Convincing Landon (11 page)

The soft skin was tempting, and Landon seemed to enjoy it, so Kendall started licking around it, then passed the flat of his tongue right across it.

Landon went wild, bucking his hips and moaning his enjoyment.

It drove Kendall’s arousal higher and higher. Finally, he pulled back and put his finger where his tongue had been. The skin was already soft enough for it to give easily, and he slowly pressed his slick finger inside to the first knuckle. The heat was amazing, and the pressure around his digit promised an even better fit around his cock.

“Fuck, yes.” Landon pushed back until he had the whole finger inside him. “More.”

Kendall raised his eyebrows but did as Landon requested. He pulled out his first finger, and pushed back in with two.

Landon hissed.

Kendall froze.

“Love the burn. Don’t stop.” Landon’s voice was husky as he started fucking himself on Kendall’s fingers.

Kendall grinned and curled them, looking for his lover’s prostate.
There
. He stroked the small bump inside Landon’s clenching channel.

Landon howled and pushed harder.

“Your cock, baby, please. I need your cock now.” Landon’s whole body was trembling.

Kendall withdrew his fingers, wiped them on the sheets, and put on the condom in record time. He couldn’t wait to push inside that incredible heat. He moved between Landon’s spread legs, put one hand on his lover’s hip to steady him and used his other to support his aching cock as he placed the tip at Landon’s opening.

“Ready?” His voice sounded rough.

“Please. Need you.” Landon panted and wriggled his ass.

Kendall took a deep breath and started pressing against the muscle. Even though Landon had been carefully stretched, Kendall’s cock was a tight fit. The pressure around him as he pushed deeper was incredible, and he had to squeeze the base of his cock again to keep from coming. Making sure Landon was still okay, he kept the pressure up until he was all the way inside.

Landon groaned, his muscles like a vice around Kendall’s throbbing cock. Kendall stopped moving, taking deep breaths to try to regain control. All he wanted was to move, but there was no way he was going to hurt Landon.

“Move, please.” Landon grabbed his own cock and started stroking it. “Fuck me like you mean it.”

Kendall grinned then pulled back, only to thrust forwards with all he had.

“Like that?” God, he was out of breath already. This wasn’t going to take long.

“Please!” Landon chuckled. “Won’t be long, but I love it.”

Kendall gripped Landon’s hips and gave in to his need. Thrusting into Landon’s hot body was even better than he’d expected. The tight heat around his cock was driving his arousal higher than it had ever been, and hearing Landon’s happy whimpers as he pounded into him made him feel ten feet tall.

“Gonna.” Landon’s spine arched as he started shuddering his release.

Kendall almost bit his tongue as Landon’s channel clenched around him, making him come harder than he ever had before. He held on to Landon’s hips as he pushed as far inside him as possible. Pleasure raced up his spine as he filled the condom, making him see stars with the force of his orgasm.

It seemed to last hours. When he was done, he pulled out, dealt with the condom then collapsed at Landon’s side. No words could express what he felt at that moment. The pleasure was one thing, but he also knew this man was it for him. They were so close now, he could only hope this relationship would last. Living without Landon had been hard before, but after finding out what being with him could be like, he didn’t think he could do that again. Ever.

They were both breathing hard for a while, trying to regain their breath. Then his lover turned towards him and Kendall moved into his arms so they could kiss. The emotions in Landon’s eyes seemed to mirror what Kendall felt, and he sank into their slow, tender caresses without looking back.

He was now Landon’s all the way.

* * * *

Riverside, Texas

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Landon had a very bad feeling as he walked into the city council meeting room. Mr. Ambrose from Kendall’s firm and Kendall, as well as Mr. Cabbert and Mrs. Vance, were already seated. Mary Neal was rushing around making and distributing coffee, her bluster somehow spreading a feeling of panic.

A total stranger sat next to Kendall’s boss. He was tall, well-dressed in a charcoal suit, and wire-rimmed reading glasses formed an odd contrast to his burly frame and rough-hewn face. He looked almost like a gangster of some sort.

Landon declined the coffee he was offered, not wanting to ramp up his nervousness even more. He asked for bottled water instead then gripped the bottle like an anchor as he moved to a free seat and sat down.

Kendall looked at him briefly, his lips twitching, but his lover didn’t say anything. He looked as nervous as Landon felt. They’d parted company this morning when Kendall had to leave for work, but their first night together had been amazing. Too exhausted to do anything else after their first encounter, they’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms only to be rudely awakened by the alarm Landon had set for Kendall. Getting up together, taking separate showers so they wouldn’t lose too much time, then sharing breakfast had been as wonderful in its way as the sex had been mind-blowing. All of it taken together had been the high point of his life. He was more determined than ever to make this relationship work, but they hadn’t had time to discuss the details.

Being called into a totally unscheduled council meeting this morning was an unwelcome surprise. Landon couldn’t shake the feeling that now that his personal life had taken a turn for the better, his professional life was about to take a severe hit.

“This meeting will come to order, now that we are all here.” Mr. Cabbert banged his gavel and people settled down. “As you all know, this is a bit unexpected. Our next meeting was scheduled for Friday, at which point we were going to be ready to announce our preliminary decision. Then the party not assigned the bid would have had three days to come up with a counter offer before we made our final decision. However, we have now had an incredibly generous offer from an unexpected source, and we felt it was in order to inform everyone as soon as possible.”

Landon raised his eyebrows and saw Kendall do the same. Mr. Ambrose and the stranger just smirked. A shiver, and not a nice one, travelled down Landon’s spine. Shit, this wasn’t good.

“Mr. Noah Easely—chief executive of Groceries For You, the regional supermarket chain behind Ambrose & Quinley’s original bid—has decided to come forward to try to shorten the process.” Mr. Cabbert smiled at Mr. Easely much too warmly for them to be strangers. “We’re very grateful for your intended contribution. Would you like to take five minutes to explain your offer?”

“Thank you, Mr. Cabbert—much appreciated.” Mr. Easely cleared his throat and looked around the table, finally resting his gaze in the middle distance, not looking at anyone in particular. “I don’t want to make a big fuss, but I really believe in the inner city renewal project. There’s no time to lose. This last lot has been up for a decision for far too long. What we need is a fast decision, so that the poor people who have to live in that area have a chance to improve their lives. Groceries For You can give them exactly that, by giving them the kinds of jobs they can cope with. We will also provide affordable groceries, of course.”

Landon’s jaw dropped. The weasel was clearly out to increase his own bottom line. There were already a small convenience store and another supermarket, so what the ‘poor people’ living in that area
didn’t
need was another grocery store. Groceries For You was well known for taking over a neighbourhood by moving in with ridiculously low prices that made their competitors give up and leave. Once they were gone, the prices were hiked up again. With a captive audience, most of them not owning a car, this concept had worked well for the bastards.

Kendall looked equally shocked, but the rest of the attendees seemed to think there was nothing amiss. In fact, he could see by looking at their grins that they probably thought everything was perfect.

“Mr. Easely has been generous enough to double the initial offer of one million dollars. This will make a substantial difference in the council’s budget, and free up some much needed cash for community support.” Mr. Cabbert stroked his chin. “In fact, I’m tempted to break off the procedure, and go straight into plan execution, since I do not believe Promises Kept has that kind of cash to offer. Do you?”

“I… Well…” Landon swallowed. Fuck, he didn’t think they had that kind of money at all. But what he needed was some time to come up with an alternative, so he was going to play for time. “I’d need to check with my superiors, of course.”

“Of course.” Mr. Cabbert’s smile looked forced. “In the interest of moving this project forward, however, I am going to reduce the available time from three days to one.”

“That isn’t fair.” Landon had spoken before switching on his brain. It was too late to take it back, so he put on his poker face and stiffened his back.

“It’s the best I can do.” Mr. Cabbert looked like he’d bitten into an especially sour lemon. “Please remember that the city council has total freedom in determining what any decision process looks like. If I were you, I’d count my blessings and get on the phone with those who can make a decision in your organisation.”

And if that didn’t tell him which way this decision was headed, Landon didn’t know what would!

* * * *

An hour later Landon was walking into Greg’s office, still upset and with a pounding major headache that wouldn’t go away even once he’d taken a painkiller. The meeting had come to an abrupt end after the rude statement by the council member in charge. Mr. Cabbert, the bastard, had looked very satisfied as he strode out of the room, followed by the other two city employees. If Landon were a betting man he’d put money on something being in it for Mr. Cabbert if he decided to let the commercial proposal win. There was no way to prove this, of course, but Landon was pretty sure there was more to this situation than met the eye.

Landon had wanted to talk to Kendall, even though his lover was officially on the other side. He trusted him enough to be able to put that to one side and talk about Landon’s situation, help him figure out what to do now that he might not have an easy job lined up in Riverside after all. But Kendall had been whisked away by his boss, looking as shell-shocked as Landon felt. He hadn’t picked up his cell, and his office number went to a polite but unimpressed personal assistant who had told him that Kendall was in meetings all afternoon, but she would leave a message and was sure he’d get back to Landon as soon as convenient.

Yeah, right
.

Landon had called his boss, Elaine, to give her the bad news, and while she was shocked and had commiserated, she’d also said she thought it unlikely Promises Kept was going to be able to come up with that sort of money within twenty-four hours. A lot of their locations were donated or bought for a symbolic amount, so finding funding of that size on such short notice was more than unlikely. She was going to get back to him as well.

Fuck
!

“What the hell am I going to do now?” Landon plopped down in one of Greg’s uncomfortable visitor chairs, startling Greg into looking away from the computer screen he’d been glaring at.

“Good afternoon to you, too.” Greg attempted a smile.

“Yeah, well, same to you.” Landon rubbed his aching temples. “Sorry for being so grumpy, but my day isn’t going well.”

“You told me as much on the phone.” Greg leant back in his chair. “Am I going to get any more details now you’re here or do you just need someone to yell at?”

“Shit, I’m sorry, Greg.” Landon closed his eyes, trying to focus on taking deep, calming breaths. It wasn’t working, so he opened his eyes again, only to see Greg staring at him with a worried expression.

“That’s okay, you’re forgiven. It’s just very rare to see you this upset. In fact, I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen you like this.” Greg shook his head. “It’s a little disconcerting, to say the least.”

“You’re right, this is probably the most upset I’ve been in a long time. And I haven’t got a fucking clue what to do.” Landon shrugged. “I’m afraid to admit it, but my professional opinion is I should go get counselling.”

“It’s a good thing you came to see me, then.” Greg grinned.

“Why? Do you know a good counsellor around here?” Landon wasn’t sure that was what he really needed, but it was what he told most of his potential clients.

“No, dumbass, you’re looking at him.” Greg pointed at himself for good measure. “Meet Greg Tully, professional counsellor for big brothers in distress.”

“Are you serious?” It took him a second to catch up then he burst out laughing. “God, that was funny. Thanks for making me laugh. I already feel better.”

“Good. Now that we’ve got that out of the way and you feel less depressed, let’s get to why you’re really here.” Greg leant forwards, put his elbows on the table and supported his head with his hands.

“Well, let’s just say that life has thrown me a real curveball.” Landon took another deep breath, this one a little more effective at calming him down. “And to make it worse, it came out of left field as well.”