloe—”
“And you,” I added, and she agreed with a nod. “No need to apologize or make excuses for him. I completely understand. In fact, when it comes to your daughter, I feel the same way. She deserves to be happy, and if I have it my way, I’ll be the one to ensure she is.”
Leann surprised me as she leaned in and gave me a hug. “I believe you.” Her words soothed me.
“Let’s go, woman,” Ben hollered from the other room. “Apparently, if we don’t leave now, my daughter will refuse to talk to me for ruining her evening.”
I smiled when Leann giggled. “If there is one thing about my husband, he hates to have either of us upset at him. That, Landon, is his weakness.”
“Effective.”
“Very.” Pleased, she walked away and joined her husband and daughter. I remained in the kitchen, toying with the edge of the pizza box while they had their moment of family time.
Five, maybe ten minutes passed, before she finally returned to the kitchen. The minute she entered, our eyes locked, and she offered me an apologetic smile. “I honestly had no idea that they were stopping by.”
“No reason to apologize.” I could still feel the heavy weight of her father’s words and her mother’s acceptance lingering in my stomach.
“Are you kidding me?” She leaned over the counter and rested her elbows on the top. Placing her head in her hands, she let out a loud, exasperated sigh. “My father is ridiculous, and I’m sure after that, you feel like running away as fast as you can.” It’s cute how she parted her fingers enough to peek through at me. “I wouldn’t blame you, really.”
“He’s just protecting his girl.” I rounded the counter and paused at her side.
“I’m not a girl anymore.” Reaching out, I tugged at her fingers, and she eventually lifted her head and crossed her arms over her chest.
“To him, you always will be.” I gently traced my thumb over her jaw, and she leaned into my touch. “You hate it, but he’s only trying to ensure that whomever is in your life is there for all the right reasons.” I had no problem proving my loyalty to her father. Or to anyone, actually.
“Why don’t we warm up this pizza?” A look of disappointment covered her face, and I chuckled. Like a scorned child getting her candy taken away, she pouted at me. “I’ll admit having him show up did sorta kill the moment.” I wanted Chloe; I literally felt the physical ache from not having her, especially after we were so close. But there was time. We would get there. I had no doubt about that.
Chapter Twenty-One
Chloe
“Stop laughing.” I shoved Grace’s shoulder, and she fell over onto the grassy patch at her side. Holding her stomach, she continued to enjoy my misery. Looking to Maddison for help, I found her doing everything she possibly could to hold back her own laughter.
“You both are horrible.” Throwing my hands up in the air, I gave in to defeat. “I am so happy that my pain brings the both of you such joy.” Falling back to the grass, I covered my face with my arms and groaned out in a frustrated manner.
“Pain?”
I didn’t know which one of them actually said it, but I lurched forward and looked between them both. “Yes, pain.” Girls suffered from it, too, ya know. That build up, that need, and I was suffering here. “It was happening. Just a few seconds longer and I would not have heard my parents knocking on the door. In fact, I’m pretty sure they would have been the ones hearing things knocking.”
That was all it took; Maddison lost it. “Could you imagine the look on your father’s face?” Crossing her legs, she pulled them up to her chest while laughing uncontrollably. “Oh my God, I’m gonna pee my pants.”
“Jerks.” I p
ointed between the two of them. “Both of you.”
“Okay sorry,” Grace shot Mad a warning look, “we’ll stop.”
“So back to the point of this gathering.” I was over talking about me. “AJ’s bachelorette party.”
“Should we even do it considering she and Rhett have a child, live together, and are practically married already?” Maddison was the last person who should use that as an excuse. She and Mike lived together before they got married, and though none of us knew it at the time, she was carrying his baby on their wedding day.
“Yes,” Grace practically shouted, “we need to do this.” Maddison and I shared a look before looking back at our sweet little Grace. “A night out away from Rhett and the baby is exactly what she needs.”
“We can’t go to a bar.” I immediately noticed the mischievous gleam in Maddison’s eyes. “Our little Grace isn’t old enough.”
Grace sticks out her tongue, making Mad laugh.
“So we rent a suite in Statesboro and then have the gathering there.” Grace shrugged.
“Gathering?” Mad laughed. “Should we invite our mothers, too?”
“Hell no,” she shrieked, sitting up, her back straight and her eyes wide with worry. “We are getting strippers, and the last thing I want is for my mother or any of your mothers to be there. I can’t even walk out of my house wearing a crop top without my father going all caveman or my brother covering me with a burlap bag. I damn well plan on enjoying this little shindig without anyone hovering over me telling me I’m too young or too innocent.” With a determined look on her face, she squared her shoulders. “I am not innocent, damn it.”
Again, Maddison and I had no other reaction other than to stare at her.
“I’m not.” If she had been standing, I would have guaranteed she would have stomped her foot for emphasis. “I’ve watched porn. I’ve read raunchy novels. I’ve done things.”
“Things?” I was sure I already knew, but making her say it was so much more fun.
“Oh my,” her cheeks reddened, “don’t make me say it.”
“Grace Jackson, are you talking about—”
She held up her hand to stop Maddison. “Yes.” It was the cutest thing to see her whisper-yell the answer and then look around as if someone might hear her. We were alone, tucked back by the lake on our grandparents’ property. It was our plan, the younger generation; the elders very rarely came out here. But the idea of someone hearing her had her mortified. “And I would like to say that it’s great, but I’m assuming with a partner, it would feel so much better.” Again she got embarrassed and covered her face. “Not that I am planning to you know at this party, but to let loose a bit without idiot men killing the chance for me would be nice.”
“Our little Grace is growing up.” Mad grinned and placed her hand over her heart dramatically.
“Shut up,” she snarled. “Now let’s plan this thing.”
***
“Good afternoon, sweetheart.” Margie Mae placed her hand on my arm. “How’s your momma?”
“Good.” Offering her a kind smile, I looked back at the cashier as she continued to ring up my items. Margie was the town gossip; anything she’d heard, she added to it and told it to anyone who would stop long enough to listen. The object of the game was to be polite but never offer any bits of information that were not necessary.
“And your father?” She’d managed to step up closer, and there was no way to avoid her.
“He’s good, too, staying busy with work.”
“The town knows a good honest man when they meet one.” It was so weird to see anyone fawning over my father, but it happened often. My father was handsome, but it was just odd to see the older woman, or hell even some of the younger, get all gah gah over my dad. “I image that he is definitely good with his hands.”
I tried to hide the shiver that racked through me. By her tone, I knew she was not referring to his carpentry skills.
I paid quickly and gathered my bags, turning to face her. “It was really great seeing you, but I should get going before my ice cream melts.”
“Ice cream,” she scoffed. “A lady should never indulge when she has yet to find a man. You need to watch your figure, hun.”
I swallowed back the words of distaste. I wanted to tell her that my figure was just fine. I also wanted to tell her that Landon Layne seemed to enjoy my figure quite nicely when his hands roamed over me on more than one occasion, but I forced a smile. “I’ll keep that in mind, Margie.” Moving around her quickly, I glanced back. “Have a great day.” Nosy bitch.
Exiting the market, I beelined for my truck and completely missed the gathering of men in uniform until I heard my name being called out. Glancing back, I saw Landon jogging in my direction, wearing his firefighters’ gear.
“Where are you running off to so fast?”
“Margie Mae.” No one that knew her needed any further explanation. “What are you doing lurking around outside in the market parking lot?” I’d heard no sirens, smelled no smoke.
“Fundraiser.” He pointed over his shoulder, and I saw two other men wearing similar suits. “We’ve been assigned the next two hours outside the market.”
“Sounds fun.” I was being completely sarcastic.
“Let me help you with that.” Before I had the chance to stop him, he grabbed my bags and began walking toward my truck only a few feet away. Hitting the unlock on the key fob, I pulled open the door on the passenger side and allowed him to set my items inside. While doing so, one bag slightly tilted, and out fell the pint of mint chip ice cream that sat on top.
You need to watch your figure.
I could practically hear Margie’s nagging tone ringing in my ear. “Just to spite that woman, I should go home and eat the entire thing.” I hadn’t meant to say the words out loud, but it was too late; they had been spilled.
“What woman?”
I shook my head and attempted to wave him off, but Landon was not the kind of guy to let things go.
“What woman? Margie?” I nodded, feeling foolish now. “That woman is something, and I think we both know that whatever it is she said is nothing worth worrying over.”
“Even if she insisted that my figure and the future of any man wanting me lays in the balance if I so much as have one spoonful of that ice cream?” Again I wished I had a filter around Landon, but he managed to make me extremely chatty at times. Not everything should be shared.
“I can assure you,” he stepped in a little closer and placed one hand on my hip, giving it a gentle squeeze, “your figure is nothing short of perfection.” With that, he pressed a gentle kiss to my lips, leaving me momentarily speechless. “I very much like every single inch of you.”
That longing I had felt since my father picked the wrong moment to show up at my place returned with a vengeance. That ache, the need to return to the very second and continue what we started, hit me hard.
“You don’t see yourself like I do, but believe me when I say, Chloe Rigdon, you are one seriously sexy woman.” I smiled, feeling my cheeks heat.
Surprising myself, I gripped one of his straps that connected to his pants and moved in closer, rising up on my tip-toes. With my lips hovering near his, I looked up into his sultry eyes. “You should know that if you keep saying and doing things like this, I may be forced to give Margie something a little more heated to gossip about.”
“A sexual escapade in the parking lot of the Faunder’s Market.” A sexy smirk covered his lips. “Scandalous.”
“You’re trouble.” I felt his hand snake around my waist and rest upon my ass, flexing his fingers ever so slightly. “So much trouble.”
“You haven’t seen nothing yet.” Kissing me with a little more heat than needed in public, he pulled back, leaving me a bit breathless. “I should go.”
“Such an ass.” Laughing, I fought off the lust I felt for this man.
“You’re a bit flushed, Kitten.” Taking a few steps back, he scanned over me from head to
toe. “You should go home and maybe take a cool shower.”
“Actually, I think I’ll take a bath.” If he wanted to taunt me, I could play that game, too. I wasn’t as shy and quiet as he thought, well, not always. There was still a lot he didn’t know about me. When he paused and arched a brow, I knew I had gained his attention. “It provides much better stability when my legs grow weak from release.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do when she doesn’t have a man to help her out.” With a little wave, I rounded my truck and left him staring after me. Backing out of my parking space, I heard my phone chirp and looked up into my rearview mirror, seeing him holding his phone tightly in his hand.
Instead of looking, I drove off, letting him wait as I took the long way home.
But when I got there and finally took that chance to glance at the message that was waiting, I felt my nipples harden beneath the thin material of my shirt with a neediness that swallowed me. Pressing my legs tightly together, I knew without a doubt I would be taking that bath I’d taunted Landon with.
Landon: Think of me when you’re touching yourself, Kitten. Imagine it’s me. Close your eyes and picture me between your thighs, tasting you, feeling you.
I found myself wondering if it were possible for a woman to combust from built-up sexual frustration. He did not play fair.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Landon
“It’s not as tidy as your place.” Somehow telling her that I generally lived like a caveman felt like the wrong thing to do. I’d spent hours, and I did mean hours, cleaning my apartment when I’d decided to invite her over. I even called my mother to ask her what I could place around the apartment that would help it smell better.
As we rounded the corner and I began leading her toward my door, I smelled something baking, and generally, that would please me. It’d give me that sense of home, like walking into the kitchen of my parents’ home. Then it hit me, and my stomach tightened, and I swore the air from my lungs was sucked dry.
