by Mia Ashlinn
“Do you guys have anything to eat?” Landon asked quietly, praying they had something for him to munch on. Otherwise, he would have to call the pizza man for a late-night delivery. And Joe wasn’t a big fan of that. He’d probably make him pay twice as much as normal. Not that he gave a flying fuck tonight.
“Sure,” Jared piped up, keeping the two hosts from responding. He glanced over at his lover, Shannon, who had just walked in the door. His eyes softened appreciably as he asked, “Princess, do you mind grabbing the bag of potato chips from the kitchen?”
Shannon shot Jared a naughty grin. “Why don’t you come and help me? I’m sure they have more than one kind.” She licked her lips seductively. “You know how indecisive I am.”
“Nope,” Jaycee interjected gleefully, grinning from ear-to-ear. “We only have one kind.”
Shannon gave Jaycee a gentle shove on her shoulder. “I want the special kind.”
Comprehension dawned on Landon, and he felt like an idiot. He’d overheard Shannon telling Jaycee and Katie-Anne how she’d told the triplets that fucking was like potato chips. It had become a dirty inside joke that they hammed up all the time. Yet most people had no clue what they were talking about.
“Oh,” Jaycee said with overexaggerated innocence. “Jared, she wants the special kind. You know which ones I’m talking about, right?” She winked at Shannon. “I mean the ones that involve you eating and her coming.”
“Jaycee, shut up,” Shannon growled.
Jared, Drew, and Randy groaned simultaneously.
“You did not,” Drew snarled, “tell our sister about one of our favorite potato chips.”
Jaycee snorted, but Shannon’s gasp cut her off. “Did you just say ‘one of’? I better be your fucking favorite, asshole!”
Drew stood to his full height which would intimidate most, but not Shannon. She just flashed a come-hither smile to her men then ran. All three brothers took off after her, nearly knocking over a pale Katie-Anne as she entered the room.
“Hey, watch it, guys,” Katie-Anne said, not sounding angry in the least, only sad. She ambled over to Jaycee and hugged her close. “I’m not feeling well, J. I think I’m going to head home.”
Jaycee hugged Katie-Anne back, the two women looking far more emotional than they sounded. “Okay, I understand. We’ll talk tomorrow, right?”
“Um,” Katie-Anne hesitated.
“Where are you going this time?” Jaycee asked, beating Landon to the punch. “And how long will you be gone?”
Katie-Anne pulled back from Jaycee and shrugged. “I could be gone for a week or a month. Who knows?”
Landon didn’t miss the fact that Katie-Anne had dodged the where she was going for an unknown amount of time. But he didn’t have a chance to ask before a gray-looking Shane stepped into the room and said, “She asked you where you were going, Katie-Anne.”
Katie-Anne latched onto the strap of her purse with one hand, her knuckles going white from the tightness of her clinch. “I–I–I don’t know yet. When I know more, I will let Jaycee and Shannon know.”
Landon was ready to object when Shannon’s ear-piercing screams came from the kitchen. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” He heard the pounding of footsteps as someone ran down the hallway. Then a giddy Shannon barreled into the room, clutching a bag of potato chips in her hand. “I’m getting married, baby! See!” She waved around the giant bag that said, “Will you marry us?”
Pandemonium broke out. The girls ran toward each other, hugging and dancing around, while the men all clapped the triplets on the back as they filed in behind Shannon. As the excitement waned, Landon noticed that Katie-Anne had slipped out the door without anyone taking notice.
“Son of a bitch,” Landon cursed, realizing that she’d left without saying goodbye. And, knowing Katie-Anne, she wouldn’t be back anytime soon.
Unwilling to let her walk away from him so easily, Landon took off after her. Tearing out of the room, he glanced left and then right to see if he could catch a glimpse of her. When he heard the front door open then close, he ran as fast and as hard as he could because he knew that she would be gone, if he didn’t.
“Katie-Anne,” he shouted as he threw open the door, not giving a damn that he sounded panicked or that he was loud enough for half the town to hear. He needed her, and he wouldn’t let her go without a fight. “Get your cute little ass back in here.”
She didn’t respond, the only noise coming from her was the click-clack of her high heels speeding up. As he stepped out of the house and into the nippy winter air, he spotted her teetering and tottering around the front of her car.
Realizing that she couldn’t get away in those damn shoes, at least not quickly enough to dodge him, Landon breathed a sigh of relief. He took a couple of steps before jumping down the stairs and landing on his feet agilely.
Katie-Anne glanced his way, obviously checking on him, and gave him the leverage he needed. In a heartbeat, he was on her, pushing her against the car and caging her in, before she could get in the car and leave him.
“Where the fuck do you think you are going, Katie-Anne? Running is not going to change a damn thing. You’re going to be miserable, and so will I. Shane won’t be any better off. We need to work this out.”
Katie-Anne peered up at him, her enchanting eyes filling with moisture. As the tears spilled over and slipped down her face, she shook her head sadly. “I can’t stay, Landon, not anymore. He can’t see the real me, and I can’t let him.” Lifting her hands to either side of his face, she cupped his jawbone. “I’m just sorry that you have been caught between Shane and me. It is not fair to you.”
Katie-Anne sniffled pitifully, and his heart squeezed in his chest, the ache so strong he could barely breathe for it. “Just remember that I love you, Landon. I promise you that I don’t want to leave you behind. But I can’t be here and stay away from you. It won’t happen, and it will destroy Shane. Eventually, it will destroy us too. I j–j–just can’t do it to any of us. God, I hate this.”
She lifted her lips to his, beckoning his to meet hers, and he did. He wasn’t sweet, and he wasn’t sexy. He was angry. And she was obviously desperate. The two of them held nothing back as his mouth punished hers and hers punished his. Their hands were everywhere—all at once—as though they could memorize each other by touch alone.
Deepening their kiss, he grasped her wrists then shoved them over her head and pinned her hands to the car. But he didn’t remain there for long. With an animalistic groan, he drove his hands underneath her sweater, relishing the feel of her soft flesh against his rougher skin, and then slid his hands beneath the cups of her bra. As soon as his fingertips came into direct contact with her hard nipples, he swiftly grasped them between his thumb and forefinger, tweaking them with enough pressure that he knew she would feel a slice of pain along with the pleasure.
Arching her back, she gave his fingers better access to the swollen nubs. Without remorse, he squeezed her nipples until a low, lusty groan escaped her mouth and vibrated into his as their kiss went on and on.
Driven to the brink of insanity by her wanton responses, it was all he could do to not fuck her where they stood. It was irrelevant to his body where they fucked, as long as they did. All he could think of, all he needed was to bury his dick inside her cunt and never let go. He needed to embed himself so deeply inside her that she forgot about leaving.
Thrusting her sweater and bra up in one, smooth move, he released her breasts, and they bounded free. He yanked his lips from hers and his head descended until his mouth was even with one of her sweet nipples. Licking the engorged nub once, he didn’t hesitate before taking it into his mouth and suckling vigorously. One hand came up and played with her neglected nipple, rolling it around in one direction then switching and going in the other.
She latched onto his hair, grabbing a fistful and holding his head against her breasts. Tiny gasps spilled from her lips, one after another, until they sounded like a breathy mantra. The harder his sucks be
came, the louder she became.
Wanting to hear her scream, he lifted his leg enough to grind his knee against her pussy. At the same time, he bit into one nipple wildly while his fingers tugged not-so-gently on her other. A strangled cry burst from her lips, and she shuddered violently. “Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God!”
Within seconds, her body deflated between him and the car. Releasing her nipple, he chuckled knowingly. “Did you come, kitten?”
“I think you know the answer to that, Landon,” Shane said as he stepped out of the shadows in the doorway. “I’m willing to bet everyone in the house knows that she came.”
“Yeah, baby, yeah,” Shannon hollered from inside the house. “I give her a ten!”
“Shut up,” Jaycee scolded Shannon loudly. “You are a total mood killer. I want to see a little more action.”
With her best friend’s words, Katie-Anne seemed to break through the lust-filled haze that had been between them only seconds before. With a wince, she groaned. “I told you that I couldn’t stay away from you. Well, way to go, you proved me right.”
She shoved at Landon’s body with visibly shaking hands, pushing him away feebly. Instead of fighting her, he released her to save her from any further distress. He helped her rearrange her clothes then whispered, “I love you. Please stop running and stay with me.”
“Stay with us,” Shane murmured as he joined them, moving to stand beside him.
Katie-Anne’s breathing hitched, and for a split second, Landon believed she was going to agree. But, with one word, she dashed his hopes. “No.”
Whirling around, she opened her car door but paused before getting inside. “I can’t do this anymore. I can’t live the lies, and I can’t take the pain. I can’t make our relationship work. God, I wish I could, but I can’t.”
She lowered herself into the car then shut the door behind her. Starting the ignition, she rolled down the window and spoke up again. “I love you both too much to keep trying. All I’m doing is hurting you, and I would rather die than do that. I have to go.”
Before he or Shane could get in a word edgewise, she rolled up the window and goosed it, barreling down the driveway at breakneck speed and then disappearing from sight.
“Son of a motherfucking bitch,” Landon growled before turning on Shane. He advanced on his friend, moving into his personal space. Puffing his chest out, he shoved Shane’s shoulder.
Shane’s face turned purple with rage, but he didn’t say anything, which was probably good because Landon was about to explode. All he needed was a flame to light his fuse, and he would blow sky high.
“This is your fault for being a dumbass,” Landon snapped furiously. “Was it worth it? Are you happy that you let your stupid pride rob you and me of the woman we love? Get over yourself, and get over your fucking past before it is too late, and we cannot get her back. I hate to say this but, if something doesn’t give, you are going to lose more than just her. Can you handle that? Because I don’t think I can.” Turning on his heel, Landon stalked away from a stoic Shane without another word or a backward glance.
Chapter 4
One month later…
“I dropped the fucking screwdriver. Can you grab me another?” Landon asked Shane without ever looking across the garage at his business partner. He kept tinkering with the engine, trying to tweak the carburetor with his finger in Jaycee’s Ford Shelby Mustang to her exact specifications—again. She had him work on her car more than any person he’d ever known. The damn muscle car had its own bay reserved for days like this one.
Landon wanted to throw something. This had nothing to do with his friends’ wife and everything to do with the woman who’d left him high and dry at one of the lowest points in his recent memory.
Landon closed his eyes, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. But his attempt at calming his stress backfired when approaching footsteps had his eyes popping right back open.
“There’s no need to snap at me,” Shane reproached as he brought over the screwdriver he’d requested and handed it to him. “I know you’re stressed about whether or not Katie-Anne will come to the party tonight.”
Landon still refused to meet Shane’s mesmerizing eyes but took the screwdriver from him anyway and went back to adjusting the butterfly. “Like you’re not,” he growled. “After the way things went down, you should be worried, Shane. And since you didn’t sign the damn annulment papers she gave you when she left, she is going to be pretty pissed. I bet she rips into you or just plain kicks you in the nuts. At least, I hope she does.”
Finally giving in to temptation, Landon looked sideways at the man he loved, the man he’d been friends with for twenty-four years. Damn it. It was so much easier when he didn’t have to see Shane’s handsome face or hear his sexy voice or look into those bedroom eyes. Fuck, it was just easier to stay the hell away from him in general.
Says who? Your head? Because it certainly isn’t your dick or your heart. They want to stay with him always.
Ignoring his inner monologue, Landon took a breath and reinforced the walls he’d erected around himself in the last month. With him keeping his distance as much as possible, Landon found the fortress easy to maintain until moments like this one, moments when he couldn’t avoid Shane.
Luckily, being this close didn’t happen often anymore. Outside of the auto shop, Landon didn’t see Shane unless it was a special occasion or an accident. He’d moved out of their apartment and into his sister’s the day after Katie-Anne had disappeared. Between the legal papers she’d served Shane and the tension mounting in the apartment, he’d figured it was for the best. And he hadn’t been back since.
“She is not going to kick me anywhere,” Shane argued. “I know how she is, and that is not something she would do. She wouldn’t go that easy on me, but I’m prepared.”
“You’re such a dumbass,” Landon muttered, shooting his friend a look that he hoped told him what an idiot he was. “And I’m not having this conversation. You like to think you know her, but you really don’t. No one knows her except for, maybe, me. And even I am not convinced that she is telling me everything.”
“You’re full of shit. I know how she is and so does everyone else. What you see is what you get with Katie-Anne.”
“Oh, really,” Landon said as a wave of fierce fury swept through his body. Remaining calm on the outside, he asked, “You know her, do you?”
“Yeah, I do,” Shane said with enough arrogance for ten dominant men.
Landon carefully got out from under the hood of the car and faced Shane head-on. “So, what is her favorite food?”
Shane frowned. “I don’t know,” he responded with a negligent shrug.
“Pizza and beer,” Landon stated matter-of-factly moving closer to Shane and crowding him. “When she is upset, what does she do?”
Shane didn’t seem to be bothered by Landon’s proximity. He merely crossed his beefy arms and stared him down. “I have no idea.”
“She puts on an old pair of gray sweats that should have been thrown in the garbage years ago and drinks a milkshake. And not just any kind, either. She has to have a chocolate milkshake with extra whipped cream and no cherries on top. Then, she vegs out on the couch and watches the cheesiest eighties movies in existence with the cutest, sappiest smile on her face that I’ve ever seen.”
Landon’s body touched Shane’s, his chest to his arms. The moment their crotches pressed up against each other’s, Landon’s pants grew tight. His semi-hard shaft swelled as his blood pooled in it, and he bit back a groan.
Landon leaned forward, his lips a breath away from Shane and bombarded him with questions. “What is her favorite color? Favorite kind of music? Favorite animal? Favorite flower? Biggest fear?” Landon paused to nip Shane’s bottom lip. “Answer me.”
Shane’s breathing grew shallow, and his eyes flared, but he still said nothing. Landon saw the war in Shane as his mind fought his body, and he wanted to battle him, clash with him. Landon wan
ted to make him burn, right here and right now. But it wasn’t going to happen. He would not go down that road at the moment, not when his emotions were so skewed.
Landon pulled back and rolled his eyes despite the desperate need to take Shane’s mouth with his own for the first time. “You don’t fucking know, do you? Well, then. We are not having this conversation.” Even though I would love to keep showing you how little you know our woman.
Landon turned his attention back to the car in front of him, bending at the waist and ducking under the raised hood. He added, “Just so you know, she loves orange, Indie rock, birds, and irises. And she is terrified of spiders,” as an afterthought.
Shane sighed. “If you don’t want to talk about this, why don’t we talk about those fucking papers? Why don’t we talk about our wedding night or any damn night since then?”
“Fuck no.”
“Damn it, Landon. We have to talk. All of this stuff isn’t going to go away by magic,” Shane said as he moved next to Landon and joined him underneath the hood.
“Not today, Shane,” Landon growled without looking at Shane. “Just not today.” He bore a hole into the motor but didn’t see anything. He was too lost in memories of the morning that had destroyed it all.
* * * *
Two and a half months ago, early November…
Landon awoke with a wide, happy grin on his face. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel it. The night before had been a long time coming, and it’d exceeded anything he could have ever imagined. Now, Katie-Anne was legally married to Shane but emotionally married to both of them, and it was time to start their lives together. Finally.
Landon sighed as he nibbled on the neck of the woman between him and Shane on the king-size bed. “Hmm, Katie-Anne. How are you this morning?”
Katie-Anne chuckled, her voice still thick from sleep. “Mmm, I’m good, but I am about to get better.” Without looking at him, she moved the hand that had been resting beside her chin underneath the fluffy covers and grasped his hardening cock in her dainty hand. “Much better.”