the pace and had her screaming from the orgasm that crashed over her suddenly, without the usual slow build. When it happened a second time a few minutes later, she was truly shocked.
The man was a god, in bed and out. That much she knew for certain as he came down on her in the aftermath of his own pleasure, breathing hard and sweating from the effort he’d expended.
“Wow,” she said.
“Mmm. So good.” He kissed her neck, along her jaw and then her lips. “I knew it would be from the first second I saw you.”
“It’s because I was holding a dildo. Admit it.”
“That didn’t hurt anything,” he said with a laugh, “but it was you. I had a reaction to you that I’d never had to anyone other than Naomi. When I realized my brother did, too, I wanted to cry. I wanted you all to myself.”
“Is that why you insisted on bringing me home with you from the hospital?”
“Absolutely. I’m a shameless opportunist, and hey, it worked for Tyler after Charley got hurt. I could only hope it would work out that way for us, too.”
“And how’s that going so far?”
“It’s better than anything has ever been.”
She recalled in that inopportune moment that she had forgotten to give him the message from Chrissy. “One of your friends called while you were out.”
“Who?”
“Chrissy.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never
make a negative decision in the low time.
Never make your most important decisions when
you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient.
The storm will pass. The spring will come.”
—Robert H. Schuller
Landon cringed at the mention of Chrissy as he withdrew from Amanda and landed on the bed next to her. “That ‘friendship’ is in the past.”
“Does she know that?”
“We’ve never had a conversation about it, if that’s what you’re asking, but we also never had any kind of commitment. We were friends with occasional benefits. That’s it—and she knew it.”
“And now that’s over?”
“Of course it is. I’m with you now.”
“And this is different than that?”
He stared at her, seeming incredulous. “Yes.”
“How is it different?”
“You want me to, like, describe how it’s different?”
“That’d be good.” She tried not to laugh as he struggled to understand what she wanted from him.
He pretended to be annoyed. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Just a little.” She propped her head on an upturned hand and waited him out.
“You want to know how it’s different…”
“That’s what I said.”
“For one thing, you’re not like anyone I’ve ever known.”
“How so?”
Landon grimaced. “You challenge me.”
“Is that what I’m doing right now? Challenging you?”
“Yes, you’re challenging me to put words to feelings, and I’m not really sure how to do that.”
“You’re doing great so far. Tell me more about these feelings.”
He turned his head to look at her. “I feel something when I’m with you. Something I only ever felt for Naomi. Like you said, she’s my benchmark. I know what that was like, and it’s not as if I was running around looking for that again. But when it appeared on that day in the conference room at the store, I recognized it for what it is.”
“And what is it?”
He huffed out an exasperated laugh. “Something I want more of.”
“Is that rare for you to want more?”
“You already know it’s unprecedented since Naomi.”
Turning on his side, he ran his fingers through her hair and caressed her cheek. “I want to be with you all the time. I had to force myself to stay on that freaking mower until two, when all I wanted was come home. When you heard about Stella, my first thought was I hope I get to meet her, that I can be part of it with you. When I was working, I kept thinking about her and you and trying to figure out how I can support you as you bring her into your life.”
His gaze flipped up to meet hers, earnest, sincere, adorable. “I’ve had a lot of fun with women. I won’t deny that. But I’ve never had to nearly tie myself to the mower so I wouldn’t skip out on work to get to someone as soon as I possibly could.” After a pause, he added, “I’m not sure if that’s what you were looking for, but that’s how I feel.”
“That’s pretty great.”
“I have no interest in Chrissy or Jessica or anyone but you. I want this, between us, to be officially exclusive. Would that be okay?”
“Well, since I’m living in your house, it’d be kind of complicated to date someone