by Ash, Nikki
“She’s not your friend anymore?” Ella asks.
I glance at Landon, who looks like he’s seen a ghost. And I guess technically he has… “She died when we were teenagers,” I tell Ella, truthfully. “She was in a car accident.”
We hadn’t spoken after I found out what she did to me at the party, and a few months later, her mom called to let me know Melissa was dead. She couldn’t give me the specifics, other than the fact Melissa was thrown from the car and died on the way to the hospital. For a long time, I was overcome with guilt that the last words I ever spoke to her were telling her I never wanted to speak to her again. Melissa was troubled and out of control. She made horrible choices, especially the night she slipped me that pill, but she didn’t deserve to die so young. Maybe it’s because I’m now older and a mother that I view her in a different light. She needed help and structure and guidance. She was acting out and seeking attention because she lacked it at home. Regardless of her wrongdoings, it’s still a tragedy when a child’s life is taken.
“Oh,” Ella says sadly. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“It’s okay, baby. It was a long time ago.”
Landon clears his throat and stands. “I’m going to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
After Ella shows us her baby photos and then takes Landon outside to watch her on the balance beam, we decide to watch a movie. Ella makes a makeshift bed on the floor with a bunch of her blankets and pillows, Hunter gets comfy on the love seat, and Landon and I snuggle up next to each other on the other couch. Landon had some extra clothes here from when we went swimming, so he changed out of his suit and into them so he’s more comfortable.
With my head against his chest, he runs his fingers through my hair while we watch the movie. I’m not sure how long I last before I fall asleep, but the next thing I know, I’m being carried to bed. “The kids?” I murmur, half-asleep.
“Both in bed,” Landon says. He lays me on my bed and pushes the sheets up to my chest. Then he bends down and kisses my forehead.
“Wait,” I say, grabbing his arm. “Lie down with me.”
“Harper…”
“Just for a few minutes, please.” I pout.
“Only for a few minutes,” he warns.
He climbs into bed and I snuggle into his chest. We’ve only been able to spend a few nights together since the kids are with me the majority of the time.
“I really like this,” I murmur softly.
“I do too,” he agrees, trailing his fingers up and down my back. “Does Richie take the kids this weekend?”
“Mmhmm.”
“How about we go away?”
“Just the two of us?” I ask, glancing up at him.
“Yeah. We can leave Friday after he picks up the kids and be back by Monday.”
“That sounds really good,” I tell him as I close my eyes and fall back asleep.
Twenty-Six
Harper
“Harp, you gotta wake up, baby.”
I open my eyes and glance around, trying to figure out where we are. After Richie picked up the kids—late, of course—and I informed him I wouldn’t be home until Monday, so he wouldn’t be able to bring them home early, Landon and I set off in my SUV to wherever it is he’s planned for us this weekend. We weren’t even ten minutes into our drive before I passed out.
“Hey,” I croak, sitting up. “How long was I asleep for?”
“It was an hour drive.”
An hour!? “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me lately.” I’ve been working on my lesson plans and spending time with Landon and the kids, nothing out of the norm. But this last week or so I’ve felt exhausted.
“No worries,” Landon says, giving me a kiss. “You look adorable with drool dripping down your chin.”
“Landon!” I shriek, my neck warming with embarrassment.
“I’m just kidding.” He laughs. “You’re a busy mom. You need your sleep. I’m hoping this weekend will be relaxing and you’ll get some extra sleep.” Then he leans in and whispers, “That is when I’m not wearing you out.” He backs up and winks before opening the door.
“C’mon,” he says. “Let’s go check in and then we can settle into our room.”
While Landon grabs our luggage, I take it all in. The hotel isn’t simply a hotel. It’s more like a cross between a gorgeous mansion and a castle. The entire outside is white brick and mortar and has to be at least three stories tall. From what I can see, there’s a wraparound porch and several balconies. Surrounding the place are bright green lush shrubs and trees, but when I take in a deep breath, I smell salt in the air. We’re near the water.
After checking in and learning we’re in Newport at The Chanler, which is located on the water, along the infamous Cliff Walk, we head up to our room. I’ve heard of the Cliff Walk, but I’ve never been. From what I’ve heard, it’s a few miles of beautiful sidewalk along the Easton Bay.
When we step into our room—more like a freaking suite—I’m taken aback by how gorgeous this place is. The room is extravagant yet cozy, with rich chocolate browns and creams. There’s a comfy-looking king-sized bed, a dining table and chairs, and on the back wall are two French doors leading outside. Even though it’s already dark outside, I open the doors to check it out and find we’re overlooking the bay, and our balcony isn’t a balcony but a private deck—complete with patio furniture and a hot tub.
As I’m leaning against the railing, strong arms wrap around my body, causing me to jump slightly. “This place is amazing,” I tell Landon as he nuzzles his face into my neck, giving the sensitive spot against my pulse point a kiss. “But just so you know, we could’ve gone somewhere local… less expensive.”
It’s not that I don’t appreciate this grand gesture, but I don’t want him to think this is the way to my heart. Richard did that shit for years, focusing more on the cost than on us, and it’s one of the many reasons we never worked. I might live in an expensive home and drive an expensive car, but I’m not obsessed with the cost of things like Richard is, and I never want Landon to think he has to spend money on me to be let into my heart. He’s already there.
Landon turns me around and cups my cheek. “This is our second chance, Harp. You spend your days taxiing your kids around, making their meals, doing their laundry. Your idea of a night out includes arcade games. And when they’re not home, you’ve been working tirelessly on getting your lesson plans ready for when school starts.” His lips curve into a gorgeous smile. “And I love that about you. You’re like super mom. But when’s the last time you went away? Had a weekend to yourself?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug.
“Exactly.” Landon presses his lips to mine. “I’ve been blessed with a damn good career that’s made me a damn good living. When we were younger, I had to sell my blood and mow fifty yards just to be able to afford to take you to New York for one night.”
I giggle at his admission. “I always wondered how you were able to swing that.”
“I don’t have to do that anymore,” he says. “And now that I have you back in my arms, if I want to spoil you a little, just let me, okay?” He rubs the pad of his thumb along my bottom lip. “I’ve waited a really long time to be able to do it.”
Without waiting for my response, Landon’s strong lips fuse to mine. His tongue delves past my parted lips and he devours my mouth. Every time his body connects with mine, it feels as though a dose of the best drugs are running through my veins, warming my insides and giving me the perfect high.
Landon grabs my ass, lifting me into the air at the same time I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. He walks us back into our room and lays me on the bed. Starting with my face, he works his way down my body, kissing, tasting, nibbling on my flesh, as he removes my clothes.
My breasts are heavy. My nipples painfully erect. He suckles on my breasts, worshipping them, until I’m damn near coming from that action alone. With a soft chuckle, because he knows exactly w
hat he does to me, he runs a line with his tongue downward. He stops at my belly button and nips at my flesh, eliciting goose bumps across my skin, before he continues his descent.
He ends up at the apex of my thighs. And with his skilled tongue, he devours my pussy until my entire body is trembling with pleasure as the most mind-blowing orgasm grips me.
When I open my eyes, I find Landon staring at me with a mixture of lust and awe in his eyes. His tongue darts out and he licks his lips as if he’s trying to savor the taste of me. There are so many things I want to say to him right now. So many different feelings that I don’t even know where to start. He’s an addiction I never want to quit. One I’ve been deprived of for way too long. But now, I’m finally being given him on a silver platter. He’s mine for the taking, and instead of taking it slow, all I want to do is gobble him up. Let him consume me. No kiss or touch is ever enough, and I’m not sure it ever will be.
Grabbing Landon by his shirt, I pull him on top of me. With his strong arms on either side of me, he cradles my face with his hands. I sigh in contentment, feeling wanted and cherished in his arms. Feelings I’ll never take for granted again.
Landon dips down and our mouths connect. The kiss starts off slow and gentle. His tongue massages mine. My body sinks into his, a soft sigh escaping my lips as he enters me—our bodies connecting in the most intimate way. I slide his shirt over his head, and when our mouths reconnect, our kiss deepens, our tongues moving frantically against each other.
As he makes love to me, my hands rub up and down his hard chest and torso, across his strong shoulders, and over his biceps that are corded with the most delicious and perfect muscles. Muscles that hold me close and make me feel safe.
He pulls back slightly so our eyes can meet—his hazel to my green. My stomach tightens as I get lost in his gaze. Lost in his touch. Lost in us. It’s as if we’re swimming in the ocean together, and up until now, we’ve stuck to the shallow end. But without realizing it, we’ve drifted into deeper waters. My feet can’t reach the bottom. The waves are hitting me, knocking me around, but Landon is right there to grab ahold of me and keep me safe. When I’m with him, I feel like I can do anything, be anything. And I never want to lose that feeling. With my eyes locked with his, waves of pleasure roll through me. Landon’s release fills me, warming my insides. I couldn’t even tell you at this point where he ends and I begin. It’s as if we’ve become one.
Breaking our gaze, he presses his lips to the curve of my neck. Not wanting to lose our connection, I run my fingers through his hair, gently pulling on the roots. His mouth ascends, trailing kisses along my heated flesh. When Landon gets to my ear, he nibbles on the lobe and then whispers four words that, if I weren’t one hundred percent sure he was holding me above water, would have me drowning.
“I love you, Harper.”
My eyes close and I replay those four words in my head, trying to memorize everything about them and this moment, so no matter what happens in this life, I will always have them.
Landon kisses my cheeks, my forehead, the tip of my nose, and lastly, my lips. “I love you so fucking much,” he murmurs against my mouth, his words wrapping around me like my very own personal life raft.
When I open my eyes, I find my vision is blurry, tears having filled my lids. “I love you,” I tell him back, feeling like those words, the same words everyone uses, don’t convey just how deep my feelings run for him.
“I love this,” I say to Landon a little while later. We’ve showered and are back in bed, wrapped around each other.
“What?” he asks, lazily running his fingers up and down my spine.
“Being in your arms. Spending the night with you. Being away with you. It’s like we’re in our own little bubble.” I snuggle deeper into his arms.
“I agree,” he says, tucking my hair behind my ear and kissing my temple. “It’s weird because even though we lost the last twelve years, it feels like we haven’t lost a minute.”
I know exactly what he means. There wasn’t any awkward getting to know you again stuff you would expect after being separated from someone for as long as we were separated from each other. From the minute I walked into that restaurant and sat down, it was as if the last several years didn’t even happen. But it was always like that with Landon and me. He knows me better than anyone else—my body, my mind, my heart, they’re all his.
“I wish we could stay like this forever,” I admit, placing a kiss to his chest, already dreading when the weekend is over and we’re forced to go back to sleeping at our own places, in our own beds.
Landon rolls over and hovers above me. “We can do this whenever we want,” he says, his eyes sparkling and his mouth curling into a sexy boyish grin. “We have nothing holding us back.”
I laugh, loving how excited he is, even if what he’s saying isn’t completely true. “Umm… are you forgetting you just got a new job? Or that I’m about to start my first one? Or how about the fact I have two kids?”
He scoffs. “I can do whatever I want. The job is so I’m not bored. I’ve made over a hundred million dollars in my career, and that’s not including my endorsements.”
I choke out a cough. Holy shit, they pay someone that much to throw a ball? I’m clearly in the wrong profession.
“And,” he continues. “You’re a teacher. You have off weekends and holidays and every summer. Plus, your kids aren’t babies. When they’re with us, we can go on family trips. Do things they’ll enjoy. Take them to see the world. And then when they go with their dad, we can go on adult trips.” He waggles his brows playfully. “This is our time, Harp. To have fun, experience the world. Do whatever the hell we want.”
My heart expands at his words. He’s right. It’s time for me to finally live my life, and there’s nothing better than getting to do it with the man I’m in love with.
Twenty-Seven
Landon
“You’ve been spending a lot of time with Harper,” my brother says, handing me a cup of coffee. It’s been a week since Harper’s and my trip to Newport and every night since we’ve been back we’ve hung out. When the kids are with her, we watch movies, go to the park, and occasionally have dinner with Simon and Bridget and their kids. When the kids go with their dad, we tend to hole up in her room for hours, blocking out the entire world and getting lost in each other. My favorite place in the world is inside of Harper.
Last weekend while we were away, Harper shocked the hell out of me when we came in from the hot tub and she busted out the lube and toys, begging me to take her ass—not that she needs to beg for anything, especially not that.
My mind replays the way she was splayed out on the bed, her perfect ass in the air. The way her tight hole stretched as she took every goddamn inch of me. The look of pleasure on her face when she turned her head to lock eyes with me as she came all over my dick.
“What the hell are you groaning about?” Brian asks, knocking me out of my thoughts. When I glance around, I shake my head, needing to get control of myself. The last thing I need is to get a hard-on while I’m sitting with my brother and my niece and sister-in-law are in the other room.
“We should have them over for dinner soon,” Heather says, walking into the room and saving me from having to explain myself. She sits on my brother’s lap—still in her pajamas because he let her sleep in—and he wraps his arms around her. I look at them in awe and envy, wishing Harper and I were at the point in our relationship where I could spend every night with her. Hell, if it were up to me, I would move my ass in and never leave.
This weekend is her weekend, so after we got home from the arcade with the kids, since it was late, and she was planning to go to yoga with Bridget, I went straight home. We didn’t make any definite plans, but I’m hoping she’ll call me wanting to do something later. Not wanting to overstep on her time with her kids, I tend to leave the ball in her court.
“I’m sure she would love that,” I say. “And I know Ella has mentioned wanting to play with K
aelyn again.”
My phones rings from my pocket and I pull it out, seeing it’s Hunter. The other day, while we were at the park, he and Brendan wanted to head to a different area and Harper’s phone was dead, so I gave him my number in case he needed to get ahold of us.
“Hey, bud, what’s up?”
“Hey, umm… you busy?”
“Nope. Just hanging out.”
“Oh, okay…” he says slowly. I’ve noticed when he wants to ask something and is afraid someone will say no, he stalls. As if he’s working up the courage to ask, while at the same time, preparing himself to be let down. I’ve heard him do it a few times when he’s asked his dad to do something with him, and it pisses me off that he’s putting me in that category, but I get it. When you’ve been let down over and over again by the man in your life you’re supposed to be able to trust, you’re going to be weary of other men. All I can do is prove to him I’m someone who isn’t going to let him down.
“Umm… so, Mom and Ella are with Bridget, going to do yoga or whatever… And umm… Simon is taking Brendan and me to the batting cages for a little bit… I was uh… wondering if you wanna go?”
I glance over at my brother and his wife, who are laughing and kissing. “Yeah, I’ll meet you guys there.”
“Yeah?” he asks, his voice rising a few notches, shocked I’ve said yes. One day, he’s going to realize I’m nothing like his father and he won’t be so shocked when I tell him yes.
“Yep, I’m on my way.”
“Cool.”
“Five more minutes and then we need to get going,” Simon says to the boys.
They both nod, indicating they heard him, and go back to hitting the balls. We’ve been at the cages for a good two hours and I have no clue how their arms aren’t dead yet.
“Bridget overslept, so the women are taking a later yoga class this morning,” Simon says to me, waggling his brows. When I give him a confused look, he laughs. “You haven’t been by the yoga studio yet?”