I’d thought he’d either tease me or tear my clothes off once he saw the photo, but the look on his face was hard to decipher. I did spot heat in his eyes as they traveled up and down the photo, but what I registered the most as he traced along the frame with the tip of his middle finger was something I hadn’t expected.
Reverence.
That I hadn’t anticipated or didn’t know what to do with.
“Okay, could you maybe blink or something? Or did I short-circuit your brain?” I sputtered out a nervous chuckle.
When he finally looked up, his eyes were wide as they darted from me to the frame still clutched in his hands.
“Jesus Christ, Jules,” he finally breathed out, chuckling to himself as he shook his head. “How are you mine?” he whispered and set the frame back down on the counter. “So fucking beautiful,” he said, his voice a low, husky rasp as he took my face in his hands.
“So, you like it?” I croaked out, a rush of unexpected emotion scratching at the back of my throat when I tried to find my voice.
“Like it?” He scoffed, glancing at the photo before turning back to me. “I never want to look at anything else for the rest of my life.” He skated his thumb over the seam of my lips. “I’m so goddamn lucky. Give me that mouth, baby.”
Our mouths fused together, a mess of tongues and lips and desperation as he untied my robe.
“Fuck, Julie.” His low rumble came out like a growl when the silk pooled at my feet. “Was your plan for my birthday to kill me?” He peeled off his suit jacket, dropping it to the floor next to my robe as he nodded toward the table. “Get on the table and spread your legs.”
I stared at him, not moving an inch as he tore off his tie. His eyes had a feral gleam I’d never seen before. A chill ran up my spine as he stalked toward me and lifted me up by the waist, setting me down on the edge of the table.
“You’re so fucking incredible.” He grabbed the back of my neck and brought my mouth back to his. The kiss was hard and thorough, his tongue making long strokes inside my mouth as he clutched the back of my head, like he was trying to tell me something. I whimpered when he broke the kiss and ran his mouth down my neck and over the swells of my breasts, already spilling out of the tiny cups.
With one yank, his mouth was on my nipple, sucking and rolling it between his teeth. He drifted his mouth across my chest, repeating all the same torturous movements and trailing openmouthed kisses over my stomach, dragging my panties down my legs as he moved lower.
He flicked his eyes up to mine, a smile playing at the corner of his lips as he held my gaze and licked a path along the inside of my thigh.
“Don’t tease,” I begged, arching my back as he continued the torture on my other leg.
“It’s my birthday. I’ll celebrate however I want.”
I cried out when he dragged his tongue back and forth over my slit and then sucked my clit into his mouth.
I dug my heels into Landon’s back, rocking my hips against his face as he gripped his fingers into my thighs to pull me closer, holding me in place as my legs shook.
“Close, darlin’?” he murmured, coasting his hands up my stomach and cupping my breasts, my body jerking when he traced my nipples with his thumbs.
I didn’t have time to answer as all the sensations from everywhere hit me and my body went rigid from the waist down. I squirmed against his mouth, but he wouldn’t let up, torturing me with tiny kisses until I rolled up to sit.
“Whose birthday is it again?” I joked and dragged a hand down my face.
“Mine,” he said, dragging his tongue across his soaked bottom lip. “Or it will be once I’m inside you.” He held my gaze as he fumbled with his belt buckle, smiling wide when the whir of his zipper filled the silence.
“I guess I’m staying put—” I yelped when he brought me closer.
“Yeah,” he whispered, picking up my hand to kiss the inside of my palm before he settled in between my legs. “Come closer, baby,” he crooned as he eased inside me.
I looped my arm around his neck as he inched in and out, a wide grin stretching across his lips before he brought his mouth back to mine.
It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but we moved together in slow waves, Landon’s hand in my hair and his arm still holding tight around my waist, as if he was afraid I’d disappear. I pressed my hand into the table behind me as I bucked my hips against him, meeting him thrust for thrust and trying to tell him, despite the words that wouldn’t come out, that I was here to stay.
Because I was his—from the beginning and for all those years after, whether I’d known it or not.
“I love you,” he grunted into the crook of my neck as he picked up the pace. “I love you so fucking much.”
He lifted my leg over his hip, changing the angle and the friction just enough for me to fall apart in his arms. He slumped against me, his own release hitting him hard as he dropped his head to my chest.
“I really hope I didn’t burn your dinner.”
