“That’s cool. It must be nice to know what you wanted to be.”
“I just wanted to not starve. I became good at something out of necessity and never let it go. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention.”
“Smart, handsome, and wealthy.” Something’s got to be wrong with him. I didn’t walk away last night because I was afraid of him. I was afraid of the rush of emotions he caused. Hell, I’m still afraid of them. Even as I look into his tawny eyes, I see a man who could steal my heart and crush it. After all, he throws lavish parties for people to barter themselves for drinks and drugs.
“I feel a big ‘but’ in there.”
“Get out of her pants,” Kelly shouts from the doorway with a giggle.
“Not that butt, you jerk. Anyway, perfect timing because I feel like I could eat something.”
“So could I,” he growls in a hushed whisper that is only for my ears. My face turns bright red.
“At least you’ve gotten your color back,” Kelly teases. “Here. I got you a gyro plate with all the fixings.”
“Same for you, Landon,” Danny says. I blush because it’s one of the foods I’ve tried since I’ve been here and it’s one of my favorites.
We sit around on our beds, Landon and I on mine while Kelly and Danny sit on hers, and eat our meals out of the take-out containers. I’m full pretty quickly, but Landon insists I take another bite. “She doesn’t have our stomachs yet,” Kelly says.
“She hasn’t been here long enough.”
“Where are you from?” he asks me.
“I can’t believe you didn’t pull my records.”
“I wanted you to tell me. Besides, I had a lot to do last night and attempted to sleep before getting here. Stop avoiding the question, and tell me where you’re from.”
“I’m from Snow Ridge, Montana.”
“Montana sounds like fun. I want to go there and meet some of those hot cowboys you mentioned to me.” A growl erupts from both sides of the room.
“I’m going to choke you. I’m never sneaking you into a party again.”
“That’s good, because you won’t be sneaking into a party ever again, Lara.” He cups my face and kisses me hard. “I’ll bend your ass over and spank you before I fuck the shit out of you for getting yourself into possible danger.”
I try to fight the fact that I’m aroused, but I’m completely turned on, which is really uncomfortable while we sit here with company. “We’ll see about that.”
“Don’t test me, baby. I’ll make sure your security is so tight you won’t have a chance to sneak away again.” Goodness, I start rubbing my mound on the comforter slightly while holding my tray of takeout.
“Give me a second. I have to use the restroom.” Landon takes my food from me and sets it down on the desk with his food. I head into the bathroom and try to catch my breath. I’m so overheated that I can’t think straight.
Suddenly the door slams open and Landon stands there, scowling. “Do you like sneaking up on women in the bathroom?”
“Only you, baby,” he grunts, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. “Now—we need to talk about what happened out there.”
“Nothing happened out there.”
“Nothing?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Yes, you said it, but the problem is you’re lying to me, sweetheart, and I bet if I check between your heated thighs, I’ll find more than nothing.”
“What?”
“Lara, don’t play dumb with me. You were fucking dry humping your bed right in front of my second-in-command, and if he didn’t have enough sense to not pay attention, I’d have to rip his eyes out.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”