Chapter 15
Adriana
My heart dropped to my feet. I still had the glass of wine in my hand. Landon would not be impressed that I had been drinking, even if it wasn’t much, and even if Bryant had been right about my work hours.
“Excuse me,” I said to Bryant, putting the glass on the table and standing up.
I followed Landon out of the private lounge and down the hall.
He was silent, but I could see that he was furious in the way that he was walking.
My jaw tightened as I walked behind him, hoping that I wouldn’t be in too much trouble.
I knew that Bryant had said he wouldn’t allow Landon to fire me, but did he really have that kind of power? In the end, the choice was Landon’s, and I didn’t think he would let anyone get in his way, even the hotel’s most important guest.
At the end of the day, all of the power over my career lay with Landon, and he could decide to end my employment whenever he wanted to.
I was probably overthinking this, but I couldn’t help myself. Perfection was my pride, and even minor mistakes would haunt me.
We finally reached Landon’s office and I followed him inside, closing the door behind me.
I waited for him to speak first. If it wasn’t the wine that he was mad about, then I didn’t want to make the situation worse by mentioning it.
At the same time, I wondered what could have made him this furious.
I hadn’t made any mistakes that day. Even with my additional secret mission, I’d kept up with every event, every issue, and every request. There were no complaints, at least not directly.
“What is wrong with you?” Landon asked as he swung around to face me.
“I’m sorry?” I replied, surprised by the sheer fury and frustration in his voice.
“You went against my explicit warning not to go near Mr. Thatcher,” Landon ranted, his jaw tight and his voice low. “And not only that, but I find you having an intimate meeting with him in his private lounge? Why the hell would you do that?”
I crossed my arms defiantly. “He’s a guest, isn’t he? I can’t just refuse direct requests.”
Landon scoffed and rubbed at his forehead as if I was driving him up the walls. “I told you to avoid him. That means you don’t even speak to him. If you did that, he wouldn’t be able to make any requests.”
“Why does this bother you so much?” I pushed, taking a step forward to show Landon that I wasn’t going to be intimidated. “What is it about Mr. Thatcher that has you so worked up? Are you jealous of him? What is it?”
“I told you to trust me,” Landon insisted, avoiding my questions entirely. “That’s all you need to do.”
“How can I, if you don’t tell me anything?” I snapped back, refusing to let this go.
“All you need to know is to stay away from him,” Landon was pacing now, as if he needed to get rid of this energy somehow. “Why is that so hard for you to do? You can follow any other order, but this one seems impossible.”
“So now it’s an order?” I asked. My own anger was building up, and I wasn’t sure I could hold it back. “You’re using your position, huh? Can’t you just be honest with me? You have to intimidate me into doing your bidding? Is that who you really are, Landon?”
“Just trust me!” Landon almost shouted, a volume that I’d never heard from him before. “And the wine! I saw the label. Did you get that for him?”
I wasn’t scared, but I knew that I had to be careful. I wasn’t about to just admit to sneaking that bottle into the hotel. If arguing with him wasn’t enough for me to get fired, I’m sure that kind of insubordination would be.
“It was there when I got to the lounge,” I answered with what I hoped was a convincing shrug. “I don’t know anything about it. Why? What does that have to do with anything?”
Landon peered at me suspiciously, like he didn’t really know whether he could believe me or not.
I kept my gaze steady, not fidgeting, not looking away.
Bryant had been adamant that he didn’t want Landon to find out.
I didn’t really like lying, and I knew that Sierra would be absolutely disappointed in me for it.
But I’d told Bryant I would do this, and I was going to keep to my word.
“Fine,” Landon growled. “I’ll leave it alone. But, please, listen to me. Do not engage with Mr. Thatcher. Got that?”
I took another step forward, and another, until I was standing almost against him. I looked up at him with fire in my eyes. “I’ve got it, Mr. Klein.”
Those words had the exact effect that I wanted them to. Landon reached down and put his hands on either side of my face, before leaning in for a kiss. There was frustration, fury, and passion blended into him, along with the taste of spices and whiskey.
I lifted my own arms around his neck, and he lowered his to pick me up by my waist. The sheer power and the feeling of his muscles as he carried me made me feel wild, and I sped up the rhythm of my tongue as I kissed him.
I was painfully aware that the door wasn’t locked, but at the same time, I didn’t think that anyone would simply walk into Landon’s office without warning.
Everyone knew better than that, and there weren’t as many employees at this time of the evening anyway.
We were as safe as we could be; but it still felt like we were taking a risk.
And that had become more exciting than anything else.
Landon carried me toward his desk, and put me down on top of it. He pulled away from the kiss and began sweeping everything that lay on it to the ground. Papers were sent flying, but it seemed like Landon, as much of an organized stiff that he was, didn’t care in the slightest.
I undid my hair and let it tumble over my shoulders, letting myself really embrace my animal side.
“You truly are dangerous,” Landon said as he leaned forward to kiss my neck, biting lightly at me as if he wanted to devour me.
“Then you should stop,” I answered, throwing my head back to give him more space to work, and balancing myself with my hands on the desk. I was already breathing hard, and my heart was already racing.
“Never,” I heard Landon whisper, before he started pushing my skirt up over my hips.
I kicked off my heels, and Landon tore at my stockings eagerly, like he didn’t have the patience to properly remove them. Even though we had done this before, it felt as if this was an entirely new side of him.
A side hidden underneath that proper exterior, deeper beneath the surface than anyone would dare to look.
I liked what I had found there, and I wanted more of it. If making him furious was what it took, then that is exactly what I would do; as often as I needed to. And it didn’t seem like it would be difficult, either. All I needed was disobedience.
Disobedience that wouldn’t lead to me getting fired, but that would lead me to this exact position.
Maybe not always on his desk, but that didn’t matter.
I would have him everywhere in the hotel if I could.
Perhaps even on that same beach that I had been with Nolan; but that seemed like a greedy thought.
This was a precarious situation, balancing the two of them without revealing any secrets, but I simply couldn’t resist it. It was dangerous and exhilarating, and I found myself craving it, almost as if I were addicted to the feeling.
Landon’s fingers traveled over my thighs and between my legs, and he tore through my underwear as easily as he had done my stockings.
He got down on his knees and pushed my legs apart, before diving forward face-first. His tongue collided with my clit, while his fingers drove themselves deep inside of me.
The movement was fast and hard, but I was already wet enough that it was smooth and enticing at the same time.
I kept my mouth tightly shut, knowing that the walls of Landon’s office weren’t completely soundproof.
Even if the hotel was mostly empty, there was always the possibility that somebody could walk by and hear.
Landon licked as if he had been starving for me, and his fingers moved with the same vigor. It was like he was testing how far he could push me before I couldn’t hold my moans back anymore.
I grabbed his hair, not caring whether I was pulling at it, still using my other hand to balance as my body started tensing in anticipation.
Landon took that as encouragement, but he kept his pace steady. It was faster than I expected any man to be capable of, but perfectly consistent. He wasn’t taking things slow; he wanted me to get there as fast as he could make me. I didn’t mind that.
Frankly, I craved him inside of me, I wanted this to be hot, passionate, and fast.
It didn’t take very long before I came, and it was harder than I expected. A moan slipped from me, and Landon got to his feet, slamming his hand over my mouth. I let the sound come from there until the shudders had made their way through my body completely.
With his hand still over my mouth, Landon pulled me into position, and pushed his tip against my entrance. I nodded eagerly, and he caught the hint, thrusting himself into me as deeply as he could. I noticed the tightness in his jaw; he was having just as hard of a time as I was staying quiet.
I lifted my legs on either side of him, and he held onto my hip with his free hand. His thrusts were hard and deep, and I was soon shaking with the pleasure that overwhelmed me.
“I’m not going to last long,” Landon hissed at one point, and I smiled behind his hand. I shifted so that I could move my hips along with his, and he closed his eyes for a second, before pulling out of me and finishing on the hardwood floor.
I lowered my legs, breathing hard and trying to get my mind clear, but that was more difficult than I thought it would be.
Landon zipped up his pants, still watching me with a curious look on his face while he also caught his breath.
The fury that had been in his eyes had disappeared, and the tension in the atmosphere had completely dissipated.
If this was how we were going to solve arguments from now on, then I definitely wouldn’t complain.
“I don’t want you to go,” Landon said, glancing at the door. “Stay with me tonight, in my suite.”