Chapter 4

Everly was still getting dressed when Landry knocked on the door. It wasn’t her fault. He was five minutes early. She ran to the door in her bare feet, still trying to get the zipper up on the back of her little black dress.

“Wait!” Mia whispered as she ran after her. “I’ll get the zipper while you put on your shoes. You don’t want a guy thinking you’re high maintenance on the first date. Spring that on him after the third one.”

Everly hopped in place on one foot, dragging on her high heels while Mia did up her zipper. “I thought the third date rule had something to do with sleeping with a guy?”

Landry rang the doorbell this time, but she and Mia ignored it. There was some rule about making a guy wait at the door a certain amount of time too, Everly was sure, but she couldn’t remember what it was.

“Wait to sleep with a guy until the third date?” Mia gave her an incredulous look. “When were you raised, the twentieth century?”

Everly laughed as she adjusted her dress and struck a pose for her friend. “How do I look?”

“Dazzling,” Mia said. “He’d better be worthy, girl, or I’m going to send him packing.”

Everly smiled at Mia over her shoulder as she reached for the door. “I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

She didn’t know about Mia, but when she opened the door and saw Landry, she sure as heck wasn’t going to send him packing. She’d expected him to dress up a little since they were going to a French restaurant, but Everly had been out with guys who thought dressed up meant putting on jeans and a clean T-shirt. It was clear Landry and she had the same definition of fancy. He looked sharp and edible in a wool-blend jacket perfectly tailored to show off his broad shoulders and muscular chest, a light blue dress shirt, and a snazzy tie. If she didn’t know better, she’d think she was looking at a GQ cover model.

The smile Landry gave her made her wonder if he knew what she she’d been thinking—or that he’d heard her and Mia talking through the door. While both were equally embarrassing, they were also equally unlikely.

His warm brown eyes slid down her body, lingering on her bare legs before moving back up again. He must have liked what he saw, because he got the same smolder in his eyes that he had last night. After a look like that, maybe they should skip dinner and head straight for dessert.

Behind Everly, Mia cleared her throat, reminding her that yes, her roommate was still standing there waiting to meet Landry. Everly stepped back with a smile.

“Come on in. There’s someone I want you to meet,” she said. “Landry, this is my roommate and best friend in the world, Mia Barlowe. Mia, meet Landry Cooper.”

Mia stepped forward and extended her hand, tilting her head back to look up at him. “Everly’s told me so much about you, but she didn’t mention how tall you are. Wow!”

He chuckled and gave her a self-deprecating shrug as he shook her hand. “It’s the shoes. They add a couple inches. And call me Cooper. All my friends do.”

Everly remembered the other SWAT officers calling him by his last name the other night and had meant to ask him why. “Why does everyone call you by your last name?”

Landry flashed her that charming smile of his, dimples and all. Everly was pretty sure she heard Mia sigh. “I spent some time in the army, and since everyone in the military wears their last name sewed on their uniform, you get used to people calling you that. There were a couple of times that I went so long without hearing anyone use my first name, I almost forgot what it was.”

Mia must have thought that was funny—or she was getting punchy from standing too close to Landry—because she let out a girlish giggle.

Everly suddenly had a vision of rolling around in bed with Landry, passionately moaning his last name. Nope, that wasn’t going to work.

“Mia can call you Cooper if she wants, but I’m not,” she said. “There’s no way I’m calling the guy I’m dating by his last name. That would be totally freaky.”

Landry’s mouth twitched. “If it makes you comfortable, you can call me anything you want. Except for Pookie Bear or Snookums.”

Everly giggled along with Mia this time. “How about we just stick with Landry?”

“Works for me.” He flashed his dimples again and glanced at his watch. “You ready to go? I made the reservation for 7:30.”

“I’m ready. Let me grab my purse, and we can be on our way.”

Everly headed to her bedroom, still smiling at the thought of anyone calling the big SWAT officer Pookie Bear. That name was going to be stuck in her head all night now.

Mia followed her into the bedroom and leaned against the doorjamb. “Oh God, he’s hot as hell. Do you think he has any friends?”

She was about to mention the team of attractive SWAT cops she’d met last night, but then a realization struck her. “Wait a minute, I thought you were seeing that guy. What’s his name—Felix?”

Mia waved her hand. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I can’t see someone else at the same time. Especially if that someone else looks anything like Cooper.”

Everly shook her head. “Cooper. You’re seriously going to call him by his last name? And does Felix know you have an open relationship?”

Mia smiled. “Cooper fits him. I see why all his friends call him that. And I definitely want to be his friend. As far as Felix seeing other women, he sure as hell better not be. Our relationship is a dictatorship, not a democracy.”

Everly grabbed her evening purse from the bed, checking it again for the essentials—lipstick, mascara, iPhone, and emergency cab fare. She seriously doubted she’d need that last thing, but her dad had drilled contingency planning into her like a FEMA exercise.

“Girl, you’re crazy,” she said as she snapped her purse closed. “But I’ll see what I can find out.”

Mia hugged her. “You’re the best! And don’t worry. I won’t be coming out to check on you when you get in tonight, so feel free to let your freak flag fly as soon as you get in the door.”

She laughed. “You’re not just crazy. You’re certifiable.”

Everly walked out of her bedroom to find Landry in the long hallway leading to her art studio, studying the pictures hanging on the wall.

He gestured to the nude figure studies done in graphite pencil. “These are really good. Do you know the artist?”

“I hope so. It’s me.” She smiled. “And I appreciate the compliment.”

His eyes widened. “You did these? They’re amazing! You didn’t tell me you’re an artist.”

“Really?” She gave him a teasing look. “I could have sworn I mentioned it somewhere in between all the shooting and you throwing that guy through the window.”

“You probably did, and I completely forgot,” Landry said without missing a beat. “You can tell me all over again at dinner.”

Once outside, Landry led her to an olive-drab Jeep Wrangler and opened the passenger door. Wow. How long had it been since a guy had opened a door for her?

Everly was about to get in when she saw three perfectly round holes in the side of the Jeep to the front of the passenger door. She stepped closer then looked at him. “Are those bullet holes?”

He lifted a brow. “You sure you want to know the answer to that question considering you already know I’m a cop?”

She thought about that as she climbed into the Jeep. As terrifying as it was to consider, maybe what happened at the bank yesterday hadn’t been that unusual for him. Not only was he a cop, he was in SWAT. She didn’t know much about them, but she got the feeling from all the tactical gear they wore and weapons they carried, he was probably involved in shootings often enough that he no longer reacted the way a civilian would.

“I guess I forgot what you do for a living,” she said when he got in beside her. “I suppose getting shot at sort of comes with the job.”

He didn’t say anything as he drove out of the parking lot and turned onto the main road headed toward the 635 loop.

Everly sat there in silence for a moment, debating how much she wanted to know about his job. “Were you in the Jeep at the time it was shot up?”

Landry gave her an appraising look before turning his attention back to the road. “No. But I was standing outside it on the driver’s side. If it helps any, it’s the first and only time my vehicle has ever been shot at, and the people who did it are some of my best friends now.”

She stared at him, waiting for the punch line. There wasn’t one. “Seriously? You’re friends with people you put in jail?”

He flashed her those dimples, almost making her forget what they were talking about. “They’re not in jail. They were just some people who got on the wrong side of a situation and made a few dumb decisions. Our team took them in and helped them out. Hell, Becker—the wiseass you met last night—is in love with one of them.”

Everly was pretty sure her mouth was hanging open. “You’re making this up, right?”

He held up two fingers. “Scout’s honor—every word is true. Trust me, the crap our team gets involved in could be in a book. It’d be a bestseller for sure.”

She still wasn’t sure if he was pulling her leg or not until he told her about Becker and his girlfriend Jayna, the four people they lived with, and how the bullet holes ended up in his Jeep. Everly got the feeling Landry was censoring the details to protect the people he and his SWAT team had helped. But still, it was an amazing story.

Everly was so focused on the conversation she didn’t even think about where Landry was taking her until he pulled up in front of a very familiar restaurant.

She turned to him excitedly. “You got us a table at Chambre Française with only a day’s notice? Mia and I have tried to get in here four times and couldn’t. They’re full year-round.”

Landry smiled, but didn’t say anything as the valet came over to take the keys. When a second valet hurried over to open her door, Everly stepped out, then stood gazing at the traditional French architecture reminiscent of Paris. She hadn’t been kidding. She’d been trying to get into this restaurant since she was old enough to have enough money to afford the place. She felt like Cinderella going to the ball. She was so excited she could have kissed Landry right there. Not that she needed much of an excuse to kiss him, but he couldn’t have picked a more perfect place if he’d read her mind.

“I wish I could take all the credit, but my boss did a favor for the chef a while back and the guy gave him a lifetime invitation to eat here any time he wanted, no reservations required,” Cooper said. “It wasn’t hard for him to help me get seating for two, though it might be in the kitchen for all I know.”

“I’ll take it,” she told him as he took her hand, and they strolled toward the crowd waiting to get inside. “Heck, I’ll wash dishes if they want me to. I don’t care as long as I can eat here.”

When they checked in at the front desk, Everly expected they’d have to wait forever, but two minutes later, the hostess led them to a small table in a secluded alcove near the back of the restaurant.

As soon as they sat down, a short, heavyset man wearing an apron came to their table, a welcoming smile on his face.

“You must be Landry and Everly. Gage said you’d be easy to recognize, and I see that he wasn’t wrong,” he said in a lightly accented voice. “I am Emile. I am so happy you chose my little restaurant for your date.”

Emile shook hands with Landry then gallantly kissed the back of hers. She looked around the dining room, taking in the brocade wallpaper, gold accents, and elegant crystal chandeliers.

“I’m not so sure I would describe this place as little, but I’m truly looking forward to eating here,” Everly said. “The aromas coming from the kitchen are heavenly.”

The man beamed, his cheeks blushing a little. “You are too kind, mademoiselle. I promise you a dinner neither of you will ever forget. You have my word on it.”

Taking their intricately folded napkins from the table, Emile smoothly opened them and draped the fine linens across their laps, then began to reposition their silverware.

“Thank you for finding us a table,” Landry said. “I know it must have been difficult on such short notice.”

Emile shook his head. “There is always room for my friends, and anyone who is a friend of Gage’s is a friend of mine. So, sit back and enjoy yourself. This table is yours as long as you would like to stay.”

Everly expected Emile to tell them that a server would be coming by to take their order, but instead he told them he would construct a menu perfectly suited for them and cook it himself.

“I will have your drinks brought out in a moment,” he added. “Bon appetit.”

Then he walked away, leaving them looking at each other.

“Did he just say he was going to cook our meal himself?” she whispered.

Landry nodded. “Yeah, I guess he did. But how is he going to know what we like?”

She laughed. “Who cares? If Emile is cooking your dinner, it’s going to be good.”

A waiter brought a bottle of white wine, opened it, and poured two glasses without saying a word. Everly took a small sip. While she wasn’t a connoisseur, she did drink wine on occasion, but she’d never had anything this good. She hoped Landry knew what he was in for when it came to the bill. But he didn’t seem worried at the moment.

Landry held up his glass, the flicker of the candle on the table giving his eyes a sexy glow. “To the best date ever.”

She returned his smile, gently clinking her glass against his. This was already well on the way to being the best date she’d ever had, and they were just getting started.

As they sat there, their hands only a few inches apart while they sipped their wine, their knees practically touched under the table. Everly was struck by how quiet and private their little alcove table felt, like there was no one in the restaurant but the two of them. A romantic dinner with the stunningly attractive cop who had saved her life? It was something out of a fairy tale.

“Why a French restaurant?” Landry asked softly. “You always hear people say they like Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Fusion, or Thai. But I don’t think anyone has ever told me that French food is their favorite.”

She shrugged as she drank more of the wine and let it roll around on her tongue. “It’s because I was born in France. So opting for French is the equivalent of you eating at a barbecue place in Texas. I don’t even think of it as ethnic food.”

“Wow,” he said, clearly surprised. “I thought I had a pretty good ear for accents, but I would never have pegged you for anything other than a Texas girl. You don’t sound French at all.”

“Dad moved my four brothers and me to Texas when I was very young. I think I was only seven or eight at the time, so my accent was completely gone by the time I got to middle school.”

Landry looked crestfallen. “Too bad. Having a beautiful woman whisper sweet nothings in my ear with a French accent would have been intriguing.”

Okay, what was a woman supposed to do after a line like that? Everly couldn’t resist leaning closer and giving him what she hoped was a sexy, come-hither look.

“I think I may be able to help you with those sweet little nothings,” she said in her best French accent.

At least she hoped it sounded French. She hadn’t spoken more than a few dozen words in the language in years, and all of that had been around her family. For all she knew, her accent may have come off more Pink Panther than sex kitten.

But Landry must have liked it because his eyes got this seriously intense smolder. And when he tilted his head just so, the lights from the chandelier reflected back in the hottest way possible. Like those brown sugar eyes of his were lit gold from within. Damn, talk about sexy!

They were so close that Everly could feel the heat pouring off his body. Or maybe she was the one getting warmer. It was difficult to tell.

Pulse quickening, she wet her lips with her tongue. Landry’s eyes followed the movement, a slightly predatory smile crossing his face. He leaned a little closer, ratcheting up the heat in the tiny alcove another few degrees. Everly parted her lips in anticipation of the kiss she knew was coming.

But before Landry closed those last few millimeters left between them, Emile appeared with their appetizers. Landry smiled and sat back. As Emile placed the beautifully arranged plates on the table, Everly reluctantly did the same.

“We will begin with a trio of pork rillettes with pickled dried apricots, Alsatian tarte flambé, and salmon trout tartare with caviar.”

While they all sounded delicious, Everly was far more focused on the kiss that had almost happened than on anything the chef was saying. Considering how long she’d waited to eat at Chambre Française that should have surprised her. But she found it hard to turn her attention to the food. Landry was much more appealing.

Even though she remembered him saying something in the car about being hungry, he didn’t go for the food right away either. Instead, he sat there gazing at her as if she was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen.

“You were the only girl in a family with four brothers, huh?” he finally said. “That must have been interesting growing up.”

She nodded, casually picking up one of the tartes and hoping her hands didn’t shake. What had Emile said was on this one? Mia would almost certainly ask how the food had been, and Everly wouldn’t even be able to tell her what they’d eaten.

“It was fun when I was younger,” she said as she set the tarte on her plate. “They watched out for me and took me places and always treated me like a princess. Not to mention bought me anything I wanted, took me to whatever movies I wanted to see, and played all kinds of games with me.”

Landry chuckled. “I can definitely see you wrapping men around your little finger.”

Everly couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps that’s what he thought she was doing to him—and if it was working.

“Their attention became less endearing as I got older and started having ideas about what kind of clothes I should wear and how much time I should spend hanging out with my girlfriends. And boys, of course.” She picked up her fork and cut off a small piece of the cheesy tarte. “Sometimes they could be a bit overprotective.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Would they approve of the boy you’re currently spending your time with?”

Everly laughed, enjoying their playful conversation. Even if she wasn’t able to pay proper attention to a special meal she wasn’t likely to have again anytime soon. “Yes, they’re still overprotective. But I’m my own person and make my own decisions about what I do and whom I spend my time with.”

“That probably doesn’t make them very happy.” He took a bite of the pork rillettes, his perfect white teeth practically mesmerizing. There was something so sensual about the way his mouth moved when he ate that made her think she could watch him do it all day. “Should I be concerned they may not like me?”

“No, it doesn’t, but they’ve come to respect my independence,” she said. “And you don’t have to be worried about them not liking you. Since you saved my life, I think they’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.”

He winced. “I hadn’t thought about them hearing about the bank robbery. That must have freaked them out.”

There was no way in hell she was going to mention her dad had sent two of her brothers to the bank with instructions to go in and get her if needed. “They were worried, but what you did made it onto the Internet right after it happened. Once they realized I was okay, they were mostly interested in meeting you.”

Everly bit her tongue. Maybe she shouldn’t have told Landry that. It was their first date, and she was already talking about him meeting her family. She hoped that didn’t send him running for the hills.

But he seemed to take it in stride. “I’d like to meet them too. Then I can hear all about you growing up as a rebellious teen.”

She was about to tell him she hadn’t been rebellious, but then changed her mind. If you asked her dad, rebellious was exactly what she’d been.

“Any discussions about whether I was rebellious or not will have to wait until at least the third or fourth time you meet them,” she said with a smile. “I can’t have you knowing all my secrets too soon.”

His mouth quirked. “I’m willing to wait. Secrets keep things interesting.”

A warm sensation settled in her stomach at the thought of spending enough time with any man as intriguing as Landry to learn all his secrets. And be able to share hers with him. Not that she had much in the way of secrets, but it was the first time she’d ever been comfortable enough with someone she was going out with to consider it—especially on a first date.

“The art you had hanging on your walls. Is that what you do for a living?” he asked as he finished the last of the rillettes.

She shook her head. “I wish. The figure studies and landscapes are my first love. I do that kind of stuff whenever I can, and even sell some of it now and then. But it doesn’t really pay the bills. For that, I depend on my graphic art business. I design book covers, advertisements, postcards—promotional material, you know? When I’m not busy with that, I teach art down at the community center.”

“I’d love to see more of your work.”

That warm sensation she’d felt earlier burned a little hotter. She’d met a lot of guys who mentally checked out the moment she said the word art. Like they thought men weren’t supposed to have a creative side.

Before she could say anything, Emile came over and delivered their next course—a small fish dish she completely missed the name of. Everly was about to taste it, when she realized that so far she and Landry had spent the entirety of their date talking about her. She didn’t mind a man who was willing to make her the center of his attention, but she was interested in learning about him too.

“So enough about me for now,” she said. “What about you? How long have you worked for SWAT?”

“Three years.” Landry frowned, then smiled. “Wait. Actually, almost four. I was fortunate when I got hired with the department. A lot of the time, you have to do a year or two as a patrol officer before you can transfer into SWAT. But my boss was able to convince the brass to let me join SWAT straight from the academy. I think they agreed because I have a military background.”

“Why SWAT?”

Landry was silent as he considered the question. “It wasn’t the work that attracted me to SWAT as much as the environment. They have my back, and I have theirs. It’s an amazing feeling knowing you can trust every member of the team with your very life. Being in SWAT is like a family.”

Everly never had a job where she worked with a lot of coworkers. Artists tended to work alone or in smaller groups. But she could understand how nice it would be to know the person you were working with wasn’t looking to screw you over to get a pay raise or a promotion. Even so, she had a hard time believing any group could be that loyal, and she wondered if Landry was glossing over the less-desirable people on his team. There had to be at least one or two me-first types there, right? But she wasn’t about to point that out.

“Isn’t it dangerous though?” she asked. “Isn’t your family terrified you’ll get hurt?”

He lifted a forkful of fish to his mouth. “I think my parents and brothers actually breathed a sigh of relief when I got out of the army and joined SWAT. Trust me, there’s a reason I was getting hazardous duty pay while in the military. And I can honestly say it’s rare when someone in SWAT ends up in the hospital. The last guy who did was my squad leader, and he walked out the door in less than twenty-four hours with hardly a scratch.”

Everly found herself breathing that same sigh of relief he’d mentioned. She knew Landry was a cop and what he did was dangerous, but it made her feel better knowing the people he worked with didn’t get hurt all the time.

As they finished their fish, Landry told her one hilarious story after another about the other members of his team. He paused in the middle of one about Becker when Emile showed up with their main course of stuffed pork tenderloin. Everly was sure it was as delicious as the other food he’d served them, but she was laughing so hard at the crazy things Landry was saying, she barely tasted it.

“You have a beautiful laugh,” he said. “Which only makes sense since you’re so beautiful.”

Everly blushed at the compliment. “I bet you say that to all women on the first date.”

“I’ve never said it on a first date before,” he told her. “Actually, I’ve never said it to any woman before.”

She would have thought that was some kind of line if she hadn’t seen the blatant sincerity in his eyes. He really wasn’t trying to be smooth. He seriously believed she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

Landry frowned. “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable by saying that. If so, it wasn’t my intent.”

She considered that. By all rights, hearing such an over the top compliment like that from a guy she barely knew should have had her pulling her emergency cab fare out of her purse and running for the exit, but it didn’t. Instead, it made her feel crazy good, like maybe she truly was the most beautiful woman in the world.

“No, you didn’t make me feel uncomfortable at all.” She smiled. “In fact, I enjoyed hearing you say it.”

The smile and dimples came back—along with a heated gaze. “I’m glad. Because it would be very difficult to sit here thinking something like that all night without being able to tell you.”

As she gazed into his soulful brown eyes, she felt a warm flush spread across her body and settle slowly between her legs. She wasn’t sure how Landry’s compliment had translated into something sexual, but somehow it had, and like a light switch being flipped, she was suddenly turned on. Even though there was no way Landry could know that, his gaze took on a molten look, which only served to make her even more aroused.

From that moment on, the tone of their conversation changed, and little flirty lines slipped into their discussions. She mentioned that she loved sleeping late on Sunday mornings, and Landry immediately asked her what kind of breakfast she liked having in bed. He said something about loving to work out late at night, and she couldn’t resist giving him a sexy look, saying that it all depended on what kind of exercise she was doing.

In between, Landry regaled her with funny stories about his teammates, and she told him about all the ways her older brothers tried to keep her from sneaking out of the house to go have fun when she was a teenager. But after a while, they didn’t talk at all. Instead, they gazed into each other’s eyes, the silence filled with an energy that made her skin tingle. She’d never felt anything quite like it before, but she had the craziest urge to get out of her chair and crawl into his lap so she could run her hands through his hair and kiss him, maybe even nibble that sexy part of his neck just below his ear. The image was so vivid she could almost feel Landry’s hands yanking up her little black dress so he could get his hands on her bottom.

She stifled a moan and closed her eyes, giving her head a little shake in order to reassert control. What the heck was wrong with her? She’d never acted this way with a guy in her life.

The other courses of the meal came and went, but by now, Emile could have put a TV dinner in front of Everly, and she probably wouldn’t have noticed. All she could focus on was the mesmerizing man in front of her. That, and doing everything she could to keep her butt in her seat instead of crawling into his lap. It was hard as hell though. She couldn’t explain what was happening, but their date had somehow gone from a good time with an attractive man to an extremely erotic evening with a man she wanted to go to bed with. It was a little scary how turned on she was.

Right then, her thoughts weren’t like any she’d ever had on a first date. Maybe not until date twenty or thirty. Because the things she wanted to do with Landry weren’t something you sprang on a guy until you completely trusted him—like after ten years of marriage.

Thank God they were in a crowded restaurant, or she had no idea what she would have done. That’s when she finally broke eye contact with Landry and realized the entire restaurant was bathed in darkness and completely empty. She glanced at her watch and was shocked to see it was after midnight. When had that happened?

Landry chuckled. “I hope I haven’t kept you out too late.”

She shook her head. “No, not at all. I just didn’t realize everyone had left. We aren’t locked in, are we?”

His mouth twitched. “No. I heard Emile moving around in the kitchen.”

Everly cringed. “I hate to think he stayed so late just for us.”

“Me too. I’d stay here the whole night with you if we could, but I guess we should go.”

“You could always come in for a drink once we get back to my place,” she suggested. “I promise I won’t turn into a pumpkin, and I could show you the rest of my figure studies and landscapes, if you like.”

Everly was fully aware that he might take her offer of a drink as an invitation for something else entirely. To be truthful, she wasn’t sure it wasn’t. She wasn’t the kind of woman who had a magic number of dates established when it came to stuff like this, but she’d never slept with a man on the first date. Then again, she’d never met anyone who had the effect on her that Landry did. If one thing led to another and they ended up in bed, she definitely wouldn’t mind.

“A drink at your place sounds perfect. I’d love to see the rest of your art.” He stood and offered his hand to her. “Let’s go see if we can find Emile, then we can get out of here.”

Emile was completely amazing about them leaving so late. “You cannot put a timer on romance.” He smiled and even waved off Landry’s credit card. “Nor can you charge it on a piece of plastic. Go and have a wonderful evening. Come back anytime you want. I’ll always find a table for you.”

The drive back to her apartment seemed to take forever because they hit every freaking light in town, and while Everly was practically trembling with anticipation, she played it cool as Landry led her into the building. Even so, she had to force herself not to rush as they climbed the stairs to her place on the second floor.

Everly glanced at him as she unlocked the door to her apartment. “Mia is a heavy sleeper, so we don’t have to worry about waking her up.”

That was a complete lie, of course. Mia was probably in her room right now refusing to go to sleep until she got a complete report on the evening’s events.

Everly left off most of the lights, only flipping on the one that illuminated the hallway leading to her art studio slash office. She was going to head to the kitchen for those drinks she’d promised, but one look at his face stopped him. He didn’t look like he was very thirsty right then, at least not for alcohol.

Eyes glinting in the soft glow of the overhead light, Landry placed his hands on her waist and pulled her close. Then he bent his head ever so slowly, as if he was waiting for her to stop him. Like that was going to happen.

The moment their lips touched, she reached up and weaved her fingers into his hair, moaning as his tongue slipped into her mouth. He tasted like the chocolate mousse they’d had for dessert, only sweeter.

One of his hands slipped from her waist and snuck around to the small of her back, fitting her more tightly to him. Everly could tell from the way his hardness pressed against her that he was just as aroused as she was.

The kiss went on and on, until she was dizzy and out of breath, but she didn’t want him to stop. She wanted Landry to keep kissing her until she was senseless, then she wanted him to carry her off to bed and make love to her all night long. And if the hard-on she felt against her stomach was any indication, she was in for one hell of a night.

When he finally broke the kiss, she was ready to grab his hand and lead him to her room, but he shook his head as if he’d read her mind and knew exactly what she was thinking.

“I had an amazing time tonight,” he whispered. “But I think I should be going.”

It took her a couple seconds to process what he’d just said, then a few more to understand what he meant. Had she read the situation completely wrong? No way. She’d felt how aroused he was.

“Why?” she asked in confusion.

He smiled, gently curling the ends of her long hair around his finger. “Because I think we both know there’s something special happening here. And when something special happens, I think it’s a good idea to take your time. We don’t have to rush anything.”

That made sense, of course. But the urge to drag him into her bedroom was so strong it was like she was fighting off a living thing.

She determinedly got a grip on her sex drive. “I don’t mind if we take our time.”

But when he tipped her chin up and kissed her again, her resolve almost failed. If he hadn’t been the one to pull back first, she wasn’t sure if she could have.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said softly.

Incapable of speech at the moment, Everly could only nod.

At the door, Landry turned to give her a grin. “By the way. Best. Date. Ever.”