Chapter Two
Keegan
I keep Landry tucked up against my side as we slip onto the elevator from the convention floor to the hotel situated above. I texted Slade Stark while Landry was dressing, asking him to cover the booth for me because something came up.
He didn’t ask any questions.
I’m not sure what I’d tell him anyway. That I met my future while Tyler was trying to drag her from the building? I don’t think there’s any explaining the feelings coursing through me. They just fucking are .
As soon as I saw her, my feet were rooted to the floor. It was impossible to miss her, looking like sunshine in the middle of the crowd. Her blonde hair was tied back with pieces wild around her face, those beautiful green eyes so wide. Her bottom lip trembled as she glanced around, confusion stamped all over her face.
When Tyler grabbed her and she cowered away, I wanted to fucking howl. She sounded so goddamn scared, pleading with him. And that look on her face? Christ, it was haunting.
My heart stopped for a minute as soon as her eyes met mine. It’s like every part of her was crying out for me, begging me to wrap myself around her and promise to keep her safe.
I had to step in and stop him…had to find out who she was. Her name is engraved in my memory now, and so is that sweet little whimper, the feel of her skin beneath my fingertips, and the way she trembles every time I touch her.
She’s so sweet, so innocent. And I don’t mean sexually. I mean, innocent , pure and guileless, untouched by the darkness of the world. She’s shy and trembling, but there’s strength in her, too. I see it in her eyes, as if she’s endured more than anyone her age should have.
I recognize that look. It’s the same one I see in the mirror every time I look at my reflection. I see it in my sister, Elodie, too. Landry is a survivor, a fighter, just like us.
I’ve never wanted to ink someone as badly as I wanted to ink her. But I needed my art on her body, as if it marked her as mine. I’ve never felt any of this before—this absolute conviction that someone was meant for me. But this shy little flower was meant for me.
I’ve spent most of my life taking care of Elodie, protecting her from our alcoholic father. I raised her when he couldn’t, because he couldn’t get out of his own way long enough to love the daughter who once idolized him. He put us through hell. Sometimes, that shit still haunts me.
What haunts Landry? What monsters has she faced?
Whatever they are, they won’t bother her again. I’ll handle them for her, making sure she wants for nothing, like I did for Elodie.
“Almost there, sweetness,” I murmur, brushing my lips across her temple as the elevator jolts into motion and she trembles against me again.
“Okay,” she whispers, pressing her face against my throat.
She’s so soft in my arms, so fucking sweet. I feel every curve pressed against me, turning my dick to steel. There’s something beautiful about the way her softness yields against me, cradling me everywhere our bodies touch. The feel of her against me is electric, sending currents straight to my cock.
I nuzzle her throat, breathing her in. Trying like hell not to press her up against the elevator wall to lick that scent from her skin…all the way down to her pussy. I already know that peaches and cream scent will be stronger there. So fucking delicious and wet for me.
“Fuck,” I groan against her throat, my hands flexing involuntarily against her waist. “You smell so fucking good.”
“So do you.”
My lips curve before I press a sweet kiss to her racing pulse. I flick that same spot with my tongue, chuckling when her heart races even faster.
She’s responsive as hell.
“Are you nervous?” I ask.
“N-No.”
The elevator shudders to a stop, and she startles, making me chuckle again. I lift my head, meeting her wide-eyed gaze.
“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, sweetness. If you’d rather go back downstairs, we can do that.”
“No!” she says quickly, shaking her head. “I want to go with you, Keegan. I’m just…” Her shoulders bounce in an adorable shrug. “I’ve just never done this before.”
I grin, lacing our fingers together as we step out into the hall, but my fucking heart is pounding. I’m guessing by this , she doesn’t mean she’s never met a man at a tattoo convention, let him ink her, and then take her back to his room. I’m guessing she means any of this. Landry is a virgin.
Why the fuck does that make me nervous?
Maybe because this isn’t something I do, either. I don’t pick up random women and invite them back to my hotel room. I haven’t even been on a goddamn date in years. And I don’t want to hurt her. I want to fucking worship her, give her a million reasons to decide she wants to stay right here with me. I’ve only got two days to convince her before the convention ends, and I fly back to Silver Spoon Falls.
I want her on that plane with me.
We step off the elevator into the hall. Landry peeks around her like a shy little flower, taking it all in. Has she never been in a hotel like this before? Fuck. Probably not.
I watch her from the corner of my eye as we stroll toward my room. She glances at the stairwell, not like she’s ready to sprint away, but almost like she’s trying to memorize where it is.
Christ. What’s she running from?
Now isn’t the time to ask, but I want to do it. I need her trust first, need her to believe that I’ll protect her. We aren’t there just yet. Letting me ink her was one thing. But giving up her secrets? That’s a whole new ballgame. One I’m guessing I’m going to have to work my ass off to win. She’s too jumpy, too afraid.
We draw to a stop outside my room. I gently tip her chin up, searching her gaze. She stares right at me, those green eyes wide…full of certainty. I see the nerves in her gaze, too. But she isn’t second-guessing herself.
She’s a brave little flower.
I smile, brushing my lips across hers as I pull the keycard from my pocket.
“Keegan,” she whispers.
I groan, fumbling to get the damn door unlocked when all of my attention is on her and the way she says my name. The way she whimpers and presses up against me, her lips slightly parted like she’s begging for me to kiss her again.
The door clicks as I sink into her, growling at the way she trembles against me and whimpers again. My tongue flicks hers, teasing it out to play. She kisses me like she’s never been kissed before, and something about that is so fucking sexy to me.
We stumble through the door with her wrapped around me. Or maybe I’m wrapped around her. Hell. I don’t know. All I know is that she’s in my arms, her tongue stroking against mine in a way that has all the blood in my body pumping toward my cock.
I grunt, falling back against the door with her pressed against me, her tits crushed to my chest. She’s so goddamn soft, every inch of her lighting me up like a livewire.
“I want to see you, sweetness.” My hands slip beneath her shirt. “Can I take this off?”
“Y-yes,” she gasps against my lips.
My fingers trail up her body as I lift the shirt, being careful of her new tattoo, and then tug it off over her head. I groan out loud when I realize she never put her bra back on. Her tits are right there in front of me, her cherry red nipples hard…begging for my mouth.
I brush my thumb over one hard peak, watching her face. Her lips part, a soft moan tumbling from her lips.
“You like that, Landry?”
“Yes.”
I do it again and get the same reaction from her.
She moans even louder when I dip my head to wrap my lips around her nipple. Her hands fly to my hair as if to keep me right there. That’s not a problem, though. I’m right where the fuck I want to be.
She trembles against me as I suck and bite, teasing that hard bud between my lips until she’s squirming and pulling my hair.
The sweet little sob that falls from her lips when I do the same thing to the other nipple has cum leaking into my boxers. I want to memorize every sound she makes, every whimper, every little cry, and gasp. I want them all burned into my brain.
One hand drifts down her body, touching her everywhere. My fingers trace along the marks on her belly, and I instantly fucking love them. They’re sexy as hell, proof that this girl is real. That she’s here right now, trembling beneath my touch.
My hand dips beneath the waistband of her leggings. “I want these off, too, sweetness,” I rasp against her skin. “I want to see all of you.”
“I…I…”
“You’re beautiful, baby.”
Her expression softens, awe chasing away doubt. She nods bravely.
I reward her with a little kiss, so fucking humbled by her. Christ, she’s a goddess. And I’m two seconds from falling to my knees for her.
I take it slow, kissing her again and again, tweaking her nipples until she’s trembling. I slowly tug her pants and panties down her legs. She doesn’t tense up or freeze. She just wiggles her hips and then kicks off her flats, helping me get them down.
I carefully shift her around so she’s standing against the door with me in front of her. I don’t want her to feel trapped, but I need to taste her. I’m going to lose my goddamn mind if she’s not coming on my tongue in the next three minutes.
She moans when I drop to my knees, her eyes so fucking wide. I keep my eyes locked on her face as I carefully lift her right leg over my shoulder, opening her up to me. Her knee is scraped and bruised, like she fell recently.
“Keegan,” she whispers.
“You can say no,” I remind her.
“I d-don’t want to say no,” she gasps, practically writhing against the door. “I…it hurts.” She blinks at me, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. “Make it better. Please.”
Fuck.
I count to five, trying to calm myself down. Doesn’t fucking help. She’s spread open for me, asking me to lick her perfect little cunt. To make her come. There is no calming down now.
I lean forward, press my lips to her bruised knee, and then run them up the inside of her thigh. Her skin is so goddamn soft beneath my lips. Her sweet, tangy smell clouds my mind. My balls ache like a motherfucker as I move closer to heaven, my eyes locked on the sight of her spread open for me, pink and wet and mine.
“Keegan!” she sobs, her voice breaking on my name when I flick my tongue out, licking her from top to bottom.
Her taste floods through me, and I know I’m fucked. Completely goddamn ruined. I groan like the broken man I am, gripping her perfectly round ass in my hands as I bury my face between her legs and devour her.
I can’t get enough of her taste, her heat…the way she whimpers and grinds down against my face. She’s the hottest little thing, practically gushing on my tongue. She’s pure eroticism, ripping through my veins like lightning as I force my tongue into her tight little hole to fuck her with it.
She’s tight. So goddamn tight…
“Keegan, I…I…”
Her hands tighten in my hair, pulling to the point of pain as her head thumps against the door and she falls apart, coming all over my face. Her honey flows across my tongue, coating me in the taste of her pleasure and the sound of her bliss.
I growl, boosting her into my arms to carry her to bed. My lips come down on hers, my hand slipping between her legs to keep her coming. I want her wrung out, completely wrecked for me.
Half a second before I lay her out on the bed, I remember the tattoo. I drop instead, pulling her down on top of me to keep from hurting her or fucking up the ink. She writhes against my hand, her legs spread around my hips.
“You want more, sweetness?” I watch her face, my cock throbbing at her blissful expression. Her green eyes are wide and dilated, glossy with pleasure. Her cheeks are flushed, her lips red where she’s bitten them as if to hold back her cries of ecstasy.
“Y-yes! Please, yes.”
I shift around beneath her, trying like hell to get my pants down with one hand while keeping the other between her legs. I don’t want her to come down for even a second. She was made to keep coming.
I give up trying to get them down and pull my cock out instead, bouncing it against her clit.
She sinks her nails into my chest, moaning my name.
“Look at us, Landry,” I croon, pumping my hips so my dick slides between her folds. “See how fucking good I look between those perfect thighs?”
She dips her head, a strangled gasp falling from her lips.
I damn near cum all over myself when she reaches between us with a shaking hand to brush her fingers over my apadravya piercing.
“What is this?” she whispers.
I groan quietly, trying not to lose it.
“It’s a piercing, baby. You’re going to love it.” At least, that’s what I’ve heard. I only got it a year ago. Slade and Coby Kaise, Elodie’s fiancé and my best friend, talked me into it. I meet Landry’s gaze, trying like hell to keep it together. “It won’t hurt you.”
“It’s…beautiful,” she whispers, stroking her hand along my cock again.
I growl, bucking against her hand. Christ, she has no idea how good that feels, just knowing she’s touching me. That she likes what she sees. My fucking cock is ready to break in half.
It’s not the piercing that’s beautiful, though. It’s definitely not my dick, either. It’s both of those things covered in her juices, where she’s dripping all over me. That right there? That’s fucking perfection.
I bounce my cock against her clit again, and she whimpers.
“I…I’m a v-virgin.” Her eyes flicker to mine.
“We can stop,” I murmur. It’ll kill me to do it, but I’ll stop for her. Fuck yeah, I will. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“No,” she says quickly. “Please, don’t stop. I just…I just thought you should know.” She hesitates for a moment, the flush of her cheeks deepening. “I want you to be my first, Keegan.”
Her first, hell. I plan to be her only. I already know that’s what I’m after. Not just one day, but every single one of her days. I won’t be satisfied with anything less.
She wraps her fist around my cock, stroking from root to tip. The look in her eyes, like she’s already addicted to me, already desperate for more, is the sexiest goddamn thing…
“Fuck,” I groan, bucking into her hand again.
“Please, Keegan.”
If I had any willpower, that right there would have annihilated it—her hand on my body, that look in her eyes, and that plea on her lips. Complete KO.
“Put me inside you, sweetness,” I order on a groan, guiding her hand and my cock to that tight little hole. “Sink down real slow. We’ll go as slow as you need to go.”
As soon as she takes over, lifting up to notch me at her entrance, I settle my thumb against her clit again, rubbing in firm circles, trying to make damn sure she feels good as hell. I don’t want to hurt her, and she’s so fucking tight.
Her head falls back on a soft moan as she slowly sinks down, both of us working together to get me inside. Her pussy wraps around the head of my cock, squeezing like a vise.
I choke out a curse, trying to keep it together. It’s not fucking working though. Christ, she feels too goddamn good.
“Jesus, baby,” I groan. “You feel like heaven.”
“Keegan,” she whimpers in response, sinking further.
I keep playing with her, grinding against her clit. I lean up, capturing one hard nipple between my teeth. She sobs and bucks against me. I feel her hymen tear around my cock, but if she feels it, she doesn’t even flinch.
She’s too busy babbling my name and coming all over me.
Nothing has ever felt better than the way her inner muscles ripple and flutter all over my cock as a flood of her juices trickles between us. I growl, yanking her all the way down on me.
I try like hell to give her a minute to adjust. Really, I do. But she’s rocking against me like she can’t stop herself, my name falling from her lips like an aria.
My fingers dig into her hips as I lift her up and then drop her. That only makes her clamp down around me even tighter.
“Fuck,” I growl. “This perfect pussy is so goddamn tight, Landry.”
“I-I’m sorry!” she cries like that’s a bad thing. Like I’m complaining.
“I’m not.” I drag her nipple through my teeth again, bouncing her on my cock. The way my piercing drags along her inner walls is fucking magical. The way she whimpers and clenches and bucks is heaven. “Christ. I could fuck you like this all day. This perfect pussy is heaven wrapped around my cock.”
She whimpers softly…an agreement, I think.
“Ride me, baby. Take what you need from me,” I order, desperate to see her using me to get herself there. I need to see it on levels I can’t even explain. This is her cock now, property of Landry. Maybe I’ll get that shit tattooed right above it, make sure she knows every damn day that it’s reserved just for her.
Her thighs clench around my hips, her nails digging into my chest again as she lifts herself up and then sinks down again, trying to find a rhythm. It doesn’t take her long before she’s knocking my world out of orbit, bouncing on my cock like she was born to do it.
She slams herself down on me again and again, landing with a soft cry of ecstasy every single time. My gaze flickers to her face, and then the way her full breasts bob, and then to where my dick disappears inside her, only to reappear covered in her juices. I can’t keep my damn eyes off her. She’s a goddess above me, riding me like I’m her favorite toy.
“Harder, Landry,” I growl, yanking her down on me to force myself deeper. “Fuck me like you mean it, sweetness.”
She does. Christ, she does. She lifts damn near all the way off before slamming herself down. Again. And then again.
My head kicks back, pleasure so intense it borders on pain blasting through me with every goddamn thrust. I don’t want this to end. I want to stay right here like this, on my back with this woman above me. But my body refuses to cooperate. She feels too good. She looks too good. All of this is too good.
Her inner muscles flutter again, and I know I’m not going to be able to hold it off this time. I’m too damn close to the edge.
“Come all over your man, baby,” I rasp, my voice choked with pleasure. “Soak me. Fucking ruin me, Landry.”
She drops again and then again before a sharp cry leaves her lips. I buck my hips when she drops a third time, planting myself as deep as I can get as she shatters around me, her body convulsing atop mine as waves of pleasure wrack her.
They pull me under with her, drowning me in ecstasy. I growl her name, cum shooting up my shaft as I drain myself in her, every last fucking drop. The pleasure is overwhelming and unrelenting, so damn good it borders on pain.
She drops on top of me, landing against my chest with a sweet sigh I feel in my soul. My arms close around her, holding her tightly as my heart races. We both suck in air in big gulps, shaking our way through aftershocks.
“Perfect,” I rasp against her ear, pressing my lips against her skin in an adoring, worshipful kiss. “You’re so fucking perfect, sweetness.”
“Keegan,” she sighs sweetly, stealing every damn piece of my heart.
I don’t mean to do it, but with her in my arms and my cock still buried inside her, drifting off is like breathing. It just fucking happens. I dream of her, of taking her back to Silver Spoon Falls. Of my ring on her finger and my kid in her belly.
And I wake gasping when she dissolves in front of my eyes in the dream, as if she were never there at all. My heart pounds, panic coursing through me as I instinctively reach for her, desperate to reassure myself that she’s still right here with me…
But she isn’t.
My hand closes around a piece of paper on her pillow.
I sit upright, my heart pounding as I read the words scrawled across it.
Thank you for being perfect. I’m so sorry.
She left me. She actually fucking left me.
I sit there for a long moment, staring blindly at the words on the page and the teardrop smearing the ink, my heart cracking in half at the sight of it. At the realization that she’s gone.
But that teardrop…I don’t think she went willingly.
She’s still running. From what? From who?
“Goddammit,” I whisper, my throat burning as my hand curls around her note. I should have asked, should have made her talk. Because now she’s fucking gone, little spots of blood on my skin and her note the only proof she even existed at all.
I’m not willing to accept that.
One way or another, I’m going to find her. I won’t stop looking until I do.