Page 65 of Isolated
Except for when I went home to Grouse to celebrate my birthday with my family and when my sisters came to visit me, I hadn’t had Saturday plans in months. I was thrilled to have some plans for the weekend that didn’t involve my job, too.
Though, given the current work circumstances, it would be wise for me to spend some time working on a few projects before I returned to the office on Monday morning.
For now, for today, I didn’t care about any of that. I was going to give myself this treat, because I deserved it. Landen deserved it, too.
I only wished I’d been more courageous and asked him to stay the night with me, considering he was going to beshowing up first thing this morning. It would have saved him the time and trouble of driving back and forth between my place and his. And, if I was honest, it was likely he would have found ways to distract me from my thoughts so that I might have been able to drift off hours before I did.
I couldn’t do it, though. I couldn’t bring myself to ask him to stay when I so desperately didn’t want him to leave. We’d only been on one official date, and I thought it was wise to just give ourselves time to ease into the romantic side of the relationship that was budding between us. Plus, I figured a little bit of longing would build us up to something big. It would be worth waiting, worth delaying gratification for just a bit longer, especially if we’d both been pining for so long already and had experienced a kiss like we had last night. And that time would give us the opportunity to go a little deeper in our quests to learn more about each other. Despite being friendly and talkative at the gym for so long, there were a lot of things I didn’t know about Landen, a lot of things he still didn’t know about me.
But even if I wasn’t ready for us to hop into bed with one another just yet, I was fully prepared to find some time today to kiss him again. It was like he’d opened the bag of potato chips for me with his kiss last night, and I was expected to only take one.
Not a chance.
Especially not with a man who kissed the way Landen did.
My lips curved into a smile as he exited his vehicle, looking just as happy as I felt. Wanting to give him something more—and being unable to wait any longer—Iopened the front door and stepped outside wearing what I thought was the perfect outfit for a late September apple-picking date. It was a forest green wide leg jumpsuit that had a plunging V-neckline and form-fitting bodice. It was comfortable and casual enough for a day of strolling around outside, but flattering enough to look as though I’d put in some effort.
Landen noticed me immediately, and the way his face lit up at the sight of me sent chills running down my spine. I still couldn’t get over how much I liked seeing him laugh the way he had last night. I’d wondered for so long if he ever felt genuinely happy, and it was nice to get an answer to that last night.
As he climbed the steps and walked onto my wraparound porch with that knowing look on his face, another twinge of excitement moved through me.
He smiled, offering up one that showed off his pearly white teeth, something I was still trying to get used to. “Good morning, Iris.”
I returned the smile. “Good morning, Landen.”
“You look lovely today.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you set to go, or do you still need some time?”
My eyes dropped to the ground for a moment before returning to his face. Tapping my toes on the wood beneath my feet, I said, “I just need to put on my shoes and grab my jean jacket. Otherwise, I’m all set. Do you want to come inside for a minute?”
“Sure.”
We walked inside, Landen waiting by the door while I grabbed my things. When I returned to him, I bubbled, “All set.”
I moved to open the door, so we could leave, but he curled his fingers around my wrist. I halted my movements and twisted my neck to look back at him.
There was something swirling in his gaze, something dark and intense.
“Landen?” I called when he made no move to speak.
One half of his mouth quirked, and he tugged on my wrist to urge me toward him. “You can do that?”
My brows pulled together. “Do what?”
He studied me for a moment, his fingers twitching around my wrist. “Share the kisses with me that you did last night and not feel the overwhelming need to do it again this morning.”
I stared at him, unsure of how to respond. How would it look if I told him I was desperately trying to play it cool?
It seemed Landen wasn’t finished. “I haven’t stopped thinking about it. I haven’t stopped thinking about you.”
My heart thudded.
There was little point in offering explanations. Why waste more time when I wanted to kiss him as badly as he seemed to need it?
Tipping my chin up, I placed my palm flat against his chest and brushed my lips against his. Tingles of pleasure shot through me, the masculine scent of him invading my senses.
