by Natalie Ann
“So what do you want to do tonight?” he asked her. “Get some dinner and go out dancing or drinking?”
“That’s a nice offer and at another time I might take you up on it. But I’m so thrilled we’ve got this time away out of town that I don’t want to spend any more time rubbing elbows with strangers than at the game.”
“So just dinner and back here to relax?”
“Dinner at the restaurant downstairs and back here to mess up the sheets. There won’t be any relaxing for hours if I have my way.”
“I like the way you think.”
***
The minute they were back in the hotel room, Landon reached for Kristen and pulled her into his arms.
The timing couldn’t have been better that these tickets became available though he hadn’t thought he could swing it. But there was Kristen jumping up and pushing it and Chloe loving the idea of spending time with Mary.
“I see you took my comment to heart about not relaxing,” she said, pushing her head back and allowing him to kiss her neck. Such a soft smooth neck she had, especially when her hair was pulled back away from her face.
“I aim to please,” he said.
“What I love about you,” she said. He didn’t take that statement to mean much more than her hormones were racing like his. He wasn’t sure he was ready to talk about love and commitment...or the future.
Sure, it was the longest he’d been in a relationship before and with Chloe involved it was definitely the most serious, but he was still taking it day by day and flying by the seat of his pants half the time.
Since she’d never brought anything up about it, he figured she was too and was happy to play along that way.
Maybe he was in denial, but it was working for now and that was all he was concerned with.
She backed them up toward the bed and sat down to pull his shirt out of his jeans and tug it over his head. Her hands came up and ran around his chest and abs. She had a big bold ring on her finger with a purple stone in it. Had to have been one of Olivia’s creations he was sure and the cool metal that brushed his nipples was a form of arousal.
“I like when you touch me that way,” he said.
“What way?” Her hands were working on the button of his jeans now and wasting no time to push them down his legs.
“The way where your eyes say you’re hungry and I’m going to be your meal. That I’m the one you want and you have no patience to wait.”
“That is how I’m feeling,” she said. “Finish undressing.”
He toed off his sneakers and kicked them away with the rest of his clothes while she became the speed disrober that she often was. Sometimes he just wanted to take it slow and cherish her, but tonight didn’t seem to be the night for it.
She dove on the bed and patted the spot next to her. Naked and grinning at him like this was going to be a night of pleasure the two of them wouldn’t forget.
“Why do I suddenly feel a little bit scared?” he asked.
“No reason. But can I let you in on a secret?” she asked softly. Tenderly. Seductively.
“Of course.”
“Have you noticed that my headboard has slats in it?”
He hadn’t really paid attention to her bedroom furniture that one time they’d been in it. He’d been more concerned about the hot naked woman he was trying to dominate and make his. “No, what about it?”
“And you have handcuffs,” she said.
Shit. All the blood that hadn’t moved to his cock just did in one fell swoop. “Why bring that up now when we can’t do it?”
“To give you something to think about. To give you time to figure out how to have another night at my house.”
“Or for me to get a bed like that too,” he said, laughing and covering her body with his. Yeah, this wasn’t going to be slow by any means now.
“How about we improvise for tonight? You can hold my hands over my head. I like when you do that. When I feel a little bit helpless and you just take over.”
“I can do that,” he said, his mouth going to her ear and nibbling. “I can do anything you want me to tonight.”
“What I want you to do is give it to me hard. Show me how strong and tough you are. Make me feel weak.”
He gulped and got up to get the condom out of his wallet and put it on, then jumped back on the bed, covering her body and doing as she asked. Pulling her hands up and over her head and holding them there.
He entered her fast, no worries about if she was ready or not since she always was and this was no different. Smooth as silk. Wet as water.
“That’s it, Landon,” she said, her hips coming up to meet him there, then pulling back and retreating. Yeah, this was a pretty great feeling.
“Hard, Landon,” she said. “I can take it. I’m tough enough and I said I want you to make me feel weak.”
The grip around her hands tightened when he held them together with one hand and brought his other hand down to her hips and sliding under. Pushing her up as tight against him as possible and holding her there.
With her hips up in the air like that he pulled out and slammed back in not letting her fall back to the mattress. The muscles in his arms were bunched and strained and that only reinforced the feeling of pleasure for him.
“Wrap your legs around me as I hold them up.”
“I can hold them up myself. It gives my abs a workout and the burn is a nice feeling during sex.”
Guess they thought alike on a lot of things.
He moved his hand away when her legs went around his hips and brought it to her hair, yanking her head back and attacking her mouth with his.
He was hungry and was going to show her every possible way he could that he could satisfy them both.
When she bit his tongue he knew he wasn’t alone in those thoughts. Something about hotel sex made people just let loose more than in their home.
He’d have to get a hotel room more often.
The bed was squeaking, hitting the wall, but thoughts of the people in the room next to him were far from his mind. Not when he had a hot woman under him asking him for it the way she was.
She started to moan into his mouth, her muscles started to clench around his cock, and he knew he was going to be lost in seconds.
He sped it up faster than he thought his body could move and it seemed to be what she wanted when he smothered the shout that escaped from her lips as his body followed her.
“Now that is what I’m talking about,” she said a minute later. “I’m super relaxed.”
“So you’re ready to sleep now?” he asked slightly out of breath and a little mortified over that for someone in as good of shape as him.
“Hell no,” she said. “Just relaxed but ready to take the rest of the night slow and leisurely.”
“I can get behind that,” he said.
“I hoped you’d do that too,” she said, laughing.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” he said, dropping his forehead to hers and kissing her softly. Yeah, those thoughts of the future he said he was trying not to think about just flashed in his head like a white light at the end of the tunnel calling him forth and letting him know it was going to be okay.
More Approachable
“Cute shirt,” Landon said the next morning.
“I bought it yesterday morning when you were working. I figured I couldn’t go to a game and not represent your team.” She’d never owned a football jersey before but knew he’d appreciate it.
He was dressed in a jersey and jeans, a baseball hat on his head. He’d never had a hat on before that she could remember. What was it about a hat that was sexy at times?
She walked forward and turned his hat around and put it on backwards, looked at the sharp features on his face, the day’s growth of beard that he often had on the weekends, and just wanted to pull him back to bed like they were two young teens that were looking for a place to sneak away and get busy.
“Why did you do that?”
<
br /> “Just wanted to see how you looked.”
“Like some wannabe twenty-something.” He turned his hat back around. “No, thank you.”
“You’re probably right. Still, it’s a nice look on you.”
“A baseball hat?”
“Crazy, I know.” As much as she loved seeing him in uniform, in jeans, in shorts, and in nothing at all, the baseball hat made him somewhat more approachable.
“I suppose.”
“You should wear the hat around Chloe more.”
“Why?”
“I still think you intimidate her at times. The hat takes that away.”
He shrugged. “If you say so.”
“I do,” she said. “Now let’s get some breakfast. How early should we get to the game?”
“It starts at one. I’d like to get there no later than noon, find our seats, and watch some of the warm-ups.”
“Sounds good to me. Are you going to bring back something for Chloe?”
“I thought of it. I’m not sure what. She never watches football with me on Sundays so I don’t think she cares for it.”
“Have you ever asked her to watch it with you?”
“Do I need to ask her?” he asked, frowning. “She moves around the house like it’s hers now.”
“Which is wonderful. But you still could ask her. Maybe she doesn’t know anything about it and wants to learn. If she doesn’t, she’ll say no.”
“I doubt she’d tell me no.”
“Then buy her a shirt and a teddy bear and see what she does. If she puts the shirt on next Sunday during the game you’ll have your answer without asking.”
“I can’t believe how smart you are.”
She laughed. Not many thought that of her. “I don’t know if it’s smart as much as I was a nine-year-old once and my parents fought a lot. They split around that time and officially divorced a year later. I tried to have things in common with my father because it seemed I had nothing in common with my mother.”
“How was your relationship with your father?” he asked her as they left the room to get some food.
“It was okay. Nothing really close, but we got along. He remarried and Lucy, his new wife, had two kids from her other marriage so they moved in. I kind of felt like I had to fight for attention then. Lucy had boys and he bonded with them more than me.”
“That had to be hard.”
“It is what it is. My mother and he fought a lot. I think he was terrified I was going to be as crazy as her. I’ve tried my hardest to be just the opposite.”
“Your mother is not crazy,” he said.
“Not like you think. You know her. You see her.”
“What I see is a sweet lady that likes attention. She likes to make people laugh. There is nothing wrong with that at all. Did you ever think she did some things to get you to like her more? To be a friend to her?”
“She dressed like that her whole life. Long before I came along. And yes, it occurred to me that she did that so that my friends would like her. Then I realized it was because she was lonely and wanted me to spend time at home with my friends rather than go to their houses.”
“Did you?”
“Not always. I thought she was embarrassing, but my friends did love her so I spent more time there than I wanted to.”
“I think you are too hard on her at times.”
“Probably right. I learned some of those things in college. I think I went into psychology to make sure there wasn’t anything wrong with me,” she said, laughing.
“There isn’t anything wrong with you. Like I told Chloe, we are all different and that is what makes the world as unique as it is.”
It was when he said things like that that she felt her heart just fading into him. No words had come up about commitments or the future, where their relationship stood other than they had a lot of fun together and she helped him out with Chloe.
She’d had to just accept that for now. Pushing would be wrong on her end and he didn’t need any more pressure on his shoulders.
They got to the stadium, parked, and walked in once they got past security. They found their seats easily enough, then walked around to locate bathrooms, food, and the gift shop.
She wanted to get Chloe something too, so she found a few cute hair accessories for her. There were earrings and she’d noticed that Chloe had mentioned liking Kristen’s jewelry and she wondered if she should bring that up to Landon about seeing if Chloe wanted her ears pierced. Maybe for Christmas she could do it.
Instead, she grabbed a headband and a bracelet. That was more than enough for now.
When she looked over, Landon had a long-sleeved shirt in his hands for Chloe, looked to be the right size too, a teddy bear with a helmet on, and a water bottle.
“Are you all set?” she asked him, her hand going up to her face and touching it.
“I think so. Should I get her more? And stop rubbing your hand on your face. You look beautiful.”
She didn’t think she did, but Landon talked her into not putting on as much makeup as normal. Just a little and she felt so bare. Like that mask of perfection she strived for was wiped away.
“No. I think that is plenty. You gave her a lot of gifts yesterday and you know how uncomfortable she is with it. Don’t overdo it.”
“But she was excited with everything she got,” he argued.
“She was, but you don’t want to overcompensate either.”
He sighed. “Fine, I’ll say the water bottle is for both of us. She won’t buy it if I say the bear is though.”
She laughed. “No, she won’t. I’m giving her a few things too. She’ll have plenty. Then play it by ear to see if she wears the shirt. If she does, ask her to watch the next game with you and explain it to her. It could be something the two of you share.”
“Yeah. I was hoping that.”
“You share martial arts now,” she pointed out when they were in line.
“She’s doing really good in her class. A natural. She asked me the other day when she could start to learn to break boards with her hands and feet.”
“That’s good. Are you showing her some moves one on one, or just letting her take the class with another instructor?”
“Just taking the class. When she is done with it, I’ll see if she wants to continue, but I’m sure she will. Like you said, I’m trying not to push, but I’ll bring up working with her one on one if she wants. I don’t want her too far ahead of the classes either because then it would be boring for her.”
“Or give her confidence that she knows something before the other kids.”
“She doesn’t seem to lack confidence in things like I thought she would. She’s doing great in school academically. She’s a natural, as I said, at the lessons. It’s more social interactions that she struggles with.”
“She’s shy, Landon. I get the feeling she was like that before all of these changes in her life. I know what it’s like to not fit in in school because you don’t have what everyone else does and you want it.”
“Do you think that is part of it? I’m giving her stuff,” he said.
“It’s not the same. And second of all, there are always going to be kids that have more. You know that. You’ll never be able to keep up and shouldn’t have to.”
“Yeah, I know. I get it.”
“You’re trying and that is all that matters.”
He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks for helping me to see things.”
“Never a problem.”
“I’m trying with you too. I hope you know that.”
“I do,” she said, kissing him again. Now wasn’t the time to talk about their relationship either. “Now let’s go watch the Giants kick some butt.”
A Different Way
By eight, Landon was pulling into Mary’s house and going in with Kristen. He had hoped to get home earlier, but the game ran late and the traffic had been hard to get through.
“Sorry we are late,” he said to Ch
loe who was sitting on the couch with her bookbag all packed next to her. Ace was in her lap sleeping. At least he wouldn’t need to hunt for the kitten.
“It’s okay.” Chloe put the kitten in the carrier he’d bought along with everything else they’d needed to have the pet in the house. Thankfully Mary had an old litter box from her past cats, so he didn’t have to bring that over.
“Are you tired?” he asked when she yawned.
“We had a late night,” Mary said. “Drinking and playing games.”
“Mother,” Kristen said narrowing her eyes.
“Soda, Uncle Landon,” Chloe said. “I drank a lot of it.”
“Ah,” he said, wondering if the caffeine kept her up. “Did you have a bellyache?”
“No. But we had pizza and then popcorn and candy with the movie,” Chloe said. “We had a lot of fun. Thank you, Mary.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie. That is what sleepovers are all about. Staying up late, having junk food, and doing our nails.”
Landon looked at Chloe’s nails to see at least five different colors on them. He could only imagine what her toes looked like, but like Mary said, it was part of a sleepover. Now he was wondering if he should ask Chloe if she wanted some friends over one night.
No, he wasn’t up to it. He didn’t think he could handle it. Not unless Kristen stayed over with him and sometimes he thought he asked too much of her as it was.
“Well, if you are all ready to go, we should get you to bed. Since I’m going into work later tomorrow and bringing you to school, you can sleep in some more if you want. We just need to get your donuts in the morning.”
Chloe turned and ran to give Mary a hug, one he’d only received twice now. When he gave Chloe the pictures of her mother and then the gifts for her birthday a few nights ago.
Maybe one day he’d get one for another reason.
“Thanks, Mom,” Kristen said to her mother.
“No thanks needed. I hope you two had as much fun as Chloe and me.”