Chapter 11

chapter

eleven

Landry

I wake up with the most raging hard-on that's ever raged. It feels like one tiny brush against me and I'll pop off like a rocket. I groan, and then realize I'm pressed against something so soft, so warm, and so perfectly feminine.

I lean forward, burying my face into her hair.

"God, you smell good."

Her perfectly ripe ass flexes against my dick. And that's when I realize my hand is inside her shirt, cupping her bare breast. The weight is perfect against my palm.

"Brooklyn, you're driving me wild. Please tell me I can taste you." I squeeze her tit, then rub my knuckles against her hard little nipple. "Darlin, please, you're killing me." I rock, searching for any friction for my aching cock.

"There's cake," she murmurs.

"Yeah, baby, I'll eat your cake."

"What?" Her question is shrill as if she just woke up.

Ah fuck. Clearly, awake and alert Brook is not nearly as into that as I was.

"I thought you were awake," I rumble against her ear.

"Did you say you would eat my cake?" she asks.

I chuckle. "I'll eat anything of yours that you'll let me."

"You are like a walking temptation." She surges away from me and stands up, spinning around to face me. "I meant we have that cake tasting thing to go to."

"Your nipples are still hard," I lean up on my elbow.

She looks down at her chest, then at mine. She smirks. "So are yours."

"Mine pretty much always are with these." I flick one of my barbells. I get out of the bed, not even bothering to hide my erection. The tent I'm pitching in my boxers is indecent at this point.

Her gaze slides down my body, and she licks her lips.

"Goddamn, woman, you can't look at me like that. Unless you want me to strip off your clothes and fuck you for the rest of the day, you better go get dressed."

She squeaks and turns on her heel, rushing into the bathroom.

I pick up my phone to check the day's itinerary. Cake tasting and then our mock wedding tonight, but she has a mini dress shopping experience and I have to wear a damn penguin suit.

I quickly get dressed, since I showered last night. If I get naked at this point, I'm gonna have to jerk off. Fuck, she makes me hard.

I don't know what it is about her. I mean she's beautiful. Anyone with eyes can see that. But it's so much more.

Twenty minutes later, she steps out of the bathroom, dressed and ready. She doesn't meet my gaze.

I stop her and tilt her chin up. "Don't be embarrassed around me. But I am sorry if I was taking advantage while you were sleeping. It wasn't my intention."

She opens her mouth, then closes it with a nod. "Thank you for saying so."

"I can sleep on the floor tonight. Or crawl my big ass back in the bathtub."

"No, it's fine. I promise. It's not like I didn't like it." Pink blooms on her cheeks as she turns away from me.

I link our fingers as we step out of our cabin and head to the main building.

"Hard to believe they call Saddle Ridge a mountain, huh?" she asks, looking at the view surrounding us.

"Yes. Not quite as big as these bad boys. But she's home."

"I hope it feels like that to me someday."

"It will. Your sister's there. You'll find your place and your people."

"The bearded philosopher. That's what I should call you," she says.

I bark out a laugh. "I don't think anyone would believe you. I'm not exactly known as a deep thinker."

We walk the rest of the way in silence and I'm glad that the cake tasting room is set up privately. I don't know where the other couples are, but I'd much rather just be with Brook.

We're met by a baker who introduces herself as Mary. She sits us at a table that has eight small pieces of cake divided upon four plates. She explains the four different flavors, and how we should proceed.

"Now I'll get out of you two lovebird's hair if you don't have any questions."

"We're good," Brook says.

Mary smiles and leaves the room. "Holler if you need me."

"So, we're literally here just to eat cake?" I ask, leaning closely and lowering my voice.

"Yes. Because this is the on-site bakery for the venue."

"Will y'all have one of those?" I ask.

"Probably not. We'll likely just use Sugar Bakers in town. Have you been there?"

I shake my head. "I have a terrible sweet tooth, so I try to stay far away from bakeries. I have a hard enough time with Sprinkles. Homemade ice cream sandwiches made with fresh baked cookies." I pat my stomach. "That's heaven right there."

She smiles at me. "Which should we try first?"

"The orange creamsicle looks good." I pick up the small square. "Are we supposed to feed each other?"

Her nose wrinkles and she shakes her head. "No, I'm sure we don't need to do that." But she's still smiling at me, and man, if that doesn't make me feel ten feet tall.

"The last one we'll do that," I say.

"Okay." She bites into the orange one and her eyes roll into the back of her head. "Ohmygod! This is amazing."

I pop the whole square into my mouth and she's not wrong. It's delicate and flavorful without being too sweet. But their orange buttercream is whipped to perfection. "Wow."

Next, we try the Italian Cream Cake, which is tasty, but we agree it's not the one for us. Too many nuts. I'm hit with a moment where I recognize how real this feels. Sitting next to her tasting cake, my mama's ring on her finger.

She sees me looking at it and gives me a questioning glance.

"It looks good on you," I say.

"It's a gorgeous ring. I imagine it would look good on anyone."

I don't correct her, but I know she's wrong. Not any other woman could do my mama's ring justice like she does.

"Salted caramel, next?" she asks.

"Saving the chocolate for last?"

"Of course." She takes a tiny bite of the cake and chews thoughtfully. "Can I ask you a question?"

"No, I've never masturbated with a hot tub jet," I say.

She huffs out a laugh. "I've watched you with other people. When we're in a room and others are around where they can hear us. I can also see how exhausting it is for you to be on all the time. So why do you bother?"

Her question surprises me but doesn't offend. "The easy answer is that not all of us can get by with being so cranky." I tweak her on the chin.

"Har-har. I mean if it's too personal or whatever, you don't have to answer. I just know that someone as hot as you could get away with behaving any way you want."

"Hot enough, yes, but not smart enough."

She looks at me as if I've grown a second head. "You are a lot of things, Landry Hendricks, but stupid is not one of them."

"No, I'm not stupid. But I learned pretty quickly that I could compensate for some of my shortcomings at school if I was charming and gregarious enough."

She stares at me, not prodding, just looking at me. Seeing me.

"I was in middle school before I was officially diagnosed with severe dyslexia and ADHD."

She makes no comment, doesn't ask further questions, doesn't make a big deal about it. Her brown eyes are soft and full of warmth.

I shrug. "Made learning challenging. But by then, I liked being the guy who made people laugh. Who put them at ease."

"You're exceptional at both of those," she says. "Though I can't imagine going that long without a diagnosis was easy."

I swallow hard and shake my head.

"And you're stupid hot. Doesn't seem quite fair to the rest of us."

"You're stupid hot too, Manhattan. Don't ever think differently."

"Last one," she says, holding up the little square of chocolate cake.

"This one looks so good, that if it's not yummy, I might actually cry," I say.

She laughs. "Open," she says. Then she puts the chocolate up against my lips.

I open, using my tongue to sweep the piece into my mouth. It's rich and velvety and fudgy and everything a chocolate cake should be. There's frosting smeared onto her fingertips, so I grab her hand and bring it back to my mouth. Then I lick her fingers clean.

She watches every movement of my tongue as if I'm hypnotizing her.

I feed her her bit of cake and the moaning sound she makes causes a level four erection emergency. I tug at the front of my jeans to try to give myself some more room.

When she sees me do this, her brow cocks.

"Problem?"

"Just the same one I've had since we met."

"Do you say that to all the girls?"

"Nope, just the woman wearing my mama's ring."

Brook sucks in a breath, then she grabs my hand and tugs me to the door.

"Thank you, Mary," she calls, then we're outside. Her arms snake around my neck and she pulls my face down to hers. "I want you, Landry."

"Thank fuck." I kiss her then, lifting her and turning us so I can press her against the building. Probably not the best place for our first real kiss, but right now I don't give a damn.

She tastes sweet and decadent. She sucks my tongue into her mouth and wraps her legs tighter around my waist.

I trail my lips down her throat and reach that tender spot just beneath her ear. "How wet are you right now?"

"Soaked."

I let her put her feet back on the ground, then turn and give her my back.

"Piggyback is faster, and I won't come in my pants. Hop on, Manhattan."

She giggles and gets onto my back. Her full tits press against my back and it's blissful torture.

"I want you naked—so naked."

"Is there a difference between naked and soooo naked?"

"Oh, look who thinks she's a comedienne now."

"Just move faster, mountain man, I'm dying to see this piercing of yours."