“Me too! Maybe we’ll see you out there.”
“Maybe so.”
They headed down toward the restaurant, the boy still chattering excitedly about tomorrow’s adventure. I watched them go, feeling a pang of something—nostalgia, maybe, for that kind of uncomplicated family happiness.
But as soon as they were gone, my mind went right back to my lessons, both the one last night and the one we’d have tonight. I’d spent half the day wondering what we’d do next. The kissing and touching had felt so good, but I knew things were likely to intensify pretty quickly.
With such deliciously wicked things to think about, the rest of the day went quickly. I remembered Mia in the coffee shop back at school, and how she’d sometimes seemed lost in thought behind the counter. Had she been thinking about Diego? Like constantly thinking about him, and constantly aware of her body and what it wanted?
I wouldn’t blame her for that now, though I might have at the time.
When my shift was over, I was pleased to see Landon over by the Christmas tree. Was he waiting for me?
When I neared, his eyes swept up and down my body, and he gave a low whistle. “You’re going to have to do better than that if you don’t want people to know my brother’s been all over you.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. “Notallover.”
But privately, I could admit that Kai had stroked me almost everywhere today. I glanced down at myself, suddenly worried. Were my clothes rumpled? Were there visible marks on my skin that the jacket wasn’t covering?
I fell into step beside Landon as we crossed the lobby and descended the stairs to the restaurant. I wondered if he knew I wasn’t wearing panties. Had he heard that part, or had he just tuned out what we were doing last night?
That thought made me sad.
“I feel like I disappointed you,” I finally said.
Landon stopped at the base of the stairs, catching my arm before I could move past him. “You didn’t,” he said firmly. “You’re a smart, capable woman who knows her own mind. You asked for something you wanted, and you got it. Why would I be disappointed in you for that?”
“Maybe because you think I shouldn’t want it.”
He let out a breath and released my arm. “No. I admit that my protective side took over a little yesterday. I do think that a person’s first time should be special, and I didn’t love the thought of it being with Kai, who’s skilled but not particularly gentle, or Ash, who hasn’t been very nice to you.”
I thought but didn’t tell him that I didn’t particularly want Kai to be gentle. But I agreed about Asher, even though he’d really turned me on last night. The way he’d touched me was different than Kai, but it had felt just as good.
Landon’s focus shifted to my shoulders, as if only now noticing my hair was down. “I like it,” he said, stroking a strand with one long finger.
“Good. Because you’re going to be seeing it a lot.”
He gave a ghost of a smile. “They’re ordering you around already?”
I blushed. “Yeah.”
“Well, there can be something very exciting about that.” He turned to head toward the restaurant, and this time I stopped him.
“I wanted it to be you.”
“What?”
I could feel my face burning, but I pushed forward. I kept a brave front with the other two, but with Landon, I knew I didn’t have to conceal my thoughts. “I wanted you to give me lessons and to be my first. I almost asked in the solarium, but you seemed so sad.”
Some kind of expression flashed in his eyes for just a moment—regret, maybe, mixed with something else that I couldn’t identify. Then it was gone.
“You’re in good hands,” he said finally. Then he smirked, but it didn’t look anything like the cocky way Kai did it. “But I guess you already knew that.”
“Yep,” I said, because he didn’t seem to want to talk about this anymore. “Ready for dinner?”
“Absolutely.”
20
