“You don’t owe me any explanations.” He placed his hand on my cheek.

“But I’m sure you’re probably wondering…” When I lost my words, he completed my thought.

“Wondering where your nose is?” He chuckled. “I think it’s pretty obvious what happened there.”

“Yeah. I know it’s obvious. I just meant you might be wondering why I—”

“No, actually, I’m not. I’m too damn happy to see you right now to care about anything else. And you need a hot shower and some food in you. Let’s go inside. Leave your anxiety at the door. I’ll take good care of you.” Taking my hand, he led me toward the entrance.

“Aren’t I supposed to be taking care of you?” I asked as I followed him inside.

“No. The doctors said I’m going to be fine. I just need to take Advil and to be careful not to get into any more accidents involving my skull for a while, since the concussion made it vulnerable. So, no crazy shit for a few weeks, and you’ll have to refrain from throwing anything at me while you’re here. I’ll try not to provoke you.” He winked.

“I’m so thankful you’re okay.”

“Me, too—especially now that you’re here. It would’ve sucked to have missed this.” He gestured around. “Anyway, welcome to my humble abode. It’s not fancy, but that’s what you get in exchange for living near the beach.”

Landon’s place was nice. It was small but with an open floor plan and a decent view of the water.

When he brought me into his bedroom, he was showing me the view from his window, but all I could do was stare at him when he wasn’t looking. He suddenly turned to me and seemed to catch me gawking. I must have turned red or something because he could apparently sense my nerves.

“Relax. I don’t bite.” He approached and placed his hands on my shoulders, and I felt it in my core. “It’s just me. Don’t be nervous.”

That’s the problem. It’s you, Landon. And I don’t trust myself.

Was I nervous? Sure. But it certainly wasn’t because I was scared he’d try anything. If anything, I was caught off guard by how much my body wanted to succumb to every desire within it at the moment, especially when he touched me; how much I became intoxicated by his smell; how much I wanted to run my tongue along his full bottom lip. But it was evident that Landon was being careful. He was taking things slowly.

“I feel safe here. My nerves aren’t about any kind of apprehension. It’s more of a nervous excitement, one I’m not used to feeling.”

“Well, good, then.” He grinned. “You like breakfast for dinner?”

“Yes.”

Nudging his head, he said, “Follow me.”

“It’s practically morning anyway,” I said, taking his hand as he led me to the kitchen.

Landon ended up making us a delicious batch of cinnamon French toast before setting me up with a hot shower.

It intrigued me that Landon had high-end Anna Sui shower gel in his bathroom. That made me wonder if a woman had given it to him, or if she’d left it here. I tried to shake the idea out of my mind.

When I finished bathing, I wrapped myself in a towel and peeked out of the bathroom.

“Do you have something I can wear?”

He yelled from the living room, “I left some clothes on the floor outside the door. Those will have to do for now. Tomorrow we’ll go out and buy you some stuff.”

Sure enough, there was a pile of items folded on the ground right by my feet.

“Thank you,” I hollered, picking them up.

Returning to the steam-filled bathroom, I put on the black, vintage Def Leppard T-shirt and baggy, black drawstring shorts. The shirt was roomy, so I decided to tie the bottom into a knot just above my navel to make it appear more feminine.

After I ventured out of the bathroom, I found Landon in his room. He had his hands in his pockets and was looking out the sliding glass door that led to his balcony.

“I feel homeless,” I said.

“Well, you’d be the most beautiful homeless person I’ve ever seen, then.” He glanced down to my stomach, noticing that I’d rolled up my shirt. He stared at my bellybutton. “You have a navel ring. I didn’t notice it earlier.”

“My skirt was covering it before.”

“I love it.”

Landon walked toward me. The sexual tension in the air was thick as he brushed his fingertip against my belly ring. I couldn’t even describe what that one little touch was doing to my body.

Clearing my throat, I said, “I got it pierced around the time I started dancing.” Landon wore one small, black stud in his right earlobe, and I’d noticed earlier that his tongue was also pierced. Finding the latter extremely sexy, I said, “I love your tongue ring. Is that your only piercing besides your ear?”