Page 31 of Lamented Pasts (Timeless Affection)

Landon Torrio

Clara is finally released from the hospital a few days later, and Landon and his driver pick us up in another of his sleek, black automobiles. After a long talk with Clara, we come to the decision that she isn't ready to go back to the deli, and perhaps would never be ready. I hated that Clara couldn't go back to a place that her family had owned since they first immigrated to America. Without me knowing, Landon had commissioned workers to fix the place up the day after the attack. Although Clara told me she just wanted me to sell it, Landon and I agreed that I wouldn't do that, just in case she ever changed her mind and felt ready to return.

Since we couldn't go back to the deli, this meant that we were going to stay at Landon's home, the mansion that he had taken me the night I got my retribution for Clara's attack. It felt like moving in with him was too early of a step considering Landon and I still had technically only been on a few dates. I didn't care though. The last month in the hospital, the revenge he had gotten for me, hell…the fact that he had repaired the deli without saying a word to me; they all reinforced that he was someone I could trust my life with. So away to the mansion we went.

Landon seems strangely nervous as he leads Clara and I through the front door. Although I had obviously been in parts of the house before, the wildness of that night made it feel like this was actually the first time I was seeing it. Clara's "oh my" was an apt description of how beautiful Landon's home really was. Walking through its majestic rooms reminded me of James's castle, and filled me with an ache for some reason as I thought about him for the first time since the attack. We had planned our life in that palace. I wonder if the possibility of that much happiness lay in these walls as well.

"Everything alright?" Landon asks, wrapping his arm around me from behind.

"Yes," I tell him, giving him a reassuring smile. Someday I would tell him about my James. Someday he would know all the pieces of me.

Landon is in and out of the house the next few weeks, catching up on all of the business that he missed while hunting down Clara's attackers, and trying to take care of Clara and I in the hospital.

It's two a.m. when I find myself walking down the stairs to see if he's home yet. The house is dark except for the moonlight streaming in from the windows, and I jump when I walk into the living room and see a still form sitting in one of the chairs.

When I see that it's Landon, I give a sigh of relief and press my hand to my chest as if I can slow my racing heart. My momentary relief that there isn't a stranger in the living room dissipates when I realize there's a dark, foreboding mood in the room.

"Landon?" I ask tentatively, taking a step back involuntarily.

"Something wrong, Juliet?" he inquires, in a low, menacing voice that sends flutters through my stomach.

"I just wanted to see if you were home," I tell him, feeling embarrassed by my neediness.

He says nothing to me in response to my statement, but I can feel the glittering heat of his eyes never leaving me as he takes a slow sip of the drink in his hand.

"Come here," he commands me, in a voice that makes me nervous, but that stirs my body to life at the same time.

He sounds angry and I can't tell if he's upset with me, or with something else that has happened.

I walk towards him tentatively, acutely aware of his examination of my body. I'm wearing a silk slip that he bought me, and it outlines every one of my curves. The moonlight feels like a spotlight following me in my journey across the room.

I walk until I'm standing right in front of him. He's sprawled out in the chair, looking like an arrogant dark prince on his throne.

"Take off your gown," he orders in that same cold tone, and I take a deep breath.

Surprising myself, I obediently push first one strap, then another, off my shoulders until the silken fabric slides down the rest of my body. I feel self-conscious standing in front of him in nothing but my bra and underwear. My mind flicks back to that night we first met, how he was surrounded by gorgeous women. Although we've filled many an hour with kissing, this is the first time he has seen me this unclothed.

"Perfect," he whispers and suddenly all thoughts of those girls disappear. When he says it, he sounds like he's never seen anything more stunning in his entire life. I want to believe him.

"Kneel down," he orders me.

I fall to my knees, giving in to his dominance not because I have to, but because I want to.

"Don't move," he continues.

He loosens his tie and takes a sip of the amber liquid in the tumbler he holds loosely in his hand. After he drains the glass, he sets it on the table next to the chair and slowly begins to undo the buttons of his perfectly pressed shirt.

He reveals the first bit of his golden skin, and I can't help but reach out my fingers to touch it.

"I told you not to move, Juliet," he says in an authoritative tone that makes me weak.

He continues to slowly unbutton his shirt until his chest is completely bared to me. He sits completely still, a smug look on his face as I take my fill of him.

Holy shit. Landon Torrio is a god among men. He's exquisitely carved, his abdomen rippling with dips and shadows. There's absolutely nothing soft about him. A small smattering of hair leads down to below his slacks. I ache to see where it ends.

He can see that I'm straining to explore but I obediently stay still.

"Good girl," he says, his golden eyes almost molten as he takes in my submissive position.

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