by Paige Tyler
Chapter 6
Landry’s apartment was the typical bachelor pad, complete with a comfy looking couch, a ridiculously huge flat-screen TV mounted on the wall with a Blu-ray player on a shelf underneath it, and the requisite surround sound system. But there were also framed posters hanging on every available wall, as well as a big bookshelf stuffed full of the largest collection of comic books and graphic novels she’d ever seen in one place. She wandered over to take a closer look at the posters and realized they weren’t reprints of comic book covers, but original paintings. Her artist’s eye told her they were expensive too. Landry had spent some serious money on them.
“Water okay?” Landry called from the kitchen.
“That’s fine,” she called back.
She could definitely use another bottle, she thought as she picked up a thick graphic novel from the stack and flipped through it. She’d gotten quite a workout rappelling. She’d never done anything that crazy in her life. Her heart might have been racing a thousand miles an hour as she’d stood on the edge of the roof and looked down at the ground below, but bounding down one wall after another with Landry beside her had been exhilarating. No wonder he liked it so much. Of course, she would never have been able to do something like that if Landry hadn’t been there. It was insane, but when they were together, she felt fearless and protected. Safe.
And aroused as hell. She couldn’t believe how turned on she’d gotten when Landry helped her into the rappelling harness. From the way her whole body hummed at the casual feel of his hands on her inner thighs, you’d think a guy hadn’t touched her in forever. The memory of how close his mouth had been to her pussy while he kneeled before her was enough to make her wet all over again.
And the kisses while they’d been rappelling? If she could have figured out how to do it safely, she would have jumped him right there on the wall.
“I see you found my collection,” Landry said, coming into the living room.
Everly turned to see him gesturing to the book in her hand with the bottle of water. She glanced down at the cover featuring a bunch of shambling zombies and the title The Walking Dead inked in lurid red across the front.
“Yeah, it’s cool,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve seen so many graphic novels in one place.”
He smiled. “Thank you for not calling them comic books.”
She made a face. “Anyone can see these aren’t comic books.”
He shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe the flak people give me for reading them.”
She laughed, carefully placing the book back on the shelf. “Actually, I can believe it. I can’t tell you how many times people ask me when I’m going to get a real job after I tell them I’m an artist.”
“You know what they say. Haters gonna hate.” He chuckled as he handed her one of the bottles. “You want to hit the shower first? I have some extra towels in the linen closet in the bathroom. I think there’s even some fruity bodywash I bought by accident a while ago.”
“Maybe you better go first. It will take me longer, and that way you don’t have to stand around sweaty for so long.”
Not that she minded him all sweaty or anything. On him, it was sexy as hell.
“Okay. Feel free to grab something to eat while I’m in the shower, if you want,” he said. “I have to warn you though—I don’t have a lot of variety. It’s mostly chips and junk food.”
She smiled at the almost sheepish look he gave her. Like he was embarrassed he didn’t have any girlie food in his place. It was adorable. It also confirmed he didn’t have a lot of women stay over. She and Landry might have just started dating, but she already felt proprietary about him.
Everly headed into the kitchen as he sauntered across the living room.
“I’ll keep the bathroom door open a crack in case you want to talk,” he said over his shoulder. “No peeking.”
She halted in mid-step, leaning back so she could see down the hallway. Just to check if he’d left the door open. Of course, he had. And the view was drool worthy. Luckily, he was facing away from her, so he didn’t catch her staring as he stripped off his T-shirt and dropped it in the hamper. What could she say? She was an artist. God had made her curious about the human form. And Landry was just about perfect. His back was broad and defined, and his shoulders were thick and powerful. If the models in art school had looked like him, she never would have graduated.
Everly’s breath hitched as he reached down to unbuckle his belt. Face coloring, she hurried into the kitchen. As much as she wanted to stay and enjoy the show, she’d be mortified if he looked over his shoulder and caught her.
She heard him turn on the shower as she opened the cabinet beside the built-in microwave.
“Do you like Mexican?” he asked over the spray of water. “There’s this place that has great food and killer margaritas.”
“That sounds perfect,” she said.
She closed that cabinet and opened another. Wow, he hadn’t been kidding about the junk food. All he had were bags of chips and cheese in a can. How the heck did he stay in such amazing shape eating this stuff?
She tried the fridge next, thinking she might have better luck there. But all she found was beer, soda, bottled water, and jars of two-hundred-year-old condiments.
In the bathroom, Landry turned the shower off. Everly closed the fridge. She knew men could clean up fast, but that was ridiculous. He’d been in there for less than five minutes.
She walked into the living room in time to see Landry come out of the bathroom. He had one towel wrapped around his waist and was drying his hair with another. She stopped and stared again. It wasn’t her fault. While his back had been amazing to behold, his front was downright godlike.
His chest was broad and muscular, his abs looked like they’d been chiseled from stone, and there was a little happy trail of hair leading from his belly button downward until it disappeared into the towel wrapped around his waist. The urge to walk over and pull that towel away and see what he was hiding down there was almost irresistible.
She took the top off the bottle and downed half the water, afraid she’d give in to the urge if she didn’t give herself something else to do.
Cooper finished toweling off his hair, then casually draped the damp towel over his shoulders. Did he know she’d been checking him out?
The smile curving his mouth as he came toward her made her think he had.
Everly’s pulse quickened, sure he was going to pull her into his arms and kiss her. But then she realized his bedroom was on the other side of the living room, and he was heading there so he could get dressed. Honestly, she could get so goofy sometimes.
She forced herself to focus on the wolf-head tattoo on his chest with the word SWAT underneath, hoping it would distract her. It didn’t. The water droplets running down his chest and abs had to work hard to get past all that muscle in their race to the towel at this waist. Her fingers itched to reach out and wipe them away, but she controlled herself. If she put her hands on him right now, she didn’t think she’d be able to let go. She was already aroused—and they weren’t even touching.
“Shower’s all yours,” he said softly, coming to a stop in front of her. “I put some extra towels and the bodywash on the counter. Sorry I don’t have much in the way of shampoo selection. I usually buy whatever’s on sale.”
She tried to answer, but couldn’t tear her attention away from his bare chest and abs long enough to get the words out. Not only were all those muscles drool-inducing up close, the faint round scars that dotted his pecs and stomach were strangely fascinating. They reminded her of the bullet holes in his Jeep, but that was obviously impossible. Nobody could get shot that many times and live. They didn’t even look like they’d been stitched up. It was like someone had poked him with an ice pick then let the wounds heal on their own. The funny thing was, the scars weren’t ugly. If anything, they added to his overall perfection.
She reached out to trace her fingertip along one of t
he scars when Landry’s soft voice stopped her.
“All-in-one shampoo and conditioner good for you?”
She jerked her finger back and mentally shook herself until her head was back on the same planet as her body.
“What? Oh! Don’t worry about it. I brought my own shampoo.” She wet her suddenly dry lips. “I’d better get into the shower, or we’ll never get out of here.”
“I’ll be waiting.” His mouth curved. “Feel free to leave the door open a crack if you want to talk.”
Everly picked up the weekender she’d brought with her, almost stumbling as she walked toward the bathroom. Her legs felt weak, like she’d pushed herself too hard rappelling and succumbed to heat exhaustion. But she didn’t feel ill. She felt fantastic.
She stepped into the bathroom, leaving the door open a few inches. As she rummaged in her bag for her toiletries, she tried to make sense of this crazy attraction she felt to Landry. It was more than just physical. When she was around him, she felt a sense of bliss unlike anything she’d ever experienced.
She stripped off her shorts and T-shirt, then stepped into the walk-in shower and turned on the water. She gasped as the spray hit her breasts. Yikes, her nipples were super sensitive. Being turned on for most of the day would do that. Unable to contain her curiosity, she slipped her hand between her legs to run her fingers over her folds. She was wet all right, and if she hadn’t been in Landry’s shower with him right outside the partially open door, she would have touched herself until she came.
If she was this excited from seeing Landry in a towel, she could only imagine how much more aroused she’d be when she saw him completely naked. She stifled a moan and reached for the shampoo. Not even her imagination was that good.
* * *
When Everly came out of the bathroom, she found Landry standing by the bookcase flipping through a graphic novel. He’d traded in his towel for a sexy pair of jeans, black work boots, and a skintight T-shirt. From where he was standing, he would have gotten a good view of her standing half-dressed in front of the mirror as she put on her makeup. If he’d peeked, of course.
Everly liked to think he had…at least a little.
“Ready to go?” she asked as she walked over to him.
Landry glanced at her, his eyes catching the light and reflecting gold. But while the flash disappeared a split second later, the heat and hunger lingered. The way he looked at her was almost predatory, and she was more than happy to be his prey.
“You look beautiful,” he said softly.
Everly looked down at her flirty boho dress. It was cute, comfortable, and swirled around her legs when she walked. But the real reason she’d picked it was because it was prewrinkled. She could shove it in her tote bag and no one would ever know it.
She opened her mouth to thank him, but she completely lost her voice. In the few moments it had taken her to glance down and back up again, Landry had moved all the way across the living room and was now standing in front of her. And that hungry look he’d had before was now ravenous.
“Thank you,” she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. He was so close she could feel the heat pouring off his big body. “I’m glad you like the dress.”
He leaned in even closer, his mouth now only an inch or two from hers. “I wasn’t talking about the dress. I was talking about you.”
She opened her mouth to thank him again, but instead, leaned in to kiss him. He met her halfway, his lips coming down on hers.
Everly heard people talk about a kiss taking their breath away. She’d always thought that was crap—or poor technique. But when Landry’s other hand slid down to cup her ass through the material of her dress while his tongue had its way with hers, she actually went light-headed. But there was no way in hell she was going to stop kissing him. She didn’t care if she passed out. So, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave as good as she got.
Landry buried his other hand in her hair, holding her captive as his mouth ravaged hers completely. She responded in kind, pushing her tongue back against his, determined to give him as much pleasure as he was giving her.
Her body was on fire, the almost constant throb she’d felt between her legs all day erupting into a rapid drumbeat. Her tender nipples stiffened even more, and she knew Landry could feel them against his chest. She was aware of his arousal pressing against her. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.
Landry’s hand glided over her ass, searching for the hem of her short dress and sneaking underneath. She moaned against his mouth. It looked like they weren’t going out to dinner after all. That was okay. She could make do with Doritos and cheese in a can if it got her into bed with him.
But as he pushed her back against the bookshelf, she thought maybe the bed would have to wait until later as well.
His fingers were moving up her thigh to the edge of her panties when a ringing sound echoed around them. Everly tried her best to ignore it, but the ringing came again, more insistent this time. It was immediately followed by a knock that made Landry jerk back with what sounded like a growl.
Everly didn’t blame him. She wanted to scream herself. Who the hell knocked on a door after already ringing the bell twice? Didn’t they know she was trying to have sex here?
“I’ll get rid of them,” Landry said in a husky voice, his eyes glinting gold in the light again.
If she hadn’t been so turned on at the moment, she might have thought more about how he was doing that, but right then, she didn’t care.
When Landry unlocked the door and jerked it open, she thought he was going to punch the person on the other side. If so, Everly would have helped hide the body.
But the moment Landry saw the man standing there, his whole demeanor changed. “Jim? Holy crap, is that you?”
The man grinned. Shorter than Landry, he was thin with graying hair cut military style. “Yeah, it’s me. Who the hell do you think it is?”
Landry chuckled. The next thing Everly knew, he and Jim were locked in a man-hug and slapping each other on the back so hard they were going to leave bruises.
“Damn Coop, did you get bigger?” Jim asked, pulling away to eye Landry. “You were always tall, but you look like you’ve put on a good four inches and added a ton of muscle since I’ve seen you last.”
“I’ve added a few pounds of muscle here and there,” Landry said. “But what the hell happened to you? You look like shit.”
Jim laughed and slapped Landry on the shoulder, not offended by the frank words. “Army years are like dog years, you know that.”
Landry shook his head, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned and motioned her forward. “Everly, I want you to meet the man who saved my life in Iraq four years ago—Sergeant Jim Wainwright. Jim, Everly Danu.”
Jim smiled and extended his hand as he stepped into the small foyer. “Nice to meet you, Everly. If you’ve gotten this guy’s attention, you must be special. All he ever did when he was back in EOD was work, work, and work some more.”
Everly laughed. She had no idea what EOD was, but assumed it was the job Landry did when he was in the army. “Well, he’s still all about work. We met in the middle of a bank robbery.”
Jim looked at Landry. “You’re shitting me.”
Landry shook his head. “It’s a long story, but enough about that. What I want to know is why the hell you didn’t tell me you were coming into town. Are you in Dallas doing a VIP detail?”
First EOD, now VIP. She was going to need a military acronym guide.
“Nah.” Jim stuck his hands in his pockets. “I’m out of the army now—I bailed about three weeks ago. I’m in town job hunting. I had your address, so I figured I’d stop by and see you.” He glanced at Everly. “Probably should have called first, but I didn’t think about it.”
“You don’t need to call first. You’re always welcome,” Landry said. “Why the hell would you get out of the army now? No one bails on a military retirement with less than six years left to go. Crap m
an, you had a good shot at making sergeant major. Why the hell would you just walk away?”
Jim snorted. “Life in EOD isn’t what it used to be, not with deployments starting to slow down and the battalions sending all their techs on every field training exercise they can find just to keep them occupied. There’s way better money to be made in the contractor world than staying on active duty anyway.”
Landry frowned. “I’m glad you told me you got out. I would have been worried as hell if I tried to email you at Fort Bragg, and it bounced back as undeliverable.”
Jim glanced at her again before looking at Landry. “I stopped by hoping we could go out to dinner, but that was before I realized you had company. I’ll give you a call later once I find a job and get settled. I’ll let you know what my new email is.”
Landry didn’t say anything, but Everly could see he was torn. She knew he wanted to spend the night with her, but he clearly wanted to hang out with Jim. The guy had saved his life. While she didn’t know Jim, she felt like she owed him a huge debt for saving the man she was falling for so fast.
“We were just about to head out to a Mexican place for dinner,” she said impulsively. “You should come with us.”
Jim shook his head. “Thanks, but I don’t want to intrude.”
“You’re not intruding,” Everly insisted. “I’d love to hear all the stories you have about Landry. He hasn’t told me much of anything about the army. In exchange, I’ll tell you how he saved me from bank robbers.”
Jim hesitated. “You sure I won’t be a bother?”
“Of course you won’t.” She smiled and grabbed her purse from the couch. “Come on, we need to get to the restaurant before it gets too crowded. You can follow in your car or come with us. Whatever works for you.”
Jim nodded. “Okay. I’ll follow you guys.”
As Jim walked out, Landry took her hand.
Thank you, he mouthed.
Everly smiled. It wasn’t the evening she’d envisioned. That one had involved her and Landry getting naked. But their white-hot romance could handle a little time on simmer for one more night at least. Something told her that Jim needed a friend right now, and she was okay if that friend was Landry.