One Kiss More (28 page)

Who needed egg rolls and burgers when Landon’s mouth was too full of his own damned foot? Emma’s expression fell, and if she didn’t look like she was about to kick his ass, he might have done it himself. It was over. Done with. Why revisit any of it? Because she’d pointed out that she’d saved him? Oh yeah, that was it.

“He had a gun. Pointed at your forehead.” Emma spoke slowly as though Landon might be having trouble comprehending. “I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.”

“You do realize that’s why you’re in this situation to begin with, right? Because you jump in where you shouldn’t and find yourself in way over your head.”

“So basically you’re saying I should’ve sat back and let Luis put a bullet in your brain?”

No. Of course not. That wasn’t what he was getting at, at all. “Pretty much. Yeah.”

“You know, that’s what I don’t get about men.” Emma dunked another boneless wing into the dressing with so much force that blue cheese oozed over the rim of the container. “You’re all so worried about being the top dog that you’ll do any stupid thing to prove it.”

“And you weren’t trying to be top dog?” Landon had no doubt that with Emma’s competitive nature, being top dog was one of her priorities. “Don’t put this solely on me. Because there is no way you stole all of that money from Sousa without gloating at least
once
over the fact that you got one up on him.”

Was this a glimpse into what having a relationship with Emma would be like? Bouts of arguments interrupted by breaks of mind-blowing sex, only to fuel up and start all over again?

“It was about helping my dad.”

“And you never once felt any sort of smug satisfaction? No patting yourself on the back? I call bullshit on that.”

Emma’s eyes narrowed and her jaw took on a stubborn set. That ridiculous adrenaline rush that Landon craved like a drug dumped into his system, rolling through his veins like breakers at high tide.
Sick
. It was abso-fucking-lutely sick that igniting Emma’s anger would turn him on. But yeah, right in front of him, sticking straight up like a goddamned flag, his dick was waving hello just to drive the point home.
Jesus
.

Emma glanced at the dressing-covered chicken bite affixed to her fork, pulled back her wrist, and let it fly forward with a catapult action that launched the deep-fried, hot-sauce-and blue-cheese-covered lump of chicken straight at him. It hit his chest with a slimy
slap!
and slid down between his pecs, landing on top of the tented sheet that barely concealed his upright cock.
Fabulous
.

For a second, Emma sat there and stared at him, horrified. Then she broke out into a fit of laughter that sent her rocking backward as she dropped her fork on her plate.
Holy mother of God, the sound of her laughter . . .
If her anger was a turn-on then her joy was more akin to the ecstasy of going straight to heaven. The elation he felt built until it had nowhere else to go and the laughter bubbled up from Landon’s chest. “I can’t believe you just threw food at me!”

He leaned forward and dipped his finger into the blue cheese dressing, smearing it across Emma’s cheek. She squealed in response, laughing even harder as she swiped at her cheek and then licked the dressing off of her fingers. Landon launched himself forward, taking her down to the mattress in a tackle. The plate of boneless bites bounced off the bed and landed on the floor, scattering to parts unknown.

“Goddamn it, I can’t even fight with you without wanting to fuck you.”

Emma’s laughter dwindled and her expression, though still playful, brought a heat that made Landon break out into a sweat. Damn, she was sexy. Without even trying. Which made her even sexier. So did that make her sexier-er? Who the hell cared? He lowered his weight on top of her and nipped playfully at her bottom lip before kissing her. Fingers teased his hair, nails raked his scalp as she kissed him back. They’d barely finished and he was ready to have her again, his erection throbbing between his legs as he ground his hips into hers. How was he supposed to live a normal life after tonight? Especially when all he could think of was keeping Emma as naked as possible for as long as possible. At this rate, they’d never leave the hotel room again.

“What about dinner?” Emma murmured against his mouth.

Landon kissed her, those soft rosy lips all the sustenance he needed. He looked over at the table, and Emma craned her neck back to follow his gaze. “I could slather you in hot fudge and lick it off of you.”

Her expression smoldered. “Or maybe, I could lick it off of you.”

The thought of Emma licking anything off of him blinded Landon with lust. Hell, she could bathe him in blue cheese dressing if she wanted. A thin sheet separated their naked bodies, and Landon craved that skin-to-skin contact like he craved air. He supported himself on his forearm as he shimmied the sheet out from between them. He’d make quick work of Emma’s clothes, too. Even if he had to tear them off of her.

“Hang on.” Emma’s brow furrowed as a teasing smile played on her lips. “We’re, uh, out of supplies. You might want to slow your roll, Deputy.”

“True,” Landon said. He wrapped his arms around Emma and rolled them both until she was seated atop him. Leaning up, he peeled his T-shirt off of her and took one nipple into his mouth.

Emma gasped as he sucked, arching her back and pressing into the contact. “I suppose there are other things we could do,” she all but purred as she gripped his shoulders.

He pulled away, drawing a disappointed whimper from Emma. “There are. I mean, off the top of my head there are least thirty or forty things I could do to you that we wouldn’t need condoms for.”

“Thirty or forty?” Emma’s throaty response tingled across Landon’s skin. “There is that hot fudge sauce you mentioned . . .” She pushed him down until he was laid out flat on his back and eased herself slowly down the length of his body, pausing to kiss along his ribs, down his stomach, and the junction where his hip met his thigh.

Landon sucked in a breath as he realized what she was about to do. Oh, hell,
yes
. Her tongue flicked out at the head of his cock, wet, warm, and so damned soft. He bucked his hips as he stifled a groan. Just the thought of Emma’s mouth on him sent his heart rate into overdrive. The act itself might give him a full-on heart attack.

“I can’t get enough of you, Landon.” She took the glossy head into her mouth and sucked. Those gorgeous brown eyes zeroed in on his face and he thought he might come right then and there from the sight of her. His need was mindless, primal. Urgent.

It took more than simple self-restraint not to thrust hard and deep into her mouth. He wouldn’t last thirty seconds if he watched as she worked her mouth over his cock. The solution was clear. He needed something to do as well. “Turn around.” His voice was a ragged plea, but Emma didn’t stop, just kept licking and sucking, taking him deeper into her mouth as she maneuvered her body until her ass jutted close to his face. Landon worked her underwear down her hips and she kicked them off onto the floor. Now that she was finally, gloriously naked once again, he lifted her easily, setting her on top of his chest. Her sex glistened, dripping and swollen. Perfect.

Landon sealed his mouth over her clit and Emma moaned around him, the sound vibrating down his shaft right into his balls. Pleasure pooled in his gut, building and spreading to his limbs with every lick, every deep suck and nip of Emma’s teeth. Landon’s own desire spurred him into a frenzied state and he plunged his tongue into her opening before dragging it over her clit. Emma’s thighs tensed against his cheeks, and he kneaded the firm globes of her ass in his palms, spreading her wide so he could enjoy her more fully.

He held her fast as she broke contact, crying out in long drawn-out sobs as she came. He brought her down slowly with gentle flicks of his tongue until her body relaxed against him. She took him into her mouth once again, working his shaft with renewed vigor. Landon’s own orgasm teetered on the brink and when she swirled her tongue over his engorged head it sent him over the edge. His entire body trembled as she continued to lap at him greedily. The orgasm stole his breath, flooded his body with a fiery heat, and damned near short-circuited his brain as it crashed over him, wave after earth-shattering wave.

He was wrecked. Ruined. Utterly destroyed. Emma Ruiz had single-handedly undone him. He’d never be the same after tonight. The life—the man—he’d known was gone.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Burgers and pasta weren’t exactly breakfast food, but Emma didn’t care. Besides, if you ate at four in the morning, could it even be considered breakfast yet or were they still in midnight-snack territory? Either way, she was
starving
.

The past several hours had been a test of endurance. Landon McCabe didn’t only have the body of a god—he had the stamina to match. She didn’t know about him, but she was absolutely exhausted and there was a pretty good chance that her legs wouldn’t be able to support her weight for a good week or two. But,
Dios mio
, did she ever feel good.

Pleasure continued to radiate through her. Memories of the wicked things Landon had done warmed her skin. The man could dirty-talk her straight into an orgasm, and he’d spent a half hour telling her about all of the naughty, sinful things he wanted to do to her without laying a single finger on her. When he finally touched her . . . she came within seconds. He was playful, imaginative, and drop-dead sexy. They’d made good use of the desserts at around 2
AM
, and Emma suspected that the housekeeping staff would shit a brick when they saw the fudge-smeared sheets in the morning.

Wait. It was already morning, wasn’t it?

A dreamy smile curved Emma’s lips. Few women got to live out their fantasies in such a grand fashion and Landon had
delivered
. Tonight was definitely one for the record books.

“Can you pass the ketchup?”

Emma reached across the bed and handed Landon the little mini bottle of Heinz. They’d spread out the rest of the food picnic style on the bed, sharing from each other’s plates. Her emotions teetered toward silly. Drunk. Her eyes met Landon’s across the spread of food and both of them smiled like idiots before averting their gazes. She wanted to laugh for no reason. Laugh until she couldn’t breathe. Emma couldn’t let her emotions get out of control, though. Not when Landon might breeze out of her life as easily as he’d breezed into it.

“Do you think Sousa will contact us?”

The light, silly air was sucked right out of the room, replaced with something dark and somber. It wasn’t that she wanted to talk about all of this, but she felt as though they needed to. To form a game plan so they’d be ready to go.

“Yeah.” Landon popped a ketchup-drenched fry into his mouth and chewed. “He thinks he’s got the upper hand now. Before, he was wary of you, unwilling to make the wrong move. But you came through for him. He’ll want his money back first of course, but after that I think he’ll let your dad go.”

There was something about the way Landon refused to make eye contact with her that sent an icy chill through Emma’s extremities. He was keeping something from her. “So, I give him his money, he gives me my dad. But that won’t be the end of it, will it? Not for me anyway.”

He looked away. “Probably not.”

“Okay.” She tried not to dwell on Landon’s dark tone. “So I might be in for a little longer than I hoped. Crawford’s guy will still be there. And once Sousa buys his bomb, Damien and the rest of the feds will run in and save the day.”

She didn’t leave room for argument. Not because she didn’t doubt her own words. Because she
did
. To the moon and back. But there was no point in letting Landon see her fall apart. She didn’t want that. Wouldn’t be able to live with herself if he caught a glimpse of that weakness in her.

“Emma, I meant what I said. I’ll get you out of this. I promise.” Landon finally looked her straight in the eye and he said the words with such conviction that it left her shaken. “I will not,
ever
, let anything happen to you.”

It was the sort of reassuring, unkeepable promise spoken to someone who’d recently been handed a death sentence. Emma drew her knees up against her body and hugged her arms around them. Sousa didn’t want to hire her. He wanted her to pay for taking something that belonged to him. He wanted her
dead
. And Landon knew it. Hell, he’d probably known it from the start.

“My dad went to prison to protect me. Or weren’t you listening when I spilled my guts to Crawford at the hospital?” She picked at her burger, her appetite flagging. “Shanahan—under Sousa’s orders, apparently—helped to frame him and then he had the nerve to have Cesar tell my dad that they’d kill me if he didn’t confess. And that’s what Sousa made me do yesterday. Frame Shanahan the way they’d framed my dad. I’m not sorry I did it, either. I wish I could have done worse to him for what he helped do to us.”

“I was listening,” Landon replied. “Even before you spilled your guts, I suspected your dad’s confession had more to do with protecting you than anything else. Admittedly, not until a few days ago, but Crawford’s—and your—insight was pretty eyeopening. Did you know about Shanahan and the business with Mendelson before he went to prison?”

“No,” Emma admitted. “He never told me. Before he was arrested, he told me not to believe the things people would say about him, but he never looked me in the eye and said he was innocent. He didn’t tell me why he was so willing to confess to a crime that I
knew
he didn’t commit.”

“So you decided to find out for yourself ?”

His tone didn’t chide or ridicule her. Rather, Emma heard pride in Landon’s voice. Emotion bloomed in Emma’s chest. Damn it, it shouldn’t matter so much that Landon would be proud of her, but it did. “It wasn’t fair. I was alone, Landon. After my mom died it was just me and Dad. And then, it was only me. I couldn’t let it go. I had to know the truth.”

“And now that you know?”