Hardline
Page 17
He caught my hand and rubbed the back of it gently.
“Are things going okay at work?” I didn’t want to argue, but I could tell something was bothering him, hoping it wasn’t all me. “Have you been able to talk to Michael yet?”
“I put a call in to him, but I haven’t heard back yet. I might make a trip to Dallas. Some things are better discussed face to face.”
“Maybe you could go while I’m in California.”
He shook his head, his lips pulled into a tight line. “No, I’ll go with you. Alex is a friend. We’ve worked together before, and obviously I don’t want you traveling alone.”
“I’d like that. There’s some technology awards event this weekend, and he said that he could get tickets if I could make it.”
His hold on my hand tightened slightly. “Sure. I’ll have Cady make arrangements. We can get a flight Friday night.”
I leaned over and slid my free hand across his button down. His eyes darkened. We stayed that way, still in the darkness, eyes glittering in lamplight. I sensed he had more to say, but I didn’t want to push him tonight. I reached up, closing the small distance between us.
Sealing our mouths together, I sought the sweet depth of his. The kiss deepened. Our tongues tangled. He freed my hand to cup my cheek, angling me to his liking. I reared up, wanting our bodies closer in this small moment, as impractical as it might have been.
“I love you,” I whispered, panting for air when we separated.
I lowered my hand, gratified as always to find him hard, his erection straining. I kissed him deeper, teasing him with strokes of my tongue that I imagined lavishing elsewhere.
He pulled back, catching his breath. “Let’s go in.”
Before he could move I had his fly unzipped, my fingers circled around his length. I kissed his neck, nipping at his skin while I stroked him from root to tip.
“Fuck, Erica, let’s go in. Someone’s going to walk by.”
I smiled against him. “And do what? Tell on us? Maybe they’ll want to watch me suck you off.” I took his earlobe in my mouth. “My lover’s had a bad day. Let me make it better.”
He exhaled sharply, his cock twitching in my palm. “I’m going to punish you for this later.”
I laughed quietly. “You’re going to punish me for wanting your cock in my mouth? I think I can handle that.”
“If a cop pulls up before I come, we’re going to redefine punishment. You might not like it. Make it fast.”
He lifted a fraction, his erection shifting in my grasp. My mouth watered at the promise of tasting him. I took the hint, lowered, and wrapped my lips around his hot flesh. I swiped my tongue over the head and down his shaft, lubricating my path until my mouth was filled with the throb of his erection.
“Fucking hell. I love your mouth.”
I moaned. The taste and his musk overwhelmed my senses. I eased him in and out with a rhythmic pulse. With his hand fisted in my hair, I slowed, letting him take control of my movements. He tightened his hold, guiding me over his cock, forcing himself deeper, faster. I heard his hand hit the steering wheel. His hips arched, holding himself to the back of my throat and then releasing me. I drew in a sharp breath through my nose a second before he repeated the motion, challenging what I could take.
Once more, and with a strangled cry, his muscles jumped. Curses filled the air around us. A warm gush flooded my mouth. I finished him, swallowing the evidence of his release until he was clean. He pulled me off abruptly, his head thrown back on the seat rest.
“You’re killing me.”
“I know the feeling,” I breathed, writhing with need now.
He turned his head, gazing down at me. “You’re all wet, aren’t you?”
I shifted slightly, the rub of my thighs together doing little to ease the ache there. “Yes, and I’m willing to beg you to do something about it.”
He trailed a finger along the low neck of my blouse, grazing the top of my breast. I bit my lip hard, the tension inside me mounting. He lifted his hand to release it with his thumb and pressed our lips together. A deep, possessive kiss, his taste lingered on my swollen lips.
“Touch me,” I whimpered.
“I want to, believe me. But as soon as I sink my fingers into your pussy, I’m never going to be able to get out of this car without fucking you. You might want the world to know I’m fucking you straight out of your mind, but if I’m going to jail, I’d like it to be a little more notable.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure,” I teased. I kissed him hard, too wound up for my own good. “I can’t wait.”
“Trust me, you can wait, and you will wait. You’ll wait even longer if you don’t get your ass inside now,” he growled. “This car’s not big enough for all the things I’m going to do to you.”
CHAPTER SIX
The sun set over the curve of the horizon as the plane made its way east. I leaned against Blake, tired from my day. I was grateful for the weekend, even if it meant travel and more work. I would have rather enjoyed another break on the Vineyard, but I’d take what I could get.
“We should talk about all this wedding stuff. If I have to sit through another inquisition with Alli I’m going to lose my mind.”
He smiled. “She’s probably giving Heath a heart attack.”
I stayed quiet, not wanting to hint that maybe marriage plans weren’t so terribly far away for the couple. Heath still had a long way to go pulling his life together after his stint in rehab. Being back in Boston with his family and now Alli seemed like the right move, but we all cared too much about Heath to take this good stretch for granted. That may have been why Blake hadn’t pushed him to move out, even if it had encroached on our privacy now that we were living together.
“Have you thought about what you want to do?”
I sighed. “Not really. I think I’m too overwhelmed to even consider the details. When, where, and who... I can’t imagine how I’m going to pull this together.”
He slid his hand into mine and squeezed gently. “We can do whatever you want. At the end of the day, all I care about is being married to you. If that’s at some lavish affair that will go down in Landon family history, or if we take a weekend in Vegas and tie the knot on our own, I don’t really care as long as you’re Mrs. Erica Landon at the end of it. Just don’t make me wait too long, okay?”
I relaxed a little at the sweet look in his eyes when he said my name, the name that would be mine. “I feel the same way, but I don’t want to disappoint your family. If we eloped, they’d probably hate me for stealing their moment.”
“Are things going okay at work?” I didn’t want to argue, but I could tell something was bothering him, hoping it wasn’t all me. “Have you been able to talk to Michael yet?”
“I put a call in to him, but I haven’t heard back yet. I might make a trip to Dallas. Some things are better discussed face to face.”
“Maybe you could go while I’m in California.”
He shook his head, his lips pulled into a tight line. “No, I’ll go with you. Alex is a friend. We’ve worked together before, and obviously I don’t want you traveling alone.”
“I’d like that. There’s some technology awards event this weekend, and he said that he could get tickets if I could make it.”
His hold on my hand tightened slightly. “Sure. I’ll have Cady make arrangements. We can get a flight Friday night.”
I leaned over and slid my free hand across his button down. His eyes darkened. We stayed that way, still in the darkness, eyes glittering in lamplight. I sensed he had more to say, but I didn’t want to push him tonight. I reached up, closing the small distance between us.
Sealing our mouths together, I sought the sweet depth of his. The kiss deepened. Our tongues tangled. He freed my hand to cup my cheek, angling me to his liking. I reared up, wanting our bodies closer in this small moment, as impractical as it might have been.
“I love you,” I whispered, panting for air when we separated.
I lowered my hand, gratified as always to find him hard, his erection straining. I kissed him deeper, teasing him with strokes of my tongue that I imagined lavishing elsewhere.
He pulled back, catching his breath. “Let’s go in.”
Before he could move I had his fly unzipped, my fingers circled around his length. I kissed his neck, nipping at his skin while I stroked him from root to tip.
“Fuck, Erica, let’s go in. Someone’s going to walk by.”
I smiled against him. “And do what? Tell on us? Maybe they’ll want to watch me suck you off.” I took his earlobe in my mouth. “My lover’s had a bad day. Let me make it better.”
He exhaled sharply, his cock twitching in my palm. “I’m going to punish you for this later.”
I laughed quietly. “You’re going to punish me for wanting your cock in my mouth? I think I can handle that.”
“If a cop pulls up before I come, we’re going to redefine punishment. You might not like it. Make it fast.”
He lifted a fraction, his erection shifting in my grasp. My mouth watered at the promise of tasting him. I took the hint, lowered, and wrapped my lips around his hot flesh. I swiped my tongue over the head and down his shaft, lubricating my path until my mouth was filled with the throb of his erection.
“Fucking hell. I love your mouth.”
I moaned. The taste and his musk overwhelmed my senses. I eased him in and out with a rhythmic pulse. With his hand fisted in my hair, I slowed, letting him take control of my movements. He tightened his hold, guiding me over his cock, forcing himself deeper, faster. I heard his hand hit the steering wheel. His hips arched, holding himself to the back of my throat and then releasing me. I drew in a sharp breath through my nose a second before he repeated the motion, challenging what I could take.
Once more, and with a strangled cry, his muscles jumped. Curses filled the air around us. A warm gush flooded my mouth. I finished him, swallowing the evidence of his release until he was clean. He pulled me off abruptly, his head thrown back on the seat rest.
“You’re killing me.”
“I know the feeling,” I breathed, writhing with need now.
He turned his head, gazing down at me. “You’re all wet, aren’t you?”
I shifted slightly, the rub of my thighs together doing little to ease the ache there. “Yes, and I’m willing to beg you to do something about it.”
He trailed a finger along the low neck of my blouse, grazing the top of my breast. I bit my lip hard, the tension inside me mounting. He lifted his hand to release it with his thumb and pressed our lips together. A deep, possessive kiss, his taste lingered on my swollen lips.
“Touch me,” I whimpered.
“I want to, believe me. But as soon as I sink my fingers into your pussy, I’m never going to be able to get out of this car without fucking you. You might want the world to know I’m fucking you straight out of your mind, but if I’m going to jail, I’d like it to be a little more notable.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure,” I teased. I kissed him hard, too wound up for my own good. “I can’t wait.”
“Trust me, you can wait, and you will wait. You’ll wait even longer if you don’t get your ass inside now,” he growled. “This car’s not big enough for all the things I’m going to do to you.”
CHAPTER SIX
The sun set over the curve of the horizon as the plane made its way east. I leaned against Blake, tired from my day. I was grateful for the weekend, even if it meant travel and more work. I would have rather enjoyed another break on the Vineyard, but I’d take what I could get.
“We should talk about all this wedding stuff. If I have to sit through another inquisition with Alli I’m going to lose my mind.”
He smiled. “She’s probably giving Heath a heart attack.”
I stayed quiet, not wanting to hint that maybe marriage plans weren’t so terribly far away for the couple. Heath still had a long way to go pulling his life together after his stint in rehab. Being back in Boston with his family and now Alli seemed like the right move, but we all cared too much about Heath to take this good stretch for granted. That may have been why Blake hadn’t pushed him to move out, even if it had encroached on our privacy now that we were living together.
“Have you thought about what you want to do?”
I sighed. “Not really. I think I’m too overwhelmed to even consider the details. When, where, and who... I can’t imagine how I’m going to pull this together.”
He slid his hand into mine and squeezed gently. “We can do whatever you want. At the end of the day, all I care about is being married to you. If that’s at some lavish affair that will go down in Landon family history, or if we take a weekend in Vegas and tie the knot on our own, I don’t really care as long as you’re Mrs. Erica Landon at the end of it. Just don’t make me wait too long, okay?”
I relaxed a little at the sweet look in his eyes when he said my name, the name that would be mine. “I feel the same way, but I don’t want to disappoint your family. If we eloped, they’d probably hate me for stealing their moment.”
