Page 57 of This Side of Beautiful

I stepped onto the balcony of my room overlooking Centennial Olympic Park. Landon would probably love this view. The stars and moon were visible in the sky above the Ferris wheel.Would he ride a Ferris wheel? He seemsthe type to hold everyone’s belongings so they canhave fun. What doeshedo for fun?

I laughed at myself and rubbed my chilled arms despite the warm April night. Obviously, he and I needed to talk again if I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I would apologize, explain myself to him, and see what could happen between us. Try to take it slow, as he and Dr. K had suggested I should.

I walked back into my room, sat on the edge of my bed, and pulled off my shoes. Then I stood to unzip the back of my dress. I allowed the material to puddle around my feet, then stepped out of the dress and picked it up to place in a bag to be laundered. Sleep would be a long time coming. Maybe I should reach out to Landon tonight, since I was the one who’d botched things and made him feel as if he owed me an apology. I would grovel until he forgave me. We could wear hoodies and share a hot chocolate at the hotel bar. Or find the pool and sit and talk. We could go anywhere or do anything. I wanted to see him and talk or not talk. Just wanted to be in his comforting presence on such an important night.

My cell buzzed in my purse on the bed, and my heart skipped. I quickly pulled out my phone.

Can we talk?

I held the phone to my chest and could feel my rapidly beating heart. He affected me too much. Landon couldn’t afford to fall for me, and I couldn’t afford the emotional roller coaster I already felt with him. It wasn’t too late to talk reasonably and walk away from each other. Maybe this time, we could ignore this insane chemistry and legitimately be friends and leave sex off the table.

Who are you kidding? You want that man more thanyou’ve ever wanted another man.

I thought about everything that had transpired from this morning until now. I’d left him confused, and he deserved more than how we’d ended things, especially because he’d shown up for me when I least expected it. I wouldn’t let my mind get in the way of my heart.

I replied,

Yes. Because I want to apologize for this morningand start over.

Are you in your room yet?

Yes, but I can come to yours or wherever you wantto meet. You didn’t do anything wrong. It wasall me.

While I waited for his next text, I was startled by the knock on my door. I peeked through the hole, and Landon stood there with his hat cocked to the back, showing some of his curls. His hands were behind his back. Butterflies swarmed in my stomach as I slowly opened the door, deciding to do so wearing only a black lace strapless bra and matching panties.

His hazel eyes smoldered a trail of heat from my feet to my breasts to finally rest on my face. He held a purple hibiscus. “I had to see if I could still knock on your door.”

“Ooh, I hate you,” I muttered as I grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and pulled him into the room. The door slammed behind him with finality.

Chapter Twenty

landon

My insatiable desire for Janaeemboldened me to knock on her door unannounced. I’d asked Jeri for her room number at the club, and she’d gladly given it to me. I texted on the elevator to her room, testing the waters. I couldn’t say I would’ve left her alone if she’d ignored my text or told me she didn’t want to talk. I needed her, and I knew she needed me, too. The wide smile that brightened her already luminous glow when she’d noticed me at the ASMI event spoke volumes. I’d made the right choice to skip dinner with Del and be there as she announced to the world that she had bipolar.

Knowing she struggled with mental illness didn’t deter me from the allure of Janae. Her honesty and truth had only enhanced her beauty in my eyes. When she opened the door, boldly letting me know that I could have her, my already-aroused dick became rock hard at the inevitableness of the passion we would share.

Cradling her face between my calloused palms, I pressed my lips against hers and uttered, “I just want to be buried deep within you.”

Her eyes lowered demurely from mine as she stepped back and unhooked her bra, releasing her full, pear-shaped breasts. I shook my head slowly at the goddess before me, feeling impossibly lucky that I would get even one taste of her. I closed a hand over one breast, cradling the soft flesh and stiffened tip. She licked her lips and reached for the buttons on my shirt. I continued to roll her nipple in between my index finger and thumb as her sexy eyes darkened with temptation and sensuality. I lowered my head to suckle on the other breast, and Janae moaned loudly and could no longer unbutton my shirt. Her hands urgently pressed the back of my head into her.

She stood on tiptoes, clearly wanting my mouth to devour her breasts. I toyed with her rigid nipple with my fingers, using the same rhythm with my tongue. Her breath hitched, and her panting became frenzied. She cursed me. “I don’t want to come yet.”

Her plea only encouraged my focus on her breasts. I pushed them together with one hand and ran my tongue across both hard buds while running my other hand over her stomach and the diamond in her belly button to slip it under her lace panties, cupping her mound. She closed her eyes and gripped my forearms as I dipped my long finger inside her wetness. Janae shivered as I slowly moved in and out of her, stretching her and building her anticipation for my throbbing manhood. When she froze while scratching my arms, I increased the sucking of her nipples while fingering her.

I fisted my hand in her hair while my lips captured her orgasm in a fiery kiss. She gasped in my mouth, though her tongue eagerly joined and mated with mine. Janae tasted of chocolate and sweet, sweet sin. My finger continued to probe in and out until she succumbed to her climatic release within seconds of her first wave.

Janae stared up at me in exhausted wonder. “Damn, Landon.”

I removed my hand from her panties and backed her to the bed. Before I laid her on the firm mattress, I trailed kisses between her breasts and down her writhing body, stopping to tongue her belly button. Her hands rested on my shoulders as I hooked the sides of her lace panties and eased the material off her ass and over her thighs. I kissed her intimately as I moved the lace from her feet.

I looked up at her hooded eyes, drunk on desire. I would cherish every inch of her body and this unexpected night of smoldering passion. I rose to my full height, and the heat from her naked breasts seeped through my shirt. I could no longer wait to feel the softness of her skin on mine.

She pushed the shirt off my shoulders and soon we were both naked. Janae’s warm hands roamed my chest and stroked my erection as she sucked on my neck. She murmured, “I love your body. Why are you so incredibly sexy? I can’t get enough of you.”

Shuddering from her touch, I lifted her enough to place her on the bed and whispered near her ear, “I haven’t been able to stop thinking of fucking you ever since you stepped on that elevator. I wanted to push you up on the wall, snatch up your dress, and lose myself inside of you until you screamed my name.”

“Next time, do it.” She shifted her head to kiss me, opening my mouth with her tongue. I indulged in her sweetness before licking and sucking on her neck.

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