Fool for You by Kelly Elliott

Landon

FROM ACROSS THE large dining table at my folks’ house, I looked into my sister’s eyes. They were clear, with no signs of the crying she had done only hours ago. I swung my gaze over to Mike. He was talking to my father, oblivious to how dangerously close he was to having my hands around his neck.

I felt Emmerson’s hand on my leg, and I slightly relaxed.

“You’re glaring at him, Landon,” she whispered, her hot breath causing my dick to jump in my pants. That wasn’t anything new when it came to this woman I’d known my whole life, but after having a taste of her and coming so close to more, I was still on edge.

“Emmerson, we need to talk about the engagement party,” Hailey said from across the table.

Emmerson casually removed her hand from my leg and smiled. “Autumn said she’d like to rent out the barn that’s on the McNally’s ranch. It’s a beautiful place. I’ve actually had a client get married there, and it would make for a great venue for the party.”

Hailey smiled as if the news made her day. My sister could go up against any top actress in Hollywood with the performance she was putting on tonight. Mike had glanced over to Hailey and smiled, as if the idea of having the engagement party made him just as happy. Although, I had a feeling my mother sensed something wasn’t right. Addie Lewis could always tell when one of her kids were hurting. It was weird.

“How has the wedding planning been going, ladies?” my mother asked, looking directly at Hailey.

Another brilliant smile lit up my sister’s face, and this time Mike took her hand in his and kissed the back of it. Was that…was that guilt in his eyes? Regret, maybe? The fucker. I wanted to jump across the goddamn table and pound his face with my fist.

“It’s going brilliantly! There’s a reason why our Emmerson here is so good at what she does.”

“Yeah, she had an entire packet for us with to-do lists, numbers for different venues and photographers, as well as bakeries. I’ve got to say, I’m impressed,” Mike said.

The cheating bastard.

“Thanks, Mike,” Emmerson said tightly. “But it’s my job, so I need to be as organized as I can.”

“Emmerson and I are going on a fake wedding cake tasting this Friday.” I wasn’t really sure why I brought it up. My father raised his brows as my mother dabbed at the corners of her mouth.

“Is that right?” my mother asked, looking between me and Emmerson. “Cake tasting, huh?”

Emmerson spoke before I could. “I think it will be really good research for me to see what happens on the other side; plus, this is a new and upcoming bakery. I haven’t had any clients use them yet.”

“And it’ll be great content for your Instagram!” Hailey said, showing the first real sign of excitement since we’d sat down.

My father cleared his throat, and I swore he was attempting to hide a smile.

“I think it will as well,” I said with a grin.

My father caught my gaze and slowly nodded. “I agree.”

When my mother looked at me, too, I saw it in her eyes. She knew the truth. Or she at least suspected something else was going on.

Jesus…what was it about my parents? Did they have some weird sixth sense where they could reach into their kids’ minds and see what was really going on? Because the way my father’s eyes bounced from me to Emmerson, and then back to me, made it feel like he was silently warning me about something.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hailey pull out Mike’s phone. The way she was handling this was all wrong. I knew she was hurt, and I knew she wanted some sort of revenge or power over the situation…but this was not the way to do it in front of everyone.

I looked at Emmerson, who was staring at Hailey.

“Hailey,” Emmerson said quickly, causing Hailey to glance over at her. “Do you remember that one time when we were little and we were up in the treehouse my daddy made for us in the olive orchard?”

Slipping the phone back under the table, Hailey tilted her head and asked with a laugh, “Which time, Emme? We were up there a lot.”

“The time we promised each other that we would never let the other one make a mistake that could be harmful in any way, no matter what.”

Hailey narrowed her eyes. “I remember.”

“You’ve had my back so many times and kept me from making some stupid mistakes.”

“And pushed her into some pretty dumb ones, too, I remember,” my father stated.

Everyone swung their gaze to him as my mother hit him on the arm.

Emmerson’s voice brought the attention back to her and Hailey. “Don’t do it like this, Hail.”

My sister’s throat worked as she attempted to swallow, tears filling her eyes.

“Hailey, what in the world is wrong? You look like you’re about to cry,” my mother asked. She stood and made her way over to my sister.

Hailey put up a hand to stop her. “Mom, I’m fine. Honestly, please sit back down.” Then she stood and looked at Mike. “If you’ll excuse me and Mike, there’s something urgent we need to talk about regarding the wedding.”

Mike looked confused, but at the same time, the guilt was written all over his face. He slowly put his napkin on the table and stood. He looked down at the phone Hailey handed him and then snapped his gaze back up to meet hers. “Hailey, let me explain. It was—”

Lifting her hand, she said, “Not here.”

Turning, Hailey quickly walked out of the dining room with Mike hot on her trail. Everyone watched as they left.

The sound of the front door shutting had my father clearing his throat and sitting back in his seat. “How long has he been cheating on her?”

I was positive my mouth dropped open.

“I knew there was something wrong the moment she walked in the door,” my mother said with a displeased expression on her face. “Her behavior this evening makes total sense now.

“How…how did you both know?” Emmerson asked.

“I’ve seen enough men in my day get caught with their hand in the cookie jar,” Dad said. “The way he looked at her, it was written all over his face.”

I clenched my fists. “And you didn’t want to kill him? Because it took every ounce of strength I had not to jump over this table and kill him.”

My parents exchanged a look. Emmerson placed her hand on mine and gave it a little squeeze. “Hailey told us earlier at my place, right after she found out.”

“I have a feeling that little walk down memory lane stopped her from doing something she shouldn’t,” Mom said.

With a nod, I said, “She was going to out him right in front of everyone. I think it was just her anger driving that decision. I’m glad you said something, Emme.” I turned and our eyes met. She smiled the sweetest smile, and I had to force myself not to lean down and kiss her.

“Well, I know if I was about to do something stupid, she would stop me,” Emmerson said.

“Ha!” my folks shouted in unison.

I shook my head and looked at Emmerson, who simply chuckled, knowing that she and Hailey had gotten themselves into some pretty sticky situations over the years.

My father pointed his finger at Emmerson. “Do you know the high school principal called us and your folks more times about you two girls than they did about Landon and Noah? You were both trouble!”

The front door closed and we all turned to see if Hailey would walk back in alone or with Mike. She came in alone.

“That was fast,” I mused.

“Well, it didn’t take me long to tell him the engagement was off, and he was free to go back and fuck—sorry, Mom and Dad—his ex-girlfriend as much as he wanted. Of course he begged for forgiveness, said it would never happen again, he had too much to drink that night, it only happened once. He did admit to talking to her on the phone since then a few times, but said that was also a mistake.”

“And you still told him the engagement was off, right?” I asked, praying to God she’d told him to take a hike.

Hailey wiped away a tear that had slipped free. “I told him to leave, that I would never be able to trust him again.”

My father stood and wrapped Hailey in his arms. “I’m so sorry, baby girl, but you did the right thing.”

Mom stood and made her way over as well. “Your father is right. You made the right decision. No matter how much he tells you it was a mistake, once you lose that trust, it’s gone forever.”

“If he loved you like he said he did, drunk or not, he wouldn’t have even entertained the idea,” I added as I joined my folks and wrapped Hailey up in a cocoon of our love and protection. Emmerson sat at the table and wiped her tears away.

Finally, we withdrew from smothering my poor sister and she smiled at each of us. “I love y’all.” Facing Emmerson, she said, “And thank you for showing me I needed to take the higher road.”

With a nod, Emmerson said, “I’ve always got your back.”

“And I’ve got yours. There is a positive to all of this.”

“What’s that, Hail?” I asked.

“I can help y’all plan your fake wedding! Oh my God, I have so many ideas for the fake engagement party.”

“We should probably stop calling it fake so we don’t slip in public,” Emmerson giggled.

And just like that, my sister launched into planning our fake—er, our engagement party. I knew it was her way of trying not to think about Mike, and so did my folks, because they didn’t make a single comment about the engagement party for a wedding that wasn’t really happening. Any other time, I would attempt to pull my sister back some with her sudden enthusiasm, but with one glance at my father, I decided to let my sister go full throttle. Even though I knew she had a hidden agenda when it came to me and Emmerson.

With the way my mother was smiling, a part of me knew she saw right through our charade of still being friends and nothing more.

“Are you sure the two of you don’t want to stay for game night?” my mother asked, making a sad attempt at pouting.

“I’ve got to get caught up on some work for a wedding this weekend,” Emmerson said as she hugged my mother and then my father goodbye.

“And I’ve got to run by the shop after I drop Emmerson off to check on a fifty-five we’re working on.”

Pulling me in for a hug and kiss, my mother said, “Rain check, then.”

“Absolutely, Mom.”

It took everything in me not to grab Emmerson by the hand and drag her to my truck.

After we both got in, shut the doors, and were heading down the driveway, Emmerson started talking. “I don’t care anymore where we do it, Landon. I can’t take it anymore. I feel like I’m going to die. Can you die from being so horny? I’m thinking yes, you can! Did you have to keep touching me so much with your leg under the table?”

“Me! You kept putting your hand on my leg! Do you know how close you were to my dick? I’m pretty sure you brushed up against my balls. I was so fucking hard I could hardly walk!”

She giggled. “Where is the closest place we can go?”

“I’m not making love to you in the barn or the backseat of my truck.”

“Then let’s go to our spot.”

“The north pasture?”

She chuckled. “I know for a fact you carry at least two quilts in this truck of yours at all times.”

I turned to look at her. “Those are for emergencies, Emme. We’re not that far from your place, only ten minutes away.”

“This is an emergency, Landon. If we go back to my place, or even yours, I know we’re going to get interrupted. No one can find us in the pasture. It’s dark out now. It’ll just be us.”

Before I got to the gate, I made a turn onto one of the side roads that ran across our folks’ property.

Emmerson clapped and bounced in her seat as I laughed. It only took us a few minutes to get to what she called our spot. It was under a large pecan tree—the first place we had ever had a picnic. Not alone, though, because someone was always with us back then, it seemed. Nonetheless, this was the spot we came to when we wanted to talk, sit, and stare up at the stars, or just be away from the world. It was where I often came when I was home and not racing. It was quiet and peaceful, which was something I craved desperately right at this moment, and Emmerson knew it.

I pulled up and parked the front of the truck under the large branches that extended from the tree trunk. I left the bed sticking out from under the canopy, so we could look up and see the stars. Stargazing was one of Emmerson’s favorite things to do. Ever since she was little, she would beg for us all to lie down and try to come up with shapes in the stars. While most people did it with clouds, Emmerson did it with stars.

After I got the two quilts—and one blanket that Emmerson didn’t know about—out from behind my backseat, I laid them out on the bed of my truck.

Emmerson stood a few feet away with her arms folded across her chest, simply staring out over the dark Hill Country. The light from the stars and the half-moon cast the perfect amount of illumination to still be able to make out things in the distance, like the hills and the vineyards that weren’t that far from here.

I turned on the radio to the local country station and walked over, stopping right next to her.

“Did you miss this when you were racing?” she asked, her voice so soft I hardly heard.

“I missed a lot of things when I was racing.”

Turning, she gazed up at me with that smile that made my heart want to beat right out of my chest. “Like what?”

“I missed my folks, Hailey, my horse.”

She laughed and shook her head.

“I missed my best friend.”

Her brows rose. “Oh?”

With a nod, I leaned in closer and placed my mouth against her ear. “She didn’t know it at the time, but I was madly in love with her.”

Emmerson clutched my arms as if she needed me to hold her up. Kenny Chesney’s “Me and You” came on the radio, and I drew back and met her gaze. Her smile grew bigger and she tilted her head, giving me a shy look. “Did you plan for this song to come on?”

With a wink, I asked, “Will you do me the honor and dance with me, Ms. Wallace?”

She bit into her lower lip before giving me a nod and allowing me to draw her body against mine.

Dancing with Emmerson had always been one of my favorite things. We had both learned how by dancing with each other and Noah and Hailey. But when the two of us danced together, it just worked. It was like we were made for each other in so many ways.

Emmerson rested her head on my chest as we slowly danced under the stars and let everything and everyone else slip away. The fake engagement, Hailey and Mike’s breakup, the fact that we were keeping our relationship a secret from our folks. It all seemed to disappear until it was only the two of us and the millions of stars above our heads.

“Landon,” Emmerson whispered against my chest.

I dug my fingers into her hair, my other hand rubbing against her back. “Yeah, baby?”

“Will you make love to me now?”

I let out a small chuckle. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”

Bending down, I picked her up. She slid her arms around my neck, and I walked us over to the back of the truck. I had laid down the heavy blanket first, followed by both quilts. I folded up a jacket I had in the backseat to use as a makeshift pillow for Emmerson. This wasn’t how I pictured our first time making love, but it felt right. And the way Emmerson was currently looking at me said she felt the exact same way.

Gently putting her on the bed of the truck, I watched as she pulled her shirt over her head and then reached behind her to unclasp her bra. I stood there, mesmerized by how beautiful she looked in the moonlight.

I followed her lead and pulled my shirt over my head before I tossed it on top of hers. I kicked off my boots and proceeded to remove my jeans while I watched Emmerson do the same.

There was no way I could stop the smile on my face as she moved up and spread out on the bed of my truck. There was something so fucking sexy about it, and I knew I would never look at the back of this truck again without thinking about Emmerson and making love to her for the first time.

My heart stilled in my chest when a thought occurred to me. “Emme, I just realized I don’t have a condom,” I whispered.

“It’s okay, I’m on birth control.”

I crawled on top of her, groaning before I kissed along her neck

Giggling, she moved her fingers softly over my back and whispered back, “Is that a good groan or an ‘oh shit we’re going to have to stop’ groan.”

I drew back and looked down at her. “It’s an ‘I’m going to come the moment I push inside of you’ groan.”

Her soft lips went into a pout. “That would be a damn shame, not to mention it would totally ruin this night for me.”

I shot her a look that said there was no way this night would be ruined for either of us.

I positioned my body over hers and cradled her face in my hands. “I love you, Emmerson. And not in a brotherly way. I’ve been in love with you for as long as I can remember.”

A tear slipped free and rolled down the side of her face, and I used the pad of my thumb to wipe it away.

She swallowed and met my gaze. “I love you, too, Landon.”

I pressed my mouth to hers, and even though I tried to keep things slow, our kiss quickly turned passionate. Emmerson’s hands were all over me, her body arched as if silently telling me it was time. I kissed along her jaw, down her neck and to her breasts, pulling a nipple into my mouth and gently sucking on it before I moved to the other one.

“I don’t need foreplay, Landon. I’m going to combust if you don’t get inside of me.”

With a chuckle, I moved my hand down her body and felt between her folds. She was so fucking wet, I had to force myself to go slow. All I wanted to do was push inside of her and bury myself as deep as I could.

When I pulled my hand back up, I slid my fingers into my mouth and closed my eyes while I tasted her.

“Landon! Please!”

She moved her hand down between us, and when she grabbed me, I jerked.

I grabbed her hand and pushed it above her head, positioning myself at her entrance. Slowly, I slid inside of her. With each inch I moved forward, my heart pounded even harder.

“You’re so tight,” I said softly, my eyes locked on hers.

“You feel…you feel so good, Landon.”

Her eyes closed and she drew in a breath as I pushed farther in. “Are you okay?”

Nodding quickly, she urged me on. “Don’t stop. Please!”

After what felt like fucking forever, I was seated all the way inside of her. If I died right then, I knew I would be okay. Never in my life had I felt such blissfulness. Being inside of Emmerson, our bodies connected together like this, the way she looked up at me, and how she whispered my name through those soft pink lips—it was all I dreamed of and more. So much more.

“Emme,” I whispered against her lips as I slowly pulled out and then pushed back in.

She wrapped her body around mine, and we got lost in one another. It didn’t matter where we were, or how long it had taken us to get here—we were together. And fucking hell, I was never going to let her go.

Ever.

Emmerson ripped her mouth from mine. “Faster, Landon. I need you to go faster.”

It didn’t take long for me to speed up my rhythm. The sound of our bodies hitting together was one of the most erotic things I had ever heard in my life. I needed her to come, especially since she didn’t let me pleasure her before we started. In one move, I rolled us until Emmerson was on top of me.

She lifted her brows and chewed on her lip.

“Use me to make yourself come, Emme.”

She brought her hands to my chest and slowly rolled her hips. Something seemed to switch on inside of her as she moved her hands up and rested them on the back window of my truck. She lifted and bounced back down on me, rubbing herself against me until she found what she needed.

Emmerson’s head dropped back and she let out a moan as her orgasm began to build. I could feel her body tightening on mine and I knew the moment she came, I was going to as well.

“Oh, God, Landon! I’m coming.”

“Fuuuck, Emme. Yes!”

We came together in what had to be the best orgasm I’d ever had in my entire life.

After making love to Emmerson, there was no way I would ever want another woman. Never.

When our bodies finally stopped shaking from our releases, Emmerson collapsed onto me. I could still feel my dick twitching inside of her, demanding the party continue even though I had just come so hard I’d nearly lost consciousness.

“That was…amazing,” Emmerson panted into my chest.

I wrapped my arms tightly around her. It almost felt like I was dreaming, and that this moment would end with me waking up with my hand around my cock.

“I want to do that every day for the rest of my life,” I said softly, running my hand down her body.

Emmerson giggled. “I’ll do my best, but I can’t promise every day.” She leaned up and stared down at me. “That was the best sex of my life. I don’t think I’ve ever come that hard.” With a quick look up, she shook her head. “That’s a lie. When you gave me oral sex, that orgasm was the most intense I’d ever had. This one was…it was…”

I smiled and brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. “It was what?”

“Perfect. I’ve never experienced anything like that before. Everything felt so…right. If that makes any sense.”

I nodded and then leaned up and captured her mouth with mine. When I pulled back, I said, “It does make sense, and I agree.” Reaching to the side, I grabbed the old T-shirt I kept in my truck if I needed a change of clothes and said, “Let me clean you up.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to move. I want you to stay inside of me like this forever.”

My heart felt as if it were suddenly floating freely in my chest. I rolled her over and started to move once again. I wasn’t the least bit surprised when I quickly got hard.

And I wasn’t surprised when it only took a few minutes for us to cry out each other’s names once again.