Lies in Love (26 page)

“Sorry, Dawse, I’ve
been busy. Work has been hectic.”

“So we’re back
to that?” Dawson’s face fell.

“What?” Landon
wasn’t sure what his brother meant.

“Are you going to move
back in with Brent and Ethan then?” Dawson wouldn’t even
look at Landon.

“What? No.”
Shit
.
He thinks
I’m escorting again. I have to make this right.
“Dawson,
I’m working for Talia…” At Dawson’s
skeptical stare, he continued, “At her flower shop.”

“Her flower shop? What
do
you
know about flowers?” Dawson laughed at him.

“Nothing,”
Landon sneered. “I’m her delivery boy.” He raised
his eyebrows at his brother, implying something a little more on the
kinky side.

“Alright, that’s
more than I need to know.” Dawson folded up the newspaper and
asked, “So where have you been all night? Don’t think I
haven’t noticed you sneaking in at the crack of dawn.”

“I’ve been at
Talia’s.”

“I don’t
understand. If you’re staying with her, why do you keep coming
back here?”

“I’m trying to
keep some semblance of peace with the girls at the shop. They aren’t
too thrilled that I’m an escort and I don’t want to rub
our relationship in their face.”

“I thought you quit?”

“I did, but they don’t
know that.” Landon sat on the stool next to his brother and
dropped his head in his hands.

“So tell them.
Wouldn’t that make things easier?”

“I’m not sure
that would change their opinion of me. I am what I am to them,
regardless of who I want to be now.”

“You never know until
you try.”

“I’ve got a
pretty good feeling. Let’s just leave it at that.”

“It’s your life,
Landon. I just don’t want to see you hurt. You’ve got to
find a way to tell these women the truth and try to make amends, if
not for yourself, at least for Talia. If she really means so much to
you, you don’t want to destroy the one thing that’s been
consistent in her life.”

Landon nodded. “Yeah,
you’re right.”

“I know.” Dawson
chuckled and got up from his stool. “Well, Mya was fixing
breakfast when I left so I ought to head back over and get the kiddos
out of bed. Why don’t you come by tonight for dinner? Seven
o’clock?”

“Sure.” Landon
nodded in response. “Hey, Dawson?” His brother turned to
face him. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

Landon looked at his brother
perplexed. “For being my brother.”

Dawson shrugged his
shoulders. “Anytime.” He smiled and slipped out the door.

When Dawson was gone, Landon
got ready for his day, and prepared for what he needed to say to
Camey, Reina, and Sara to change their minds about him.

“You guys embarrassed
the shit out of me today.” Talia had called a meeting with the
girls after their disaster of a delivery. “What were you
thinking, dumping water all over Landon and acting like a bunch of
clumsy lunatics? I don’t get it.”

“What’s not to
get? It was an accident, Tal.” Camey used those puppy dog eyes
of hers for sympathy.

“Bullshit. I’ve
seen you use that accidental trip move a hundred times on guys. Don’t
think I don’t know a con when I see one. You dumped that water
on him on purpose, and for what? You’re the reason he found me
here. Or did your forget that? All of a sudden you’re on their
side?” Talia pointed accusatorily at Reina and her sister.

“I didn’t forget
it, but…” Camey tripped over her own words. “I had
a change of heart.”

“Why? What do you all
have against him?”

“You barely know him,
Tal.” Camey played the
sincere
friend
card.

“I know him better
than
you
and I think I know him well enough to know he’s been an asset
to
Perfect
Petals
. We
would have been lost without him. You know that as well as I do.”
Talia was searching for something, anything, to bring them around.
They had to see that he saved them in more than one way over the last
week.

“Okay, so he helped
out, but why couldn’t you hire someone else. Why not bring
Brandy back? I just don’t get it. Why him?” Sara whined.

“Why not him? He was
here when we needed him the most. So what if it coincided with
bringing me lunch? He offered the help right when we needed it. Who
am I to turn down someone who is willing and able? And as far as
Brandy is concerned, she moved on and it’s time you do the
same.”

Sara gave an exasperated
sigh and started to walk away.

“Sara, get back here.
We’re not through. No one is leaving this room until we’ve
worked this out.” Talia used her assertive voice, knowing that
the girls respected her enough to do as she asked. “I want to
hear valid reasons why you don’t want him here. If you can’t
come up with one good, convincing argument why he shouldn’t
stay, then I expect you all to return here Monday morning with bright
smiles on your faces.” Camey, Sara, and Reina looked back and
forth from one to the other. Talia could tell they had something on
their minds, but none of them was spilling. “That settles it
then. If you’re going to act like children then you will deal
with
my
decision. Understood?”

“Yeah,” Reina
and Camey sullenly chimed.

“Talia, we just care
about you. Why can’t you understand we are only thinking of
your best interest?” Sara implored.

Talia couldn’t
understand what all of her sister’s pleading was for. “You
keep saying the same things over and over, but you have nothing to
back up your concerns. It would be different if there was some big
secret you are keeping from me, but the fact of the matter is, you
guys don’t know him as well as I do. I’m sorry he’s
not Mason, but that ship has sailed. I’ve moved on and you need
to as well.”

“This has nothing to
do with Mason, although he was much better suited for you.”
Sara was just being plain mean.

“Ha.” Talia
started to walk away, wanting to avoid any conversations regarding
Mason, but she had to at least get this off of her chest. “You
didn’t know the real Mason. You didn’t know what he was
like behind closed doors. You don’t get to tell me how to live
my life, so let this be the end of it.”

“Enlighten us, Talia.
What was
so
bad about Mason?” Sara wouldn’t let it go.

Talia’s teeth began to
grind. This conversation was heading in the complete wrong direction.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s over. It’s time you
all realized that and accepted that Landon is a part of my life now.”

“Fine. Whatever you
want.” Sara was the first to concede. It may not have been
convincing, but she was agreeing nonetheless.

“Thank you, Sara.
Look, I don’t expect you to fall in love with him overnight,
but please, give him a chance. Respect me and my wishes enough to be
respectful of him. No more drama.”

“Got it.” Talia
could tell Sara just wanted the conversation over.

“Are we good, Reina?”

Reina shrugged. She was
always the hardest to convince with big decisions. “Dios mio,
fine. No more drama.”

“Thank you.”
Talia still felt the weight of their apprehension on her shoulders,
but she was satisfied they would try. “This means a lot to me;
he
means a lot to me. Please, just give him a chance.”

The girls looked at each
other and nodded in agreement. It wasn’t the resolution Talia
was hoping for, but it was an improvement. She just hoped it carried
over to Monday morning.

The apartment felt empty
with Landon gone. Talia was unsure how it happened so quickly, but
she’d gotten used to the idea of him being around. He’d
wormed his way into her home and undoubtedly her heart, but she
didn’t want to think about that right now. She was just
enjoying their time together, the way she felt when she was around
him. Something about him made her feel so vigorous; so alive. She
couldn’t remember the last time she felt this good about
herself.

In celebration, she decided
to blast some eighties hair bands and dance just to get lost. When
she was fully entranced in the music, playing air guitar and singing
at the top of her lungs, she turned to find Landon in the doorway
smiling and stroking his chin. “Shit, you scared me.” She
immediately turned down the music, completely mortified she’d
been caught.

“Don’t stop on
my account.” His smirk was undeniable.

“Are you laughing at
me?”

“Why would I laugh at
you when you look so damn sexy?”

“Uh-huh. Cut the crap.
I know when someone is laughing at me.”

“I wouldn’t
dare.” Landon moved steadily closer.

“I think you would. I
think I amuse you.” Talia slowly backed away from him, seeing
the feral tiger look in his eyes. He looked like he was ready to
pounce.

“Amuse me? No, I don’t
think so. Hypnotize me, though, that’s a different story.”
He continued his advance toward her as she continued to back away.

“What are you doing?”
Talia couldn’t hide the huge smile on her face. She was
enjoying their little game of cat and mouse. It was exciting and
erotic.

“I told you, I’m
hypnotized. I can’t help myself when you’re around. I
just want to do bad, bad things to you.” His voice was almost a
deep growl. Intently watching her, he licked his lips as he crept
closer.

“What kind of bad
things?” Talia looked at him through her lashes, hoping for
sexy as she bit her bottom lip.

“Unspeakable things.
Things that should never be uttered in a lady’s presence.”
He placed his finger over his mouth and said, “Shh.”

“I’m not sure I
like the sound of that.” She began backpedaling a little faster
toward her bedroom.

“I promise you, you’ll
love what I have in mind.”

“Will I?” Talia
giggled and ran for her bedroom, hiding in her closet once she was
inside.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You
shouldn’t run from me.” Landon must have seen her run
into the closet, because he was there in an instant, pulling her from
behind the clothes and throwing her over his shoulder. He slapped her
very firmly on her behind and threw her on the bed like the caveman
he’d become.

“What’s come
over you?”

“You. It’s all
because of you.” He took off his shirt, throwing it on the
dresser, and dropped his pants, easily walking out of them. He looked
like a Greek god, all hard lines and muscles, like he’d been
carved out of marble and brought to life. His tattoo was the one
thing that separated marble from human.

“What are you going to
do to me?” Talia squealed in anticipation. She’d never
experienced this side of a relationship before. Sex with Mason had
always been rather monotonous, almost robotic. Before there had
always been a way to do it, a certain place and time. It wasn’t
meant for fun or recreation. It was simply a means to an end. When
she was with Landon it all felt so much more exciting and new.

Landon prowled closer,
slowly climbing onto the bed where she lay in eager expectancy. His
erection was on full display with nothing to hide; he was hot and
ready to go. He scaled over her, staring at her, nose to nose. She
was certain that any moment her heart would beat right out of her
chest. He wasn’t even touching her, but the look in his eyes
was enough to knock her blood pressure up a few notches. When she
could barely stand the silence, Landon finally spoke.

“There’s no
getting away now.”

Talia had no intention of
trying. Her panting must have told him all he needed to know, because
in one rapid movement, he’d slipped his fingers inside her
waistband and removed her pants along with her panties. She watched
in disbelief as he threw her pants across the room and they hung on
her dresser mirror. He briskly spread her legs and rubbed the
delicate mound between them.

“You are so perfect.”
His voice was nearly inaudible before he buried his head between her
legs and began to ravish her like never before.