Sweet (Landry Family 6)

“You will be here when I come back, right?” he asks, his face dead serious.”I’m only leaving you with Dad and, well … ya know.”

I giggle. “Yes, Ryder. I will be here every day when you come home.”

There’s a small scowl on his brow. He’s not convinced. And that makes total sense. He’s been left before … but never again.

“Promise?” he asks. “I don’t want to worry about this.”

I crouch down so I’m at his eye level and take his hands in mine. “I promise you that you have nothing to worry about. I’m here and I will be here. Forever.”

He wraps his arms around my neck again and squeezes me tight. When he pulls back, he smiles.

“I love you so much,” he says. “I’m glad you’re home.”

“Me too buddy. And I love you too. So, so much.”

He marches around the truck towards Mrs. Kim, high-fiving his dad as he walks by. Nate and I laugh.

“Going with her,” he says like a little man. “I’ll be back later.”

Mrs. Kim giggles and follows him across the lawn.

I saunter over to the man dressed in all black, who’s waiting for me by the walkway. He holds a hand out to me.

“Well, what do we do now that we have a house to ourselves?” I ask, placing my hand in his as we walk onto the porch. “Probably have an hour we could kill. Two if Mrs. Kim really loves us.”

“I have already made up my mind.”

His smirk is so smoldering, so sinful, that I blush.

We walk inside and Nate shuts the door. The snap of the lock makes me jump.

His eyes are dark, his jaw tense. He grabs my hips and jerks me to him and kisses me with an intention that leaves little room for speculation.

“You, my lady, are going to get your wish,” he says.

I already have it. “What’s that?”

He reaches under my ass cheeks and hoists me up. I wrap my legs around his waist and kiss him with a passion that I didn’t know I could feel.

We move through the house to the kitchen. He sets me gently on the counter.

He pulls back and grins.

“Now you’re going to experience make-up sex,” he says, unfastening his belt.

“Ooh. Okay. Tell me more.”

“I’m going to fuck you until I feel better about you leaving,” he says, unbuttoning his pants. “And then …”

He lifts his eyes to mine. The look in them makes me teary.

The only way to explain it is love. It’s relief and hope and a lifetime’s worth of promises all rolled into a pair of beautiful green eyes.

“And then what?” I ask, my voice soft.

“And then I’m going to take you to the bedroom and show you how much I love you.”

He brushes his lips against mine. They’re soft and sweet—touching me so softly that I barely feel the warmth of his breath. It’s unhurried, as if we’re the only people that exist. Like we have all the time in the world.

I guess we do.

Slowly, he deepens the kiss, nibbling on my bottom lip. The bite sends a shot of energy to my core. His stubble from not shaving the last two days scratches my cheeks as he moves his head for a better angle.

I grab his face with both hands and pull him away far enough to see his eyes.

“Nate?”

“What?”

I smile the biggest, most real smile I’ve ever given anyone—and mean it. “I love you, Nate Hughes. Forever.”

He cups my cheeks and grins. “I love you forever too.”

EPILOGUE

Paige

approximately 1 week later

“Hollis, this is my mother …”

My brother’s eyes go wide when she pulls him into a very personal hug for a woman that just met someone—even if it is her daughter’s brother.

“Sorry. She’s a hugger,” I say.

His grin makes my heart warm.

Mom pulls back and cups his cheek. “It is wonderful to meet you, Hollis.”

“It’s very nice to meet you too.” He smiles like a little boy meeting an aunt that lives across the country for the first time. “I’ve heard a lot of things about you.”

Mom loops her elbow through Hollis’s and leads him across the room.

“Oh, I bet you have and I’ve heard a lot about you too. Tell me about yourself. We’re family now,” she says.

Hollis looks at me over his shoulder, amusement written all over his face. I shrug, making him laugh.

I venture into the kitchen where Nate is talking to my dad. And Ryder.

“Well, I like the ’67 Yenko Camaros the best,” Ryder says like he’s a middle-aged man holding his Capri Sun. “There are 450 horses in that thing.”

Dad looks at Nate. He shrugs.

“You’re going to have to come to my house,” Dad tells Ryder. “We have lots of car shows down there. I have a buddy that has a ’67 Camaro Z28. Bet he’d take you for a ride in it.”

Ryder’s eyes grow wide. “Really? Can I go, Dad?”