Landon (In Safe Hands Book 1) by S.M. Shade Page A

his chest.
    “Are
you implying I’m arrogant?” He scrapes his teeth across my neck.
    “Does
extremely self-confident sound better?”
    “But
I can back it up,” he claims.
    A
yawn interrupts my giggle, and he pulls a blanket off of the back of the couch.
“It’s almost morning. We should get some sleep.” We stretch out on the couch,
and he turns off the lantern. The room is plunged into darkness, but with his
arms around me, I feel safe and content as I drift off.
     
    * * * *
     
    It’s
disorienting to wake up in solid blackness, like I didn’t even open my eyes. I
like to sleep in the dark, but even with all the lights out in my apartment,
light filters through from the street. This is different. The sound of a steady
heartbeat beneath my ear is calming, and the events of the night before come
back to me.
    We’re
trapped in the basement. I made out with Landon and let him finger me to
orgasm. Let him? If memory serves, I begged him not to stop at one point. Shit.
    Landon
sits up when I fumble around the couch for the lantern and finally turn it on. “You
okay?” he murmurs, tucking a wild lock of hair behind my ear. I must look like
a mess, and he’s perfect as always. Okay, maybe his hair is a bit mussed and
his face creased with sleep, but on him, it just looks sexy. I don’t think he’s
capable of being unattractive.
    “Yeah,
I’m good.” My stomach picks that moment to give a loud growl, and he chuckles.
    “Let’s
find something to eat.” He picks up his phone to check the time. “No wonder
we’re starving. It’s four in the afternoon.”
    “Will
you call Jeremy and see if he has any news?” I ask, yawning.
    “Sick
of being trapped with me already?” he teases.
    “I’d
rather be trapped with some pancakes and sausage.”
    “Go
see what’s in the fridge, and I’ll call Jeremy.” He smacks my ass before
grabbing his phone and heading up the stairs.
    The
food choices leave no doubt this is a man cave. I grab a box of toaster
pastries from the top of the fridge and a soft drink from inside. It’s still
cool even though the electric has been out all night. After a few minutes,
Landon joins me as I’m perched on the edge of the pool table, munching a
pastry. “Any news?”
    “We’re
next on the list. They expect to get to us in about four hours or so.”
    “That’s
good.” He leans over and takes a bite of my pastry, a grin on his face.
“Beast,” I scold, handing him his own.
    “Better
you know now.”
    “So,
it’ll be dark when they get to us?”
    “Most
likely.”
    “What
would you have done if it was daylight?” I mean, there has to be times when he
can’t avoid the sun. When he has to go somewhere. What if there’s an emergency
and he has to go to the hospital?
    Grabbing
a bottle of water from the fridge, he sits on the couch. “I have a suit that
covers me head to toe.” His voice is reluctant.
    “Like
one of those hazmat suits?”
    “Yeah,
a yellow monstrosity. Makes me look like a Teletubby. I only wear it for
emergencies.”
    He
pulls me close when I join him, and I curl up against his side. “You’re not
going to be able to stay here. Where are you going to go?” I’m tempted to offer
my apartment, but I just can’t. It’s so far below what he’s used to, I’m just
too embarrassed.
    “Jeremy
just told me he’s made arrangements at a hotel. They’ll prepare a room for me
with blackout curtains.”
    “You’re
going to owe him one,” I tease.
    “We
owe each other so many we’ve lost count.” His lips find my forehead with a soft
kiss. “Come to the hotel with me.”
    “What?
I…my apartment’s okay.”
    “I
know, but Ethan’s still out of town, right? I still need to get you alone and
finish what we started.”
    “Not
going to argue with that.”
    We
spend the next few hours talking and playing a word game on my phone. It’s not
useful for anything else at the moment. A sudden bang, following by the
cracking sound of splintering wood