Once the episode started, Landen slouched down further into my comfy couch and propped his feet on my coffee table. I leaned my head against his shoulder and put my right hand on his abdomen. Every so often his hand would skim my bare arm in an absent caress. I tried to ignore the effect it had on me, but it was growing more difficult each time. I wasn’t quite sure why a simple touch on my arm could make my nipples harden, but it did. I was glad for the light padding in my bra, which hid the state of said nipples.
About halfway through the episode, he moved his hand up and stroked my hair. My eyes nearly rolled back into my head. I loved it when someone played with my hair, which rarely ever happened because it could easily become a curly nightmare. As his fingers ran through the strands and brushed my scalp, I bit back a moan. I could barely focus on the television screen because my eyes wanted to close.
Honestly, I wasthis closeto purring like a damn cat.
As the episode came to a close, I lifted my head and turned toward Landen, hoping to distract myself from the havoc his light touch created in my body. “So, what did you think?”
He studied me for a moment, his fingers still tangled in my hair. “I think you’re full of shit.”
I frowned at him, feeling the first ripples of anger. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Landen leaned his head back against the couch so he could see me. “You said you like to see shows where the bad guys get their due or that make you laugh. That you don’t want to see depressing stuff. This is depressing. He’s talking about murders and I’m sure he doesn’t solve all of them.”
“No, he doesn’t, but it’s not just about the murders. It’s about him. He’s one of the good guys. He wants to catch criminals and, for the most part, he does. Even though the content isn’t necessarily uplifting, I like knowing that there are people out there like him. People that want to stop bad things from happening, or if they can’t stop it, at least get justice for the victims.”
He stared at me, his hand burrowing deeper into my curly hair until his fingers curved around the base of my skull. I couldn’t hide the goose bumps that broke out on my arms at the touch. “That’s somewhat idealistic.”
I bit back a growl. This was something I’d heard from him, and from Chris, before. “It’s not idealistic to want to find good in the world, Landen. Bad things happen to everyone, but that doesn’t mean that good doesn’t exist. It may not always be easy to find, but it’s there. If you spend all your time focusing on the negative stuff around you, you’ll never appreciate the wonderful things you do have.”
He groaned. “Dear God, you’re anoptimist.” The term sounded like a curse rather than a compliment.
“No, I’m realistic. I don’t blindly trust people, which I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I also believe that you’ll never see the best side of a person unless you give them the opportunity to show it to you. Kind of like I did when I agreed to spend time with you yesterday even after you ditched me for ten days.”
He scowled at me. “Are you going to throw that in my face every time we have an argument?”
I laughed. “No, that’s not what I’m trying to do. I’m merely pointing out that if I didn’t believe in giving others the opportunity to show me their better qualities, I wouldn’t have been with you yesterday and I would have missed out in the long run. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a day more since I was a teenager.”
Landen stared at me and the anger faded from his expression. Then his hand fisted in the hair at the nape of my neck and he practically yanked me into his lap.
I’m ashamed to admit it, but I squeaked at the abrupt movement. My ass landed on his thighs and he twisted so that my back rested against the arm of the couch. Then he buried his other hand in my hair as well. I lifted my hands and clutched his shoulders because I felt off-balance, as if the entire room had tilted and I was about to go sliding across the floor.
“Land—”
My words were cut off when his mouth hit mine. The light lip touches he’d given me yesterday were a thing of the past.
He wasn’t exploring me or learning me, he was devouring me. Conquering me.
It took me a moment to catch up to his rapacity, but once the spark appeared it quickly developed into an inferno that threatened to decimate my control.
His teeth nipped at my bottom lip and I gasped at the pleasurable sting. Then his tongue surged into my mouth and I lost my ability to think completely. I moaned into his mouth and fisted both of my hands in his short hair, holding him close.
Landen’s lips tore away from mine and descended over my jaw to my throat. He used his grip on my hair to tug my head back, arching my neck to expose my flesh to his sharp teeth and hot mouth.
I shuddered on his lap as he sank his teeth into the side of my neck. One of his hands left my hair and trailed down my shoulder, over my chest, and to the hem of my loose t-shirt. Then I felt his fingers skimming my stomach, a fiery touch that left me gasping and moaning as he hooked them over the top edge of my bra and yanked it down to bare my breast.
His thumb flicked over my hard nipple once before his index finger joined in and tugged lightly. I squeezed my thighs together as I felt an answering pulse in my clit. His mouth left my throat but he kept my head tilted back with his grip on my hair. I couldn’t move enough to see him as he lifted my shirt higher and stared down at my upper body.
I shivered as one of his fingers moved along the line of my bra to my other breast and tugged that cup down as well. I could feel the cups pushing my breasts up and out, lifting them higher. Then his tongue ran over one of my nipples and I fisted his hair tighter and panted. I tried to lift my head again, but he wouldn’t allow that.
Landen held me stretched across his lap, my ass against the hard length of his erection, and my back and neck arched over the arm of the sofa. I could only stare at the ceiling and wait as he held me there, unwilling to let me move.
Then his lips closed over my nipple, sucking it into the heated cavern of his mouth. I yelped and couldn’t control the way my back curved even more, lifting my breasts higher. I could do nothing but lie there and let him play with my nipples, his mouth moving from one to the other until they were both wet and almost painfully sensitive.
Finally, I couldn’t take it any longer. I needed more than just his mouth on my breasts. I needed his hands on me, his cock inside of me, to soothe the growing ache between my thighs.
I yanked at his hair, probably too hard, but he lifted his head and I twisted, forcing him to either release me or pull a handful of blonde curls from my scalp. Turning so that I straddled his lap, I lowered my hips until I felt the hard ridge of his erection exactly where I needed it. I stared down at him as I tore the shirt over my head and reached one hand behind me to unclasp my bra.
Once I was bare from the waist up, I reached down and grabbed the hem of his t-shirt, yanking it up and over his head. I wanted to feel his skin against mine, to touch him the way he was touching me.
