Ten Days of Perfect (November Blue #1)(13)

Bo closed his eyes tight for a moment and reopened them at me, seeming to search for an answer to a question I hadn’t asked - at least out loud. He exhaled, “November. . .”

My only response was tug on his shirt - my eyes never leaving his - as I pulled him onto my reclined body. My long-gone resolve was swept under my ‘Welcome’ mat. The softness of his lips surprised me, given the sharpness of his jaw. But, the softer his kiss, the more I wanted. He let out a throaty approval as my hands slipped between us and found his yearning. I massaged the outside of his jeans, and as his pulse increased, mine followed. Swiftly he sat up, pulling me with him, and in one motion I was straddling him. His commanding hands held my hips in place as he grinded into me.

My pulse was frantic with need as I met his rhythm. I grasped one of his hands and guided it up the inside of my shirt, placing it on my breast. He worked me with firm hands that caused a faint whisper of ecstasy to flee my throat. He drew his hand greedily down my side and placed both palms on my back. The heat radiating from his long fingers was unreal. God, I want him. Our lips hadn’t left each other’s since we sat on the couch; it was as if they were making up for a lifetime’s worth of missed kisses.

I let out one low groan into his mouth, and the sound of my own voice startled my resolution into action from under the ‘Welcome’ mat. It dutifully hammered its way back through my veins and grounded the live wire whipping erratically inside me. If what I thought I was feeling for Bo was real, I couldn’t give it all away tonight.

I slowed my breathing and my motions, nervous for a moment that he would think I was a cock-tease; but my concerns about his opinion of me bowed to my opinion of myself. Bo didn’t resist; he relaxed his hands as I slid off his legs, but our mouths weren’t finished with each other.

Still kissing in this less provocative position, I felt a small smile cross his lips as he planted soft kisses on my lips, nose, and forehead. Stopped, with our foreheads touching, our breathing was too erratic to allow words. We sat, panting for a minute, before moving. He stretched his back against the couch, put his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head before leading it to his shoulder. I responded with a kiss under his chin.

“Hey,” I looked up at him with apologetic eyes, “I. . .”

I began to apologize for putting on the breaks; my experience with men taught me that a move like that often warrants an apology of some sort - no matter how half-hearted.

“Don’t, November.” Tenderness glistened in his eyes as he combed his thumb down the side of my face. “This has been one of the best nights of my life.” I kissed his thumb when it met my lips.

Speechless, I laid my head back on his shoulder.

Several minutes later we were back in the kitchen.

“Hey,” I said as I put the last wine glass away, and slid my hand in to his back pocket to retrieve his cell phone, “let me give you my number.”

I tapped my number into his phone, entered my name as November Blue, and slid the phone back in to his pocket.

“Awesome,” he beamed, “I’ll call you to get together sometime this week?”

“Sounds great. I typically work 8 to 4, but you can text me during work if you want to set something up.” My attempt at not sounding desperate wasn’t going quite as I’d hoped.

Bo walked over to the door and took a long, slow breath. “Thank you for having me over, Ember.” His tone was sweet, carrying through my apartment like an aria. “This night was…”

“Yea,” I tipped my head up and kissed him, “it really was, Bo. I’ll talk to you later, K?”

I met him at my door and gripped my fingers around the edges of his jeans pockets.

“Absolutely.” He pulled me in to him and gave me one hard, demanding kiss. “Later.”

I shut the door behind him and thumped my forehead against it, letting out a small hum of sexual frustration. His sensitivity and understanding when I didn’t want things to go any further flooded me with relief, and respect for him. When I got into bed five minutes later, my cell phone dinged with a text. The number wasn’t one I recognized, so I took it to be Bo’s. I opened the message, smiling.

Bo: Hey, it’s Bowan, now you have my number Me: Excellent :) Bowan, is it?

Bo: It’s only fair, November Blue :) Me: Fair’s fair. Good night.

Bo: Hey I hope to see you during the week, but in case work gets ahead of me, I definitely want to see you on Friday Me: Great! But I thought you told Josh you had plans Friday?

Bo: You are my plans on Friday Horray!

Me: Presumptuous, don’t you think?

Bo: Sorry. Would you like to get together on Friday?

Me: Better :) I’d love to. Talk to you this week I hope.

Bo: Night Me: Night :-*

Crap, I kissy-faced in a text. I rolled on to my belly, threw my pillow over my head and endured the most angst-filled sleep I’d had in years.





Chapter Five

“We had the decency to duck out early and you mean to tell me nothing happened?!” Monica sat, exasperated, on my couch.

Her early morning texts didn’t wake me - since I hadn’t slept much - but she made up for her dramatic entrance by bringing me a latte.

“You are a bad influence. He was a perfect gentleman, Monica. So . . .” My face heated as I recounted the details of our kiss and his request for a date on Friday.