Page 110 of Desolation

He leans over and presses a kiss to the side of my mouth. “I convinced Mark to be your security detail for the weekend.”

My jaw drops to the floor. “You did not. How did he even—you can’t!”

He frowns at me. “Why not?”

Okay, he can. I am just being an idiot. I don’t think I can keep my hands to myself if he is around and I am going to have to keep this relationship a secret from my mom and the girls. “It’s just… I—”

He steps back to the bed, pulling me into his arms. “You are just going to have to keep your hands to yourself.”

“Easier said than done,” I mutter.

He gives me one last brief kiss before sliding out the door.

I don’t even hear him go down the stairs. And those stairs creak like crazy.

I get out of bed and open the windows, letting the smell of sex drift to the ocean. We got lucky when we found this property for my mom. Michael insisted on paying cash for the house but my mom wanted no such thing, she wanted to work to pay the mortgage, to prove her independence, kind of like me. She finally settled that we would pay for half the house and she would mortgage the rest. That let her find exactly what she was looking for, an old Victorian style house that sat about a hundred yards from the ocean. From all the stories my mom told me as I was growing up, I knew it was the perfect house. And thankfully she accepted our help because she could never have afforded it on her teacher’s salary.

I walk into the attached bathroom to my room, grateful that the previous owners upgraded a handful of things. I take a quick shower and dry my now caramel hair before heading downstairs to make coffee.

As I lean against the counter I wonder if Landon noticed my hair was different. He seemed to like the blond but I felt I needed some normalcy when I came back here. My hairdresser was able to bring back my caramel hair with some darker undertones.

“Do I smell coffee?”

The sound of Landon’s voice makes my heart skip a beat. I pour him a mug and hand it to him.

“Thanks. Anyone awake yet?”

I shake my head.

“Good.” He steps into me, pressing me against the counter, his lips on my neck, leaving a trail of kisses up to my ear. My nipples go hard and I kick myself for not putting a bra on before I came downstairs.

I hear him set his coffee mug down behind me as both his hands go into my hair. “I like your hair this color. It seems more you than the blond.”

“I thought you liked the blond?” I ask, my voice quivering from the closeness of him.

“Mmm,” his lips vibrate against my throat. “I did. But I like this better.”

There is a clearing of a throat behind us and we jump apart.

“And this is why this is a bad idea.”

Landon turns and faces Mark. “No one was awake.”

Mark looks down at himself then back to us. “I’m awake.”

“You don’t count.”

He shakes a finger at us. “None of this can happen while you are watching her. Keep it professional.”

Landon snorts at that. “Says the guy that seduced his wife while they were working together.”

“I wasn’t protecting her. We were partners.”

“Whatever, man.” He holds his hands up in front of him. “I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

Mark nods just as we hear the stairs creak. A few seconds later my mom is walking into the kitchen.

“Oh Lord, there are more of you.”

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