Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

LANDON

B efore the diagnosis, the logical Landon never would've considered what I was about to do. It's like time slows as the chairs fall to the floor. Lily lets out a yelp of shock and fear, giving me all the fuel I need. Something in me hardens when she slams into the floor: a primal instinct, the animal, the demon. Whatever the fuck the world wants to call it.

I leap to my feet and spring at the man with the broken nose. He roars as I reach into his waistband, snatch the gun free, and then spin and fire a shot right at Damon. The muzzle flash blinds us, but when my vision returns a moment later—my ears are ringing like crazy—I see Damon drop to the floor. Maddie screams even louder through the bindings.

I dart at the man with the broken nose, wrap my arm around his throat, and bring the gun to his head. It all happens so damn fast. It's like I black out again, but not as literally.

"Fuck," my hostage gasps as I drive the gun against the side of his head. "Fuck, fuck …"

I begin dragging the man toward the chairs. The other men are all closing in on me, all with their guns in their hands now. There are at least seven of them. The metal of their weapons gleam. I want to lean down and pick Lily and her friend up, but I can't let go of this man.

Damon has died quickly, making no noise except for a gurgle. Adrenalin pumps through me, but it seems distant. Just like the last time I committed murder, there's no guilt. There's no shame. Maybe that means there's something wrong with me.

"Move forward a little," I growl in my hostage's ear.

He lets out a whimper, no longer the tough guy he was when he had the upper hand. When he steps forward, I push the gun against the back of his head. With my other hand, I take out my cell.

"Your boss is dead," I tell the men as I navigate to Lex's number. "You've got two choices now. Risk your friend here going the same way for no reason, no gain, since your boss is gone. There's nothing you can do about it now. Or you can leave and fight another day. Wait, there's a third option. You can wait here while my very well-trained and very fucking merciless mercenaries arrive. The choice is yours."

I send Lex a text with the address. Then I wrap my arm around the man's neck again.

"Fuck," one of the goons grunts. "Fuck."

Slowly, they filter out of the bar. I don't let my guard down, though. I keep my eyes on them. I keep the coldness inside of me, the knowledge that I may have to keep shooting, keep killing. Once the last man has gone, the hostage says, "What about me?"

"You're waiting here until I know we're safe," I snarl. "Lily, I'm sorry. I can't help you and your friend until my backup arrives."

"It's okay," she says from the floor. "Maddie, listen, just breathe. It's all over now. Landon has saved us. It's over, okay?"

We stay like this for some time. It takes all my effort not to turn and hold Lily. I feel free to let him go only when the door opens and Lex busts in. Lex runs across the room and grabs the man. More men filter in, spreading out.

I kneel down and lift the entangled chairs. On the other side, one of Lex's men begins untying Maddie. I cradle Lily's face in my hands, feeling her warmth and tears.

"Lily," I whisper.

"I'm okay," she replies.

"Lily …"

There's so much else I want to say, but it's like words fail me. Instead, I lean in and hug her tightly. She buries her face in my chest. I cradle her like I never want to let go. No, not like that. It's the truth of what I want and need, but I must remember …

"Don't think about anything else," she whispers into my neck.

"How did you know?"

"I can feel you tensing up and worrying, but let's savor this. We're safe. We're together. That's all that matters."

Later that night, I'm sitting with Vivian and Lily in my living room. I've spent the day with Lex, getting my story straight and establishing an alibi. When the cops turned up to investigate the gunshot, Lex arranged for one of his men to admit to "accidentally discharging his weapon." It cost more money for the man to take that hit, but he won't get prison time since "nobody was hurt."

"He saved me, Mom," Lily says, squeezing Vivian's hand. "Without him …"

"You never would've been in danger to begin with," Vivian says.

"That's not true. I went to The Row before I met Landon again. He saved my life. You have to accept that he's not Dad, okay? He's not that person."

"I swear, Vivian," I tell her. "I would never trick your daughter. I would never hurt her. I'd die before I let anything happen to her."

That's literally true, in my case, but I don't add that morbid thought.

"I've been holding onto the past," Vivian whispers after a pause, her anger visibly draining away. "I've been trying to hate you, but I can't." She looks at me with glistening eyes. She's been torn up ever since learning what happened. "I can't, Landon, but I need to know you are who you seem to be."

"I can't promise I'm perfect," I tell her, "but when it comes to your daughter, my intentions are honest."

Vivian slowly breaks into a smile, glancing at her daughter. She can read the hope on Lily's face as easily as I can, most likely the way she's waiting to erupt in relief. I know it's been a hard day for Lily, too. She spent much of it with the security team, trying to calm Maddie down. Now, she is at home with a security detail, just in case. I can't believe I didn't think of her friend before.

"Thank you," Vivian says, "for taking care of my daughter before … and now."

Lily throws her arms around her mom. They hug for a long time. I lean back on the couch, letting myself smile even if it feels surreal. I've killed two men in my life now. Sure, they were two men who deserved it, but it's still more than I ever planned.

"Do you mind if I have a lie-down?" Vivian asks.

"Of course not," I tell her.

Once she's gone, I move to the couch with Lily. She makes the most tempting moaning noise when I wrap my arm around her and pull her close. I lean down and kiss the top of her head, taking the time to inhale her scent, her realness, her aliveness .

"I love you," I tell her.

She gasps and looks up at me. "Don't just say that because?—"

"I'm saying it because it's true," I tell her. "As soon as I heard your voice when that bastard had you, I knew it was true. I knew I started loving you the instant I saw you outside The Row. You're the best person I've ever met."

"I love you too." She puts her hand on my leg, squeezing, digging her nails like she wants to tether herself to this moment.

I smirk. "Don't just say that because?—"

She leans up and kisses me passionately. I've been resisting the urge to grab her and own her all day. With the security team around, it was easier. When she went to be with her friend, it was convenient. With her mom sitting right there, it was hell.

Now, just us, I can't hold back anymore. I growl and press myself against her, lying on the couch. She falls back, wraps her arms around me, then bites my lip.

"Sorry," she murmurs.

I smirk. "You don't have to apologize to me … ever. Is something wrong?"

"Do you think we should go into the bedroom?" Her eyes sparkle with something like danger. "You know …"

She laughs when I stand up and bring her into my arms simultaneously. The laugh is one of pure relief and delight. It's a laugh that flips the bird to death, to the bullshit the mob tried to pull, to the crazy adventure we've been on together.

She feels perfect in my arms, her curvy body sculpted for me. I nudge my bedroom door open with my elbow and carry her to the bed. When I place her down, she sits up right away, grabbing the front of my shirt and pulling me into a kiss. I sense the nerves in the movement, her desperation to be as close to me as possible. Maybe it's the virgin thing making her move so fast.

I can't overthink it, though. The second I feel her body against mine, I know she wants this, needs this, as badly as I do. I slide my hand down her body and between her legs, pushing my hand against her sex through her jeans.

"Fuck," she gasps, letting her head fall back. "That's so sensitive. So hot."

"You're so goddamn hot," I groan as I rub the outside of her pants quicker. I'm sure I can feel her heat and her wetness through the fabric. She shifts her hips as I rub her, and then she bites her lip, staring at me.

"What?" I say, pausing.

"I don't want any clothes between us." Despite everything we've shared, that gorgeous blush still creeps across her face and neck. "I just want it to be us, nothing else, nobody else, just us …"

I stand up and reach for my shirt. "Then you better show me your perfect, curvy, naked virgin body. Now ."

She makes another ball-tingling gasping noise as she sits up and tugs on her clothes. I tear mine off quickly, my manhood springing up with glistening precome on the end. She wriggles out of her clothes and sits naked on the bed, her tits bouncing as she lets out a shudder of anticipation.

"You're so big," she murmurs, reaching forward and sliding her hand up and down my length.

I look down in awe, completely captivated by her hand stroking precome to my base and then back to my tip. Her thick, gorgeous tits drive me wild. I can't take the motion of her hand for more than a few strokes until I begin to lose it.

"I need your tight virgin slit," I groan. "Fuck. Your legs are glistening already."

"You make me so wet," she moans, her hand still pumping.

With a groan of pure hunger, I lean down on the bed, laying my naked body against hers as gently as I can. She wraps her arms around me, squeezing her fingernails against my back as I reach down and grip the precome-slick base of my dick.

When I guide my tip to her slit, her moan is almost enough to finish me straightaway. Her heat kisses my head like she's trying to make me erupt. I slide in as slowly as I can, even as instincts scream at me to grind deeper, to push further.

Before I glide in, she grabs my face with her hands. "I'm sorry," she murmurs.

"What's wrong?"

"Before we … you know, I have to know."

"Know what?" I growl, struggling to hold myself back, struggling not to push in, keep going, claim her as mine now and forever.

"There was a lady at Ethan's apartment, Rosie. Rosita, I think. She said you and her were an item."

Classic Ethan …

"Never," I snap. "I swear, Lily. Never . You're the only woman I've ever wanted. Every single experience I had before you was a goddamn waste, and I never had many to begin with. I love you . It's only you ."

Her smile is the greatest gift any man could ever receive, but I'm the only one who ever will . She smiles gorgeously and then digs her nails in with even more passion. "Then what are you waiting for?" she says with a hint of sass.

She's magical. It's the only way I can think of her. After everything she's been through, she can make us both live on the brighter side of life. She's an angel, my angel.

Her perfect pussy feels like the only place my dick could ever belong. Her walls grip me tightly as I inch my way in. Her walls spread and caress my length. She might be a virgin, but when she twitches her hips, it's like she knows how best to drive me nuts.

I glide even deeper, guided by the sounds of her moans. She gasps and whimpers like she's never felt this before, and for her, that makes sense. Yet it's the same for me. I've never felt this warmth, this need, this certainty.

"I love you so damn much," I groan when I've slid into her tight-as-fuck hole.

She stares up at me, her lips trembling, the corner twitching like she's going to smile again. Her hands are on her tits now, squeezing them together. I stare down at her thickness as my seed roars at me to claim her.

"It feels so, so good," she moans. "Oh God, don't stop."

There is no way I can stop when I hear the hunger in her tone. I slide out, savoring every time she twitches and moans, and then I push back in again. Her virgin hole takes every inch. I groan when, on the next thrust, she moves in time with me, shifting up and down on the bed. I grunt and lean down, finding her lips.

She kisses me back with more intensity than I've felt yet, which is saying a damn lot where my passionate angel is concerned.

"Yes, yes," she whimpers between kisses. "Oh, fuck, fuck , Landon. I only want you. Just you. Forever."

"Forever," I growl, leaning back so I can watch her body shake for me with each thrust.

Our pleasure collides hotly. Her tight walls pulse around my dick. It's like I can feel the orgasm getting ready to release. We lose ourselves in the thrusting, in the fusion of our bodies. I've often heard about sex meaning more to some people than it ever has to me, but with Lily, I experience it.

The heat is bonding and fusing us, and we are becoming one. Her eyes begin to flutter open and closed when I fuck her even faster. The bed is whining. She sinks her hands into her ample tits, turning her creamy skin red in love marks. I grunt as seed boils, building up like it's getting ready for one big explosion.

"Oh, oh, oh ."

On the third, oh , I know her orgasm is about to slam into her, about to take control of her whole body. There's a good few seconds between when she realizes, and I feel it in the pulsing of her perfect slit.

She almost screams, but then she must remember her mother. She covers her mouth with one hand, moaning loudly through her tightly clasped fingers. I fall atop her as the seed explodes out of my dick, so much of it pumping out of me I feel lightheaded. I feel like, finally, everything makes sense.

I've lived my life coldly and logically. This is the opposite. This is pure heat, pure impossibility, and pure wild perfection.

Once I regain my breath, I lie gently next to her, leaning down and kissing her on the cheek. She finds my lips and kisses me deeply, sounding giddy with her release. "I love you so much. You were always my knight in shining armor. I know this wouldn't have been as special with anybody else. I don't care what anybody would say if they heard me say that. It's the truth."

"I feel the same." I kiss her again. "You're one of a kind, Lily."