An hour later, we were all so full, it felt like I was on the verge of popping. Everyone sat around holding their stomachs with their pants unbuttoned to gain that extra relief from our tight waistbands. We were nothing more than a large group of engorged hillbillies; it was hilarious.
I chose the recliner in the corner and grabbed one of Gran’s big fluffy blankets. Everything in this house smelled so clean, with a resemblance of something baked. It was a place I always felt so at home in. My real grandparents, they were so distant that I was blessed to have Kori’s mom and dad. My father’s parents, they were always off traveling the world; there was very little time they took to stop and get to know me. My mother’s, her father died when I was two and her mother remarried, moving to Kansas, and only called on Christmas and my birthday. Gran and Gramps, they were and had always been my loving, doting grandparents. I was blessed to have them. You’d never know that I didn’t share the same bloodline as them. I wasn’t the only one, though. They were that way with all the kids. Grace and Rhett were the only two true grandchildren, but we were all equal to them.
Football played on the television, all the guys set in place to watch the game. The ladies, off in the kitchen talking about the men, I was sure, and us younger ones, finding our own peace throughout the house.
I felt my eyes growing heavy, my body giving in to the food coma that I’d been fighting. With the stress of the past two weeks and the emotional exhaustion, there truly was no hope I would be able to remain awake.
I fell asleep thinking of an amazing smile and a soothing voice.
I’m falling for you. Hell, I’ve already fallen.
They were words I often thought of since he’d said them that night in my apartment. Words I’d wished for from him, words I’d dreamt of. Gorgeous eyes that gave me such comfort and strong arms that made me feel safe, it was almost like I could smell him. That intoxicating cologne and all things Landon, it was like he was right there, lying next to me.
Something shifted at my side, and I jerked awake, finding a set of warm, inviting eyes staring back at me. For a second I thought I was still dreaming until he lifted his hand and pushed back the hair from my face.
“Hi, Kitten.” Leaning in, he kissed the corner of my mouth, and I heard a growl from my left. I didn’t have to look to know it was my father just being my father a few feet away. He was impossible, and I chose to ignore his level of crazy.
“I thought you had a family thing?”
“I did.” Hugging me a little tighter to him, I burrowed in and felt instantly at home. This was exactly where I wanted to be, not just now, but always.
“And work?” Not that I was complaining, but I knew he’d have to leave me soon.
“Tomorrow morning at seven, but I wanted to see you.” Leaning in, he buried his nose in my hair, and I could hear him breathe me in. It was sweet, really, and I found myself sighing at the gesture. “Today’s been a really long day, loud, crazy, and amazing. Only there was one thing missing.” Pulling back, he looked at me, and I swore to it I felt like my heart melted. “You.”
I didn’t care that everyone was most likely watching us. I didn’t care that my father was going to hate it. I encircled his neck with my arms and pulled him close. My lips sealing with his, I kissed him softly, and for the first time in more days than I could count, I felt completely at ease.
I was so in love with Landon Layne. I was head over feet, caught in the clouds in love. And I wanted him to know that.
***
“What time is it?” Looking to my left, trying not to get completely lost in the way he kissed along my jaw, I found the alarm clock.
“Almost five.” He lifted the weight of his body and crawled over mine. The instant he lowered himself, I felt him press to my center and knew what he was aiming for. “I have to leave in a little less than two hours and I have to be away from you for twenty-four.”
“Mmhm.” His mouth, the things it could do to me, amazing.
“I can sleep when I’m at the station.” He shifted his hips, and the position he was in pressed perfectly to the one spot I needed him to be. “Right now, I need to feel you.”
There would be no arguments from me, none at all.
Parting my legs, I allowed him to position himself between them and gave in to the euphoric feeling he was providing. It was without a doubt the best morning I had had in a very long time.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Landon
My muscles ached, but I continued to push on. With Mike at one side and Terrance and Rhett at the other, I stared ahead. I think they all already knew I was in a mood. It had a lot to do with the visitor at the station last night.
I knew her game; she was only trying to weasel her way into my life, and she chose Nolan, the rookie, as her target. She wasn’t interested in him, it was obvious, but the guy was just as delusional as she was. He was an easy target, a way for her to get close and
