I wasn’t about to step foot in his personal space, but I did open the door to relay his mom’s message only to get an eyeful of his gloriously naked back. Landon’s shoulders were wide and muscular, tapering to a narrow waist. He wasn’t bodybuilder big, but the corded back muscle and well-defined biceps spoke of a practical strength. Landon’s muscles had come from hard work and training. Not only was his body well-built and beautiful, but it was also marked up with a few scars and some breathtaking ink. Wings were tattooed on the backs of his arms and he had some sort of medical insignia on his back. A hardhat was perched on the top of the insignia, with the American flag waving behind it.
Back to the door, he was searching through his closet. “Almost ready, Mom. Just need to grab a shirt.”
I didn’t correct him, didn’t say a damn thing, as I continued to stare, memorizing every muscle, every line of his ink. His body was beautiful in the way I imagined a gun would be: deadly, powerful, and sleek. I was no virgin, but the few men I’d been with hadn’t been built like Landon, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to be wrapped in those arms.
“Mercy?”
He’d removed a shirt from its hanger and was holding it as he glanced over his shoulder, breaking me out of my lust-induced trance. My gaze darted up to his face. He was watching me.
“S-sorry to interrupt,” I stammered, sounding like a complete idiot. “Your mom wanted me to let you know that dinner’s ready.”
He spun around to face me, giving me a full view of his chiseled chest covered in even more ink, lined abs, and an incredible V that led down to the waistband of his low-riding jeans. I was trying not to stare, but I couldn’t help myself. Landon’s body was built for sex. He finally broke the trance I was in by pulling his shirt over his arms and working the buttons. Grateful for the cotton now covering his nakedness, I sought out his face again.
“See something you like?” he asked, the left corner of his lips sliding up in a panty-dropping smirk.
Embarrassed, and refusing to let him know I found him attractive, I scanned his room searching for something I could use to form a reply. My gaze stopped on the awards hanging above his bookshelf. “Yes. I had no idea you were good at science and math. Those awards are pretty impressive. Good job.”
Oh, God, kill me now.
I felt like a complete moron. The continued presence of his smirk told me he wasn’t buying my act for a second. With nothing more to say, and every reason to flee, I stepped back and closed his door, probably a little harder than necessary. Then I hurried to rejoin Beth in the kitchen.
She was dumping corn from a pot into a serving dish, and she paused long enough to glance behind me. “Where’s Landon?”
I shrugged. “Coming, I guess? By the way, why did you send him to my apartment this afternoon?”
“Oh, that.” She scraped out the last of the corn before setting the pot in the sink. “I needed a moment to get my thoughts in order. Will you please set the glasses on the table?”
What kind of an excuse is that?
She’d had seven years to get her thoughts together. Now, you’d think she’d want to spend every waking moment with her son. They had limited days together, and who knew the next time he’d decide to grace her with his presence? Instead of calling her out on her bullshit answer, I scooped up the glasses she was pointing at. Beth had been acting kind of shady since Landon had arrived, and I didn’t like it one bit. I couldn’t help but wonder if she trying to set me up with her son. Although the idea was flattering, it was impractical. He would be gone soon, and I was far too busy with the preschool for any kind of relationship. Still, I couldn’t seem to get his muscular back and chest out of my mind as I set the glasses of water on the table.
I probably should have dumped one of them over my head to cool off.
What was with that smirk?
Did Landon know I’d been ogling him? He seemed pretty damn proud of himself and his sexy body. Determined to deflate that ego of his, I basically ignored him when he joined us. Not my most mature moment, but I had a lot going on in my head and I couldn’t deal with the questioning looks he kept giving me.
Not like I was watching him. At least not intentionally.
Since Landon and I were both quiet at the table, Beth filled the silence with a recap of their weekend. She finished by asking, “Mercy, you don’t happen to have a volunteer packet at your house, do you?”
“I’m not sure, to be honest. I have my laptop bag, so probably. Why?” I asked, surprised by the sudden change in subject.
“When Landon walks you home after dinner, will you please check and give him a packet if you have one?”
Landon set his fork down and his shoulders tensed. “Mom, I said I would think about it.”
“I’ll be working a lot of the time that you’re here. Will you really want to stay home alone? You’ll be bored out of your mind. And the children would benefit from having a man around. In fact, Mercy had a meeting with the president of the Dead Presidents Friday, and they’re planning to volunteer once a week, too, so there will be other men there that you’ll have something in common with.”
“The Dead Presidents?” Landon asked. “Is that some kind of band?”
“No. They’re a local motorcycle club of military veterans. They do a lot of good for the community. In fact, they just made the paper for their annual toy drive. Did you see that, Mercy?”
The idea of having Landon invading my workspace like he’d invaded my friendship with Beth was terrifying, making me want to crawl under the table and hide until whatever storm he’d rolled in on picked his ass up and took him back out of town. I barely managed to squeak out an affirmative yes before shoveling another bite into my mouth. If I was chewing, nobody could expect me to talk and I needed to think before I said anything stupid.
“What do you say, Landon?” Beth asked. “Don’t you want to come and help us at the school?”
I could feel his gaze on me, but I kept my eyes on my plate. Seeing him every day would wreck me, and I had no idea why. Sure, he was attractive, but I’d dealt with all kinds of attractive men before and none of them had made me want to dress up for Sunday dinner. I was a career woman, not some ditsy girl whose heart started fluttering every time a hot guy smiled at her.
