Page 72 of Snap Shot

“You have to talk.”

“Talk?”

“You have to tell me what's okay, what's not. What you like, what you want.”

I almost forgot that I've given him hints about how my boundaries haven't been respected in the past. While he doesn't know half of it, I'm surprisedthisis what he wants from me.

“Fine, but I don't do kissing.” I cross my arms, unwilling to budge. A heart can only take so much humiliation. I won't survive having Landon Radek call me a bad kisser.

“Well, I don't half-ass things.” Landon steps toward me, mirroring my stance.

He won't get the upper hand. I'll walk. “I'm pretty sure the entire world knows that you whole-ass everything.”

The stern downturn of his mouth breaks, twitching into a tight smile. “What is wrong with you?”

I shake my head and cover my eyes with a hand. “Too much to unpack right now.” My eyes meet his again. “No kissing. Take it or leave it.”

“Take it.” The gap between us cuts to nearly nothing with his next step into my personal space, entrapping me between the two posts of his arms. “I'll take whatever you'll give me, Indi. And anyway” —his whisper cools the flame on my cheeks— “I can think of more than enough ways to make you come without kissing this pretty mouth.”

I groan. “Do youeveruse that thing for anything other than sweet-talking?”

“Yes.” Landon flashes me an innocent, golden, sunshiney smile, but his gaze? Those eyes brim with icy blue waves of mischief. “But then I'd be using it for something much,muchfilthier.”

Fear creeps into my thoughts again. Great. Now I'm hot, bothered, and unsure.

“Indi, I see those wheels turning in your head. Don't overthink this.” His forearms flex into my sides as every one of our limbs crisscross. “I told you I care about you, and I meant it. I won't hurt you.” One set of his fingers trails across my lower back, pinning my hips between his and the counter. “I accepted your rules. Can we start now?”

My heart and stomach backflip in sync. “Okay.”

Goosebumps sprawl when Landon's calloused hand coasts down my arm and wraps around my wrist. He brings it to his mouth. “Can I kiss you here?”

I urge him on with a series of enthusiastic nods. The dusting of his pillowy lips over my quickening pulse gives rise to a second wave of goosebumps, but he continues the slow seduction. Touching. Asking. Kissing the crook of my elbow, the curve of my bare shoulder, the dip of my collarbone.

An unintentional gasp releases when he brushes his nose under my jaw. Landon smiles into the sensitive spot. “Fuck, you're a dream come true. I've thought about this for so long.”

Pleasure blossoms and surges so fiery and quick, I can barely breathe.

He palms the back of my neck and asks to kiss the upper rim of my cheekbone and temple, every tender touch feathery and soft.

“A month isn't that long.”

“A month?” Landon stills while inspecting my knuckles, then denies it, swiping his mouth across the peaked bones. “Try since I met you.”

Fireworks go off in my chest. I don't stop him from placing my hand on his neck when lifting me onto the frigid marble counter. My legs flank his waist, clothed nipples puckering under the pads of his fingers.

“God damn, Indi. Tell me I can kiss you here.”

“Yes.” I arch into his mouth, head lolling back as he sinks to his knees. “Landon.”

My fingers weave into the thick, brown silk threads of his hair, nails scratching into the scalp. He groans out an approval, face nuzzling into my belly. But he doesn't stop.

“Here?” His thumb draws a swirl on the inside of my knee.

I confirm with a squirm as he repeats himself over my inner thigh, inciting a permanent goosebumps revolution on my skin. The smug bastard smirks up at me through those ridiculously long lashes.

“Did all that kissing make you wet, Indi?” My skirt gives in to the upward nudging of his fingers on my thigh. “You gonna let me find out?”

I open my mouth to practically beg him to, but a foghorn goes off. It's the ringtone for Bea.

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