Sweet (Landry Family 6)

A lump wedges itself in my throat. My cock stretches the fabric of my joggers. The temperature in the kitchen increases twofold as this vixen fucks with me.

Ryder isn’t here to save me this time.

I exhale sharply, gathering myself before she causes me to blow.

“Do you want me to pay rent or help with groceries? We really didn’t go over any of that,” she says, licking her lips.

My gaze settles on her finger approaching the pudding container again. “You’re a college student with a part-time job. You don’t have any money.”

“That’s true.” She smiles smugly before lifting her eyes to mine. “I’m sure we could come up with something.”

She trails her finger around the walls of the plastic before bringing it to her lips again. With her hand poised in front of her face, she smiles at me.

Nope. Not letting that happen.

I clamp her wrist with my hand and suspend it in midair. Her eyes go wide, her breath halting in her throat as she waits for my reaction.

Her skin is warm in my palm. Her wrist is so small, so delicate, that I ease my grip so I don’t accidentally hurt her.

I’m not sure why I touched her, but it’s either because I’m sleep-deprived and it’s late or I want to teach her a lesson. Or maybe I just want to see her reaction.

I stare at her as deeply as I can. She holds her breath as she considers—hopes? fears?—what I’m going to do.

I twist her wrist and bring her hand to my face. A smirk settles on my lips as her entire body stills.

Then with the most deliberate move I’ve ever made, I bring her finger to my mouth.

My heart thunders in my chest as my self-restraint shatters into a million pieces.

I suck her finger between my lips. She gasps, her body shaking in response. I run my tongue around the pudding before biting lightly against her skin as I remove her digit from my mouth.

Every muscle in my body tightens. My blood heats to a dangerous degree. My hand trembles as I hold her hand in mine and try desperately not to tug her whole body into me.

Her chest heaves. She forces a swallow as she leans back against the counter. Her breath is loud and quick, breaking the silence of the room.

“Shit,” she says, a mixture of a plea and a promise.

I just look at her and smile. “Is that what you wanted?”

She swallows again.

I release her wrist from my palm. Then I lean in until we’re only inches apart—until I’m so close that I can smell the sweetness of her breath—and grin.

“That’s the only time my mouth will get anywhere near you.” I turn toward the doorway, ignoring the protest of every cell in my body. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Nate?” she asks just before I round the corner.

Against my better judgment, I stop and turn around.

“Was that a challenge?” She grins. “Because it sure as hell sounded like one.”

The woman looking back at me is the Paige I know. The one full of spunk. The girl who’s filled with every damn thing that makes me want to break my resolve.

I grip the doorframe and meet her stare.

“Don’t take challenges you can’t win,” I say.

I give her a wink and retreat to my bedroom. Alone.

NINE

PAIGE

Kinsley and I walk down the steps of the last apartment building on our list for the day. The sun is out, shining happily in the sky but not really warming the air. We huddle into our sweatshirts and start the walk back to our cars.

“I’m glad we’re done for the day because it’s freaking cold,” she says, her breath billowing in the air.

“I would’ve been happier if we had found something. Those were all trash.”

She frowns. “Maybe you’ll have better luck tomorrow.”

We move down Magnolia Boulevard with much fewer hopes than we did when we walked up it a couple of hours ago. It turns out that a street with such a pretty name can, in fact, have terrible housing.

“Thank you for coming with me today,” I say.

“Of course. You’re entirely too wishy-washy to be left to your own devices. You’d rent an apartment because it has a cute wall but not bother to consider the size or proximity to laundry or stores. Or parking, for that matter.”

“I should’ve listened to you and just got a place on my own instead of bunking with Marcie. But she had all the furniture and pots and pans and life stuff. It was so much easier to do that.” I consider that. “Until now.”

She laughs.

“I just need a place before school starts. I need to be settled and ready to roll.”

“I’m still surprised at how that went down with Marcie.”

You and me both.

I shake my head. “I don’t know what to do. Like is our friendship over now? Is she just embarrassed? I have no idea.”