Author Anonymous_ A True Story - E.K. Blair Page 0,6
of you, you push me away.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“Don’t apologize,” he says, his voice a rasp of a whisper. “I just want to know what it is that’s making you hesitate with me.”
I release a heavy sigh and push myself to sit up, but I don’t speak. I’m not quite sure how to express what I’m feeling.
“Can I admit something to you?” he asks, taking a little of the pressure from me. When I nod, he runs his hand through my hair and cups my cheek before saying, “I’m falling for you. I have been for a while now. I’ve been trying to rein it in because I can feel you’re holding something back. I just want to know what it is.”
“Landon . . .” I begin, but lose my words as his seep into my heart. His honesty pushes me to want to give mine in return, but I’m worried my words might hurt him, so I tell him that. “I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.”
“You won’t,” he assures.
I close my eyes and drop my head for a moment before looking back at him and revealing, “You’re right. I’m scared.”
“Why?”
The fire crackles loudly through the silence in the room as I take my time to gather my thoughts enough to answer him without sounding like I’m stumbling nervously over my words.
“There’s only been one other guy before you,” I tell him when I feel my palms beginning to sweat, but he only holds my hands tighter. “He, umm . . .” I hesitate. “He . . .”
“You can tell me anything.”
My eyes fall from his, and I stare at our hands when I tell him, “He hit me.”
I hear him let go of a hard breath as his hands constrict on mine.
“It didn’t start out like that. Everything was perfect at first, but then . . . I don’t know, somewhere along the way he changed.” When I finally get the courage to look at Landon, I see the anger in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you mad.”
“No,” he interjects. “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at what that asshole did to you.”
“I would do things that would anger him and—”
“Baby.”
“He would yell at me and throw me around. He’d punch me and slap me—”
Landon takes my face and angles it up to him. “Is that what you’re afraid of? That I’d hit you?” He speaks with fervency, asserting, “I would never lay a hand on you. That guy was a sick fuck for thinking it was okay to touch you like that. But I’m not him, and I’ll do whatever it takes to prove to you that you can trust me to take care of you.”
“I have a lot of strong feelings for you, Landon. I’m just scared to give in to those feelings just to wind up getting hurt.”
“So you’re scared it might not work out?”
“Yes.”
“Not everything comes to an end, you know? But what I’m feeling for you, I don’t want to hide from that. Everything inside me is screaming to fall in love with you.”
“What if loving me isn’t as good as what you’re hoping for?”
“What if it is?” he counters. “What if loving you changes the trajectory of both our lives for the better?” He takes my hand and presses it against his chest, adding, “But what about you? Are you willing to love me?”
The sincerity in his voice begs for affirmation, and if there were any man to take this chance with, I know deep inside that it’s Landon.
“You don’t ever have to be afraid when you’re with me.”
So without the protection of guarantees, I trust in his words, and tell him, “If you’re willing, I’m willing.”
He sits back and pulls me on top of him. His hands wrap around my hips, and with mine gripped on to the back of the couch, I drop my armor. I reach down and pull his one hand up to me and rest it on my breast. “Touch me.”
Gently, he squeezes me in his hand as I watch him, and his eyes never leave mine when he sits up and sucks my nipple, which is still covered by my lace bra and thin chiffon blouse. The sensation ignites me, and I drop my head back. He keeps his mouth on me as the dampness from his tongue seeps through the delicate fabrics, wetting my pert nipple.
Emotions swarm, a plethora of them, but I choose to hone in on the ones that bring me