He cocked a grin and rubbed his chin, looking uncertain of whether to answer my question. “No. I have another.”
“Where?”
The smile on his face said it all. “Not some place I can show you right now.”
I suddenly felt hot. “Oh.”
He lifted his brow, looking amused at my slightly embarrassed reaction. “You asked.”
“I did.”
He grabbed my hair playfully, apparently finding my embarrassment cute.
“Do you happen to have a hairbrush?” I asked.
Scratching his head, he said, “Yeah. I’ll be right back.”
He returned with one and caught me off guard when instead of handing it over, he walked behind me and began to brush through my wet hair. I closed my eyes and cherished the feeling of his warm body at my back, his hands tugging at my long locks while he gently ran the brush through my strands. And of course—as anyone with a pulse would be—I was still thinking about his pierced cock.
“I don’t remember your hair being this dark when we were kids,” he said. “It’s so black…gorgeous.”
“Yeah. It’s natural—at least I can say that for some things, right?”
He ignored my attempt at self-ridicule, not dignifying it with a response.
I felt his soothing words against my neck. “How long can you stay?”
Answering honestly, I said, “I don’t know.”
He stopped brushing and ran his hand down the length of my hair, stopping just short of my ass. His touch was electrifying.
“Was your job okay with you leaving to come here?”
“I have no clue. I just told them I had a family emergency and left.”
“You’d better call them tomorrow for peace of mind, but just know if for any reason they give you trouble, I’ve got your back. I’ll make sure you can pay your rent.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“You couldn’t even afford the plane ticket to get here. It’s clear you need that job. And if you sacrificed it to come see me, then I’m gonna make damn well sure you’re taken care of.”
Not knowing what else to say, I simply whispered, “Thank you.”
Landon walked over to his dresser. There was a bunch of elastics tied together in a giant ball. He took one off and placed it in his mouth, pulling it between his teeth. That was oddly sexy for some reason.
He came up behind me again and gathered my hair into a low ponytail, fastening the band around it. His hand lingered before he let go. My body craved the return of his touch. Having his hands on me was quickly becoming my favorite thing.
I turned around to face him. Our eyes locked for several seconds. It was a little unnerving how badly I wanted him to touch me again. But he didn’t.
“You take my bed,” he finally said. “Tomorrow we’ll have breakfast on the beach. Then, we can have that talk.”
“You don’t have to work tomorrow?”
“Mel’s taking care of the truck. I’m officially on sick leave for as long as you’re here.”
“Can you do that?”
“I’m the boss. I can do whatever I want.” He headed toward the door. “I’m gonna let you get some sleep. It’s morning already in Michigan.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be hitting the hay soon, too.”
“Okay. See you in the morning.”
“Goodnight, Rana.” He tapped on the door twice then disappeared.
As I lay in Landon’s bed, swimming in his intoxicating, masculine smell, I realized I was listening to the actual sounds of the ocean. No machine…the real deal.
Lately when I couldn’t sleep back home, I would venture over to my closet and read one of Landon’s old notes. Tonight, I walked over to his window instead. I looked down.
Landon was standing outside, smoking a cigarette. I admired his gorgeous stature and the way his ass molded perfectly into his black cargo pants. This scene wasn’t exactly the way I’d pictured it from afar. In my imagination, the water was a bit closer when in actuality, I could see it in the distance. But this was pretty darn cool.
It hit me: my greatest fantasy—being in California with Landon—had become a reality. It was scary and exciting at the same time, particularly because I had no clue what tomorrow would bring.SPLITA delicious aroma filled the air as I stretched my arms out. It wasn’t a dream after all. I was still really here in California with Landon.
The bright sunlight poured into his bedroom window, and I smiled, once again cognizant of the fact that this was indeed really happening.
Landon didn’t see me standing behind him as he cooked at the stove. A fresh pot of coffee was brewing on the counter. The toaster dinged. Island in the Sun by Weezer was playing on his phone, and he whistled as he multi-tasked.
He was wearing a baseball cap backwards, had no shirt on, and his underwear was peeking through the tops of his jeans. I took a moment to just marvel at the contours of his muscular back. My nipples hardened against his T-shirt that I was still wearing.