He loomed above me, looking down at me like I was something rare and precious. “I didn’t plan this, you know. The room, yes, but the rest…”
My smile was instant. “I want you too badly to care if you did.”
“I love you,” he told me as he brought his lips to my neck. “I’m going to tell you a million times in a million ways.”
“And I’ll love every one of them,” I said, my voice hitching as his thumb ran over my pebbled nipple.
I thanked God that I’d chosen a string bikini as he reached to untie the simple tie that held my top together in the back, and then again behind my neck. Once my breasts were bare, he instantly warmed them with his hands and mouth, sending my back off the bed. The water had chilled my skin but made me so very sensitive to his touch.
My fingers ran through his hair, holding him against me as he used his tongue and teeth to set me on the edge. “I’m going to kiss every inch of you,” he promised, kissing a path down my stomach. His tongue swirled around my belly button, dipping in momentarily and then venturing farther south to the line of my bottoms.
He looked up at me with expectant eyes, and I loved him even more for it. Even though I’d said yes, told him I loved him, that I needed him, he always made a point to make sure I was comfortable.
“Take them off,” I begged, shifting my legs. Instead of pulling them down my legs, he tugged at the string with his teeth, and I watched in fascination as they came undone, sliding free to bare me to him.
His outspread hands ran down my hips, ridding me of the last of my wet swimsuit. “Now you,” I ordered.
He shook his head and instead placed hot kisses to the inside of my hips. “No. If those come off, I’ll be inside you in a millisecond.”
“I’m okay with that,” I said, my hips arching for his mouth. I wanted him with a ferocity I’d never known, a desperation that bordered on insanity.
“I’m not,” he said with a grin. His tongue licked the seam where the front of my thigh met my belly. “I need to see you come apart first, to have you so hot that you’re burning.”
“I’m already burning,” I protested, impatient.
“Not even close.” He laughed darkly, then separated my thighs with his hands and set his mouth on me.
“Landon!” I cried his name, uncaring that it was still late afternoon and there could be people in the nearby bungalows.
“See? I want you on fire,” he said just before his fingers separated me for his tongue.
Oh. My. God. Every nerve ending in my body came alive, and every sensation centered in the aching of my core, the streaks of heat he sent spiraling through me with each stroke of his tongue against my clit.
He circled, sucked, jabbed, laved, brought me to the edge and then held me there while I panted, my hands gripping at his hair, the covers, anything that might hold me to the earth.
“Are you on fire yet, baby?” he asked, his voice the perfect semblance of control and calm.
I moaned in answer, shamelessly rocking my hips against him for more.
The pressure in my belly was tight, coiled, and I rode the edge of my orgasm as he held it back, controlling my pleasure with his hands—his mouth.
“God, you taste incredible,” he said against my flesh.
My inner muscles fluttered, needing him, and I no more than lifted my hips for him than he slid one of his fingers, then two inside me. “So wet. Are you ready for me? Do you need me, Rachel? Because I’m dying for you.”
“Yes!” I cried.
With a crook of his fingers and the sweet suction of his lips, I came apart, my orgasm tearing through me like lightning. I screamed his name as my back bowed, unbelievable pleasure consuming every thought, feeling, and sense.
He brought me down, kicking back the waves with his kisses, until I was sure he’d killed me in the best way possible. “That was amazing,” I said, stretching under him, my body feeling languid, deliciously warmed.
Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly be more aroused, he rose above me, licking his lower lip like he had to savor even the slightest taste of me. The hot, possessive look in his eyes was even more of a turn-on than his hands had been. Boom. That ache returned, another need clawing at me, not just for my pleasure—but for his.
I sat up, pushing my wet hair away from my face, and kissed him. My hands tucked into the waistband of his swim trunks and I pulled. The wet fabric protested, but with his help, I got them off, revealing wet, hot, nude Landon.
His abs cut in serious fuck-me lines down to his hips, and my fingers trailed them until my right hand reached—
“You still have it,” I whispered, grazing the small infinity symbol on his left hip that was normally hidden under his waistband.
“Of course I do,” he said with a smile. “You’re still my infinity. Even when you were gone, you were still here.”
I leaned forward and kissed him sweetly, hoping my lips could convey what my voice simply couldn’t. Maybe it was only one tattoo among so many, but it was mine, and he’d kept it. Kept a piece of me. I hadn’t done the same for him.
He was the perfect model of a man, his muscles tight and firm—powerful without heavy bulk, carved like a master sculptor had chiseled him from stone, which was exactly how hard he was as I pushed him to sit in the center of our bed.
Sliding one knee on either side of his hips, I straddled him. His erection slid through my core until it rested between us, and Landon moaned. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Happily,” I said, then blinked. “Please tell me you brought condoms.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “I learned my lesson the last time you yelled at me. They’re in my bag.”
I sighed in relief, then kissed him like my life depended on it. The rub of my breasts against his chest was exquisite, and I moved my hips restlessly against him as our tongues intertwined. His fingers grew impatient, digging into my hips with a wonderful bite. I loved the feel of him losing control—of being mine.
His breathing grew ragged as I sucked on his lower lip, then caught completely as I reached between us to stroke his length. He was hot and heavy in my hands, and I ran my thumb over the soft head that contrasted to the hardness of the rest of him.
“Rachel,” he gasped. “God, baby. Yes.” His hand stroked up my spine to grasp my neck, pulling me in for a hungry kiss.
As he rocked within my hand, I felt him grow even thicker, and my core clenched in response.
“Are you on fire for me?” I asked, turning his words on him.
Maintaining his grip on my neck, he pulled back to look at me, his eyes burning an intense shade of green. “I have always burned for you. I will always burn for you. You own me like no one ever has, or ever will. Only you, Rachel.”
I knew why he said my name, because he’d been unable to for so long, but instead of reminding me of how many women there had been in the past, it only made me feel needed, powerful. No matter what had happened in the years we hadn’t been together, there was one simple truth: we had always belonged to each other.
After one more kiss, I leaned over the edge of the bed, thankful his bag was nearby. A quick search and a rip of foil later, I rolled on the condom, savoring his intake of breath.
“How do you want me?” I asked, rising above him.
“However you’ll take me. I’m yours.”
His hand reached between us, and his thumb brushed over my hypersensitive clit, the light movement enough to send a jolt of need soaring through my belly.
On my knees, I moved until he was positioned at my entrance, and my breath caught at the enormity of our actions. “I love you,” I told him, not because I needed to hear it back, but because I needed him to understand what this meant to me.
“I have always loved you,” he promised.
He captured my mouth in a scorching kiss as I slid down, taking him inside inch by perfect inch.
“Look at me,” he said, breaking our kiss. My eyes popped open to wa
tch his as I sank farther, stretching to accommodate his size. “I have only ever loved you,” he whispered, his words invading my soul as he took over my body, consuming every spare inch I had to give.
He felt like home.
Our breaths mingled in stuttered pants, our eyes locked, our bodies fused. I rocked, sliding until I completely sheathed him. Once I started, I couldn’t stop, setting a rhythm that he met, his jaw locked in restraint, his eyes dancing with fire.
I kissed him, savoring the way he had completely taken over. “I love the way you fill me,” I whispered. “You feel so damn good.”
As if I’d broken the string of his control, he growled and flipped us until my back hit the bed. Then he grasped my hands, holding them above my head. “That’s because you were always meant for me. Mine.”
“Yours,” I admitted, arching against his measured thrusts.
Each movement brought a higher level of pleasure, and it kept getting better. I wrapped my legs around his hips, and he hit deeper, harder, until I was writhing beneath him, my moans in time with his thrusts.
It was the same as it had been between us, the sweet fire, the desperate need, but it was also different—even better than what I thought had been the best sex of my life.
His muscles were rigid as he kissed me deeply, and I could almost taste the restraint he was using, how tightly he held himself in check.
I swirled my hips, and he groaned. “Fuck, Rachel,” he drew out my name.
Releasing my hands, he sent one to my hip and then lifted one knee so he could take me even deeper. I cried out as he used his hand between us to bring me back to the edge, my body on overload from every sensation.
That tight spiral of need took over, and my orgasm hit me, ripping his name from my lips. I shuddered around him as I came, and his thrusts sent me soaring even higher, until I separated from my body and saw stars.
The minute I fell apart, he snapped, his thrusts even deeper, harder, his rhythm abandoned in favor of the primal need we both felt as he took me over and over again.
His kiss broke into a guttural moan of my name as he came, his body shuddering and then tensing above mine—lust, love, and wonder etched on his face as he looked down at me.
God, I loved this man.
My heart swelled, flooding me with euphoria as he collapsed, then rolled us to his side so I could breathe. We didn’t speak; our eyes did that for us. It was everything I’d been starved for and so much more, a union that didn’t just slake my body’s needs, but my soul’s.
He kissed me softly as our breathing calmed.
“Is it just me, or have we gotten even better at that?” I asked, feeling slightly drunk on pleasure.
His smile was lazy, and all the more gorgeous for it. “Just imagine how good we’re going to get.”
I stroked his face, letting his day’s worth of stubble rasp the skin of my palm. “I’m not sure I can take anything better.”
His forehead puckered. “Are you sure? Because I’ve been dreaming of this for the last two and a half years. I have quite a few ideas.”
“Oh, really?” I teased, my fingers tracing the raven tattoo that flew down his right pec.
“Really,” he promised in a low, sultry voice that already had my exhausted nerve endings waking back up.
The things this man did to my body with just his voice were criminal.
“Like what?” I asked.
“I thought for starters, we’d try out the huge Jacuzzi tub in there,” he said, motioning behind him. “Then I figured it would be night, and I could take you back on that deck and watch you come under the moonlight. But, I mean…only if you’re up for it.” His eyes took on a wicked, sexy gleam.
“Oh, I’m up for the challenge,” I promised.
One bath and an orgasm later, I found out that he could balance me on a railing and take me at the same time.
Given how loudly I screamed his name, I was certain that our neighbors heard us. I was also certain that I didn’t care.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Landon
Midair
“Mind if I sit?” Pax asked as he stood next to my empty seat.
I took off my headphones and let them drape over my neck.
“Since my girlfriend just stole your seat, I feel like I have to say yes,” I told him and moved over.
We were thirty thousand feet over the Pacific and only a half hour from LAX and reality. At least we were in the Wilder Enterprises private jet. With twenty of us on board, it was crowded enough. One good thing about having two weeks off from the cruise would be the luxury of space.
“You look happy,” he said, clasping the seat belt as I did the same. We’d hit some wicked turbulence an hour ago that I had no wish to repeat.
“Is this where we have the epic man talk?” I asked.
“Nawh,” he said. “I’m just glad you two worked your shit out.”
I looked ahead and over to where Leah and Rachel sat, deep in conversation. The past two days had been perfect—not just the sex, but the feeling of commitment, the idea that we just might make it…if I didn’t fuck it up.
“That remains to be seen,” I said quietly.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
I swallowed the fear that had been knocking at my door since the moment she told me she loved me back on Fiji. “I meant to tell her…before.”
“Before what?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Don’t be stupid,” I snapped.
His hands went up to his shoulders like he was under arrest. “Okay. For fuck’s sake, you’re testy for someone who finally got laid.”
“Seriously?”
“Come on. She’s all mellow, and you’re looking at her like she’s a cake you can’t get enough of. You two fucked.”
I cringed. “Don’t…” I shook my head. “Unless you want me talking about Leah like that, just don’t.”
His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. “Fair enough. I’ve just never known you to be sensitive on that shit.”
“Yeah, well, it’s Rachel.”
“Understood. Now what has you freaked out? What the hell didn’t you tell her?”
“Why I left.”
His eyes widened. “What? She knew it was for the competition, right?”
“Right. But she doesn’t know why.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he said, sliding his hand over his face. “You fought with that girl for the better part of two months and you never told her?”
I shook my head. “She was so pissed. If I told her to start with, I never would have gotten within a hundred yards of her. She might have left…and taken Leah with her.”
“Oh no, you do not tie Leah to this. I made that mistake and it almost cost me her in the first place. As a matter of fact, you saw what me keeping shit from her almost cost me. How the hell can you be so stupid as to repeat my mistake? You’re the smarter of us.”
“It’s not exactly easy,” I hissed. “All I’ve ever wanted is a second chance with her. She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved—the only woman I will ever love. So I figured I’d tell her when she started talking to me again. But then she did, and I didn’t want to chance losing her. So then I figured I’d do it when we were in Fiji. That was why I rented that bungalow. I figured if I told her there, we could work it out away from everyone else, and then carry on.”
“But instead you decided to…” He opened up his hands like he was asking me what the fuck I was thinking…because that’s exactly what he was doing.
“Then she told me she loved me, and well…” I opened my hands in the same fashion.
He shook his head. “You know what? I got nothing. How the fuck are you going to clear this up? She’s about to be home in a few hours, and you know how much her parents hate you.”
“I don’t know. I keep trying to open my mouth and just tell her, but…” I raked my hands over my baseball hat. “But I’m terrified of losing her. I know without a doubt that she�
�s it for me. She’s the only woman I’m meant to be with. What the fuck do I do if she leaves me?”
Pax’s eyes drifted to where Leah sat. “Beg. You get on your goddamned knees and beg. You apologize, and you explain. At this point, it’s not even that it happened, it’s that you hid it from her. That they hid it from her.”
“She’s everything to me,” I said quietly.
“Yeah. I know just how you feel. Grab on tight, because knowing Rachel, you’re not in for an easy time of it once she knows. You’d better just pray that she loves you enough not to cut your ass off.”
I watched her laugh with Leah and cursed myself. Why hadn’t I told her? Found a second to lay it all out? Because you knew it would destroy her, one way or another.
“It’s not fair. No matter what I do, she’s going to hate us both. She’s never felt like she was enough, you know? The way I left her…I don’t know how to mend that tear I put there, and this will just rip her further apart.”
“You’ve got her cornered here, but I’m not sure I want to see her go ballistic in a contained environment. She’s liable to take down the plane.”
The captain’s voice came over the intercom. “We’ve begun our initial descent into Los Angeles. Flight attendants, please ready the cabin for landing.”
“Or I guess now you just pray,” Pax said. He must have seen my general look of dismay, because his shoulders slumped. “Look, man, she loves you. It’s written all over her damn face. You two are a force of nature, and anyone or anything who steps between you gets crushed—believe me, I know. What happened was over two years ago. It’s in the past. You just show her that you are there for every day of her future, and she’ll forgive you. She might not forgive them, but that’s between her and them.”
“Yeah. Thanks, man.” I sat back and watched LAX approach, so lost in my own thoughts that I barely noticed when Rachel took Pax’s seat. Her small hand slipped into mine, and she squeezed.
As the plane touched down, she kissed my cheek. “Welcome home,” she said with a smile.
Nova (The Renegades #2) Page 26