Chapter Eleven
It turned out that Landen was extremely helpful when it came to laundry. He watched me fold a couple of towels and jumped right in, using the exact same technique. He also seemed a little disappointed when I carried my basket of socks, underwear, and pajamas into my bedroom rather than folding them all while he was helping.
Once the laundry was done, Landen looked at me. “What do you want to do now?”
After the week I had, I answered honestly. “Nothing. I want to sit on the couch like a piece of mold and watch television. Though I might be interested in food in a few hours if you wanna stick around.”
Landen studied me for a long moment and I could practically hear the gears turning in his head. “I haven’t done that in a long time.”
“What?”
“Nothing,” he replied. “I don’t think I’ve taken a day to sit around and watch TV or read a book in a few years. Maybe since college.”
I blinked at him. “But you graduated college ten years ago,” I pointed out.
“Then it’s probably been ten years.”
I gaped at him. “Oh, we’re definitely doing this. Go sit on that couch and take off your shoes. Do you want something to drink?”
He shrugged. “Sure. What do you have?”
I moved over to the fridge and peered inside. “Let’s see. OJ, milk, water, wine, and Dr. Pepper.”
“Dr. Pepper sounds good,” he answered, his voice muffled from where he bent down to untie his shoes and slip them off his feet.
I grabbed myself a can of Dr. Pepper as well and carried them both into the living room. I opened the drinks, set them down on the coffee table, and picked up the remote.
When I settled on the couch, Landen put his arm around me and pulled me into his side. I curled up next to him and turned on the TV.
“What do you like to watch?” I asked, tilting my head back to gaze up at him. I tried to ignore the tingles that raced up my spine as his hand stroked my arm.
“Did you miss the part where I said that I haven’t taken a day to watch television in a decade?”
I grinned at his dry delivery. “Fine, then I’ll pick.”
“Fine by me,” he murmured, his hand still stroking my arm.
I turned on my television, laughing when he sat up straighter.
“You have a smart TV?” he asked.
“Yep. I don’t use cable anymore. I watch everything through streaming apps.”
I quickly moved through the menu and pulled up all the digital movies I owned. “Do you like action movies?” I asked as I scrolled through the list.
“As long as you don’t make me watch The Notebook, I don’t really care.”
I chuckled again. “I’m not crazy about those kinds of movies either,” I commented. “I want to watch stuff that makes me laugh or where the bad guys get their due. Especially if there are huge explosions. I don’t like tearjerkers.” I paused. “Except for Homicide Hunter. Lieutenant Joe Kenda is the man.”
“So you said before. I’m not sure I agree.”
I gaped at him. “Okay, you have to watch it before you say that. He’s a homicide detective in Colorado Springs and he talks about all the cases he’s had over the past few decades. He’s smart, tenacious, and doesn’t bullshit. Plus the actor who plays the younger version of him in the re-enactments is hot.”
Landen squinted at me as though he didn’t believe what I was saying. I shrugged. “What? He is!”
“Okay, if it gets you that excited, I guess I’ll watch.”
Still grinning, I squirmed a bit closer until my entire side was up against his and I rapidly clicked through the seasons until I got to the first one. “We’ll start from the beginning.”
Once the episode started, Landen slouched down further into my comfy couch and propped his feet on my coffee table. I leaned my head against his shoulder and put my right hand on his abdomen. Every so often his hand would skim my bare arm in an absent caress. I tried to ignore the effect it had on me, but it was growing more difficult each time. I wasn’t quite sure why a simple touch on my arm could make my nipples harden, but it did. I was glad for the light padding in my bra, which hid the state of said nipples.
About halfway through the episode, he moved his hand up and stroked my hair. My eyes nearly rolled back into my head. I loved it when someone played with my hair, which rarely ever happened because it could easily become a curly nightmare. As his fingers ran through the strands and brushed my scalp, I bit back a moan. I could barely focus on the television screen because my eyes wanted to close.
Honestly, I was this close to purring like a damn cat.
As the episode came to a close, I lifted my head and turned toward Landen, hoping to distract myself from the havoc his light touch created in my body. “So, what did you think?”
He studied me for a moment, his fingers still tangled in my hair. “I think you’re full of shit.”
I frowned at him, feeling the first ripples of anger. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Landen leaned his head back against the couch so he could see me. “You said you like to see shows where the bad guys get their due or that make you laugh. That you don’t want to see depressing stuff. This is depressing. He’s talking about murders and I’m sure he doesn’t solve all of them.”
“No, he doesn’t, but it’s not just about the murders. It’s about him. He’s one of the good guys. He wants to catch criminals and, for the most part, he does. Even though the content isn’t necessarily uplifting, I like knowing that there are people out there like him. People that want to stop bad things from happening, or if they can’t stop it, at least get justice for the victims.”
He stared at me, his hand burrowing deeper into my curly hair until his fingers curved around the base of my skull. I couldn’t hide the goose bumps that broke out on my arms at the touch. “That’s somewhat idealistic.”
I bit back a growl. This was something I’d heard from him, and from Chris, before. “It’s not idealistic to want to find good in the world, Landen. Bad things happen to everyone, but that doesn’t mean that good doesn’t exist. It may not always be easy to find, but it’s there. If you spend all your time focusing on the negative stuff around you, you’ll never appreciate the wonderful things you do have.”
He groaned. “Dear God, you’re an optimist.” The term sounded like a curse rather than a compliment.
“No, I’m realistic. I don’t blindly trust people, which I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I also believe that you’ll never see the best side of a person unless you give them the opportunity to show it to you. Kind of like I did when I agreed to spend time with you yesterday even after you ditched me for ten days.”
He scowled at me. “Are you going to throw that in my face every time we have an argument?”
I laughed. “No, that’s not what I’m trying to do. I’m merely pointing out that if I didn’t believe in giving others the opportunity to show me their better qualities, I wouldn’t have been with you yesterday and I would have missed out in the long run. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a day more since I was a teenager.”
Landen stared at me and the anger faded from his expression. Then his hand fisted in the hair at the nape of my neck and he practically yanked me into his lap.
I’m ashamed to admit it, but I squeaked at the abrupt movement. My ass landed on his thighs and he twisted so that my back rested against the arm of the couch. Then he buried his other hand in my hair as well. I lifted my hands and clutched his shoulders because I felt off-balance, as if the entire room had tilted and I was about to go sliding across the floor.
“Land—”
My words were cut off when his mouth hit mine. The light lip touches he’d given me yesterday were a thing of the past.
He wasn’t exploring me or learning me, he was devouring me. Conquering me.
It took me a moment to catch up to his rapacity, but once the spark appeared it quickly developed into an inferno that threatened to decimate my control.
His teeth nipped at my bottom lip and I gasped at the pleasurable sting. Then his tongue surged into my mouth and I lost my ability to think completely. I moaned into his mouth and fisted both of my hands in his short hair, holding him close.
Landen’s lips tore away from mine and descended over my jaw to my throat. He used his grip on my hair to tug my head back, arching my neck to expose my flesh to his sharp teeth and hot mouth.
I shuddered on his lap as he sank his teeth into the side of my neck. One of his hands left my hair and trailed down my shoulder, over my chest, and to the hem of my loose t-shirt. Then I felt his fingers skimming my stomach, a fiery touch that left me gasping and moaning as he hooked them over the top edge of my bra and yanked it down to bare my breast.
His thumb flicked over my hard nipple once before his index finger joined in and tugged lightly. I squeezed my thighs together as I felt an answering pulse in my clit. His mouth left my throat but he kept my head tilted back with his grip on my hair. I couldn’t move enough to see him as he lifted my shirt higher and stared down at my upper body.
I shivered as one of his fingers moved along the line of my bra to my other breast and tugged that cup down as well. I could feel the cups pushing my breasts up and out, lifting them higher. Then his tongue ran over one of my nipples and I fisted his hair tighter and panted. I tried to lift my head again, but he wouldn’t allow that.
Landen held me stretched across his lap, my ass against the hard length of his erection, and my back and neck arched over the arm of the sofa. I could only stare at the ceiling and wait as he held me there, unwilling to let me move.
Then his lips closed over my nipple, sucking it into the heated cavern of his mouth. I yelped and couldn’t control the way my back curved even more, lifting my breasts higher. I could do nothing but lie there and let him play with my nipples, his mouth moving from one to the other until they were both wet and almost painfully sensitive.
Finally, I couldn’t take it any longer. I needed more than just his mouth on my breasts. I needed his hands on me, his cock inside of me, to soothe the growing ache between my thighs.
I yanked at his hair, probably too hard, but he lifted his head and I twisted, forcing him to either release me or pull a handful of blonde curls from my scalp. Turning so that I straddled his lap, I lowered my hips until I felt the hard ridge of his erection exactly where I needed it. I stared down at him as I tore the shirt over my head and reached one hand behind me to unclasp my bra.
Once I was bare from the waist up, I reached down and grabbed the hem of his t-shirt, yanking it up and over his head. I wanted to feel his skin against mine, to touch him the way he was touching me.
But Landen took control again. His hands gripped my hips and he shifted me forward on his lap. My clit ground against his cock as the movement brought my nipples closer to his mouth.
“Your tits are gorgeous,” he whispered against the curve of my breast. Then he closed his teeth over one nipple.
I couldn’t respond as pleasure and pain merged at the tip of my breast. I lost the ability to speak. My hands clutched at his shoulders and my hips moved of their own volition. I felt another pulse in my clit and I knew that I was already close to orgasm. All it would take was…
He used his tight hold on my hips to move me once again as he released my nipple from his teeth and used his tongue to soothe the sting.
And that was all she wrote.
I threw my head back and heard the moans that bubbled up my throat as I came. My body shook with the explosion and my pelvis surged forward
The orgasm was short and hard, leaving me damp and limp as the last of the aftershocks left me. My head fell forward, my hair creating a curtain around my face and Landen’s.
When I felt the flat of his tongue on my nipple, I shivered. It was too much. My body was too sensitive after that orgasm. I whimpered and hunched my shoulders, which brought my breasts out of the reach of his mouth.
Holy shit. What just happened?
“You came,” he muttered.
I opened eyes that I hadn’t realized I’d closed and found his dark blue eyes staring up at me, intense and scorching hot.
“What?”
“You asked me what just happened,” he answered, his eyes drifting down to my breasts once again. Just the weight of his stare was enough to make chills break out on my body and tighten my nipples.
“I said that out loud?”
He chuckled, but it was a dark, sexy sound. “Yes, you did.” His hands lifted and he skimmed his thumbs over the tips of my breasts.
When I sucked in a sharp breath, he released me and leaned his head back on the couch, which put our faces a few inches apart.
“And I didn’t mean for it to go this far,” he stated.
I lifted my brows at him, suddenly feeling very, very naked. And vulnerable. I was also acutely aware of the still hard length of his cock against my center. “What did you mean to happen?”
He reached out and grabbed a shirt off the floor, tugging it over my head with a sigh. “I intended to kiss you, maybe grope you a little, not dry hump you.”
His expression was disappointed as he pulled the shirt down and my breasts were no longer on display.
“I don’t remember complaining,” I shot back, utterly confused about the sudden distance between us.
His hands moved to rest on my thighs, which were bared by my shorts, and he stared up at me. “You didn’t. I just don’t like losing control.”
I scoffed as I threaded my arms through the holes in the shirt. “I’m pretty sure you were in control the entire time.”
His dark blue eyes gleamed. “Not exactly.”
I looked down and realized it was his tee that he’d put on me. His scent clung to the fabric and I decided then and there I was keeping it, even if I had to throw him out of my apartment shirtless.
“So you don’t want to have sex?” I asked, my eyes on his. I was glad I was looking at him when I asked because his eyes flared in a way that made me extremely aware of the rigid length of his penis beneath me.
“Oh, I definitely do.”
“Then why did you stop?”
His fingers trailed along my thighs down to my knees. “Because it’s not the right time.”
“And who decided that?” I challenged.
The corner of his mouth tilted up. “Are we going to fight about whether or not we should have sex?”
My eyes wandered down to his bare torso, taking in the olive skin stretched taut over his muscles. It was obvious that he took care of his body, but he wasn’t jacked in a way that told me he spent hours at the gym. “Maybe,” I muttered.
He laughed and lifted a hand to cup my cheek, which brought my eyes back up to his. “Chelsea, I would like nothing better than to fuck you until you came for me again, but that isn’t all I’m interested in. I don’t want this to be purely physical.”
“Who says it has to be purely physical if we have sex today?”
Landen shook his head. “No one, but I’m pretty damn sure that I won’t be able to keep my hands off you if we do this now. And I want to get to know how that devious mind of yours works. So as much as it pains me to say this, I think we should wait.”
“For how long?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.
“A little while.”
“Seriously, that’s not an answer. Give me a timetable here.”
He laughed again and lifted me off his lap as he stood. I straightened my shaky legs and tried not to stare openly at his body. “I don’t know, you’re a complicated woman. It could take weeks, even months for me to figure out what makes you tick.”
I gaped at him. “You want to wait months?” There was no way I would be able to do that. I’d probably end up tying him to my bed before then. If today’s orgasm was anything to go by, I would likely pass out the first time we had sex.
He smiled. “Maybe.”
“No. Nope. Not happening,” I stated, shaking my head. “I’ll give you a week.”
His grin grew wider and took on an evil edge. “Three.”
“Two and that’s my final offer,” I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest to hide the fact that my nipples were once again hard. Jesus, how could arguing with this man be such a turn on? And about when we would have sex, of all things.
“Fine,” he relented. “Two weeks. We’ll go to dinner and spend time together between now and then, but no more shoving your tits in my face. I’m not that kind of guy.”
I gasped and, without thinking, slapped his arm lightly. “I did no such thing. You’re the one who started that.”
His eyes drifted down to my chest and I knew that he could tell my nipples were hard. “Well, next time, I won’t.”
“Is that a challenge?” I asked.
Landen’s eyes shot to mine and sparkled with mischief and lust. “Now, that could be interesting.”
I smiled and I knew that it was sly by the way his expression became guarded. “You know what? That could be interesting. I bet I could break your precious control before the two weeks are up,” I taunted. I had no idea why the words were flying out of my mouth.
Okay, so yes I did. I was horny and desperate. Plus, I really, really liked the idea of being able to shatter Landen’s control. I was twisted like that.
His eyes narrowed as he looked down at me. “What are the terms?”
“If I win, I get to be in charge the first time.”
“And if I win?”
I waved a hand. “Tell me what you want.”
He stepped closer, lowering his head until his face was scant inches from mine. “If I win, then you have to give me total control. I choose the time, the place, and the how.”
I suppressed the shiver that his low words evoked. “Are we talking whips and chains here?” I asked, suddenly very nervous.
He shook his head. “No, but there might be some light bondage involved.”
I swallowed hard. I’d never trusted a man enough to let him tie me up, but my mind created a clear mental image of Landen doing just that. And a hot flash took control of my body as I entertained the thought.
“Fine. You have a deal.”
I stuck my hand out and he stared down at it for a long moment. Then he took it firmly in his and yanked me against his body. His lips met mine in a short, hard kiss.
My nervousness returned when I saw that unholy gleam return to his blue eyes and he said, “This is going to be fun.”