by Carr, Mari
Landon looked away, his feelings hurt that Finn didn’t consider him fit for that role.
Until Finn continued, “And I want the same thing for you. I thought Allison was perfect for you, and I’m sorry she chose her career over you, sorry that things between the two of you didn’t work out.”
Landon nodded. “She wanted to be in New York and I wanted to be here.” It was strange to realize it had only taken that one thing to drive them apart. They’d been compatible right down the line, and Landon had spent the three years they’d dated certain that she was the woman he was going to marry, to have babies with. She’d been his first true love, and his first serious heartbreak.
“You haven’t dated anyone since her.”
“What are you getting at, Finn?”
“Honest to God, Landon, if I thought it would work, there’s no one on earth I’d want to date my sister more than you. You’re honest, faithful, a good guy. But you’re looking for…”
“Forever,” Landon finished.
“And Sunnie’s just looking for a good time,” Finn added. “At least for now. I’m not sure Sunnie would respond well to your all-in approach to relationships. The second a romance turns too serious, she finds a million reasons to run.”
“I’m aware of that.” He’d had a ringside seat to every single one of Sunnie’s relationships. He’d heard her opinions on dating, love and sex countless times. She was a free spirit, devoted to her career, and she was showing no signs of being ready to settle down.
And even if she did, it would probably be with someone more like her, someone who loved to go dancing and party until dawn. While Landon didn’t mind that on occasion, his favorite nights were the ones he spent at home on his couch, beer in hand, football game on the television. Sunnie would spontaneously combust in that lifestyle. None of that knowledge was helping him.
“I love my sister, Landon. I’m crazy about the insane girl, but that doesn’t mean I’m blind to…” He sighed. “I’m not sure what to call them. They aren’t faults, they’re just who she is.”
“I’m crazy about her too,” Landon admitted. “And I get where you’re coming from.” Landon hated everything about this conversation. Finn was speaking logically, offering very valid points.
Unfortunately, none of it was sinking in.
When Finn kept looking at him with worried eyes, Landon gave his best friend what he needed. Reassurance. “I’m not going to throw away a lifetime friendship, Finn. I swear.”
Landon understood there was too much to lose if things went south. It wouldn’t just mess things up between him and Sunnie; it would be a strain on his friendship with Finn. And God, he didn’t want to think about how Aaron’s feelings might change toward him.
Finn nodded, clearly not reassured. “You’re still going forward with this silly plan, aren’t you?”
Landon nodded. He could make a long list of why it was smarter to step away. He could pit the countless items on that list against the one reason he had for moving forward. And the latter would wipe away all the rest.
He wouldn’t stay away from Sunnie because he couldn’t.
He was in love with her.
Chapter Nine
Sunnie held Landon’s hand all the way to the restaurant, and even smiled at him fondly as he wrapped his arm around her waist when they crossed a street. They’d been followed by a handful of tabloid photographers.
She suspected most people suddenly cast into the limelight from viral videos weren’t placed under this kind of scrutiny, but once it came out that she was Sky Mitchell and Teagan Collins’s niece, it elevated her to some sort of reality TV status. Countless times in the past week, she’d been stopped by people wanting to know everything from what Sky and Teagan thought of her secret romance, to if she’d manufactured the video in some crazy attempt to become as famous as her relatives.
People were insane. And they fixated on weird-ass shit.
So between her famous aunt and uncle and the fact Hot Cop worked for her dad, they’d inadvertently found too many ways to keep the tabloids interested. She also figured it would only take one uncovered affair or spectacular divorce in Hollywood to move the spotlight away from them.
They stepped into Charleston, a very posh upscale restaurant in Baltimore, and she blew out a soft whistle. “Very elegant,” she whispered. “And expensive. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather hit The Cheesecake Factory?”
He rolled his eyes, and then turned to ask the host for a table. The host clearly recognized them and decided to buy some free publicity for the restaurant by placing them at a cozy little table near the front, right next to the windows. It gave them a great view of the waterfront—and everyone outside a perfect way to watch Sunnie and Landon.
Landon actually seemed pleased with the placement, which made sense, given his desire to speed along the news they were dating. She spotted dark circles under his eyes and realized this had probably been harder on him than he was letting on.
Once they were seated, he reached across the table and took her hand in his, a very romantic gesture that she didn’t doubt every photographer outside had managed to snap a shot of.
“Smooth move,” she murmured, prompting him to laugh.
Landon had a great laugh, and it did wonders at breaking the tension she’d been feeling up until that moment. She was being silly, letting the past couple of weeks blind her to something that should have been obvious. Landon was one of her best friends and this crazy-ass situation wasn’t going to change that.
He ordered a bottle of wine from the waiter. When the man walked away, she leaned forward. “Wine? Seriously? I’m pretty sure they serve Guinness here.”
“It’s a date, Sunnie. We’re going to do it right.”
They chatted about the weather and work briefly, then the waiter returned with the wine, pouring it. They asked for a few more minutes with the menu and the man went away.
Sunnie decided it was time to get the show on the road. “I believe we were going to lay out the parameters of this thing.”
“I was.”
He’d purposely changed her pronoun. So adorable, she thought. Poor boy probably thought she’d let him get away with that. He really should know better.
“So what’s our time limit?” she pressed.
“We pretend to date until this,” he jerked his head to the small crowd that had formed across the street, “goes away.”
“That’s too nebulous. I think we need an actual time frame. One week? Two?”
Landon shook his head. “No. No set time limit. When the crowd goes away, we go back to normal.”
She leaned back, debating whether or not to play her big card this early in the game. Then she decided what the hell. This could save a lot of time in the long run—because there was no way Landon was going to accept her conditions for this fake relationship.
“That could take some time,” she mused.
He shrugged as if that didn’t matter.
“I mean, if I’m pretending to date you, that means I can’t date anyone else.”
Landon frowned. “You and Derek broke up. Neither one of us is currently seeing anyone. I’m not sure why that’s a problem.”
“I’m just going to go ahead and lay it all on the line for you, babe.” She did a little gesture toward her lap. “I’m going to need orgasms.”
Landon had picked up his wineglass, intent on taking a sip, but he put it back down. “Play with your vibrators.”
She shook her head. “Those are okay for a night or two, but you know me, Landon. I suck at diets. All diets. Sure, I can exist on lettuce for a day or two, but after a few days, I’m going to cave and order the large fries at McDonalds.”
“Sunshine, I’m not having sex with you. That crosses way over the line of pretending.”
She picked up her wineglass, running a finger over the rim. “I didn’t say anything about sex. Just orgasms.”
“That still crosses a line.”
Sunnie lifted
one shoulder. “I don’t think so. It’s just one friend helping out another. After all, you’re the one insisting on playing this game rather than letting things run their natural course. I shouldn’t have to suffer simply by going along with it.”
“I hardly think using a vibrator for a week or two is suffering.”
She smiled, smelling success. Landon would refuse, she’d convince him pretending to be a couple was a bad idea, they’d have a nice dinner, and she’d find some way to get her head screwed on straight about Landon again.
“We’ll never agree on that, so I guess that settles it,” she said. “We ca—”
“Fine. Orgasms.”
Two words had never hit her with the force of those. Was he seriously giving in to her insane demand?
He studied her face, way too closely.
Dammit. The fucker was calling her bluff.
She wasn’t going to lose this battle. “Wonderful. We’ll start tonight after dinner. We can go back to my apartment.” There was no way in hell he’d walk into the Collins Dorm and straight back to her bedroom. For one thing, they’d never get the door closed. Finn would drag both of them out and read them the riot act for being so stupid.
Besides, she wasn’t sure she would let it go that far.
There was a big difference between these stolen kisses of his and, well, that.
He wasn’t wrong. Orgasms totally crossed a line. That’s why she’d suggested them to begin with. Steady, predictable Landon would never go that far.
“No,” Landon said. “Not tonight. You haven’t even started,” he finger quoted the next two words, “‘to diet.’ Give the vibrator a workout and we’ll revisit this later.”
“I’ve been on the diet ever since the mugging…actually, no. It was way before that. I told you Derek and I never indulged.”
“Your shitty taste in guys isn’t my problem.”
Sunnie grinned. “It is now.” She pointed one finger downwards. “She’s very hungry.”
Landon laughed. “Do you really think this is going to scare me away?”
She scowled. “Yeah, babe. I’m pretty sure it will. Admit it, you’re sweating bullets right now, thinking about carrying through on my demand. This whole idea is silly, Landon. It’s never going to work. For one thing, we—”
“Go to the bathroom.”
He kept interrupting her. With unexpected comments.
“What?”
“Get up and go to the ladies’ room.”
“Why?”
He raised one eyebrow impatiently. Was he still trying to call her bluff?
Sunnie couldn’t deny it. She loved this Landon, loved the unpredictability, the macho posturing.
She lifted her wineglass, took a big swig, and then stood up.
She walked to the ladies’ room and locked the door. Walking over to the mirror, she fluffed her hair and touched up her lipstick, wondering how long she should let him sweat it out at the table before returning. She was just about to head back when there was a soft knock on the door.
She unlocked the door, numbly standing aside as Landon entered and locked the door once more.
“We don’t have a lot of time.”
Sunnie stared at him, not realizing her mouth was hanging open until he pushed his finger below her chin, closing it.
“Your decision, Sunshine. Admit you were bluffing, that you were trying to get me to walk away from the plan—or take off your panties. Which way is this going down?”
She wished he hadn’t used the words going down. Because she’d been on a diet a lot longer than a few months. Truth was, she’d been going hungry for more than a year, though she’d never admit that to Landon.
Sunnie had never been accused of overthinking anything. There was a hot cop standing in front of her offering orgasms. It felt like a no-brainer.
She lifted her short skirt and tugged her panties down, kicking them off before throwing him a challenging glare. “I dare you.”
It was a standard line, one the two of them had probably thrown at each other a million times in the past twenty years.
Landon was better at resisting dares than she or Finn. He was always the Boy Scout, the one to consider the consequences before acting. While she and Finn were jumping off garage roofs and eating bugs and doing countless other ridiculous, reckless things, Landon made his decision to follow through based on whether or not he thought he could do it, get away with it…or you know…not get killed.
This time, he never missed a beat, never paused. He gripped her waist, pushing her toward the sink. Once there, he turned her toward the mirror, pressed her forward over the counter, making sure she saw his face as he nudged her ankles apart with his foot, lifted her skirt, and smoothed his fingers along her slit from clit to anus.
She gasped, her head falling forward.
Landon threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her head up until her gaze met his in the mirror.
“Don’t look away. I want you to know exactly who’s touching you.”
She shivered at the dark, sexy-as-hell tone of his voice, even though she’d prefer to close her eyes. Facing him only reminded her who she was with and why this was a really bad idea.
“Landon,” she whispered, trying to figure out if she should give this victory to him and walk away, or tell him to hurry the hell up.
He took the decision away from her, pressing two fingers inside her, straight to the hilt, as his other hand remained in her hair, the tension on her scalp turning her on in ways she couldn’t begin to deal with.
Landon began thrusting his fingers in and out—first just the two, and then three. Every now and then, he’d stop, withdraw, and apply the most perfect amount of pressure to her clit. Her hips began to move, pushing back on every inward thrust. Their gazes never disconnected, and she could read the sheer determination on his face.
She’d asked for an orgasm, and by God, he fully intended to give her one.
“Unbutton the top few buttons on your blouse, Sunshine. Let me see your tits.”
Sunnie reacted to the demand, wondering if he’d somehow hypnotized her. She freed the buttons, drawing the material apart to give him a bird’s-eye view of her cleavage in the mirror.
He started thrusting harder, faster, and her eyes closed of their own volition as her climax approached.
“Oh my God,” she gasped as her pussy clenched. She was so damn close.
“Do it, Sunnie. Come on my fingers, babe. Let me feel it. You’re so tight…so goddamn tight.” He followed up his amazing dirty talk with another stroke to her clit, then he sank the first knuckle of his index finger into her ass.
Sunnie was a goner. She jerked roughly, her lungs burning as she fought to hold in her cries of pleasure. She’d never been a screamer in bed, but damn…
Even out of her mind, she was vaguely cognizant of their surroundings. They were in the restroom of a very ritzy restaurant. Unfortunately, that just turned her on more.
She trembled as her orgasm started to wane. Landon’s fingers disappeared, and then she heard the sound of running water as he washed his hands.
Sunnie couldn’t look at him. She was too afraid to raise her eyes and see what he was thinking, how he was feeling.
She was a blob of rubber, her legs weak, her insides shivery, her heart racing.
He’d won this round.
Jesus—he might have already won the whole damn war.
Her hands were shaking slightly as she tried to rebutton her blouse. Landon pushed her hands away, taking over the task. When his fingers lightly stroked the tops of her breasts, she knew it was no accidental touch.
Her eyes, still downcast, were in the perfect position to see that he was not unaffected by what had just happened. His pants were tented with his erection—and she suddenly felt guilty.
Sunnie reached toward his pants, but Landon clasped her wrist in his firm hand. “No sex,” he repeated, though his voice was gruff and the words sounded somewhat strained.
> Unable to avoid it any longer, she looked up into his eyes.
And saw Landon.
Cocky bastard was grinning.
She laughed, the sound somewhat shaky. “How the hell…where did you learn to…”
Her words faded away as his eyes narrowed.
“I’m a nice guy, Sunnie. Apparently, you think that’s synonymous with ‘lousy in bed.’ If you weren’t dating gym rats hopped up on steroids all the time, you would know that’s not true.”
“They weren’t on steroids.” Then she paused, quickly adding, “Well, the lumberjack probably was.”
Landon shook his head. “He definitely was. Idiot was so buff, he couldn’t put his freaking arms down by his sides. Only thing he was missing was the ax.”
Sunnie giggled, feeling strangely lighter and happier than she had in ages. She’d missed him the past couple of weeks.
“You haven’t been around much lately,” she said.
“I know. That was a mistake.” He gave her a very sweet, very Landon-like kiss on the cheek, then headed for the door. He stopped and bent over to pick up her panties.
She held out her hand for them, but he shook his head, shoving them in his pocket.
“Um, those are mine, hotshot.”
Landon ignored her, reaching for the doorknob. “Mine now,” he said, unlocking it. Once he glanced outside to make sure no one was there, he turned back and winked at her. “Souvenir.”
Sunnie laughed, tugged her skirt farther down, and then followed him back to the table.
Chapter Ten
“Sunnie,” Landon murmured quietly, shaking her gently. “Sunnie.”
She slept like the dead, so he tried again.
“Mmmm,” she hummed, clearly not awake yet.
“Rise and shine, Sunshine.”
Sunnie’s hair was a tangled mess on the pillow, the covers twisted in a pretzel. She slept on her stomach, arms stretched upwards, diagonally on the queen-size mattress.
Sunnie and Yvonne had shared a bedroom up until about a year ago when their older cousins Caitlyn and Ailis moved in with their boyfriends. That left an extra room, so Yvonne claimed it. Sunnie, delighted to have more space, immediately traded in the single bed for a queen. He knew that because it had been he and Finn who’d lugged the old bed out and the new one in.