Chapter 30

Back on the beach, I was still buzzing inside. Even my favorite bikini bottoms were uncomfortable after the amazing sex I’d just had. I was also still so sensitive that I was aware of my lady bits with every step I took. It only made me want another round with Landon so much more.

I sighed as I watched him jogging down to the water. He joined a game Colten, Scott, and a few others kids were playing. As he splashed into the lake, I once again found myself checking him out, dragging my gaze over the ropes of muscle in his back and the tiny, almost invisible red half-moons my nails had left behind.

Fresh desire trickled through me at the sight and I almost moaned. My teeth sank into my lip as I tried to hold back the sound. Moaning on the beach while surrounded by so many people would definitely raise a few eyebrows, but I wanted him again. Badly. Fiercely, even.

God, what is wrong with me?

Generally, I functioned on one orgasm every month or two. My trusty vibrator’s batteries never ran out. More often, they died from disuse. Yet, I’d already come twice today and I felt like I was far from finished.

Shaking my head at myself, I grabbed my towel and spread it out next to Brittany’s where she was lounging in the sun, tanning and keeping an eye on the game going on in the lake. She shot me a look when I joined her. “So, you two were gone a while.”

“Were we?” I asked innocently. “I didn’t notice.”

Brittany laughed and shoved my shoulder. “I’m not dumb, my friend. I know what you were up to. I knew as soon as you insisted on taking him back to your place to clean up a cut that wasn’t even bleeding anymore.”

“The dock is dirty,” I said, shrugging.

“So are you, apparently.” She smirked at me, lying back down but keeping her eyes on mine. “How was it? Don’t you dare hold back the details when I was babysitting for you.”

I blushed a deep red, ducking my head and pretending to rummage through my bag for my sunscreen as I tried to hide it from her. She chuckled, and I realized I didn’t want to deny any of it with her.

While I didn’t want the whole town to see me blushing, I kept my head down to fake search even as I admitted the truth to her. “It was, uh, unlike any sex I’ve ever had.”

“Really?” Brittany asked, clearly amused but also interested. “How so?”

“Well, for starters, he was tender and rough all at the same time. He handled me with care while also taking charge.”

“Well, that does sound different,” she said, rolling onto her side to face me.

I took a deep breath, pulled the sunscreen out of my bag, and reapplied it since I’d gone through all that effort pretending to look for it. When I was done, I tossed it back in and braced my palms on the towel behind me. Watching the guys in the water, I let out a dreamy sigh.

“It was flipping amazing, but the problem now is that I want more and I’m not sure I’m going to get it.”

She laughed. “You will, but I’m not done with the details yet. Tell me more. Curious minds want to know what else he did to make it so amazing.”

I dropped my head back and closed my eyes as I thought back to what had made it feel so special. “Landon is wild. He kissed me like he loved me and fucked like he didn’t, but that’s all I’m saying. I can’t keep talking about this, or I’m going to drag him out of the water and back to my apartment.”

Laughing again, she kicked sand on my towel. “You lucky bitch.”

I giggled and shrugged as I kicked sand on her towel in return. “Sure, unless you count the fact that he may well have ruined me for other men. And he has a child here, so it’s going to be difficult to chain him to my bed so he’ll never leave it again. I mean, I’m not cruel enough to force Colten to fend for himself while I spend my days climbing Landon like a jungle gym.”

She sighed dreamily. “For that kind of sex, I’d pay someone to watch Colten if I was you.”

“Can’t,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “They came out here to spend time together, so I’m not getting in the way of that, no matter how much he rocked my world.”

She grimaced and patted my shoulder, sending me a coy grin. “At least you’ve got the memories to keep you company, right? That’s better than nothing, which is what I’ve got right now.”

Scott wrestled with Brody in the water, both of them shrieking with laughter. I wondered when my brother was finally going to pull his head out his ass. “You should talk to him.”

She paused, but then she started giggling. “I can’t. God, it would be so uncomfortable. It’ll happen when it happens if it’s meant to happen.”

I shot her a questioning look, but then the guys started wading out of the water, leaving the kids by themselves as they made their way to us. Scott only had eyes for Brittany, and Landon, in turn, made no secret of raking his gaze over me like he was taking a hundred mental pictures.

Once again, I almost moaned but my brother yanked me out from under Landon’s spell. “They’re serving up burgers at the grill. I’m going to go grab us some. You guys want some?”

“Of course,” Brittany said, practically rolling her tongue back into her mouth. I hadn’t missed the way she’d looked at him, all wet as he came out of the water.

Gosh, the hormones on the beach today are out of control and it’s not even coming from the freaking teenagers.

Scott glanced at me. “Jewel? Burger?”

Oh, right.I nodded, smiling as I reached for my bag. “Here. Let me just give you some cash.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Scott bent over and swiped up his wallet from his towel. “I got it, and cold drinks are on Landon. So just place your orders and we’ll get to it.”

“Service with a smile,” I joked as I finally looked back at Landon. “I’ll just have a Coke. Please?”

“You got it,” he said easily, blinking himself out of what appeared to be his own haze of lust. Then he glanced at Brit. She asked for the same.

When the guys came back, we sat and ate together. Colten joined us for just long enough to inhale his own food before he rushed back to meet up with his new friends. I watched him go, taking in the wide grin on his face and seeing the high fives he handed out when he rejoined them.

“He really is like a whole new kid,” I said to Landon. “Do you think it’ll help him when you get back home?”

“You mean, do I think he’ll bring his new social skills with him and maybe be able to connect with the kids in his class?” Landon exhaled heavily. His head shook as he shrugged, his eyes glued to his son. “I don’t know, but I hope so.”

“Now that Colt has seen how good it can be to have friends, maybe he’ll be keen to try a little bit harder,” Scott mused out loud, then grinned at Landon. “If push comes to shove, you guys could always move to June Lake. He seems to be fitting in pretty well with the kids around here.”

Landon chuckled. “Imagine that. I think I might actually consider it if I had a job I could do remotely, but unfortunately, I don’t. Plus, my stepfather is in LA. I’d never be able to leave him to live out his golden years by himself.”

“I hear that,” Scott said and easily guided the conversation to a different subject while I mulled over what Landon had said.

By the time the sun started setting and Colten and Landon headed home, I still wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it, but I smiled at them anyway. “I’ll see you guys on Monday.”

Colten grinned. “We can’t wait. Bye, everybody!”

“Bye, kid,” Scott called while Brittany waved.

Once they were gone, I watched them walk up the slope and down the road to their truck. Then I sighed and turned to my brother. “Do you still think Landon is a one-trick pony?”

He laughed, frowning at me as he shook his head. “What do you mean?”

“Do you still think he’s just a city boy with a chip on his shoulder?”

My brother’s eyebrows jumped up as he chuckled. “Nah. I was impressed with how the guy let his hair down today and became one of us for the afternoon. Maybe he’s not so terrible.”

Well, at least that’s something.

My brother’s approval had always been important to me when I was seeing someone. Scott’s judgment was scarily accurate most of the time. Lucky for me, while he definitely was protective of me, he didn’t think of me as an eternal virgin like some other big brothers might’ve.

Like he’d read my mind, he reached out to squeeze my shoulder and his tone lowered into a warning. “He’s still leaving at the end of the summer. You heard what he said, so don’t get too invested.”

So that’s why he suggested they move to June Lake.I had wondered if it was just something he’d said, but obviously, he’d been trying to get a feel for the guy. Which meant he knew that I was starting to develop feelings for him and he was trying to protect me from getting my heart shattered.

“Yeah, I know,” I said, because I did know.

I had always known, but that didn’t stop me from feeling a bit glum at the reminder. Pushing myself to my feet, I picked up my towel and slid my bag over my shoulder. “I think I’m going to turn in. It’s been a long day.”

Brittany gave me a sympathetic smile as she nodded. Scott just waved, but I knew he was worried about me. I was worried too.

When I walked back into my apartment, I glanced at my sex-messed bed and the open band-aid and alcohol I had used to clean Landon’s cut. Just more reminders.

In six more weeks, they’d be gone.

Not even six whole weeks, I was sure.

If it continued like this, I knew that time would fly, and then, when it came to an end, everything would go back to the way it had been. It was a prospect I wasn’t too excited about.

I’d always been content with my life here in June Lake, but now that I’d had a taste of having Landon around, I wasn’t sure how easily I would be able to go back to my old routines.

In a few short weeks, it felt like he’d turned my life upside down, and I already knew with utmost certainty that turning it right way up again wasn’t going to happen nearly as fast. If it ever did.

It was just my luck that the perfect man came with an expiration date.