Page 45 of Isolated
There was a hint of surprise mixed with curiosity in her tone. I took it to mean good things for me that she wasn’t yelling at me.
“I couldn’t leave anything to chance,” I answered.
Iris tipped her head to the side. “I don’t understand. What does that mean?”
Somehow, despite there only being a matter of two or three feet separating us, she felt too far away. I stepped closer, closing that distance between us until there was only one more step between us before our bodies would be touching. The feminine scent of her consumed me. It was warm and comforting, vanilla with a trace of something floral wrapping around me.
She lifted her chin to look up at me, and that’s when I explained, “As I mentioned earlier this week, I’ve waited a long time to ask you out. But barely a few minutes later, you told me about this outing with your sisters and the plan to find you a guy who might be interested in you. I didn’t want to risk your sisters being successful in finding you someone that wasn’t me.”
A blush crept over her cheeks as soft laughter escaped. “Oh, Landen. I didn’t know you were so worried. Is that why you asked me yesterday morning about what my plans were for tonight?”
I shoved my hands into my pockets and shrugged innocently. “Like I said, I didn’t want to leave anything to chance.”
Her smile grew. “You must really like me.”
There was no use denying it, so I gave her a nod. “I do.”
Iris reached up and tugged on a section of her hair that was draped over the front of her shoulder. She toyed with the ends of that lock as pure seduction filtered into her gaze.
I didn’t know if she was nervous or if she simply believed she had to do something to entice me. If it was the latter, it was completely unnecessary. I was already hopelessly captivated by her.
But on the off chance she felt some nerves, I decided to shift the focus of the conversation for just a moment.
“I don’t want to intrude on the night you had planned with your sisters, so I’m happy to go and leave you to it, but I wanted you to understand just how serious I am about you.”
She released her hair and pressed her palm against her chest, her eyes shining. “You don’t have to leave,” she whispered.
I hadn’t realized just how nervous I was until she said those words. The tension eased from my shoulders, and I glanced at the women I presumed were her sisters. “Are you sure? They haven’t stopped looking at us, and I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.”
Laughter spilled out of her. “That’s because they’re probably in disbelief that I’m standing here talking to you right now. We had a bit of a… disagreement during dinner tonight. My sister, Eleni, insisted I wouldn’t dare approach a guy tonight, and I get the feeling Flora was inclined to agree with her, even if she didn’t verbalize her feelings. I insisted I could, even if it’s not really something I’d ever do. But then I saw you standing here, ready to rescue me.”
My lips twitched. “I had no idea you needed me to do any such thing.”
“But it works,” she reasoned. “They don’t have to know that I already know you. Call me crazy, but they’re both a bit disillusioned on the topic of men, and I think they need to see this happen.”
Could this have worked out any better? I took a moment to consider the possibilities for the evening ahead, but it was an effort not to allow my thoughts to run too wild.
Maybe that was why I took that remaining step in her direction and gently placed my hand on her hip. I just wanted to touch her, and it seemed she didn’t mind at all.
Iris shivered, and her eyes darkened.
That response, that look, left me feeling slightly desperate for more. Because I understood what it meant. I’d felt the same way when she’d touched my arms the night that I went to her place to check out her email. Thinking about the way it felt, I wanted nothing more than to feel her hands on me again. There was only one way I could think to make that happen.
My mouth curved into a slow smile. “I know this isn’t a wedding, but there is music and a dance floor. What are the chances I can get you to join me out there?
She pressed her lips together as her eyes sparkled. “I’d love to dance with you.”
I’d never been the kind of guy who was interested in dancing. It just wasn’t my thing. But I wasn’t entirely opposed to doing it with a partner. Iris being that woman was the icing on the cake.
Unwilling to take a chance that she’d change her mind—or that I’d get carried away with my hands that were already gripping her hips a little too firmly—I took her by the hand and led her out toward the dance floor. On the way there, I caught a glimpse of her sisters watching our movements, and the looks on their faces were priceless.
Once we were there, I turned Iris in my arms. “Their jaws dropped.”
She draped her arms over my shoulders and didn’t hesitate to press her body close to mine. That was enough to have my pulse pounding, but then she smiled at me in a way she’d never smiled at me before—the happiness transforming her—and I struggled to maintain control over my breathing. Even all the times I’d seen her happy at the gym, she never looked like this.
“I know. This isn’t something I’d ever normally do, and given that they believe you’re a stranger, I can understand why they looked so shocked.”
Iris and I might have both held ourselves back from admitting our crushes on one another for months, but now that it was out in the open, she seemed intent on communicating just how deep that crush went for her.
