by Ava Wood
Landon stood, dropping his pants around his ankles and eased into her greedy sex. “Again.”
He pulled out quickly only to slam into her as she murmured, “I love you, Landon.”
Landon growled deep and low as he continued to pump into her.
Talia knew this would be quick. She knew of the hunger that had lingered there, a yearning to hear her say the words, words she should have said a thousand times. Now that those words had been spoken, they could truly be together,, releasing every piece of themselves they’d been holding back before her declaration.
He drew out her next orgasm with each plunge. As he rocked into her one last time, she quaked in his embrace, her climax taking over, forcing her body to quiver in his grasp. As they breathed in unison, Talia whispered, “I truly love you, Landon.”
With his forehead pressed against hers, he purred, “I truly love you, Tal.”
Chapter 15
As Night Falls
“Where have you been?” Camey came rushing at Talia as she and Landon entered the reception, now well under way.
Talia pressed her hand over her hair, hoping she had tamed it back to its original place. “Sorry. I needed a minute in the ladies’ room.” When Camey turned her back, Talia tugged at the hem of her skirt, recalling her panties that were now tucked away in Landon’s pocket.
“What’s going on, Tal? Why is Mason here with Brandy?” Sara came barreling toward them.
“He’s here with Brandy?” Talia mumbled, stumbling backward into Landon, his arms quickly catching her.
Camey had turned her attention to the dance floor, where Talia could only assume Mason and Brandy were dancing. “He’s pawing all over her, her and her humongous pregnant belly.”
“What?” Talia knew Mason and Brandy had slept together; she’d witnessed it with her own eyes, but the revelation of Brandy’s pregnancy shocked her beyond belief. Mason swore to her he’d been safe.
“She must be damn near nine months along,” Camey muttered. “Wait.” Camey began counting on her fingers, no doubt realizing the timeline for Brandy’s pregnancy. “Talia?”
Talia started to walk out of the room, Landon, Camey, and Sara close on her heels.
“Was this your reason for breaking things off with Mason?” Camey called, rounding on her.
Camey was standing mere inches from her face, but all Talia could see was Brandy lying naked in her bed. She couldn’t speak. Brandy was pregnant. And Mason had proposed to her with the promise that he wanted her, only her.
“Talia. Answer me.” Camey was relentless.
“For God’s sake, yes. I caught him screwing Brandy in our bed right before our rehearsal dinner. Is that what you wanted to hear? How I’m a big fucking failure? I couldn’t even keep Mason satisfied. Happy now?”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Sara looked wounded. “You let us believe it was all your fault.”
“You believed what you wanted to believe. I didn’t owe you any explanation. I still don’t.” Talia turned for the door, aching to run away.
“But I’m your sister.” Sara’s voice cracked. “Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
Talia took a step toward the door before turning to face her sister. “It means everything to me. It’s the main reason why I couldn’t tell you. I couldn’t stand to see the looks you would give me if you knew, the one saying that I’m just not good enough. I know I’m a failure at relationships. I’m just like Dad, for Christ’s sake. I bury my feelings in the shop and push away anyone that cares about me. I’m lucky Landon’s put up with me this long.”
“I’m not putting up with you, Tal.” His hand grazed her elbow before she pulled it away. When she wouldn’t look at him, he pulled her to face him until their eyes met. “I told you, I love you.”
Tears were forming in her eyes. She turned toward the reception hall, trying to hide her weakness, but when she had her back fully to them, the door opened and Mason appeared, followed by Brandy and her swollen belly. “Perfect.” When a calculating smile formed on Mason’s face, she spun on her heel and ran.
“So you’re my replacement?” Mason stood in Landon’s path, interfering with his pursuit after Talia. “You know you’ve got a little head case on your hands, always sending mixed signals.” Mason’s arm wrapped around Brandy and mockingly rubbed her belly. “Hell, just yesterday she had her sister at my door, begging.”
“You lying piece of shit. You were the one begging me to take that ring to Talia. And the whole time, she was pregnant with your kid.” Sara marched closer to Mason, with Brandy’s humiliated face in her sights, but Landon’s arm extended, holding her back.
“Let me handle this.” Landon’s words pacified her hostility as he turned his attention fully to Mason. They were practically nose to nose except for Landon’s obvious height advantage. “Who do you think you are? You come out here all high and mighty with your whore and try to put Talia down? You don’t have the right. And if you really believed a word of what you just said then you didn’t know Talia at all. She was smart to drop you when she did.”
Mason stood slack-jawed, listening to Landon’s every insult. When Landon was heading for the exit in search of Talia, he heard Mason say, “I knew her well enough when she was screaming my name.”
Landon chuckled, turning around to find Brandy tearing up in Mason’s clutches. Feeling sadness for every woman who had ever been involved with Mason, Landon determinedly walked back to him. He stared straight in Mason’s eyes, loathing the gloating smile on that repugnant face. When he was feet away, he took Mason by surprise and punched him square in the jaw.
“Enjoy the party, asshole.” He didn’t wait a second longer for Mason’s response. He had to find Talia, to ease the pain she was feeling. It tore at him that she was so affected by the fact that Mason would soon be a father, but he loved her and he had to make sure she was alright.
The hall seemed a mile long as he ran for the exit, his mind racing, wondering what was going through Talia’s mind. When he finally reached the door, he ripped it open and called her name, but saw the empty spot where the van had been and knew his summoning was useless. He turned back around to reenter the hall when Camey and Sara came storming out.
“Where is she?” they cried in unison.
“Gone.” His shoulders dropped, trying to think of what to do next.
Camey stated, “We’ve got to find her. God only knows what she’s thinking right now.”
Looking around the lot, Landon spotted Reina’s van. “Where’s Reina?”
“She’s inside with Wade,” Sara answered. Obviously comprehending Landon’s query, she added, “Let’s go.”
The trio ran back into the reception, passing Mason, who was now demanding Brandy believe his stories. Inside the hall, Landon spotted Wade and Reina on the dance floor, swaying to the music. He unapologetically pushed past several of the wedding’s guests until he was standing at their side. “Reina, I need your keys.”
“¿Perdoneme? I don’t think so.”
“Talia took off. We need to go after her.” Sara interjected, pleading their case.
“What? Where did she go?”
“She had to have gone back to the shop. She took the van. Where else would she go?” Sara seemed to be reasoning with herself.
“Okay, I’ll take you.”
“No, I need to go alone.” Landon didn’t want an audience when he found Talia, wherever she was.
Reina shook her head, her arms crossing over her chest.
“Come on, Reina. I need to find her.”
When Reina didn’t speak, Camey stepped in. “We’re going with you.”
Landon shoved his hand through his hair and muttered, “Fine.” He couldn’t waste any more time. He had to know she was alright.
“Talia, are you here?”
Talia heard Landon call for her from the stairs, his steps booming so loudly she was certain he was taking them two at a time. She’d locked the door when she came in, but hearing
the panic in his voice, she knew he wouldn’t hesitate to use his key. She sat in her father’s recliner, watching the door handle when it jiggled in place.
“Talia?” Landon pounded on the door.
She sat motionless, just staring at it. She knew he would come looking; she found herself half-hoping he would, even though she had nothing to say. He saw the result of her failed relationship. It was only a matter of time before their relationship would fall to the same fate, just like every other relationship she’d been witness to.
“Talia?” He’d unlocked the door and called for her just before he stepped inside.
She was still sitting there, just staring.
“Petal? What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” She spoke without emotion as her arms crossed in front of her and she adjusted her view, looking to the adjacent wall.
“Are you okay?” He was moving closer to her.
Her breath caught briefly when he was mere feet away. “I just needed some time to myself.”
Landon eased closer, taking a seat on the arm of the recliner. “Okay.”
She wasn’t sure if he was responding or questioning. “How’d you get here?”
“Reina’s van.” His hand gently grasped her fingers, but she unfolded her arms and pulled away from him.
“Oh, well, you should probably get that back to her.” She was making excuses, trying to get him to leave. Now that he was here, she just wanted him to go.
“She’s here too. All of the girls are downstairs.”
Talia rolled her eyes, giving a wry smile. “That’s ridiculous. You guys should get back to the reception.”
“Why would I want to be there without you? I don’t know those people.” He leaned into the chair, resting his arm above her head, but she immediately jumped up.
Approaching the front door, she exclaimed, “I’m going to go down there and tell them to get back to the party.”
“Talia.” Landon’s voice was soft but firm, holding her in place.
“It really wasn’t necessary for everyone to follow me back here. I’m fine.” She grabbed onto the door, trying to avoid his inquisition.
“Talia.” His voice grew louder.
“Marisa will be wondering why we all disappeared.”
“Talia!” Landon yelled.
“What?” She turned to look at him with one hand resting on the knob.
“Talk to me.” His voice grew quieter, coaxing.
“About what?”
“About what happened, why you left.” She could tell he was trying to be delicate with her.
“I just wasn’t in a celebratory mood anymore.” She was trying to keep a lightness to her voice to hide the anger and sadness and fear she felt over Brandy’s pregnancy.
“Talia, talk to me goddammit.”
“There’s nothing to say. It’s all pretty obvious.” She was already sick of this conversation. It was evident that she just wasn’t enough. She couldn’t hold her mother’s interest as a child and she didn’t hold the interest of her fiancé as an adult. She would never be enough. She was trembling under Landon’s brutal gaze.
“What’s so obvious?”
He was getting close again and with each step she found it harder to breathe, like the air was being ripped from her lungs. She couldn’t explain what everyone saw today. It would hurt so much more once she said it out loud.
Landon hovered over her with his fists resting on the door, his solid arms serving as a cage surrounding her. “You have to talk to me. I can’t take this anymore.”
She pushed past him and stomped to the kitchen in search of a way to evade his intensity. “There’s nothing to talk about. Just drop it.”
“Why is that your immediate response? You expect everyone to sweep their emotions under the rug. Well, I’m not made that way. I can’t just act like I didn’t see the way you reacted to your ex-fiancé and his pregnant girlfriend.”
She had to get away from him. She wasn’t going to talk about this. Not now. Just the thought had her choking up and she refused to cry over that asshole. She turned for the bedroom, but Landon was close on her heels.
“Where are you going?”
“I need a shower.” She began removing articles of clothing on the way to her room.
“Are you kidding me? We need to talk.” His voice had an edge to it that Talia hadn’t heard before. He’d never been this demanding with her.
She spoke through gritted teeth. “I need a shower.” She turned on the water, standing naked before him.
“Damn it, Tal. You need to talk to me.” He gripped her elbow and spun her to face him. “You refuse to talk to anyone you care about. That stops now.”
Talia ripped her arm from Landon’s hold. “Just leave me alone.”
“Damn it, Tal, You’re so fucking stubborn. It’s no wonder they hired me.” Landon’s hand was stopped halfway across his head when Talia turned back to look at him.
“What are you talking about?” She could tell he’d said something he hadn’t meant to.
“Nothing. Just forget I said anything.” He backpedaled toward the bedroom.
“Hired you to do what, Landon?”
“I said forget it. Let’s just forget this whole damn conversation.” He slipped out of sight.
Talia pulled her robe from its hook and slipped it on, following him into the living room. “You wanted to talk? Let’s talk.” She approached him, needing to be close enough to know when the truth was in his eyes. “Who hired you, Landon? What did they hire you for?”
Landon’s hand ran through his hair again before he fell into the recliner. “The girls hired me.”
“What girls?” She knew the answer, but she had to hear it from him. She had to understand what he was saying.
“Camey. Sara. Reina.” His head had fallen into his hands.
“What did they hire you for?”
“To take you out, show you a good time. They wanted you to be happy again.” He looked up at her with an aggrieved expression.
“Why would you even agree to do something like that?” She leaned up against her entertainment center. She didn’t want to get any closer now for fear of where this conversation was going. He wasn’t answering and she was growing intolerant as the seconds ticked by. “Why did you do it, Landon?”
“Because it’s my job.”
“Your job? What the hell does that mean?”
Landon’s head shook as it dropped into his hands again.
She grew impatient and screamed, “What the fuck does that mean?” She heard him sigh before he spoke.
“I was an escort before I met you. The girls found me online and hired me to take you out.”
“My friends paid you to sleep with me?”
“No, Petal. It’s not like that.”
Talia’s stomach turned at his pet name. “Don’t call me Petal.”
His head shook when she rebuffed him. “Talia, please. Let me explain.”
“No need. I got it. My friends and my sister paid a guy to have me pawned off as the common whore. How much did they give you for these past few months?” Talia snickered briefly, then continued. “Did you get a bonus for saying I love you? The girls must have had a good laugh over that.”
He was shaking his head again. “This isn’t some act, Talia. I really do love you. No one paid me to say it.”
“So the money was just a bonus?”
“They only paid me for one night. After that it was all me. I came back because I knew…”
“You knew what exactly?”
“I knew you weren’t like anyone I’d ever met. I knew there was something about you that would make me want to change my life forever. You’re it for me.”
“That’s hilarious.” Talia started for the bedroom.
“It’s the truth.”
Once inside her room, she heard him get up from the chair.
“Tal, what are you doing?”
She knew the moment he entered the bedroom, there wou
ld be no question to what she was doing.
“Talia, stop.”
She was grabbing all of his clothes as fast as she could and shoving them in his single duffle bag. When she’d emptied the second drawer, he grabbed her hands to stop her.
“Don’t do this.”
“Get your hands off of me,” she spat. She didn’t want to feel his hands on her. She wondered how many other women he’d touched with those hands. How many had he said I love you to? It was all too much to think about so she stopped what she was doing and faced him. “Pack up the rest of your stuff and get out.”
“Talia…”
“I won’t ask you again. Get your shit and go.” She spun toward the door, feeling tears forming at the back of her throat. She was stopped in her tracks when Landon jumped in front of her.
“I won’t let you do this.” He grabbed her shoulders, keeping her from running away.
And the tears spilled over. She couldn’t contain them anymore. Her world came crashing around her. When Landon pulled her hard against his chest, she gasped audibly.
“I love you, Talia.”
Her hands eased up his chest, then pushed against him. “It’s always lies in love. It’s so easy to lie when it’s you you’re protecting.” Looking up at him with her forearms pressed against his chest, she uttered, “Let me go.” She couldn’t keep her voice from cracking as she tried to break free from his arms.
“No, I can’t.” He gripped her tighter, crushing her to him. “I told you I’d never leave you again.”
“You don’t have a choice.” She pressed resolutely against him before she squirmed out of his grasp. “Just let me go.” With tears clouding her vision, she ran out of the apartment to the wolves awaiting her below, Landon calling after her all the way.
Sara stood at the bottom of the stairs with worry marring her face. “Tal, are you okay?”
“How could you?” Tears came rushing uncontrollably down her cheeks.
“What did she do?” Camey accused from behind Sara.
“How could all of you betray me? Am I just some sick joke to you?” Her breathing was ragged. She was barely hanging on.
“We just wanted you happy.”