Safe (Conquering)

by Ryan Michele

  Not to mention the very large and hard dick that was throbbing for me.

  Yes. For me.

  I licked my lips with every intention of sitting up and wrapping my mouth around his dick to feel every single throbbing vein on my tongue, but Landon had other plans. Swiftly, Landon crawled up between my legs. His body brushed mine, sending intense shock waves throughout.

  My eyes met Landon’s; the fire burning in them was shocking. Never had a man wanted me this badly.

  “Landon, I need you now,” I whispered. His mouth was so close to mine, but he kept staring in my eyes as if he was looking for something.

  “I know, baby. I need you, too.” My heart swelled to the point of combustion. He needed me! Tears threatened to escape my eyes, but I held them back. I would not cry. This was happy. I didn’t cry when it was miserable; I wouldn’t cry at happiness.

  I threaded my hands through his hair and pulled him down to me. Our kiss was fierce and wanting. His lips were so soft, and I got lost in them … I got lost in him. It was like no matter what we did, we couldn’t get close enough to each other.

  Landon pulled away. “Shit,” he whispered, shocking the hell out of me.

  “What? Is something wrong?” Fear spiked through me. What happened?

  Landon’s hand swiped the hair away from my face. “I don’t have any condoms here.” This made me smile.

  “Why are you smiling? This isn’t good.” Landon’s voice was dead serious.

  “Why don’t you have condoms here?” I hoped that I could read the answer to this. I prayed it was the one I was searching.

  Landon’s eyes never left mine. They were intense and incredibly sexy. “I don’t have them here because you’re the first woman I’ve had in this bed.”

  Holy shit! I was right. I thought it … and I was right. I didn’t want to know where he took the others. I just knew that I was the only one here. “I’m glad I’m the only one who’s been here.”

  “Me too, but we have a really big problem now.”

  “No we don’t. Go grab my bag.”

  His face drew in shock. “You have some?”

  “Of course, I’ve wanted this for a long time. I wanted to be prepared for anything.”

  Landon gave me his megawatt smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back, almost feeling shy. He gave me a chaste kiss on the lips and hopped out of bed, giving a mouthwatering view of his backside.

  Holy shit! His ass was so perfect. I wanted to grab it and never let go.

  His back and arms were so well defined that every step he took I could see the ripples going with him. I was in hot ass tattooed heaven. Between his shoulder blades lie that beautiful Celtic cross that turned me into butter the first time I saw it.

  “It’s in the side pocket.” I was trying to help him, not to mention I was on fire. He turned his head and smirked at me. This was a total photo op. If I had a camera here, I would snap it in a heartbeat.

  He kneeled down toward the ground, one knee bent, the other almost touching the ground and everything I saw was so well-sculpted. He could be a statue in an exhibit, but I wanted to keep him all to myself.

  Grabbing the foil packet, he easily sheathed himself and climbed back on the bed, his eyes never leaving mine. Coming close to my face, he asked, “Are you sure about this?” I knew he would have reservations after telling him partially about Rob. Hell, I had reservations, but I wanted this so badly.

  “Yes.”

  His dick brushed my entry ever so slightly, causing me to jump and moan when he didn’t put it in. I knew he was teasing me, but wasn’t that what we had been doing to each other for the past God knows how long? I needed him now.

  “Landon.” I knew it sounded like a whine, but damn it, I’m desperate here.

  “It’s coming, baby,” he whispered, his eyes never leaving mine. Slowly, Landon began pushing into me, inch by inch, setting every nerve ending on fire.

  This was a bit more than I could take. Landon was so gentle and loving, kissing me while he pressed into me. I felt as if I was going to explode, my eyes beginning to water. I couldn’t stop it.

  One lonely tear escaped my eye and fell down the side of my face. Landon instantly stopped and began to pull out of me.

  “No! Don’t,” I pleaded.

  “You’re crying. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. I want to love you.”

  A few more tears fell from my eyes. “They’re happy tears. Happy. You make me happy.” I smiled at him.

  “I love you,” he whispered, brushing his hand across my cheek.

  “I love you, too. Please, don’t stop. You’re not hurting me.” Landon began his descent again—this time going all the way. He made me feel so full … of him and of love.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, making my heart swell larger for him than it already was.

  “Yes. Perfect,” I whispered, reaching up to pull him down and kiss me.

  Landon began moving, but it was a slow, methodical pace. I knew he was afraid to do this. He’d barely touched me the last few days. But I needed him. I needed all of him, and he was holding back. I needed to feel, without reservation.

  “Please don’t hold back. I can feel you are. I need you to love me.” Landon shut his eyes as if he was thinking about his next move.

  I placed my hands on his tight ass and squeezed hard. His eyes shot to mine. Lust burned brightly. Without a word, Landon began to really move, digging deeper and deeper inside me. I loved every minute of it. I heard screaming and realized I was making all the noise.

  “Landon,” I gasped. “I’m gonna come.”

  “I’m right there with you, baby. Come with me.”

  I exploded, my body experiencing this kind of love for the very first time ever. I screamed Landon’s name several times, and Landon followed behind me.

  I felt his entire body shudder and knew the moment he came. Landon was panting hard, mirroring my own.

  Looking in my eyes, I could feel the love radiating off him. It enveloped me, and it felt safe. He smiled and pulled out ever so slowly, collapsing on the bed next to me. He pulled me close so our fronts were entangled.

  “That was amazing,” I whispered.

  “Yes, the best ever.” We laid there gazing at each other. It was perfect.

  “I need to get rid of this. Don’t move.” He kissed me quickly on the lips and got up to get rid of the condom. My eyes drifted shut. I was more tired now than earlier. I felt the bed dip. I opened my eyes to see the most beautiful man climbing in next to me causing me to smile.

  Landon reached down and grabbed the blankets, nestled me on his chest, and covered us up. “Sleep baby,” he whispered and kissed the top of my head. I didn’t answer. My brain began having a mind of its own and drifted to all the ways this night was so much different than my previous experiences.

  This was love. This was caring. This was special.

  “Thank you,” I said, resting on his chest.

  “I love you. Get some sleep.”

  I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  Best. Wakeup. Call. Ever.

  Waking up to Landon’s tongue on me was remarkable. Landon made me come twice before making love to me. Every day I was around him, my heart warmed more and more to him. I was falling seriously head over heels for this man. His deep voice made my heart beat faster. His touch sent electricity up my spine.

  I didn’t know how, in such a short period of time, this man had woven his way into my heart. Especially when I said I wasn’t interested. Now that Landon knew my secret, I felt this stack of bricks I’d been carrying on my shoulders lifted. Even better was someone believing in me.

  Even when the cops came to the hospital, I just knew they didn’t believe me. But over the course of the week, they’d called and given me updates. I was beginning to feel a bit more comfortable with them.

  The asshole Rob was still at large, which scared the shit out of me. I was hoping he left the country never to return again. God, I could onl
y hope.

  “Omelet?” Landon’s words broke my thought.

  “Yes please. You cook?” I asked with a brow cocked.

  “Of course. My momma taught us all how to cook.” He smiled. I loved that smile. Sitting on his kitchen island in the middle of him running around like a mad man putting together breakfast for me, I was in awe. I had never had a man make me breakfast. I knew my giddiness would give me away so I tried holding it back.

  “You wanna talk about it?”

  Huh? “Wanna talk about what? Last night?” I asked skeptically.

  “Not last night, even though it was amazing.” He winked. “I thought you could tell me more about Rob.”

  My heart sank into my stomach, making me want to throw up. I felt the wind rush out of me and instantly became lightheaded. I lowered my head, looking down at the island, trying to get myself to breathe. No, I didn’t want to talk about Rob, ever. I wanted him to be my past. I felt the tears well up in my eyes.

  I hadn’t cried while Rob hit me, why cry now? But I couldn’t stop it. One tear after another came faster and faster. I began breathing slowly. I needed to get calm.

  Landon must have felt my tension. He walked in between my legs. “Look at me, Sadie.” I wiped my eyes quickly and looked up into his beautiful blue eyes that showed more compassion than I had ever felt from a man.

  Landon’s thumb grazed my cheek, wiping the remnants of water away. “I know you don’t want to, but I need you to,” he whispered ever so softly. Shit. Fuck. Damn. I wanted to close my eyes to escape for a minute, but his gaze on me was so intense I couldn’t look away.

  “I don’t know if I can.” My words were as quiet as his. I really didn’t know if I could. I hadn’t talked to anyone about it … ever. How did I do this? Where did I start?

  “Baby, you can do this.” Was he reading my mind? He said he needed me to. I couldn’t refuse.

  Sucking in a deep breath, I said, “If you go back to cooking.” He smiled, releasing me, and turning back to the stove. I began softly.

  “I met Rob two months before my dad died. We had only had a couple of dates, but I thought he liked me. Anyway, after my dad died, I was in a bad place. I mean really bad, Landon.”

  He stopped when I said his name and looked at me. He gave me a small reassuring smirk and continued working on our breakfast.

  “Rob came to me during this time and helped me. He took care of me and helped me work through my grief. I fell in love with him.” I could hear Landon growl, yes growl, from across the room. I couldn’t see his facial expression as his back was turned to me. “But I realized it wasn’t love; it was the idea of love that I fell for.”

  Landon’s shoulders dropped, and I knew he heard my words.

  “Rob and I were good together. We went places, and then he insisted that I move in with him. Which I did because of that idea of love thing.”

  Part of me wished that Landon would turn around so I could see his face—so I could see what he was thinking. But the other part, didn’t want to know.

  “Well, it kinda got bad, and I broke up with him.” Landon turned quickly, narrowing his eyes to mine. It caught me off guard, and I immediately stopped talking.

  “Sadie, you skipped a very big part of the story. I want to hear it all.” I nodded and he turned back around. I really didn’t want to make him mad, not that I thought for a second that Landon would ever lay a hand on me, but I just didn’t want to disappoint him.

  “Well, the first time.” I watched Landon’s body turn stiff, but I knew this would be hard for me to say and for him to hear. It wasn’t pretty. “I was going through some papers in the office when I came across something that I shouldn’t have, and he found out and got mad.”

  This time Landon shut off all the burners on the stove and came back between my legs. “What did you find, Sadie?”

  “I don’t want to tell you,” I whispered, looking away from his gaze. A lone tear streamed down my face, hitting my shoulder.

  “Please. Sadie, trust me.”

  He knew that I didn’t trust people easily. He’d learned that over the course of our relationship. Did I trust him? Yes. Without a doubt.

  This was bad. Really. Really. Really bad. Landon’s hand came to my chin, and he moved me to look at him. I let it all out.

  “I found a slip of paper.”

  “Okay, what was on the paper?” Landon was patient.

  Tears began falling, and I looked down at my hands. Landon put his hands on my legs. I didn’t know if he was trying to be reassuring, but it was.

  “It was an order form—for a girl. Long brown hair, green eyes, young, long legs, beautiful—no scars on face, no freckles or any marks on her face, dressed in hot pink heels, short skirt, and a bra for a top.”

  I waited for Landon to say something. Anything. But he didn’t. I looked up at him. His eyes were shut tightly, and his breathing deep, but no words.

  “Landon, say something.” His eyes shot open.

  “He sold girls to men?”

  “No, he pimped girls to men.”

  “What?”

  “That’s what I found out later. I didn’t know it at the time.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “I couldn’t. That was the first time that he beat me to the point I was in the hospital, and he threatened my family. I couldn’t.”

  He placed his hands on my cheek, kissed me, and put his hands back on my legs. “Tell me.” I knew what he wanted to know. I just didn’t want it in his brain.

  “He likes to hit across the face, punch ribs, back, stomach, head, and of course kick everything. I ended up in the hospital because I was in an accident, which everyone bought. When I got out, I went home to him.”

  Landon shuddered. “I stayed with him for quite awhile, but then I knew I needed to get away. When I told him I didn’t want to see him anymore, it did not go well. I ended up in the hospital again, this time because of a break in.”

  “Why didn’t you go to the cops? I mean, I know he is one, but they could help.”

  “I couldn’t. Landon told everyone who would listen that I liked rough sex, which included being hit to get off. They all believed him.”

  “He covered his ass, didn’t he?”

  “Yeah.” Landon began rubbing my legs; his touch giving me comfort and strength.

  “He told me that I was his, and he would never give me up. That’s when I moved in with my folks, but he always found me. Wherever I was, he knew. It was like he had a thousand eyes watching me.”

  “Didn’t your mom know?”

  “No, I never told her anything. She believed the accidents, or well I thought she did anyway.” I shrugged.

  “What happened then?”

  I couldn’t stop the flood that came out of my eyes. This was the hardest part to tell. “He would find me, beat me up, tell me I was his, threaten my family, have his way with me, and then leave.” My voice didn’t even sound like my own. The sobs broke it up and turned it inside out.

  “Have his way with you … meaning rape you.” Landon’s voice was hard and laced with anger. I looked at him, and the vein in his neck was throbbing. I needed to calm him.

  “I’m okay now.” I smiled at him.

  “You know I want to kill that bastard right?” Landon gritted through his teeth.

  “I know. You’re not alone, but he has lots of friends. Not just on the police department, but in his other business.”

  “How were you able to deal with his ‘business’?”

  “I never knew anything about this ‘til later. He never took calls around me, and I never saw another piece of paper again. I never asked or said anything about it … ever.”

  “Why exactly didn’t you say anything to anyone?”

  “Rob is scary. He threatened to kill my mom, Seth, and Macy if I ever told anyone. I believed him. I knew what he could do with his hands; add a gun or other weapon into the mix—who knows what would happen.”

  Lando
n pulled me close to him and wrapped his arms around me tightly. “So, he’s the reason that you moved to Georgia?”

  “Yes,” I said, muffled from my head being lodged in his neck. I inhaled him, and he smelled so good. Safe.

  “You’ve been through a lot baby.” I sighed.

  Landon pulled away, and I instantly missed the warmth. He looked into my eyes, and I saw his caring and love in them. “You know I would never raise a hand to you, right baby?”

  I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I saw the pained expression on his face, as if he thought I was going to say no. I reached up and cupped his face with my hand, feeling his light stubble from not shaving yet today. “I know you would never do that to me. I trust you.”

  Landon crushed his lips to mine and proceeded to make love to me … on the island.

  “Landon, I don’t know if I’m up for a big party.”

  Sitting on Landon’s couch watching some reality show, Landon decided to spring a party on me. Not that I didn’t love them, it had only been a week since I got back to Georgia.

  I was learning so much more about Landon and falling even deeper in love with him as each day passed. The smile he put on my face washed away all those bad memories; hopefully soon they’d all be gone.

  This week had been chaotic, visiting everyone and catching up with what had been going on. I even told Lauryn, Aunt Maggie, and Uncle Jim about what happened. Aunt Maggie seemed to understand my pain so much that I felt very connected to her and began spending a lot more time with her.

  I’d practically moved in with Landon. Most of my stuff was still at Lauryn’s, but I stayed every night in his arms—the best place on Earth to be. “You don’t need to do anything. Mom and Dad just wanna have a little get-together to celebrate us.” He smirked.

  “Us? What about us?” I laughed.

  “I think they’re just happy that I’ve found someone and want to celebrate it.”

  “You mean that you’re not jumping from bed to bed to bed to bed, right.” I rolled my eyes. This was not something I wanted to remember.