Hypocritically Yours: A Standalone Age-Gap Romance

by Hayley Faiman

  Tennessee presses her lips together, I watch as she rolls them, her gaze flicking down to her plate, then back up to meet mine. She tilts her head to the side, watching me for a moment before she speaks.

  “How will you end it then, Landry? If she always wants more, she’ll never be satisfied. And she’s the mother of your children, she is in our lives forever and I’m not sure that I want her part of my life or Holden’s. Not now that I know just a small bit of what she’s capable of. I don’t think that I could handle the full force of what she’s able to do to me, Landry.”

  “Are you trying to break up with me?” I ask.

  My body is heating, the ring in my pocket is burning a hole. My head is swimming and I’m not sure what to expect, but I never could have predicted this moment. She lives with me. Her apartment is no longer available.

  Her stuff is in storage, but she’s in my house and in my bed and I’m not fool enough to just let her walk away from me, not when I know that this has nothing to do with me and everything to do with that cunt.

  “I don’t know,” she admits. I admire her truthfulness, but I hate it at the same time. “I love you,” she whispers.

  “No rash decisions, at least not until we’ve eaten and slept. This whole thing took everything out of you, and I’m equally as exhausted.”

  She gives me a sad smile and I know that her mind is teetering on being made up. I have tonight to convince her to stay at my side and in my bed. I also have only tonight to formulate a true plan to get Susan to stay in her own fucking lane.

  Luckily, Hansen has been working on that front for a while. I have to have something that will shut her up and make her fade away. It doesn’t matter to me if she wants to go to the same events as me. Hell, she could come to Christmas dinner for all I care. I just want her to stop starting shit. To act her goddamn age.

  “Okay,” Tennessee rasps.

  We eat dinner in silence, though I wouldn’t call it comfortable silence. I can only guess that she’s thinking about leaving me, and I am only thinking about ways to hurt Susan and imagining in gruesome detail what I’d like to do to her right about now.

  Once we’re home, I retreat into my office while Tennessee gets Holden ready for bed. It’s been a long fucking day and although he wasn’t part of it, he still spent the entire day in childcare and I’ve seen how hard those kids play.

  Picking up my phone, I clear my throat as I touch Hansen’s name on my contact list.

  “Astor, I thought you would be celebrating.” He chuckles as his greeting.

  I grunt. “I’m going to try, but I have to ask. What do you have to help me out with her? With this situation?”

  “He’s gone. Took the bus home. Apparently, Susan didn’t like the way he called her out. She didn’t go through with giving him anything other than a one-way bus ticket out of town.”

  “Good,” I murmur. “But what about her, personally? I need something that’s going to make her leave me, and Tennessee, alone for good.”

  “Is there such a thing?” he asks.

  “Probably not, but you have to have something I can at least attempt to use.”

  There is a moment of silence and I wait, knowing that he’s struggling with telling me something. I’m sure that whatever it is, it’s ugly, because that’s what Susan is on the inside. He clears his throat, then he tells me the truth.

  I never suspected any of it. Not a single fucking part of it. Ending the call, I don’t even tell him goodbye when the story is finished. He emails the file to me before I hang up on him. But I’m sitting and staring at the computer, the new email highlighted with bold text in my inbox.

  This makes me see my entire marriage differently. Makes me see the woman who had my children different. Makes me question everything. Lifting my hand, I run my palm down my face and let out an exhale.

  Fuck.

  TENNESSEE

  When Landry appears in the bedroom doorway, I watch as he leans against the frame, his eyelids lowered as he watches me. I tucked Holden into bed a few hours ago and even checked on him already to ensure that he was indeed fast asleep in dreamland.

  I’ve been expecting Landry any moment, what I didn’t anticipate was that he would walk up here hours later and be drunk. He is just that, too, drunk. I watch him for a moment in silence, he stares back at me through lowered lids, but he doesn’t speak either.

  Slowly, he sways toward me and I watch, waiting to see what he’s going to do or say next. Then he sinks down next to me with a groan.

  “Landry?” I finally ask.

  His head is tipped down as he looks at the bed, then he slowly lifts it and his eyes find mine. Something is wrong, but I can’t tell. I don’t know if it’s about our conversation from earlier, or something different.

  “I never knew her,” he rasps.

  “What on earth is going on?”

  He licks his lips, then clears his throat. He doesn’t sound sad or upset really, rather he just sounds confused. “I learned something tonight,” he begins. “I had Hansen look deeper into Susan, things that I never quite asked him to do before.”

  “Tell me, what did you have him do before?” I ask as I sit up straighter and reach for his hand.

  He turns his palm over slowly, looking down at his movements as I slip my hand in his. His hand closes around mine and his fingers flex. He lifts his gaze to meet my own, his eyes focusing on mine, or attempting to.

  “Just to see if she was cheating on me when I expected it. Then every time I would hear a rumor, or she would act off, I would send him again to take some pictures of her and whoever she was screwing.”

  “Landry,” I breathe.

  He shakes his head a couple of times. “I never had him follow her at night. I never had him check any deeper into anything. They were men from the club, tennis pros, golf pros, but if I would have had him look just a little deeper, I would have found out the truth years ago.”

  “What’s that?” I urge.

  He’s talking around the problem and I’m dying to know what it is. “She’s an addict.”

  “Yes, shopping, parties, and drinking. I know,” I murmur.

  “No, Tennessee,” he breathes. “She’s a sex addict. It’s the only way I can think to explain what I’ve found out.”

  Rising to my knees, I crawl over to him and sit down across his lap. Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I lean my head back slightly and look up into his eyes. He doesn’t do anything right away, then finally he encircles my waist with his hands and grips me.

  “What happened?” I practically beg.

  His amber gaze focuses on me. “She’s been an escort. For twenty-five years. She’s been selling her body since Lucinda was born.”

  I gasp at his words. “Oh, Landry.”

  “The thing is? I’m not even pissed off at her. I’m disappointed and when the kids find out…”

  “They don’t have to,” I urge. Cupping his cheeks, I continue to keep my eyes on his. “They don’t have to, baby.”

  He hums. “This is the only way to keep her quiet. She won’t want this getting out to her high society friends. If I don’t threaten her with this, she won’t stop and you’ll leave and I wouldn’t blame you at all.”

  “Would you let me leave?” I ask on a whisper.

  His eyes flash, and he shakes his head once before one of his hands leaves my waist and fists in the back of my hair. He tugs my head back, exposing my neck before I feel his tongue slide the entire column of my throat before his teeth nip my chin.

  “Never,” he rumbles.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  TENNESSEE

  I don’t know what to think about Landry’s discovery, but I do know that I can’t leave him. Even as I said the words at dinner, they made me sick to my stomach. I love him too much, even if that vile woman makes me miserable the rest of my life, it would be worth it just to have Landry.

  Shifting, I spread my legs and straddle him. My knees sink into the mattress at his hips
at the same time his mouth devours my throat. Moving my hands, I slide them to his shoulders and my fingers grip them tightly.

  Rolling my hips, I moan at the sensation of his hard length in his slacks. The thin material of his pants and the thinner material of my panties do nothing to hide the way he feels against my center, against my clit.

  His mouth moves down my neck, to my collarbone, then he grips the neck of my tank top and tugs it down. “Please,” I whimper.

  He doesn’t make me beg tonight and I’m grateful for it. His lips wrap around my aching nipple and he sucks my breast in deep as I continue to ride him dry. I need more, so much more. I need him and I need everything that only he can give me.

  Without making me wait for even a moment, the hand not in my hair, dives beneath my panties and I feel his fingers press against my clit. He applies the perfect amount of pressure as I continue to move.

  “Landry,” I cry as my hips jerk.

  He moans against the flesh of my breast, then moves to the other one and flicks my nipple a couple of times before he opens his mouth and sucks me in deep, his tongue never stopping its movements. His fingers don’t either.

  And. It. Is. Fantastic.

  When two fingers slide inside of me, his thumb continues its delicious pressure against my clit and my hips buck. I’m so close, so incredibly close. My thighs tremble as I climb higher and higher toward my release and just when I think I’m about to come, he stops.

  “Landry,” I snap.

  He releases my breast, tipping his head back, he looks into my eyes with a drunken grin on his face. “Want you to come with me inside you,” he murmurs.

  How can I get mad at that? It’s simple. I can’t. Nothing about him could really make me angry anyway, especially not this because Landry makes me feel more than any other man ever could. Landry makes every part of my body hum.

  His hands wrap around my waist and he stands, my legs wrapping around him, he carries me as he turns us around then slowly lowers me to the bed. I look up at him, keeping my eyes focused on his amber ones.

  His lips curve up into a grin as he pries my arms and legs from his body. Then without a word he slowly strips my clothes off of me, tossing them somewhere behind us. Licking my lips, I watch as he slowly strips out of his own clothes.

  Reaching up, my fingers trace the tattoos he has on his arm. They are so unlike his personality, I wonder the kind of man he was when he got them. I open my mouth to ask, then decide that I don’t want to ruin this moment. I need him more than I need to know about the ink on his skin—at least right now.

  Sitting up slightly, I reach for his length, licking my lips and wanting nothing more than to have him in my mouth. Before my fingers can wrap around him, Landry’s fingers curl around my wrist and he stops my movement.

  “Back against the headboard, legs wide. Lift your arms and grip the top of the headboard for me, honey.”

  No longer are his words slurred. Instead, they’re crisp, clear, and demanding. Instantly my belly dips from them and I sit all the way up, scrambling backward until I feel the warm wood of the headboard against my back.

  Lifting my arms, I reach above me and grip the top railing of the headboard tightly, no doubt if I could see my knuckles, they would be white in this moment. I spread my legs and look across to Landry.

  He watches me like a panther watching his prey and I love it. Goose bumps break out over my entire body at the sight of the way he looks at me. “Wider,” he growls as a demand.

  My legs automatically widen and I know it’s to his satisfaction when he smirks and begins to crawl closer to me. When he’s on his knees, between my legs, his fingers grip the inside of my thighs and he pushes my legs even wider.

  I gasp, and although my muscles burn, it doesn’t hurt. Then, I watch as he wraps his hand around his own length and begins to stroke himself just inches from my center. Pressing my lips together, I try not to demand he fuck me.

  I try really hard.

  Thankfully, he doesn’t do this long, just a few strokes. Then he closes the very short distance between us and I feel the head of his cock against my center. His hands lift, covering my own, his fingers lacing with mine as he sinks farther inside of me, until he’s buried to the root.

  “Fuck, you feel so good, honey,” he mutters.

  Pressing my lips together, I whimper, wishing that he would fuck me harder, so much harder.

  He dips his chin, his mouth touching mine, but he doesn’t deepen the kiss. Instead, he starts to pull out of me slowly, then rock back inside. He moves with slow precision. He lifts his head, his eyes focused on mine as he continues to move with even strokes.

  Licking my lips, I try to keep from trembling as it seems I always do when he touches me, when he’s near me, and especially when he’s inside of me. I need so much more, but this feels too good to ask him to stop.

  This is us. Right here. Forget all the things that have happened, the outside things, this is what life is about right here. This feeling of euphoria. This. Just us. Our bed and our family.

  LANDRY

  I want to pound into her, slam against her hard and make her scream, but I don’t. I’m still a little drunk and I don’t want to hurt her. Besides, moving slowly feels achingly good right now. My eyes stay focused on hers as I move inside of her, feeling her warm wetness coat my dick.

  She’s not going anywhere. I won’t let her. She’s mine, this is mine. I start to move a little faster when she whimpers and sucks her lips in between her teeth. Releasing one of her hands, I slip my fingers between us.

  Dipping my chin, I watch as my body moves in and out of her, then my fingers play her sweet little nub. It’s fucking breathtaking. Everything about her is beautiful, but this right here, our connection, it’s so gorgeous it almost hurts.

  My back tingles and my balls draw up as I climb closer toward my release. Tennessee lets out a cry, her body beginning to tremble even more, her thighs shaking and her muscles tightening. I feel her pussy flutter around me and I know that she’s so close.

  My fingers move harder and faster against her clit, my hips slamming harder and harder with each thrust. The control that I had just a moment ago, the fear of hurting her, it’s gone. I can’t hold anything back.

  “Yes, yes, yes,” she shouts. “More. I’m close.”

  I do exactly as she asks. I give her more. I fuck her harder, my fingers move faster, applying more pressure and then it happens. I feel it before she gasps. She comes and her release feels fucking fantastic. My hips pump into her a few more rough thrusts, then I bury myself deep and with a groan, I empty myself inside of her.

  Breathing heavily, I slowly lift my head and look into her eyes. We’re both panting, our gazes focused on one another for a moment, then at the same time, our lips curve up into small grins.

  “I can’t move,” I admit.

  My calves are cramped in place and so are my thighs. Tennessee giggles. “I can’t either.”

  Slowly, I force myself to back away from her. Slipping from her warmth with a grunt. When I’m sitting on the edge of the bed, I reach forward and slowly push her legs back together. She moans, then lets out a sigh once I’m finished.

  I’m not ready to leave the bed yet, so I prop myself against the headboard and gather her in my arms, pulling her front against my side.

  “Tell me, Landry,” she whispers.

  Her fingers are swirling through the hair on my chest and my body is spent, the liquor flowing through me and all I can think about is falling asleep naked next to the woman that I love. The woman that I’m going to propose to as soon as I’m sober.

  “What, honey?”

  Her fingers continue as I wait for her to speak. I know that it has to do with Susan and I fucking hate that she has to be such a big part of my relationship, but I did this shit to myself, to Tennessee.

  “Susan has been an escort all these years and nobody knew?”

  “No.”

  “What about the kids?”
<
br />   I clear my throat, my hands finding her hair and I run my fingers through the strands. “They have always had a nanny. I worked long hours and she was always going on trips and girls’ nights, at least that’s what I thought. When my kids were young, I tried to spend as much time with them as possible, but she was never very involved. I just figured she wanted her space and needed some freedom from the confines of motherhood, from me working so much and leaving her alone.”

  Tennessee doesn’t speak right away. She inhales a deep breath, then lifts her head so that she can look into my eyes.

  “Do you want your kids to know?” she asks.

  I shrug a shoulder. “Is that something you would want to know about your mother?”

  “Not ever. But you’re going to tell her that, you know?”

  I nod my head. “I am. She needs to stop with her antics. This is the only way that I know. Once this happens, then I take my clients and my company from beneath her, she won’t have a leg to stand on. Maybe she’ll just realize that she’s acting foolish?”

  “Or she’ll become even more spiteful?”

  “Maybe,” I admit. “Would you leave me if she did?”

  Tennessee pushes up more, her hair falling all around her like a sheet. She shifts closer to me, lowering her head, her lips touch mine.

  “I was lost inside my own head. In my selfishness, I said something that I didn’t mean and still don’t. I’m not going anywhere, Landry. I love you.”

  Wrapping my arms around her, I roll her onto her back, my hips fitting between her slightly spread legs. Nipping her bottom lip with my teeth, I tug gently.

  “Thank fuck, because I wasn’t planning on letting you go. I never plan on it.”

  “What do you plan on?” she asks, her voice soft but her chest moving quickly with her shallow breaths.

  Grinning, I look down at her, unable to hide my smile as it grows. “I plan on everything, honey. I’m going to put a ring on your finger, give you my last name and put my baby inside of you, all as soon as humanly possible. Yesterday if I could.”