by Mya Wood
Landry put both hands on her head and tipped her face up to meet his. Bianca was afraid to look in his eyes, afraid to see rejection or doubt.
“Look at me,” he commanded.
Bianca raised her eyes and looked at him. Even in the dim light, she could see the fire in his eyes. Flames danced across those glimmering pools of melted blue.
“I want you,” whispered Landry, and he lowered his mouth to hers.
This time the sound came from Bianca, and it wasn’t a small noise in the back of her throat, either. It was an all-out moan of desire, and she clutched at his arms with her hands as her knees turned to jelly.
The decision had been made by both of them, and there was no holding back now. Landry ran his tongue along Bianca’s lips, and she opened her mouth to him. It was like kissing a volcano. Bianca had a vision of liquid fire as Landry made warm, sensual love to her mouth. Meanwhile, his hands moved down her face to her throat and lightly traced the outline of her neck.
Bianca’s fingers moved across his chest. They trembled with desire as they tried to undo the remaining buttons on his shirt. She wasn’t sure she could manage the buttons on a shirt that was dry in her current state, but it was almost impossible on one that was soaking wet and clinging to his skin. She gave up and started caressing Landry through the fabric, running her hands over his firm, well-muscled frame and dragging her fingernails down his chest.
Landry moved his hands down Bianca’s back to her hips and pulled her against him. Bianca could feel his arousal, and she did a little bump and grind against him.
Landry’s hands gripped the hem of Bianca's t-shirt and pulled it over her head. It wasn’t the smooth, seductive move it would have been with dry clothes. It caught on Bianca’s nose as Landry pulled it over her head, and he had to peel it down her wet arms with a couple of not-so-gentle tugs.
Landry was on fire. He needed to see her body. He dropped the shirt on the floor and pulled Bianca close, his mouth moving down her neck. He slid his tongue along her collarbone and kissed her throat.
“Oh God,” whispered Bianca, moving her hands to his chest to take one more shot at those buttons.
Landry was having his own difficulties with Bianca’s bra. He prided himself on the fact that he could undo any bra with one hand, but that was when it was dry. This was soaking wet and plastered against her skin, and the fasteners at the back just would not co-operate. Landry moved his mouth to the curve at the top of her breast and kissed and licked while he pulled on the straps of her bra.
Suddenly, Bianca pushed him away.
“Take your shirt off,” she ordered, her voice husky with desire and frustration.
Landry stepped back and undid the remaining buttons of his shirt. He nodded at Bianca, and she reached behind her and unsnapped her bra. She pulled it off her arms and dropped it. Landry stared at her for a moment and made a move to reach for her, but Bianca shook her head, motioning impatiently at his shirt with her hand.
Landry gave her a slow, sexy smile and then pulled the shirt down his arms and off his body. Bianca thought she would pass out. He was beautiful – his skin taut, his chest firm, his stomach flat.
Landry dropped the shirt on the floor and reached for her. He kissed her while he backed up to the sofa and sat down, pulling her down on top of him. Bianca knelt astride him, hungrily exploring his mouth.
Landry’s hands moved up and did things to Bianca’s breasts that made her want to throw her head back and howl. What was it about this guy? It was like he had little electrical impulses in the tips of his fingers. Landry moved his mouth from hers and lowered it to her breasts, and that was pretty much it for Bianca. All of her concentration was now devoted to not screaming out loud and scaring the various guests out of their wits.
Bianca moved her hands down Landry’s side to his hips. She trailed her fingernails across his stomach, causing him to tip his head back and draw his breath in sharply. Bianca ground her pelvis down against his and moved her mouth over his. Landry moaned into her mouth and grabbed her hips with both hands, pulling her down against him and thrusting roughly upward.
A flash of lightning was followed by a clap of thunder, and suddenly, the lights went out. It was bright, and it was loud, and then it was dark. For a fleeting moment, both Bianca and Landry thought it was just a by-product of the heat they were generating, but the sudden darkness caused by all the motel lights winking out at the same time caught their notice.
They stopped what they were doing and looked sideways toward the Inn. They were both panting, their chests heaving. Landry still held Bianca’s hips in his hands. She still had his face in hers. Time was frozen, as their over-heated minds tried to re-focus from their nerve endings to the present time and place.
Doors began to open as guests peeked out to see if the problem was only in their room or whether the entire building was out. Landry and Bianca became aware at the same time of their potentially embarrassing situation. What if the lights came back on and every person in the place was staring at them?
Bianca crossed her arms over her breasts to cover them. Landry gently set her off him and reached for his shirt. The rain still cascaded down in sheets, providing a curtain between the gazebo and the motel, but Bianca felt like she was on a brightly-lit stage. She fumbled for her bra and t-shirt.
Landry slipped his arms into his shirt but didn’t even try to button it up. He opened the door to the gazebo and spoke loudly. “It’s okay, Folks. Just a little power failure. I’m sure it’ll be fixed soon. I’ll bring candles or flashlights or something.”
He looked over his shoulder at Bianca, who had managed to pull her clammy t-shirt over her head but hadn’t bothered with her bra. Landry could see her shoving it into the pocket of her shorts.
“Wait a bit,” he said to her. “The rain will stop. I have to see what I can do,” he added, obviously unsure about what exactly he should do.
“I’ll help you,” said Bianca. “Where do you think the stuff might be?”
“I don’t even know if there is stuff,” said Landry. “I’ll check the storage shed at the back.”
“And I’ll check the room behind the main office,” said Bianca. “You go first. I’ll wait until the crowds have dispersed, then I’ll go out this door.” She indicated the door at the street side of the gazebo, the one closest to the office, the one furthest away from the pool and the curious eyes of all the guests.
Landry gave her the key to the office. “Wait there for me. Even if you find the stuff, wait for me.”
Landry went out the door and ran to the motel. He dashed along the first floor, reassuring guests as he went. “It’s just a storm…happens all the time…no, it’s not a hurricane…the power will be back on shortly.”
He fumbled with the door on the shed, finally swearing in frustration when he saw the padlock. Shit! Where would the key to the shed be? Think, Landry. Think!
Um…
The office!
Landry started running as soon as he thought of it. He slipped on the wet grass and fell, landing hard. He stood up and shook himself, moving shoulders and legs, checking for injuries. He had broken his fall with his hand; his wrist seemed a little tender, but he swiveled it and saw that it wasn’t broken or even sprained.
Regaining his composure, Landry moved carefully off the grass and made his way back along the sidewalk to the office, reassuring those guests who remained outside that everything was under control; that it was just a thunderstorm.
Landry stopped outside the office. Bianca was inside and had found a flashlight. He could see the light playing over the shelves and knocked on the door, not wanting to startle her. She unlocked it from inside.
“I found this hanging right by the desk here. Thank heavens those doors are glass. The lightning helped me find it,” she said. “I’ve looked, but I haven’t found anything else. Did you happen to find anything in the shed?”
“Actually, the shed is locked. The key
must be in here somewhere.”
Bianca motioned Landry into the back room then with the flashlight. As he went by, lightning flashed and lit him from behind.
Man, I want that, she thought, and then shook her head. Focus, Bianca, focus!
She played the flashlight over each cupboard and drawer while Landry went through the contents.
Finally, they found a box marked ‘Candles’. Landry pulled it out and set it on the counter. He lifted the lid and was delighted to find a set of battery-operated candles. He had been having doubts about real candles – starting a little fire in each room didn’t really seem like a good idea to him.
“I’ll take the top floor. You take the bottom,” said Landry.
“Okay,” said Bianca. “Here…you take the flashlight. I’ll use one of these candle things.”
She handed the flashlight to Landry, and he turned it on her, moving it over her from head to toe.
“Umm…” he began, “…you might want to…um…”
He pointed down at her, where her bra dangled from her pocket.
“Oh Lord.” She laughed and shoved it all the way into her pocket. “Is there anything else wrong?”
Landry ran the flashlight over her one more time, resisting the temptation to linger on her chest, where the wet t-shirt was doing interesting things to her breasts and also to his groin.
“Perfect,” he replied.
He took one of the candles and flicked it on. “Here you go,” he said, handing it to her. The glow lit her face, making her look beautiful, making him wish that all the guests had gone away somewhere and weren’t hovering in their doorways waiting for light.
They divided up the candles and made their way out of the office. “Meet back here,” said Landry, “when you’re done.”
“Okay,” said Bianca, and then she grinned. “Bet I can beat you back.” She started down the passageway. Landry headed up the stairs.
Ten minutes later, they were back at the office. Mission accomplished! Everyone was in. There were no guests unaccounted for. They put the extra candles back in the box and put it away. There was an awkward moment then. Neither knew what to do next. Both knew what they wanted to do, but the circumstances had changed.
Landry looked at Bianca and realized she was shivering. “Okay, we have to get you into a hot shower,” he said.
That sounded like a good idea to Bianca, but she didn’t think Landry meant it in the way she wanted him to.
He took her by the hand. “Come on.”
They each held a candle in front of them as they made their way to Room fifteen. Bianca pulled the bra out of her pocket and then fished out the key.
Okay, how embarrassing is this? asked her brain, excuse me, Sir, could you hold my bra while I open the door?
Landry lingered in the doorway as Bianca went into the room and set the candle on the table. She knew that nothing more was going to happen tonight.
“Okay,” she said, letting him off the hook. “I’m going to have a shower and jump into bed. I suggest that you do the same. You’re wet too.”
Landry’s hand was still the part of his body making the most sense, and it grabbed Bianca’s hand as she walked by. “I have to…be…kind of…on duty,” he said, reluctantly.
“I know,” said Bianca, offering him a gentle smile.
“I mean, if someone needs something, and tonight, they just might…” Landry shrugged. Damn!
“I know,” said Bianca again, and she reached up to kiss him. They both savored it for a moment and then broke away from each other.
Bianca moved to the other side of the room. “Do me a favor?” she asked, pulling open the refrigerator and taking out the remaining bottle of wine. “Take this with you. Please.”
Landry took the bottle from her and smiled. “Yeah, okay. I’ll put it in my fridge. That’ll keep it cold.”
“Not if the power doesn’t come back on,” Bianca said with a laugh, pushing him out the door. “Goodnight, Landry.”
“Goodnight, Bianca,” he said. “Thanks for helping.”
Chapter 8
Bianca made herself a cup of tea and headed out to the beach. The storm had left the water a murky brown near the shore and a slate grey further out. Tiny rivulets meandered down the sand to the waves where the rain water had found the easiest path. The sky was blue this morning but not the bright blue of the previous day. There might be more rain, there might not.
Bianca took a sip of her tea and ached for Landry. She knew there was no point in thinking about the future or talking to the sandpipers or planning her day. Every thought in her head, every part of her body ached for him…and prayed that he hadn’t come to his senses overnight and decided against her.
“Good morning.”
Bianca turned at the sound of his voice. Oh, my good Lord, she thought. He’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
Landry was barefoot, and he was wearing jeans turned up into cuffs halfway up his calves. His shirt was like a dress shirt - white, long, with rounded shirttails – but it was sleeveless. And it was open.
“Morning.”
Oh God, her voice sounded funny. You’re lucky you can get any sound out at all, she thought. She cleared her throat. “Did you get any sleep at all last night?” Bianca could see little fatigue circles under his eyes.
Landry shook his head. “Not much. I felt kind of, I don’t know…like I should be on patrol.”
He nodded up the beach, and they started walking. “After the rain stopped, I made a couple of circuits of the property, looking for…damage, I guess. I don’t really know what the hell I was looking for.”
His face brightened. “I found your book. It’s drying out in my room.”
Landry had toured the property three times, checking things out, passing by Room fifteen and wanting so badly to knock but knowing he couldn’t; he was Nephew-in-Charge, after all. He had to be available if something went wrong, and people had to know where to find him. Although, he had thought at the time, he was pretty sure that Room fifteen would have been the first place they looked if they hadn’t found him in his own room.
Landry had fallen into a fitful sleep around 3:30, but he’d tossed and turned, half listening for disaster to knock on the door and half reliving the scene out in the gazebo. ‘Should I?’ was gone. The only question in his head now was ‘When can I?’
They walked along the beach in silence, both wondering to themselves how long they could go without touching each other.
“Want to hear something funny?” asked Landry.
Bianca smiled at him and nodded.
“Last night,” he said, “when the lights went out…you know…the lightning and thunder so close together…?”
Bianca nodded again. Oh yeah, she remembered that.
“…I thought, for a brief moment, I thought it was us. I thought we caused it.” He grinned at her sheepishly.
“So did I.” Bianca laughed. “And really, I’m not totally convinced we didn't.”
Then she could stand it no longer. She reached out her hand and moved her fingers down his chest. Landry gave a small gasp of pleasure. Then he dropped his coffee cup in the sand and reached for her. Bianca threw her mug down by his and stepped into his arms. In one fluid motion, he lowered them to the sand and they began to feast on each other.
Bianca waited for the lightning and thunder, but none came. Gradually, her consciousness of things narrowed until her whole world consisted of his mouth and his hands. Landry moved his mouth off hers and settled his lips on the side of her neck, on a spot which up until now had been relatively innocuous, but which had suddenly become his favorite part of her body. Bianca plastered her body against his, grinding her hips. Landry moaned softly and ground back. Slowly, his mouth moved further down her throat.
Oh, God…I’m on fire, thought Bianca. People will see a melting…people will see… people…
She pushed on his chest. “No, you can’t.
”
Landry stopped immediately. No meant no. But he wasn’t giving up. “Bianca, I want you…”
“You can’t afford it. Here. What if…?”
Bianca waved a hand at the surrounding buildings. Landry looked up at the condos and saw floor after floor of hurricane shutters with the occasional visible balcony.
“You can’t afford it,” she said again.
Landry knew she was right. He didn’t want a picture taken, but not because of what it would do to him. It would only enhance his reputation as a lover. It was what it would do to her that made him let her go and rise to his feet. Instead he grabbed his mug and hers and started up the beach, willing the visible evidence of his passion to subside before he reached the motel. He felt Bianca fall into step beside him.