Page 68 of Desolation

She sighs. “After this morning… I just… you left on a bad note. I thought it was because maybe I came off as needy or something.”

“Mariela.”

She stiffens at the use of her real name, her body gulping in a deep breath of air. “No listen, Landon please.” I nod. “You know my life is a mess. And I am coming out of a horrible marriage. And I have a life back in Boston and kids to think about. And I am sure to you, it looks like I am just trying to find a replacement husband. But—”

“Mari…”

“—No listen. That’s not what I am looking for. I know I tried to pry into your life. That is just what I do. I can’t help it. That is part of what makes me who I am. I’m a mom, I pry a lot.” She takes a breath and I hold back from interrupting her again. “With you I am willing to let myself go. Let myself not be this person I have become. I’ve thought long and hard about it all day. I need to be that person I was before I changed my life for the man I married. I want to be wild and free. And with you I feel like I can do that.”

I take a step closer to her, not quite sure what she is trying to tell me. I reach out and gently run my fingers along the side of her hip. “What are you saying, Mar?”

She bites her lip, a light tinge of color hits her cheeks. She looks down at her feet as she tries to say the words. This is not the woman I have come to know. The feisty, sassy one who tells it like it is. This is her with her walls down. And I think I like it even more.

“Sex,” she mumbles. “Just sex.”

I smirk as my fingers reach for her chin. “Just sex?”

She blinks at me like she is surprised she said it. “I mean… I thought we… shit, I don’t know what I am doing or how to say it.”

I close the distance between us, hooking my arm around her waist and pulling her flush against me. “You want to use me for my body?” I joke.

She laughs as she pushes against my chest to get out of my hold. “No. I mean… okay, kind of. Gah, what do the kids say these days?”

I push her blond hair behind her ear. “Netflix and chill?”

“What?” her face contorts.

I throw my head back in laughter. “It’s a saying, Mar. Like friends with benefits.”

She bites her lip again and I have the urge to take it between my own teeth. “Yeah. Friends with benefits.”

I peek behind her looking into the bag she brought with her and see a few dishes of food. “Friends with benefits that make me dinner?”

Her hands find their way back to my chest, gliding up until they wrap around my neck. “Something like that.” She smiles at me. “I’ve seen how you eat. Thought you could use a home cooked meal.”

This woman is something else. I can do friends with benefits. But she doesn’t know how to do that. And I feel like it will turn into something more.

I press my lips to hers not wanting to talk to her about home-cooked meals. Because the fact is I rarely ever have them. Growing up I ate scraps of what I could find in the house. A granola bar here or there, some cereal, leftover french fries from the fast food my mom or stepdad picked up. My brother and I were last priority when it came to being taken care of. As Ryder got older, he took care of me more, made sure I had food to eat. Of course, I ate well in the Navy but that came with the territory. The only other time I had a home-cooked meal was when I would go to Aubrey and Sam’s house and she would cook a feast. But I can’t think of them right now.

I press my lips harder into Mari’s, pressing my tongue into her mouth, tasting the sweetness that is my perfect princess. She opens to me, her fingers twining into the short locks of my hair. I grind my hips into hers and she lets out the softest groan.

I can’t take this slow and gentle. I press her into my door, press my hips harder into her own so she can feel what she does to me. My hands are everywhere on her body, her ass, her tits, I don’t care if we are in the hall of my apartment building. I want to feel every inch of her.

I pull back just enough to grab my keys out of my pocket before fumbling with the lock behind her and pushing into my apartment. I don’t waste time stripping her clothes off. I can’t even make it to my bedroom. Instead I press her against the glass of my balcony doors as I shove my own pants down.

“Landon,” she mutters as I grab a condom from my wallet and roll it on.

I seal my lips over hers, cutting off her cries with my mouth as I slam into her. She grips my shoulders hard, her nails leaving marks as I keep up a fast rhythm. My tongue trails down her neck and across her collarbone as I hold one of her legs around my hip. The angle not deep enough for me to feel all the tight, warm heat of her body.

I pull out and turn her around, grabbing her hands and splaying them across the glass as I push her forward. I push into her slowly from behind, one of my hands going to her hips to control the movement. She’s even tighter from this angle and I get to watch that beauty of an ass as I press into her again and again.

She moans a deep guttural sound and I know she is close. Our fingers lock with the hand that is pressed against the glass. My other hand makes its way around her hip, dipping low until I find her clit. I press hard into it before rubbing tiny circles while I pick up my pace. I feel her walls tighten around me, squeezing my dick so hard I know I am about to come. The tingles work their way down my lower back. I push her up into the door, her tits bound to leave marks against the glass as I work myself as deep as I can into her before releasing my load.

She pants hard and mumbles a string of words in Spanish before I pull out of her. My lips leave a trail of kisses down her spine, not being able to get enough of this woman.

She shifts and I release my grip on her, slowly pulling out. She moans and I know she is missing the loss of me.

She turns around, her cheeks flushed, and a wild grin on her face. “I’ve never done that before.”

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