his libido had surged from simmer to boil in a hot second.
He wasn’t sure what it was about her that made her so different from other women he’d known. Maybe it was because she didn’t throw herself at him and hadn’t shown her entire hand at the get-go. She’d maintained an aura of mystery, which meant he’d had to work at getting to know her. The conversation he’d had with her just now was deeper than anything he’d ever shared with anyone. They’d both suffered traumas in the past that had helped to shape them into the people they were now, and it made Landon feel less alone with the painful memories of Naomi after sharing her with Amanda.
He took a series of deep breaths as he looked up at the clear sky full of stars and tried to prepare himself to platonically sleep in a bed with the sexiest woman he’d ever met.
“Yeah, sure, you can do this.” He filled his arms with wood he didn’t need because he’d gotten some earlier and took it inside. “It’s no big deal. It’s just sleeping.”
After their heated kisses earlier, he’d assumed things between them would move to the next level fairly quickly.
But then Chrissy and Jessica had happened, which had led to the conversation about the child she’d given up and what he’d been through with Naomi, and suddenly, everything had turned serious. He had whiplash from the series of events that’d transpired since he came home with flowers earlier. On the plus side, he’d wanted to move things forward with Amanda, and he’d succeeded in doing that. But nothing had gone according to plan.
Back inside, Landon built up the fire that would keep them warm throughout the night and made sure both doors were locked. He didn’t usually worry about locking his doors when it was just him, but the first night she’d stayed with him, Amanda had asked if he’d locked the doors. Since it made her feel safe, he’d done it every night since.
The bathroom door was open and the light on in the bedroom. “Knock, knock. Is it safe to come in?”
“All good. Come on in.”
He stepped into his bedroom and found her in his bed, propped up on pillows, her hair down around her shoulders. Landon leaned against the doorframe and feasted his eyes on the sight of her in his bed.
“What?”
“I like how you look in my bed.”
“You’ve seen me in your bed before.”
“I liked how you looked then, too.”
“Are you going to stand there and stare all night, or are you going to join me?”
“Definitely going to join you, but not until I stare for a little bit longer.”
“Landon,” she said on a nervous laugh. “Stop.”
“You don’t like when I stare at you?”
“You’re flustering me.”
“You’re pretty when you’re flustered—and when you’re not.” Landon laughed when she lifted the covers up and over her head. “You can run, but you cannot hide.”
“Good to know.”
He grabbed pajama bottoms and went into the bathroom to change and brush his teeth. When he returned to the bedroom, she was still in hiding deep under the covers. He got into bed and went looking for her.
She jolted when his cold hand found her warm shoulder.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he said in a singsong voice that had her giggling.
“I didn’t realize I was inviting the Big Bad Wolf to join me in bed.”
“Sure, you did. You knew exactly who you were getting.” He tunneled through the covers until he was nose to nose with her. “Hi there.”
Smiling, she said, “Hi.”
“Thanks for inviting me to your sleepover.”
“It is your bed, after all.”
He nuzzled her neck, making her shiver as her hands curved tentatively around his shoulders. “My bed is much nicer with you in it.”
“I’m not sure if I can handle being in bed with shirtless Landon.”
“I’ll bet you can handle it just fine.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“How about we give it a try?” He shifted so he was hovering above her, propped up on his arms and fighting to maintain control as she ran her hands all over him.
“So many muscles,” she said softly as her touch electrified him. “How do you have so many muscles?”
She expected him to actually talk when he was hardly breathing? “Ah, rock-climbing, skiing, fire department training, among other things.”
“Whatever it is, it’s working for you.”
“Is it working for you, too?”
“Oh yeah…”
Landon lowered his hips and pressed his hard cock against her. He wanted her so fiercely that he had to keep