by Serena Grey
I feast my eyes on his perfection, sighing helplessly, lustfully. He tosses the t-shirt and holds my gaze for a silent moment.
“Are you going to do a striptease?” I ask, eager for him, but sure that I can control my lust for long enough to watch him work his body.
He reaches for his belt, a smile curving his lips. “I want you to think of me as sexy, not as the comic relief.”
“Live a little,” I encourage, winking at him. “Show me those Landon Court moves.”
“Landon Court moves?” He’s grinning as he pulls off his pants, then his briefs, revealing his turgid, drool-worthy erection. My lips part with hunger and anticipation. I watch as he advances toward the bed. “Don’t worry,” he tells me, eyes smoky. “I’ll show you.”
I lick my lips, lifting my face for a kiss as he stretches his body over mine. I spread my legs for him, kissing him back and at the same time guiding him to where I need him the most. He lingers at the entrance, the head of his cock rubbing my slick flesh, then with a long sigh he pushes deep inside, filling me completely.
There is a surge of heat, so sweet, so ineffably beautiful. I hold on to him, feeling his muscles tense and tighten as he moves his hips, each slow stroke more delicious than the one that came before.
I hold on to his gaze, seeing my arousal mirrored in his eyes. My lips move, forming his name as sensations overwhelm me, until it feels as if I’m going to drown in them. I surrender myself to him, the first wave of my climax rolling over me and making me cry out. Landon continues to move, increasing my pleasure with every deep thrust. By the time he finally loses control and comes with a loud groan, I’m exhausted and limp with fulfilled desire.
“You’re so beautiful,” he says later, when I’m lying naked in his arms. “I’m never letting you go.”
I press my body closer to his. “I’m not going anywhere.”
WE spend the rest of the day in bed, only getting out to order food before having a playful dinner in front of the TV. I fall asleep with my head in Landon’s lap, his fingers gently stroking my hair. Later, I wake up long enough to bury my face in his hair as he carries me to my bed, undressing us both and laying behind me, his hard body flush against my back.
“I love you,” I whisper sleepily.
I feel his lips on the nape of my neck. “And I love you.”
I wake up sometime during the night to find myself alone on the bed. Landon is not in the room or in the bathroom, and for a single moment of panic, I wonder if he has gone back to his apartment, and why. I find him in the living room, watching something on the TV with the volume turned off. Sighing in relief, I join him on the couch, one hand curving around his. I know that at least a part of the reason he’s not sleeping is because he’s avoiding his nightmares.
“Hey,” I whisper.
“Hey.” He smiles at me. “You should be asleep.”
“So should you.” I shrug. “I decided I wanted to watch… whatever it is you’re watching.”
Landon chuckles, pulling me into his side and dropping a soft kiss on my temple. We spend the rest of the night watching some of Laurie’s shows and laughing our heads off. I finally doze off when it starts to get light outside, and when I wake up a few hours later, Landon is leaning back on the couch, asleep, with a peaceful expression on his face.
I spend a long moment looking at his face, overcome by the depth of my emotions. I love him more than I have the capacity to put into words. He’s my soulmate, the only one I could ever love like this, and I know I would give anything to be with him always, to be this happy always.
Careful not to wake him, I get up and go to the kitchen to make coffee and try to rustle up a passable breakfast. By the time I’m done, Landon is awake, his hair still damp from a shower in my bathroom. He’s wearing his pants from yesterday, but his chest is bare, the well-defined muscles more perfectly sculpted than any male model’s.
“Good morning,” I whistle suggestively, wondering at how his tall frame dwarfs the entire kitchen.
“Good morning.” He gives me a slow, sexy smile that makes my insides melt. “Can I help?”
I shake my head. “I’m kinda done.”
He comes behind me and covers my back with his body. I sigh and lean into him, enjoying his touch, and so happy because he is mine to touch.
“I can’t begin to explain how grateful I am for you, how…” he breathes, “How happy you make me.”
I turn around and face him, aware that my eyes are misting. There is an intensity in his cobalt gaze that reaches into my heart, squeezing until I feel like I’m drowning in emotion. I don’t know how to reply, so I stay silent.
“When I’m with you I feel complete.” He chuckles softly. “I never thought I’d say that to anyone. I’ve never felt that I needed anyone to be complete, but being without you would kill me.”
“You’re never going to be without me,” I tell him softly. Nothing would ever make me stop loving him, and I’m determined that nothing would ever make me walk away from him again.
I remain in his arms, resting my head on his chest. “I want to stop time,” I whisper. “So we’ll always be like this.”
He pulls back, his eyes on mine. “Are you afraid that things might change in future?”
I sigh. “I don’t know.”
“We’ll always be like this,” he assures me, pulling me back into his arms. “Older, after a while, but there’ll never be anything else for me like what we have.”
I let out a shaky breath. “I love you.”
“Well, I’m irresistible,” he says with a playful smirk. “You didn’t stand a chance.”
I smack him playfully, laughing as he picks up the plates and carries them to the living room. We settle on the floor in front of the couch, eating while we continue our TV binge.
“Have you thought of what you’ll do about the apartment?” Landon asks after. He’s sitting on the couch, and I’m on the floor between his legs, trying not to drift off as he plays with my hair.
“I’ll probably find a roommate.” I make a face. “I can’t imagine living with anyone but Laurie.”
There is a short pause as his fingers still in my hair. “Even me?”
For a moment, I’m not sure I heard right. I turn around to face him. “You?”
His eyes stay on mine. “Why not?”
I look down from his gaze, not sure why I’m hesitating. I would love to go to sleep and wake up in his arms every night, and I know what a leap it is for him, how much it means that he’s inviting me to share his life so completely.
I wish I weren't so afraid that something would go wrong, especially if we move too fast and shake the balance we’ve already found. “I don’t know...” I reply softly.
Landon is looking at me, as if he’s waiting for me to say more. “It seems like a good solution to me,” he says, when I stay silent. “My apartment is closer to your office and we’d be able to spend more time together.”
And I want that, to spend more time with him. He’s right, of course. He has obviously thought about this, but I haven’t… I need to think, to be sure that we don’t rush, that we don’t get overconfident, and ruin what we have, because if that happens... I’m not sure that I’ll survive.
“Think about it,” Landon says quietly, urging me back to my former position. His hands resume their ministrations in my hair. “And while you’re doing that, maybe you’d like to spend this week with me.”
“As a foretaste?” I say lightly.
I can almost feel his grin. “What else?”
“You don’t have to try to convince me,” I say sincerely. “I want to move in with you. I just want a little time to think about it.”
“I’m not trying…” He stops. “Well, maybe I am trying to get you comfortable with the idea, but more than that, I want you, with me, every night for the next few days, because I have plans for you.”
My breath hitches at his sensual tone, after a week of having to leave him almost every night,
I’m more than ready for one where I spend the whole night in his arms. “Of course, I’ll spend the week with you.”
LATER, Landon watches while I get ready to leave with him. I don’t have to take much, because thanks to him, I have a closet in his house with everything I need.
I toss my ereader in my bag and turn to face him. “I guess that’s it,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Some guy I know bought me a whole wardrobe at his apartment.”
“He seems generous.” Landon rises from the bed to help me put on a jacket over my sleeveless dress. Over his t-shirt, he’s wearing the dark jacket he brought with him yesterday. “You should reward him.”
I turn around and run a finger down his chest. “With what?”
He gives me a naughty grin. “Sex always works.”
“Ah,” I smile back. “That wouldn’t be fair to him.” My smile widens as Landon’s eyebrow goes up. “Sex with him is as much a reward for me as it is for him.”
“You’re too good for my ego.” His gaze turns serious and he takes my face in his hands. “I could spend the rest of my life trying to tell you all the different ways I’m in love with you, and it wouldn’t be enough. If I make you feel even a quarter of the things you make me feel. I’d die a happy man.”
I close my eyes, letting the words wash over me. I open them to find him still looking at me. I breathe softly. “Landon… I can’t explain…the way you make me feel…” I give him a helpless look. “Sometimes ‘I love you’ seems so trite.”
He lowers his head and brushes his lips over mine. I hold on, craving his touch. After a few seconds, he releases me, and I reach for my bag, my legs unsteady. “You’re not dying anytime soon,” I say lightly. “Happy or otherwise.”
“Okay, ma’am.” Grinning, he takes the bag from me and leans in to whisper in my ear. “I’m going to make love to you again, but if I don’t have lunch before I do, dying happy won’t be so far-fetched.”
Downstairs, Landon’s car, the one he came with yesterday, is parked in one of the spaces in front of my building. It’s one I haven’t seen before, a black sports car with bucket seats in soft cream leather and an engine that purrs like a kitten.
Our destination is a bustling Italian restaurant where the manager, an older woman with red hair and humorous eyes, greets Landon with the familiarity of a regular. “Welcome, Mr. Court,” she exclaims, her eyes flicking from him to me with thinly veiled interest.
Landon shakes his head. “It’s Landon to you, Angela.”
“Actually, it’s little Landon, but I choose not to call you that in front of your girlfriend.”
Landon laughs, and she gives him a strange look, almost as if his good mood has taken her by surprise. She holds out a hand to me. “I’m Angela. I used to work at the Swanson Court in the old days.”
In the old days. I wonder if that’s before or after Landon’s mother died. I take her hand. “Rachel Foster.”
“I know.” Her eyes are shining as she smiles at me. “I catch a few gossip items in the news every now and then.”
“Oh.” I look over at Landon, but he only shrugs, his eyes full of amusement. We follow Angela to a secluded table, and she personally supervises the waiter that serves our food, which, of course, is delicious.
“How’s the food?” Landon asks.
“Do you need to ask?” I sigh. “It’s wonderful. You obviously know where all the good food is in this city. If I keep eating like this, I’ll need to take Brett up on his offer of free membership at the gym.”
“There’s a gym at the apartment, you could use that.”
I give him a look. “If you’re trying to make your apartment more attractive to me, please refrain from mentioning the gym.”
He grins. “I am trying to make it more attractive to you.”
“As long as it has you in it, it’s already the most attractive it can possibly be.”
An eyebrow goes up, but he only smiles and continues to eat. I know he’ll respect my need for more time to think about living with him, so I concentrate on enjoying the rest of my food.
Angela soon returns to the table to fuss. “Enjoying your meal?”
I nod. “It’s wonderful, thank you.”
“I taught your boyfriend here to make pasta sauce like no other,” She informs me.
I look at Landon and he confirms it with a nod. “True.”
“You haven’t made her that yet?” She gives him a reproachful glare. “What are you waiting for?”
Landon leans back on his chair and moves his shoulders in a small shrug. “I’m biding my time, waiting for the right moment to seal the deal with my perfect pasta sauce.” He looks at me and grins. “It’ll ruin you for every other man.”
You’ve already ruined me for every other man, I want to tell him, but I turn to Angela instead. “He’s always been this confident?” I ask, knowing that the answer is probably yes. “You’d have to make it now,” I tell Landon, “so I can decide if it’s really as good as you claim.”
“She only loves me for my cooking,” Landon tells Angela, laughing. “Who would have thought?”
The older woman is looking at me. “Amongst other things, I’m sure.” She gives me a strange smile, blinking rapidly, and I wonder if she’s getting emotional. When we’re done with the meal, she follows us outside and surprises me by giving me a hug. “It was nice to meet you, Rachel,” she says, adding in a small whisper. “Thank you for making him so happy.”
I watch her walk back inside, then allow Landon to take my hand as we emerge onto the sidewalk. “She seems very fond of you.”
“Yes,” he agrees. “I’m fond of her too. I was lucky in a way, growing up the way I did. I was surrounded by a couple of wonderful people, most of whom I still have in my life.”
He starts to lead me along the sidewalk, and I’m so comfortable walking arm in arm that it takes me a few minutes to remember that we drove over. “What about the car?”
Landon pulls me closer, so his arm is around me. “I arranged for someone to get it. It’s not a long walk.”
“I know.” I lean into his body as we meander along the sidewalk. I love how ordinary it feels, just another couple out on a Sunday afternoon. He buys me a bunch of flowers from a street vendor, and I blush with pleasure when he hands them to me. We take our time, his arm around my shoulder and mine around his waist. I breathe in his scent, loving the warmth from his body and the feel of his t-shirt against my fingers. I turn my face up to look at his, and his eyes meet mine, blue and beautiful. The wind touches his hair, ruffling his beautiful waves and I reach out to smooth them. How did one person get to be so perfect? I wonder with a soft sigh.
Landon gives me an anxious glance. “Are you cold?”
“No,” I shake my head. It’s windy, and there’s a small bite in the air, but I love it. I love the fact that the seasons are changing, that I’m with him, right here, right now.
He raises a brow. “Because you can’t be cold when I’m right here to warm you up.”
“You have a one-track mind.”
“Who said anything about sex?”
“Now you have.”
He laughs. “I have it on good authority that you find my performance very rewarding.”
I shake my head, unable to stop my laughter. “You’re a sex fiend.”
“A sexy one, you mean?” He’s laughing. “You’re my weakness, you know, and my strength. My everything.”
We stop walking as he leans in to kiss me properly. His lips are firm but sweet and caressing, and when he stops, I release a breath and open my eyes. There’s a silly smile on my face as I look up at him.
“What?” he says. “Have I stolen your voice with my superb kissing skills?”
I’m about to retort when someone calls out. “Give us another one, Court!”
We both turn in the direction of the voice. The photographer is a skinny guy with sharp eyes, wearing a hoodie and sweats. He grins at us and gives Landon a thumbs-up. Landon frowns and turns to
me. “Come on,” he says. We’re very close to the Swanson Court now, which explained the presence of the photographer. With the scattering of luxury hotels in the area, there were always a few of them waiting to catch a glimpse of celebrities, and to many people, a young, sexy, wealthy man like Landon was as interesting as the usual crop of Hollywood stars.
“Do you mind?” Landon asks softly. “It’ll probably get published in some gossip column or the other.”
I shrug. “Of course not. I’ll probably have to get used to it since they find you so interesting.” I peer at his face. “Do you mind?”
He laughs. “No. I want the whole world to know that you belong to me.”
I breathe, closing my eyes as his hand goes around my shoulder again, and we continue to walk. My arm finds its way around his waist, my fingers resting lightly on his body through the thin barrier of his t-shirt. My heart is aching sweetly with an almost unbearable happiness, and in that moment, I love him a thousand times more than I ever thought it was possible to love anyone.
WE spend the rest of the day at his apartment. Landon gives me what he laughingly calls the premier girlfriend tour of the whole apartment. It’s actually much larger than I first thought. Downstairs, there’s his study, the fully-equipped gym, the library, den, dining room and kitchen, and upstairs, more bedrooms, another sitting room, and a couple of empty rooms. One of them used to be the nursery and playroom, he tells me, and the other, a spacious room with large windows, a few empty bookshelves and a beautiful view of the park, used to be his mother’s sitting room.
“We moved most of the stuff to the house after the accident,” Landon says, explaining why the room is empty.
I take a moment to admire the spectacular view from the windows. “It must have been a lovely room.”
“It was.” He smiles softly and takes the hand I offer him, leading me back downstairs to his study. It’s smaller than his office at the SCT building, but with the daunting view and large desk, it gives the same impression of power.
