Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Sunnie emerged from the apartment, back into the pub, and glanced in Landon’s direction. He and Audrey were still talking, then they clinked glasses. She was smiling.
Sunnie didn’t want to think about what that smile might mean.
She considered walking right over to their table, but paused briefly, trying to figure out what she would say. She’d royally screwed up this morning. It was going to take some finesse to get him away from Audrey so she could fix that.
Glancing around the pub, she realized Pop Pop was at the bar—and he was looking at her.
She decided to go that direction first. Pop Pop gave great pep talks.
“Hey, Pop Pop,” she said, claiming the stool next to him.
He smiled at her. “You finally watched the video.”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“And?”
“And Landon loves me. And I love him. And I really fucking hate that he’s talking to Audrey.”
“Language,” Pop Pop said, something she’d heard no less than a million times from him whenever she or Finn or Mom cussed.
She issued the obligatory “Sorry,” then continued, “Why do you think she’s here?”
“If she’s intelligent, and I believe she is, I’d say she’s come to ask Landon to take her back. I think she’s regretting letting him go to begin with.”
Sunnie sighed. “Yeah. That’s what I think too.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?”
“He’s mine . I’m going over there and getting him.”
Pop Pop lifted his pint glass. “That’s my girl. So what are you still doing over here?”
“I need advice.”
“Lass, it sounds to me like you’ve made up your mind.”
“Oh, not about that. I’m definitely staking my Landon claim. The question is…how? What do you think? Richard Gere style?”
Pop Pop chuckled. He was a sucker for a romantic comedy, a love he’d passed on to his granddaughters. Sunnie couldn’t count how many afternoons she’d spent with him—either in the living room or at the theater—watching everyone from Tom Hanks to Meg Ryan to Julia Roberts fall head over heels in love.
“I’m not sure where you’d find a limo and bouquet of roses at this time of night,” Pop Pop said.
“Good point. Of course, there’s always the Officer and a Gentleman route. I could go over there, pick him up and carry him out of here.”
Pop Pop pretended to consider her upper-body strength, then shook his head. “No. I think you and Landon have already had that moment.”
She gave him a confused look, until he said, “The night of the mugging. Remember? It’s probably too soon in your relationship to start rehashing the big endings.”
Sunnie laughed. “Excellent point. So…should I ask him to meet me on top of the Empire State Building, flash cue cards at him like in Love Actually , sing ‘Grow Old with You’ on a plane, tell him no one puts baby in a corner, or that he had me at hello?”
“You could just tell him you love him.”
Sunnie turned around at his voice, surprised to see Landon standing behind her. She glanced over his shoulder.
“She’s gone,” Landon said. “So…”
Sunnie pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh at his far-too-happy grin. “So, just saying it feels pretty lame, babe. It lacks a certain…”
“Romance?”
She sighed. “Yeah.”
“Don’t you think the beginning was already pretty romantic?”
She considered that. “Going viral was cool. And I do like Faith Hill.”
Landon narrowed his eyes. “Those were the parts you found romantic?”
Sunnie slid off the stool and stepped closer. “Well, the kiss was pretty awesome. And when you carried me to?—”
Sunnie didn’t get the chance to finish her sentence when Landon tugged her toward him and gave her another one of those earth-shattering kisses.
“Still trying to shut me up?” she joked.
“Yes.” He kissed her again.
She wrapped her hands around his neck as he cupped her face between his hands. The kiss might have lasted longer if they weren’t interrupted.
“Jesus. Are you two still playing that damn game?”
She and Landon turned to face her father.
Sunnie giggled as Landon cleared his throat. Finn was standing directly behind their dad, arms crossed, grinning.
“Oh for pity’s sake, sugar. You know they were never pretending.” Mom pushed her way by Dad, reaching for Landon to pull him in for a hug.
Dad smirked. “Finally admitting it, Sunnie?”
She nodded.
“I knew it was going to take a special guy to get my headstrong girl to fall in love.”
Sunnie rolled her eyes when Dad shook Landon’s hand, acting like he’d just saved half a dozen kids from a fire.
“No more pretending?” Dad asked.
“No, sir,” Landon said.
“I think it’s perfect,” her mom sighed.
Dad looked from her to Landon, then back at her. “Landon, huh?” he asked with a grin.
“Oh my God. Seriously, you two. Can we please not make this into a big thing? Landon and I are just dating.”
Landon wrapped his arm around her waist. “She’s head over heels for me. I’m already planning our entire future in my head.”
Dad laughed. “Glad to hear it. About time you both took your heads out of your asses and realized what was right in front of you.”
“Too far,” Sunnie mumbled. “Everyone is going way too far.”
Finn couldn’t resist jumping in to tease her. “Collins curse claims another victim.”
Dad slapped Finn on the shoulder. “Maybe you’ll be next.”
Finn’s eyes widened, and Sunnie was delighted when the joke was suddenly on him. “Why would you even say that? It’s like daring the universe!”
Mom and Dad walked away laughing as Sunnie turned to face Landon, her eyes narrowed.
“Oh man. I think we all managed to bring on another freak-out,” Finn muttered.
Landon never took his eyes off her as he spoke to her brother. “Twenty bucks, Finn, if you and Miguel guard the exits and keep her from leaving.”
“Each?” Finn clarified.
“Each.”
Finn jerked his head toward Miguel, who was already moving into position. “I’ll cover the pub. You take Sunday’s Side,” Miguel said.
Sunnie shook her head. “Planning our entire future? Like forever future?”
He nodded. “Yep.”
“Is this how slow you’re planning to take things?”
“Yep.”
“You’re going to have to cough up that forty bucks,” Sunnie said. “Because I’m going through those doors in about ten seconds.”
Landon reached out, his hands gripping her waist as he frowned. “Sunnie.”
“I have to. I promised Yvonne we’d spend the night at your place. She’d like to get some sleep tonight.”
Landon laughed and reached for his wallet. “Let’s go.”
He grasped her hand, slipped Miguel a twenty, grumbled when the man kept it, then led her to his car.
She was touched when he opened the passenger door for her. “Quite the gentleman.”
Landon snuck a quick kiss, then his gaze slid lower. “I like your shirt.”
Sunnie kissed his jaw. “I knew you would.”
“Using the girls to get my attention?”
“Worked, didn’t it?”
He nodded, then ran his finger over her cleavage. “Oh yeah.”
They got into the car.
“So…Audrey,” she said, when he pulled onto the road.
“Yeah. She had a rough year in New York.”
“And she came back to tell you that?”
Landon glanced over at her. “She came to say she wanted me back.”
“What did you say?”
He laughed loudly. “I’m sitting in the car with you at the moment, so I’ll let you puzzle that one out.”
Sunnie punched his arm. “Smart-ass.”
“No more freaking out?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry about this morning. Really sorry.”
He accepted her apology with nothing more than a pleased smile that warmed her heart. “I know this is all new for you, Sunnie. Committed relationships. We can take it slow.”
“Thanks.”
“Besides, you recovered from your freak-out pretty quick.”
“Yvonne and Kelli helped me see the error of my ways. So did the video.”
He stopped at a traffic light. “You watched it again?”
She nodded. “You knew then, didn’t you?”
“Sunshine, I’m pretty sure I knew on April Fools. That second kiss just sealed the deal.”
“So what you’re really saying is, I beat Audrey by three kisses.”
He reached over and ruffled her hair, something he’d been doing since they were kids. She shoved his hands away, grinning.
“Wanna know a secret?” she asked.
“Sure.”
“I knew at April Fools too.”
The light turned green so he started driving again. “Is that right?”
“Problem is, I didn’t realize that’s what it was.”
“You realize you still haven’t said the words,” Landon pointed out.
“Neither have you.”
Before he could reply to that, they were at his place. “Sunnie…” He leaned close to her as he turned off the car.
She twisted in her seat and leaned forward as well, expecting him to tell her how he felt.
“When we get upstairs, I’m going to punish you for freaking out. Then I’m going to strip you naked and do very dirty things to you.”
Old Sunnie would have been ridiculously turned on by that prospect.
New Sunnie wanted those damn three little words.
Then she reared back, something he’d said sinking in. “Punish me?”
Landon opened the door, then came around, taking her hand as she got out too. He wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked into his building, drawing her close enough that he could whisper in her ear.
“I’m going to push those sexy jeans down to your ankles, bend you over my bed, and spank your cute little ass until you promise to never again run out on me in the middle of a fight. Especially one where I’m naked and hard.”
Sunnie, because she was contrary, ran her hand along the front of his jeans. “Bet that hurt.”
He narrowed his eyes, then pressed her hand more firmly against him, letting her know he was right back to the same place he’d been this morning when she left. “You have no idea. Hence the spanking.”
She laughed as they got into the elevator, the sound fading when he didn’t even crack a smile. “You’re joking about that, right?”
He shook his head. “Not even a little bit. Besides, I spanked you last night.”
“Those were swats in the heat of the moment,” she sputtered. “You can’t spank me like I’m some badly behaved child!”
“Of course I can. And believe me, the way I do it won’t make you feel like a kid.” He pressed her against the wall of the elevator, kissing her cheek, his breath hot in her ear when he said, “If I do it right, you’ll have your first orgasm that way.”
The elevator doors opened and Sunnie stumbled to his apartment, feeling drunk even though she’d only had a couple margaritas—and that had been two hours earlier.
Once they were inside, Landon grabbed her hand, dragging her to his bedroom at record speed as she giggled.
“Landon, it’s a marathon, babe. Not a sprint.”
He turned toward her once they were in his room, hands on his hips. “Pants off.”
Sunnie unfastened her jeans, sliding the zipper down slowly. Then she began to shimmy out of the denim, letting it slip over her hips one little inch at a time, grinning as she did so. She left her panties in place. Her sensual, slow striptease was driving him crazy.
Landon watched her through narrowed, hungry eyes. “Keep it up, Sunshine. It’s only adding to your punishment.”
She rolled her eyes—which turned out to be his breaking point.
“That’s it.”
Landon strode over, picked her up and tossed her onto her back on his bed. She barely had time to push up on her elbows before he had her shoes, jeans and panties tugged off.
“Give a girl a chance,” she protested, but Landon wasn’t in a patient mood. That point was driven home when he gripped one of her arms and flipped her to her stomach.
Sunnie tried to lift up, to crawl away, but Landon bent over her, his chest pressed to her back.
“Hold still,” he warned her.
Sunnie had never been particularly good at doing as she was told. Not that Landon was giving her much choice. The man was wicked strong. He stood again, one hand resting in the center of her back, holding her in place.
Then he spanked her ass, three rapid-fire and hard swats.
“Ow!”
He repeated the action, and she tried once more to move away.
“Open your legs.”
Sunnie stilled.
“Sunnie,” he murmured, his voice almost a purr.
She parted her thighs, and he ran his fingers along her slit, from clit to ass.
“Oh God,” she whispered. “Yes.”
She lifted her hips toward him, but Landon pulled his fingers away, methodically spanking her a half dozen more times. Her ass felt like it was on fire, but it wasn’t exactly painful. It was… Sunnie struggled to figure it out.
It was something else entirely.
Something hot and sexy.
He alternated every spank with sexy strokes, playing with her clit, toying with her ass.
“Inside me,” she begged. “Put your fingers inside me.”
Her request earned her three more swats, these on her upper thighs.
“Dammit, Landon!” she cried when, once more, he added pressure to her clit while ignoring her empty, clenching pussy. “I can’t take it. I need?—”
“Thought it was a marathon.”
She shot him a looks-could-kill glare over her shoulder, but it only made him laugh. “I’m going to tell my dad and Finn you spanked me. I’m pretty sure they’ll beat you up for that.”
He caressed her sore bottom. “I’m pretty sure they won’t.”
She sighed. “I need—” she started again.
“I know what you need, Sunshine.”
Finally, he pressed two fingers inside her, and she felt as if she could cry with relief.
“You’re so wet,” he murmured. “Wet and hot and tight.”
She pressed her forehead to the mattress, her hips moving toward him practically of their own volition. She was going to explode, splinter apart into a million shining pieces.
Landon moved his fingers in and out as slowly as she’d stripped off her jeans, the pace driving her insane.
“Faster,” she urged.
He didn’t comply.
“Harder,” she tried.
Again, he kept up the same gentle, slow motion. Sunnie tried to take matters into her own hands, attempting to get some sort of traction on the mattress so she could set the pace she desired. Landon’s hand on her back prevented that.
“Please,” she whispered, her inner muscles quivering, her heart racing. She was close, but he wasn’t giving her enough to push her over.
“Tell me what you want.”
“You. I want you .”
“Promise you won’t run from me again, Sunnie. I can’t take another day like today.”
She stopped trying to reach for more. Instead, she lifted her head, looked over her shoulder, captured his gaze and nodded. “I’m not running anymore, Landon. I’m exactly where I want to be.”
He leaned toward her, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.
Then he gave her everything she wanted. He’d promised her first orgasm would come from the punishment, and he hadn’t lied. With her promise still hovering in the air, he let loose, thrusting three fingers inside her, deep and hard, setting a fast pace that had her head spinning.
She came with a loud cry, calling out his name, but Landon didn’t relent, didn’t stop.
The hand on her back slid upwards, his fingers wrapping themselves in her hair. He clenched his fist, tugging just shy of real pain.
She groaned.
“Come again,” he demanded. “One more time, and then we’re going to get serious.”
She would have laughed at that comment—what the fuck was this if not serious?—but there wasn’t a bit of spare breath in her body.
There was no way she could come again so quickly.
But she should have known better. Landon’s hand tightened in her hair as he withdrew his fingers, sliding one wet digit all the way into her ass.
She trembled roughly. “Holy. Shit. Please .”
“Keep begging me, Sunnie. I like it.”
Every word came out alone, punctuated with a harsh breath. Sunnie felt like she’d actually run that damn marathon. “Please. God. Please. I. Need…”
Her pussy clenched when his fingers returned, sending her into orbit once more. She pressed her legs together when his fingers finally slipped away.
Sunnie was vaguely aware of him moving around behind her. She assumed he was getting undressed. She would have liked to watch the show, but he’d set her on fire and reduced her to ash. She couldn’t move, not even to open her eyes.
She jumped slightly when he lightly stroked her ass.
“Okay, babe?” he asked.
“Not sure, but I think I had an out-of-body experience,” she murmured.
He chuckled as he sat on the mattress next to her, running his fingers gently over her bare bottom, reminding her of the spanking. She considered what she could do to encourage him to spank her again one night…or, well…every night.
“I hope you learned your lesson,” he said, adopting a stern voice.
Sunnie giggled. “Um. Well. Hate to break it to you, but…”
“But?” he prompted.
She turned her face toward him, forcing her eyes open. “I was actually just wondering what I could do to make you spank me again.”
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t worry about that too much. You’re an accomplished pain in the ass, remember?”
She pushed herself to her back, then sat up, wincing slightly at the pressure on her bottom. “Ouch. Maybe I’ve changed my mind on the spanking.”
“You haven’t,” he said, as he reached for the hem of her shirt, pulling it off in one swoop. Then with skilled fingers, he rid her of her bra.
She lay down on her back, parting her legs, loving how natural it felt when he turned toward her, caging her beneath him.
“How did we only just now find each other?” she whispered. “You were always there. Why didn’t I see you?”
He kissed her softly, the head of his cock at her opening. “I don’t know, but we’re here now.”
“I love you,” she said, her heart overflowing with the emotion.
He smiled and kissed her again. “You said it first,” he teased.
Sunnie narrowed her eyes. “And you better say it ba?—”
“I love you too. So much it hurts.”
She’d never understood that saying until now, with him. Now she got it, realized she was filled to the brim with the emotion, so full of love, she felt as if she couldn’t contain it all, as if she’d come apart at the seams.
Landon kissed her one more time, then slowly slid inside, not stopping until he was buried deep. He took her slowly at first, as they kissed, touched, stroked each other.
Then, their marathon turned to a sprint, both of them too close to go slow. His thrusts grew harder.
“God, Sunshine,” he said at last. “So close.”
She closed her eyes, throwing her head back. “Already. There!”
Sunnie came again, and Landon followed her over.
It was ecstasy. Bliss.
Sweet oblivion.
Landon fell to her side, breathing heavy. “I think you should move in with me.”
Sunnie laughed. “So much for taking it slow.”