by C. A. Harms
“Do you know how scared I was that night?” Finally, Landon spoke, and what he said surprised me. “When your texts came through, I thought, ‘She’s drunk and not really making any sense.’ Then when you called me back…” He shook his head and relaxed back into the cushions on the couch. “I felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin with fear. All I wanted to do was get to you and hold you. I wanted to make sure that no one hurt you, that you were safe and protected. It was terrifying, that drive to Statesboro.”
Landon’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. His hands rested upon his thighs as he fisted them tight.
“Then when I saw those guys…” His jaw muscle flexed as his nostrils flared. “I meant what I said about you, Chloe. It may sound barbaric and ridiculous, but you are mine. The very second you shared yourself with me, you became mine, and the idea of another man touching you in any way, it triggers something inside of me that I don’t like. A feeling, a possessiveness, that is overpowering.”
“They didn’t touch—”
“But they could have,” he interrupted me. “They could have done anything, and yeah, there were five of you, but the chances of the two of them overpowering you were pretty good. What could you have done?”
Landon reached out and lifted the blanket, seeking me out beneath. One hand on my thigh, the other going behind my back, he tugged and pulled me closer. Repositioning me on his lap, he covered us with the blanket and threaded his fingers with my own.
Silence filled the room, with the exception of the television playing low. It was eerie, a heaviness settling in my stomach.
“If they would have hurt you…” I watched his throat bob once more. “Had they hurt any of you…” I should have interrupted his thoughts, but I couldn’t seem to formulate the words. “Don’t ever put yourself in that kind of position again, because next time I may not be able to control the thoughts, and it may end with something none of us can take back.”
Seconds passed before he looked up, and his angry eyes locked with my own. “I want to be mad at you, I want to leave now and let you wonder when I’m gonna come back, but I can’t.” His hand slid over my thigh and squeezed my hip. “Because being near you overpowers that, and right now the only thing I want to do is hold you tight like this and remind myself that you’re okay.”
I nodded, because it was exactly what I needed, too, for him to hold me. I’d been craving it since he placed me in my bed and walked away after the guys forced us to leave the hotel that night. Landon didn’t climb into bed with me like I’d hoped he would. He walked away, leaving me staring after his darkened figure until I heard the sound of my front door shutting.
He’d left me, and right now, I needed him to stay.
***
I sat in the small room in the back of the church in the center of town. It was feeling smaller by the minute as I ignored the way Grace was glaring at me from the side. She’d been doing so all morning. She started at me while at the hair salon, the one I once attempted to work at prior to realizing that being a hair stylist wasn’t what I wanted to do forever. While we were on our way to the church, and now while I was staring ahead and avoiding her hatred for me, she continued to stare holes into the side of my head.
This day was supposed to be built with nothing but happy memories. It was a day to celebrate love, only I wasn’t feeling any. At least none being tossed in my direction.
AJ and Maddison assured me that they’d forgiven me, but not our little Grace. Who’d known that she could be so angry and could hold onto it for so long? She always seemed so very sweet and kind. I deserved it, I guessed. I did manage to make her life even more unbearable than she insisted it was before our disastrous weekend.
“Here, wear this.” Without thinking, I looked toward Maddison’s voice and found I was directly in the line of Grace. I shivered. Wow, what a look. Forget the tube of lipstick Mad was holding out to me, forget the silence that had now filled the air around me. Grace, she was all I could focus on. She looked defeated, even with the hard eyes that bored into me. It was heartbreaking.
“I’m sorry.” The words tumbled from me without any hope of holding them back. “Apparently, I get all wordy when I’m drunk. I have no control, it just comes flowing out, and it would also seem that I have no ability to think logically.”
Grace continued to glare at me.
“It’s true.” Sliding closer, I did my best to ignore that anger in her eyes, and I focused on all the things rolling around in my mind. “First I got drunk at a bar and hit on Landon, completely embarrassing myself, practically begging him to take me home with him and do naughty things to me. I actually told him that he couldn’t handle me. Talk about embarrassing.” The words flew out so fast I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath. “Then I got drunk at a bachelorette party, and I called him up again, further embarrassing myself when I told him that the strippers don’t turn me on nearly as much as he does. I blame the booze; it’s the booze, not me.”
AJ, Raven, and Maddison were having a blast laughing at my attempt to apologize and backpedal. Grace was obviously still irritated.
“I can’t drink. Clearly, you all shouldn’t allow me to. It backfires every single time. I do things I can’t control, out the window goes all sense of sanity, and I am nothing more than a mess. A blubbering, foolish mess.”
I hung my head in defeat, not knowing what my words would fix. Grace was mad; that was clear. Frankly, I couldn’t blame her. She lived with the world’s most protective men. Though after the other night with Landon, I would have to say he was right up there with them.
“As if I wasn’t being watched like a hawk already…” Grace gripped the chair arms and narrowed her eyes at me. “Now I can’t even hiccup without my brother or dad noticing. One night, it was all I asked for, but no, you had to get drunk and call up Landon, spilling the entire events of our night. Then the cavalry comes storming through town, completely destroying any sense of fun. I swear I am never going to meet a man. I am going to die a virgin.”
That was the very second Kori, Maria, and my mother decided to enter the room. All of them paused in the doorway, staring at us, looking between Grace and then me, Maria and my mother of course smiling, but Kori, I half expected her to be agitated with Grace. Only she looked sympathetic to her daughter.
I knew right then and there that this wedding was going to be anything shy of entertaining.
Chapter Thirty
Landon
Chloe danced slowly, moving her hips with the beat of the song as she held Blake in her arms. There was something amazing about seeing her with a child in her arms, holding him so close, her lips moving to the words of the song. Like she was singing to the baby, her lips kissing his forehead and cheeks as he watched her in awe.
The sound of the chair squeaking against the tiled floor at my side made me jump in surprise, and I turned quickly. Ben, Chloe’s father, sat at my side, staring ahead at his daughter, obviously aware that only seconds before that was exactly where my focus lay.
“She’ll always be my little girl.” He didn’t take his eyes off of her when he began to speak to me. “I’ll always want to protect her, and I will always go after any man who treats her as anything less than a queen. She is and will remain my little girl.”
I nodded, though I was not sure he saw it.
“I know she’s grown up, but the fact remains that in my eyes she will always be the starry-eyed, pigtailed girl that believes in Santa and fairy princesses.” He stared ahead, watching, and I waited for him to tell me that I wasn’t good enough, though I hoped like hell that I was wrong for expecting that.
“I’m trying to look past that, trying to accept that she is a woman and that what I say or think doesn’t matter.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” It’s then that Ben looked away from his daughter and finally at me. “She’ll always need you, and she’ll always value what you think or how you perceive her. Your daughter is an amazing woman, and that is beca
use of you and your wife. You raised her to want more, to expect more, and she deserves the best.” I could truly be digging a hole for myself, but I didn’t let the fear of saying the wrong things stop me. “I care about Chloe, and I have no intentions of ever hurting her. She is the sweetest, kindest person, and I’m a good guy. My parents raised me to be respectful, and I respect your daughter. I also respect you and Mrs. Rigdon. All I’m hoping for is a chance to show you that Chloe’s happiness means as much to me as it does to you.”
Ben looked away from and back to his daughter, and I did the same. She was completely oblivious to her father’s and my conversation. She was so lost in AJ and Rhett’s son, so lost in her own joy that it’s captivating. It’s still so astounding how drawn I was to her, how my thoughts gravitated to her when I least expected them to.
“Do you love her?” Shifting uncomfortably in my chair, I tried not to show how tense I’d become. “Because any man that takes a woman away for a weekend, a romantic one, a man that shows up at her place expecting more than a movie and dinner, should ask himself that. He should ask himself if what he is doing is just for fun or if it could be forever. Especially when that woman is my daughter. Those are the things a man should be asking himself.”
He stood without another word and walked across the dance floor toward his wife. I noticed immediately the sympathetic look she gave me from across the room. I wanted to ask him if he knew that he loved Leann so soon in their relationship, but I also knew that wouldn’t help my case much. Somehow I pictured the two of them knowing that they were meant to be almost instantly.
Do you love her?
Relocating Chloe, I saw her mixed into a sea of guests. Her long blonde hair hung down over her shoulders. Shoulders that were fully exposed by the low-cut, strapless dress she was wearing. A dress that practically dragged the floor, only the toes of her high heels peeking out from beneath. I could find her in any crowd; it’s almost like I could feel her. Like an invisible pull that located her and drew me near.
Without another second wasted, I stood and began to walk toward her. Things had been off between us since the disrupting night in the hotel. I’d been irritable, and I knew the other guys had been, too. I think our egos were bruised, but more than that, we were all scared out of our minds. The idea of them being harmed was crippling.
When I was close enough to smell her sweet perfume, she stood a little taller as if she felt me, too. With her back still toward me, I slipped in from behind and curled my arm around her waist. This was the first time I’d touched her in front of her family…with the exception of the girls and guys, but even then I’d kept it light. But seeing her with Blake, after the words from her father, something shifted. If I was all in, then I needed to make that decision now. Chloe was not and would never be someone to pass the time with. Chloe was the forever kind of woman, and I couldn’t say that five years from now she and I would still be an us. But what I did know was that was what I hoped for, and it was what I would do everything in my power to accomplish.
Leaning in close, I kissed the top of her shoulder, never once letting go of my hold on her. I needed her close, her body pressed to mine, the smell of her lotion and of her perfume surrounding me.
“I don’t want you to avoid me any longer.” I whispered the words with my lips still resting upon her shoulder. “Before you say you’re not, you should know that I’ve already figured it out. Throughout the ceremony, even before that, you’ve done everything possible to keep a distance between us.”
“I know you’re mad at me.”
“Not mad, Kitten.” Confused maybe.
Do you love her?
“Just trying to figure you and me out.” She shifted in my arms, turning to face me. “Are we doing this?”
“This?” The way her forehead crinkled and her eyes squinted as she looked up at me was beautiful.
“Yeah, you and me, are we doing this?” Chloe still seemed confused. “Your father and I just shared a pretty intense conversation, and I just need to know how you see us. You and me, us, where do you see us?”
“I’m not sure what you’re asking me?” Fuck, I wasn’t so sure myself.
“We’ve spent time together, we went away for the weekend, I’ve stayed at your place, but what I need to know is if you and I are more than that when you think of us.” Again she seemed lost. “I need to know if what I am feeling for you is a two-way street or if I’m alone in this.” I was never the kind of guy to be a blubbering, lovesick fool when it came to women. “Your father—”
“Can be pushy and a bit ridiculous.”
“But nothing he said to me a few minutes ago is a lie. He wants what is best for you, and to be honest, so do I.”
“And what is it that is best for me?” A flash of fear crossed her face, a sense of panic as if she imagined this was my way of backing out of what had been unfolding between us. I knew I was losing her fast, and it was the last thing I wanted to happen.
“Me.” That ache in my chest intensified as I gripped her a little tighter. “I’m what’s best for you because your happiness is just as important to me as it is to him. So again I ask, where do you see this thing between us going? I need to know if it’s okay that I kiss you in a room full of your family.”
I felt her body relax, and she giggled as she leaned in to place her face to my chest. Relief, it’s all I could think of to explain the way she felt now in my arms.
“Can I kiss you?” She lifted her head, and her beautiful eyes locked on to mine. “Can we finally show every single person in this room that you and I are more?”
“I never wanted to hide it.”
Lifting one hand, I grazed over her jaw with my knuckles and cupped the back of her neck. The two of us continued to stare at one another, and my heart raced like it did when I first kissed her. “No more holding back, no more uncertainty.” This would be it, that moment of clarity to all her family and our friends. Chloe and I were an us. We were in this together.
Moving in for a kiss, I saw her eyes drift shut in the last seconds before my lips touched hers. It took everything inside of me not to devour her, but I kept it clean, only a gentle graze of my touch over the seam of her lips.
Pulling back, I noticed the way her dad sat at a table a few feet away, watching us closely. “Don’t look now but I’m pretty sure your father wants to make me disappear.”
“Don’t let him fool you. My mom says that he actually respects you and thinks you’re a decent guy.”
“I’m pretty sure that was before he had to witness me kissing his little girl.”
Chloe pushed against my stomach. “I’m not a little girl.”
“Babe, you will always be his little girl. I don’t care how old you are.”
Circling my arms around her waist, I began backing up toward the dance floor when the slow song began to play. Together we swayed to the music, me lost in her beautiful eyes and her tracing circles over my jaw with the tip of her thumb.
Do you love her?
***
Her legs were wrapped around my waist, the blue material of her dress blocking the view of the pleasure we felt. Chloe’s back pressed firmly to the wall behind her as I shifted my hips forward and drove inside of her once more.
A gasp escaped her, her head falling back, making a thump against the wall.
She looked fucking gorgeous. Her cheeks flushed, her brow beaded with sweat. Both of her tits spilled out over the top of her dress, her nipples hard as they continued to tickle my chest with each movement.
Somehow we’d managed to escape the party, shortly after most of the adults had gone home, and I felt like I could kiss her exactly the way I’d been dying to do. One kiss led to another, and before I knew it, we were riding an elevator up to the second floor and barely making it inside our room. Foregoing the bed, I gripped her around the waist and pinned her to the wall just inside, which led us to our current position.
Each time I pushed into her, I could feel her tightening a
round me, building, growing closer and closer to release.
Do you love her?
Those same words played on repeat in my mind.
I shifted forward again, her warmth wrapping around me, making my knees weak. Moving my head closer, I took one nipple into my mouth and sucked gently. Her body gripped my cock even tighter.
The way this woman made me feel, not just now, but every single time she was near…it all led me to believe that I just might love her. Or I was falling for her, and the idea of that was scary. It was also exhilarating.
“You’re amazing.” It was a weak attempt at describing the rush of emotions I felt, but it was as close as I would allow myself to get. Now was not the time to confess a love I may only be feeling because of the endorphins. She deserved more than that; she deserved for me to be one hundred percent sure before I allowed myself to confess my love.
“I adore you, Kitten.” I pushed into her deep, making her open her eyes. I needed her to see me. “So fucking much, I adore you.”
A glassy look covered her eyes, and I felt like someone was squeezing my heart.
Do you love her?
I should have told him yes.
Chapter Thirty-One
Chloe
I was running late, caught with a patient fifteen minutes past closing time. Of all nights, it had to be when Landon was waiting on me. As if I wasn’t already nervous enough.
If going to the fire station, meeting all his fellow fireman pals wasn’t bad enough, I would be meeting a lot of their spouses and significant others, too.
The station hosted an event every Halloween. One where the children of the town were all invited. Candy, games, and more, it was a big event, and this year I had been invited to help. I had been invited as Landon Layne’s girlfriend, and I was a nervous wreck.
