Landon

Venice Beach was exactly as I remembered it, bustling with people. The festival was organized along the promenade, and the vendor booths with wooden toys looked at odds with the palm trees and the people carrying surfboards or cocktails. Will was meeting us here too.

“If we hurry, we’ll be able to stop by every booth before the storm starts,” Lori said. “I can’t believe it. A storm.”

She looped an arm through mine as we walked straight into the madness, Milo bouncing from one booth to the other.

“I forgot what it was like to walk with you,” Lori said with a chuckle. “I feel like we’re in a parade. I caught ten women checking you out. And that’s with me on your arm. They don’t know I’m your sister.”

“I thought you wanted me to date?”

“Oh, I do. But here’s a tip for survival. If a woman’s lips look as if they were sucked off with a faucet, or she keeps checking her phone and looking at you, run in the other direction. Many would like to nab a tech mogul. Your net worth is more than anyone’s whose handprints lie on the Walk of Fame. Your face has been on enough magazines to be recognizable. But don’t worry, I have your back.”

“I’m the oldest brother. That’s not your task.”

Lori scoffed, scooting tighter to me. “Just reminding you how to play your cards in our dear City of Angels. You don’t have a ring on your finger to keep the sharks at bay.”

Even when I was a married man, a ring never deterred those who were out to catch a big fish, but I’d never been interested. I wasn’t now either. My mind was on Maddie.

Will joined us fifteen minutes later, clasping a hand on my shoulder.

“Seriously? You have to boast that badge wherever you go?” Lori challenged. “You’re off duty.”

“The badge comes with advantages. People think twice before trying any funny business.”

Lori’s gaze followed Milo from one booth to the other, and then she looped her other arm around Will’s. Some days I still couldn’t believe Will was part of the police force. It had come as a complete shock when he’d announced his career choice. Growing up, he’d had a healthy disregard for rules, even a few encounters with the police. Talk about contradictions. Val had cracked so many jokes about police officers when he told us that I knew for sure something was off. The moment he’d left, she’d started sobbing.

“He’s going to have a gun. He’s going to be around bad guys. What if something happens to him?”

Secretly, I agreed with her, but if that was what he wanted, there wasn’t anything either of us could do. Val had hoped it would be a phase, but I knew better. Will was determined, and when he decided on something, he went through with it—which he did. I was proud of him even though he skirted too close to the danger line for my peace of mind.

When dark gray clouds gathered above, my thoughts flew to Maddie and her determination to keep the project on track. Did she account for bad weather when she drew a timeline for a project? Or would she stubbornly work through the rain? Somehow, I felt I already knew the answer.

“They weren’t kidding about that storm warning,” I said.

“Storm warning?” Will asked.

Lori nodded. “They announced it this morning. I wonder if it’ll have an impact on the whole terracing business.”

“I’ll check with Maddie when I get home,” I assured her. Lori cocked a brow and failed to disguise a knowing smile.

“So, what other plans do you have today, Landon?”

She didn’t say “besides checking on Maddie” out loud, but I picked up the gist of her question.

“I’m meeting Craig and his wife before dinner.” Craig was one of our oldest childhood friends.

“So you’re free after dinner? Maybe I should take you out,” Lori teased.

“Ah, you didn’t get enough big-brother teasing from me?” I volleyed back smoothly, fighting a smile.

She narrowed her eyes, looking at me with mock menace. “So that’s how you’re gonna play it?”

I held up a hand. “This is fair game. I only use underhanded tactics for people who don’t share our blood.”

“So you keep saying,” she muttered.

“I can help with that,” Will offered. “What were you teasing her about? I fall into the older brother category.”

“Buddy, you’re the third oldest in the family,” Lori said. “That in no way qualifies you to be in the older category. Or the youngest. You’re in the wishy-washy middle with me.”

That was true. Jace was the youngest, followed by Hailey. Then came Lori and Will. But I knew why Will felt part of the older gang. When Val and I were at the pub, he’d often cooked dinner for Lori, Hailey, and Jace, and helped them with homework.

I’d missed bantering with my siblings after moving away.

“Val and Landon are twins. Technically, I’m the second oldest,” Will said.

Lori wrinkled her nose, directing us all toward Milo, who had skipped two booths ahead. “Technicalities don’t work for me, just like your badge doesn’t.”

“You seem to find it useful when you ask me to come up with bogus rules for Milo. Remember the time you made me tell him I could arrest him for eating too many sweets?”

“It’s so easy to pawn that off on you, though. He is a big believer in badges. And I’m a big believer in chocolate fudge.” She smiled, pointing to a booth. “I’ll treat all of us.”

“You don’t have to—” Will and I began, but she cut us off.

“My treat. No negotiating. As a thank-you to both of you for coming here today.”

Half an hour later, the downpour began. We’d managed to take cover under a tarp just in time. We waited and then waited some more, but it showed no sign of stopping. I’d texted Maddie once, but she hadn’t replied. I was growing restless with worry. Was she out in the rain?

When it became clear the downpour would continue, I bid Lori, Will, and Milo goodbye and hailed a cab. I texted Maddie again, but she didn’t answer. The rain was so thick you could barely see anything out the window. The traffic was a nightmare. It took me hours to reach the house.

When I stepped out of the cab, it seemed to me that only Maddie’s car was parked here. I stepped through the front gate and scanned the grounds. The rain soaked me in seconds. I had to use my palm as protection over my eyes to keep the rain from stabbing my eyeballs. The entire yard seemed covered in some sort of plastic tarp. Only the wooden trail was uncovered. I didn’t see Maddie, and my shoulders felt lighter. But as I finished scanning the front yard, movement on the far left caught my attention.

I groaned. There she was, her hands maneuvering the end of the tarp. And she was... arguing with herself? I couldn’t tell, but she was talking and shaking her head, and there was no one around. I headed straight toward her.

“What are you doing out here?” I tapped her shoulder, but she still startled, whirling around.

“I need to secure the cover with spikes,” she explained.

“Where are the guys?”

“They quit.”

“Maddie, let’s go inside. You can finish this when the rain eases a bit.”

She shook her head. “If I don’t secure this, there’s a risk the rain will dislodge the earth.”

As far as I could see, there were spikes at regular intervals. The cover looked pretty fucking secure to me.

“Maddie, you’re soaked. I’m soaked.”

“Then go inside. I need to finish this.”

She kept fumbling with a spike, and I gripped both her wrists, looking straight at her.

“Maddie, stop being so stubborn or I swear I’ll throw you over my shoulder and take you inside.”

She wiggled a hand out of my grip, then held the finger up warningly. “You just don’t get this.”

Except I did. I knew that feverish need to keep fixing what you could when a problem escalated until it was out of your control. I found myself in such situations at least twice a month at the office, and working through it always got me to the other end. But I wasn’t about to let Maddie give herself pneumonia.

She tried to wiggle her other hand out of my grip, but I tightened my fingers on her skin. I was scanning her body, weighing what the easiest way would be to toss her over my shoulders when she exclaimed, “Oh my God, you’re seriously going to throw me over your shoulder.”

“Yes.”

She dropped the spike she was still gripping in the hand I held captive and started marching toward the house. I walked next to her, releasing her hand but keeping my eyes trained on her in case she changed her mind. When we stepped out of the rain and onto the porch, I took a good look at her. Her gray shirt was soaked and transparent, and I could see her black bra, the swell of her breasts where the fabric gave way to skin. Longing thrummed through me, to touch her, taste her. I wondered if she was wearing matching panties, but I didn’t have to wonder for too long. Her pants—not jeans, but some thinner fabric—were as transparent as her shirt. She was wearing a black thong, the thin scrap of fabric at the back running right over her crack, leaving her round ass cheeks in plain view. My fingers itched with the impulse to remove that thong, touch and lick all the places it had covered.

“You are unbelievable.” She took the elastic band out of her hair and squeezed the water out of her blonde tresses before whirling to face me. Stepping closer, she poked my chest. “Unbelievable. Who does that?”

“Who stays out in a torrential rain?” I countered, trying to ignore the bolt of heat her touch had sent through me.

“Someone who wants to finish a job.” She poked me again, and I caught her wrist because if she touched me one more time, I couldn’t be held responsible for my actions. Her mouth was so close. Pink and plump, and I knew she’d be soft and sweet. She licked her lower lip, her own gaze pinned on my shirt. When our eyes met, she brought her free hand to my chest, and I exhaled sharply.

I leaned in and captured her mouth. She parted her lips with a sigh, allowing me entrance. Her taste! I could get addicted to it, to the way she gave herself to me, without restraint or reservations. I let go of her wrist and moved one hand to her waist, fisted her hair with the other, angling her head so I could explore her mouth better. Slipping my hand down from her waist, I cupped her ass, pulling her flat against me. She groaned in my mouth when my erection pressed along her belly.

I was going to kiss her until her legs shook.

***

Maddie

The contact was electrifying, jolting every nerve in my body. His lips fit perfectly against mine. The scruff on his jaw lightly scraped against my skin, but I liked it. I liked it even more when he pushed me back until I felt a solid wall behind me. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. Eh, I could always do with more of such delicious hardships. I loved this—being trapped by his strong body, with no other choice but to fully surrender to his kiss. And oh, what a kiss this was. No one had kissed me like that, not ever.

He explored and probed, our tongues clashing in a wild dance until I felt liquid fire coursing through my veins. He deepened the kiss, demanding more, and then he intensified the rhythm as if he was making love to my mouth. Heat pooled low in my body. When a deep groan reverberated in his chest, my knees weakened. As if sensing this, he gripped my waist with both of those strong and steady hands. I had a hunch he was that type of man who would be strong and steady no matter what, who’d never let me fall.

“Maddie,” he whispered, once he’d pulled back so we could take a much-needed breath. I stared up right into his eyes. His pupils were dilated, his eyelids hooded. Desire was written all over him, making it hard for me to think.

In this second, nothing seemed more important than feeling his lips on mine again. When he leaned in again, I grabbed his collar, pulling him all the way toward me. The second our lips touched, I felt exhilarated, caught up in his magic once more. This time, we took it a step further, kissing more furiously, with more passion. He moved his hands under my ass, scooping me up. When my center collided with his erection, I fisted his hair. We were grinding against each other, the tension we’d built up last night begging to be released. Even through all the layers of clothes, the friction was unbearable. I was slick between my legs. When he pushed the tip of his erection against my clit, I nearly came. With my clothes on.

But then something snapped in my mind, and I tore my mouth away from his. I looked to my right, and Landon leaned his forehead against my temple, his hot breath landing on my ear. Despite my soaked clothes, I was on fire. He lowered me to the ground, and we stood entwined like that, breathing heavily, until the cold crept up my spine again, making me shiver.

Landon stepped back, running a hand through his hair. Small drops of water splattered all around. Without the proximity of his body, cold blasted through me. I ran my hands up and down my arms, but it didn’t help much.

“You should change out of the wet clothes.”

I sighed. “I only have one change of clothes. I don’t want to get that soaked too.”

“I’m not letting you go back out there until the rain stops.”

“What are you going to do to keep me out of the rain, kiss me some more?”

His eyes snapped fire. “Don’t think I won’t.”

I swallowed hard, trying to figure out my next steps. I really did need to change out of these clothes.

“I’ll go find you something in Val’s room if you don’t want to change into yours,” he said.

“That’s not appropriate,” I countered.

Something flashed in those green eyes. “Let me make this clear. You’re changing into either Val’s clothes or your own because I won’t let you give yourself pneumonia. So, what’s it gonna be?”

Needing to move, I paced the front porch. The cold was seeping into my bones.

Landon cleared his throat. “Your clothes are completely transparent.”

I stopped pacing, looked down at my chest, and immediately crossed my arms over it. Oh, crap. This explained why he’d been looking at me like he wanted to eat me up before kissing me. He still looked at me like that. Embarrassment clouded around me. I felt naked.

“Why didn’t you tell me that before? I’d have come out of the rain sooner.”

“I didn’t realize you’d ditch your work ethic for anything.”

Landon smiled, and laughter bubbled out of me.

“If the price was flashing you my boobs, I would. I have priorities.”

“You’re flashing more than that.” He swallowed hard, and I remembered with a pang that I wasn’t wearing jeans. I looked down at my pants. They were transparent. Since I was wearing a thong today, I’d been parading my ass in front of Landon.

When I looked up, I couldn’t meet his eyes. “I’ll go shower and put on my spare change of clothes.”

He nodded, and I felt his eyes follow me as we entered the house. I retrieved my backpack from the foyer and swung it over my shoulder, making a beeline for the bathroom.

I took a long, hot shower, but my entire body was still buzzing with adrenaline. My mind was so full of Landon and his kiss that I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. I wondered if he was also taking a shower right now. He’d been all wet too, after all. The mere possibility that we might be naked at the same time was messing with my senses.

I stepped out of the bathroom in fresh clothes, keeping my old ones in front of me with both hands. I’d wrung them out, but they were still wet. I needed a plastic bag to wrap them in before stuffing them in my backpack. As I approached the living room, I heard Landon’s voice.

“Adam, forward me the entire e-mail exchange, and I’ll make up my own mind.” A pause, then “Of course I trust you, but I don’t like making decisions knowing only half the conversation.”

I slowed my pace, not wanting to walk in on him mid-phone call. Leaning against the wall, I closed my eyes, smiling as I replayed the kiss in my mind, and all the passion it held. It was the result of all that tension we’d built the night before during our dance. We’d both needed to release it. Now I could go back to daydreaming about him in that off-limits sort of way you daydreamed about a movie star.

When I couldn’t hear him talk anymore, I went to the living room. He’d changed too, and a vision of him in the shower flashed in my mind. Crap. Maybe I could go back to safely daydreaming about him on Monday, when the memory of the kiss subsided, when I couldn’t still feel his taste on my lips. For now, I had to put some distance between us.

“I need a plastic bag for the clothes or I’ll get my backpack all wet,” I said.

“Sure. Let’s go to the kitchen and find one.”

While he searched and crouched to check the lower drawers, I did my best not to perv at his ass. On second thought... why not? I’d already established today was an exception. Why not get a good look at Landon’s backside while I was at it? It was muscular, strong....

Unfortunately, he found a plastic bag all too soon. I took it from him, careful not to touch his fingers. I was already on a slippery slope with my wandering eyes; who knew what his touch might prompt me to do.

“Well, I’d better get going.” I clutched the full plastic bag to my chest. “I checked the weather report and the rain won’t stop soon. I fastened the cover to the ground, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“So why were you so adamant to stay in the rain and finish whatever you were doing?”

“Ah, I was being a bit overzealous, wanting to double on the spikes in a few places, but this isn’t a tornado, just a storm, so it’s not really necessary. I can get a little... lost in my own head when things go to hell. Thanks for pulling me out.”

“I do that too when the shit hits the fan. Get trapped in my mind.”

“Who pulls you out?”

“No one.” Landon shrugged, and I could imagine him in his office until the late hours of the night, his brilliant mind working incessantly on finding a solution. He was so intent on saving everyone else, but maybe he needed a little saving himself.

“Maddie, tell me you’re not leaving because we kissed.”

“Of course not! I don’t run away from problems.”

But I did avoid temptations... especially when they came in the form of Landon Connor. Some might call this cowardly. If they had better tactics to keep from wanting to jump a man’s bones after he’d just kissed you like his life depended on it, I was happy to take notes.

He grinned. “I’m a problem? No one’s called me that.”

“You’ve got everyone pussyfooting around you?”

“I call it strong leadership.”

“Some might go with dictator.”

“Depends on who you ask.” He laughed softly, opened his mouth again, but then his phone rang. I used that as my way out.

“Will you tell Val that I left early because of the rain? I promise I’ll be back with a full crew on Monday. And I’m going to borrow one of her umbrellas.”

“I’ll relay the message.”

I pointed to the phone he was clutching in his hand. “And that needs to stop. Don’t make me fail at my spy job. I can’t keep it a secret from Val forever.”

Grinning widely, he stepped closer. “Oh, I think you can. We’re good at keeping our secrets, aren’t we, Maddie?”

He was much too close, and the scent of soap fresh on his skin was clouding my thoughts. I blinked a few times, then stepped back nonchalantly. Not knowing what to reply—or if to reply at all—I waved at him. Waved.

“I’ll see myself out. I know where the umbrellas are.”

He nodded as his phone rang again. His voice reached me as I hurried to the foyer, picked up a pink umbrella with silver stars sprinkled on it, and let myself out. On the porch, I instinctively looked to my right. Just seeing the wall he’d kissed me against sent tingles up my fingertips. I could still remember every little detail about that kiss.

I had a feeling I wouldn’t forget them until Monday.