by Carr, Mari
“You’re playing with fire, babe.”
“Maybe I should find one of the firefighters to help me out,” she taunted, her gaze drifting to the front of his pants, tented with his erection. She was out of control, spiraling.
She didn’t care.
Her fingers lightly grazed his dick before he gripped her wrist, holding her hand away. “Sunnie, if you touch me…”
He didn’t finish his comment, didn’t need to.
They were so far over the line, they were in another state right now.
But she’d never been accused of being too bright, and this was no exception. She shook off his grip, running her hand over his cock. He sucked in a hard breath.
His loose-fitting pants made it easy for her to cup his hard length.
Twenty years of friendship and she’d had no idea Landon was…so well-endowed.
“Holy shit,” she whispered.
“You have to let go, Sunnie, or this isn’t going to end the way you want,” he said, kissing the side of her neck. His breath was hot, he was rock-hard, and she’d never been more turned on in her life.
“I…can’t.”
“Dammit,” he murmured. He pulled her hand away, lifting it and the other next to her head, pressing them against the locker. “One of these days, you’re going to have to learn self-control.”
She grinned, the return of his normal Landon voice, exasperated with her, easing the tension.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, grateful for his strength in the face of whatever the fuck this was. “God, I’m sorry. I keep going too far.”
He kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry too.”
She tilted her head, smiled. “It’s okay—” she started.
“No. Not for that. I’m sorry for this.”
He lifted her skirt and ran his hand down the front of her panties, damp with her arousal.
“Landon,” she gasped, as he dropped to his knees in front of her, reaching for the elastic and tugging her panties down. He pulled them over her sneakers, then lifted one leg, pulling her knee over his shoulder.
“Oh my God!” she called out when he drew her clit into his mouth and sucked hard. Sunnie’s hands flew to his head, her fingers gripping his hair. His beard tickled her inner thighs. “Please,” she whispered. “More.”
He gave her what she wanted, thrusting two fingers inside her as he nipped at her clit.
Sunnie’s heart pounded, her body racing toward the quickest orgasm of her life. Landon had gotten her ninety percent of the way with just his words and his possessive kisses.
He pressed a third finger in—and she came loudly, quivering from head to toe.
Landon leaned back, his ass resting on his heels as he looked up, as surprised as she was by her almost-immediate climax.
She was still reeling, still trying to pull herself back to reality, when he stood up.
“We’re going back to my place,” he announced. Again with the heavy-handed proclamations.
“Okay,” she agreed.
She was a fool.
Chapter Twelve
Landon pushed her against the closed door of his apartment and kissed her.
Sunnie’s hands wrapped around his neck, her breasts pressed tight against his chest.
If he’d been capable of reason, of thinking, Landon wouldn’t be here. That much he knew.
He’d come up with a game plan, knew that taking Sunnie would change everything. Until he was certain of her heart, he couldn’t risk so much.
That was what his head and his heart knew.
Unfortunately, his dick was in control. And it wanted something else.
Especially when one of Sunnie’s hands drifted lower, slipping beneath the elastic and finding him hard, ready.
She ran her fist up and down the erect flesh half a dozen or so times before he stepped back, out of her grip. He was too fucking close, and he refused to come undone in her hand like some horny teenaged boy.
“Get on the couch.”
She hadn’t bothered to put her panties back on after their brief interlude in the locker room. He hadn’t given her the opportunity. Instead, he’d scooped them up and tossed them into his gym bag.
She’d given him a stern look and told him she wasn’t going to have any panties left if he kept stealing them. He’d simply said, “If I had my way, you’d never wear them again.”
Then she’d flashed him a look that said she wouldn’t mind giving them up for him.
At that point, any chance he’d had at stopping this runaway train had vanished. They’d walked to his car and he’d told her to pull her skirt up and spread her legs for him. Then he’d told her to play with herself as he drove, sneaking way too many peeks.
Jesus. Talk about distracted driving.
Especially when her cheeks flushed and her breathing became labored. If he’d lived a few minutes farther away from the school, she probably would have managed to make herself come again.
But they’d arrived here too soon. He had lucked into a spot on the road, right in front of his building.
And now…now he was about to do the dumbest—and smartest—thing in his life.
He was going to fuck Sunnie Young.
And make love to her.
At the same time.
Because he wanted both things from her.
Sunnie sat on the couch, then lay on her back, crooking her finger at him.
While he was torn in a million different pieces, it was clear Sunnie was all systems go.
Typical.
Here he was analyzing and dissecting and worrying.
And he knew Sunnie would do all that too.
Afterwards.
He walked toward the couch. Right or wrong, he was only human, and pretending this wasn’t real this past week or so had taken its toll on him.
Nothing had ever felt more real in his life.
Sunnie lifted her skirt, baring her pussy to him as her legs parted.
He’d tasted her in the locker room. He wanted more.
Kneeling at the end of the couch, he lifted her legs, resting her knees on his shoulders as he licked her slit, her arousal tangy on his tongue.
Sunnie’s hips jerked toward his lips when he took another swipe.
“Landon!” she cried, her tone breathless, hungry. “Please.”
He lifted his head, grinning at her. Her eyes clouded, confused, until he said, “I like when you beg.”
Then they narrowed.
Landon didn’t bother to take heed. “Get ready to do a lot more of that.” He lowered his head again, cutting off any disparaging remark she might make by sucking her clit into his mouth.
“Oh my God,” she said. Her fingers gripped his hair, tugging it.
Landon lifted her up, his hands on her bare ass cheeks, as he dipped his tongue inside her, thrusting several times.
Sunnie gasped, calling his name over and over. Finally, she gave him exactly what he wanted.
Unbridled begging.
“Please, Landon. God, please. I need you! Need…”
He pushed himself up, still kneeling between her legs. He pulled off his shirt, then shoved his shorts down, standing briefly to pull them off completely.
Sunnie reacted before he could return to the couch, sitting up, gripping his cock in her hands, licking the underside.
Now it was his turn to fist her hair, pull it, as her lips parted and she took him inside her mouth.
Her breath was hot, rapid. She was on the edge. From the blowjob?
God, how had she been standing right in front of him his entire life and he’d never seen her, never realized that she was the one for him?
The only one.
Sunnie fisted the base of his cock, stroking the part that wouldn’t fit in her mouth with her strong grip. The head of his dick touched the back of her throat, then she swallowed.
“Fuck.” He used his grip in her hair to pull her mouth away.
Sunnie tried to resume her position, but he shook his
head.
“Lay back down.”
His words penetrated, and she returned to her previous position as he came over her, caging her beneath him.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, her hand guiding him to her wet opening.
He knew Sunnie was on the pill. She had been since she was seventeen. He could still recall the first time Finn had realized that, coming across the pink packet of pills in her nightstand drawer one day when he was looking for spare batteries Sunnie had told him were there. She hadn’t remembered what else was tucked there as well.
Their parents hadn’t been home, and she and Landon had been sitting in the living room, waiting for him to return with the batteries for the DVD remote.
Finn had tossed the pills on her lap, asking her what the hell those were for. When she’d rolled her eyes, dissing his overprotective older brother routine, Finn had lost it, claiming she was too young for sex.
What would Finn say when he found out about this?
Landon shoved that thought aside as he pressed the head of his cock just inside her. He paused, his gaze capturing hers.
It was too soon for this.
She wasn’t ready for what he wanted. Everything he wanted.
He thought he saw that same glimmer of panic reflected in her eyes when she looked at him.
Then, dammit, she smiled…an easygoing, pretty, purely Sunnie smile.
Landon lowered his head and kissed her, then—
There was a knock at the door.
They lay there, frozen, the head of his dick no more than an inch inside her.
Sunnie’s chest rose and fell rapidly, drawing his attention to her breasts, still hidden beneath her cheerleading sweater.
Neither of them spoke.
Then there was another knock. “Landon,” Finn called from the corridor. “Open up, man. I know you’re home. I saw your car outside.”
Her brother’s voice had the effect of someone dumping a bucket of ice water on them. Sunnie scrambled to push him off her, sitting up and tugging her skirt down. She was shaking her head slightly, as if trying to come out of some sort of spell.
Landon moved away, sitting on the couch. He was naked and his erection was pointing skyward. He didn’t want to consider the case of blue balls he was going to suffer for this.
“Give me a minute,” Landon called out when Finn knocked a third time.
He rubbed his eyes wearily, opening them when Sunnie moved closer, her hand cupping his jaw, pulling until he looked at her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
He frowned. “Not your fault. I…we’re… Finn and I have tickets to the Orioles game tonight. I forgot.”
Sunnie struggled to catch her breath. “We almost let that go too far. We shouldn’t have done that.”
He didn’t respond, not with words, not with a single nod or shake of his head. Instead, he just looked at her, and she fought to figure out what he was thinking.
“Say something,” she urged when the silence dragged on.
Landon moved forward, placing his forehead against hers. “There are a lot of things I’ve done in my life that I shouldn’t have,” he admitted, though Sunnie doubted that. Landon was too thoughtful to act carelessly. “This wasn’t one of them.”
“This is all still pretend, right?”
Landon sighed, his face unreadable.
Finally, he nodded. Just a nod. No words.
Landon had never lied to her. Not once in her life.
Until now.
“I’m going to get a shower,” he said, kissing her softly on the cheek. “You let him in.”
She nodded numbly.
“We’ll talk later, Sunnie. I promise,” he said. “There isn’t time now. Not with Finn standing outside. The longer we stall, the harder this is going to be to explain.”
He was right. “Okay.”
Sunnie watched Landon disappear into the bathroom, waiting until she heard the water running. Then she stood on unsteady legs, smoothed out her sweater and skirt and opened the door.
Finn frowned when he saw her there, clearly expecting Landon. “Sunnie? What are you doing here?”
She dug deep, working overtime to keep her voice casual, natural. “Landon offered me a ride home, but we realized it was getting late, so we came here first so he could shower. You guys are dropping me off at the pub on the way to the game.”
Finn stepped across the threshold, glancing around the room.
She nearly winced when she spotted Landon’s shorts and T-shirt from the game, discarded on the floor near the couch.
Finn spotted them as well.
She wasn’t sure what she expected…but it wasn’t her brother’s tired sigh.
“What are you doing, Sun?”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. You and Landon.” He gestured toward the couch. “What is this?”
“We’re just pretending to—”
“Don’t,” he interjected. “Don’t tell me it’s all just a game. Please.”
She was about to do just that when he reached up and ran his knuckles over her cheek, near her lips.
“You have a bit of beard burn there.”
Her fingers flew up to touch it. “I—” She blew out a frustrated breath. “I don’t know what this is,” she confessed, feeling a ridiculous amount of relief at having finally said those words aloud. Typically, she didn’t have a thought she didn’t share, either with her brother or Landon or her cousins.
This thing with Landon had thrown her for a loop. So much so, the words had gotten trapped inside with her jumbled-up feelings.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.” There was no rebuke in Finn’s tone. In fact, it was the opposite. He gave her a sympathetic smile that comforted her. Her big brother was here, and even if he didn’t know how to make things right, he’d help her until she found her way.
“You’re not mad at me?”
He snorted out a hard breath. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re not acting out of character. Let’s face it. You never walk the straight and narrow. The wind blew you this direction and you went with it. Classic Sunnie.”
As far as helpful, Finn’s comments fell way short. Until she considered them more closely. Then she brightened up.
“You’re right. It’s not me who’s acting strangely. It’s Landon.”
Finn shook his head. “No. He’s not acting out of character either.”
Sunnie was lost again. “I don’t understand.”
“Things have changed between you and Landon. Ever since that kiss. No, those kisses—the one at the party, and the one the night of the mugging. Landon sees that…but I don’t think you do. And that’s the problem. You’re looking at this through the same Sunnie-colored glasses as always.”
“Sunnie-colored glasses?” she asked with a grin.
One that vanished when he said, “I thought you’d take that description better than ‘blinders.’”
“Finn—” she started, but before she could take her brother to task, Landon’s voice drifted down the hallway.
“Just need a couple more minutes,” he yelled from the direction of his bedroom. “Sorry I’m running so late, Finn.”
“Promise me something, Sun?”
She didn’t want to. Not because there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her brother, but because she knew whatever he was going to ask for would be difficult for her to promise. “What?”
“Be careful.”
She nodded without hesitation, his request surprisingly simple.
Or so she thought.
Until he added, “With his heart…and with yours.”
Chapter Thirteen
Landon dropped Finn off after the Orioles game around ten. Then he went down to the pub, sat at the end of the bar and talked to Padraig until closing time.
If her cousin thought it was weird he was drinking alone, Padraig said nothing. Until last call
.
“Going upstairs or going home?” Padraig asked.
That was the very question he’d been asking himself for the past few hours.
Landon shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Sure you do. Just depends on which voice you listen to.”
“Voice?” Landon asked.
“The one that’s telling you it’s smarter to go home or the one that’s telling you you’d be a fool to leave.”
“I’m in love with your cousin.”
Padraig rubbed his chin. “Well, Finn’s very fond of you too, but I’m not sure…” His joke fell off when he started to chuckle. “I know you are, Landon.”
“You’re not going to tell me I’m crazy? It’s Sunnie we’re talking about. She’s reckless and wild and she goes through boyfriends the way some people go through underwear. She’s practically been a sister to me my whole life.”
Padraig winked at him. “Pretty sure that sister ship has sailed.”
“She doesn’t want a relationship. Doesn’t want to settle down.”
“Yet. She doesn’t want to settle down yet.”
Landon blew out a long breath. “So I should listen to the voice that says go home?”
Padraig shook his head. “I’m not going to tell you what to do because it’s not my place. I’m only going to say this—life is too short for regrets, too short to not take a chance on your dreams.”
“Mia…” Landon started, then stopped, hoping he hadn’t upset Padraig by mentioning his late wife.
Padraig nodded. “Mia taught me that. She told me dream big. How big are your dreams, Landon?”
“I’m going upstairs.”
Padraig chuckled. “Good decision.”
Landon climbed the stairs, slowing when he reached the top and realized the television was still on. What would he say if Finn was still awake?
He continued on, only slightly relieved to find Colm sprawled out on the couch.
Colm sat up slowly when Landon appeared, his eyes narrowing briefly in confusion. Then he grinned.
“Which direction you headed?” Colm asked.
Like his twin brother, Colm saw everything Landon had been fighting like the devil to hide from Sunnie and Finn.
Landon pointed toward the hallway that led to Sunnie’s room, the opposite direction from the staircase that would take him up to the extra bed in Finn’s room.
