Page 32 of Sweet Southern Heat

“Mmm-hmm,” he replied with a flat look. “Did you happen to see anybody else while you were out there?”

I paused with my fork halfway to my mouth and looked up at him. He watched me with narrowed eyes. He knew something.

“Why do you ask?” I brought the food the rest of the way to my mouth and chewed as I tried to appear unaffected by his questions.

Just play it cool, man. He doesn’t know anything. That’s why he’s asking.

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, studying me.

“Honey mentioned that Olivia wasn’t in their room this morning when she woke up to go to the bathroom. She assumedOlivia had simply gotten up early, but when she awoke again, Olivia was in her bed. Same as you.” We stared at each other in a silent face-off. Clearly, mine and Olivia’s absences from our rooms hadn’t gone unnoticed, and Honey and JD had already compared notes. There was no way I would tell JD about what had happened between us, but I also didn’t want to lie to him.

“There really isn’t anything I can tell you,” I said finally. It was the truth. Icouldn’ttell him that Olivia and I had made out then gotten each other off with our mouths. I couldn’t admit that if I’d had a condom, things definitely would’ve gone even farther than that. It was a private moment between two consenting adults and nobody’s business.

He let out a defeated sigh and braced his elbows on the table. His gaze flicked toward the house nervously as though worried he would be overheard.

“Just be careful, okay. You and Olivia have a complicated history. If something is going on between you, your brother won’t be happy. It could cause issues between you two,” he warned as though I hadn’t been through this scenario in my head a thousand times already. “And I don’t want to see you get hurt if she decides not to stick around. Rumor has it, she’s considered selling the bakery and moving back to Atlanta since the moment she inherited it.” I always knew that was a possibility, but to hear it from someone else’s mouth made it all the more real. And the prospect of her leaving, something I’d once hoped for, now caused a pain to settle in my chest. Swallowing down the emotion suddenly clogging my throat, I pasted on a smirk.

“Shouldn’t you refrain from gossiping,Brother John?” I asked with feigned reproach. He simply smirked at me and brought his coffee mug to his lips.

“We all fall short of the glory of God,” he said before taking a sip.

Chapter 30

Olivia

I walkedinto my house and set my bags by the door. It was so quiet compared to the lake house where I’d shared the space with nine other people. I missed the noise and the company. Coming back to this big, empty house all alone was harder than I imagined it would be. I was still surrounded by Nan’s things, and all that did was reignited the ache in my chest and the longing in my heart. It was so hard to be surrounded by her yet not be able to see her and feel her soft arms wrap around me in comfort. I couldn’t hear her voice or seek her advice and wisdom when I was faced with a tough decision, just like I was now.

If I was being honest, there was more than one difficult decision that needed to be made. The longer I stayed, the harder it would be. Did I stay and run the bakery as she had hoped, or return to my life in Atlanta? Could this thing with Landon go further than one night? If so, would I let that sway my decision one way or another? I hated that I was even considering it. We’d spent one night together, and already I was letting that muddy my decision.

I ran a frustrated hand down my face and went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Gulping it down, I refilled the glass andtook it to my room along with my bags. Yesterday’s day drinking left me feeling dehydrated with a dull throbbing behind my eyes. Waking up in Landon’s arms with the morning sun piercing into my skull hadn’t helped matters, nor did the fact that he pretended nothing had happened once we parted.

Disappointment swirled in my gut as I began to unpack. He’d looked at me like he wanted to kiss me when he came downstairs for breakfast, but it was short-lived. After that, he barely spared me another glance, and we didn’t speak the rest of the morning. He gave me one last lingering look as we’d parted ways, and before he turned from me, I saw a flash of regret in his eyes. Regret for what, I wondered. Because he finally gave in to his attraction for me, or because his brother would never forgive him for consorting with the enemy?

I was startled from my ruminations by a subtle banging coming from downstairs. Tentatively I went to the landing and peered over the rail. It happened again, and I realized it was someone knocking on my front door. Who on earth could it be at this time on a Sunday? Maybe it was Honey. She had covertly tried to interrogate me about my absence from our bedroom this morning, but I’d managed to evade her questions. I still wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened with Landon and me, but if I didn’t answer, she would just use her spare key to let herself inside.

Rushing down the steps, I went to the door and threw it open without checking to see who it was. I sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of Landon standing on my front porch, one hand braced on the door frame. His expression was desperate, and his chest heaved with a stuttering inhale when he looked up and his eyes caught on me. I realized then that I had been partially undressed when he knocked on the door and wasn’t wearing a shirt. His gaze raked down my body, and my skin heated beneath his scrutiny.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“I just can’t seem to stay away from you,” he answered and stepped inside. His hands were on me in an instant. They framed my face as he pulled my mouth to his. My lips parted on a gasp, and he dove inside. He held me reverently as his tongue tasted and licked inside my mouth. I fisted the cotton of his shirt and drew him closer. He tasted like coffee and forbidden desire. Anticipation hummed through my body as he backed me toward the wall and pressed me against it.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,” he confessed, dropping his lips to my jaw and skimming them down my neck. “The way you taste,” he groaned, “the way you gasp just before you come.” A needy whimper worked its way up my throat, and his lips curved against my skin. “I need to hear it again, but this time, I want to be buried so deep inside you, you’ll still be able to feel me there tomorrow.”

“Yes,” I breathed, the word an agreement and a plea. He growled against my throat, and I felt the rumble all the way down to my core. A throbbing ache settled between my legs, and I arched into him, desperate for more contact. His hands dropped to my ass, and he lifted me into his arms. My legs instinctively snaked around his waist, and when his hardened length met my sensitive center, I moaned. He squeezed, pulling me harder into him and rubbing his erection against my throbbing clit.

Landon yanked the cups of my bra down, exposing my breasts. My nipples pebbled as cool air whispered across them. A low curse fell from his lips before he closed his mouth over one. My head fell back against the wall as I moaned and bucked against him. His tongue lapped at the tight peak before he grazed his teeth over it. A shiver ran through me, and I clutched at his shoulders desperately.

“Where’s your room?” he asked, peppering kisses up my chest and along my throat between each word.

“Upstairs.” He carried me effortlessly up the stairs, and I directed him to my door. He crossed the room in a few quick strides and lowered me to my bed. His large body loomed over me as he held my gaze, searching it for hesitation.

“There’s no going back once we do this,” he said, his eyes pleading for me not to turn him away.

“I don’t want to go back. I just want you.” I wanted to forget everything that had happened before this moment. The accident, Landon’s blame and hatred, every moment we’d spent at odds. All I wanted was to feel his hands on my body and his lips on mine.

“Thank fuck,” he growled and crushed his lips to mine. He dropped his hands to my waist and pulled at the drawstring of my cotton shorts. The motion was frenzied and desperate, his yearning clear in his rush to divest me of my clothing. He tossed my shorts to the floor, quickly followed by my panties. My bra was gone in a flash. He had me naked beneath him in a matter of seconds.

Resting back on his haunches, he admired the sight before him. Anticipation shivered down my spine, and goosebumps erupted over my skin. His eyes traveled down my body, and he licked his lips when they settled at the juncture between my thighs. On instinct, I pressed my legs together, trying to get some relief. His gaze darkened, and a crooked grin tugged up one side of his lips. He slid his hands up my thighs, his thumbs brushing the crease of my groin when he reached the tops. The touch was so close to where I needed it, but far enough away to make me squirm with frustration.

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