Landon's Obsession: An Endless Series: Book 3 (Series 3) (44 page)

     She gave me a playful look. “Are you telling me that
the big bad lacrosse player has been done in by a three and a half year old?”

     “The rival teams could learn a lot from her.” I exhaled
and slumped back into the seat.

     Maya chuckled and looked in her review mirror. “Well,
you’ll be happy to know that she wore herself out as well. She’s already
closing her eyes. She’ll be completely under by the time we get home.”

     I glanced back and sure enough Nola’s eyes were closed.
Damn, my little girl was adorable. Her skin hue was just slightly lighter than
Maya’s fawn coloring but her cheeks held that identical rosy tint that adorned
Maya’s skin on a regular basis.

     “She’s going to be just as beautiful as you when she
grows up.” I mused. “I’m going to have to beat the boys off with a
two-by-four.”

     “We’re going to make sure she knows how to do that
herself.” Maya shook her head at my compliment but chuckled.

     I loved it when she said ‘we’. The rest of the ride
back was quiet and during that hush I found myself just taking Maya in; her
delicate features, her petite frame, her hands as they gripped the steering
wheel. I knew my staring was getting to her by the way she held herself and the
self-conscious glances she threw my way, but it didn’t stop me. I couldn’t pull
my gaze away.

     When we arrived back at the house I carried an
unconscious Nola up to her bedroom. Maya just pulled her pants off and tucked
her in as is.

     “Would you like something to drink? I also made some
cookies if you’re interested?” Maya asked in a husky voice as we walked down
the stairs.

     My eyes were fastened to her ass; it had found its way
there many times this evening. I was interested in a lot of things, but I’d
settle for what she was offering…for the moment.

     “I’ll take whatever you’re drinking, and cookies sound
good.” I replied gruffly.

     With a surreptitious glance my way Maya headed for the
kitchen. I made my way to the living room. Each night we’d sat and talked after
putting Nola to bed, but tonight I wanted more. Being around Maya again was
invigorating to both my body and mind. They both had missed her. I’d allowed
only my mind to benefit from her presence so far, but my body could no longer
wait its turn. I was hard, and charged, and needed some small contact with her.
Maya was temptation wrapped in desire, dipped in ecstasy and rolled in
satisfaction, and there was no doubt in my mind that she’d been designed
specifically for me.

     Grabbing the remote to the electric fireplace I pushed
the button to start it. I then turned on the radio for some light background
music. We’d had both on before but this night I was setting the mood for a
different outcome.

     I took off my tailored vest, unbuttoned the top two
buttons of my shirt, and was rolling up the sleeves to my shirt when Maya came
back into the room with a small tray. She set it down on the coffee table as
she sat down on the couch. I took the spot next to her and noted that she
stiffened slightly at my nearness.

     “Is wine okay?” She asked.

     “It’s perfect.” I reached out for the glass.

     “Landon! You have a tattoo?” She burst out suddenly
looking down at my arm.

     My tattoo had been a part of me for so long that when
I’d rolled my sleeves up I hadn’t taken any notice of it, or the fact that she
hadn’t seen it yet.

     She looked back up at me, surprise evident in her gaze.
“When did you get a tattoo?”

     “Around three years ago.” I answered vaguely.

     Maya’s gaze went back to my arm and she reached out and
lifted my arm so she could turn it for a better look. Just that casual contact
went straight to my dick. 

     “It looks like an animal paw, but those are some long,
sharp claws.” She glanced up. “What is it?”

     “A dragon.”

     The interest in her eyes amplified and she ran a finger
over the parts she could see. “From the size of this paw it must be an
extensive tattoo?”

     I never liked talking about my tattoo. Women would
always make some comment on it and I would be short and to the point in my
typical rude, dick’ish manner that it wasn’t up for discussion.

     But Maya was different.

     “Do you want to see it?” I asked holding back my salacious
grin.

     Her hand dropped away and she looked at me wide-eyed.
“Oh…well…You don’t have to take off your shirt…I mean, I’ll be seeing it
tomorrow anyway.” She reached out for her glass of wine and took a gulp.

     I grinned at how flustered she was getting. “Yes, I guess
you will.” I took a drink as well. “I just thought we might get the surprise of
it out of the way.” I suggested nonchalantly.

     We each took another drink and I noted her gaze
followed my arm. “How large is it?” She asked.

     I couldn’t let that pass. “You’ve seen me; you know how
big it is.”

     She frowned and then blushed, rolling her eyes. “How
old are you, because that is so infantile?”

     I grinned. “No guy can pass up a leading question like
that. But to answer you intended question; it loops around my shoulder to my
other arm and is also on my chest.”

     Her gaze seemed to follow my depiction and halted on
the small gap of my collar. It wasn’t hard to see that she was fighting her
curiosity and the threat of me being undressed.

     “Maybe I could take a quick look. I don’t want to be
accused of ogling you tomorrow when I would just be checking out your tattoo.”
She tried giving me a snide look but it was ruined by the excited and amused
twinkles in her brown depths.

     Setting down my glass I unbuttoned my shirt and shucked
it completely. Maya’s mouth gaped slightly as her gaze roved everywhere, and
not just the areas containing the tattoo. She inhaled, seemed to gather herself,
and focused on my upper chest. The neck and head of the dragon was drawn draped
over my shoulder and took up my entire right pectoral, it jaws open like it was
going to take a bite. The other dragons arm and claw reached over my left
shoulder and was depicted digging into my left pectoral. The body wound around
my shoulders and upper back and the tail went down my left arm to my elbow.

     Putting down her own glass of wine Maya turned me so
she could view it all. “My god, Landon. She’s amazing and…beautiful…” She breathed
in wonder examining every little nuance of the tattoo. “And Dark.” She seemed
to have to tear her gaze from it to look up at me. “Why so dark?”

     I drew my shirt back on but didn’t button it. “I don’t
know if now is the time to tell you why.” I stated in indecision. I’d wanted
Maya to see it, but wasn’t certain I was ready to tell her where my head was at
when I’d gotten it done.

     Confusion moved over her face. “Why not?”

     “Because I don’t want to put a downer on our evening.”

     Slumping back into the couch she scrutinized me thoughtfully.
“Please,” she entreated.

     I sighed. I’d never told anyone why I’d gotten this
tattoo or what it meant to me, but Maya had a right to know.   

Chapter Eight

MAYA

     Landon’s tattoo was truly remarkable. I found it
difficult to look away. It was extremely detailed and though all black the
shading on it was faultless. The animal appeared almost alive.

     But there seemed to be a story around it that Landon
was hesitant to divulge…a bleak story it seemed. 

     “Please, I would like to know?” I repeated, truly
wanting to know why he’d gotten it.

     “I made the sketch for the tattoo artist.” He
announced.

     My brows rose at that revelation. “Really,
that’s…incredible, but then I already knew you were incredibly talented.”

     His lip tilted up. “You know you’re the only person I
care about that has said that to me.”

     I swallowed at the profoundness of his words. “I refuse
to believe I’m the only person that has said you have talent. Your professor’s
must have told you because your work screams it.”

     He nodded. “Yes, they’ve stated it, and while I
appreciate the praise; I don’t yearn for it like I do from someone I care
about.”

     His intent gaze and purposeful declaration had my heart
pounding. “Your parents must have praised your drawings?” I asked huskily.

     The silent shrug he gave was meant to be careless.
“Parental praise.” He answered shortly,

     Yeah, they probably hadn’t wanted him getting ideas so
they’d kept their admiration to a minimum, but I could see that he was disappointed
at their overall disinterest.       

     “They couldn’t have you thinking you could be awesomely
great at something else besides business, could they?” The criticism burst from
me before I could halt it.

     Landon’s hazel eyes flared and he sighed. “We’re
digressing. I decided to get the tattoo because things in my life seemed out of
my control.”      

     Of course my first thought was the fact that his
parent’s were making him go into the family business.

     Landon continued. “I was angry…have been angry for a
long time. It has been simmering for years. Before you came into my life I was
just discontent; a spoiled rich kid bored with his life. But when I was with
you everything seemed brighter. I felt like anything was possible. I may have
been afraid to admit what you meant to me, Maya, but the impact you had in my
life was monumental. I was worse after…” He stopped and I stared at him
astounded at what he was confessing.

     “I may have gotten the tattoo because it was my way of
controlling something in my life, but the tattoo’s meaning in very personal.”
He stared at me intently and I knew it had something to do with me. “The dragon
is an animal that burns and destroys everything in its path…and you became that
to me…”

     My heart stuttered at the harshness of the words, and
then it nearly stopped as Landon suddenly scooped me up and arranged me on his
lap. His hazel eyes had gone green and they blazed into mine as he finished his
declaration.

     “But the last few times I’ve looked at it I see
something different. The dragon also protects, almost obsessively, and that’s
what it’s been doing. It has wrapped itself around me and guarded me these past
four years, waiting for you to come back to me.” Taking my hand he placed it
under his shirt on his left pectoral. “Her claw over my heart has kept it safe
for you because she knew that you were the only person who could ever have it.”

     My breath caught in my throat and my fingers dug into Landon’s
chest in shock. Eyes scorching his hand lifted feathering across my face; across
my eyebrow, down my cheek, under my bottom lip. His touch released the breath
from my throat.

     “What are you saying, Landon?”

     “I’m saying that my feelings for you never went away,
Maya. I never told you back then what you meant to me and I’m kicking myself
for being a coward, but you meant everything to me back then. These last four
years I put a wall up around those feelings pretending they weren’t there, but
that first time I saw you again it began to crumble. That’s why I acted like
such a bastard to you.” His expression twisted with self-disgust. “I hated you for
showing me that I wasn’t over you.” Contradicting his merciless words Landon
smoothed his thumb gently over my jaw, and his eyes stared possessively into
mine searchingly. “These last few days have completely demolished that wall,
Maya. Being around you again has revealed to me that those feelings from the
past are still as strong as they’ve ever been.”

     Astonishment at his words, and breathlessness at where
I was sitting, had kept me silent up to this point, but I broke through them
all to whisper. “Landon, everything you’ve just found out…it has to be
confusing.”

     He shook his head firmly jerking me closer and my belly
clenched in acute need as his very hard member brushed against my sex. “I’ve
never been so clear about anything in my life, Maya.” He declared huskily, his
hands messaging my hips. “Tell me that you haven’t had the same reemergence of
feelings and this discussion can end right now.”

     I swallowed. This was happening too fast. Barely a week
had gone by since Landon had shown up at my door. Yet…I couldn’t deny that my
feelings for him
had
reemerged. But there were so many things between
us.

     “Your feelings toward Nola could be confusing you in
regards to your feelings towards me.” I put forward.

     Gripping my hips firmly he pushed his up into my parted
thighs and I gasped in painful pleasure. “This has nothing to do with Nola.
It’s all because of you, Maya.” Landon growled.

     Feelings of acute vulnerability overwhelmed me as my center
throbbed with want and I clenched his forearms desperately in response. It had
been too long and part of me wanted to just surrender to what he seemed to be
offering, but I was older now, a mother, and couldn’t let myself be ruled by
lust. That hadn’t worked out so well last time.

     “We…” I had to take a breath as my insides clenched
once more in sexual desire. I couldn’t talk sitting in his lap like this. It
was asking too much. Scrambling off I stood. “Landon, we can’t pretend like
nothing has happened and go back to what it was.” I huffed achingly.

     Without allowing me to go anywhere he shifted forward
and seized my hips, keeping me there between his knees. “Maya, I’m not saying
that. I know we can’t go back, but there’s nothing stopping us from going
forward.” He looked at me solemnly. “I want another chance at us. We had
something back then and I feel that same thing between us now. For years I’ve
been going through life in a haze of dark bitterness, but this last week with
you and Nola has given me some light. Yes, Nola is part of that light, but so
are you. It’s the same light that you brought to me the first time we were
together so I recognize it.”