Chapter 8
“This is a fancy restaurant,” Faith murmured. “When you said we would discuss the finer details over dinner, I thought you meant it was going to be a work dinner. This seems more like a date.”
Landon raised his glass of champagne, and grinned, “Did I tell you you look absolutely gorgeous?”
Faith’s cheeks turned red, “We literally just waded in sawdust and construction material. My curls are starting to look more and more like an afro and you’re trying to convince me I look good? I look like I need a bath.”
Landon’s eyes gleamed in the candlelight, and she could swear the crystal blue of his eyes darkened. They looked almost ravenous with hunger. His hand captured the fingers of her right hand which lay nervously on the snow white colored tablecloth, and he played with them, making her swallow, “I love your hair. It drives me crazy. I’ve never seen a woman and noticed her hair, but with you, I do.”
Faith’s hand ran through her hair in a flustered manner, a little taken aback, and then she narrowed her eyes at him, “You’re a sweet talker. I’m not going to buy into this. We’re here to discuss work.”
Landon grinned, “And we will. Over dinner.”
As the waitress arrived to take their orders, Faith noticed the way the woman casually disregarded Faith by her slightly ragged appearance and focused all her smiles and attention onto the SEAL. It struck a pang of jealousy within Faith before she curbed it.
What the hell?
However, when the woman dawdled, she became a little impatience, “If you want to give him your number, just take my damn napkin. But I’m starving, so could you hurry up.”
The woman’s face turned red and Landon raised a brow at the look of guilt and anger on Faith’s face. He didn’t have the chance to say anything before Faith excused herself and followed the waitress.
She was a few minutes but when she returned, she looked more relaxed.
“I don’t snap like that.” She told him, a hint of bitterness in her tone. “And I don’t hurt or humiliate other people. That’s cruel.”
She had gone and apologized to the waitress, Landon realized.
There had been no need to, but she had gone out of her way and apologized for her attitude so that the woman wouldn’t feel small about herself.
Landon leaned forward and pressed a kiss on the palm of her hand. “I feel like there are a thousand dimensions to you and I keep tripping over myself every time I discover a new one.”
Faith felt helpless against the tenderness she saw on his face and she didn’t know what to do with herself. He was making her feel all sorts of things, emotions she had thought she might be ready for, but what she had imagined, paled in comparison to the insatiable fire this man lit within her.
“You’re a dangerous man, Landon.” Faith murmured, making him smirk, “I should hope so.”
As the wine was served, Landon looked towards the waitress with the puffy eyes and saw her smiling at Faith, who returned the gesture. She told them she would bring their food shortly and when she left, Landon studied the woman sitting across from him, sipping her wine, serenely.
A part of him whispered that if he could spend a lifetime discovering everything about this woman, it wouldn’t be enough. And the deep need to bind her to him shook him so much, that he changed the topic of the conversation, “So, do you like dogs?”
The huge smile that lit up across Faith’s face told him this was a good topic.
“I’ve always dreamed of adopting a Siberian husky,” she told him, dreamily.
Landon looked surprised, “Why that specific dog?”
Those brown eyes widened, “Do you have any idea of how demanding they are? I love that about them! My friend Cissy used to have a husky.” The laughter in her voice made him want to smile, “You should have seen the tantrums he threw. He didn’t want a bath, didn’t want her to leave without him, came home late.”
“So, you want a dog because you want it to annoy you?” Landon laughed.
Faith grinned, “They’re so open with their affection. And so big. And fluffy. I would just hug him all day long.”
Her eyes had dazed over with that dreamy expression and that was when Landon realized that Faith held a strong love for anything and everything fluffy.
“But yeah.” She shrugged, her lips still curved, “I adore dogs. I wish I could keep one.”
“Why haven’t you?” Her companion questioned, curious.
“My work takes up a lot of my time. Plus, my building doesn’t allow for dogs.”
“I had a German Shepherd when I was a kid. We used to call him Pete.” The look on Landon’s face was as if he was remembering a distant but fond memory. “Pete, Roger, and I used to be a gang. Terrorized everyone. But then, during one of my tours, I got a letter that Pete had gotten sick. Didn’t get to say goodbye to the old boy.”
“I’m sorry,” Faith murmured, feeling her eyes burn. “That must have been terrible for you.”
Landon looked into his glass, twirling the stem and watched the red liquid swirl gently within, “Once I retire, I might adopt a dog. They’re capacity for love is amazing.”
Faith let out a small laugh, “Next to your reasons, mine sound almost superficial.”
“You’re lonely. That’s why you want a dog. There’s nothing superficial about that.” He told her.
Faith’s heart stuttered.
He had calmly delivered the statement, uttering words she had refused to admit to herself within these past few years. Why was it so easy for him to read her?
They sat in silence for a few minutes and when the food arrived, Faith shook off her doubts and fears and dived nose first into business.
***
“I am not drunk.” Faith laughed, clinging onto Landon’s neck. “That joke was just particularly funny.”
The SEAL couldn’t help but laugh at how adorable she looked, insisting that she wasn’t drunk when she could not even find her balance.
He kicked the door shut behind him and sighed in exasperation.
Their discussion about the five houses he had seen today had been engaging and he had watched her scribble down notes in a pink diary that had been in her purse.
And as soon as they had finished the discussion, Faith had started drinking like there was no tomorrow.
“Okay, kitten.” Landon steadied her, helping her to the couch. “You’re going to sit here while I draw you a bath, okay?”
Faith nodded, and then burst into laughter, “You said ‘draw a bath’!”
Chuckling at how she seemed to find everything funny, from the toaster to the ceiling fan, he left her to her own devices and turned on the tap for the hot water. As he tested the water to make sure it wasn’t too hot, he wondered at this whole situation. He had never been in a position to care for a woman. Amelia had never made him want to take care of her. He had loved her, sure. But that love had been like a hazy dream. When they had exited, the dream, it was to fights, bitterness.
But this woman was like a breath of fresh air.
“I’m sleepy.” Came the mutter from behind him.
Turning around, he found himself sucking in a breath.
Faith stood there without a stitch of clothing.
She was beautiful. Her body slender, her eyes sleepy and annoyed, it made him want to take her to bed and fuck the sleepiness right out of her.
But as she stood there, not the slightest bit ashamed of showing her body to him, he forced himself under control, and held out his hand, “You need to take a bath.”
“And I’ll bring you some coffee.”
The day they had spent together had been going through houses that were nearly constructed, but the dirt and grime still clung to their clothes and bodies. And as physically uncomfortable it was for him right now, Landon knew Faith would want to be clean.
Coffee was Faith’s best friend and when she exited the bathroom, her head felt a little clear. She was still a little drunk, but not enough that she would continue to make a fool out of herself. The shirt she wore was the same one she’d worn last night. She stretched out on the couch and stared at the ceiling, asking herself, “What am I doing?”
“You okay?” Landon’s amused voice made her turn around.
He was wearing shorts and a towel was draped over his shoulders, as he dried his hair. She had not seen him shirtless before and as he stood over her, his defined muscles made her reach out and absently touch them.
He inhaled sharply but didn’t stop her.
“You have a lot of scars,” Faith murmured.
“Comes with the job description,” Landon said, his breath harsh, as she kept tracing his scars. “Don’t do that, kitten.”
Faith grinned, “Why not? Are you going to kiss me again?”
They were both a little drunk, and this was not the best time to be making decisions, but Landon closed his eyes as she sat up and this time ran both her hands over his pecs.
The wet kiss on his navel made him groan, “Faith. Stop.”
“I don’t want to.” She looked up at him, and his hand found its way into those wet curls, “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had sex. Five years. I’ve been a good girl for five years.”
She smiled at him, the smile of a female who knew what she wanted and planned to get it, “I don’t want to be a good girl anymore, Landon.”
“Fuck.”
That was all he swore as he dragged her up by her arm, his grip in her hair tightening, and smashed his mouth against hers.
She laughed.
And then she bit his lower lip, making him pull back and glare at her, “That hurt.”
Faith smirked at him, “Want me to kiss it better?”
His eyes heated at her sly comment and this time the kiss was more raw. He licked the inside of her mouth making her moan. His hand flew over her shirt and found her breast. He squeezed, making her gasp.
“That was-” Whatever Faith had to say was swallowed up by Landon’s mouth on her.
He was so rock hard that he couldn’t think.
A part of him warned him to slow down. That he was drunk and this might turn out to be a huge mistake. But he didn’t care.
The second Faith had admitted to being celibate for the past few years, all his reasoning had jumped out the window.
If she wanted to use him to break her fast, he would not be the one to deny her.
His mouth moved to her neck and planted open mouthed kisses against her jawline and her moans were music to his ears. One hand crept under her shirt and played with her nipple making her gasp out.
Faith’s hands weren’t idle as well. They crept down and found his iron hard cock through his short and she rubbed it, making him growl, “Stop that or you’re going to get yourself in a whole lot of trouble, kitten.”
She laughed, “What kind of trouble?”
The little vixen was playing with him, he realized.
He smirked, and bit her ear, making her scowl. Before she could say anything, he had her flipped around, facing the wall. Her hands were on the wall for support, as he lifted up her shirt to find the lace red panties that covered the spot he coveted at that moment.
“How wet do you think you would be, baby?” He whispered against her ear, making her moan.
“Let’s find out.” And with that, he edged in a finger into her underwear and aimed for her clit.
Finding it wasn’t hard. But what came after was fun.
Her moans were broken versions of his name as he rubbed that sensitive bundle of nerves. Her head fell back against his shoulder and he kissed her.
She was so far gone, her eyes dazed with pleasure and want, that in that moment she would have let him do anything to her. Groaning at how she gasped out his name, begging him, he drove two fingers into her sopping pussy.
This time, she screamed out his name and her inner walls clenched on his fingers, making him groan as she orgasmed.
Usually, he was an expert at foreplay, but touching Faith, holding her, tasting her, was driving him to the brink of insanity.
Lifting her up, he let her clasp her legs around his waist as she came down from the sudden high. However, they were far from done. Walking with her into the bedroom, he tossed her onto the bed, and watched her with a dangerous look in his eye as the dazed look in her eyes started to clear.
Not yet.
This time he inserted three fingers in her and her moans increased as he teased her over and over again. Every time she came, he grew wilder.
“More!” He demanded. “Look at me when you come! I want to see your eyes!”
And when he finally entered her, her eyes were on him, begging, pleading, her voice too hoarse.
His strokes were long and slow and this time the buildup was slow, as he dragged it out. She raked her short nails over his back, begged him, cajoled him, but he took his time and when she shattered, he increased his speed, pounding into her, drawing out another orgasm, till there was nothing left.
And then he came.