Lies in Love (22 page)

“Talia…”
He wanted to apologize for leaving. He wanted to tell her that he
would never leave her like that again. He wanted to say so many
things, but none of them felt right. He had no right to promise that
he wouldn’t leave her, especially when it was fair that he
leave. Where the wrong lay was when he came back. He should have left
her well enough alone instead of dragging this out, but he just
couldn’t stay away from her. He took the alley that led to her
back door and let the car idle, suddenly fully aware of what he was
about to do. He had every intention of going up to Talia’s
apartment and making love to her, and this time he had no plan to
leave until she was good and ready for him to.

“You coming in?”
Talia’s hand was on her door, but she was staring reverently at
him.

He nodded and exited the
car, hurrying to her side to help her out.

“I left my purse in
Sara’s car so we’ll have to go in through the shop.”
She punched in a few numbers on a keypad and the back door popped
open. Once they were safely inside, with the door securely in place,
Talia moved to the cabinets along the opposite wall. “I hid my
key in one of the vases.” She giggled.

Landon loved the sound. He
watched her reach up to the top shelf and her dress inched up just
enough to show the bottom of her ass. There were so many things he
longed to do to that ass. And just like that, all his reservations
melted away. All thoughts left his mind, except those of what he
longed to do to her in her bed, against the wall, on the kitchen
table. He was voracious.

“Got it.”

Landon’s gut was in
knots when she turned for the stairs and made no move to adjust her
dress. She must have known what she was doing to him. She flipped on
a light and made her way up the stairs, Landon following like a lost
puppy behind her. Before they reached the top, he grabbed her,
quickly pulling her dress up over her hips, above the remarkable blue
rose tattooed on her ribs, and past her breasts. From where he stood,
every inch of her looked absolutely flawless. He spun her around to
face him as she removed her bra, making quick work of his jeans and
boxers and letting them fall to the floor. He pulled his shirt over
his head, wanting nothing between them when he took her this time.

Seeing every inch of her
naked body, he dropped to his knees to worship her. His hands skimmed
across her legs, leaving goose bumps in their wake. They took on a
life of their own, stopping at her waist, resting on the tops of her
butt cheeks, and loving the feel of that plump flesh beneath his
fingertips. He jerked her toward him, burying his head between her
legs and breathing her in. “You are so perfect.” Lapping
at her clit, he slowly tasted the sweet flesh there. Her legs widened
as she fell against the wall and moaned his name. He continued
licking and gently biting until she was panting and her legs could
barely hold her up. As she cried out his name, he reached for his
jeans to pull a condom from his wallet, realizing he’d used the
only one he had on him. “Shit.”

Still panting, Talia
uttered, “What?”

“I used my only condom
earlier.” He was shaking his head at his amateur move. Before
Talia came along, he would have never left home without more than
one. Now here he sat in a dire situation, fully erect with no way for
release.

“I think I have one in
my medicine cabinet.” She was still struggling to catch her
breath as she bent down to pick up the keys she’d dropped
moments before.

“Let me get it.”
He took the keys from her hand, opening the door and tugged her
inside. When she leaned against the door, he kissed her mouth, then
let his forehead lean against hers as he whispered, “I’m
going to have you here, just like this.”

He raced through the living
room, straight into the bathroom attached to her bedroom, and began
his desperate search for a condom. There on the shelf sat an unopened
box and Landon’s heart leapt. “Thank God for small
miracles.” He grabbed two from the box, throwing one on the bed
for the possibility of later and put the other one on. When he
returned to the living room, Talia was still leaned against the wall,
panting. Her breath grew more frantic when she looked down to his
erection. She was practically salivating over him.

“Don’t worry,
baby. This is all for you.” He grabbed the back of her neck and
pulled her mouth to his, taking exactly what he’d wanted all
evening. His tongue delved into her mouth, teasing hers. When he
pulled away, he moved down her neck, sucking at the base, loving the
feel of her pulse beneath his tongue. His hands moved down her back,
one gripping her waist while the other lifted her thigh, opening her
to him. “I should’ve taken you like this in the club.
Then I wouldn’t have been in agony during the drive here.”

He pulled her against him,
placing his tip against her sex, feeling the wetness that lingered.
When he buried his head deep inside of her, he leaned over to bite
down on her shoulder. She whimpered beneath him, but he pressed on,
moving into her slowly at first, that even movement of in and out
that brought everything in him to life. Then he grew harder and moved
faster, until he was pounding into her vigorously against the wall.
Talia’s cries had been soft, but they grew by the second until
they were loud, gushing moans. His fingers sank into her hips,
pulling her closer, longing to feel himself deeper inside her. She
was writhing, with her back firmly against the wall, and he plunged
deeper until there was nothing between them but skin. When she
finally screamed his name, he came undone inside her, feeling her
wrenching him dry yet again. “You’re going to be my
undoing, Petal.”

Talia lulled in his arms,
clearly drained from another splendid orgasm, so Landon cradled her
in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. He placed her on the bed,
pulling the comforter from beneath her so they could both climb
underneath. When he was lying comfortably on his side, he saw she was
still sitting upright against her pillow. “What’s wrong?”

She looked away from him to
the bedroom window, avoiding his question.

“Talia.” He
placed his finger under her chin and pulled her gaze to his. “What
is it?”

“What happens when
you’re gone in the morning?” Panic filled her face as she
pulled the comforter up over her breasts.

“I’ll be here. I
promise.” He sat up to kiss her. “I’ll never walk
out on you again.” He wasn’t sure why he made her that
promise, but he was fairly certain he would do everything in his
power to keep it.

With Landon’s words,
Talia settled into the bed, curling up in his arms where they both
fell asleep.

Incessant beeping rang out,
waking Talia, welcoming her to a rude world of headaches and slight
hangovers. As she reached to turn off the alarm clock, strong arms
held her in place and the soft moan of a man purred from behind her.
Flashbacks of being pressed against her front door crying out in
ecstasy flickered in her mind. She wiggled out of those strong arms
just enough to turn off the alarm and the time screamed out to her.

“Holy shit.” She
threw Landon off of her and jumped from the bed in a panic. The feel
of soreness between her thighs from Landon’s feral appetite for
her slowed her movements. She grabbed a satin robe from her dresser
and shrugged it on.

Landon lazily opened his
eyes. “Good morning to you too.” His voice was a deep,
sexy rasp and he looked so inviting, laying out on full display in
her bed. He had his head resting on one arm, accentuating the bulging
muscle in his bicep.

Talia’s eyes roved his
body: the tattoo that only existed on the top half of his left arm,
the ridges in his abdomen from a body that was well cared for, and
the deep V that led her eyes down to the erection so commonly
referred to as “morning wood.” His arousal was nothing to
scoff at. He was undeniably well endowed, and it didn’t hurt
that he knew just how to use it. Talia shook her head, remembering
why she jumped out of bed in the first place. “You’ve got
to get up.”

Landon didn’t budge
and his laughter was less than encouraging. “What’s the
hurry?”

He patted the bed next to
him and Talia rolled her eyes in response, dashing into her closet to
find something quick and easy to throw on. She pulled a pair of black
dress pants from a hanger and returned to her room to dig through her
drawers. Opening the top drawer reminded her of the clothes strewn
about her stairs. “Oh fuck.” She ran through the
apartment, straight for the stairs, and opened her front door to
gather up the remnants of last night’s activities. The shop
door opened as she reached for the last few garments. She rushed to
grab the last item, but it fell out of her hand, slowing her retreat.

“Talia?” Sara’s
voice echoed from the bottom of the stairs. “What are you
doing?”

Talia reluctantly turned
around with an arm full of clothes. “I’ll be right down.”
She tried to speak in a sing-song voice to hide her embarrassment,
but the look of pure shock on Sara’s face when she turned to
look at her had heat rising in Talia’s cheeks. She spun on her
heel and raced back into the apartment, slamming the door behind her
as she went. Just inside her bedroom she heaved the clothes at
Landon, who was still comfortably laying in her bed.

“Everything okay?”

“No, everything is not
okay. My sister just saw me picking up what she can only be
envisioning as traces of a scandalous rendezvous.”

Landon laughed again. “I
seriously doubt she’s thinking that.”

Talia rolled her eyes again,
returning to her drawers to find a shirt that wasn’t in dire
need of ironing. “Get dressed,” she hurled over her
shoulder as she dug.

“Yes, ma’am.”

The fact that Landon found
so much humor in the situation was wearing on Talia’s nerves.
She’d finally found a shirt that looked presentable enough for
a wedding delivery when she felt Landon’s arms wrap around her.
When his body was firmly pressed against her back, it became
abundantly evident that he was still undressed. “What are you
doing?” She turned in his arms to show him the scathing look on
her face, but it quickly faded when she saw the hunger in his eyes.

“You are so sexy when
you’re flustered.” He kissed the tip of her nose while he
leaned her against her dresser. “I’m tempted to bend you
over right here and fuck you just so I can watch you in that mirror
as you come.”

Talia’s eyes nearly
popped out of her head, a conflicting response to the dampness
forming between her legs. She wanted to tell him no, but the thought
of repeating the mind-blowing orgasms from the night before was
enticing. “I need to get ready.” Her voice was less than
convincing.

His hand slipped between her
legs to feel the wetness there. “You feel ready to me.”
He leaned forward to kiss the space just below her ear and she moaned
in response.

“Landon.”

“Tell me what you
want, Petal.”

That one word triggered a
response that she knew she would regret. “I have to get ready
for work. I have a delivery in half an hour.” She reluctantly
pushed Landon off of her and carried all of her clothes into the
bathroom, where she would be safe from his advances. A splash of cold
water calmed her enough to get dressed and fortified her resolve to
send him away without what she knew they were both desperately
wanting. When she was dressed in a olive long-sleeve t-shirt and her
slacks, she brushed her teeth then tied her hair in a bun behind her
head and returned to the bedroom a little stronger than before.

Landon was fastening the
button on his jeans, standing in her room now fully dressed. His hair
stood up in that sexy, just fucked way that only men could pull off,
and Talia wished for just one more romp with him so she could hang on
to his hair while he drove her to the brink of insanity. She knew
those thoughts would get her nowhere, so she scurried to the kitchen
for a Frappuccino in her refrigerator. She was certain there was no
time for coffee, and her safety from Landon decreased with every
added second she spent in the apartment. While she was draining the
contents of the bottle, Landon entered the living room looking
slightly dejected. She was angry with herself for not giving him what
she knew they were both longing for, but she quickly shook off the
thought. “I’ve got to get downstairs. I’m the boss,
you know. I have to set a good example.”

Landon nodded, stalking her
approach. When she was close enough to touch, he pulled her into his
arms and kissed her firmly on the lips.

A fire erupted in her belly
and she just wanted to melt into his arms, forgetting every
responsibility she had. “I really need to go.”

“I know.” He
kissed her again, tugging at her bottom lip with his teeth before he
let go.

“Do you have plans
later? I should be back here for lunch, say around one?”

“Just lunch?”
That hungry ferocity twinkled in his eye.

“We’ll see.”
She looked up at him through her lashes, then pushed him away. “Go.”
One quick smack on the butt sent him on his way. “See you
later.”

“Bye, Petal.”

She wasn’t sure how
the sound of his voice could tie her stomach in knots, but she loved
the feeling. She couldn’t wait for one o’clock.