I shook my head. After what happened at the wedding, I was staying away from alcohol whenever I was around this man. It was too dangerous.
As the waiter walked away, I turned to Landen. “How do you feel about sharing?”
He studied me, his eyes way too intense for my casual question about sharing our dinner. “I think it’s overrated.”
“So there’s no chance you’ll let me have a bite of your dinner?” I asked, batting my eyelashes in a ridiculous way.
He chuckled. “Well, since you asked so nicely, I guess I can make an exception just this once. What about you?” he asked, leaning closer.
Our faces were just a few inches apart. “What about me?” My voice was soft and husky.
“Are you willing to share?” His dark eyes gleamed in the candlelight, looking more black than blue.
“Depends on what I’m sharing,” I answered. Unable to help myself, my eyes dropped to his mouth for a moment. A mouth that curved just a bit as he closed the distance between us.
As he had earlier, Landen touched his mouth to mine in a whisper of a kiss before he withdrew, leaving me with tingling lips and heated skin. Our eyes were open and on each other the entire time.
Then I licked my lips, tasting a hint of him. His eyes flickered down to my mouth and grew intensely focused.
“Shit,” he muttered.
Before things could get out of hand, the waiter returned with our salads and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to thank him or swear at him for breaking the sensual spell that had fallen over me.
I smiled at him and thanked him before he walked away. Landen merely grunted and picked up his fork.
As I dug into my salad, I was suddenly aware that I was still hungry. Well, I was hungry for two things and only one of them was food. So I focused on the appetite that I could satiate at the moment and grabbed my fork.
“So why are you working while Chris is gone?” Landen asked between bites.
I shrugged. “He’s going to be gone for a week and the work would just pile up.”
“Didn’t he offer you some time off?”
“Yes, but I like to be busy,” I responded as I forked another bite of salad into my mouth. Like the tzatziki, it was delicious. The crisp lettuce was lightly dressed in a slightly sharp vinaigrette and the smooth, salty feta balanced out the vinegar. I could see why Landen liked this restaurant.
To my utter shock, we talked about our work for the next few minutes without a single moment of bickering. Once our salads were devoured, the server returned and removed the plates, promising that our entrees would be out in a few moments.
When the plates arrived, my eyes widened at the enormous amount of food. I would probably have leftovers, which made me happy since I could take them for lunch the next day. If I didn’t decide I wanted a midnight snack, anyway.
Landen chuckled quietly at the greedy way I stared at his plate and put a piece of not only his shrimp and chicken souvlaki on my plate but part of a lamb chop.
“Thank you,” I sighed as I cut into the tender lamb and lifted it to my mouth. This time I didn’t suppress the moan that rose in my throat as flavors exploded on my tongue. The lamb practically melted in my mouth.
I realized I’d closed my eyes and opened them to find Landen staring at me again, his gaze hot and consuming.
“Are you dating anyone right now?” he queried suddenly.
I frowned at him as he cut into his chicken souvlaki. “Why do you ask?”
He lifted the bite to his mouth but answered me before he slid the fork between his lips. “Because, as I stated earlier, I don’t like to share.”
I frowned at him, unsure of how to proceed. He was talking as though he intended for us to be exclusive and this was our first dinner date, one that may not end well.
“I’m not dating anyone right now, but all my online dating profiles are still active,” I replied with a shrug.
He glared at me. “So you intend to continue dating?”
I sighed and put my fork and knife down. His questions were putting me off my dinner, which was pissing me off as well because the food was amazing. “Listen, Landen, this is technically our first date. I’m not going to promise to go steady with you just because we’re sharing a nice meal and not sniping at each other like we usually do.”
