“And you thought you needed to clarify?”
“I wanted you to know…”
“What?” The man could make her breathless with just a few words, not to mention what he could do with his lips, tongue and hands.
“That I really like you, and not just as my platonic roommate. I like you. I want the chance to get to know you better and to maybe do this…” He kissed her again, just a light touch of lips, but she felt that kiss everywhere. “I never imagined we’d do this”—another kiss—“before dinner, but that’s fine with me.” More kisses.
“I wasn’t sure… I couldn’t tell…”
“What couldn’t you tell?”
“If you took me in because you felt sorry for me or because you wanted… something else.”
“I took you in because I couldn’t bear the thought of you leaving before we had a chance to really get to know each other. And because I wanted to take care of you. I wanted something else, too, but I wasn’t sure if it was what you wanted.”
“I’ve been such a mess since the fire. I’m sorry if I was confusing you.”
“No apologies needed. What happened that night was terrifying for all of us, but you in particular.”
“Not just me. You almost lost your brother. Your twin brother.”
“I almost lost both of you. It was a wakeup call about making sure my priorities are in order.” As he spoke, he rocked against her suggestively, every press of his hardness against her most sensitive area setting off a wild craving for more of him. “And right now, you’re at the very top of my priorities list.”
To her great mortification, tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head and swiped angrily at the tears. “I’m so mad with myself.”
“Why?”
“Because it took almost dying in that fire to realize I was living half a life before. Actually, calling it half a life might be generous. It was really an eighth of a life. I’ve never done anything. I… I had some stuff happen when I was younger, some difficult things, and after that, I was just… I was kind of frozen. I never take chances. I never do anything crazy. I never step outside the lines. Since the fire, part of me wants to just go wild now.”
He listened intently to her, seeming to hang on her every word. “What would going wild entail?”
“I don’t even know. I just want to do everything, feel everything, try everything. I want everything.”
Landon gazed down at her. “We’ll do it all. Everything you can think of. We’ll do it.”
“I can’t even walk on both feet,” she said, sniffling.
Grinning, he said, “There’s lots of wild stuff we can do in the meantime.”
She laughed softly at the double meaning behind his statement. “Will you be my partner in crime?”
“I’d love to be. You tell me what you want, and we’ll do it. I don’t care what it is.”
“I don’t even know what I want. I just want to stop being so cautious and afraid of everything. That’s no way to live.”
“Being caught in a fire is a scary thing. You shouldn’t beat yourself up for being traumatized after something like that.”
“What’s my excuse for all the years before the fire? I’ve been a wimp, Landon. I never take any risks or do anything exciting because I’m so busy worrying about what might go wrong. I’m tired of living like that. I want to be wild.” She hooked her hand around his neck and brought him for a kiss. “Will you walk on the wild side with me, Landon?”
“Hell, yes.”
His emphatic reply made her laugh. “No boundaries, no limits, no rules,” she said. “Just wild fun.”
“Yes, yes and yes. Let’s start right now.”
The words right now were a sobering reminder that she had his attention for the moment, but when a man could have any woman he wanted, his eyes would be wandering once again. She could go wild with him, but under no circumstances could she fall for him. Their arrangement would be temporary, and she needed to remember that. As if she’d been hit in the face by a snowball named Reality, she pulled back from him, or as much as she could with him on top of her. “I’m starving. Are we going out?”
“We’re definitely going out.” He sat back and offered her a hand to help her sit up. His cheeks were rosy, like they got when he’d been out in the cold. Did kissing her have the same effect? “How do you feel about Asian fusion?”
“I’ve been known to be a fan.”
“There’s a new place a couple of towns over. I heard it’s good.”
“Do you like Asian fusion?”
“Uh, I don’t even know what it is, to be honest. It sounds fancy.”
Amanda tried and failed not to smile. “You’re very cute, but I don’t need fancy. Where would you go if you were by yourself and just wanted to grab food?”
“Kingdom Pizza, probably.”
“That’s fine.”
“I want something better for you.”
“I don’t need better. If the point is hanging out and getting to know each other, pizza is fine with me.”
“As long as you’ll let me do better another time.”
“Knock yourself out, champ.”
“I will, and you’ll never see my wild side coming. You want first dibs on the bathroom?”
“Sure. I’ll be quick. I already showered.” She got up from the sofa and took a second to find her balance.
“Are you okay?”
“Yep. Hey, I meant to ask if we can see Lucas at some point.” Was it her imagination, or did her request annoy him? She quickly added, “I owe him a big thank-you for what he did during the fire.”
“Of course. I’ll call and ask if they want us to deliver dinner to them after we eat.”
“Perfect.” She started to hobble away, but stopped and turned back to him, feeling the need to make sure he understood. “I only want to thank him. That’s all it is.”
“Lucas told me today that he and Dani got engaged.”
“Did they? That’s great news.”
“Sure is.” Was that relief she saw in his expression? Was he still worried that she might be interested in Lucas? As she changed into clean jeans and a warm turtleneck sweater, she tried to think about what she could say or do to make sure Landon knew there was only one Abbott brother she wanted to get wild with.
And it wasn’t Lucas.
Chapter Six
“You can always amend a big plan, but you can never expand a little one.”
—Harry S. Truman
That went well, Landon thought after a shower as he changed in the bedroom into jeans he wore only on special occasions and a red Henley. In deference to the fact that this was a date, he put on the sweater his sister Ella had given him for Christmas. It was white with a red design on it. Not his usual style, but he trusted Ella’s judgment. If she liked it, Amanda probably would, too.
Was he actually hoping he was wearing something a woman would like on him? This situation had gone from bad to worse in the course of thirty minutes of sexy kisses that had his blood running so hot, he wondered if he should skip the sweater even though it was still cold outside. Only because he wanted to look nice for her did he leave the sweater on and go in search of “dress-up” boots that qualified as such because they hadn’t been dragged through mud and slop and snow.