by Margaret Kay
“You obviously don’t care what I think about it.”
“Look, Michaela, you can’t have this both ways,” Lambchop said, his frustration evident. “You either want to explore a relationship with me or you don’t. If you don’t, I accept that, but you don’t get to stop me from spending time with another woman.”
“On our vacation? You invited me to come along, Landon, remember?”
“She’s here. It’s a matter of timing.”
“Timing is more important than my feelings, I guess.” She dropped his hand.
Lambchop gazed at the side of her face. She looked pissed. “Why am I the bad guy in this? Can you explain that to me? I’m here with you now, aren’t I? We’ve spent time together yesterday and today. So, I want to also spend some time with Nevaeh too. Why is that so bad?”
“Never mind,” she began. She knew she was handling this badly. She felt the need to somewhat explain it to him. “Landon, it’s just that.”
In that instant, everything changed. A group of dark figures that had been walking towards them suddenly stopped and surrounded them. One of them purposefully bumped into Lambchop. Michaela saw the reflection of the moon off metal. The man had a knife in his hand. Her eyes scanned the others. Two more of them had knives in their hands as well.
“Give us your valuables, real easy.”
“Get flat on the ground, Michaela!” Lambchop yelled to her as he landed a crushing kick against the man’s knee who was closest to him. At the same time, he hit him with a powerful blow to his wrist that held the knife. The crunching sound of his knee breaking was followed immediately by his shriek of pain which coincided with him dropping the knife and his body crumpling to the sand.
Michaela dropped to her stomach and covered her head with her hands. The knife landed an inch from her head. She quickly grabbed it and tucked it beneath herself to hide it, then she recovered her head.
Lambchop quickly knelt, scooped up two fistfuls of sand, and threw it at the faces of the other men as he stood and spun, counting how many there were. Four more. Two of them cursed loudly, their hands clawing at their faces. The other two came at him. These guys picked the wrong couple, and they’d foolishly brought only knives with them. Their fighting skills were not as honed as his were. He overpowered them quickly, disarmed them, and left them laid out on the sand.
One of the men who’d gotten sand in his eyes ran in the direction they’d come from. The second one started to scream obscenities at Lambchop. “Fuck you, man! You goddamned fucking asshole. I’m gonna fuck you up!”
Lambchop saw the flicker of the moon off the knife he pulled from his pocket, hitting the button on the switchblade to deploy the shiny silver blade. Another foolish move. Why wouldn’t he have had his weapon in his hand? Amateurs. He came at Lambchop, the blade chopping through the air. Lambchop grabbed the arm he led with and propelled him forward, crashing him headfirst into the sand.
By the time the asshole rolled over and pointed the blade at him again, Lambchop had his Sig drawn. He stepped back next to Michaela. “Get up and get behind me.”
He paused and waited for her to pull herself to her feet. Then he took two steps backward so all four of the men were in front of them. Michaela snuggled in against his back. He shielded her body with his own. He felt her tremble. Two of the others on the ground were pulling themselves to their feet. One of them saw the gun and took off running back the way they’d come. Lambchop let him go. He only had three assholes left to deal with, and he was sure the first guy with the fucked-up knee wouldn’t be too much of a threat.
“Get back down, spread-eagle on your stomachs. I’m sure you know the position.” The injured one did, immediately. The two others stood there. He could tell they were considering rushing him. “I won’t hesitate to fucking pull the trigger and I shoot to kill. Now drop to your bellies! And you throw the knife up onto the sand!” He waited a beat. “Now!”
The one with the knife complied. He threw it to the side and then dropped to his stomach. The other one finally lowered himself to the ground. Lambchop left Michaela standing there, and he went over to the men who were all now face down on the ground. He stayed far enough away that none could grab him.
“Real easy, reach into your back pockets and take out your wallets.”
“You’re fucking kidding. You’re robbing us?” One of them complained.
“Yep, throw it to your right and then get your hands back out in front of you.”
One of them did, the asshole who’d come at him with the knife first, the one who was still moaning about how much his knee hurt.
“Now you,” he told the other one.
“I’m not fucking giving you my wallet,” he spat.
“You, first guy, roll over an get his wallet for me.” Neither moved. He went over and kicked the first guy, hard. “I said, get me his fucking wallet.” It took two more kicks to get the guy to comply. Besides a fucked-up knee, he was sure he’d just bruised or broken one of his ribs too. “Now yours,” he said to the third guy.
“I don’t got no fucking wallet,” he said.
Lambchop patted his back pockets down. Nothing. He stepped back, putting some space between himself and the three of them. “Now on your feet.”
The two uninjured men helped the guy with the injured knee up, looped their arms around him and helped him stand. While keeping his gun trained on them, Lambchop took his phone from his back pocket and took photos of all three men’s faces.
“What the fuck, man?” One of them protested.
“I’d suggest you run like hell back the way you came, well as fast as you can while carrying him. If you’re stupid enough to come after me, I’ll shoot your sorry asses.”
The three men took off down the beach as fast as they could hobble with their injured friend.
Lambchop waited till they were out of sight, and then he retrieved their wallets and the knives. “Come on,” he said to Michaela. “Let’s get the hell out of here before they come back.”
They hustled down the beach, quickly putting distance between themselves and the location of the mugging.
“I don’t understand. Why did you take their wallets?”
“So the police will know who tried to rob us. No better way to track the assholes down.” He still gripped his weapon firmly in his hand.
“Was that the same reason you took their pictures?” She asked.
“Yes.”
After a brisk walk, they arrived back in front of their resort. He peered back down the beach. No one was in sight. They quickly made their way to the lobby where they asked the hotel clerk to call the police. He told her what had just happened.
While they waited for the police, Lambchop put a quick call into Ops to inform them what had transpired. Yvette was on duty. She’d notify Shepherd, and he’d notify the appropriate federal law enforcement agencies. They sat in chairs in the atrium near the front door.
Two uniformed police officers arrived. He showed them his badge and informed them he was armed. The officers took his and Michaela’s statements and custody of the wallets and the knives. He confirmed the ID pictures were two of the men who had accosted them, and text messaged the photo of all three of them to the officers.
One of the officers laughed. “It’s not every day a potential robbery victim turns the tables on their assailants and takes their wallets.”
“I’m sure these assholes are in the system along with their two running buddies that I didn’t get a picture of. It shouldn’t take you too long to scoop them up,” Lambchop said.
“How far down the beach did you say this happened?” One of the officers asked.
“It was about a click past the end of the resort’s beach heading west,” he told the police officer.
“Yeah, we’ve had reports of robberies there before. We’ll increase patrols, but you might want to stay on the resort property from now on. Their security patrols their beach and keeps the local thugs off.”
“Will do,�
�� Lambchop said.
“If we need anything else, we know where to find you. Thank you, Agent Johnson,” one of the cops said as he and his partner came to their feet.
Lambchop stood and watched the two cops walk out the front door of the hotel. Michaela still sat back in her chair. She looked exhausted. He reached a hand towards her. “Come on. I’ll walk you to your room.”
She placed her hand in his and walked beside him to the elevator bank. As the elevator rose, her eyes glanced over his face. She knew this man. He was one of her best friends. But she’d never seen that highly trained side of him in person, in action. Of course, she knew what he was capable of. She knew what all the men who worked for Shepherd were capable of.
When that group on the beach surrounded them and that man pulled the knife, Landon didn’t hesitate for a second. How he reacted was second nature to him, a very effective second nature. He literally took down five men in the blink of an eye. She wondered if he realized how incredible that was. It struck her how humble he was about it even when reporting it to the police. He spoke like it was no big deal. But it was a big deal. It was a very big deal to her.
At her room door, he held out his hand. She pulled the room key from the little wristlet purse she had looped around her wrist and handed it to him. She watched as he slid the cardkey through the lock and opened the room door. She felt like she was in a fog, but her thoughts were racing at the same time.
He stepped in behind her, even though she had not invited him in. “Are you okay?” She had been quiet. He was sure the attempted robbery had been unnerving to her.
“I am, thanks to you.”
Lambchop hung back near the door. “Well, I’m sure had I not gone on the walk with you, you wouldn’t have walked that far off the resort property, so you wouldn’t have encountered those thugs.”
Michaela shrugged. “I don’t know if I would have or not. I’m glad we talked though. I didn’t like feeling angry with you.”
Lambchop flashed her a small smile. “I didn’t like you being angry with me either.”
Michaela eyed him, noting that he had not come further into the room. She couldn’t blame him. She had been brutal with him that she couldn’t get involved with him. She had her reasons, reasons she could never tell him. She crossed back over to where he stood and took his hand. “Landon, you are one of my very best friends. You have respected that friends only, is where I want this relationship to stay, even though I know you want more.”
“Michaela,” he began, but she interrupted him.
“No, hear me out, please. What I was going to say before those men approached us on the beach is that it’s not you. It’s me. I know that sounds cliché and I don’t mean it to. I could very easily let my feelings for you go further than where they are. You’re a good man. When I think of the qualities a man should have that I would be involved with, you check off every box. But we work together and if it didn’t work out, we’d still have to see each other and interact. I haven’t had one single relationship that ended with him and me on good terms. I don’t handle breakups well, and it would break my heart to lose you as a friend.”
Lambchop wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. “I can respect that, but it makes me sad that we could be missing out on a great relationship together. You are one of my best friends too, and I’ve always believed that a strong romantic relationship has to have a close friendship at its foundation.”
Michaela listened to his voice resonate through his chest as he spoke. She took in the sensation and assurance of safety she felt whenever his arms were around her. She had secrets, secrets she didn’t want to ever divulge to him. There were things she possibly could resolve in the next few months that would alleviate certain aspects of her life that had kept her from getting involved with him. But could she have this relationship while she worked on it? That was the big question.
She pushed all the reasons why she could not be in a relationship from her mind and she let herself consider for just a minute the reasons why she should let him into her life as more than a friend. One of the biggest was that she didn’t want to lose him to someone else, which she knew was not a good reason. It screamed of self-doubt and insecurity. He had been right when he’d said that she couldn’t have it both ways. That was selfish. The bottom line was that she easily could have more feelings for him if she allowed herself.
“Will you stay with me tonight? I don’t want to be alone.”
Lambchop’s stomach clenched. “Michaela, I can’t. I cannot lie with you and hold you and not want more. I’m sorry if that sounds like I’m being a jerk.”
She stepped back just far enough to gaze into his eyes. She made her decision in that moment, a decision she hoped she wouldn’t regret. She reached up on tiptoes and pressed a meaningful kiss to his lips. He seemed a bit startled for a second but responded and deepened the kiss.
Lambchop’s entire world tilted, his heart expanded, and his entire body was lit on fire by Michaela’s surprise passionate kiss. His reaction was a primal response, as in that moment, he was not capable of rational thought. He was consumed with the raw expression of his desire as he savored every second of their lips and tongues engaged in the silent communication of his body’s intense yearning.
After many pleasurable minutes and his arousal flaring to nearly the point of no return, Lambchop halted the kiss and pulled his lips away by standing to his full height. “Wow,” he breathed.
Michaela leaned against the wall. She gazed into his dilated, half-hooded eyes. “Wow, indeed.”
They both knew the kiss was perfect. The emotions articulated in the simple act of pressing their lips together, of their tongues exploring each other’s mouths, were powerful and genuine. They’d never shared a romantic kiss before. Now that they had, both knew they could never go back to chaste kisses on the cheek or a platonic relationship.
“Now, will you stay with me tonight, and not as a friend?”
“Are you sure?” His voice sounded strained to his own ears.
A telling smile formed on her face. “I am. But we have to promise each other that if this doesn’t work that we will always be friends.”
He stepped into her. “I promise,” he vowed before his lips reclaimed hers.
All the years of wanting her, of holding himself back from kissing her, of respecting her wishes and ignoring his desire, overwhelmed his senses as he felt her soft body pulled to his, as he felt the urgency in her kisses and caresses. His hunger for her consumed him and before he realized it, he had her pressed to the wall, her leg pulled up so that his pelvis forcefully pressed against her at the apex of her legs. His eager cock strained against his zipper, threatening to bust out on its own. He throbbed with need.
He heard her soft moans and her panting breath as his lips worked their way down her neck, over her collarbone, and plunged beneath the low-cut neckline of her dress. His hand, holding her upper thigh, cupped her perfect ass cheek and pulled her more snuggly against him. He felt her pelvis move against him and the sensation exploded in his brain.
He pulled her to the bed and immediately drew the dress over her head, casting it to the floor. His eyes took in her perfect breasts that he had only imagined in his lust filled dreams. His lips bestowed attention on her right nipple. His greedy hands could not get enough of her smooth, soft skin. His lips trailed kisses where his hands explored. Her soft moans, heavy breaths, and sighs of excitement drove him to make love to her with his hands, his lips, his entire body. Her taste was intoxicating. The sensation of her flesh against his was addictive.
The love they made was perfect, emotional, and intense. He poured out his heart to her in every kiss, every caress, every thrust into her. He worshiped her body with his attention, his movements expressing not only his desire but his sincere affection for her.
Her first of three orgasms to come that night rolled through her. He felt pride and elation that he had brought her to that incredible sensation. When he finally
allowed his release to overtake him, the explosion he felt rip through his consciousness was mind-numbing. This was the most powerful coupling he’d ever experienced. The after bliss he floated in was nothing short of a spiritual experience. He reveled in the physical sensation of holding her soft form against his.
Michaela rose from the bed. She went to the bathroom to clean up. She leaned against the closed door, her mind still reeling from the intensity of the connection they’d had while making love. She’d been with men before, but it had never felt like that. It had never been so intense. Wow! Her thoughts were still dazed. She’d never felt that wonderfully out of control.
Not feeling comfortable strutting back into the room naked, she slipped on the lightweight robe that she had hung on the bathroom door. She opened the sliding glass door before she returned to the bed. As she neared it, she watched Landon’s solid form, bathed in moonlight, rise like something out of a dream. Her heart was full, and she was happy she’d made this decision to be with him as more than friends.
