12. Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
S ixty days. Landry stuck it out for sixty days, and tonight is the night Jess planned to finally give into the physical desires her body aches for. It hasn't been easy, but she feels like the man really wants something more than just sex.
The only issue she still has is how guarded Landry still comes across. Jess can't really blame him after hearing what happened with Amber, but certain things make her question the longevity of their relationship. In the end, though, she knows she's comfortable with him. Even when he becomes distant and shuts down, she knows he's been hurt just like she has.
"This is great," Landry says as he takes the last bite of the chicken fried steak she made for dinner.
She went all out and made the steak, roasted baby potatoes, and crisp green beans. As much as she liked not having him at her place to avoid giving into temptation, she can’t deny how much easier and better it is to do this at home. Tonight, she's in her element in her own kitchen.
"Thanks," she says with a smile. "I like cooking for people."
"You're pretty damn good at it," he says and winks.
He stays where he is when she starts cleaning up, and part of her bristles at the fact he never asks if she wants help. No attempt to offer. Every time she’s cooked at his place, he just let her decide what to do with the dishes, but it feels like the expectation is for her to take care of everything from cooking to cleaning. It doesn't help that every time it's happened, including tonight, her mind thinks about how Kade never let her clean up if she cooked. He'd make her sit down while he took care of things.
Kade isn't here. He doesn't want you, remember?
It doesn't take long to finish putting everything away, and Landry walks around the counter to pull her close before his lips find hers. "Now, I can give you a proper thank you for dinner."
His kisses make her knees weak, and her annoyance disappears. "You're welcome."
Pulling back, he looks down into her eyes. "Do you want me to leave?"
"You don't know what today is?"
"Saturday?"
Jess smiles. If he's been counting down the days before he can get her into bed, he's doing a fantastic job hiding it. "Today marks sixty days."
He shakes his head. "No, we still have over two weeks to go."
He has been counting. "It's been sixty days since the day we met."
Eyes wide, he stares at her. "That was the start of the timer?"
"Do you want to wait another two weeks?"
His hands reach down, grab her ass by taking one cheek in each hand, and lifting her up so she's forced to wrap her legs around his waist. "Hell no."
Jess feels his desire grow beneath her, and she pants. "I figured we could have dessert later."
"There's only one type of dessert I want tonight, Jess."
The heat of his breath on her ear as he grinds his hips against her sex makes her shiver. Swallowing, she runs her fingers through his hair at the base of his neck. "My bedroom's upstairs."
Her phone rings in her purse, and he pauses, looking at her with such desire it takes her breath away. He waits for her to tell him what she wants him to do.
"Ignore it," she pants.
Landry doesn’t miss a beat, and he has her lying on her back on her bed before she knows it. How the hell he carried her upstairs so swiftly, she'll never know, but the moment his lips touch her neck, she doesn't care. She needs him, and she needs him now.
His hands slide behind her and unzip the dress she’s wearing. The one she picked out to make sure they had quick access to everything when dinner ended. Slipping out of it, she lies on the bed in a white see-through bra and panty set, and he groans as he looks down at her.
"You're so beautiful," he growls, his voice deeper than normal, and he pulls his shirt over his head. His eyes continue to stare down at her as though memorizing every inch of her, and he says again, "So damn beautiful."
Her need has her panties soaked, and every inch of her skin prickles. "Touch me, Landry," she pants. "Please, I need you to touch me."
His hands reach down and slowly slide up her leg until he finds the apex of her thighs. The moment his thumb brushes over her swollen clit, she jumps. Smiling, he bites his bottom lip and rubs in a circular motion over her panties.
"Oh, God," she says and arches her back.
"I've been dying to know if you taste as good as you look."
His body shifts and moves down her body. Pulling her panties to the side, Landry laps at her with his tongue, forcing her to close her eyes as pleasure fills her. Her hands reach down to tug at his hair, and he swirls his tongue around her before licking from her opening back up to her clit.
"Damn, baby," he moans before sucking her clit into his mouth and slipping two fingers inside her.
He continues moaning, and it takes only seconds to push her over the edge. Her hips buck against his mouth as she rides her wave of pleasure. "Oh, thank you, God," she pants.
His lips kiss along her thigh while his fingers pull her panties down after him. "As much as I love these, they will be in the way for what I have planned."
Before she knows it, Jess lies completely naked while he stares at her like a hungry wolf, his hands quickly shedding the rest of his clothes. Everything in her screams, and she reaches for him, needing him. All of him.
His erection presses against his belly, and Jess moves to kneel before him. "It's my turn to taste you."
"You can do whatever you want, Jess," he moans as she takes his head into her mouth and gently sucks. "Oh, yeah, that feels good."
Taking him deeper, she gags as he hits the back of her throat, and she feels him shudder. Having control over his pleasure like this sets her ablaze, but he quickly changes that by thrusting into her mouth instead of letting her slide along his length at her pace. The moment he does this, she falls out of the moment.
In general, Jess likes to be submissive in bed. Except for when she's on her knees. Having a man completely at her mercy gives her a sense of control she's never had anywhere else in her life, and Landry took that away from her.
Kade never screwed your mouth like this.
His body stills, and she gags as he rests at the back of her throat before pulling away from her.
"Sorry, baby," he says and reaches for his jeans to grab a foil packet.
Either he's overly prepared, or he planned on her giving in before the sixty-day marker. It doesn't really matter as he gently guides her to her feet and lays her on the bed.
"What do you want to do?" Jess asks, a coy smile on her face.
"I want to feel what it's like to be inside you," he says and climbs on top of her. "Is that okay?"
She smiles. That is more than okay. "Yes, sir."
His hand reaches towards her bed to turn on a lamp before turning off her overhead light. "I want to see you in candlelight one of these nights," he mutters as he slides into her.
The request catches her off-guard, but the moment he fills her, she forgets all about it. He stills, hissing slightly. "What's wrong?"
"You feel so damn good," he says. "It's been a while, and being in your mouth almost took me over the edge. I need to pace myself because I want this to be good for you, Jessica."
The sincerity in his eyes as he looks down at her makes her melt. "It will be."
Shifting his hips, he lowers his body and braces himself on his forearms, before claiming her mouth with his. Each thrust feels like he's trying to tell her something, and she finds it interesting and intriguing. Her body builds with tension as she meets him to create the necessary friction for her pleasure. His hands brush hair away from her face so sweetly, and she shifts to help him hit the spot she craves.
"Jess," Landry moans as he kisses her jaw.
"Laundry."
His breathing quickens. "I have to tell you something."
Her heart races as her climax continues to build. "Now?"
Picking up his pace, he slams his body against hers, and she knows she has all of thirty seconds of coherent thought before she loses all control.
"I think I'm starting to fall in love with you."
The words push her over the edge, and she cries out in blissful pleasure she hasn't had in months. He grits out something sounding like it might be her name shortly after, and his body rests on hers as she puts the pieces together.
"You're starting to fall in love with me?"
"I think so, yeah," he pants and kisses her neck. "I've been feeling it for a while now, but being with you, God, it just feels so damn right."
She smiles. "It was pretty good, wasn't it?"
"So good," he pants and slides out of her to lie on his back. "Sorry, that was kind of quick."
Curling up against him, she nuzzles her nose in his neck. He takes off the protection and tosses it on the floor. Again, another action that makes her bristle. He could have just asked where the garbage was, and she'd have told him about a foot north from where he dropped it.
"Was it too quick?"
Her attention comes back to him. "No, it was good."
"I'm not saying I love you," he says, and she hears his heart racing beneath her ear.
"I know," Jess says and smiles. "It's really fast to feel that way, but I know what you mean. I like spending time with you, and this was good. I could see it happening again."
A deep laugh comes from his belly, and he kisses her forehead. "Give me fifteen minutes, and we can make that happen."
"You're on," she says and climbs out of the bed to the attached bathroom.
A wave of sadness hits her as the post coital glow fades. It was good, but it wasn't great. It wasn't mind-blowing. Every time with Kade felt like the best sex of her life. It just kept getting better.
This is new, she reminds herself. He doesn't know your body yet, and you don't know his. It'll get better. It always does.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, she cleans herself up and washes her hands. She looks in the mirror and forces a smile. This isn't what she planned to be doing right now in her life. But as she knows better than most, life doesn't always go according to plan.
Landry's a nice man. Caring. He calls when he says he's going to, and he respects her. He told her what his intentions were from the very beginning, and he understands they've both been hurt before. His patience is nothing short of admirable, and he thinks he's starting to fall in love with her. Kade never let himself get to that point.
"Are you okay?" Landry calls through the door.
"I'm good," Jess calls back. "Just catching my breath."
He knocks on the door, and she opens it. Both stand completely naked, and he cups her face. "Was that okay? Was it too much too soon?"
The sex or the confession? "No, it was good. I guess you could say I got a little overwhelmed, but it wasn't too soon."
His lips find hers, and he guides her back to the bedroom. "We can take a step back if you need."
Pushing him gently to sit on the edge of the bed, she places her hands on her hips and sees him come to life again. "Really? We're both naked and ready to go for round two, and you want to take a step back?"
Instead of kissing her and guiding her onto him again, he surprises her by taking her hands from her hips and interlocking his fingers with hers. "I'm not going anywhere, Jess. I'm here. I'm all in."
The words hit her, and she feels the tears she refuses to let fall. "I don't want to take a step back. I think I may have just needed to hear you say that."
"That I'm not going anywhere?"
She smiles and wraps her arms around his neck, her chest pressed beneath his chin. "Yes."
He kisses her, and she reaches for a foil packet from her bedside drawer for him. Slipping it on, she climbs onto his lap, letting his words wash over her. They're words she's been longing to hear, but she can't help feeling that they're coming from the wrong man.