Landon

“Lance.”

I chuckled at the tenth time she said my name.

With each room we toured, she gasped and repeated the alias that she still called me. I knew that I was overwhelming her, but she needed to see it all…every room that filled my thirteen-thousand-square-foot home. While she was taking it all in, and probably wondering why one man needed so much space, I was imagining us having sex in every damn inch of my house.

When she arrived, I could see how overwhelmed she was through her tiny gasps and open-mouthed stares. The way she gripped my hand even tighter with each door I opened had me holding back chuckles. Spike followed us through my home happily yapping at each surface he was able to jump onto and sniff before jumping off.

“Ready to see how the backyard looks at night?”

She nodded on a swallow. Smiling at her adorableness, I flipped on the outdoor lights and slid the glass door open. The humid air hit us the moment we stepped out onto the patio. “Holy hell.” Laughing, I shook my head at her. “What?” she asked, trying to hide her smile.

“That was the first thing you said other than ‘Lance.’ ” Slowly, we walked around the flagstone patio. With the pastel lights behind the waterfall causing the water to shimmer as it cascaded over the natural rock, and the way the hot tub bubbled invitingly, I wanted nothing more than to take her over and over in my own private paradise. My backyard was my favorite part of my house, but my backyard at night was heaven.

The only noise for a long while came from the trickling sound of my waterfall and Spike’s yipping behind the glass door. Again I laughed at the way he stood angrily barking at us for leaving him behind.

“Shh,” Zara said, putting a finger to her lips. “It’s so quiet. I wouldn’t want your neighbors to complain to the police about him.”

“If I have to listen to Adam Sandler’s bulldog, Matzoball, then he can listen to Spike.”

“You live next door to Adam Sandler? The Wedding Singer’s Adam Sandler?”

“Well, he’s made quite a few more since that one, but yes, that Adam Sandler. So, him you know?” I pulled her into my arms, not bothering to hide how absolutely adorable and funny I thought she was.

“Mama took Annia and me to see that movie when we were in Honolulu shopping.” I curled my lips over my teeth and she finally realized my question was rhetorical. “You’re teasing me.”

“I am, and I love to. Although his dog does bark all night.” I kissed her nose. “How badly is all this freaking you out?”

“I guess I’m doing a poor job of hiding how flabbergasted I am right now,” she said with a shy shrug. Her sexy South African accent thickened on her word choice.

“That’s understandable, baby. I just don’t want it to scare you into changing your mind.”

Her expression softened as she cupped my face with her hands. “Lance, I’m not changing my mind. I can’t promise things along the way won’t completely overwhelm me, but you’ll just have to comfort me when they do.”

“Comforting I’m good at.” I pulled her into my body and kissed her long and hard. “Part of me wants to strip you naked and make love to you in my pool. But that may have to wait until tomorrow.”

She twisted her head around, surveying my property. The high stone wall behind the living tree line that surrounded the five acres my house sat on must have appeased her apprehension. “No one to see us, Zara, and as long as you’re not howling like Matzoball, no one will hear us, either.”

“I don’t howl.”

“My mistake, you moan—sexily—and when you do it turns me the fuck on.” I crushed my lips against hers, and on cue that moan rumbled from her chest into my mouth. “Oh, fuck. Yes, that’s the moan.” Pulling away, she giggled when I grabbed her hand and sprinted toward the house.

“I guess bedroom wins?”

“For now.”

We sped through the house and up the steps, with Spike chasing after us, and in five minutes flat I had her up against the wall in my room. Ignoring Spike sniffing every inch of space in my master suite, I stripped us naked in record time.

“Lance,” she scolded. “I’m not going anywhere. Slow down.”

“Jesus, Zara. That’s like asking me to will away my hard-on right now. I haven’t been with you for two months. Cut me some slack.”

“Okay, my apologies.” She led me to the bed and positioned herself on it, opening her arms invitingly. “I’m all yours, Lance.”

The sight of her naked on my bed, my bed here in Bel Air, was an absolute dream come true. As frantic as I’d been a few minutes earlier, I was now stunned immobile by the gorgeous woman who was about to be mine in every way.

Her eyes followed the movement of my hands as I slowly stroked my length while still leering at her like a pervert. I couldn’t help it. Keeping myself a few steps away was the only thing that stopped me from plunging into her with reckless abandon.

She was right, there was no rush…except for maybe getting to rounds two, three, and then four before we went to bed only to start over in the morning. I had nowhere to be tomorrow, and that wasn’t by accident. Shortly after she’d arrived, I had cleared my schedule for the next few days. I could still hear Roger yelling from his office in Los Angeles.

I slowly climbed onto the bed, stretching my body over hers. My cock fell between her legs, drawing another moan from her mouth. I kissed her passionately, pouring out every ounce of angst, desire, and frustration I had felt over the past two months. She returned my kiss enthusiastically while wrapping her arms and legs around me like a vine.

The new position caused my cock to rest against her opening. Taking the invite, I slipped myself inside her one slow, torturous inch at a time. She sighed into my mouth as her fingers gripped the back of my neck.

The long absence we had been forced to endure, the separation of an ocean between her home and mine, the problems with her father, and even the craziness of my life no longer mattered. And as I made love to her I knew without a doubt that this beautiful woman who’d captured my heart would forever be in my life.

She stretched beside me before her eyes slowly opened. “Mmm, good morning. I forgot where I was for a minute.”

“You’re home,” I said, stroking her warm cheek with the backs of my fingers. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did.” She leaned into my side and kissed my chest a few times before it began to stir me up. “Baby, you’re driving me crazy.”

“Good.”

She slid over my body, straddling my hips. Resuming her kisses, she slowly moved lower and lower forcing me to grip her upper arms and stop her. “What’s wrong?”

“I want to talk to you about something before we pick up where we left off last night.”

“Okay.”

I held her arms, suddenly feeling very awkward bringing this up while she straddled me naked. “Baby, I think you need to go back to Lanai.”

“What?” The shocked look on her face forced me to rush on with my request.

“No, no…not leave me. I think you should go see your father, and I’ll come with you.”

She clambered off my body and sat on the edge of the bed. “I gave him ample opportunity to take my calls.”

“I know. I think the older we get, the more stubborn. I see it with my own dad. Sometimes we need to be the adults, and—”

“Lance. He doesn’t want to see me.”

I moved to sit behind her, wrapping my arms around her chest. “Baby. I’m not saying it has to be today, tomorrow, or next week. I just think you should think about it, okay?”

She twisted her head to look into my eyes. “Okay, I promise I’ll think about it.”