They both rode the wave of sheer carnal delights together, holding each other for dear life till the sensations had waned and they could catch their breaths in the aftermath.
“You were nothing short of amazing,” Landon spoke softly as they lay next to each other.
Raquelle flushed. “So were you.”
He laughed. “Guess some things in life never change.”
“Maybe you’re right.”But other things do change, she thought realistically. Such as the fact that they were nolonger married. Or unsure of what this meant for the future between them. If anything at all. “I should probably go,” she said, not wanting this to seem awkward as far as sleeping arrangements now that the passion from their intimacy was over.
“Do you have to?” Landon shifted her way. “Stay the night.”
“Are you sure?” She met his eyes searchingly. Neither had made any commitments, so there was no more obligation on his part to treat what just happened as a signal than hers.
“I’m very sure,” he maintained and kissed her as a stamp of his desire to keep her close at hand till morning.
* * *
LANDON WAS UPearly the next day after getting little sleep, between a second round of lovemaking to Raquelle—in what turned out to be all-consuming, red-hot sex with his ex-wife—and wondering where they went from here. As far as he was concerned, he would like nothing more than to start dating his ex-wife again, as though for the very first time. Even if they would still need to work through some things that derailed their marriage before, they were given an opportunity to correct the mistakes. Lessons learned, right?
But did Raquelle feel the same way, if not expressing this in so many words?
Then there was the Eddie element that Landon feared could stand in the way of any successful future he and Raquelle might have. Should there be a bad outcome for her brother when the curtain came down, would that shadow hang over them like a sinister presence? Wasthat something that she could live with and still want to be in a stable relationship with him?
Guess I’ll just have to wait it out and not overthink things, Landon told himself as he made breakfast, happy to allow Raquelle to catch up on some sleep before beginning her day.
He had just put some blueberry pancakes on the griddle, recalling that this was something she enjoyed with maple syrup—to go with bacon and coffee—when Raquelle came into the kitchen.
“Hey.” Landon grinned when he saw her barefoot and in one of his shirts.
“Hey.” She slid a hand through her disheveled long hair. “Hope you don’t mind my wearing this. I just grabbed the first piece of clothing I found to see what you were up to.”
“I don’t mind at all,” he assured her. “If the truth be told, the shirt looks much better on you than me.”
She blushed. “If you say so.”
“I made breakfast—your favorite.” Landon grinned as Raquelle eyed the pancakes.
“I can see that.” She smiled at him. “Actually, I’m starved. How thoughtful.”
“That’s just me,” he downplayed it. “Have a seat.”
Raquelle sat in the kitchen booth and grabbed a piece of bacon off the plate, taking a bite. “I think I could get used to this,” she teased him. “Or would that be putting the cart ahead of the horse, considering the fact that we’re no longer together?”
Landon put the plate of pancakes before her and said, having pondered this irony himself, “It’s not putting the cart before the horse at all. Perhaps it’s the other wayaround and we just needed some time to figure things out.”
She looked at him. “And have you—figured things out?”
He kept a straight face when responding levelly, “At least enough to know that what we had has never gone away—whatever that means going forward.”
“Hmm.” Raquelle was thoughtful as she sliced her knife into the pancakes. “Okay.”
Landon sat down and ate with her. He was more than content to leave it at that for now, not wanting to rock the boat by delving too deeply into how their night of mind-blowing intimacy might move the needle in their evolving and rekindling relationship.
Chapter Twelve
The federal raid was about to go down at a warehouse owned by Ivan Pimentel, located on Baldwin Road in downtown Columbia. A tip led Landon to believe that the facility contained stolen and forged art and artifacts in further building the case against the suspected art dealer. It was also suspected that if Eddie were being held captive in relation to the investigation, he could be at that location.
To Landon, it was time to turn up the heat on Pimentel and his crime syndicate. The detailed warrant issued gave them wide-ranging authority in what they could search for and where within the premises. If Eddie could be rescued in the process, all the better. But even without the presence of his CHS, Landon was committed to disrupting the activities of the organization and arresting those perpetrating criminal activity.
