Page 54 of A Sweet Mess

“She was hurting, too. I should’ve been there for her. Love broke my mom, and she drifted through life like an empty shell. And I just let her fade away.” He kissed her again and rubbed her back in soothing circles. “It wasn’t all bad. I was a teenage nightmare and wreaked havoc on his pretty social life. Once, he had to get me from the police station because I’d wrapped his Lamborghini around a tree.”

“How old were you?” He chuckled, imagining young Aubrey with fight and rebellion in her eyes.

“I was fifteen.”

“That’s my girl.” He hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head.

“My turn,” said Aubrey, looking up at him. “Tell me about your family.”

“Well, I have a younger brother. He’s a photographer. A pretty good one. My mom’s a painter, so he probably got the artistic genes from her.”

“A painter and a photographer? That’s awesome. Are you artsy?”

“Not in the least. My drawing skills are limited to stick figures.”

Instead of laughing, Aubrey traced the contours of his face with her fingertips. “Your food is your art.”

Her words at once gave him courage and scared the hell out of him. He tightened his arms around her. This time, he drew strength from her.

“If you keep that up, I might actually take the plunge and open a restaurant.”

“Well, you can’t be a celebrity food critic forever.” Aubrey’s expression was suspiciously bland. “When your looks go, you won’t have a choice. They’ll banish you to the kitchens.”

An affronted laugh burst from him, and he kissed her upturned nose. “I think I’ll blacklist you from my restaurant just for that jab. I don’t know if my ego will ever heal.”

“Fine. Just cook for me at home.” She yawned, tucking her chin against his chest.

Home.

“I’d love to,” he whispered. “I would love nothing more than to cook for you at home.”

Aubrey answered with the steady rhythm of her breathing, asleep in his arms.

16

A coil of something strong and heavy was wrapped around her midriff. The sensation was unfamiliar but pleasant, and she smiled in her sleep. When Aubrey twisted to the side, stretching her back, she found herself pressed flush against Landon’s warm, hard body.

“Oh.” Her eyes flew open to their maximum capacity.

His arm, which had been lying across her stomach, was draped over her waist now, and his hand rested precariously close to her bottom. Her lungs shrank to the size of marbles, forcing her to resort to short, shallow breaths, and her pulse skipped at the base of her throat.

She drank in the sight of his sleeping face, wonder filling her. He was beautiful. Holding her breath, she lifted her trembling fingers and traced his dark eyebrows, broad forehead, and cheekbones. She stopped at his parted lips, softened by slumber.

Aubrey swallowed, fixating on his mouth. He looked tastier than a chocolate lava cake.What’s the lovers’ protocol for situations like this?She rose up on her elbows and then leaned overto stare at his sleeping face. She worried her bottom lip, deciding what to do. He’d been working so hard, and she wanted him to rest. Despite her selfless intentions, her face kept creeping closer to his. Her lips were only a few millimeters away from his lips when Landon smiled.

“Good morning,” he murmured without opening his eyes.

She drew back with a startled gasp, but he stopped her with his hand in her hair and kissed her. She closed her eyes and joined him in the lovely dream.

The first caress of his lips was gentle and fleeting, but she mewled in frustration and urged him to deepen the kiss. His breath caught in his throat, and he plunged his tongue into her mouth. He tore her T-shirt and shift off with an impatient tug, and his hands were everywhere at once, greedy and rough.

She caught fire in his arms and touched and tasted him with hunger and desperation. She had waited too long and was too starved to savor their reunion. Next time, she would drive him a little mad before she gave him release, and he would love every minute of it. But this time, they satiated their hunger with raw, animal instinct and came hard and fast in each other’s arms, shouts of pleasure filling the room. They slowly returned to reality, breathless and languid.

“I wish I could keep you in bed all day.” Landon leaned his forehead against hers.

“We’ll have tonight.” Aubrey smiled, cupping his cheek for a quick peck. “For now, you need to get out of bed and into the shower. Didn’t you say something about you having a small part in the production of a cooking show? Or were you just trying to impress me?”

“I can’t decide whether you’re an imp or a siren.” He kissed the tip of her nose, his laughter vibrating against her breasts. “And just to clarify, are you impressed?”

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